What If … You Tried It Just For A Day

If you’ve been around my blog any time at all, you know that the 30 Day Wife and 30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenges have been important to me this year.
I see marriages in crisis all around me, and this is my effort to help strengthen those marriages that haven’t gotten to the “Where do we [...]

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Marriage, Like Home, Should be a Place of Sanctuary

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I know it’s not Monday, and I had every intention of participating in this month’s Marriage Monday, but Thanksgiving threw me for a loop.
This excerpt is from Andrea at Embracing Him.  She did an excellent job of summing up how marriage should be a shelter, a safe-haven, a sanctuary for both husband and wife.

A [...]

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Thinking About Divorce? Wait a Year

Thinking about divorce?  Every year of marriage comes with its own set of ups and downs, but studies indicate that years 2, 4, and 7 are critical years that need particular care and attention.
On your wedding day, it’s hard to believe that in 1 in 12 marriages ends after just 2 years.  That’s a whopping [...]

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15 Minutes to Strengthen Your Marriage

Men, this looks like a Company Girl’s post because of the little coffee cup above, but don’t click away just yet. This post is for both men and women, it just happens to follow an idea Rachel Anne at Home Sanctuary proposed earlier this week.
In making our homes a sanctuary, Rachel Anne suggested making a [...]

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Fireproof Movie Review

If you are one of the thousands of people who saw Fireproof when it opened this weekend, you have already formed an opinion about it.  According to Fandango, 436 out of 630 reviews netted it a Must Go status.  (Update: as of 12:30pm on 9/30/08, the Fandango Must Go! reviews are 1966 out of 2288.)
Of the 16 [...]

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When “I’m Sorry” Isn’t Enough

Have you heard the words “I’m sorry” from your mate but feel that it falls short of being all that you wanted or needed as a full apology?  Have you said “I’m sorry” to your mate but feel that he or she hasn’t quite forgiven you or isn’t as certain of your sincerity as you are?
Perhaps you or your [...]

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Apology: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How

Next to “I love you,” I’m sorry” must be two of the hardest words in our vocabulary to say.
From a young age, few of us are eager to utter those words that can so quickly change the course of a conversation, keep a relationship in tact, or salvage a marriage that is in desperate need.
In [...]

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KO’d in the 7th Round

As I wrote yesterday, in any close, loving relationship there will be conflict. How you manage or mismanage the conflict that arises in your marriage will both reflect and determine the health of your marriage.
From the book Lists to Live by for Every Married Couple, the ways to mismanage conflict are

Avoid [the problem or the person]. It [...]

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13 Ground Rules for Resolving Conflict in Marriage

Conflict in any close, loving relationship is inevitable. Fighting at a level that will wake the neighbors is not. Follow these guidelines to help you truly resolve conflict, not just battle it out.

Set aside time to discuss the issue with your spouse. “Discussions” in the heat of the moment tend to escalate quickly. Ask your [...]

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5 Questions to Ask Before the Fight Starts

If you are married or invloved in a relationship of any kind with one other person, you are sure to encounter conflict.  How you deal with this conflict will determine the health and strength of your relationship.
What was the topic of the last fight you had with your spouse? Maybe your husband didn’t remember to pick [...]

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