Marriage

Monogam-ish? Really?

October 30, 2015

There is an idea related to marriage that is slowly gaining traction in our culture. It is the idea that you can be monogamous maritally, without being exclusive sexually. The term for this is “monogam-ish.” When I first encountered this term, I was doing some web research and it came up in a Google search. My […]

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Funny How Things Can Take You Back

October 28, 2015

It’s funny how things can take you back. It could be a song, or a smell. It could be a phrase, or a scene from a movie. Whatever it is, you know it when it happens, because you’re suddenly transported back to a better time (hopefully.) Have you ever come across something that took you back […]

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The Gift of Attention

October 13, 2015

Attention is like air to our emotional lungs. Without attention, babies fail to thrive. Without attention, children struggle emotionally and scholastically. Without attention, isolated people become loners and sometimes threats to society. Without attention, marriages flame out like cooling fireworks falling to earth. Without attention, the light in a senior’s eyes quickly dims. Every soul […]

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I Blamed it on the CPAP

October 1, 2015

Small acts of love and kindness can have a big impact on marriage, but as time goes on, these small acts tend to get lost in the clutter of marriage. They begin to fade like an old pair of jeans. It happened to me, and my wife lovingly brought it to my attention one night as […]

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How to Have a Good Day

September 29, 2015

Have you ever noticed that people often tell you, “Have a good day!” but they don’t tell you how to have a good day? Doesn’t that seem a little odd? It’s like telling someone, “Have a million dollars” and then walking away without telling them how. Wouldn’t it be great if they said, “Have a […]

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Marriage at McDonalds

September 22, 2015

I have a graduate degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. I work with married couples weekly, and I regularly write about how to improve marriage. Still, it was an elderly couple at McDonald that taught me my most recent lessons on marriage.

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Are You Listening?

September 17, 2015

“Are you listening to me?” “You never listen to me.” “I’ve tried to tell you, but you just don’t listen.” “If you would listen you would know.” Have you ever heard your spouse say something like this? If so, join the ranks of the many. Not listening is one of the most common complaints I […]

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Is Your Marriage Meaningful or Mundane?

September 15, 2015

Is your marriage meaningful or mundane? It’s easy to skip over that question. An honest answer to that question might not be what we want to hear. But if we’re brave enough to ponder it, the question will lead us to ask another question. What makes a marriage meaningful? I recently read a post by Donald Miller about what […]

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Comfortably Uncomfortable

September 10, 2015

We all want to be comfortable. We want comfortable chairs, comfortable shoes, comfortable beds, comfortable clothes, comfortable retirements…comfortable everything. We especially want comfortable marriages. We want marriages that are calm, happy, and easy. We want spouses who like what we like, act like we act, and always think we’re wonderful. We also want to win the […]

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A Labor Day Lesson on Disappointment

September 7, 2015

It’s Labor Day and I’m sick. Not loosing your last meal in the commode sick. More like head full of concrete can’t breathe sick. I’ve tried every remedy I could find in our cabinet of over-the-counter promises, but no magic bullet. I woke up early this morning, after a hit-and-run night of sleep. Restless and mouth-breathing, […]

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