Idea Box
Right or Loving?
When you and your beloved disagree, are you more interested in being right or being loving? Right means you win (and someone loses!)Loving means you seek understanding for the sake of the relationship. Which do you think makes for a closer marriage? Well, Captain...
Bronwyn and C J on their Premarital Coaching . . .
The components of our pre-marital counseling that were most impactful for us and we revisit them on a daily basis are the discussion about love languages: Knowing what our love languages are and how to best apply them in different circumstances has been absolutely...
Time for Serious FUN!
How much fun have you and your companion enjoyed in the past month? If you’re young and you’ve passed the honeymoon phase of marriage but don’t yet have children, then you may have evenings out to dinner and a movie, or long strolls hand-in-hand. If you have children...
Mapping Your Marriage Territory
Does your marriage still hold adventure for you? Are you two still exploring the territory of your marriage?
Let me pose a thought: we cannot fully explore all our marriage territory in a lifetime together.
Sarah & Josh
My husband and I got engaged in 2014 and we were so excited to ask Pastor Bill to marry us. He said yes but told us he required premarital counseling before the big day. Before the wedding, we met several times, worked through some lessons and had some amazing...
You Cannot Fall into (Selfless) Love
Maybe you remember your first crushes? Awash in overwhelming, unfamiliar emotions, you forget how to act, how to carry on a conversation, or how to build a relationship. Puppy love may be as cute as a retriever puppy, but it also makes a puppy-like mess of life.
Winning the Race to Second Place!
“If ours is to be a selfless marriage, then I must race to second place!” That’s not verbatim Jacob’s response, but it’s close. Gold star, Jacob. Well-said. Challenging to accomplish!
“No Matter Whats”
Does your marriage need a bit of relational oxygen? Would your relationship benefit from a few moments of freedom from the constraints of routine?
Maximize Your Vacation with Six Hard-Learned Lessons
The summer solstice just past and I’m longing for the beach on these longer days! Mary Beth and I have a few weeks before that longing is satisfied. So, I ponder, “How can I maximize my vacation time?” To answer my own question, I remembered what made past vacations...
Are You Building Bunkers or Bridges?
Think about this: What happens when a nation fears an attack on its borders? It fortifies its perimeter. A person will do the same. If my wife feels attacked by my criticism and comes to expect it, then she will fortify her borders, building defensive bunkers around her heart that are hard to penetrate.