As I crawl out of bed in the mornings and make my way into the bathroom, I turn on the light and glance into the mirror. Fortunately, what I see first thing in the morning gets at least slightly better before I leave the house. But part of the reason that it improves is because…
One of my favorite music groups growing up (and still today) was the Beatles. Ringo Starr, who was the group’s drummer, has been married to his wife Barbara for more than 30 years. In this day and age, that is rare, and even more so for a famous musician. He said that the secret to…
As a child, I used to hear my parents speak a language that kept us kids from understanding them. It worked pretty well until we got a little older and could figure it out. You see, it wasn’t a real language but a made up one called “Double Talk.” As an adult, I can’t begin…
How many times have we heard those words in our lives – “practice, practice, practice, “or “practice makes perfect?” I remember as a child hating to hear those words – “it’s time for you to go practice the piano.” I enjoy watching football and seeing skilled players make amazing throws and catches, efficient blocking patterns,…
I read a quote years ago which said, “Usually the husband regards himself as the head of the household, and the pedestrian has the right of way. And, usually, both of them are safe until they try to prove it.” This statement made me chuckle but it also reminded me of how often we get…
I recently had a discussion in my university Marriage and Family class regarding finances, which is often seen as a major source of marital conflict. The discussion centered around debt and financial priorities. It was interesting to hear what various students would go into debt for. The list ranged from houses and cars to televisions…
One of the struggles that I frequently hear couples discuss is how to spend time together. When they were dating – it was easy. They couldn’t seem to spend enough time together and there was never a shortage of things they enjoyed doing – together. But then they got married – they had kids –…
As I sat reading the newspaper this past week, my attention was caught by what seemed like a glaring contradiction of values, on the same page. One article was concerning the gut wrenching devastation that was taking place in the Philippines following the destructive typhoon. At that time, there were nearly 2000 dead with a…
In the 21st century we have become an entitled group of people. We see it in schools, in the work place, and even in our intimate relationships. We expect. We expect that you will be on time, we expect that you will pick-up my cleaning, we expect that you will fix dinner, mow the lawn,…
What is in your closet? You may be thinking about your different clothes or the many pairs of shoes. But I’m not talking about that closet. I asking about what is in the closet of your heart? As you ponder that, you will most likely begin to think about past hurts, scars from broken relationships,…