For so many people the evenings seem to be a time to collapse. You give your best energies at work, then you transport kids to various practices, try to get some dinner in everybody, and then – you get to the couch read to veg out. You don’t want to be bothered with bills, or…
DetailsI recently came across a long list of behavioral choices that can contribute to a healthy marriage. There were five that jumped off the page at me that I would consider essential. Reserve time for each other at all costs. With the demands of work, kids, parents, friends, and so on, it easy to push…
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It is quite amazing that we ever found time to connect – but we did – somehow. Think back to when you were dating. You probably rearranged your schedule in order to see your future mate. You left work early; you postponed other scheduled plans; you did whatever it took in order to spend time…
DetailsYou get up to go into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Your spouse asks. “When you come back would you bring that small container of ice cream?” Inside your head (maybe outside of your head too) you say, “What am I, your slave?” We have all thought it and most of us…
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As we have looked at the faces of commitment in our last three times, we have examined the importance of following through on the things that we say we will do, remembering the big picture during times of conflict, and how we treat our mate when he or she is not present. In this final…
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As we have looked at commitment in our last two times, we have examined the importance of following through on the things that we say we will do and remembering the big picture during times of conflict. Today I want to look at how we treat our mate when he or she is not present.…
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Last time we began to explore commitment and what that might look like. In defining commitment we saw that it is both a dedication to someone but it also restricts our freedom. While restricting our freedom may at first seem like a negative, it really isn’t. I used the example of marrying my wife. When…
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So, I wonder – how would you define commitment? If you ask five different people their definition of commitment, you are likely to get five different answers. For example, when I examined one source, it gave two somewhat opposite definitions. On one hand it stated that it is a state of being dedicated. Well, that…
DetailsYour husband comes home angry and yells at you. Your wife makes condescending remarks to you in front of the kids. Your spouse says hurtful things to you that don’t seem fair or accurate. How do you respond? Perhaps, in your woundedness, you lash back – speaking harshly of them in front of others or…
DetailsDivorce can be such a disaster (most of the time it is). I know there are certainly occasions when it is unavoidable, but that is not the norm. And when children are involved, indications are that, for the most part. Everybody loses! I recently had a mother of two young children say to me –…
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