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,…
I remember years ago hearing a comedy routine in which Bill Cosby talked about a child rolling his eyes at his parent. The parent’s response was something along the lines of “Don’t you roll those eyes at me – I’ll roll those eyes right out of your head.” All of us who have been parents…
I noted some interesting trends as I was reading a recent worldwide study of thousands of couples. One of the findings indicated that among the happiest couples, 85% of both men and women said those three magical words at least once a week – “I love you.” Now, you may read that and think, “well…
There is a great deal of talk in this day and age regarding “getting my needs met,” “what I need to be fulfilled,” “what I want,” and so on. This generation is often labeled by its needs, expectations, and entitlements. I find it not surprising that in the wave of technological advances, we have the…
“That really makes me mad.” “I am livid.” “I’m seeing red.” These are all statements of anger. Sometimes we leave anger unexpressed and other times express it – maybe too much or inappropriately. There are a number of anger centers throughout the world that are designed to help people express anger. At one center in…
Why is it that there is such disparity in people’s degree of success, happiness, and enjoyment of life? There are no simple answers and I am sure there are a variety of contributing factors for these differences. But one reason, that I want to discuss today is “but.” It is a word that sometimes is…