My article, Preparing To Become A Wife - 10 Tips For Single Women, gave great tips for wives-to-be and inspired me to sit down and write out my thoughts on preparing to become a husband. In no way am I proclaiming perfection in any of these areas. But like any relationship, you have to work hard on the positives in order to become an ideal partner. Preparing to Become a … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Mend Your Relationship After a Painful Experience
When you experience something painful in your marriage, you have to make a decision that you will not let the pain destroy your partnership. Getting your marriage back to a good place will be challenging, especially if your relationship was shaky before the painful experience took place. Marriage can be hard work when things are wonderful, so when the “worse” comes knocking at … [Read more...]
Top 3 Things that 18 Years of Marriage Have Taught Me
Anniversaries are super special in my house. I would never have imagined being married to my husband for eighteen years. Real talk, my parents didn't even think my husband Don and I would remain married past the first six months. They expressed this to us more times than I can count. Why would my parents think this, let alone have the nerve to verbalize this to us? Well, the … [Read more...]
How to Stay Together When Your Family and Friends Want You to Divorce
For years, my husband Don and I had an extremely rocky marriage. During those tumultuous years, I confided in a lot of girlfriends. I told them everything he did and did not do. I was painting a picture of him that had them not speaking to him or wanting to be around him. When things were at their worst, I ran my mouth. Straight up. I even convinced myself that I was going … [Read more...]
Seven Strategies that Saved My Marriage
I’m going to be totally honest with you: sometimes, I am annoyed when folks say they want a marriage like mine and Don’s. What they don’t know is that we experienced many ups and downs in our marriage. The 'downs' seemed to last forever. We’ve experienced the difficulties of blending a family, numerous periods of unemployment, a child going to jail, alcoholism and an emotional … [Read more...]
5 Easy Steps to Turn Your 2017 Vision into a Reality
"I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run." - Habakkuk 2: 1-2 We all have heard this preached time and again in church. We all get hyped up … [Read more...]
5 Relationship Issues You Need to Address Before the Year Ends
As we approach October, we all recognize that we are in the final quarter of the year. Sure, that means a lot to folks in the business world, but it should also mean a lot to you on a personal level. So often, we take the start of the year as a time to identify what we want to change about our lives and relationships in the coming year. Now there is nothing wrong with … [Read more...]
5 Things to Do When Someone You Love Is in a Bad Relationship
It’s hard to watch the people we love suffer. We want what’s best for them, and when it seems like they are settling for less than that, we want to intervene. We do so from a place of love with the very best intentions, hoping that our words and actions will motivate our loved one to change. But typically, it doesn’t work out that way. They stay in the bad relationship for … [Read more...]
5 Beauty and Budget Must-Haves for Brown Girls on the Go
There’s something really wonderful and empowering about being your own woman in all ways. I’m talking about having your stuff together from the inside out: your career is on the move, you’re handling your finances like a champ, and you’re attention to your personal appearance is impeccable. For some brown girls, this is a lofty dream punctuated and mired with bouts of … [Read more...]
Seriously Awesome Deal: Free Bonus With Purchase of Best Selling Book “The Argument Free Marriage”
New York Times Best Selling Author Fawn Weaver has done it again! She has been traveling the U.S and Canada promoting her amazing new book, The Argument-Free Marriage: 28 Days to Creating the Marriage You've Always Wanted With the Spouse You Already Have. This New York Times best seller offers tried and true advice on achieving harmony in your marriage. Available online … [Read more...]
How Do You Hold on When Your Spouse is Financially Unstable?
Dear Dr. Buckingham, I've been married for two years going on three years in September. We met at a church revival. We started dating on April 25, 2012, and got engaged on August 16, 2012. We got married on September 28, 2012. Just giving you a timeline. As I look over my life, I think back to high school. When they ask you, where do you see yourself after high school? I … [Read more...]
How to Overcome the 6 Most Common Marriage Dilemmas
Never go to bed angry, keep others out of your relationship, and be a freak in the sheets are all marriage tips we’ve heard time and time again. All are great pieces of advice, but sometimes a bit challenging to execute. Certain behaviors and ways of thinking prevent us from applying the love lessons we’ve learned. During the planning phase of a wedding, we aren't usually … [Read more...]
3 Pieces of Bad Relationship Advice People Always Share But You Should Never Take
Relationships often come with unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes they lead us in a direction that strengthens our relationship with very little effort on our part, but it’s not always that easy. The twists and turns can be complicated, leaving us feeling like we need an outside party to help guide the way. Frankly, there is nothing wrong with seeking help for your … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Repair Your Marriage That Won’t Cost a Thing
Marriage is a journey and along the way, you will have to make repairs. Before you spend money on courses, retreats, and counselors, start with these three basics of a sound marriage. Instead of investing your money, these tips require you to invest your intention and time. Be on time. I know that I have a tendency to run late when it comes to my personal life. I’m on time … [Read more...]
The Letter to My 10-Year-Old Daughter that Changed Our Relationship
A few months ago, I was at my wits’ end with my daughter who just happens to be a smidgen more stubborn than I am. We butt heads often because we’re so much alike. But I also understand that it has a great deal to do with the environment that our children are growing up in, which is so much different then the one many of us were raised in by our own parents. Disrespect? What … [Read more...]