Your spouse may have created a wishlist for Christmas, or verbally shared what they wanted this season. Either way, you probably have a good idea of what you’ll be putting under the tree for your spouse and vice versa. While it’s easy to shop and spend money on things that make your spouse happy, there are gifts to exchange that money just can't buy. Material items only bring … [Read more...]
9 Love Behaviors of Couples that Have Mastered this Marriage Thing
Couples can exhibit bad behaviors, which can lead to the breakdown of a marriage. But there are good behaviors that can strengthen and build up your marital bond. Here are three simple behaviors that are the key to a successful, loving marriage. Whenever you want to improve anything in your life, you first have to make a decision that it’s a priority for you. Once the … [Read more...]
5 Best Practices for Beating the Marriage Blues
Into every life a little rain must fall. We know life continues to bring a series of ups and downs. We’re often in and out of our season. It’s a reality we all must be willing to accept. Marriage isn’t any different. There will be excellent days. You know the ones where your spouse can do no wrong and you are just really feeling him/her. Then there will be those moments where … [Read more...]
The Marriage Declutter Checklist for All Couples
Spring represents fresh new beginnings. It’s usually a time when the majority of us begin to declutter and spring clean our homes. We rid ourselves of the outdated to prepare for the brand-new, bright and colorful. Letting go of what’s just taking up space but not really adding any flair to the home or benefiting the family, makes sense. Typically, the items from our homes that … [Read more...]
5 Habits Your Marriage Can Do Without in the New Year
I love the start of a new year. It’s a refreshing opportunity to make changes in my life and explore new and exciting ways of living. And I am not talking about making those lousy New Year’s resolutions that so one keeps. I am talking about leaving bad habits in the past and entering the New Year with an attitude of expectancy—attracting only goodness to your life. Marriage … [Read more...]
How to Apologize to Your Spouse
Why is offering an apology so difficult? Most people take it and turn it into something ugly. An apology, to some, means our spouse now has something to use against us. We somehow feel it gives our partner the power in the relationship. What we think they’ll do with the power is still unknown. This, of course, explains why people are so stingy with apologies. In reality, … [Read more...]
3 Personal Beliefs that Could Be Harming Your Marriage
Did you know your personal values, ideals and goals significantly contribute to the behaviors you display in your relationship? Unfortunately not all of them are suitable for a marriage. We aren’t usually intentional or even mindful of the language, emotions and actions we use daily or where they originate. As one would assume, who we are, as an adult. is the aftereffect of how … [Read more...]
7 Questions to Answer Before You Celebrate Your Next Wedding Anniversary
This August my husband and I will celebrate 16 years of marriage. We’ve experienced ups and downs, similar to most other couples. But despite the challenges, our marriage is stronger than it has ever been. This is in part to a few things. Individually we’re improving. We’ve matured as a couple. The things we thought were such a big deal in the beginning aren’t worth … [Read more...]
How to Position Your Marriage for Long-Term Success
Investopedia defines SWOT Analysis as: "A tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. Specifically, SWOT is a basic, straightforward model that assesses what an organization can and cannot do as well as its potential opportunities and threats. The method of SWOT analysis is to take the information from an environmental analysis … [Read more...]