Dear T, This is undoubtedly one of the hardest pieces I've ever written. Here I am, pen in hand, scribing a letter to you. Longing to see your eyes fill with tears receiving the gifts our daughter so thoughtfully made for you. She's grown so much. I vividly remember the day she was born. Thursday, January 27, 2011 is the first and only time I recall viewing life through … [Read more...]
The Hidden Cost of Holding Grudges
Grudges. They are so easy to pick up and so hard to let go. The cause of grudges can range from the minor offense of ‘not speaking’ to the greater abuses that plagues many of our communities. But the results of long-term unforgiveness (holding grudges) are the same—the upheaval of our physical and emotional health. Science Says … [Read more...]
3 Major Reasons to Forgive Your Spouse (No Matter What)
Should you always forgive your spouse? I think you should. Even if something awful happened—infidelity, a serious betrayal or a hurtful mistake—you should forgive. Crazy idea? Maybe. But it’s the best idea. Is it easy to do? Not by a long shot. Forgiveness is rarely easy. It may be one of the toughest things you ever have to do during your marriage. You see, when we get … [Read more...]
3 Must-Read Strategies on How to Love a Difficult Parent
Many of us married and single folks have issues that stem from our parents. Whether we’ve felt abandoned by parents, emotionally or physically abused by parents or overly coddled by parents, things that happened when we were 10 years old can still plague our relationships with our parents today. Even now as adults, some of those parents are just difficult to deal with still. … [Read more...]
9 Small Actions Causing Big Problems in Your Marriage
Do you want to help your marriage or hurt it? I’m sure you want to help it. I would hope that’s what any levelheaded person wants for their marriage. Even if you aren’t happy and you feel like your marriage is in trouble, you probably want to do whatever you can to help it—not hurt it. But sometimes, and even with the best intentions, we end up damaging our relationship with … [Read more...]
Being Mary Jane’s Ugly Truth Episode Challenges Us to Stop Lying About Relationships
When we meet, date and even marry, we really don’t know everything about the person next to us. We are often oblivious to the challenges they’ve faced, the hardships they’ve overcome and the difficulties they endure on a daily basis. If we were honest, we frequently ignore the outward signs of their inward pain and shame and move on with our day. Last night’s episode of … [Read more...]
How to Keep Those Negative Memories from Torturing You After Infidelity in Your Relationship
Sometimes all it takes is a familiar fragrance in the air to arouse your nose, or a random song playing on the radio, to trigger a memory. You smile as you hear “Anniversary” by Tony! Toni! Tone! (Yep that is still a jam) and feel refreshed—unless... it happens to be the perfume worn by your spouse’s side piece, or the song that was playing when you found out about the … [Read more...]
How to Overcome 6 Barriers to Forgiveness After Infidelity Threatens Your Marriage
Have you been unable to forgive your spouse for being unfaithful? Even after he or she has proven absolute re-commitment to you, you know within your heart you have been unable to forgive. Something is preventing you from forgiving. It can be one or a combination of barriers that need to be identified immediately in an effort to heal and forgive. According to our society … [Read more...]
6 Soul Cleansing Ways to Truly Let Past Hurt Become Water Under the Bridge
Let’s just make this clear as we get started – When you hurt, you hurt. It doesn’t matter if anyone else thinks your hurt is valid. You know what you feel. So how do you truly let past hurts become water under the bridge? In other words, how do you let it go to the point that it no longer affects your life in a negative way? Related: Read these 6 helpful ways to overcome … [Read more...]
3 Powerhouse Secrets to Surviving Infidelity
By: Da-Nay Macklin We live in a world of way too may secrets. You know what I mean…learn the 3 secrets to blah blah blah, discover the 5 secrets to blah blah blah, perform these 3 secrets to blah blah blah. However, your partner keeping their infidelity a secret is no small matter. Surviving that kind of betrayal is a tall order requiring us to dig way down deep. So, are … [Read more...]
He Cheated While We Were Dating. Will He Cheat When We Get Married?
Dear Dr. Buckingham, I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just go for it. I'm somewhat currently engaged to whom I thought was the man of my dreams. On March 25, 2015, he released information he'd been holding in for quite some time. He'd slept with over six different women in the three-year timeframe of our relationship. And he slept with 1 of the 6 actually on numerous … [Read more...]
How to Show Your Husband You Respect Him (Using Only Two Words)
It’s so easy to take one another for granted in marriage. The two most effective words to prevent that from happening are: Thank You. Expressing your gratitude for the things your husband does that may feel routine or minute, is such a simple way to show how much you respect him. The word respect is defined as a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by … [Read more...]
The Ugly Truth About Failing to Forgive
In recent years I have uncovered a great deal about who I am. Some of these discoveries came to light after getting married, while some reared their heads when I became a mom and when my own mom got sick. Life experiences, both good and bad, have a way of showing us who we really are—whether we like it or not. In managing the day-to-day struggles life offers us all, I have … [Read more...]
4 Keys to Forgiving Repeat Offenders and Getting the Love You Deserve in 2015
Recently there has been a lot written about the power of forgiveness. However, little has been written on forgiving offenses that often change the course of one’s life. So what do you do when the person continues the offense or refuses to apologize for past wrongs that they have done? Their past or current actions may include: children who were sexually or emotional abused, … [Read more...]
5 Secrets for a No Drama Holiday
The holidays are fast approaching and most of us will head out to see family and friends that we haven’t seen all year. The holidays should be a happy time of year, but for many of us, we will meet the family gatherings with some trepidation. You know what I mean? Old family issues will inherently pop-up and drama will come seeping out. But let’s make this holiday drama free … [Read more...]