If your family was anything like mine, you recognize the significance of having frequent family date nights. Does this sound familiar: kids are in one room busy either watching TV or surfing the web (only on weekends of course) and parents in a separate room doing the same thing? Well, that was my household. My business has always been stressing to couples the need of … [Read more...]
Having Problems? Give Your Marriage A S.E.C (Sex, Excitement and Communication)
By Charli Penn-Watkins (manwifeanddog.com) Every Wednesday night I participate in the best free counseling on the planet "“ better known as Black and Married With Kids' Marriage Chat Twitter party (#marriagechat). Last night's topic was improving your marriage "“ one of my favorites. My husband and I are always up for learning how to love each other better and stay committed … [Read more...]
Want To Spice Up Your Marriage? Stop And Watch Back II The Future
Last night, after the kids went to sleep, I closed the sliding glass door to our basement office to begin blogging away, as I do every night. In the next room I could see my husband engrossed in one of my all-time favorite movies and one of the movies we love to watch together: Back II The Future. It was Part III this time, but I'll take them all. As I overheard snippets of … [Read more...]
Give Each Other The Present
A couple weeks back while on my way to a gala fundraiser I received a text from my wife. She apologized for not being able to attend with me. It wasn't her fault. We were double-booked that night. I was a little disappointed because it would've been an opportunity for us to rub elbows as grown folks do"”something we haven't really been able to do much since moving to our new … [Read more...]
How Often Do Your Kids Get Your Full Attention?
In case you didn't know, I work from home. Most days, I'm typing and editing with a clingy three-year-old attached to my side. The stop-start nature of the work, coupled with intimidating deadlines ("Oh, yes, I can edit a 200 page book in a week"), makes it for a difficult ride. Some days, I'm able to handle it better than others. And then there are the days like … [Read more...]
It Comes with the Territory: 10 Things All Couples Should Know and Accept About Marriage
Are you one of those people who after getting married realized there were certain things you wish you had known before saying "I do"? In fact I often hear these conversations in my circle of married friends. I feel like my relationship could've done without a lot of the early drama we had in the beginning, if only I had known certain things. I think part of being a grown up … [Read more...]
Sometimes A Man Just Needs To Hear…
After a long day by both of us, my husband and I collapsed into the bed, exhausted. It was almost midnight, and I know my husband was tired from doing the whole dinner-bath-bedtime routine that he takes over when I have class at night. My head was throbbing from being too tired and not getting enough sleep the night before. He had just gotten into the bed and was already … [Read more...]
Don’t Get Lazy With Marriage
As I may have mentioned before, I assist adults who are looking to transition back into the workforce. Often in that role I find myself offering the same piece of advice in regards to the participant's job search: "Don't get lazy with it." They immediately connect to what I mean and recognize the amount of time, energy and effort needed in order to yield effective results. … [Read more...]
Building A Bridge To Your Spouse’s Heart
This weekend I picked up a new parenting book, Raising Motivated Kids by Cheri Fuller, on the Kindle Bestsellers list of free books. (Oh yes, I am a "free is me" kind of guy. I have only read the first chapter which is about the quality of relationship bridges we build with our children. In that first chapter, she talked about the importance of building bridges to … [Read more...]
The Benefits Of Being With Other Couples
Last week I had the extreme pleasure of creating and facilitating the first event of the marriage ministry at my church. After much prayer and planning I decided a couple's picnic would be fitting. It's summertime, so what's better than grabbing your blanket, picnic basket and each other and spending a day of fun together? I opened the event by having the couples each … [Read more...]
What Your Bedroom Says About Your Marriage
We spend a huge amount of time in our bedrooms. When you think about it, the bedroom should be one of the most important rooms in the house. We sleep in there, get dressed, primp, enjoy other activities (ahem). But I realized I definitely don't treat our bedroom like the sanctuary it's supposed to be. I frequently bring the laptop into bed with me (bad Tara - just bad!) and … [Read more...]
How Much Time Are You Giving Your Marriage?
by Tara Pringle Jefferson Somehow, when I first got married, I mistakenly thought that since we lived together, we get more than enough quality time without even trying. However, as I'm sure you have figured out, that isn't always the case. It can be hard to simply find time for each other. Even though we live in the same house and see each other every single day, there … [Read more...]