An old adage says, “Hurt people, hurt people.” It is well known that those who have been emotionally damaged tend to inflict their hurt and pain on others, particularly family and friends. This often accounts for the conflict that many couples experience. One or both bring emotional baggage from the past into the relationship, which [...]
“Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that [...]
When you’re having a disagreement with your spouse, you have two choices: You can respond or react. Reacting is a reflexive, defense mechanism that kicks in to protect our ego. We react because we sense that we are being misunderstood, dissed, criticized, corrected, or attacked. Reactions are typically impulsive (i.e., “shoot from the hip”) and [...]
It has been called by a variety of terms, such as "living together", "shacking up", "cohabitation,” "serial monogamy,” and "living in sin." By definition, cohabitation occurs when two unmarried people of the opposite sex live together before marriage. It is a halfway house, of sorts, for people who do not want the degree of personal [...]
Marital success or failure can now be predicted before the wedding day with 81 percent accuracy. The following is a seven-point checklist for preventing faulty mate selection. The decision to get married is made too quickly. It is a fact that choosing a mate for life is much more complex than the movies make it out to [...]
It’s getting harder by the day distinguishing Christians for non-Christians. This is particularly true in the area of divorce. Statistically, our failure rate for marriage is not significantly different from those outside of the faith. As a Christian counselor, nothing disturbs me more than to see a couple deliberately throw in the towel with little or no attempt [...]
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” I Pet. 3:7 (ESV) It's been a bad day; a really bad day. So, what do you [...]
How many times have you thought you were communicating clearly, only to discover that your words were taken in a way you never could have imagined—and likely, more negatively? Here are 5 explanations as to why communication that, however carefully delivered, might be quite different from what your mate actually heard: The other person is angry [...]
Key Thought The process of becoming one depends heavily on a couple’s ability to communicate effectively with one another. It is the lifeblood of a healthy and growing relationship. Without it, a marriage will weaken and die. What is effective communication? The process of listening and talking with one another in order to truly know [...]
Key Thought: Oneness grows only through the consistent practice of marital love by both spouses. Introduction: The ability to speak the same language is critically important for people (i.e. person to person, groups, nations, etc.) understanding and working together cooperatively (see Genesis 11:6—Tower of Babel). Principle: The development of oneness between a couple is greatly [...]
