Family by God&#039;s Design

For a Lifelong Love, Learn the 2 R’s

As children, we went to school to learn the “3 R’s”—reading, writing, and arithmetic. (It always bothered me that the “3 R’s” didn’t all begin with R and yet we used the “3 R’s” to describe our education. Seems ironic…but that’s another story.) Well, if you want a healthy marriage, a lifelong love, you need...

Grace Honor

connection intimacy marriage repair responsiveness

August 1, 2026

Teach an Old Dog New Tricks? You Bet!!

I’ve heard it said that “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” However, this research begs to differ…at least when it comes to elderly humans like me. In this study, participants between 60 and 80 years of age exhibited as much growth as participants in their twenties after an 8-week intervention focused on stress...

Grace Honor

emotional development emotional health emotional management maturity

July 11, 2026

Don’t Take 10, Take 90…Seconds, That Is

It’s bound to happen today. Your spouse, your parent, or your children will do or say something that triggers your anger, your anxiety, your frustration, or your fear. A physiological surge of neurochemicals will cascade through your body, triggering the physical sensations of emotion —a racing heart, tense muscles, tight jaws, breathing changes. This surge...

Grace Honor

arguments communication disagreement emotional management

July 6, 2026

Aim to Know…Not Win

We live in a very competitive world. When I played youth sports as a child, we enjoyed winning. But the focus of the game was threefold: to learn sportsmanship, to learn the basics of the games, and to have fun. We learned to socialize. We learned to win graciously and lose with dignity. We made...

Grace Honor

argument communication disagreement learning listen

July 5, 2026

The Foundational Building Blocks of Family

What makes for a happy, healthy marriage and family? Some would say communication skills. I agree, but I think communication skills flow from more foundational building blocks. Others might say secure finances or commitment make for a happy, healthy family. Both are important however, I think a truly happy, healthy marriage and family flow from...

Celebration Grace Honor

family family intimacy family relationship intimacy marital satisfaction marriage parent child relationship relationship

June 27, 2026

Listen, Breathe, Summarize

Disagreements. They are inevitable in marriages and families. Arguments. Happen all the time in marriages and families. But they escalate when we get louder and more animated, talking over one another in our efforts to be heard and understood. Unfortunately, loud and animated does not result in being heard or understood. It results in escalating...

Grace Honor

arguments communication conflict resolution disagreement listen

June 22, 2026

On the Rise…Let’s Keep It Growing

Whether you follow the news on your social media feed, your TV, or your favorite app, you might get the feeling that kindness is going extinct, waning away. But I have good news…and a simple way you can keep the good news of kindness growing in your family. First, the good news. Kindness is on...

Grace Honor

gratitude kindness

June 20, 2026

Batman…and Kindness?

I love experiments that involve superheroes. This one involved observing the passengers on a Milan subway in two different scenarios. The first scenario did not include a superhero. Instead, it involved an apparently pregnant woman. She boarded subway train with an observer who assessed the passengers’ willingness to offer their seat to the pregnant woman...