Family by God&#039;s Design

“I Love You” Getting Stale? Try These

If you feel like “I love you” is getting stale, try a couple of other phrases to express your love. Here are a dozen ideas from which you can choose. You are important to me. I’ll make sacrifices for you. I’ll give that up for you. I forgive you. I need you. I think about...

Celebration Honor

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May 16, 2016

A 30-Day Marriage Challenge

Marriage Missions posted a blog describing a wonderful way to build intimacy with your spouse. In it they described the “22-minute date.” Couples agreed to spend 22-minutes each day talking with one another. In other words, they gave up one sitcom so they could sit down and talk with one another. They agreed to do...

Celebration Grace

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May 2, 2016

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7 Ways Gratitude Benefits Your Family According to Research

According to research, practicing gratitude can benefits your marriage and family in numerous ways. Let me share 7 of the benefits I think all families need to know. Gratitude “vaccinates” against impulsiveness and poor self-control. Of course, this is not a one-time vaccine. We need to practice “gratitude boosters” on a daily basis to get...

Celebration Honor

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April 16, 2016

The Countercultural Message of Marriage

I wonder what Jesus would say about marriage? Of course He did talk about marriage some. But, imagine if He had thrown a “section on marriage” into the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard it said,” Jesus might begin, “That marriage will complete you and make you whole. But I say to you that...

Grace Honor

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April 2, 2016

Healthy Family? Never Saw One

Struggling couples often arrive at my office caught up in a cycle of defensiveness, criticism, shame, hurt, and anger. After some information gathering, I might ask the couple who they know with a marriage they want to emulate. Too many (way too many) say they have never seen a good marriage. They name couples they...

Honor

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March 28, 2016

Marital Advice from “Captain Obvious”

It may seem obvious, but simply understanding your partner’s needs, desires, and struggles does not build intimacy. To build intimacy requires you understand AND care! A compassionate response flows from caring and must accompany understanding to build a healthy marriage. Rhett Butler’s statement to Scarlet O’Hara, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” marked...

Grace Honor

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March 12, 2016

The Killer Wall in Your Marriage

Defensiveness can kill a marriage. Think about it. One spouse, feeling attacked by the other, begins to defend himself and his actions. He builds a wall of defense between him and his spouse rather than around him and his spouse. He thinks of protecting himself, not his marriage. By establishing a wall of protection between...

Grace Honor

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March 5, 2016

For a Healthy Marriage Complain

Let’s face it. No matter how much you love your spouse, he will drive you crazy. At other times, she will do things that frustrate you. Somehow these moments need to be addressed in order to maintain a healthy marriage. If not addressed, these frustrations will erode your marriage. People in healthy marriages address these...

Grace Honor

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February 29, 2016

Laughter is Good Medicine…& A Great Date Night

Sarah Algoe, assistant professor of social psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill, believes “little things” like gratitude and laughter “help relationships flourish.” I agree, but she went so far as to test this belief. She and a graduate student asked 77 couples to describe how they first met. They watched and listened as the couple answered. After...