Getting Reel About Marriage
Watch a movie, save a marriage? Maybe. According to the results of a recent study from the University of Rochester, watching and discussing movies about relationships with your spouse is as effective in lowering divorce rates as more intensive marriage counseling programs. While the study was done with couples married 1-3 years – one of...
5 More Ways to Get His Ex to Hate You
Being a stepparent can be a complicated, challenging, and sometimes daunting relationship to navigate. And many of you are doing incredible jobs – prioritizing the children and providing good support for both your spouse and your spouse’s ex in the parenting department. Others out there? Not so much. When I posted How to Get His...
10 Bathroom Habits That Can Harm Your Marriage
Do we live in Michigan or Rhode Island? Will we home school or send our kids to public or private school? Will we buy a house or rent a condo? Those are all big issues in marriage that could spark heated discussion if spouses have differing opinions. But when a decision is made, there’s a...
Is Snooping on Your Spouse OK?
Some will automatically respond: “Absolutely not – that is an invasion of privacy that marriage doesn’t overcome.” Others, just as quickly, will answer; “Of course it’s okay – there shouldn’t be secrets between spouses.” I think the answer is a firm: “Hmmm – it depends.” Being married does not entitle us to know every thought,...
20 Things You Should Not Say to Your Spouse (part 2)
We covered the things husbands should not say to wives on Wednesday, but I sure don’t want to leave the wives out! 10 Things Wives Should Not Say to Their Husbands 1. You’re not doing it right. Translation: you’re not doing it the way I do it. This is a fast-track to getting a personal...
20 Things You Should Not Say to Your Spouse (Part 1)
Words are powerful tools that can be used to lift our mates up and celebrate our unions. They can also be vicious weapons more cutting than the sharpest saber. Used thoughtlessly they can create unintended conflict. To help avoid some of that conflict, I’ve put together a collection of statements that should not be uttered...
Anti-Grumbling Marriage
Life’s little irritations can make or break us. How we choose to deal with them affects our mates and marriages. It determines our level of contentedness. Years ago people dressed their salads with oil and vinegar and homemade dressings. Homemakers were delighted when ready-made dressings became available in stores and were awed to...
Marital Spats – Why it’s Crucial that YOU get the Last Word!
It is crucial to have the last word in a marital tiff. It’s control. It’s power. We all know that the one who speaks last wins. The following conversation really took place. I have removed the real names of the speakers. Not to protect anybody – I just didn’t have the time...
When to Dump the Date – 6 Red Flags
You don’t have to make every relationship work. The whole point of dating is to get to know someone. Whether you’re looking for current companionship or an eventual long-term commitment, dating is an evaluation period. So evaluate. If an aspect of the relationship makes you uncomfortable, don’t be quick to dismiss it because you’re in...
Take the BAT out of the BATTLE
The divorce is on. Not what you had planned when you said “I do” way back when. The hostility has grown to the point of avoiding even being in the same room together, let alone actually speaking to each other. Every communication takes multiple steps as it is relayed and translated through attorneys. Costs are...