The Marital Spat – 7 Winning Strategies
Many marriage experts will tell you to ‘fight fair’ when arguing with your mate. But where’s the fun in that? How can you be the winner if you’re busy focusing on how your spouse is feeling or the long term effects? Here are 7 great strategies to help you be the winner of that marital...
Calling All Spouses: The 30-Day Gratitude Challenge Update
Those of you participating in the 30-Day Gratitude Challenge have either passed the half-way point or are very close to it, depending on when you started. (If you haven’t started yet, it’s not too late – there’s no bad time to get started!) We surpassed our goal of 100 people making a firm commitment to...
Calling All Spouses: The 30-Day Gratitude Challenge
Remember the ‘Gratitude Journal?’ It made it’s debut 10-15 years ago on a popular talk show. It was a simple concept: each day write down things you are grateful for. I didn’t buy the official Gratitude Journal and I don’t remember if there were official rules, but my take was to write down five things every day...
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,...
Behold Me Busy
We’re so busy we don’t have time for each other. Oh, we carve out moments here and there, but we must be quick because we have a slew of other matters waiting for our all-important attention. We quickly listen to each other, but we don’t hear. We lob information to the other that is never...
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...
5 Painless Ways to Save Money for Some Marital Bliss
Two major marital stressors are finances and spouses not spending enough meaningful time together. We keep getting advice to date our mates or take little getaways to reconnect and celebrate the relationship – but that costs money. And our money is already spoken for. But if we don’t find a way to finance a little...
Social Media and Marriage – the Good, the Bad, and Even Some Ugly
With internet and easy access to computers, we have a plethora of ways to communicate that didn’t exist prior – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and a bunch of other means that those of you with teenagers know the names of. Social media has brought together people who would not have otherwise met, reconnected people who...
5 Fun Ways to Surprise Your Mate
It’s so easy to take the one we love for granted. We go through our busy days doing what we usually do and expecting our mate to do what they usually do. One way to keep things fresh and let your mate know you appreciate them is to put a surprise in their day....