For a lot of couples, 2020 was a particularly hard year for their marriage. But when Charlie McClendon received calls from distressed couples who had already taken a Dynamic Marriage course, he knew just what to do. “I told them to go home and get out their Dynamic Marriage books and go back through the material,” Charlie said. “And when …
Keep Love Alive in your Marriage: Four Habits to Consider
Want to keep love alive in your marriage over the long haul? Develop behaviors and habits that feed your love one day at a time. Healthy marriage habits prevent feelings of loneliness and disconnection and help you grow a strong, resilient relationship that can survive the decades. This could be a much longer list, but here are four habits to …
From Separation to Sharing the Love: A Dynamic Marriage Journey
Every Dynamic Marriage journey has a “before” story. For *Greg and Kate Watts, the story began when they met in 1976. According to them, it was love at first sight. We enjoyed being together and spending hours in great conversation. We shared the same sense of humor. Our interests were similar. We enjoyed going to church together and our personalities …
Walking Together for a Better Marriage
Question: What one activity can improve your physical health, enhance your mental well-being, elevate your mood, and increase communication with your spouse? Answer: Walking together. Most everyone knows that walking is a great form of exercise. Experts agree that walking improves general fitness, including cardiac health. Walking in combination with a healthy diet can help prevent weight gain. It creates …
The Joys of Marriage Maintenance
If you are a home owner, you know about maintenance. Unless your house is newly constructed, and sometimes even if it is, something always needs repair. Or a little touch of paint. Or a battery in the smoke detector. Or….whatever. And spring cleaning is a thing becauses houses get dirty. Once a year or so they need a good going-over …
Real Love: What It Is—What It’s Not
Got any special plans for Valentine’s Day this year? In this season, we often feel obligated to demonstrate feelings of love by purchasing things like candy and flowers, or even more expensive gifts. And while there’s certainly nothing wrong with giving and receiving gifts, there’s a lot more to real love than hearts and flowers. Love is powerful. It is …
Make a Good Marriage Better: Ideas for the New Year
Now that Santa is in the rearview, we get down to the business of making that list and checking it twice. “What list?” you may be asking. The list you are composing–mentally, electronically, or on paper–of your top priorities for this new year. So what’s on your list? You might want to include one (or more) of these ideas to …
Improve your Connection this Christmas
Are you ready for Christmas? Gifts bought? Wrapping done? Packages in the mail? It may seem like this extraordinary year has dragged on and on, and yet in other ways it has flown by. And now Christmas is almost here again. This season is all about connection. Because God connected with us in human form when he sent Jesus. And …
Multiply Your Healthy Marriage Legacy
A legacy is something passed from one generation to the next. Often, we think of legacy in financial terms. But legacy is about more than just money. Over the past 25 years, generations of couples have participated in marriage courses and workshops offered through Marriage Dynamics Institute. And as lives and relationships change—as couples find joy, meaning and purpose …
Marriage Counseling or Marriage Intensive?
When your marriage isn’t going well, should you look for marriage counseling? Or is it better to find a good marriage intensive, like a weekend marriage retreat? According to one veteran marriage therapist, both approaches serve useful purposes. But a marriage intensive can help speed up the counseling process. I tell my clients a marriage intensive will often allow them …