Balancing marriage and parenting is not for the faint of heart. For most of us, bringing home our first child introduces a whole new kind of love into our lives. Holding that newborn baby for the first time, we know we’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe and warm and happy. Yet we soon discover that bringing that little …
A happily married friend recently shared that when her kids were growing up, she asked her husband, “What in the world are we going to do together when they leave?” They began brainstorming for activities they could do together. He loved to go fishing; she had no interest. She loved seeing plays, but they bored him to tears. He enjoyed …
Defensiveness is a natural reaction. Everyone has heard a cat hiss or a dog growl when they sense a threat. Maybe you’ve even been the unfortunate victim of a skunk’s smelly defense mechanism. The Indonesian mimic octopus has quite an impressive defense system. This remarkable creature fools potential predators by impersonating other animals or objects. It can change its shape, …
Do you have trouble understanding what your spouse needs to feel loved? As soon as we were old enough to understand it, most of us were probably taught some version of “Do unto others as you’d have done to you.” The Golden Rule, as we call it, is a wise biblical principle to keep in mind as we deal with …
Where is spiritual growth on your to-do list? It’s no secret; you have a lot to do. You and everyone else in the world. There are so many demands on our time, in fact, that the time we have with our spouses is highly limited. Distractions don’t leave, either, just because you’re under the same roof with your spouse. Kids …
In the movie Forget Paris, the character Andy quips, “Marriages don’t work when one partner is happy and the other is miserable. Marriage is about both people being equally miserable.” Have you noticed how movies and TV shows tend to portray being married as one of two extremes—happily ever after and happily never after? But in real-life relationships, it falls …
What does family life have to do with ministry? But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5.8). How can I please God? It’s a question that we should all ask. It’s also important for a husband and wife …
Our bodies require maintenance to stay healthy. Gardens need maintenance to grow. Cars need maintenance to run well. A business needs maintenance to be successful. Why should it be any different for marriages? Many couples have premarital counseling before tying the knot, which is great. But you’d never expect four or five workouts at age 22 to keep a person …
Thoughts on oil changes and marriage… What do you make time for, even when life gets busy? Does routine car maintenance make the list? When there’s a lot going on, it can be more than a little inconvenient to get the oil changed in your vehicle (or to change it yourself, if you’re so inclined). But it’s one of those …
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones (Proverbs 12:4). A Wife of Noble Character Although the meaning has changed, apparently the idea of a trophy wife has been around for a long time. The author of Proverbs lays down a pretty stark comparison to show what he thought …
