Every marriage has nagging problems calling for our attention. Some of us may come to the conclusion that our difficulties are because we married the wrong person. Those who decide to divorce and marry someone else soon find that the same issues keep popping up no matter who they are with. We seem to have the same chronic irritations [...]
When you hear the word "cherish", what do you think of? I think of the 1966 song "Cherish" by the band The Association. Yeah, I'm THAT old. The song starts out with these lyrics... Cherish is the word I use to describe All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside When I hear the word cherish—almost [...]
As Valentine's Day approaches once again, you can almost smell the panic in many husbands and boyfriends knowing that their wives or girlfriends are wanting—and in many cases—perhaps even expecting something special to happen that day. I have a certain disdain for these “Hallmark” holidays contrived to sell more greeting cards, chocolates, and flowers than you can imagine. They [...]
"I just didn't think it would be like this, " Mary said. She looked completely exhausted and defeated. Sam just looked angry. He didn't want to be with me talking about his marriage to Mary. In fact, if the truth be told, he didn't want to be married to Mary. He'd had i! "Fifteen years—fifteen years!—and this is what [...]
Here we go again. It's that time of the year when many of us reflect on the past year—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and resolve to do better this year. Maybe you had a great year that exceeded your expectations. This is a great time to give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed on you. But, [...]
Recently, my wife Sharon and I pulled out all the Christmas stuff to start transforming the decor of our home from Fall to Christmas. Turkeys were replaced by jolly Santas, and Fall leaves gave way to evergreens and the scent of pine. A big part of our yearly Christmas tradition has been going to cut down our Christmas tree [...]
Sometimes marriage can be hard. Sometimes marriage can be painful. Sometimes that pain and hardship can lead you to entertain thoughts of escape—to distance yourself from your spouse (physically, mentally, and/or emotionally) and the hard work necessary to maintain a marriage of love, unity, and understanding. When I'm in this place, it's a red flag for me to [...]
This month we conclude our examination of Paul David Tripp's book, "What did you Expect?" by finishing Commitment 6: We will work to protect our marriage. So, what is it that produces a marriage of unity, understanding, and love? This kind of marriage is the result of a lifelong commitment to daily marital work and deep trust in God's [...]
This month we continue looking at Commitment 6: We will work to protect our marriage. If it is true that all the horizontal skirmishes a husband and wife have are rooted in a deeper war for the heart, and if it is true that a marriage must be fixed vertically before it is ever fixed horizontally, then the place where [...]
This month we begin looking at Commitment 6: We will work to protect our marriage. Many of us have known couples who after 25 years of marriage, or more, decide to call it quits. We think "if they made it that long, why call it quits now?" How does that happen? For many, at some point in their relationship, they [...]
