Nuggets

Money Troubles…Troubled Marriages Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without? Well now, let’s get down to the business of dealing with financial management differences that crop up in marriages all the time. I grew up in a home where the mantra was Use it up, Wear it out, Make it […]

LORD Jesus, I get it…I am not supposed to worry about tomorrow! You divided time into days and nights so that I have manageable portions of life to handle. When I get wrapped around the axle of what tomorrow may bring, keep on reminding me: Your grace is sufficient for me, but its sufficiency is for only

Funny thing about ‘normal’ and ‘natural’…it never delivers what it advertises. We all start out as little children wanting what we want when we want it. Early on, when you didn’t get what you wanted you threw what my Mom always called a ‘hissy fit’. So whatever you felt determined how you acted. I remember

For a married couple to expect perfection in each other is unrealistic.–Billy Graham It is generally known, that he who expects much will be often disappointed; yet disappointment seldom cures us of expectation, or has any effect other than that of producing a moral sentence or peevish exclamation.–Samuel Johnson Emerson Eggerichs, author of a great

This is not a season of feeling, but a decision that we are in this together, one of us has to die to get out of here and I am committed by choice to make this the best relationship it can for us both. Committed to becoming as gentle as lambs and as compassionate as

There must be some new skills I don’t have…After taking my fearless assessment of what I need to do to BE a better relationship/marriage partner, where can I get get the skills I don’t have? Here is how it begins: · Learn to listen and communicate effectively · Committing to using “I” messages with each

The AWARENESS Stage of Relationships So, what went wrong…it seemed so right in the beginning. How could I have missed it so badly? How about this, maybe your failed relationship was not about HER of HIM, maybe it is YOU who can’t get it right yet. Please do not be afraid to fearlessly examine this

Every couple, every where, all the time…here’s a news flash for you. The sappy romantic stage of relationships ALWAYS wears off. We call this the Power Struggle Stage. This is where the NEW begins to wear off. Some of the polish I FELL in love with starts to tarnish. Manners get sloppy. Many of the

It’s been awhile since we looked at how relationships develop in this country. It’s time to do a reprise. In the USA culture, the attraction mechanism usually begins with the viseral elements of attraction. I call them the 5 ‘goods’. Does He/She…Look good…Feel good…Sound good…Taste good…Smell good? Well, then, this must be THE ONE for

I have never known a new relationship where both parties were like calves looking at a new gate. (I’m not even sure I know what that means, but most new couples and newly weds either have similar agreements or…and I’m certain about this:) Each party has pretty good idea of how the relationship is going