Here are 3 ways to help your marriage feel less stressed. First, help more with the kids.  If you’re the kind who constantly delegates parenting responsibilities to your spouse, step up your game…whether that means helping your son with his science project, washing your daughter’s uniform before soccer practice tomorrow, or attending a parent/teacher conference.  Second, be your spouse’s teammate in parenting....

For some, calling it quits means living in the same home, but giving up on any hope of a healthy marriage.  For others, calling it quits means separation or, even divorce.  Before traveling down one of those roads, I’d like to remind you of 3 vital things.  First, remember your vows.  The day you and your spouse got married, you promised “to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse...”...

I’ve been hearing that question more and more lately.  People who’ve had affairs often say that they had some unfulfilled need that slowly began to be met by someone other than their spouse—a friend, co-worker, old flame, a neighbor.  From there, it was a slippery slope to a full-blown extramarital affair and a broken marriage.  So what can you do? Well, be aware of danger signs and take action.  The best way to...

When married couples are exposed to the heavy, pounding winds of life—sickness, losing a job, affairs, addictions—weaknesses in their relationship are exposed.  But struggles don’t always have to rip apart a marriage.  Here are 7 steps to survive a marriage crisis.  First, take turns being strong.  In the midst of a crisis, emotions are sure to run high.  Finding a way to tag-team allows one of you to be weak,...

  Once you got married, you thought you’d never feel lonely again. You had high hopes that your spouse would be the lifelong companion who saved you from loneliness.  But over time, you unintentionally disconnected from one another. Now that loneliness has crept in. How do you deal with it? Here are 3 ways to reconnect.  First, forgive past hurts.  This means knocking down the walls of bitterness between you and...

Before you say "I do," you need to make sure you know your potential mate well. You can probably learn a great deal about them just by noting how they live their life. But whether it's by observing or by discussing, you want to make sure you have a clear picture of their character, their lifestyle and their expectations. Here are some questions to get you started. The answers can help you determine in what areas...

The best time for marriage counseling is before you need it.  Marriage counseling teaches couples how to work through their differences, communicate better, and solve problems in the relationship.  So why don’t more people do it?  Well, many couples feel that their private life should be just that—private.  They feel there is a stigma associated with seeking counseling.  But there are times when a third party...