Wounds in a marriage, big or small, can be difficult to deal with and every husband and wife can either choose to cover festering wounds in their relationship and prevent healing or they choose to expose those wounds and promote healing. Here are several reasons why a spouse might hide the hurtful wounds. The first is pride. It would be too embarrassing if others knew what really happened. The second is shame....

No one can imagine the devastation caused by a cheating spouse except one who has experienced it. Anger, sadness, confusion, embarrassment, betrayal, and rejection may be just some of the emotions that flood one’s mind and heart. And while there is no one answer for dealing with a cheating spouse, here are some steps you can take. First, don’t make any quick decisions on what you’re going to do even though you may...

Thunderstorms here in Florida come and go…often very quickly.  But what about the storms in our lives…the ones that don’t disappear so easily?  Anxiety can be one of those storms, and it’s more common than we think.  Anxiety affects 40 million adults in America…about 18% of our population.  Recently, some of my friends shared with me their battles with anxiety.  So what can you do if you experience anxiety? ...

So you’re very unhappy in your marriage. You’re trying hard to make it work, but your spouse is making no effort to make things better. The question creeps into your mind, “Should I stay or should I go?” Well, before you make a life-altering decision, here are some things you need to consider. First, have you identified the real issue? Sort through the haze of conflict in your marriage and try to pinpoint the...

Most of us want to be in control of things. We want to control people. We want to control circumstances. Basically, we want to control our entire lives. But we all know that we rarely get to decide how life goes. Author Matt Mooney wrote about a time in his life when he realized that self-sufficiency was an impossible goal. Becoming a father for the first time revealed to Matt just how out of control he really is....

My wife, Susan and I have been so happy to see friends who have had long-lasting marriages but have been saddened as well by marriages that seemed great but came to a shocking end. In a marriage failure, there are usually one or more marriage killers that are constantly present. For example, one marriage killer is comparison. One spouse might often say things like, “Why can’t you be more like her?” Or, “Why can’t...

You need to be accepted by your spouse, warts and all, just as you are. But not every change your spouse desires is an attack on you or your personality. So, instead of just ignoring them or bowing up to them, start by asking…  “On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being really, really important to you, how important is it to you that I change this action or behavior?” Then, focus on those 8’s, 9’s and 10’s…and put the...