Marriages over time My husband and I were married four years when I first felt it. I woke up, looked at him, and thought, “this is as good as it gets?” Don’t get me wrong, our marriage was fine. But I wanted more than fine. I wanted dazzling. and exciting. …

Your Marriage Needs a Retreat Now Read more »

“Please do your chores” “Evin, please clean your bathroom today.” This is a phrase I’ve uttered countless times…generally every Saturday. I also said it to our first child but he rarely did this chore. The bathroom was nasty and I’d get so frustrated that I would just do it myself. …

One Simple Shift To Get Your Kids To Do Those Chores Read more »

Noise Researchers know that noise can be a frequent source of miscommunications in our relationships. Today’s video explains what counts as noise, how to recognize a problem, and how to tackle it so you can improve your relationships. Enjoy! Andrea PS If you find this video helpful, please share this …

Noise may be causing miscommunication In Your Life Read more »

A typical after school day My son got in the car after a long day in school. He’s a freshman at a public high school for the first time. His elementary and middle school was a small, private school. Now he’s swimming with the big fish. Big fish who hurt …

Silence: A successful Parenting Strategy Read more »

Difficult conversations It’s easy to fall into the trap of fighting or arguing with someone when we are having a difficult conversation. It may not be so easy to remember prayer before difficult conversations. It’s natural for us to defend our opinions and defend the things we love. Sometimes when …

Everything You Need to Know about prayer for difficult conversations Read more »

Remember? Just a few years ago you married the love of your life. Everything was perfect. You couldn’t be happier with the union you two created, and the commitment you both made to one another. But now, only a few short years later, something has happened. It’s hard to describe …

5 Simple Steps to Strengthen Your Marriage Right Now Read more »

Importance of Nonverbal Communication Most nonverbal communication happens without us even realizing it. Recently I was on a zoom Bible study. I was multitasking: my phone was propped on the spoon rest; headset in my ears – while I cooked dinner, monitored my son’s time in the shower, fed the …

3 Proven Ways to Improve Nonverbal Communication in your marriage Read more »

The After School Slump When my son gets in the car, he’s generally pretty quiet. He’s 14 and he’s never been super chatty as soon as he leaves school. I always ask a general, throw-away question like, “How was your day?” He always says something along the lines of, “it …

How to ask the right questions with kids Read more »

Let’s start the discussion by ensuring we are all on the same page about encouragement. We’ve talked some already about how to encourage our children’s self concept, encouraging their decision making, and encouraging our spouse. Encouragement is also called social support in the communication world. We are letting someone know …

Two Types of General Encouragement & how to use them Read more »