It’s a tough time Summer can be an extra tough time for balancing work, family, and faith. Between the kids being off from school, nice weather, possible vacations, and new schedules summer is it’s own unique challenge. While some employers are more understanding during the summer months, that’s not true …
Balancing Work, Family, & Faith During the Summer Months Read more »
Planning Summer Fun At the end of each school year, I ask my sons what they want to do for the summer. I ask them (separately) what they really want to do with their time off from school. Learn more about that planning process here. Their list generally includes a …
Summer Fun & How to End Empty Promises Through Planning Read more »
What makes a truly happy marriage? Is it lots of money? Vacations? Cute wardrobe? Perfect kids? Lots of sex? A happy marriage may have all of these things, but it may not. Lots of people with little money have a happy marriage. And some families NEVER get a vacation and …
The Key Ingredients: What Makes a Truly Happy Marriage? Read more »
Spenders & Savers I’m a saver and my husband is a spender. He still pays off debt and pays the bills, but he enjoys spending money, whereas I enjoy watching it grow in the bank. As I’m sure you can imagine, this difference has caused conflict over the years. We’ve …
Navigating Conflict: Strategies for Effective Communication in Marriage Read more »
Building a Strong Foundation: Communication in Newlywed Marriages When I was a newlywed, I thought our communication would always be great – like it was when we were dating. I thought it would all be hearts and flowers and he would listen like the man of my dreams that he …
The power of a story My husband loves to tell the story of when he first came to visit me at my house when we started dating. At the time I was living with my parents at home. I told him to “make a left at the (local) church, come …
Disenchanted When we get married we are filled with joyful anticipation. We imagine this ideal life with the person we just pledged to love forever. Maybe your “happily ever after” means you do things together, or he helps out around the house. Perhaps your dream involves each of you doing …
What to do when marriage isn’t what you thought it would be Read more »
You Need a Proofreader! Have you ever written a paper or document for work and just wished you had someone to polish it up a bit? Someone who could perform editing for grammar, usage, and punctuation? I mean, who really remembers all those rules from English class all those years …
Wise Advice I remember several years ago my sister was talking with me about “lasts.” She commented that when our kids are little, we celebrate every first – first giggle, first tooth, first steps – you get the idea. And on and on. Even through college. But we rarely take …
Listening Examples Which of the following demonstrates listening? Scenario 1: I tell my husband about something that happened at work. He is on his phone, watching YouTube videos. He doesn’t say anything while I talk. I assume he’s not really listening. Yet when I’m done he asks good questions that …