What Else?

There are two magic words when someone is sharing their heart, that encourage them to continue. They could be sharing their dreams or baring the big questions in their hearts, describing their fears or recounting past failures. What else? It encourages the talker to dare to dream bigger and ask more questions. It allows the... Continue Reading →

Don’t Stop

What do parents say when life gets hard with their children? "We are exhausted all of the time. I don't know how to do this well." "Is there a class we can take? Can you recommend a good book? Maybe she needs counseling." "I love him, I just don't like him right now." "It's a... Continue Reading →

Every Thing

John Gottman is a relationship expert who can predict, with great accuracy, if a married couple will stay together based on a 10 minute conversation with them. A lot of his research is about body language, and I have written about him before here: http://wp.me/p2n6WI-hN I love this quote because it's true, and if it... Continue Reading →

Be Little

So many parents encourage their children to grow up quickly, always seeming to be looking at the next step. We’ve all had those conversations where Mom is questioning if Junior will ever walk/talk/sleep/potty the way another child his age does. As parents we can get so caught up in where they are going, that we... Continue Reading →

A Sign

I knew things weren't great in our marriage; in a lot of ways we were just in survival mode - the kids were 4, 2 and 6 months and we were in shock as to how much time and energy they pulled out of us each day. My guy was in a sales role at... Continue Reading →

Do Better

It was my sophomore year in college, in Sociology 101, that attraction was explained to me in quantifiable terms I could understand. We were told that the secret to love is really nothing romantic, but very practical; people are drawn to those who possess something they want. Our professor explained that our friendships are based... Continue Reading →

Six Degrees of Separation

My friend went to Colorado last weekend for a men's retreat. It was one of those getaways where men come together around a John Eldredge concept and grow closer to other men and to Christ. He was so excited to go, it was costly in time and resources but he was convinced it was the... Continue Reading →

Message Received

Many years ago, in our third or fourth year of marriage, I learned a big lesson regarding talking about my guy. I had been at work and gone to lunch with a friend and on the way back to the office, I called our home answering machine to check our messages. I was irritated that... Continue Reading →

Speak Now….

My guy and I lead the Couples Ministry at our church, and our focus so far has been on three distinct groups of people: engaged couples marrying in the next six months, married couples who want to deepen their relationships and couples who are struggling to live under the same roof. We are in the... Continue Reading →

Open to Suggestion

“Are you planning to mow the grass today?” I asked my teenaged son one day over the summer and he replied with an honest, “Nope.” I suggested that my teenaged daughter do her laundry last week, and she said no thank you. Now, as the mom I have a choice to get upset with my... Continue Reading →

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