Search Results for: blog making a major decision1

Deciding to Make Major Life Changes

I have known many single parents who in the first months and years after a divorce or death of a partner/spouse, the goal was to get life to a “normal” state. They had enough crisis and upheaval to “last a lifetime” or so they thought and they were striving to get things tamed down, predictable and manageable. Inevitably, however, we all end up facing change again and again and the time will come when it is time to make a big decision regarding whether or not to make another major life change. This can be a challenging situation for anyone, … Continue reading →

Staying in Love

Falling in love is easy. ‘Staying in love, creating a love that last, is the tough part.’ These were words a mother said to her son who was soon to be married. I read them this week in a novel by Marie Bostwick, called A Thread So Thin. Just because it is a novel the words came from doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of truth in them. In fact a lot of the advice about love and marriage handed out in this novel rings true. You suspect many of them came from actual conversations. I’d be interested to ask … Continue reading →

What Is at the Center of Your Life and Why It Matters

What is at the center of your life? That which is at the center of our lives determines the shape of our lives and the direction our lives take. Whether it is work, ambition, self interest, spouse and family, or some other obsession, it is a question for all of us to answer. This idea for a blog came after reading a novel called Summertime by Liz Rigbey. One of the characters, Lucy, in talking about a policeman said, ‘he talked of men who lost their family, how that was the price you paid if you couldn’t or wouldn’t put … Continue reading →

Love is Giving.

‘You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving,’ so says the positive thought in our local newsletter. Think about it. I believe it’s true. We can give and do things out of a sense of duty or because we think we’re supposed to. But it’s not love. But when we love someone we want to show it by giving. I don’t necessarily mean by giving gifts, though at times that may be appropriate. It might be more a case of giving your time to help your spouse or do something that they want. It might be giving … Continue reading →

Love, Honor and Obey?

The traditional words of the marriage ceremony require the woman to promise to ‘obey.’ Did you promise to obey? I didn’t. Our minister suggested ‘cherish.’ That’s what both of us did – we promised to love, honor and cherish. Why the difference and does it makes a difference? Promises are something that Mick and I take seriously and I couldn’t in all conscience to promise to obey. No, it wasn’t that I am a rampant feminist and against submitting to my husband, because I’m not. Obedience speaks more of a sense of duty rather than any other emotion. Cherish has … Continue reading →

More Tips for Dealing with Stress in Marriage

Posted on by

Here are some more tips to help you deal with stress in your marriage and your life. Spend time each day deliberately not thinking about the negatives and what is wrong with your marriage or life, but look for 1-3 positives each day in your marriage and in your life. When you start looking for positives I’m sure you’ll find some. A gratitude journal is a good idea for keeping an eye on the positives on your life. Listening to music soothes our soul as one of our local choir songs reminds me. Sing along. Who cares what it sounds … Continue reading →

Want Joy? You’ll Find it Here.

The psalms have been a great encouragement to many over the years and it’s not hard to see why. They speak to our experience of life. In Psalm 86:1-2 David recognizes his need and prays to God. Straightaway we see that when we have a need we can pray to God. What David wants in his life, which at times seems so hard, is joy, verses 3-4. We can know joy despite hardships, if we continue to trust in God as David did throughout it and recognize that God always has a plan and a purpose in it. David knows … Continue reading →

Be a Blessing

Do you ever stop to think about blessings? Too often we don’t stop and thank God for the blessings we receive each day from His hand. There are some that struck me on this Easter Monday morning. 1. The blessing of Easter, when Jesus died in God’s rescue plan so we can be friends with God and not be separated from Him by our sin. 2.The blessing of being able to freely go to church and worship Him with like minded people. 3.The blessing of family and friends who love and care for us. 4. The blessing of the beauty … Continue reading →

More Wisdom From Proverbs

Yesterday we looked at Proverbs 30:5-6. Today we’ll look at Proverbs 30:7-9, where the writer asks two things of God. The first is: ‘Keep falsehood and lies far from me.’ This could be read as keep me from telling lies to others. We often want to grade lies. It’s easy to slip into what we term ‘white lies,’ so as not to hurt another person’s feelings, or because we want to please them or make ourselves look good but God makes no distinction. Lies are lies. Proverbs 19:5 says ,’he who pours out lies will not go free.’ The idea … Continue reading →

Are Your Core Values the Same?

How did you go with three words to describe you and your spouse? Did you find it hard to choose just three? I did. For my husband I could have also added, loving, creative, clever (especially at fixing things and doing things with his hands which I am not) friendly, (people always enjoy talking to him and he can talk to anyone), down to earth and realistic. (I’m emotional and I’m a worrier. He’s neither.) Since we are so different how does that work out in our marriage? Fine. As Courtney said we compliment or balance each other. He keeps … Continue reading →