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Are Toxic Communication Habits Poisoning Your Relationship?

Toxins are everywhere—from the itch of a mosquito bite to the swelling of a rash from poison ivy. In some cases, toxins cause momentary irritation. In other cases—such as with a malaria-infested mosquito bite—the wound becomes deadly. This is also true in relationships. Most couples engage in toxic communication sometimes. For some couples, the toxins fester and destroy their bond. But toxic…

Check out our latest thoughts on friendship and marriage.

Perhaps you overheard a couple say, “I’m glad to be married to my best friend.” Or, maybe you said this yourself. But if you think this is cliche, it’s time to think again. Friendship in marriage is important! Research shows that marital friendship increases overall happiness. It’s also one of the best ways to protect your relationship against a downward spiral of negativity. Plus, being best…

Check out our latest post titled, How to Make Small Talk: 11 Effective Communication Skills!

Athletes don’t just saunter onto the field and begin to play. They warm up first. And effective communicators don’t dive right into deep conversation. They start by making a genuine connection. One of the easiest ways to connect is with good small talk. Why is small talk important? That’s easy. Engaging in small talk builds trust! It also helps people evaluate if they want to take the…

The Best Advice on Marriage Quotes: With Conversation Starters

What’s the best marriage advice ever? We believe the best marriage advice is the wisdom you’ll actually use. After all, even the most excellent advice is useless until it’s applied. Some people have a way with words. In this article, we offer only the most eloquent marriage tips. Here’s our list of the best advice in marriage quotes. First, you’ll find a quote with timeless marriage wisdom. This…

10 Warning Signs of Bad Communication in a Relationship

Bad communication is a recipe for misery. Being on the receiving poor communication is confusing at best. And it’s emotionally painful at worst. Communicating poorly is a recipe for disaster because it decreases your chances of being heard. Worse yet is when both partners lack healthy communication skills. This creates the perfect storm. In this post, we provide ten bad communication examples.…

Are you happy with your partner? Would you like to be happier in marriage overall? If you answered "Yes!" be sure to check out this post on happiness in marriage. #marriageTips #Marriage #Happiness

Is happiness in marriage something you find or create? We believe it’s both! A happy marriage is possible when both partners put in the effort to improve their relationship. It’s also possible when only one person is willing to change. We call this The Pebble Principle. If you’ve ever wondered how to be happy with your partner, keep reading. We’ll share five ideas for finding more happiness in…

God Hates Divorce: Three Perspectives

How does God feel about divorce? It’s a question that is on the minds of many. According to a 2008 study conducted by the Barna Group, the divorce rate in the United States is roughly 33%. This means that approximately one out of every three marriages will fail. A few weeks ago, I published a post honoring blended families. I mentioned how step-families in evangelical circles often feel an added…

Simple Moments of Joy: Small Actions That Impact Our Kids in a Big Way

Creating simple moments of joy with our children is important. These times together make lasting impressions on our children’s hearts. This is something that I learned two years ago. Today, I am excited to share my very first blog post. I initially wrote it as a guest post for Jenny’s site. As the two of us move forward in combining our blogs, I thought today would be an appropriate time to…

7 Happy Marriage Habits For After You Tie The Knot

Happily married couples keep doing the same types of loving actions after they are married that they did before they said, “I do.” When my brother asks me what my plans are for the weekend, I will jokingly reply, “I’m going to lay on the couch, watch action movies, and eat junk food. I’ve attracted my wife, so there is no reason to stay in shape or go out anymore.” Before judging me too harshly,…

New Post:

With so much misinformation around, it’s hard to know what to expect in marriage. Perhaps you wonder, Are my marital expectations too high? Maybe you’re asking, What does a good marriage even look like? Use this list of realistic expectations for marriage to find out. Why Marriage Expectations Matter Fairytales suggest a good marriage involves riding off into the sunset and living happily ever…

101 Reasons to Be Thankful

In college, I purchased a book entitled 14,000 Things to Be Happy About as a birthday gift for a friend. I enjoyed browsing through the pages before giving it away. This isn’t the type of book that is read straight through. There is no story, only a list–14,000 things happy about and thankful for, in bullet-point format. It’s a powerful tool for brightening one’s day. As a therapist, I’ve spent a…

Happy Marriages: How to Make Your Marriage Last

Happy marriages are no accident. Couples don’t trip and fall into marital bliss. But this is great news. If happiness in marriage were merely a roll of the dice, then couples wouldn’t be able to improve their relationship. Instead, everything would come down to choosing the right partner. Fortunately, this is not the case, and there are specific steps couples can take to move toward a happy…

The Unhappiness in Marriage Recipe

Unhappiness in marriage is a lot like bad baking. Just as poor baking habits—such as going heavy on the salt—cause a culinary disaster, there are also predictable patterns for a miserable marriage. Unhappy marriage habits can sneak into a relationship. Many couples don’t realize they are doing anything wrong until it’s too late. If you want to ensure your relationship stays healthy, you must take…

28 Fun Couple Activities

A regular routine of fun couples activities is a key to marital happiness. At least that’s what our 2021 Happy Marriage Survey shows. We asked hundreds of couples, “How do you know you are happily married?” and received over 150 replies. Here’s what we discovered. 23 percent of couples say they are happily married because they enjoy spending time together. This group didn’t cite specific couple…

How to Keep Writing When Life Gets Busy!—Happy Friday Blog-Party #4

After writing for nearly 7 years, I thought it would be fun to share a few of the tips and tricks I learned with others. So I compiled my best writing advice and create a short book entitled, Ten Great Ideas for Authors. To add my own unique twist, I took each idea and presented it as a letter to myself. I wrote as if I could send each chapter back in time to my younger self. After all, it was…

How to Increase Focus and Attention: Focused attention in leadership.

Wondering how to increase focus and attention? In this article, we’ll examine why focused attention matters. Then, we teach a step-by-step process for increasing focus and attention in leadership. Today’s 2.0 leaders know that leading at work is not enough. This is why we offer strategies for being a focused leader at home, work, and everywhere you go. Lastly, we’ll provide real-life examples and…

3 Reasons to Host a Virtual Summit—Happy Friday Blog Share #3

Happy Friday!

This week I’m smiling because I got to be a part of my friend Ray Brehm’s virtual summit. Virtual Summit University is a week-long summit for writers, speakers, and world-changers interested in putting on a virtual summit of their own.

Earlier this year, Jenny and I had a blast hosting The Thriving at Home Virtual Summit. To be honest, we had no idea what we were doing.…