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  • 20 Ways to Become a More Patient Spouse this Week
  • 25 Conversation Starter Questions on Sexuality
  • 50 Questions to ask your spouse besides “How was your day?”
  • 50 Ways to Engage Kids on a Budget
  • 50 Ways to Love Your Lover
  • About
  • At Home Dating
  • BAILEY’S TREE
  • Barriers to Forgiveness and Healing
  • Confronting for the Sake of Our Relationship
  • Conversation Starters
  • Date Night Ideas
  • Dialogue
  • Double Chocolate Brownies
  • Emotional Bank Account
  • Feelings Reflect Who I am as a Unique Individual
  • Four Basic Psychological Needs
  • How to Foster Teamwork – A Starter List
  • In Memory of Fr. Tom Ogg
  • Let’s Talk about Sex
  • Making Decisions as a Couple – 10 Steps
  • Marriage Check-up Exercise
  • Our Family Commandments
  • Phones at the Dinner Table Discussion Questions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Re-Evaluation
  • Stress vs. Burnout and Depression
  • The Power of Positive: Examples of Converting Negatives about our Relationship to Positives
  • There’s Always Something More to Talk About
  • Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experience
  • Writing a Focused Love Letter
  • Just Do It
    Communication,  Growth,  Making Decisions,  Time

    “Just Do It!”

    September 28, 2026 / No Comments

    Quit thinking about doing something for your marriage- Just Do It!

    Read More
    Ken and Janine

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    Sex: Spontaneous or Planned . . . Let the Conversation Begin

    January 4, 2021

    You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello

    December 3, 2023

    The Benefit of the Doubt

    August 31, 2020
  • Accountability,  Behaviors,  Communication,  Uncategorized

    FlatTire #2

    September 20, 2026 / 2 Comments

    Summers can be crazy and wonderful. Then you get Flat Tire #2. Summers are a wonderful time to reconnect with family and friends, enjoy longer days and leaisure time at the lake or cabin. Ours got crazy with a backed up septic system at the cabin and then Flat Tire #2.

    Read More
    Tom and Mary Frances

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    Coasting

    April 12, 2026

    Practice What You Preach

    March 3, 2025

    Candid Chris

    March 7, 2022
  • Accountability,  Communication

    Yelping my Spouse-Round Two 

    September 14, 2026 / 1 Comment

    We have plenty of reviewable materials between the two of us that we can Yelp so when we were asked to write another Yelp Review, we jumped at the chance. Here is our Yelp Review-Round Two. The ‘Quick Target Run Rating: ⭐ (1/5 Stars)  Review Title: “It’s a Trap”  Review by Chris:  Management pitched the trip to me as, “I need to get some hand sanitizer and tissues. Five minutes, tops!”. We walked through the doors of Target at 2:15 p.m.  By 3:05 p.m., we were looking at the seasonal décor. Our cart had two summer themed throw pillows and a watermelon scented candle. We had also acquired a 24 pack of “vibrant summer” felt tipped pens…

    Read More
    Chris and Michelle

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    Emotional Baggage

    February 3, 2026
    signs pointing various directions

    Choose Your Hard

    October 10, 2022

    Are We Scrolling by Our Relationship? (Repost)

    July 14, 2025
  • Communication

    Finding Peace

    August 30, 2026 / No Comments

    Working our way through an unusually busy week last week, we finally reached an evening where we managed a little date out together to regroup. When we are having chaotic or taxing times, it’s always good to seek out a little bit of peace.

    Read More
    Nick and Jen

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    Who Wants More Sex?

    July 25, 2022

    Marriage Magic

    December 16, 2019

    I Could Use Some Help!

    September 7, 2020
  • Behaviors,  Communication,  Growth

    We Are In Our Netflix Era

    July 27, 2026 / 3 Comments

    Chris♥️Michelle: Recently, we were talking to some friends about staying relevant in today’s world. They made the comparison of Blockbuster and Netflix. Blockbuster was great, back in the day, but where are they now? We imagine that their late fees, out-of-stock favorites and resistance to change is why they’re no longer around. Compare this to Netflix. When they started, they were a mail order DVD rental company. Now, they are an always evolving web-based giant! We thought about a similar comparison with our marriage. Shift from Transaction to Subscription • Blockbuster Way: every interaction was a transaction and if you’re late, there’s a penalty. I do this when I say…

    Read More
    Chris and Michelle

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    Baking Bread and Marriage: Surprising Similarities

    January 26, 2025

    Removing the Invisibility Cloak

    October 23, 2023
    playful couple contagious love

    Contagious Love

    May 8, 2023
  • Couple on sofa discussing love languages
    Behaviors,  Communication,  Decision to Love,  Differences,  Growth,  Happiness

    What’s Your Spouse’s Love Language? 

    June 22, 2026 / No Comments

    Is The 5 Love Languages outdated? Not a chance. See how this practical tool is still saving, changing, and boosting marriages today—plus, resources to find your own language.

    Read More
    Ken and Janine

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    Wash War I

    March 9, 2026
    A clean slate

    A Clean Slate

    January 2, 2023
    a good time and a good story

    A Good Time AND a Good Story

    August 17, 2026
  • live your best life
    Communication,  Decision to Love,  Differences,  Finances,  Listening

    The BEST of Your Life

    May 4, 2026 / No Comments

    John:  “Today is the first day of the BEST of your life.”  I retired last Friday after 41 years of working in the IT field.  That quote was on the card I received from the team I led.  While it is certainly appropriate for retirement, it also rings true in our everyday life.  Every day, we can choose to live our best life, regardless of the changes, circumstances, and chaos around us. 

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    John and Julie

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    Body language

    Body Language

    November 13, 2023

    3 Life Lessons From the Movie ‘Wicked’

    December 9, 2024

    Hurtful Attitudes in Marriage

    May 28, 2019
  • Common marriage mistakes
    Behaviors,  Communication,  Resilience

    Top 10 Tips to Ruin Your Marriage 

    March 23, 2026 / 1 Comment

    1. Put the Relationship on Autopilot  Stop dating your spouse. Stop pursuing. You’ve won them, haven’t you? Transition into roommate mode. Cultivate separate lives, separate friends even separate interests. The marriage will take care of itself, the way houseplants do when you don’t water them. 😜 2. Stop Saying Thank You – It’s Overrated.    Gratitude is for new relationships and people who are still trying to impress each other. Your spouse should know they’re appreciated. Stop saying thank you for dinner and other small things… it takes too much energy. 😫 3. Keep Score  Marriage can be a competitive sport (with no trophy). Keep a mental spreadsheet of every chore, forgotten anniversary, and argument. Have this info at hand during arguments to ensure you always have the upper hand.  4. Outsource Intimacy  …

    Read More
    Ken and Janine

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    Cultivating Happiness

    January 10, 2022

    Control in This Thing Called Life

    June 24, 2024
    Roamntic man and woman standing in front of a large flame

    4 Ways to Keep the Sexual Pilot Light Lit

    March 21, 2022
  • marriage requires commitment like the olympics
    Behaviors,  Communication,  Conflict,  Decision to Love,  Forgiveness,  Growth,  Happiness,  Perseverance,  Resilience

    Marriage – the Olympics of Relationships

    February 23, 2026 / 2 Comments

    Julie: John and I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics these past couple of weeks. Medals are won by fractions of a second. Partnerships are tested under pressure. Expectations run high. There is disappointment and elation. Marriage is the Olympics of Relationships. Both require preparation, endurance, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to something bigger than yourself.

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    John and Julie

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    Busy train

    The Busy Train

    January 15, 2024

    Control in This Thing Called Life

    June 24, 2024

    Emotional Baggage

    February 3, 2026
  • Communication,  Conflict,  Decision to Love,  Differences,  Making Decisions,  Stress,  Time

    Ready for a Marriage Check-up?

    February 16, 2026 / No Comments

    If someone asks, “How’s your marriage?” how would you answer? It’s hard to give an objective answer. This week, we offer a short quiz you can take to evaluate how things are going in your marriage. Before we can move toward the goal of a better marriage, we need to know where we are currently.  Doing this Marriage Check-up exercise helped us take stock of how we were doing. Here’s what we learned…  We had a couple areas where Ken’s scores were higher than Janine’s (or vice-versa) – Parenting and Spirituality. We agreed the area where we struggle the most as a couple was Conflict Resolution. This all led to some…

    Read More
    Ken and Janine

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    How to FIX Your Spouse

    July 12, 2020

    Party Pitfalls

    November 28, 2018

    Knowing and Loving

    September 22, 2024
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  • FlatTire #2
  • Yelping my Spouse-Round Two 
  • Finding Peace
  • In Sickness and In Health – Part 2

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