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“Just Do It!”
Quit thinking about doing something for your marriage- Just Do It!
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FlatTire #2
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.
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Yelping my Spouse-Round Two
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…
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Finding Peace
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.
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We Are In Our Netflix Era
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…
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What’s Your Spouse’s Love Language?
Is The 5 Love Languages outdated?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.
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The BEST of Your Life
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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Top 10 Tips to Ruin Your Marriage
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 …
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Behaviors, Communication, Conflict, Decision to Love, Forgiveness, Growth, Happiness, Perseverance, Resilience
Marriage – the Olympics of Relationships
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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Ready for a Marriage Check-up?
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…
