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Martha & Mary — 2 Gifts, One Love
We have been reflecting on the Gospel story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42). What can we learn from this famous (or infamous) encounter? As married couples we have different gifts, but One Love. We want to share our twist on this Gospel, focusing on the gift of One Love.
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Positively Live
Chris: I am a realist. I believe there are good and bad people. My wife is an optimist. She believes there are good people and good people who just make bad choices. Sometimes, her positivity causes me to worry, thinking that her naive outlook will get her hurt. Other times, her positivity is contagious. Here is how she tames my negativity and balances us out as a couple. Michelle: I think there are several easy ways to stay positive. I use the acronym LIVE every day and in every situation to remember to approach with positivity. L is for LOVE. Whether the situation is with Chris, a coworker or a…
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Love Letters from Bellevue
Many of our readers have attended a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experience and sought to bring the tools home and use them every day. Little did we know, a couple of our readers, Joe and Helen have truly set the bar for making love letters a daily part of their lives. Married for more than 71 years now, we at The Couples Post are blessed and humbled to have heard their story and have this chance to share it with you in this touching video from the Eric’s Heroes feature on KOMO News out of Seattle. We invite you to listen to their story and hope you’re as inspired as we…
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Are We Scrolling by Our Relationship? (Repost)
The convenience our smartphones provide has come at a cost that we all feel. We see it when we’re out in public, with people staring at their phones rather than paying attention to their loved ones. One way of recognizing the problem with this comes from Drs. John and Julie Gottman – identifying how we make “bids” for attention from our partners. Paying attention to our cell phones makes it likely we’ll miss those bids and end up hurting each other.
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Money Matters
Let’s be honest. Money matters. When you get married, you’re not just sharing your Netflix password and your space—you’re also merging your bank accounts, bills, and spending habits. Money issues pop up all the time in married life. How you deal with finances together can make or break your happily ever after. Compatibility Counts Julie: We all have financial “baggage” or attitudes that affect our spending, from our upbringing to our personal experiences. John and I have very similar backgrounds. Coming from large families with a mom who stayed home to care for us when we were young meant that every penny counted. Neither of us were extravagant, and we were both savers. When…
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How to Resolve Disagreements in Marriage
A few years ago we saw an article with the title: How to Resolve Disagreements in Marriage, by Nina Chen, Ph.D. Here’s what Dr. Chen, a Human Development Specialist, had to say: “There is no perfect marriage. Even happy, healthy marriages involve some conflict from time to time. Conflict is a normal part of sharing life with someone else. The key is to know how to deal with disagreement and conflict in a constructive way. These steps can help: 1. Set a specific time to work on the disagreement It is very important to discuss problems when both spouses can mentally and emotionally prepare. Writing down the problem before discussion…
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3 Steps to Restore Sexual Intimacy
Whoever said the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach might have flunked anatomy or maybe geography. Sexual intimacy is a key component of a healthy marriage, and it has its challenges in every stage of life. When we hit a dry spell, we have used 3 steps to restore our sexual intimacy and avoid the slippery slope.
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Someday Your Children Will Leave Home
“Someday, all of you children will leave home, and Dad and I will still be here. It is important that we still know each other when that day comes.” “Why Can’t We Go?” Karen: This sentence was included in the eulogy I delivered at my mom’s funeral this past week. I recalled how mom married very young (seventeen!) and had six children in quick succession. To provide for our quickly growing family, my dad worked two jobs. Most of the parenting duties and family management were heaped on mom. And though those duties filled her days to the brim, mom never stopped being a wife. I recall many times watching…
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Go Anywhere, Do Anything
Chris: Over Memorial Day weekend, Michelle and I went wheeling in Moab, Utah, earning some Jeep badges along the way. We realized that some of the best off-road advice can be applied to our marriage. Here is our top five. Michelle: Number Five-Things will get gnarly. Moab is known for some of the best and trickiest off-road trails. But things can go from a calm day in nature to gnarly, real quick. We have learned that the same is true in our relationship. We have had a lot of smooth adventures in our marriage. But the true test of us comes from how we pull together when life does not…
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You’re the Inspiration
There’s a cheesy ‘80s song by Chicago called “You’re the Inspiration.” It was the wedding dance of thousands of couples in the 80s. Now that the song is in your head, what are the words you remember? Probably… “You’re the meaning in my life. You’re in the inspiration…”
