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Marriage, Inc.
Before we got married, we thought we were a normal couple. We spoke about our values. We shared our expectations. We went to the required premarital class. But none of that prepared us to have an argument over a glass, a sink, a sock… If you think about it, marriage is less like a fairy tale and more like launching a company. Research says that starting a company is one of the hardest things to do. What they don’t tell you is that getting married is basically the same thing. But for this start-up, your co-founder sleeps in your bed, eats your snacks, and takes feedback very personally. Both parties…
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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Is The 5 Love Languages outdated?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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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…
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After the Thrill is Gone . . . How Do We Make Love Stay?
We recently heard the songs After the Thrill is Gone (Eagles) and Make Love Stay (Dan Fogelberg) and they have been an ear-worm, and source of reminiscing for us. Youth never imagines the thrill being gone, but it happens to all of us.
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Opposites Attract
Michelle: I love watching Dancing with the Stars. Chris: I love watching Ghost Hunters and I hate that I know the pros, past and present, who have been on Dancing with the Stars. Michelle: One of the pros, Mark Ballas, sings with his wife when he is not performing or rehearsing for a Tuesday night show. Chris: One afternoon, Michelle sent me the song, Highs and Lows, by Alexander Jean (the band formed by Mark Ballas and his wife Brittney Jean). Michelle sent it with a text that read, “This is so us.” Michelle: I remember as a child, hearing that opposites attract and being confused by the concept. My…
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Verbal Judo – Harmonizing Your Tone of Voice
Some time ago, we wrote about the importance of being aware of the Tone of Voice we use with our spouse. The gist of the post was that our Tone of Voice is the key culprit that begins most disagreements, hurts, and fights between spouses. We want to revisit this important topic and provide some additional helpful hints we’ve learned along the way.
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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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3 Life Lessons From the Movie ‘Wicked’
Michelle: After the Thanksgiving dishes were cleaned and put away, my family and I headed to the movie theater to see the cinematic experience that is Wicked! And, while the film offers an impressive cast, beloved songs and amazing scenes, it was also a treasure chest full of life lessons that were laced throughout the magical world of Oz. If you are unfamiliar with the premise, allow us to briefly set the stage. Wicked is a musical told from the perspective of two witches, Elphaba and Galinda, before and after Dorthy’s arrival in Oz. The movie version of Wicked Part 1, which is essentially a prequel to the Wizard of…
