Search Results for: blog the makings of a good marriage

What Makes a Marriage Work?

With so many marriages ending in divorce, it can leave you to wonder, “What makes a marriage work?” Now I am by no means an expert but I will very soon be celebrating 21 years of marriage, so hopefully I can provide at least some encouragement. Let me start off by saying this. I will never tell someone, “I have been happily married for 20 years.” That would be a lie. While there definitely has been more happiness than not, mixed in have been times where I wondered if we would make it. To pretend otherwise doesn’t really do any … Continue reading →

Do You See Your Marriage as a Commitment or a Contract?

This past weekend I attended a two day seminar at my church. It was a program called “Marriage on the Rock.” No, not marriage on the “rocks”…on the ROCK, as in strength and long-lasting. It was a great time of learning more about each other and ending it with a chance to renew your marriage vows. Since we just celebrated 20 years in September, it was quite fitting. One of the lessons that really stuck out to me was the whole idea of commitment. Too often instead of looking at marriage as a commitment, people tend to see it as … Continue reading →

January Check In: New Year’s Resolutions in Marriage

It’s time to check in and see how you are doing on your New Year’s resolutions. Did you make any resolutions in the area of your marriage? If you didn’t, I strongly encourage you to do so. Call them resolutions, goals or whatever you like…all of us could take steps to improve our marriages. In fact, this is my challenge for me and you the reader. Think of one thing you can do in the upcoming month to make your marriage better. Is there something that you know drives your spouse crazy that you could stop doing? Is there something … Continue reading →

The Ups and Downs of Marriage

If you have been married for any length of time, you quickly come to realize that marriage has ups and downs. Sometimes the ups are more than the downs, but it can also be the other way. Or it may be that the downs seem to last longer. The important thing is that you accept the fact that it won’t always be sunshine and roses. Sometimes people go into marriage with a certain expectation and as soon as things get difficult, they start to question if they should stay. Sometimes they don’t even take the time to question it, they … Continue reading →

A Different View on Marriage

When I first seriously thought about writing for the Marriage blog, a topic that essentially breaks down into being about love and relationships, my initial reaction was “Eugh!” So then what am I doing here? Upon deeper examination, I realized that my reaction was not to writing about marriage and love itself, but to the forms in which that usually occurs. I don’t really go for lovey-dovey type stuff, and in many ways my husband and I have a somewhat nontraditional, or at least a different, relationship (though in many other ways we’re very traditional). I’m so passionate on this … Continue reading →

Do You Have the Makings of a Good Wife?

I ran across a copy of an old article from “Housekeeping Monthly,” the May, 13, 1955 edition. The title of the article was, “The Good Wife’s Guide.” After reading through it, all I could think was, “Boy, times have changed!” The expectations of a wife from 1955 are very different than now. Here is a summary of what made a good wife in the year 1955: A meal that was ready and waiting for her husband Taking 15 minutes to refresh and touch yourself up (for added measure, put a ribbon in your hair) Clear away any clutter in the … Continue reading →

Marriage Lessons For Children

Posted on by

Sometimes I worry. Ok, most of the time I worry, but this is a specific worry. What am I, a divorced woman, teaching my daughter about marriage. I’ve been divorced since my daughter was ten. My ex husband and I made a point to never argue in front of our daughter, so she never got the chance to see us work things out either. I want my daughter to have a marriage that we all dream about so I trot out all the tired cliches: Marriage is a life long commitment. Anything worth having, including marriage, is worth working for. … Continue reading →

Celebrating National Marriage Week

Did you know that it’s National Marriage Week? It goes from February 7th through the 14th, Valentine’s Day. I love the fact that we have an entire week to recognize and celebrate something so very important. So what is the point to National Marriage Week? It is to build a stronger marriage culture since it has been found that healthy marriages can reduce the risk of poverty and benefit children in a number of ways. It is also a way to encourage married people to do what they can to strengthen their marriages and thereby, reducing the rate of divorce. … Continue reading →

The Three R’s of Marriage

You are probably familiar with the “Three R’s” of education: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Well I have come up with the “Three R’s” of marriage: Respond, React and Retreat. The only difference is that with my three R’s, there is just one that works well in a marriage. Can you guess which one? I don’t know if anyone else can relate but I tend to be a reactor. I have been working on this for several years and while I have gotten a lot better, it can still be an issue that creeps up. Sometimes when people react it is … Continue reading →

The Makings of a Good Marriage

What are the makings of a good marriage? Well there are several things that are important but a couple of them really stand out to me. One is perseverance. Perseverance is something sorely lacking in many marriages today. Think about what perseverance really means. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary it means to make a continual effort or to achieve something despite there being obstacles in the way such as opposition, failures or difficulties. Isn’t that what every marriage faces? At one point or another we may find ourselves in a season of trouble and tribulation. But when we can persevere, or … Continue reading →