Search Results for: blog tips for making marriage work

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 →

The Arts and Marriage- Part 2

Sometimes with the arts, it’s a matter of not making assumptions. Recently a friend made an assumption because her husband wouldn’t go to an arts event, no-one else’s husband would either. There’s always a danger and a problem with making blanket assumptions about people. Opportunity and trying new things can make the change. Mick found when he was willing to try live theatre, he liked it. He liked how it’s a different medium to movies and how actors, directors and stage technicians get around the scenery changes required. He also liked the immediacy of live theatre. But he wouldn’t have … Continue reading →

Loving and Lasting Marriage Secrets

If you’ve made it to 60 years of marriage you’d surely have to figure you must be doing something right, wouldn’t you agree? This week a local couple from the South Coast of NSW celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. When asked the secret to the long and loving marriage David and Marie cited two aspects. They are communication and consideration. Does that sound familiar? It’s one of the things I’m always advocating too. Consideration means not just all those little common courtesies that are easily, and indeed often, overlooked in a marriage. Consideration also mean considering the feelings of your … Continue reading →

Putting Your Marriage on Hold

Are you guilty of putting your marriage on hold? Are the choices you are making hindering your marriage? In so many cases couples seem to think their marriage is something that can pick up and it will be there when they want it. Instead of taking time to make it the best marriage it can be, time is invested into work and career options, or into being a success in the work place instead. After all, your spouse will still be there at the end of the day. But will they? Sometimes it seems to me that if couples poured … Continue reading →

Tips for Making Marriage Work

Yesterday we looked at the concept of making marriage work. Here are some tips to help make marriage work. Pick the right person. It sounds obvious, but too often people are blinded by love or physical attraction and don’t put enough thought into whether they are compatible, whether they have enough interests in common, whether they have the same beliefs. It’s no good going into marriage and then expecting to change the other person. It won’t happen. All that will happen is you end up making you and your spouse miserable. So make sure you can live with other person’s … Continue reading →

Goals For Marriage

Yesterday we looked at the idea of goal setting and marriage. but what about setting goals for your marriage. Some the goals you might want to consider are: Commit fully to your marriage and make it your goal to have a long, lasting marriage. Make your goal a loving, nurturing environment for family where they can grow and develop. Here are some practical ways you can do this. Make sure you set aside time each day to sit and talk with your spouse, even if it’s only 15 minutes. Make it a goal to never be so involved with work … Continue reading →

Tips to Strengthen Your Marriage

So what things have we done in our marriage that you might incorporate in yours if you aren’t already doing them? Let me share some tips you might find helpful. This first one I would say is perhaps most important of all. Make Time Together a Priority In busy lives with work and family, this one gets too easily pushed aside unless we’re careful. Make time together a priority, whether it’s sitting chatting, sharing a favorite movie, playing a game, or watching your favorite sport as we did on Saturday night, after spending time with our whole family earlier in … Continue reading →

Three More Ps in Marriage

Yep, I’m still in the Ps. Here is one positive P, one neutral depending on how you react, and one you definitely don’t want to have in your marriage. Praise Every single person responds to genuine praise. It not only makes a person feel good, it makes them more inclined to do more things that will earn them further praise. Just as good parents praise their children when they do something right, or pleasing and respond appropriately, so we need to praise our spouse. Praise them as often as you can for the thoughtful things they do, for helping out … Continue reading →

Part 2 of Things to Discuss before Marriage

Yesterday we looked at things to discuss before marriage. Here are some more things on the checklist of things that should be discussed. Attitudes towards work and family life. The person, who is a workaholic or a professional student always wanting to gain new skills, can have a detrimental effect on marriage. They may have trouble making time and making it a priority to nurture their marriage and family relationships. Finances and whether you will have separate bank accounts or a joint account. Even if there is a joint account, will each person have their own spending money that they … Continue reading →

More Simple Tips for Hosting a Christmas Party

If your spouse is happy to help with cooking for a Christmas Party, it can be fun to make it a family time of cooking but if it’s not their thing, don’t force the issue. You’re better to do it on your own. Another way that works well and certainly cut down the cost, is to ask each person you invite to bring a small dish, nibbles, salad, dessert, etc. Put the emphasis on small or otherwise you will end up with way too much food. This is the way parties are often organized amongst our friends. Husbands are usually … Continue reading →