Marriage

People often ask if there is a method for establishing boundaries about negative or harmful behavior from a spouse.

Yes, there is.

One of the most effective is to write a contract that clearly identifies the unacceptable behavior and firmly establishes consequences if that behavior occurs.

As simple as that sounds, we’ve discovered that many people have a number of questions about the why’s, how’s, what’s, who’s, and more.

I’ve asked my friend and co-teacher at our workshop for marriages...

 

Several crucial questions have come in about how to deal with spouses doing destructive things. In this program, we will deal with questions such as:

What do I do if my spouse keeps lying? Are all lies the same? Do I react to all of them the same way? Should I set traps to catch him / her in the lies?

How do I know s/he’s telling the truth now? S/he claims that all lies are over but I have my doubts.

What do I do if my cheating spouse is lying to my kids about what’s going on with us? Do...

 

There may come a time, if it hasn’t already, when you want to set deadlines for your spouse. But when and how might you give that “deadline” to a reluctant spouse?

You may be thinking that setting that deadline constitutes as a boundary, when in actuality, it is setting criteria for your spouse. There is a big difference between the two though they do share similarities.

Boundaries VS. Criteria​

If you are wanting to set a deadline, what you are considering is setting a criteria...

 

If you’re going through a separation or a divorce, your spouse may have stopped wanting to communicate with you. In this situation, people typically give one of two suggestions. They’ll tell you to either stop talking and ignore them, or that you should bombard them with texts, calls, and emails. Both these options could be seen as manipulative and likely the wrong thing to do. At Marriage Helper, we’ve developed a method called SMART contact that we built just for this situation.

Stop...​

 

While marriage might be between two people, many other people can influence it. For example, parents, siblings, and even distant relatives can positively and negatively affect your marriage. They might think their intentions are pure for interfering, but their opinions are usually biased because they love you. And so, as a way to try and protect, they may say negative things about your spouse to try and get you to make a different decision. Or, even if you’re married, they may try and get...

 

Falling in love starts at the beginning of one path. We call it the LovePath. And there’s actually a process that happens when people fall in love.

It begins with attraction, but it’s not what you think. There are actually four parts to attraction, and all of them combined lead to how attractive you are to others. This is not only crucial in saving your marriage – but it’s crucial in all relationships.

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Couples often struggle to discuss sex, or other issues in their marriage, because they approach communication differently. Today, I want to address a particular communication hang-up—the frustration many a husband has when his wife expects him to pick up on what she wants based on hints, clues, and open-ended questions.

Now I’ve explained to wives why they...

 

Dear Lord,

Thank You for being our defender, our refuge, and our strength. Help us to resist the Enemy, to shut out his lies, and to believe only what is true. Tune our hearts and minds to hear Your truth above any lies. We pray the Enemy would not prevail in our marriage.

In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

This prayer is adapted from the Daily Marriage Prayer podcast.
Subscribe today to get the full prayer as well as the exclusive devotional that goes along with it.

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Dear Lord,

Help us hold fast to the commitment of praying for our marriage, and draw our hearts closer to You and to each other every day. Heavenly Father, will You transform the areas of our relationship that need maturing? We want to grow in our desire to be like Christ and to love each other like He loves.

In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

This prayer is adapted from the Daily Marriage Prayer podcast.
Subscribe today to get the full prayer as well as the exclusive devotional that goes along...

 

Dear Lord,

We pray that we would always seek to choose words that encourage and lift up each other. Our words are so powerful and can tear down one another so easily, so we need to be extra careful that we choose words that You would approve of.

In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

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