Surviving the First Five Years of Marriage Many have said that the first five years are the most difficult. Not everyone would agree on that, of course; but what many who have “been there,” or “still are here” would say is that the first five are some of the most foundational!…
Marriage… How to make it work is an open and honest discussion about married life with Stephen Cardy, Heather Walsh and Life FM’s Anna Daly. In June 2010 this special programme was recorded before a live studio audience. Topics covered include: Preparing for marriage The challenges of keeping love alive Keeping tenderness in…
Things are going grand… But eventually, (maybe unexpectedly),“life happens!” Jobs are lost…finances are stretched…loved ones get sick–or die. The list goes on and on. So, how can you and your spouse stick together—when the stressors of life threaten to “pull you apart?” Our own Stephen Cardy & Heather Walsh talked about that…
It takes a lot to mess up a marriage, just as it takes a lot to make a marriage work. In my professional experience as a relationship counsellor and my 29 years of marriage, I believe that most of us enter into this most important relationship with high hopes and…
If you’ve learned marital lessons, you can help couples prepare for matrimony. by Susan Graham Mathis As I printed out the premarital assessment my daughter and her fiancé had taken, my heart pounded. My husband, Dale, and I had used the PREPARE assessment numerous times as premarital counsellors and found…
Written by Tricia Goyer We heard the news via email. Another husband and wife we knew were getting divorced. They seemed like the perfect couple. They both had thriving careers and great kids. There was no infidelity, and no financial woes burdened them down. They’d just grown apart. They’d become…
Turning Annoyances Around by Phil Callaway Six months before my wedding day, an elderly friend tapped my shoulder in the post office and offered me some free advice. “Ramona’s a lovely girl,” he said. “She deserves a good husband. Marry her before she finds one.” Then he whispered a curious…
Written by Phillip J. Swihart In-law relationships need a touch of civility. Consider the story of Stephanie, who complained, “My mother-in-law never approves of the way I do anything. The last time Joe and I visited her it happened again. Just trying to be nice and helpful, I washed all the…
Written by Teresa Turner Vining Karen couldn’t pinpoint when she and her husband started to drift apart, but she knew they were heading toward danger. She remembered how she used to anticipate her husband’s return home from work. Now his arrival seemed like an intrusion. She used to look forward…
“I just don’t get her.” “I don’t understand him.” “Why aren’t we ever on the same page?” During my 25 years of counselling with couples, I’ve heard these words spoken numerous times from incredibly frustrated people. And to be honest, I’ve sometimes said or thought those things about my own…
