My daughter left to work at a summer camp just four days after her high school graduation. A couple of weeks later, my wife says to me, “I really miss her.” My knee-jerk relational reaction was to fix things for her by giving her thoughts...
It's hard to learn how to stop getting angry at my child when my child triggers me. As dads, we’ve all been there. Your child triggers you and you react in regrettable ways. Your toddler throws a tantrum. Your reaction is too loud, which only...
I recently came across a photo of my sons and me, who were 3 and 6 at the time. Not pictured is our 1-year-old daughter. They are all now young adults. The photo is of me sitting on the sofa with my boys on each...
When we think about having empathy in marriage, many of us assume having empathy only involves emotions like anger, sadness, grief...
For years, any tension with my wife, Nancie, had the same steps—just different topics. They were as follows: Step 1: My wife shared something bothering her. Step 2: I tried to fix her problems with suggestions and encouragement. Step 3: She argued why all my suggestions and encouragement...
This summer I had the opportunity to speak on top of a ship in the Adriatic Sea. You know, suffering for Jesus. I spoke 30 minutes each night for six nights, the rest of the time I was free to spend with my wife and...
PEOPLE SAY MARRIAGE IS SO COMPLICATED. While I think we are all complicated people, I don’t think how we love is always as complicated; it’s just not always easy. I think the more accurate description is: marriage is so close. When we get married, everything about...
I LIKE PEOPLE. I DO. In fact, my wife, Nancie, said to me once, “I love this about you, but I think you even like people most people don’t.” But even I have my limits. There is one person who has always been in my life,...
My natural inclination is to fix things. I grew up with a Dad who could fix the car, things around the house, anything. While I’m no Larry Lowe, I consider myself pretty handy. And my wife, Nancie, has always been very thankful for my home...
As someone who has been working with married couples since 2001 and married since 1995, I try to go back often to this baseline question: Why do some couples have a great marriage and others don’t? The answer to that question may surprise you, but I’m certain it can help you…if...