We got married when my wife, Nancie, was 23 and I was 25, bless our hearts. Our first couple of years were filled with moments of awesome mixed with moments of awful. We should have had moments of awesome—we loved and liked each other, laughed...
One of my pet peeves is hearing well-meaning people warn freshly engaged couples that "happiness in marriage takes a lot of hard work.” Who got married for that? Who came in and said, “Oh, Mom and Dad, I’ve met the most amazing woman in the...
Sociologist Linda Waite from the University of Chicago studied 550 adults from a national database. Sixty-four percent of those who said they were unhappy in their marriages but stayed together reported they were happy five years later, while 50% of those who divorced or separated...
As someone who works with married couples, I hate this type of message from someone I haven’t heard from in a while: “Hey, I was wondering if you would have time for a call, coffee, or lunch.” Translation, 99% of the time: “My marriage has...
I wish you could meet my friend Mark. He has about 10 years on me, but I want to be him when I grow up. Mark’s great for many reasons, but I think the thing that sticks out the most is that everyone else comes...
Recently, on a lake trip with my family, I experienced an uncommon emotion for me: peace. Typically on our family lake trips, I’m stressed by wanting to ensure everyone is safe and having a good time. So why was this trip different? Because of what...
For many of us, nothing creates more angst than hearing our wives say, “How do you feel about this?” If that describes you, let me say of course it does. As guys, most of us were led to believe that emotions are not our friends. Many...
We’ve all been there. You say something that does not land well with your wife. You didn’t mean to hurt her feelings or make her angry, but you did all the same. Often in these situations, we can tend to defend ourselves with lines like,...
If you are wondering how to save money in marriage, my wife has you covered. Family legend has it that she was already fiscally responsible at age 5. For her birthday, her grandmother gave her $20 in dollar bills. Nancie’s mom surprised her by using...
Criticism in marriage is never a good thing, and it's my biggest regret as I reflect on my first few years of marriage. Early on, I had heard repeatedly that communication is the key to a successful marriage. So, I needed to communicate the things...