Marriage Articles

Why Does a Wife Not Hear That Her Husband Needs Respect?

Do You Have the Humility Necessary to Move First?

Do You Have the Humility Necessary to Move First?

When a husband and wife find themselves on yet another out-of-control Crazy Cycle—where feeling unloved, she reacts without respect; and feeling disrespected, he reacts without love—how do they decide who is going to be the first to stop reacting unlovingly or disrespectfully?

What Do You Think When You Hear “Happy Wife, Happy Life”?

What Do You Think When You Hear “Happy Wife, Happy Life”?

You’ve probably heard the phrase “happy wife, happy life” before. Maybe it’s in the context of something simple, like choosing what restaurant to eat at or not leaving dirty clothes on the bathroom floor.

Why Does a Wife Not Hear That Her Husband Needs Respect?

Why Does a Wife Not Hear That Her Husband Needs Respect?

The idea of unconditional respect for the husband has always been the Love and Respect message’s unique feature, based on Ephesians 5:33. Many books stress Paul’s instruction for husbands to love their wives (“each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself . . .”), but few spend equal space if any at all, to the rest of the verse (“. . . and the wife must respect her husband”).

How Is C.H.A.I.R.S. The Key to Having More Meaningful Conversations With Your Husband?

How Is C.H.A.I.R.S. The Key to Having More Meaningful Conversations With Your Husband?

Many wives share disappointment that their husbands rarely talk to them at a deeper level. “Emerson, when we were dating, we used to talk long into the night getting to really know each other. What happened to him?”

Are You Humbly Voicing a Need or Formalizing a Complaint?

Are You Humbly Voicing a Need or Formalizing a Complaint?

In the beginning, after God had created Adam and placed him in the garden to cultivate it, He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18).

How Is C.H.A.I.R.S. The Key to Having More Meaningful Conversations With Your Husband?

Are You Humbly Voicing a Need or Formalizing a Complaint?

Hot-Button Words

In our current series on the Love and Respect Connection, we have addressed the importance of our spoken words – and how men and women perceive the same words differently. This week I want to talk about those hot-button words that can cause trouble in every relationship!

Hot-Button Words

Men and Women Hear the Same Words Differently

Men and Women Hear the Same Words Differently

Excess oil. What comes to mind when you hear these words? Two women discussing excess oil may be concerned about their skin. Two men discussing excess oil are probably concerned with machinery or perhaps a slippery garage floor.

In Marriage, the Mouth Matters

In Marriage, the Mouth Matters

Almost everyone has probably heard or read the nursery rhyme that makes the brave but naïve claim “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Mutual Understanding Became the Key to Our Marriage

Mutual Understanding Became the Key to Our Marriage

In my last post, I suggested that there is more to good marital communication than simply “talking”…we need to understand what the other is saying. That’s the “Love and Respect Connection.”