Marriage Articles

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

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).

What Does Love and Respect Enable a Wife and Husband to Do?

What Does Love and Respect Enable a Wife and Husband to Do?

In the Bible, we find two realities to which we are to respond: God’s commands and God’s promises. God calls us to obey His commands and trust His promises. Most of us have sung the song "Trust and Obey,” which captures these two quintessential truths.

Are You Humbly Voicing a Need or Formalizing a Complaint?

What Does Love and Respect Enable a Wife and Husband to Do?

Through the Lens of Respect

Through the Lens of Respect

As a husband, you notice matters of honor. The movie Saving Private Ryan, about the invasion of Normandy, tears you up as you fixate on the incredible heroism.

Through the Lens of Love

As a wife, you notice a man and a woman walking hand in hand. You see a couple sitting together in the park, talking face to face on a bench. You beam all the way through your friend's wedding. On a rainy day, you page through your wedding pictures.

Through the Lens of Love

Who Goes First?

Last week I asked the question, “What can husbands and wives do specifically to proactively stay energized in their marriage?” But before I get into the specifics of how to stay on the Energizing Cycle, I need to address two things that prevent most couples from moving from the negative (reactive) to the positive (proactive) in their relationship.

Who Goes First?

Let’s Be Proactive, Not Reactive

Let’s Be Proactive, Not Reactive

I hear from many couples who read Love & Respect and understand how to slow down and even stop the Crazy Cycle, but they struggle with how to keep it from starting up again. They try to react less negatively to each other, but it’s like turning down the settings on their flamethrowers