Marriage

We Cannot Insist Our Spouse Have the Same Felt Needs We Do

You Know What You’re Saying, but What Are You Communicating?

You Know What You’re Saying, but What Are You Communicating?

There are certain phrases we have been programmed to understand in a specific way whenever we hear them. For example, if someone says to us, “We need to talk,” we know there is bad news to come and we get in defensive mode.

In What Areas Is He Feeling Disrespected? Diagnosing Your Deflated Husband

In What Areas Is He Feeling Disrespected? Diagnosing Your Deflated Husband

Is your normally happy-go-lucky husband suddenly more sulky and moody? Has your typically fully engaged and intimate husband for some mysterious reason become more distant and even physically absent?

We Cannot Insist Our Spouse Have the Same Felt Needs We Do

We Cannot Insist Our Spouse Have the Same Felt Needs We Do

Do you have a specific sports team that you are outright fanatic about? Suppose you are a passionate Yankees fan whose white bedroom walls have navy blue pinstripes on them and your living room coasters have pictures of Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, and other Yankees greats on them.

Is Your Husband Trying to Make You Feel More Secure, but in Ways You’re Not Recognizing?

Is Your Husband Trying to Make You Feel More Secure, but in Ways You’re Not Recognizing?

A couple attended the Love and Respect Marriage Conference recently, and several weeks later the wife wrote to me to share some of the reasons why they had attended, along with her frustrations for the lack of changes she had seen in him since the conference.

Our Pink and Blue Designs Even Have Us Solving Problems Differently!

Our Pink and Blue Designs Even Have Us Solving Problems Differently!

I have spoken often about the need to understand and appreciate God’s pink and blue design of women and men, respectively, because our differences undoubtedly go well beyond the biological.

Is Your Husband Trying to Make You Feel More Secure, but in Ways You’re Not Recognizing?

Our Pink and Blue Designs Even Have Us Solving Problems Differently!

Do You Have A Goodwilled Marriage? [Video]

Do You Have A Goodwilled Marriage? [Video]

Proverbs 11:27 says, “He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it” (NIV). I am sometimes asked what I think is the most important principle we teach. Pink and Blue (not wrong, just different) comes to mind, but so does one simple word: goodwill. When you and your spouse see each other as good-willed, good things are in store for your marriage.

Pink and Blue: Not Wrong, Just Different! [Video]

Pink and Blue: Not Wrong, Just Different! [Video]

One of the most powerful and eye-opening concepts in the Love and Respect approach to marriage is the difference between pink and blue. We aren’t talking about how to decorate a nursery here. We are simply pointing out how God made men and women as different as the colors pink and blue.

My Husband Isn’t Who I Want Him to Be - Part 2

My Husband Isn’t Who I Want Him to Be - Part 2

Should a Wife Lower Her Expectations? Years ago I read on the side of a coffee mug, “Want to be happy with me? Lower your expectations.” We laugh since we interpret the comments on the side of the mug as lame excuse-making. Those of us who are “normal” insist that the expectations placed on another person are appropriate, and this individual is demanding license to be selfish and excused from responsible living.

My Husband Isn’t Who I Want Him to Be - Part 1

My Husband Isn’t Who I Want Him to Be - Part 1

In Jo Berry’s book, Beloved Unbeliever, she shares, "Diane confessed...she mentally put down her husband. She mocked his ideas and his reactions or responses and secretly made fun of his opinions…