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Browse through and read hundreds of articles on the topic of marriage
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?”
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).
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.
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.
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?
Recently I posted a blog about it taking two to make a marriage work and it’s not the two people you may think! We received a lot of comments on that post. Many agreed, but many disagreed saying it takes three, both spouses and God. Lisa Shea has been leading women in how to show respect to their husbands since 2004 when she read my book Motivating Your Man God’s Way. She has been on staff with Love and Respect for the past three years.
"I have a hard time believing” said an individual, “that our loving God would have created marriage and not wanted us to be ‘happy' with our life partners! I just wanted to know what your thinking on that was." GOD COMMANDS HAPPINESS I have great news for husbands! In Ecclesiastes 9:9 we observe God commanding a husband to enjoy life with his wife. “Live happily with the woman you love… The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil” (NLT).
Over the years I have heard people exclaim, “I made a mistake in marrying this person.” “Why?” I ask. They reply, "Because we can never agree on much at all. One of us wants this and the other wants that. Tension arises every day. I am sick and tired of bucking heads. I should never have married this person." Ever feel this way? I invite you to mull over a couple truths from the Bible. Based on these Scriptures I find it unlikely that you made a mistake!
FAQ: Are you telling me I have to unconditionally respect my husband’s bad behavior and become a door mat? Everyone knows respect must be earned! Dr. E says: When I talk about unconditional respect being equal to unconditional love in Ephesians 5:33, that’s one of the first things people say. Although the Bible treats respect the same as love – both are unconditional – most people have a hard time seeing it that way. So let’s look at what unconditional really means.
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