You’re probably using your smartphone to read this. Truth is, your phone is a great tool, but it can also create problems in life and marriage. Don’t believe me? Take a moment to ask yourself a few diagnostic questions: Do you consistently check your phone first thing in the morning? Do you spend many of your idle moments checking it compulsively? What is the longest…
6 Ways to Affair-Proof Your Marriage
Affairs take two common forms: emotional and sexual. In either case, by the time an actual affair materializes, there have been latent and unaddressed problems for a long time. “Affair proofing”, if we can call it that, includes proactively building systems and rhythms into your marriage that will make it much less likely that you’ll start down the subtle path toward an affair. Today, at…
5 Ways to Fight for Your Integrity While Apart for Work (or Otherwise)
Many couples experience separation for days, weeks, or even months because of work-related travel. If you or your husband/wife travel for a corporate job or military deployment, you will face unique challenges when it comes to staying connected emotionally (and physically), as well as maintaining spouse-honoring (and God-honoring) integrity while apart. In today’s podcast, we cover five ways to fight for personal integrity while one…
Social Media and Marriage: Using Wisdom on Facebook, Instagram, etc.
If left unchecked, your social media life can create problems in your marriage. The advent of social media sites has created much conversation about the privacy of users’ information. The result: each has increased user control over who can see each update, image, interaction, and like. In general, it’s a great improvement but for married couples, it raises an important question of transparency and accountability…
3 Proverbs That Are Rocking Our Marriage (Part 2)
So… I’ve been plowing through the book of proverbs recently and as the title indicates, it’s been rocking our faces off. This post is the second of a two-part series, so you may want to start by reading the first post if you haven’t already (in fact, I highly recommend it). As I mentioned in the previous post, I’m seeing themes develop throughout the book…
Young couple: if we could have coffee together, here’s the one thing I’d tell you
Someone asked me the other day, “If you could have coffee with every young couple who reads your blog, what would you say to them?” The question caught me off guard and I didn’t know how to answer them right away. After a few days of hashing through quick responses, I kept coming up short. I even asked our Facebook family what they’d say (below); the comments are awesome, but…
Is Social Media Causing Sin In Your Marriage?
I’m not sure there is enough space in this post to write about the affects of technology on marriage, but here’s a bit about my personal struggle with it lately.
How Our Friendships Affect Our Marriage
All too often I’m guilty of allowing ungodly friendships to have a “say” in my marriage. I’m not saying we’re suppose to shun all of our married unbeliever friends and never hangout with them. What I am saying is that having filters on who we let have a voice in our marriage is a way of fighting fiercely for it.
The “Phone Drop Test” Every Couple Should Consider
You can tell a person’s character by how they use their smartphone. It’s a veritable thermometer for the health of your integrity. What would happen if you immediately dropped your phone (unlocked) and your spouse picked it up? What thoughts go through your mind? What would your husband/wife discover?
4 Surprising Facets of Transparency in Marriage
When we talk about transparency, the response is nearly unanimous: it’s a vital part of marriage and relationships. You really can’t build a meaningful bond with your spouse if you’re hiding part of yourself. But most often, hiding is our first instinct.