2:03

Dealing with a Disengaged Spouse

Do you sometimes feel emotionally disconnected even though your spouse is standing right next to you? FamilyLife Directors Neil and Sharol Josephson have been married for over thirty years and have spoken with thousands of couples. They discuss gender and personality differences for emotional abandonment, and how the way your parents connected when you were growing [...]

1:52

How Do You Romance Your Spouse?

When we asked married couples how they “romance their spouse,” many of the responses weren’t too surprising: food, flowers, and cards were popular choices. It seemed like it wasn’t so much what they did but the thought that was behind it that mattered. One husband admitted he wrote poetry for his wife … or at [...]

2:19

What Attracted You to Your Spouse?

What first attracted you to your spouse? Was it their good looks? Patience? Sense of humor? Nice car? More importantly, does what first attracted you still attract you? If those quirks which were once cute become pet peeves, it can become annoying. The solution may be to take a second look and find new things [...]

Dave: Well Donalyn, this is a gutsy question needing to be answered. I remember within four months of our wedding, doing the head turn for a very beautiful woman. You noticed and made some comment and at that time I felt hugely embarrassed that I had allowed myself to take note of her. Inside I [...]

0:27

Knowing Your Spouse’s Love Language

How do you feel when your spouse tells you “we need to talk”? Do you get excited? Or do feel a surge of dread, anticipating an unpleasant conversation about what may have gone wrong? Most marriage experts would affirm that communication is key in marriage — but  just how can spouses do so effectively? Neal Black, the former [...]

Forgive and forget. It’s a well-worn cliché – one that is easier to say than to practice. If you’re married, you’ve been there. Your spouse has said or done something that has wounded you. It may be something small, or it may be a major betrayal. Either way, your pride screams at you to take [...]

“It’s my party and I can cry if I want to.” This was my attitude when my husband, a Marine pilot, was deployed over the holidays. His four deployments have separated us over four Thanksgivings, four Christmases, and of course, four Valentine’s Days. It was hard, especially the first few times. Then I discovered the [...]

One day, I asked my husband, Ron, to make a list of things he wished I would do for him: things that would make him feel loved. It was an amazing revelation. I made a wish-list, too, and when we started doing the things on each other’s list, our marriage moved from frustrating to fulfilling. [...]

Commuting with four carpool buddies offers ample opportunity to chew the fat, so one day I posed the question:  What’s the difference between commitment and faithfulness? After a few rounds of debate the jury was in:  Commitment is our intent to stay in relationship with our wives; faithfulness is the practice of doing so. That [...]

It’s really not difficult to ruin what could have been great sex. If that’s your goal, following these twelve suggestions will ensure that, over time, your spouse will become very creative in finding ways to avoid having sex with you. Of course, we’re writing this article “tongue in cheek” to make a point. But we [...]