A commitment to healing marriage can include this simple exercise: Imagine you are standing on the edge of a small forest, and you can faintly see your partner through the trees, standing on the other side. Imagine the trees as the issues, hurts, and irritations that currently stand between you both, the ones that you […]
I recently saw a peace lily that reminded me of a deeply held belief: to experience true peace in our lives we must first have peace in marriage and family relationships. At our LIFE Marriage Retreats as couples discuss issues of trust in marriage or problems with their marital communication, the ultimate result they are […]
How important is forgiveness in marriage? It has been said that “a good marriage is simply the union of two good forgivers.” The fact is that we fallible humans make mistakes and poor choices, hurting not only ourselves but other people as well. If we do not figure out how to clear away the inevitable […]
When thinking about a Marriage Retreat most couples have a certain vision of their expectations. They imagine the perfect location of natural beauty and ambiance; an environment of peace and harmony, and in the company of a few other supportive and caring couples. We applaud and support those expectations. For years as I have written […]
If you are like me your history of New Years Resolutions is spotty at best. Our ability to successfully follow through on a resolution or the forming of new habits will always be dependent on something more than just self discipline. It’s as if we cannot force such changes on ourselves, but instead must absorb […]
One of my annual traditions for the Christmas Season is to read Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” or to watch a filmed version of it (my personal favorite is the one starring George C. Scott). My Christmas spirit is always touched and enhanced by this great story of redemption. In the story Scrooge’s nephew is […]
Perhaps, like me, you have received some extra-special Christmas gifts: A favorite doll, the perfect bike, or the fashionable jeans you wore until they were ragged. When I was 9 and everything I held dear was about army and battle Mom and Dad gave me a toy machine gun mounted on a tripod that I […]
As mentioned in our last posting, while every struggling couple is unique, they do seem to share several common yearnings. We wrote last time of every person’s desire for emotional connection. In this posting we will briefly consider the challenge and opportunity of repairing eroded trust. Trust is one of the cornerstones of any successful […]
Couples who call LIFE Marriage Retreats looking for help for their struggling family relationships are all unique in the details of their marital and family obstacles, yet virtually all of them share some common yearnings for their desired ideal relationship: Emotional Connection Repair of eroded Trust Healing of Resentment and Hurt (with Forgiveness being a […]
In the old television series (and later a movie) Dragnet, Detective Joe Friday was always demanding that witnesses cut through the fluff, feelings, and speculation in their statements and just “stick to the facts.” Do your conversations with your partner often turn into competitions over who has the most facts and data to support their […]