Lots of married folks try in vain to get their spouse or life partner to eat better, exercise more, or take their meds. It would surely be wonderful if you succeeded, but what’s happening while you’re waiting for this to happen? Your spouse, unable to do what seems so logical and healthy to do, feels he or she is not just failing at something important but simultaneously letting you...
Two Great Reads
I loved these. I think you might, too. Grace Full Mama blogger Joy wrote a post about her missionary pilot husband recently that just warmed my heart. He actually said he would rather his wife assume love than bake fresh bread for his sandwiches or clean the house! [Thanks to Lori, The Generous Wife for linking to both of us in the same blog post, because I had never seen Joy’s blog. Also...
Breathe Out for a Calmer Marriage?
Please ignore this blog post if you live with a violent partner or one who has ever tried to control you by harming you physically, financially, or emotionally and has not successfully treated the problem underlying this behavior. If this is you, please seek help from others capable of controlling that behavior or keeping it at a safe distance from you and your children. For the rest of us, here...
How to Avoid Getting Sucked into Your Mate’s Depression
Depression happens. Unless you’re Amish, it very likely you know someone in its grip right now. You may even know firsthand what a major depressive episode or chronic depression feels like. When it hits the person you love and pledged your life to, it can be so very frustrating. You want to help, but to date no one has demonstrated that cajoling or entertaining reduces the duration or depth...
How to Start a Discussion About a Change
“I want to do this a way that keeps you happy, but the current one isn’t working for me. Let’s brainstorm some other possibilities.” That is one very good way to start a discussion about something you want to change. For example, he likes to leave his chair where it lands when he leaves the table, but your “this is wrong” alarm goes off when he does. You might...