Dale and I experienced very different backgrounds. He came from a small, close-knit, Protestant family and grew up in Southern California. I grew up in a large, blended Catholic family in upstate New York, so our family experiences were quite different from each other’s. We also grew up more than a decade apart, so our…
“Communicating with kindness is so important,” Jennifer says. “In the early years of our marriage, we dealt with a lot of difficult things; our ex’s for starters, and then Ben’s son Jeff, who struggles with bipolar disorder, moving in with us were a couple of the toughest difficulties. At that time, my young teen daughter…
In order to have healthy communication, open and honest transparency is necessary. You must walk your talk—your behavior, your facial expressions, and the tone of your voice must match what you say. “You’re right” can mean you are mad, sad, happy, afraid, humble, proud—depending on the way you say it and your body language. “When…
Our friends Becky and Thom decided early in their marriage never to ask for financial help from their parents. They understood that this meant they would need to learn to live within their means, even sacrificing when necessary. At times this also meant not sharing their financial struggles with their parents because their parents tended…
Alexi received her psychology degree from a university that had very liberal views of marriage and gender roles. Though as a Christian she fought to maintain her faith in the midst of such moral relativism, the liberal views she had been exposed to in her secular education crept into her marriage with Brent. She just…
