Marriage Partnership articles from June 2003

Marriage Partnership archives from June 2003

What a workout! (From the Editor).
June 22, 2003... Have you ever done anything you were completely embarrassed about? Well, my husband, Scott, and I pulled a doozy the other day. We went to work out at our health club and as we were walking the track we got into a somewhat heated "discussion"...

Marriage destroyer. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 2003... I just read "Turn Off & Tune In" (Spring 2003). TV is a marriage destroyer. For my husband, watching TV was more important than anything in his life. Our relationship was hurt. We even discussed divorce. But we finally decided to work on our...

Bleeping Bono? (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 2003... We just read "Marriage Rocks" (Couple Minutes), highlighting the marriage of Bono, lead singer of U2. Bono recently used the F-word on live television at the Golden Globe Awards. It's not that we don't believe Bono to be a Christian, it's just...

Belated diagnosis. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 2003... "Handling Hidden Differences" opened my eyes to what went wrong in my marriage. Unfortunately, while it's too late for my situation, now I have some answers to the questions I've been asking, including, "How did my marriage break down after 31...

Insensitive clods? (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 2003... The Q & A in "He Wants to 'Just Do It'" (Real Sex), illustrates yet another inconsiderate clod of a man disrespecting his wife and expecting her to enjoy it. I think you soft-pedaled your answer. Any man who says he "needs" sex every day to...

Married to Mr. (or Mrs.) Right? (Couple Minutes).(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Did you marry the right person? The answer's up to you, says Zig Ziglar, author of Courtship After Marriage (Ballantine Books). "I have no way of knowing whether or not you married the wrong person," he says. "But I do know that many people...

Brightening the dungeon. (Couples Devotional).(helping a spouse)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... [The LORD said to Moses,] "Commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see" (Deuteronomy 3:28). I knew my husband's master's degree program...

You said it! (Couple Minutes).(quotations on marriage)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... "Grampa says it isn't luck. It's skill." --Charlie Brown, famed "Peanuts" character, describing the key to his grandparents' 50-year marriage "Was it love at first sight? It wasn't then, but it sure is now." --Ann Meara, of the...

Take your temperature! (Couple Minutes).(marriage management tips)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... For a quick marriage check-up, take a Daily Temperature Reading: 1. Show appreciation. Tell your partner what you value about him or her. It can even be something simple: "I thought about you today and it made me smile." 2. Share...

The best ever! (Couple Minutes).(Garrison Keillor description of long-married couple)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... In one of his Lake Wobegon monologues, humorist Garrison Keillor described a long-married couple: Every night the husband consumed a generous portion of the same menu offering--breaded veal cutlets. Every night over the course of four...

MarriagePartnership.com surveys: fiscally fit? (Couple Minutes).(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... In a recent MP online survey, here's how almost 1,000 people responded to the question, "Are you prepared for a financial crisis?": Yes, we have a savings account for that purpose. 23% No, we have no buffer...

Snapshot. (Couple Minutes).(singer Allen Asbury and his wife on marriage Heidi)(Interview)
June 22, 2003... Allen Asbury, who recently released his debut CD, Somebody's Praying Me Through (Doxology Records), and his wife, Heidi, celebrate their 10th anniversary this summer. They've learned a lot in that decade, such as how to love (Allen's a hopeless...

9 anger busters. (Couple Minutes).(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... 1. Talk more slowly. 2. Whisper. 3. Breathe longer and more deeply. 4. Tell yourself repeatedly to relax, think, slow down, keep calm. 5. Change your body position: If you're standing, sit down. If you're sitting, lean back....

Cruise for twos. (Couple Minutes).(Christian Marriage Enthusiasm Renewal Caribbean Cruise)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... How'd you like to rekindle your marriage on a luxurious ship? Check out the Christian Marriage Enthusiasm Renewal Caribbean Cruise, featuring Dr. Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages, and his wife, Karolyn. For more info, go to...

Rock solid trust? (That Thing We Do).(rock climbing)
June 22, 2003... I'm hanging by the end of my rope. My hands and legs are tired. My mind isn't thinking clearly. "You can let go. I've got you," my husband, Curtis, shouts from below. Should I trust him? He literally has my life in his hands. Yet I'm...

Get moving--together! (Couple Minutes).(individuals execising with partner more likely to stick with program)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Want your exercise routine to stick? Try working out together! Researchers at Indiana University recently tracked 64 people who were embarking on a new exercise program. Of these, 32 people were involved with their spouses, while the rest...

Pillow talk for couples. (Between the Covers).(Les and Leslie Parrott on its importance)(Interview)
June 22, 2003... In Pillow Talk for Couples (J Countryman), MP regular contributors Les and Leslie Parrott write, "The perfect bed is not simply about sheets and pillows. It's about the relationship of the husband and wife who sleep on them.... The time we...

Hop to it! (Couple Minutes).(summer fun for couples)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... 9 wacky suggestions for summer fun 1. Go frog hunting. Grab a flashlight and see who can spot the most frogs. 2. Light sparklers or fireworks. 3. Play the "claw" machine. Collect your quarters and try your skill at "clawing" a...

Counseling clues? (Couple Minutes).(religious versus secular marriage counseling)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Recently the Institute for American Values conducted a study to find out how unhappy couples turn their marriages around. They found that husbands had a strong preference for faith-based marital counseling over secular counseling. The husbands...

Prayer starters. (Couple Minutes).(shared prayer)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Want to start praying with your spouse? Here are some ideas on how to begin: Be willing to collaborate. You may be unaccustomed to the type of prayer your spouse suggests. Try not to expect your mate to conform to your expectations of how...

Situation: critical: "constructive criticism" is a bit of an oxymoron in our home--but we're working on it! (Starting out: what I wish someone had told me).
June 22, 2003... My lowest "grades" in elementary school consistently came in one subject: "Responds well to constructive criticism." I was lucky to pull a check-minus. If my husband, Eric, had been graded in the same subject, he wouldn't have done much better....

Addicted to the computer. (Couple Counsel).
June 22, 2003... Q. My husband spends most of his time on our computer and stays there until late into the night, usually coming to bed between 2 and 3 A.M. I feel as if he prefers the computer to spending time with me! Am I being overly sensitive or expecting...

He can't forgive me. (Couple Counsel).(husband can't fogive wife's sexual past)
June 22, 2003... Q. My husband and I were both sexually active before we were married. When we became Christians, we asked God to forgive our sexual pasts. But my husband hasn't been so forgiving, which has brought tremendous stress to our marriage. We just...

We attend separate churches. (Couple Counsel).
June 22, 2003... Q. My wife attends the church from her childhood where most of her friends and her sister and mother are members. While that church is fine, it's not my worship style and I prefer the church I attend. Hers is more contemporary, while mine is...

She's too friendly with guys. (Couple Counsel).
June 22, 2003... Q. My wife is touchy-feely with several of my guy friends. She hugs them, holds hands with them briefly, touches their arms or legs. While I trust her completely--and the guys too for that matter--I'm uneasy about this. Should I be? A. You...

Erasing old tapes: memories of their failed first marriages haunted John and Karen Kosman like so many bad videotapes. They had to find a way to erase the old "tapes" and start making new ones. (Work it out: real couples, real solutions).
June 22, 2003... Karen's Side: I Tune Him Out When John and I married, it was a dream come true for both of us. After both suffering from failed first marriages, we felt God had given us a second chance. We knew enough not to expect our lives to be...

Devotions in disguise: a commitment to connect will bring you closer to each other ... and to God. (Soul to soul: where faith and marriage meet).
June 22, 2003... We'd only been married a few years and our life was incredibly busy. We had two active boys, our first teensy home with a mammoth mortgage, a budget stretched to the point of snapping, and so many things to do that we wondered if we might snap....

Will your romance last? Every married couple experiences life phases. Here's how to negotiate those seasons and keep the magic in your marriage.
June 22, 2003... Recently, my wife, Melissa, and I were going through our wedding album. As we sat in front of the fireplace and looked at the photos of ourselves as 23-year-olds, we caught our breath. Who are those kids? we wondered. And what on earth were...

Separated by war: operation Iraqi Freedom has at least temporarily split up thousands of military marriages. Four couples discuss how they're dealing with it.
June 22, 2003... Separations are nothing new for military couples. Most military marriages have endured temporary splits--a few weeks here, a couple months there. And for American military couples, those separations usually come during times of peace. ...

Faking it.(women's magazines lie about sex)
June 22, 2003... Standing in line at the grocery store almost anywhere in America, the hapless shopper is bombarded with insistent exhortatory headlines: "Sexual Bliss Secrets!"; "Get His Sexual Attention Instantly"; "What He's Thinking about You... Naked."...

Travels with Louise & Clark: no, that's not a typo. But with a nod to the 200th anniversary of the famous expedition, here's how you can keep your marriage adventure on the move.
June 22, 2003... IN JUNE OF 1803, MERIWETHER LEWIS WROTE TO WILLIAM CLARK: "My friend... If there is anything in this enterprise [that] would induce you to participate with me in its fatigues, its dangers, and its honors, believe me there is no-man on...

Party time! Summer's perfect for an outdoor fiesta. Round up some friends and neighbors and go for it!
June 22, 2003... So you're embarrassed your living room doesn't look like the most recent cover of House Beautiful magazine? Perhaps your kitchen countertop is so small it can barely accommodate a mixing bowl, let alone stage a gourmet buffet. Maybe you...

When Mars and Venus remodel: a primer for doing it yourself--while doing it together.
June 22, 2003... Unless you're stranded on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific, you've no doubt witnessed the glut of home improvement shows sweeping millions off their feet, onto their couches, and into the living rooms of prime-time couples caught...

I wanted to kill him: after my husband had a devastating stroke, our marriage fell apart. And so did I--to the point that I seriously considered ending his life. (Back from the brink: true story of how a marriage was saved).
June 22, 2003... Life as I knew it stopped on April 15, 1994. Before that day, my husband and I had lived fast-paced lives. For 24 years, Tony's sales jobs took us all over the country--from selling cameras to the White House and National Geographic in...

Our sex life is dull. (Real Sex).
June 22, 2003... Q. After 18 years of marriage, my wife told me our sex life is dull. Now I'm afraid to initiate sex for fear she'll get bored. What can we do to make things more than routine and for me to gain back my confidence? A. After 18 years of...

I want it more. (Real Sex).
June 22, 2003... Q. My husband has a lower sex drive than I do. He's fine with once a week; I'd be fine with every other day. Our involvement at church and our careers keep us busy, but not stressed. He refuses to visit a physician to see if there's a physical...

Hygiene dilemma. (Real Sex).
June 22, 2003... Q. My husband isn't interested in hygiene--and it's a huge turnoff to me, to the point where I don't want to have sex with him. I've tried to say things such as, "Honey, where's that good smelling cologne I bought for you?" Is there something...

Take it all off! (Real Sex).
June 22, 2003... Q. My husband asks me repeatedly to strip for him. I understand men are visual creatures, and that by my doing this he'd have a pleasing experience. While I'd love to do this for him, I feel self-conscious. I'm not the thinnest woman. How do I...

Vaginal orgasms! (Real Sex).
June 22, 2003... Q. Can a woman have a vaginal orgasm, and is there such a thing as a "G spot"? My husband, who was married before, says his former wife always had a vaginal climax during intercourse and he thinks there must be something wrong with me because...

End of the road? Maybe I should have listened to my wife's suggestion after all. (Ever after: marriage for a lifetime).
June 22, 2003... One day my wife, Erin, and I were driving from Springfield, Missouri, to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend a conference. In the days leading up to the trip Erin had asked me to consult AAA about the best way to get to Nashville. As a guy, I...