• Marriage & Keeping Intimacy

    Chasing the Dodgers: Handling Conflict When You’re Different

    Conflict. Ugh. Just the sound of that word makes us cringe, right? But know this. If you can learn how to manage it well, conflict will help your relationship. Yes, make it better because both unaddressed issues and bloody battles are death to your relationship. One might just take longer to make it die than the other. So, let’s figure this out. First, there are really two kinds of people when it comes to conflict: Chasers and Dodgers. Both have good points when it comes to conflict, but both have the capacity to really screw it up, too. It’s important to identify who you both are so the road can…

  • Dating & Finding Love

    What to Know Before Choosing a Spouse

     The below is a letter I wrote to my eight nieces and nephews about what to know before choosing a spouse. I still pray for each one of them every day. I think I always will. Wanna eavesdrop on my conversation? I’ll also be praying that you or someone you love will be blessed by this letter, and you’ll learn about choosing a spouse. I’ll also share at the bottom something I wrote about where to look to find the right partner. I hope it helps you, too. Important decisions are on the horizon I have been thinking a lot about each of you, how much I love you, and…

  • Marriage & Keeping Intimacy

    Commence with the Romance

    I am obsessed with the show This Is Us. One reason everyone loves this show, besides the fact that Jack Pearson is hot (Did I say that out loud?) is because Jack and Rebecca’s relationship is so fantastic. Come on, they seriously got it goin’ on. He’s not perfect. She’s not perfect. But together – they’re imperfectly perfect. One of my favorite scenes is a Date Night they share. Jack is a recovering alcoholic who has slid back into his addiction.  He is fighting it again, but he is sad and embarrassed. He is reluctant to reopen the wounds from his past, and he certainly doesn’t want to talk about…

  • Marriage & Keeping Intimacy

    Be There!

    Wolf and Anita Gotttschalk have been married for sixty-two years. Their granddaughter took this heartrending picture of them the day they were parted and placed in separate nursing care facilities in Canada due to governmental red tape. This picture demonstrates two things. First, someone needed to get their act together and rectify this terrible situation for two people who did not deserve to be treated like this. Second, despite this situation, Wolf and Anita have something we all want. They have an everlasting love and an undeniable intimacy that even strangers can see instantly. They understand the concept of “Be There.” They were being forced not to follow it, though.…