Category Archives: Weekly Marriage Tip

Weekly Marriage Tip:  Devote Yourself to Your Spouse’s Success

Sometimes this blog serves as more a journal for me when I come across ideas for marriage improvement that I want to remember. I came across an idea I want to remember. Last night I was reading an article about the LDS prophet Ezra Taft Benson and his wife Flora. Some people gave her flack for marrying “just a farm boy” when she was so wealthy and accomplished and popular.  But she loved Ezra.  And more than that, she believed in him.  She said, “I am going to do all within my power to help him be known and felt… Read More

Weekly Marriage Tip:  Start Your Conversations With Love

Today’s marriage tip comes from Gottman’s The 7 Principles For Making Marriage Work.  This book is full of fantastic marriage tips, so I’ll probably talk more about his research in the future, but one little tidbit that has stuck with me from his book was from his chapter about predicting divorce.  He says if a conversation starts with a harsh start up, one laden with sarcasm or criticism, it will almost certainly end on a negative note.  I found this statistic especially instructive: “96% of the time, you can predict the outcome of a conversation based on the first three… Read More

Weekly Marriage Tip:  Hear and Be Heard

A few weeks ago, we had a companionship inventory and without really planning to I spilled my guts about something I’ve been fearing in our marriage for a long time, but that I didn’t want to say out loud because I didn’t really think anything productive would come from it.  I was afraid this issue would come out all wrong and I wasn’t sure how much of it was just in my head.  Anyway, it came out and I spilled it and Rich was so SO great about it.  Not defensive, not trying to solve anything, just listening. I think… Read More

Weekly Marriage Tip:  Put Your Spouse On Your To-Do List

This week’s marriage tip was inspired by my friend Michelle over at the blog Motherhood in the Major Leagues.  She posted about this video clip Spouse vs Kids:  Finding Balance in Marriage: The speaker here is Matt Townsend, whom I had never heard of, but apparently he is a relationship expert (according to his website), so I guess we should all listen to him.  Also, how do I acquire this title? Anyway, I likes what he has to say.  Here are his four tips on finding the balance in your marriage: 1. Find the compliment not the critique. 2. Lose… Read More

Sarcastic Weekly Marriage Tip

By Celeste Maybe don’t buy very valuable, lucrative collection items (like those beanie baby gold mines shown below) if you are ever considering getting a divorce.  The process of dividing them up in divorce court can be contentious and tedious.  Plus you’ll have to divide your fortune.  And those very valuable tags might get bent up.  Now how will you send your kids to college?!!  Heart breaking.  Via Howie Decker  Note:  This is a real picture from a couple dividing up their beanie baby booty in divorce court circa 1999 that popped up on Reddit this week. Add a Comment