Are you constantly polluting your relationship environment?

It is up to each one of us to be honest with ourselves. Substance abuse, domestic violence, intimidation, emotional abuse, affairs, blaming, denying, and threatening are just some of the signs that you are creating a toxic environment for you and your partner; that something is seriously wrong. 

If you continue poisoning your relationship environment, it will die. If you find yourself engaging is destructive and harmful behaviors, reach out to ally’s in your community in order to shut down the flow of relationship killing toxins. Failure to do so will lead to total engine failure. There will be no relationship left to repair.

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MARRIAGE 101 By Apostle Edward: Avoid the “same old, same old.” Style and Pattern.... Make it New all the time!

Avoid the “same old, same old.” Style and Pattern.... Make it New all the time!

Someone once coined the phrase, “Variety is the spice of life.” If you keep doing the same things over and over, life gets predictable and mundane. Make sure to change things around. Two of the most important components of a successful relationship are a balance of compromise and sacrifice.

If each partner understands this, it is easy to avoid only doing what one partner wants to do. Thus, each of you are able to do all the fun things that you want to do and your partner doesn’t have to complain, as he or she knows that next week, it’s his or her turn to decide what to do. Keep things new and alive by seeking out new places to go and new activities to participate in.

Marriage OOOOH!

Having slightly negative feelings toward your partner.

As inherently flawed human beings, we make mistakes. Sometimes we fail to live up to our own expectations or the expectations of our partner. When expectations go unmet, the result is bitterness that acts like an acid; one that slowly eats away at the foundation of the relationship.

The negative feelings that you are experiencing are likely due to not having a need or an expectation met (we formulate expectations to try and meet our needs). Don’t ignore this warning light! Instead, take a moment to reflect upon why you are feeling what you’re feeling.

Look deep within yourself to see if a need or expectation is not being met. Then communicate your feelings to your partner. Make sure to use “I statements” as to not put your partner on the defense. Ignoring this sign will only cause further relationship damage.
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Marriage Tips: avoid yelling at each other.

Marriage Tips: avoid yelling at each other.

Your partner is likely to be the closest and most meaningful person in your life. Because of the closeness, partners will say things to each other that they would never say to anyone else on the planet. Quite often, I am amazed at the kind and amount of disparaging remarks and foul language that I witness in session.

While yelling and making negative remarks may bring forth temporary feelings of relief, they do immense damage. When you start ripping deep into the soul of your partner and wound them, there will be lasting scars. These scars will not be easily forgotten and will haunt the relationship.

Instead, talk to each other vowing to maintain respect at all times. Contrary to the popular adage, “sticks and stones break bones but words will never hurt me,” callous words can do innumerable damage to the spirit and the soul.

Your Partner! Friends or Enemies?

Your Partner! Friends or Enemies?

l too often I see couples who come into my office with their marriage in shambles and on the verge of divorce. They come to counseling in an attempt to save their marriage. You can usually spot these couples from a mile away; they sit on opposite sides of the couch (not touching AT ALL!), usually have their arms folded, and the moment they start talking, everything is the other person’s fault.

The sad thing about these couples is that somewhere along the way, they stopped being each other’s

Today's Marriage Digest: What Frustrates Husbands and Makes Wives Cry?

Hugh Hefner may have a very different initial response than Dr. Laura.  Yet the root of this issue is the
same:

Loving your spouse but not feeling loved...

These feelings may evolve from a variety of "symptoms", yet the root of the problem is not feeling loved.

These feelings can occur as a relationship evolves and changes in behavior and actions follow.  When this
evolution happens and one or both spouses feel that there are too many negative results, then it's time to
work on controlling that evolution.

Here are 3 steps that can be taken as relationships evolve to ensure that the needs of both are met and the
evolutionary process is beneficial to the relationship.

"Are You Dishing Out The "Leftovers" of Love To Your Spouse?"

Are you involved in so many activities each day that they use up a lot of your mental and physical stores?
When as you finally sit down to relax with your sweetheart, are you pretty much spent and only have love leftovers to give?

It's going to take more than Julia Childs' amazing recipes or Paul Newman's fancy dressings so solve your leftover problem.  So read on and discover the 5 secret weapons to get rid of the "love leftover" crisis in your home!