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May 23, 2013

Blest Be The Ties That Bind

friendship

Every Thursday I’ll post an article having to do with either relational or emotional matters. Hope it helps. — Blest Be The Ties That Bind We’re sitting here watching a beautifully put together gospel concert by country superstar Alan Jackson at the Grand Old Opry. The man’s running through a set of traditional hymns, singing with a simple integrity that’s pulling tears out of me. And somehow, for no discernible reason, the music’s got me thinking of my friends. Maybe it’s the community feeling a good old fashioned Continue Reading

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May 7, 2013

Business As Usual

concept couple

Every Tuesday we post something about strengthening or rebuilding marriages. Hope it helps. — Business as Usual Someone to hold you too close Someone to know you too well Someone to sit in your chair And ruin your sleep And make you aware Of being alive -“Being Alive” by Stephen Sondheim I got an education from my wife and son last Saturday on the subject of predictability. We were gathered around the kitchen counter when I started to sneeze, and between my ‘ah-choos’ I noticed Renee counting out loud. I finished Continue Reading

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April 23, 2013

Hear Ye

conflict

Every Tuesday we’ll be posting an article about restoring and strengthening marriages that have been damaged by sexual sin. Hope it’s helpful. — Hear Ye My wife says I never listen to her. At least I think that's what she said. ~Author Unknown Bill Cosby called it The Weapon, a technique husbands instinctively catch onto early in marriage, and use as needed. The wife says something he’d rather ignore, like “Did you take the trash out?” or “We need to talk about taxes.” His mind is elsewhere, or he’s watching Continue Reading

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April 11, 2013

Getting the Sound Bite Right

gold apple

Every Thursday I’ll post an article having to do with either relational or emotional matters. Hope it helps. — Getting the Sound Bite Right “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a picture of silver.” -Proverbs 25:11 My lovely wife gets all the breaks. She’s warm and inviting, a friendly woman who extends herself easily. I’m reserved, somewhat shy, not good at small talk and, according to feedback I’ve gotten since I was 3 months old, not friendly looking. So everybody loves Renee, and wonders what she’s Continue Reading

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April 5, 2013

Obama’s Blunder; Was It Really That Bad? Renee and Joe at an Impasse

kamala harris

Renee and I are having an argument and nobody’s budging. It’s not bad; we’re just at an impasse over President Obama’s remarks about Secretary of State Kamala Harris, his subsequent apology, and the media fallout. Now, as I understand it, The President, addressing a fundraising lunch in Atherton, California , referred to Ms. Harris as “the best-looking attorney general in the country." Uproar ensured; talking heads bobbed. No surprise there; that’s the kind of thing our 24 hour news cycle thrives on. But what did startle me Continue Reading

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April 2, 2013

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Husbands

couple praying

Every Tuesday we’ll be posting an article about restoring and strengthening marriages that have been damaged by sexual sin. Hope it’s helpful. — Seven Habits of Highly Effective Husbands Renee and I celebrated the big 25 last week, a milestone to any couple. I like to see our marriage as its own entity, commenting on its development as it grows, so on our first anniversary I said, “Our marriage should be walking any day now.” On our tenth, I noted it would go through puberty soon; on the sixteenth I moaned it could drive; on Continue Reading

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March 12, 2013

Beware the Grudge

couple praying

Every Tuesday we’ll post something to do with strengthening marriages. Hope it helps. — Beware the Grudge A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. ~ Ruth Bell Graham On the best of football teams fumbles happen, and passes are either poorly thrown or missed. But the players would be unusually stupid if they held their errors against each other, for obvious reasons. They have a goal. They need each other’s cooperative effort to achieve that goal, and if they waste time and energy holding grudges against a teammate Continue Reading

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March 5, 2013

Let Me Entertain Her

laughing couple

Every Tuesday we’ll post something to do with strengthening marriages. Hope it helps. — Let Me Entertain Her My shoulder’s sore from patting my own back all morning. I feel like a king, a real stud, The Man. And all because last night I made my wife laugh. Not a polite giggle, mind you, but belly deep guffaws that had her doing those out of control, helpless spasms that are so beautiful to see. I don’t even remember what I was saying that brought it on, but I was on a roll just as we went to bed, and quirky witticisms were Continue Reading

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March 4, 2013

Embracing the Drudge

pensive

Every Monday we’ll post something about maintaining your sexual integrity. Hope it helps. — Embracing the Drudge And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. - Galatians 6:9 I find successful people aren’t necessarily brilliant, but they are willing to invest properly. They watch their investments of time and energy; they choose carefully who they invest friendship and trust in; they accept the fact that the habits they invest in now will hugely determine their immediate and long Continue Reading

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February 26, 2013

The Feminine Mistake

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Every Tuesday we’ll post something to do with strengthening marriages. Hope it helps. — The Feminine Mistake This year marks the 50th anniversary of Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking The Feminine Mystique  a landmark book which shaped and propelled the modern feminist movement. Today some of Friedan’s ideas would seem pretty tame, even to social conservatives like myself who see nothing wrong with women working, or opting not to marry, or choosing and pursuing careers. Nor have I ever found the idea of equal pay to be anything but Continue Reading

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