Date Night Idea: Christmas Lights Contest

Homes are being decorated with lights and trees out side are being decorated for the Christmas Season. There is also a huge increase on those inflatable decorations you are now seeing in people's yards.  So, it's easy to begin humming, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."  Ya know you just sang the first …

“Marriage is Easy.” Said No One Ever!

I have met a few people who think marriage is easy. But those conversations are rare. Count-on-one-hand-and-still-have-fingers-left rare. Most people I meet who are willing to get vulnerable reveal something that tends to be more universal than unique -- marriage is hard. Worth it, yes.  Rich with possibilities, yes. Designed by the Creator of the …

Adulterous Affairs Don’t Begin with Sleeping Together; They Begin with Inappropriate Friendships

It seems that far too often when a spouse becomes close to a member of the opposite sex, other than their spouse, it begins to place them on a slippery slope.  In our years of counseling we have seen the results of what occurs when it was initially shared to a spouse, “We are just …

Results from the Intimacy Poll

Well, the results are in. For the month of November we ran an intimacy poll to see where married couples fall into the frequency of sexual activity. We asked the following question: "Barring medical or reasons due to travel or distance, how often do you and your spouse have sex?" Kerry and I were amazed …

Actually Setting Guardrails

Here is the third in Jonathan McKee's series. Do you allow your teenagers to download anything they want? Do you check their text messages? Do they have a bedtime?” This week I’ve been writing about the process of setting guardrails, and today is the day I post some of the guardrails I use in my …

“Who are you serving?” Date Night

I realize that many of us are on a tight budget; however, we can all think of ways that we could bless another family or couple this Christmas season. Here is our idea this week. Plan a date time together that you can devote at least an hour of uninterrupted time together. Budget some money …

Fight For Your Marriage: 4 Signs of Selfishness in a Marriage

It is so very evident that the core to most, if not all, sin is selfishness.  And then we quickly discover that the greatest threat to our marriages is selfishness.  Wow, and it took me repeating it twice to fully own that simple fact. Yup, it sure does. Why, because we don’t own the selfishness, …

Who do you call “Friend?”

As parents we become very aware of our children’s choices in friends. Whether it be at school, sports, or even at church. Regardless of where it is, we will try to “guide and direct” our children towards those friends we feel will be good for our child’s character. What’s ironic is that so often as …

“Cuddle Up By the Light” Date Night

Since it has become colder, for some it's a downright deepfreeze,  it's time to make some light together. Build a fire in the fireplace. Don’t have a fireplace? Light a whole bunch of candles in a grouping. Lay out a blanket and have an indoor picnic – or at least some popcorn. After your meal, …