From the category archives:

Newlyweds

A Special Way to Reinforce the NEW Beginning of 2011

by Marlon on January 3, 2011

Yesterday, on January 2nd, some families came together to create their Family Goals Affirmation Collage!

The Future Starts Today!

It was truly a wonderful experience as parents and children cut pictures from various magazines and assembled them onto a poster board.

Hearing children and parents share their reasons for cutting specific pictures was touching because through this “simple” exercise, we experienced a deeper level of communication.

After 25 minutes, each  family stood and shared their Family Goals Affirmation Collage with the other families.  We clapped, cheered, and celebrated so every family had a positive reinforcement of a NEW Beginning of Possibilities.

It was POWERFUL!

Isn’t amazing how we can live in the same household, under the same roof, but not really know one another?

With all of our hectic schedules, it’s clear to me that when a family comes together to create their Family Goals Affirmation Collage, it allows family members to strengthen their bond.

My family has posted our family collage on a wall in our kitchen so it may be a constant reminder of what we value as a family.

Every time I entered into the kitchen today, I paused and reviewed at each picture and phrase on our family collage.

Each picture and phrase has special significance because my wife, children and I shared our reasons for why we selected every item on our family collage.

I’m sharing this today because this is an AMAZING exercise for your family to experience.

Here are the steps for you and your children to create your Family Goals Affirmation Collage. The steps are:

1.      Obtain 5-7 magazines, scissors, glue sticks and a large-size poster board.

2.      Gather your family together and share that everyone will contribute to a family collage during the next 30-45 minutes.

3.      Each person will cut pictures and quotes that have special meaning and paste onto this poster board.

4.      If possible, play some music.

5.      After everyone has completed cutting pictures and phrases, each person will share his/her reasons for selecting those particular pictures and pictures with the rest of the family. This is a great opportunity to strengthen your family bond.

6.      To help your family maintain focus on your goals, post your collage on a kitchen wall, on the refrigerator, in the bathroom and other places that you see regularly.

7.      Encourage your family to review the family collage at least three times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening) so you may maintain focus and direction.

By helping your children get into the habit of focusing daily on their goals, they will be inspired to make positive and healthy choices.

Question:  What are you doing to keep your family centered and focused on being your best?

Do share because there is tremendous value when we share with one another.

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Does the Honeymoon have to End? – Part 2

by Marlon on May 12, 2010

Tyrone and Alicia Partee are sharing three more insights for how to keep the Honeymoon rolling as the years continue!

Check out their insights and post your feedback.

Why is it that so many marriages are struggling to keep the excitement and passion after their honeymoon has ended?

Does it have to be this way?

What do you think?

Mr. and Mrs. Tyrone Partee

Mr. and Mrs. Tyrone Partee

In yesterday’s blog posting, Mr. and Mrs. Tyrone Partee shared 3 insights.  Here are 3 more additional insights for keeping the honeymoon alive…

1. Pray daily for your spouse and pray together regularly

It is so humbling to pray for your spouse.  I don’t know about you, but even when I go to God complaining about my husband, I find that my complaint turns to thanks and praise before I get up off my knees.  It is in prayer to God that helps me to see what God has given me and what I am truly thankful for in life. I also can’t come into God’s presence and not face my shortcomings.  Pray for each other daily.

2. Positive self talk – remind yourself of what attracted you to your spouse

Have you found that the tapes (thoughts) that play over and over in your head focus on all the negative things.  “He didn’t pick up that sock again…”  “She didn’t cook dinner…”  “Why is the house a mess?…” I remind myself often of my spouse’s good qualities.  It is true that your spouse will not meet your expectations every time.  But remember this, they weren’t perfect when you met them. Remind yourself of why you fell in love.  I have found that my spouse is still as giving, transparent and considerate as she was when I met her.  And my husband is still as patient, attentive, and kind towards me as the day we first met. Yes it helps to speak truth in love aloud and remember what God has given you.

3. Laugh at yourselves.

And by all means have the audacity to laugh at yourself. In order to laugh at yourself, you have to be willing to see yourself for who you really are.  I remember we were having a good argument, and all of a sudden we started laughing.  We realized just how stubborn we are.  We knew the issue we were arguing over was not worth it, but no one wanted to give up. The crazy truth is that after we stopped taking ourselves so seriously we forgot what we were arguing about. Why? Because we realized that we were caught up in looking out at one another that we never noticed how silly we were acting. Laugh it off! Remember the person that God gave you is the same one that you are intended to love and cherish. If you cannot laugh it off or find it difficult to laugh at yourself then do what my husband does… We go together into our bedroom apart from the children and start arguing. He makes a point to stand in front of the mirror as he begins to voice his complaints. After a little while he looks into the mirror and upon seeing himself he begins to laugh slowly. Why? It is because he sees himself.

Well we have shared a few secrets that have helped us to keep the honeymoon going. And we know that this is not intended to be an exhaustive list.  We’d love to hear your ideas.  Please comment with ideas, suggestions, questions.

REMEMBER!

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. 13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. 13:6 It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. 13:7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.13:8 Love never ends.   1 Corinthians 13:4-8

What do you think of these insights?  Do you have any additional insights for keeping the honeymoon alive after years of marriage?

Do share your comments.

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Does the Honeymoon Have to End?

May 11, 2010

We were married on December 21, 2008. I remember people telling me to enjoy the honeymoon stage because it won’t last forever.  Someone said, “A honeymoon is the short period between the bridal toast and the burnt toast.” We get messages from many different places, including Christians, that the honeymoon was only meant to last [...]

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Couple Profile: Mike and Lisa Shea – “Marriage from Good to Great”

February 2, 2010

During the month of February, we are excited to profile a different couple each day on our Blog site. We have asked each couple to share their answers to specific questions concerning marriage and family. The couples we have invited are at different stages in their marriage… Some have been married for decades while others [...]

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Are You Reading To Enhance Yourself, Your Marriage and Family?

January 29, 2010

Syreeta and I just finished reading today’s devotion from Dennis and Barbara Rainey’s Moments With You.  In this book, there are 365 devotions with the intention of encouraging daily connections for couples.  We highly encourage you to read this book. Today’s message was so profound that we were both deeply touched.  The message was definitely [...]

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What is love?

January 26, 2010

Based on what we see in the movies or on television, love is presented as some type of feeling that leads to romance and ultimately to sex. You know what I’m talking about… The couple is strolling on the beach with the sunset in the horizon.  They stop.  He looks into her eyes and smiles.  [...]

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What is the most-important ingredient to a successful marriage?

January 25, 2010

In our previous poll, we asked the question:  “What do you feel is the most-important ingredient to a successful marriage?” The poll answers included: 1) God,   2) Communication,  3) Love,         4) Common Vision, and  5) Conflict Resolution. What do you think the results were? Based on the total number of participant answers, the poll results [...]

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Is separation good for marriage?

January 22, 2010

While facilitating a male-female relationship seminar a few years ago, I’ll never forget when an man stood up and shared how he and his wife have an annual review on January 1st where they have an open and honest conversation to discuss whether or not they should continue with their marriage. At first, I was [...]

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What does the Bible say about marriage?

January 19, 2010

What does the Bible say about marriage? How many of us really know what the Bible says about marriage?  Truth to be told, I don’t think many people know what the real purpose of marriage is from the standpoint of the Bible.  I know I didn’t really know when I said, “I do” during my [...]

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What advice do you have for experiencing an extraordinary marriage?

January 18, 2010

Congratulations on getting married! How does it feel? Do you still have butterflies floating in your stomach as you experienced during your first date? Probably not! But realize this: It is extremely important that you continue doing what you first did to attract your spouse. The reason I say this is because once the honeymoon [...]

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