Jim Daly

Married couples are designed for intimacy. Yet, like Adam and Eve in the garden, they often hide from God and each other.

Some couples pretend their relationship is healthier than it is because it feels safer than risking exposure and shame. Hiding feels safer in the moment.

But long-term, it has the opposite effect. Instead of feeling more loved, we feel more lost. Instead of feeling more accepted, we feel more alone.

What’s a good way for couples to break out of isolation and connect with each other?

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: marriage

Lucille Williams was washing vomit out of her clothes when a thought occurred to her: “This is marriage.”

She was on the last night of her honeymoon cruise with her husband, Mike, and they were enjoying a final dinner with new friends they’d made that week. Suddenly, an unexpected bout of sea sickness hit Mike, and he began vomiting uncontrollably. Their dinner guests scrambled out of the way, but it was too late for Lucille, who ended up with Mike’s disgusting mess splashed all over her.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: marriage

When you hear the term “controlling spouse,” you might picture the stereotypical angry husband who barks orders and intimidates his wife through verbal and physical abuse.

Although some men control like that, some control more subtly. They’re not malicious and may not even be aware how their behavior is affecting their family.

Either way, the result is the same: the spouse feels frustrated, powerless, and alone in marriage. Even in loving, Christian relationships, manipulation, anxiety, and fear can lead to unhealthy forms of control between a husband and wife.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: marriage