Parent / Lover Test

On today’s Focus on the Family radio program, we’re sitting down with two friends, Dr. Gary Smalley and Ted Cunningham, to discuss their excellent new book designed to help you with your marriage.

Gary and Ted are attempting to tackle a common problem. As you’ve likely discovered, raising children is rewarding but also time consuming. In the process, dedicated parents will often neglect their spouse. For many, their marriages suffer when children arrive. Could it be possible to find a healthy balance and enjoy both marriage and parenting simultaneously? Yes, but how? You’ll have to tune-in to find out.

I would encourage you to listen by clicking here, but to give you a preview of the very practical and helpful material we’ll be covering, I have a test for you. There’s no studying required. Let’s take this quick quiz and find out how you’re doing balancing your marriage and role as mom or dad. How many of these statements can you answer “yes” to?

You might be a great parent, lousy lover if …

…if you feel like a cook, maid, or shuttle, and you run your home like a hotel.

…if you consider an appetizer the free applesauce that comes with the kid’s meal.

…if one or more of your children sleep in your bed more than you do.

… if you have ever responded to a friend’s engagement announcement by saying, “Are you sure you want to go through with this? Think it through long and hard.”

…if your idea of a date night is watching the kids play on the playground at Chick-fil-A.

… if you are consistently late to events and activities because you are coming from other kids events and activities.

…if you have adult children living at home and they refuse to give up their Star Wars bedsheets.

…if your only alone time with God is to calm you down and to keep you from “going off” on someone small.

…if you think that you don’t even need a spouse to have a great marriage.

…if it is more important to you to have your child in the accelerated reading program or on the honor roll, rather than to create a home where mom and dad thoroughly enjoy each other.

…if before you leave the house, you ask your husband, “Do you need to go potty before we leave?”

…if you have told your family that they are going on a family vacation and that you demanded that they have a good time.

…if the majority of laughter in your home comes from a pop star with a split personality or a sponge that lives under the sea.

…if you have ever had a kiss interrupted by a kid screaming, “Mom, can you help me wipe?”

…if your “Tonight’s the night” is regularly met with “Let’s shoot for tomorrow night.”

…if you’ve ever wondered why your spouse wasn’t just like you.

…if you choose a church based only on its kickin’ kids program.

I apologize for offending anyone with Star Wars sheets.

If you can say “yes” to the vast majority of these statements, or, ahem, you know someone who can — please join us on today’s program. You can listen either online or by tuning into the program on your favorite local station.