marriage Archives

Experiencing the Best Marriage for You and Your Spouse

According to some reports, Americans spent $72 billion on wedding ceremonies last year. That puts the average cost in the neighborhood of $30,000 per ceremony.

By contrast, most married couples will never invest a fraction of that amount into the marriage itself.

A successful marriage isn’t the by-product of an extravagant ceremony or an expensive honeymoon. If that were the case, celebrities would routinely set the standard for strong, healthy marriages.

A happy, fulfilling marriage isn’t about the big day, it’s about the every day.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage, relationships, wife October 22, 2018 by Jim Daly

Tackling Midlife Transitions in Marriage

When you first got married, did you assume your relationship with your spouse would remain pretty much the same from year to year? Many couples do. That’s probably why so many wind up shocked and utterly confused when life around them changes … and their marriage along with it.

According to our guests on today’s program, relationship experts Bill and Pam Farrel, the key is to recognize that changes are coming – probably sooner than we think – and to prepare for them.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, marriage, relationships October 9, 2018 by Jim Daly

How to Positively Influence Your Husband

Is it possible to change your husband?

Well, yes and no.

Researcher John Gottman says that around 60 percent of the dynamics in a marriage will never change. When you marry somebody, you’re marrying them essentially as they are. A person who’s perpetually late may never care if they’re on time. A neat-freak will never feel comfortable with clutter.

Author Gary Thomas says that still leaves 40 percent for a relationship to grow, and for spouses to learn to approach their marriage in different ways.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, husband, marriage, relationships October 4, 2018 by Jim Daly

Finding the Secrets to Financial and Romantic Success in Marriage

Brian and Cherie Lowe paid off $127,482.30 in debt in just over four years. They know that number to the penny because, as they’ll tell you, when you put in the work and the sacrifice to pay off a dollar amount that high, you remember it to the penny. How did they do it?

Financial foreplay.

Yep, you read that correctly. That’s a term Brian and Cherie use to explain how intricately connected finances are with marital intimacy.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, finances, marriage September 25, 2018 by Jim Daly

Restoring Hope to Your Marriage

Ron and Opal Erickson call themselves “musicianaires.” Ron is an accomplished steel guitarist, and Opal an accomplished vocalist. They’ve made beautiful music together for over 40 years.

They’ve also walked through the fires of a marriage that seemed irreparably broken. Through God’s grace and wisdom, they survived adultery, rejection, and betrayal and created a new marriage forged in trust, love, and grace.

God has done a remarkable work in their marriage, and we are so excited to share their story with our listeners on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Restoring Hope to Your Marriage.” Listen on your local radio station, online, on iTunes, via Podcast, or on our free phone app.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage, relationships September 21, 2018 by Jim Daly

Practical Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage

A door-to-door salesman from a local cable company stopped by Dave and Ashley Willis’ house and gave them his best pitch. At first, his offer sounded amazing. He promised his company would take good care of Dave and Ashley by giving them the best package at the best price.

The deal went south when Dave asked the salesman, “So how long is this package and price valid for?”

“Twelve months,” the salesman said.

“What happens after that?” Dave asked.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage September 13, 2018 by Jim Daly

Did You Know This Influences the Success of Your Marriage?

When you ask couples which household issues influence the success of a marriage, things like kids and finances usually rise to the top. But did you know that chores rank third on that list?!

How can something as simple as housework fuel conflict in a marriage? Rather easily it turns out. As we all know, life gets busy. Not long after the “I do’s,” couples tend to get focused on (or maybe I should say, “distracted by”) the household tasks they care about, while forgetting the burdens their spouse is carrying.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, marriage September 7, 2018 by Jim Daly

Finding Family as a Single Adult

The Bible begins with marriage and ends with marriage.

That ought to tell us something about the importance God places on it. He’s infused it with profound meaning, both as a cultural institution and as one of the most significant relationships we can experience. It’s the bedrock of God’s design for families.

So where does that leave singles?

Throughout the Bible we’re reminded that God created us for community. No one is meant to be alone.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, marriage, relationships September 6, 2018 by Jim Daly

Restoring Your Marriage After Infidelity

“He walked in, and I knew something was horribly wrong. I thought someone had died. I didn’t know it was our marriage.”

That comment from Mona Shriver about the moment she learned her husband Gary was committing adultery, reflects a sentiment felt by almost a third of couples. One or both partners admits to involvement in extramarital affairs, and life as they know it dies.

Gary and Mona Shriver are here with us from California to talk about the emotional devastation they went through as a result of an affair.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, husband, marriage, wife August 21, 2018 by Jim Daly

What to Do When Your Fairy Tale Marriage Fades

King Artaxerxes commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah and his men set to work with trowels in one hand and swords in the other (4:17) defending against enemies on all sides.

In many ways, married couples face similar opposition. They’re building their homes with jobs, hard work, and children in one hand and the sword of the Word of God in the other, defending their families against a culture that’s increasingly hostile to them.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, intimacy, marriage, wife August 10, 2018 by Jim Daly