marriage Archives

How Love Styles Can Help You Grow Closer as a Couple

Over the years, I’ve discovered how my interactions with my wife are shaped by experiences from my childhood – for good or for bad.

Maybe you’ve discovered the same thing. You have buried anger that’s seeping into your marriage relationship. Or you’re a loner who refuses help from anyone. Or you’re a people pleaser who tries to make everybody happy.

These attitudes may seem normal, but they create friction in a marriage. Some couples are so accustomed to their unhealthy patterns that they become trapped in a “conflict loop” where they routinely trigger each other without recognizing that they’re doing it.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage May 13, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Practical Ideas for Loving Your Wife

Over the years, loving my wife has most often expressed itself in small ways. Like when our boys were young and full of energy. Some nights I’d come home after a long, busy day at work, and Jean would meet me at the door with Trent and Troy – 5 and 3 years old at the time – and say, “Take them.”

Jean and I were both desperate for a recharge after a long day, but in that moment, there was only room for one of us to take a breather.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage May 8, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Cracks of Busyness

Bob and Audrey wanted to change the world. They got married and hit the ground running. Within a few years, they had three kids. They worked at the local and the national level to strengthen families. They were well known in the community. And they were busy. Really busy. Not only did they not see that as a problem, they saw it as a mindset. Every moment was an important opportunity to reach somebody that needed help.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage April 30, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Don’t Flush Your Marriage

I came home from work about a year after my wife Jean and I got married and found her in the bathroom crying. I was worried she was having second thoughts about our relationship, but when I asked her what was wrong, she said, “I flushed my wedding ring down the toilet.” Back then, she kept her jewelry in a basket behind the toilet, and she’d hit the flusher and the basket at the same time.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage April 2, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Secrets to a Strong and Happy Marriage

When Trey and Lea Morgan started dating, they’d grab fast food, a blanket and talk for hours. Then, after they each went home, they’d call each other and talk some more. Now, years into their marriage, they wonder what they could have possibly talked about for so long.

Although their quantity of conversation has changed, they’ve always maintained quality. They understand that strong marriages are no accident; they’re cultivated.

Trey and Lea Morgan have been involved in marriage ministry and coaching for over 30 years and are co-hosts of the Stronger Marriage with Trey and Lea Morgan podcast.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage April 1, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Restoring Your Marriage After an Affair

Infidelity is one of the top reasons why marriages end in divorce. That should come as no surprise. It’s hard to repair the gaping wounds that an affair rips into a relationship. Many couples choose to walk away. Even Christians often view infidelity as a “get out of jail free card.”

Josh and Katie Walters know firsthand the betrayal and devastation of infidelity. They now serve on staff at Seacoast Church, a multi-campus ministry in South Carolina, but six years into their marriage, Katie confessed that she was having an affair with one of Josh’s best friends.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage March 14, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Marriage is a Team Sport

The secret to winning in a team sport is no secret at all. Teammates share a common goal, and they work together to achieve it.

That commitment to unity is what makes marriage work, too. Working together as a team isn’t always easy. Joshua and Christi Straub are both experienced counselors, but even they overlook the importance of teamwork from time to time. Like the day Joshua came home and told Christi about all of the exciting projects he had going on at work.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage March 13, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Two Prongs of Marriage

Some people believe the definition of marriage should be anything we want it to be. No exclusions. No boundaries.

The problem with that idea is the fabric of reality itself. Marriage was created to function within a particular design because it’s powerful – so powerful that we need guardrails to channel its influence.

To understand what I mean, consider the design of electrical cords on most of the lamps, TVs, and small appliances in your home.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: family, marriage March 3, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Iced Tea and Marriage

When Jean and I were dating, I made a big mistake. I served her tea.

That may not sound like such a big deal to you, but I was wooing this girl. I wanted to marry her. On this particular occasion, however, everything nearly fell apart. I went all out. I packed a full picnic lunch, complete with a basket full of food, a blanket to sit on, and iced tea. I thought everything was perfect.

And it would have been, except she doesn’t like iced tea.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: marriage February 19, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Rethinking Godly Sexuality in Your Marriage

A lot of couples will be interested in my conversation with Dr. Juli Slattery on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.

Dr. Slattery is a clinical psychologist and the president of Authentic Intimacy, a ministry devoted to reclaiming God’s design for sexuality. Her book God, Sex, and Your Marriage served as the basis for our conversation.

She says few couples experience the intimacy that God intends for their marriage. Sexual problems are a hidden, shameful secret for many because they don’t know how to navigate their pain and frustration or even communicate about it effectively.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage January 29, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura