Mark: I have been working on changing my view of the conflicts within marriage. To be honest, I am not someone who likes conflict at all. There was too much of it when I was growing up so I wanted my own family to be conflict free (can you say “unrealistic...
Mark: We recently did a Dive Deep Interview with Beth and Jeff McCord for our No More Perfect Date Night members. It was such a fabulous interview that we decided to ask Beth if she would provide a Marriage Monday blog post about the enneagram and how it can help your...
It doesn’t take much effort at all to destroy a relationship. In fact, it’s quite easy. Just follow your feelings and give energy to every little negative thought in your head and you won’t just be sauntering down the road of destruction, you’ll be running down it....
Jill: In life, we’re all leaders—influencers—of others in some way. You might not think of yourself as a leader, but you are! If you’re a parent, you’re a leader of your children. You might be a leader at work. However, the most important person you need to lead is...
Today’s post can be read in two different ways: with conviction or condemnation. It’s conviction we’re shooting for though, because every parent has said these statements at one time or another. We all experience impatience or exhaustion and that...
Jill: We’re often asked what the top books are that we read for our marriage. To be honest, initially I was the reader in the relationship. I would summarize to Mark what I’d read. In fact, I actually wrote my Is There Really Sex After Kids book that...
I’m a reader. Of course, I love to read a good fiction book, but even more than that, I love to read books that challenge my thinking and change my perspective. I’ve been thinking about how books have been my mentors over the years. They have affected my...
Mark: The year was 1982. The month was November. It was a late Saturday night, or probably more like the wee hours of Sunday morning, when I got a phone call from a friend who was heartbroken and had obviously had too much to drink. “Savage, she broke up with me. You...
Mark: It all started with a conversation at small group last week. Jill and I were sharing about the 8 God-Tools we talk about in our No More Perfect Marriages book. It was when we got to the God-Tool of acceptance that it struck her. Jill: We had talked earlier...
Sometimes less is more. That can even be true with prayer. Sometimes it’s the simplest prayers that can be the most powerful. Here are four short, but powerful prayers to pray: More of you, Lord. Less of me. This prayer based upon John 3:30, “He must...
Today’s we get to benefit from the wisdom of author and speaker Ginger Hubbard. Ginger is the author of I Can’t Believe You Just Said That and Don’t Make Me Count to Three. A veteran homeschooling mother of two adult children and stepmom to two much-adored...
Mark: Jill and I have had our share of conflict over the years. In our 34 years of marriage, we know the realities of conflict and for many years we would clash with one another and it would be a flash point in our marriage. A flash point happens when we have...
Mark: When I walked away from our marriage seven years ago, I was absolutely convinced Jill was the problem. In fact, I had a well-rehearsed list in my head of all the things she did wrong and all the ways we were wrong together. I was tired of dealing with the same...
Mark: Well it was bound to happen at some time. We’ve both been different people since putting back the pieces of our broken relationship six years ago. We interact differently, we respond differently, we work to think differently. But Friday night we went back...
Hello Jill and Mark: I need advice on how to learn to “let it go” when it comes to marriage. This is in relation to things like broken promises about household projects and such. I realized this morning that I need to figure out how to let it go. Signed,...
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