“Uh-oh, look who’s coming. Whatever you do, don’t make eye contact. Quick — say something to me about this flower arrangement.” “Flower arrangement? Oh…uh… What a great flower arrangement! Those florists sure did a bang-up job on it this week. Don’t you think?” “Yes, indeed. Why, just look at those colors, the way they’re blended […]
Persevering Love
by Harold & Bette Gillogly Remember in our last Seeds for Growth, we found out there were two roads leading to two entirely different places. The first road is paved with “ought to be’s” – my wife ought to be…. My husband ought to be…. My children ought to be…. This road leads to a […]
Relationship Skills
by Harold and Bette Gillogly In a previous Seeds For Growth, we began discussing defensiveness — our instinctive reaction of self-protection. We seem to go through life feeling we must protect ourselves at any cost. When our mate says something that pushes one of our hot buttons, we lash out in retaliation. Defensiveness is a […]
Relationship Skills
by Harold and Bette Gillogly It’s instinctive. We all do it. Our mates say something perfectly innocent, we take it personally and become defensive. It’s as though we feel we must protect ourselves at any cost. In fact, that’s what “to defend” means: to protect. The problem is that protecting has two sides, for when […]
Marital Intimacy
by Bob & Yvonne Turnbull As Susan drove home, she wondered what Jeff had up his sleeve. She hadn’t been able to concentrate since receiving his call earlier in the day. “The kids are staying at your mom’s this weekend. See if you can get away a little early so you can get a bag […]
Commitment
by Bob & Yvonne Turnbull Have you noticed that too much hurry and speed of life can put a serious crimp in a marriage? We often think we will have time for one another when life slows down. Interesting how that time never seems to arrive. Before we know it, we have drifted apart in […]
Decision Making
by Patrick & Dwaina Six Cohabitation is nothing new. It happened in Biblical times, too. Remember when Jesus spoke with the woman at the well in John 4:17? When questioned about her husband, she answered that she had no husband. A popular contemporary Bible version renders Jesus’ response as, “That’s nicely put: ‘I have no […]
Joy & Happiness
by Bob & Yvonne Turnbull It was two or three days after the horrendous 9-11 terrorist attack in 2001 when we listened with heavy hearts to a woman being interviewed on TV. Through her tears she sobbed that the last words her husband heard from her were, “I wish I had never married you!” She had slammed the door […]
Communication
What is your definition of love? What actions do you interpret as love? We all have a “language of love” we have been compiling since early childhood. The ways your parents communicated their love to you….The ways you saw other people communicate love to one another….Even television and movies helped form your “language of love.” […]
Communication
Authors: Bob & Yvonne Turnbull To have good communication in marriage is more than just learning effective skills. It’s about making time to communicate. Why is that important? Because communication is the way we connect – feel close to one another – grow together. If we are only having snatches of communication – like – […]