Marriage Advice & Tips for a Happy Life

Believe

As I reflect back on the past week, I realize just how lucky we are to be able to celebrate Christmas with our three kids at the ages of one, four and almost seven years old.

I don’t know how many more years we’ll have while they still believe in the magic of Santa Claus, our Elf on the Shelf and that clever NORAD tracking system on Christmas Eve night.  We are certainly enjoying it while it lasts.

I know that their belief in these things will eventually get spoiled by someone at school, something on television – some message that they’ll pick up from a common interaction with our society.  It’s inevitable, but it’s also okay.

This got me to thinking about all of the counter-cultural beliefs I hold dear, and how Bethany and I will have to do everything we can (starting now) to help our children continue to believe in what matters – even as they are bombarded with messages that will tell them otherwise:  



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• I believe in God and his son Jesus.
• I believe in Marriage.
• I believe in Family.
• I believe in Life.
• I believe in Personal Responsibility.

The Ultimate Diva’s Guide to a Hot and Happy Marriage

It’s not often that I recommend marriage resources created by others, and I don’t think I’ve ever recommended something created by a Diva…

But that was before I met The Dating Divas!

When I saw The Divas top the list this year as the Top Marriage Blog, it really got my attention.

And once I spent some time exploring their site and then read this mission statement, I knew these ladies had something truly special to share:

We are wives, mothers, sisters, and friends who strive to enrich marriages everywhere. We want to celebrate the gift of marriage while inspiring others to do the same. It is our goal to provide creative, inexpensive, and innovative dating ideas that will bring joy, fun, and excitement back into the relationship.

We encourage all married men and women to take a conscious and proactive approach to investing in their spouse. By putting our spouses first, we are taken back to the simple magic of being head over heels in love again. We desire to help make lasting marriages, which in return will create everlasting families.  



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Arranged Marriage: A Look from the Inside

Note: This guest post was written by Surabhi Surendra of Womantics.  I know I found this insight on arranged marriages to be fascinating, and I hope you enjoy learning about this cultural practice from a woman who is living it.

Arranged marriage.

This is how we refer to the practice that led me to my husband  in my home country of India.

Are you familiar with the term?  Whether you are new to the idea or understand how it works, I’d like to tell you more about it from my perspective.

It is an arrangement in which the parents or the close relatives arrange the marriage or, in better words, find a suitable match for their daughter or son.  In earlier times, marriage was solely a right of the parents or guardians and prospects hardly had any say in it, but with changing times and better education, the system has refined itself into a more friendly practice.

Today, prospects can not only voice their preferences, but they can even outright refuse a match if they are not comfortable with it.

My Personal Experience with Arranged Marriage

I will give my own personal experience.  



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Love is Sacrificial

This guest post is written by my friend Lori D. Lowe, marriage blogger at MarriageGems and author of First Kiss to Lasting Bliss: Hope & Inspiration for Your Marriage, out Dec. 8, 2011.

After interviewing happily married couples across the U.S. who have overcome adversity and been strengthened by it, one of the twelve overarching lessons that emerged from the stories is that love is sacrificial, and that we need to create a virtuous cycle of giving.

This shouldn’t be a big surprise to the many Catholic and other Christian readers at Engaged Marriage who try to model their lives after Christ’s. After all, He never promised an easy road, and he modeled a life of sacrifice until the end.

Despite this spiritual understanding, most of us enter married life with a completely different view of what marriage will entail. We are in love with our sweethearts and envision a carefree life full of happiness and satisfaction and empty of pain, frustration or difficulties.

The reality is that marriage taught most of us (me, at least) how to grow up and learn to live in harmony with another human being who depends on us.  



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Vote for Your Favorite Marriage Blog 2011!

It’s time once again to vote for your favorite marriage blog!

My cyber-buddy and fellow marriage supporter Stu at Stupendous Marriage is composing a list of the Top 10 Marriage Blogs 2011, and I would love it if you can help by taking a minute to vote.

On the two previous years’ lists, you voted Engaged Marriage into the Top Ten.  As it turned out, this really helped us grow our community because people searching for online marriage advice would find Stu’s list, see Engaged Marriage and click over to check us out.

Once they were here and had the chance to interact with you fine folks, they were hooked!

How to Vote for your Favorite Marriage Blog:

1. Click here to find the short voting form.  It will take you around 15 seconds to vote.
2. One vote per person…but you can encourage your friends to vote.
3. Voting closes at midnight December 4th (but you should vote now so you don’t forget).
4. That’s it!

Thank you for helping out with this. Of course, I would love it if you voted for Engaged Marriage, but I won’t be offended if you choose a blog that you enjoy a bit more.  



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