Marriage Advice & Tips for a Happy Life

Hope

“How many of you remember spiritually adopting a baby last October?”

Our Mass had ended, it was hot and our kids were crabby, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to another talk after a long evening in church.

However, when the director of our parish Life Teen program asked this question of the small group of teenagers gathered in the front pews, it got my attention.

And it really impressed me to see so many enthusiastic hands go up from a group that would usually be stereotyped as completely apathetic.

This was a story worth tuning in for, and I think you’ll agree that it’s a God-given thing of absolute beauty.  So, I’m sharing it with you with the hopes that it will touch you the way it has impacted me.

The Story of Hope

In October of last year, the teenagers in the Life Teen program at our church decided to spiritually adopt a baby.  In effect, they would pray faithfully that a young woman who was recently or about to become pregnant would choose life for her baby.

Naturally, they had no way of knowing if there would be any fruit from their prayers and discussions.  And so the “adoption” continued on faith alone through the winter.  



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3 Reasons You’re Wrong About Natural Family Planning

The following the first few paragraphs from a post I wrote over at Your Tango defending Natural Family Planning.  As you may know, NFP has meant a lot to our marriage, and I’m pretty passionate about clearing up misconceptions.  While I don’t try to convert people to practice NFP, I get a BIT upset when large websites publish blatantly false information.  Fortunately, in this case, I was given an opportunity to respond.  Enjoy!

If you’ve heard the term Natural Family Planning (NFP), there’s a very good chance, it’s probably almost a certainty actually, that you were given some bad information about it.

As someone who has practiced NFP with my wife for around six years, I know I’ve heard more than my fair share of misguidance from family, the media and even priests.  Sometimes it’s honest confusion or simply a passing along of misinformation, but other times it’s a blatant attack on a somewhat mysterious practice that many in our culture chalk-up to some form of crazy desire for 20 kids or an exercise in Pope-worshiping.

I’ve heard it all as a marriage blogger who writes openly about all aspects of NFP and healthy sexuality over at Engaged Marriage.  I’ve even written here at Your Tango about the challenges of Natural Family Planning.  



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Family Economics 101 – How Broken Families Are Killing Our Economy

Note: This guest editorial by Rob Marco really resonated with me.  Whether you agree or disagree, let’s chat about it in the comments.

With all the talks about our debt ceiling, government spending, and the floundering economy, the fiscal state of our nation is on everyone’s mind.

How did things get so messed up?

Well, aside from the sub-prime mortgage debacle, I think there is another issue that is undermining our financial well-being as Americans: the breakdown of the traditional family.

Less than half of children in America today live in in-tact families – that is, with parents in their first marriage. And yet research has proven that financial well-being is vastly improved when people stay married.

According to Patrick Fagan of The Heritage Foundation, divorced households typically see a forty percent drop in income – larger than the drop in income the national economy experienced during the Great Depression. For single parent households, the median income is even less. 92 percent of children on welfare today come from broken homes.

Is it possible our financial instability as a nation is due, in some part, to the breakdown of the traditional family?  



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Going Solo: Marriage Counseling on Your Own

Note: This is a guest post on a fascinating topic by Naomi at Power of Two Marriage Blog.

It’s safe to say that no one dreams of a marriage full of constant bickering, passive aggressive anger, and a non-existent love life.

However, when it comes down to living intimately with one other person—making decisions, dealing with differences and quirks, raising children—this is the reality that many, if not most, couples face at some point in their relationship.

Why You Should Consider Couples Counseling

Couples counseling exists as a resource for all married folks—from those with minor problems to couples who are on the brink of divorce—to repair and renew their relationship. Numerous studies have proven that certain counseling approaches lead to dramatically better marriages.

At the same time, couples counseling remains, in general, taboo in America. Many people feel very uncomfortable with the idea of seeing a therapist. Part of this stems from a misunderstanding of what couples therapy is and what it can provide.

A key part of couples counseling is to help you and your spouse analyze habits of communication and action to figure out what is leading to the unpleasantness in your marriage. Most of the time these are things you don’t even realize you’re doing!  



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(Wo)Man Up! Feminine and Masculine Roles in a Relationship

Editor’s Note – This is a guest post from Shaheera at The Vantage Journey.  As someone who has studied sexuality, I see a lot of truth in these discussions about masculinity and femininity.  However, I’m guessing there are some diverging opinions, so be sure to share in the comments!

Since the beginning of time, relationships have been seen to consist of two properties, Feminine and Masculine.

It’s hard to pinpoint just exactly what each role entails but generally, when we look at history and the effects of hormones (Estrogen linked to Feminine and Testosterone linked to Masculine), it’s quite easy to detect.

Masculine roles are usually strong, aggressive and more logical or analytical. Feminine roles, on the other hand, are generally more sensitive, nurturing and intuitive.

For a healthy relationship to flourish, both gender roles need to be present to balance things out. Now, note the terms ‘healthy relationship’ and ‘gender roles’.

Sure, there are relationships that can survive with only one gender role present. However, they might not last long and could be interspersed with a lot of emotionally charged events. Though some might think of this as a good thing, in the long run, it might prove to be too mentally and emotionally exhausting.  



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