In 1992 Gary Chapman first published his New York Times #1 bestselling book, The 5 Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. Chapman, a longtime marriage counselor, proposed that there are five basic ways, he calls emotional love languages, that people both express love and feel they are loved. Your primary love... Continue Reading →
The teenage years are a crucial time of change and development. The family dynamic might change as the growing teens seek more autonomy and independence, and the parents try to maintain rules, protection and guidance. This combination creates tension and conflict between teens and parents. Learning how to diffuse conflict and maintain respect and connection... Continue Reading →
When I think about marriage, the first thing that comes to mind is a strong union that is maintained by love, connection, understanding and friendship. I am currently reading the book The Power of Two: Secrets to a Strong and Loving Marriage and I am learning a lot about how we communicate with our significant... Continue Reading →
Building trust in a marriage is essential for a strong and healthy relationship. Trust forms the foundation of a successful partnership between spouses, and it requires effort, commitment, and open communication. For this reason, I wanted to share some key ways to gain trust from your wife in a marriage. While these are suggestions for... Continue Reading →
From a young age, I had always thought about being a parent. It is a period in my life I was and continue looking forward to and maybe you can relate. Perhaps you grew up in a loving family in which you felt included and supported or maybe, it was the opposite. In either case,... Continue Reading →
The reality of family life is there is never a shortage of activities to attend, work to be done, or tasks to be completed. Family members often feel like ships in the night as they go from one activity to the next. If a family has multiple children and teens, it may be impossible to... Continue Reading →
Many of us have heard that non-verbal cues make up about 90 percent of communication. But how so? You may be thinking, “yah, I know, so what”? So follow this logic for a moment. This means that regardless of how well polished, or unpolished your words to someone might be, the ways that you behave... Continue Reading →
It is sometimes said that people primarily listen with their hearts, not their ears. The first time that I was told this statement was during a train-the-trainer session to implement the non-violent approach of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. At first, I was puzzled by the statement because I wondered what my heart had to... Continue Reading →
I heard Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman interviewed on the Unlocking Us podcast the other day. They talked about their new book, "The Love Prescription: 7 days to more intimacy, connection, and joy." It was a fascinating conversation about the small steps we can take in our relationships to make marked differences.... Continue Reading →
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