GPS to a Joyful Marriage

Hot… cold …hot… cold ...hot… cold.   I’m not just referring to the nasty menopausal temperature swings I experience at night, but also to the extreme changes that can unexpectedly occur in my emotional psyche at the drop of a wrong word or wrong look from someone else. I have tried to explain our emotional essence as women, but it’s often too deep to comprehend and even more difficult to control.  So what do we do??  We pray - and pray.  God certainly has the capability to free us from this “curse”, but then we wouldn’t have to depend on Him in our marriage, would we?  He will help, but I believe He allows a certain amount of our emotional handicap in order to keep us humbled and seeking Him. Besides, He has quite the sense of humor to put men and women in the same household, together, to become one as man and wife. He knew we would need His help.  That’s also why He tells us, “It is good not to marry.”  Marriage is probably the most difficult task we will ever undertake.  An

Women are usually led by their emotions while men run on logic.  (Again, there are always exceptions to this rule.)  That’s why we frequently hear a husband say his wife is crazy, and a woman say that her husband just doesn’t listen.   The emotional dialogue of women (which is part of our normal communication) often sounds like complete absurdity to men because the male brain doesn’t journey as deep into the complexity of emotions as a female brain does. Therefore, our words can sound like senseless babble (craziness) to men because of their limited capability to digest them with their logical minds. Who wants to listen to babble?   And so, we often find a great communication gap between men and women in marriage relationships. The good news is that we can each learn to adjust our communication differences.  We need to, as women, first understand the importance of controlling our emotions. As humans, we are made up of our physical body, our spirit, and our soul.  Our bodi

Last week I shared “Love Styles” that we learn from childhood experiences, as written in the article “Patterns from the Past”.  This week I’m continuing with more of the article from the section entitled “A Secure Connection.” A Secure Connection – “Being stuck in a hurtful core pattern for the first 15 years of our marriage was painful.  But, by identifying our love styles, Milan and I were able to address the root of our problems with compassion for one another.  We discovered that growth also brings challenges.  It requires vulnerability to admit our brokenness.  We had to break the destructive childhood patterns of relating that we both brought into our marriage. Our goal was to create the “secure connection” we missed out on as kids.  Being a secure connector means becoming more like Jesus, who gave and received love in healthy ways—honestly addressing problems with patience and grace, repairing ruptures when they occurred.  Couples with a secure connection are able to

We all go into marriage carrying “baggage” from our past.  Our abilities (and disabilities) for love and relationships come from lessons we learned from our parents, good and bad.  I recently read an excellent article from Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family magazine called “Patterns from the Past”, written by Kay and Milan Yerkovich.  If you want to read the entire article, go to www.thrivingfamily.com .  On the top left screen that scrolls through various articles, click on “How childhood experiences impact marriage relationships.” I want to share with you the “love styles” from this article that the authors determined we learn from our childhood. These love styles may open up your eyes to what may be hindering you and your spouse from the healthy marriage you desire.  You may find you operate in more than one category.   The Avoider:   People with this love style often come from performance-based homes that encourage independence and minimize (even discourage) the e