GPS to a Joyful Marriage

I know I may come off pretty strongly with my thoughts about mothers staying at home with their children instead of working, but I speak as someone who’s struggled through it.  Looking back, I’m more than grateful I spent that time at home with my children.  They were very special years that I would never have recovered, especially once they started school.  It was well worth giving up all the “things” and “career” I thought I would miss out on.   The bottom line is that children develop faster and are emotionally healthier when they spend their first five years at home with their mother or father. For more information, go to: http://www.babycenter.com/0_staying-at-home-pros-and-cons_6025.bc If we weren’t such a material-hungry society, it would be much easier for mothers to stay at home.  Besides, you’ll probably never hear anyone say, on their deathbed, “I should have spent more time in the office.” Back to the original article – staying at home with the children allevi

One of the most common problems I hear with couples, especially the wife, is that the husband doesn’t help enough around the house and with the children.  In these days where 90% of women work outside of the home, they still do most of the housework and the caring of the children.                                                                                                                                                     A friend of mine, who is a hairdresser, once told me of an elderly woman who came into her shop one day.   In a leisurely conversation, the woman told her that she thought women were stupid.   They worked hard for “women’s liberation”, only to gain one more thing to do. My friend took offense to this statement until she started thinking about what the elderly woman meant.  What have we, as women, gained from being “liberated” besides a full-time job on top of taking care of children, a house and a husband?  My friend began to realize the truth of the elderl

Is it any wonder that men struggle in trying to understand women?  I sometimes can’t understand myself.  It seems I’ll get mad over some silly little thing, and in no time, it  escalates  into a dramatic, emotional outrage.  (Only with my husband though.)  How does that happen? Having been in marriage ministry for almost 20 years and holding all the correct answers for a joyful marriage in my hand, how could I possibly still experience moments like that?  Granted, they are rare anymore, but it frustrates me that they would ever occur again.  Okay, so I’m not perfect. I’m the first to tell men and women that women don’t always know how to communicate directly.  We may rant about the proper placement of the toilet seat, but the emotions usually stem from another issue.  We have so many thoughts going through our brains at any given time and are so busy multitasking that it becomes difficult to recognize the root of the problem.  Men, if you want to know how a woman thinks, just

Faith seems to be a rare commodity in our country.  Is it any wonder, though, that we have lost faith when we look at the state of our society? We’ve lost faith in a government that once governed “for the people, by the people.” It has become greedy for power and control – unconcerned for the needs of the people.  We’ve lost faith in the values that once resonated strongly in the hearts of our country.  Now, there is no right or wrong.  It’s all about what works for “me.” We’ve lost faith in a justice system that once ruled fairly and just but is now influenced by the power of money. We’ve lost faith in a healthcare system that has  over-inflated  the cost of care while  under-inflating  the quality. We’ve lost faith in a banking system that once looked out for its customers but now crushes their dreams for the almighty dollar. We’ve lost faith in the security of jobs because it’s become too expensive for employers to higher full-time employees. We’ve lost