Category

Marriage Enrichment

Jun 18
1

What Makes You Stay By John Bosio

By | Catholic Weddings, Communication, Finding Joy, Marriage Enrichment, Meaning of Marriage, Uncategorized | No Comments

“What makes you stay when your world falls apart  . . . when you can’t find any hope . . . Tell me what makes you stay,” sings country music artist Deana Carter. What makes you stay in your marriage?  Whenever I pose this question to couples I receive a variety of answers.  They say they stay because: they love each other they have a comfortable life together; they’ve made a lifetime commitment; they enjoy being together. What all of these responses have in common is a fundamental truth about the marital relationship: Marriage is something good that we desire.  What brings man and woman together and keeps them together is the goodness each spouse finds in the other and in their life in common. As Christians we believe that God intends for spouses to be a gift to each other, just as Adam and Eve were at creation. A…

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May 23
2

What Are You Looking For? by John Bosio

By | Catholic Weddings, Communication, Finding Joy, Marriage Enrichment, Romance, Uncategorized | No Comments

Several years ago my wife Teri and I helped lead a marriage preparation weekend.  During one of the sessions the engaged couples were asked to imagine their life together and to draw on a poster board their dreams for the future. Most couples sketched images of big homes, shiny cars, cute children, and successful careers. The poster that caught our attention was that of a young Vietnamese pair who could barely speak English.  At the center of their artwork they had placed a large red heart.  All around it and on a very small scale they depicted their hopes and dreams.  They explained: “What we want to have in 10 and 15 years from now is the happiness we feel today, when we are together.” What all spouses are looking for in marriage is happiness. They dream of a joy that comes from being each other’s faithful companions and best…

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Apr 17
1

Married Couples Called to be Part of God’s Mosaic by John Bosio

By | Catholic Weddings, Communication, Marriage Enrichment, Meaning of Marriage, Spirituality | No Comments

In the spring of 2004, as Bishop Edward Kmiec of Nashville celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation with the candidates at St. Stephen Catholic Community in Old Hickory, Tennessee, he compared God to an artist creating a beautiful mosaic. Kmiec explained that a mosaic is a work of art, a picture made with thousands of tiny colored stones and gems placed next to one another to form a splendid design. Each one of us, he said, is like a colored pebble, a precious stone in the hands of the Artist. God sees the good and the beauty in each one of us, and places us in his mosaic as he calls us to play a unique role in his work of art. Our Christian vocation is not a call to become rich and famous, but to become people who shine with the goodness and the beauty of God wherever we are…

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Feb 15
2

“Love Letters for Lent” by Fr. Joshua J. Whitfield

By | Communication, Marriage Enrichment, Romance, Spirituality | No Comments

“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is my favorite John Donne poem. Written in 1611 for his wife as he was on his way to France, the poem was a gift meant to ease their parting. Before the world became so immediately digitally connected—before things like FaceTime and texting—lovers often bound themselves together with letters and poems written from the heart. Donne’s words were beautiful. Their love, he wrote, was holy. Sustained not by mere physical presence or material things or by mere carnal attraction, their love was “so much refined” that it could not be ruined or weakened by absence. Though separated, they should “make no noise,” he wrote, no “tear-floods,” no fuss. Rather, in knowing that by marriage and love their two souls were one, they “endure not yet a breach” and suffer no real separation. Their love is built upon something more transcendent, more spiritual, and more real. It’s…

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Jan 21
2

Adjust Your Attitude: Change your thinking and be happier

By | Communication, Marriage Enrichment | No Comments

Are there things in your marriage you want to change? Practice these tips from 101 Tips for a Happier Marriage by Jennifer Roback Morse and Betsy Kerekes to improve your relationship and grow closer to God. These tips are intended to help couples have a life-long, happy, and loving marriage even amidst the struggles and challenges. • Remember that only God is God. Let your spouse be human. Give your spouse a break from always being perfectly understanding, always loving, and always there for you. Ask yourself this: Are you always perfectly understanding, loving, and there for your spouse? It’s highly unlikely that you are, and if you’re not perfect, then how can you expect your spouse to be? Only God is perfect. Let God be your example and your guide. • Accept the fact that you are limited, imperfect, and fallible. You do not have to control everything in…

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Nov 19
0

5 Steps to a Couple’s Spiritual Resolution by Lindsay Schlegel

By | Communication, Family Life, Marriage Enrichment, New Year's Resolutions, Romance, Spirituality | No Comments

“What’s your New Year’s resolution?” Perhaps this question will circulate around your dinner table this Christmas, or at least while you wait for the ball to drop and draw the calendar year to a close. It could be that you already have a healthy habit in mind or that there’s some vice you’re hoping to weed out in 2019. On the other hand, maybe this question only brings to mind fancy gym memberships that will languish by mid-February. The “you” in the question is typically in the singular and it could be that’s why so many resolutions fail so quickly. Lasting change depends on solid motivations and reliable accountability. Without these it can be hard to forge on when obstacles come our way. Rethinking this question in the plural presents unique opportunities for both this life and also the one hereafter. This year, try approaching resolutions this way: How can…

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Nov 19
3

Rethinking the Holidays: Finding Authentic Joy in the Holiday Season by Paul George

By | Communication, Finding Joy, Holidays, Marriage Enrichment, Spirituality | No Comments

The Christmas season is a wonderful time of year. It’s a time to gather with family and celebrate with friends. It’s a time to laugh, eat, sing, give, receive and love. The holidays are often filled with many memorable and joy-filled moments. But if I’m honest, the holidays can also be stressful. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve experienced anxiety and worry during a season when all should be merry. The stress of shopping and the worry of syncing calendars with family; anxiety over money, traveling, and taking time off of work; finding time to spend with everyone and dealing with expectation in more ways than one–the tension during the holidays is real and it can easily steal our joy. We all stress over different situations and face different challenges during this time of year. We typically deal with these situations in a few ways. We might pretend like we…

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Apr 05
25
Mobile Games for Couples

Mobile Games for Couples: An Easy Way to Add Fun to Your Relationship

By | Communication, Marriage Enrichment, Romance | No Comments

Smartphones are everywhere and, sure, they can be distracting. Many couples experience troubles as a result of smartphone usage. For example, by checking Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and scores on ESPN, you might miss an opportunity to spending meaningful time with one another. How, then, can we work to maintain a balance between these digital distractions and our lives in the real world, especially in our relationships? You can either outlaw the phone or turn it into a way to create fun experiences together. How? Try out some mobile gaming apps that couples can play together. Many of these gaming apps can be used for fun date day experiences. Or, at the very least, they will give you something fun to do in your free time together. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Mobile Games for Couples 1. Words With Friends, Chess, and other Classics. www.zynga.com/games/words-friends These apps…

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Feb 19
2

Cabin Fever! Four Creative Winter Date Ideas

By | Marriage Enrichment, Romance | No Comments

  As we reach the middle of February, those of us in the northern climates may be feeling a bit of cabin fever. The warm breezes and fresh air of spring are so tantalizingly close, yet we still have to push through a few more weeks of winter. As we grow tired of being trapped inside by the snow, wind, and freezing temperatures, it is easy to become restless and irritable. Worse yet, these feelings may lead to foul tempers and bickering with our spouses or significant others. To help break through the monotony of the final few weeks of cold and maintain a loving relationship with your spouse, here are some creative winter-friendly date ideas. Creative Winter Date Ideas 1. Beach Movie Night  If an escape to a tropical paradise isn’t quite within your budget, why not create one in your own home? Set the mood by dining on…

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Aug 12
12
Alternative Budgeting Methods

3 Alternatives to the Budget You Never Keep

By | Finances, Marriage Enrichment | No Comments

Can’t keep your budget? It’s OK, we can’t either. If you asked me, I’d say we’ve always created a budget, but we haven’t always kept the budget. Don’t get me wrong, I love budgeting. I have spreadsheets, reminders, and an in-depth system for categorizing transactions in Mint. I set aside time each month to go through all of our personal finances and see how we did the month before. I’m what Dave Ramsey would call the nerd, not a free spirit. Here’s the thing, though: I’m married. I didn’t really keep a budget before marriage, but after I started reading personal finance books and blogs, I realized it was important for us to try out a few different budgeting methods. That’s where the confrontations about money began. I was the nerd, and when it came to money, she was the free spirit. Why You Need a Budget Rule #1 of…

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