What makes marriage work?
Before you invest in I Do! I Do! The Marriage Vow Workbook, we want you to have a sense of whether it’s the right book for you. One way to do so is to determine if the philosophy, values and beliefs expressed in the book are aligned with your vision for yourselves and your lives together.
Our thoughts on creating a happy marriage
- Marriage is a partnership created by two people who love and want the best for one another.
- A wedding (or commitment ceremony) is the official beginning of a marriage, but a marriage is a lifelong journey that you have committed to take together.
- Powerful, meaningful vows provide a solid foundation on which to build your marriage, and by upholding these commitments you’ll be better able to handle the bumps when they come.
- Having a shared vision–how you will relate to each other, what values you live, your desired future destination–is essential. If you’re on divergent paths, it’s difficult to journey together.
- Love is essential to a wonderful marriage. So are respect, forgiveness, compassion, honesty, cooperation, clarity, purposefulness, and “for-ness” (being fully committed to the other person and supporting their growth).
- It’s imperative that you develop, practice, and hone your communication skills (listening as well as speaking). You’ll use them every day, and they affect every part of your relationship.
- Even the best relationships have ups and downs. How you choose to handle the bumps in the road as you journey together is of prime importance.
- No one has all the answers to marriage/relationship questions. However, seeking out the company of those who practice love, respect, and intimacy in their relationships will support you as much as expert advice.
- Openness to learning, growth, and change will serve you well in marriage, because time and experience will alter who you are and maybe even your vision for your journey together.
Learn more about our relationship philosophy and the Marriage Vow Workbook by listening to a recent interview (16 minutes) we gave to Dave Debs from The Coach Corner. You have to create a free account to access this recording, yet the process is very simple and quick to complete.
“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”
~ Mignon McLaughlin
What wedding traditions should you keep?
Your wedding is your special day and should therefore fit your wants and needs. There is no “right” answer regarding the issue of choosing traditional or modern for your marriage ceremony. Below are suggestions for you to use in making choices that fit for you and your spouse-to-be.
How to decide on traditional or modern wedding choices
- First determine your overall vision for your wedding. Besides the obvious purpose of getting married, why else are you having your ceremony? What experience do you want to have? What kind of event do you want to create for your guests?
- Now consider if there are any traditions that are meaningful for you or important for you to include. Certain symbology, readings, or specific elements may help you create an event that “feels” like a wedding for you. These components may be serious–religious reading, cultural tradition–or more for fun–tossing the garter and bouquet, clinking glasses to make the newlyweds kiss.
- Check in with other key people (parents, your officiant, etc.). Even though it’s your wedding, it’s valuable to have conversations with those closest to you to learn of any wedding elements (traditional or modern) that they would like to see included/excluded. You may also be required to do certain things to have your marriage be official, so check with your officiant on this.
- Review your vision and your list of ideas to make your final choices. You may or may not have time to include every idea on your list, so determine which elements are essential and which can be eliminated or incorporated in some other part of your wedding events. You might make a 3-point scale and “rate” each of the ideas (must have, optional, can eliminate) as a quick way for you and your partner to make your final selection.
- Know that you’ve created the right wedding ceremony for you. Sometimes it’s easy to second guess yourselves or worry that you have to accommodate everyone’s wishes. Once you and your partner have made your choices, trust that these choices are the perfect ones for creating the magical wedding day that you’ve envisioned. Now have fun putting it all together into one joyous, honoring, and loving celebration!
How did you decide what wedding traditions to include and which to leave out of your big day? Share your wisdom with other couples preparing to say “I do.”
Podcast — Prevent negative energy from turning into trouble
A tiny snowball at the top of a mountain starts to roll down the slopes. As it rolls, it accumulates more and more snow, becoming a gigantic snowy boulder that will crush anything in its path.
Have you ever had that kind of “snowball effect” in your relationship, where many tiny annoyances soon roll into one huge argument? My guess is that you have (or you at least know someone who has). I’m also guessing that you would be happy to have fewer such “snowball” situations from now on.
The good news is that we each have personal warning signs that alert us to relationship “danger ahead.” In this podcast (5 minutes), I share an example of one of my warning signs and how knowing it kept Bruce and me out of a deep dark hole.
How to prevent a negative situation from getting worse
- Know how you feel when you’re in a negative situation — Perhaps you feel a tightness in your chest, your breathing is more rapid and shallow, or your head starts to ache. Learn what signals your body sends to tell you that something’s not right.
- Know your personal “warning signs” that danger lurks ahead — You might hear that certain tone in your voice or notice that judgmental thoughts are zooming through your mind. Become adept at recognizing that your fuse is wearing out and you’re getting close to your explosion point.
- Learn how to diffuse negative situations — You can simply stop talking, take some deep breaths before talking again, or even ask for a time out. Find effective ways to disengage your negative energy so that you can stop a downward-spiraling conversation from gaining any more momentum.
“The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.”
~ Dale Carnegie
What habits or practices do you use to keep negative situations from spiraling downward into trouble?
Never blame your mate
“Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.”
~ Barnett Brickner
When we hit rough patches at work, it’s common to look for someone to blame. When we don’t like what’s happening in our communities, governments, and churches we easily complain about who’s at fault. It’s no different in our marriages. Many of us tend to point the finger at our partner when we argue or when something’s gone wrong.
There are many problems we create when we blame our spouse for our dyad dilemmas.
- Our partner usually gets more upset since they’re now being labeled as THE guilty party.
- We abdicate our ability to rectify the situation because when we make someone else responsible we become the powerless victim.
- We create a relationship imbalance (one person is “up,” the other is “down”) which makes us susceptible to another pendulum swing sometime in the future.
- Our problem still exists and, if anything, it’s now worse than before we started blaming.
Relationship problems are relationship problems. They involve two people (in this case), both of whom played active roles in creating the problem. So, the next time you’re in a spat with your spouse, ask yourself, “What did I do that helped make this situation happen?” Though it’s initially more sobering to take responsibility for your role, it’s a faster, and smoother route to reconnecting than blaming can ever provide.
Things we do for love
“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”~ Henry Drummond
This post is about love, not between two romantic lovers but between a mother and daughter–my mother and me.
When my mom was struggling with breast cancer, her doctors implanted a device in her upper chest where some of her drugs could be injected after the veins in her arms and hands had became too difficult and painful to access. Unfortunately the area became infected and the device had to be removed, which left an open wound. To heal, the wound required a thorough daily cleaning. I asked the home health nurse to show me how to care for the wound so I could help my mom restore health to at least that one thing.Love compelled me to do that. Love willed me through my fear, past my sadness, and into my compassion. Love guided me to face my pain to help soothe my mom’s. Love didn’t necessarily make that task any easier, but it did allow me to take the first step.
Love also helped me do other things that I had never conceived of:
- Rushing across the Dallas metroplex between my double shifts as a waitress to be with my mom during her multiple stays in the hospital in the first couple of months after her diagnosis;
- Bathing my mom and changing her diapers when her cancer progressed so much that she could no longer care for herself or even leave the hospital bed we had at home;
- Holding her unresponsive hands and caressing her motionless face while I laid alongside her dead body in the Dallas hospital where she spent her last days;
- Reading a poem I’d written about her at her memorial service in front of hundreds of family, friends, and others who loved her.
Had love not possessed me during her illness and death, I could have never done such delicate, difficult, and sometimes seemingly ineffective tasks.
Of course, love had gotten my mom through trials and suffering too, as is the case for all parents. Whether she was worried sick when I got Chicken Pox at the age of four, or exasperated when I threw the tantrum to end all tantrums, I’m sure love guided her. When I did things she didn’t understand or condone, love may have helped her come closer instead of pulling away. Love, I’m certain, had to be accessed regularly once I reached my teen years when so often kids and parents lock horns or build walls between each other. Love may have even given her the courage to be so vulnerable to me during her last six months of life.
“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”
~ Mother Teresa
July 2 was the 14th anniversary of my mom’s death. July 14 is her birthday. It’s been so long that I don’t really remember her voice, and though I don’t consciously think about her everyday, love helps me stay connected. Through memory of our shared life experience, I get to be with my mom in spirit. As those of you who’ve lost someone you deeply love know, there are times when you miss that person so much that you weep uncontrollably, overcome by your loss and filled with hopelessness. Writing this piece is opening me up to that pain anew. But love helps me ride those waves of despair and emerge whole, despite my scars.
Thank God that love does all it does for us. It’s the superhuman gift we’ve each been given — a superpower possessed by all mortals. Without love I’m quite certain that there would be no point to life, no reason to exist at all. So while loving someone with all your heart makes you extremely vulnerable, love will also mend the heart’s wounds, leaving you both more tender and more tough in the process. May each and every one of you do scary, difficult, gentle, powerful, and important things for love. And may your beloveds do likewise for you. Your lives will never be the same. . .and that’s a wonderful thing.
For all of my beloveds, especially today for my mom, born Cora Sue Boehm, on July 14, 1943.
Over 100 ways to express your love
For those times when you need some inspiration for showing your partner that you love her/him, here’s a list of 101 ways to show you love somebody. This list came from a competition in Milton Keynes secondary schools and youth clubs and in one of the local papers asking for people’s answers to this question:
to wait before having sex. . .how would you let
the other person know you loved her or him?
Still stumped for ideas (or perhaps you’ve already used the 101 ways suggested above)–read about how you can show your love without spending a dime.
What creative ways do you show your honey that you love her/him? What’s the most romantic gift you’ve ever received?
Modern wedding vows (a humorous slant)
While we do favor the self-written wedding vow for most couples, you have to be careful not to go too far. . .
What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard at a wedding ceremony?
Recipe for a healthy and delicious marriage
“You don’t have to sit on top of a mountain to discover what is right for you. You always know in your heart what you need to do. But you do have to ask yourself if you’re willing to make choices. Put yourself in a position where you’re making choices about your life, rather than letting other people make those choices for you. That’s what balance is all about.”
~ Liz Dolan
In my book, Live the Life You’ve Imagined, I have a chapter titled, “Create Your Ideal Life Recipe,” where I offer ten questions for contemplation. Though I wrote this book for an individual to use, I think that these same questions can be powerful and illuminating for a couple as well. Below are the ten “ideal life recipe” questions adapted for couples. I encourage you to answer them individually (i.e., write your perspective on the answer) then talk about what you’ve written.
What ingredients make your relationship rich & rewarding?
Who are we?- What are we passionate about?
- What qualities do the people we admire possess?
- What do we need to be our best?
- What nurtures, renews, or inspires us?
- Who do we want in our life?
- Where or when do we feel limited,
shut down, or sapped of energy? - Do we have enough time just for us?
- How do we know that we are valued, appreciated, and loved?
- How would we live if we knew we would die one year from now?
Once you have your answers and have talked together about what you’ve discovered, there’s one more key–ACTION. Choose just one area/item that you’d like to more fully realize in your marriage and start taking steps to create that new reality. If you’re willing to share what you decided, or what you discovered, feel free to use our comments area (you can even be anonymous if you like).
Is your relationship beyond help?
If your relationship is beyond help, this is a good thing. How can this be, you may ask. I’ll tell you after I share this quote.
“Serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality; it is not a relationship between equals. When you help you use your own strength to help those of lesser strength. Serving is also different from fixing. When I fix a person, I perceive them as broken, and their brokenness requires me to act. The bottom line, of course, is that we can fix without serving. And we can help without serving. And we can serve without fixing or helping. I think that I would go so far as to say that fixing and helping may often be the work of the ego and service the work of the soul. These things may look similar if you’re watching from the outside, but the inner experience is different. The outcome is often different too.”
~ Rachel Naomi Remen, In the Service of Life (PDF)
My contention is this. If your relationship is in the helping stage, you’re not in full partnership. One of you is superior, one is inferior. If you’re in the fixing stage, similar story–one of you is “broken” the other is the fixer-uper. But, if your marriage is one built on service, you’re two equal partners contributing your gifts and sharing the responsibilities and honors of your relationship.
Marriage Vow Workbook authors interviewed on the Wedding Podcast Network
Remember when we told you about the Wedding Podcast Network–a great resource for planning your wedding? Well, guess what? We were featured guests on episode 22 of their show–Bridal Scene!
Robert Allen, one of the Wedding Podcast Network’s founders, interviewed us about I Do! I Do! The Marriage Vow Workbook. In addition to our conversation about how to write your own wedding vows, the importance of personal wedding vows, and what’s included in The Marriage Vow Workbook, there’s some other great info on this podcast.
So, sit back, relax, and hop on over to the Wedding Podcast Network and listen to the Bridal Scene podcast! Show notes can be found here.
