Blog
The Real Key to Marriage
Why it’s not “Communication”
I’ve heard many people state that the key to a strong, healthy marriage is communication. I don’t think that goes deep enough. For example, cutting words and sharp criticism are effective forms of communication. They get the job done, but are not going to enhance relationships. Some couples can communicate politely and copiously — much like a good customer service representative — while letting resentment build below the surface. In order for communication to be a support pillar in marriage, there must be an atmosphere of grace, an environment where we know that mistakes are going to be made, but there will be space to own those mistakes, to learn from them, to become better, and to ultimately grow together. In order to have that kind of grace-filled space, there needs to be . . .
Wishing You the Best
One of the reasons we wanted to put this blog up was to share our “lessons learned” from two failed marriages. We are both very much pro-marriage. However, our life stories didn’t go that way and we have spent some time reflecting on what happened to us.
From that reflection, we have identified some basic principles that it would seem a strong marriage should have in its DNA. The first of these insights is one that we call…
Welcome, We've Been Here a Year
Here goes–my first ever blog post. Beginnings (and beginning again) seem like an appropriate topic for the inaugural entry on our site. First, let’s do some introductions, shall we? I am Alyce (rhymes with “police”), the “her” of this site. I have lived most of my life in the Midwest of the US, with brief stints on the West Coast and in England. I am married to Michael, the “him” of this site, also from the Midwest, and my beloved husband of exactly one year. We have six children (from our previous marriages), three jobs, and two homes between us, and we are still in a long-distance relationship. Welcome to our story.