The last of my Quarantine post! I am ecstatic! I have actually fulfilled a goal of keeping a series of blog post running. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my thoughts on how to help improve your marriage. You might be one of the families stuck at home or spending more time at home during this time, and I hope this will continue to be helpful. I hope you share it with those who you know need it. Things have been a lot different in the past 3-4 months for all of us. I believe the changes that we all have had to make in the past few months has caused each of us increased stress in a variety of ways. It’s important to have tools to keep yourself and your family sane. Having some clear guidelines and actions you can take to make things a little easier on yourself can be huge as we move forward as a family, community and nation in uncertain times.
The final tip that I think would be helpful for your marriage during this time, although there is much more I could provide, is to focus on teamwork in your relationship. Why teamwork? I am GLAD you asked!
First off, what happens when we get stressed and things aren’t going well?
- We point fingers
- We blame others
- We start to protect ourselves
- We think about how we are getting the short end of the stick
- We become negative and have increasing negative thoughts
- We might even isolate and hold resentment
Did I leave anything out? Probably, but the above is a pretty good list of what happens when we get stressed, right? Every one of those points above also spell out in an indirect way, “Me, me, me.” We start to think about ourselves when we get stressed, and we distance ourselves from the problem. Thinking this way is a PROBLEM! Ever heard of the cliche: “There is no ‘I’ in T-E-A-M”? When we start moving in this negative direction, we pit ourselves against others instead of rallying for others.
What can be done about this? How are we going to get back to US oriented and not ME oriented? How would that even help?
The first step to getting back to a TEAM mentality is to THINK TEAM. I believe getting our minds reset to think about your partner as your teammate and what it means to be a teammate is important. Focus on your partner as your partner. Focus on your relationship as unified and together. Meditate on the WE and not ME.
The second step is to visualize what a TEAM looks like. By the way, what does a team look like? I try to visualize a sports team. I love football. A football team cannot WIN or reach their goals without the maximum effort and unity of everyone on the team. Even the players who are not on the field have a role. Your role may be only to cheer on your team or to learn and watch the game so they know what is going on. No matter how small the role is, NO ROLE IS INSIGNIFICANT! When visualizing a team, the most important aspect of being a team is that they ALL have ONE GOAL! You and your spouse have the SAME GOAL. Why would we be against each other if we have the same end goal in mind?
Third, know your role! You can’t play every position on the field. A running back blocks and runs the ball. If he is running the ball, someone else has to block for him or run a fake route. In your marriage or relationship, you can’t do everything and be everything. You also can’t expect your spouse to do everything and be everything. You also need to realize that your spouse has an important role that is desperately needed in order to reach your mutual goals. Did you get into a relationship to do things alone or by yourself? NO! Understand your own role and focus on your own role. Also, realize that your spouse’s role is important, but you cannot do their role for them and it does not help to criticize them or fight them.
Fourth, try to listen and empathize with your partner. Better said, try to understand your spouse’s point of view. That helps you understand their role and their struggles with fulfilling their role.
Finally, remember that you are FOR each other! You want each other to succeed. If one of you doesn’t succeed, neither of you will likely succeed. Be each other’s cheerleaders! Help each other, encourage each other, praise each other, love each other, think about each other, share with each other, and be gentle with each other!
Teamwork will help you stay focused and will help you feel like you are not alone. Feeling alone is probably the most stressful thing in life, and loneliness is the last thing each of us need. You have each other in your corner. Don’t take that for granted. I challenge you to use “team” terminology to improve your focus on teamwork. Team terminology is any term that might relate to being a team and can help you refocus on acting like a team. Be the TEAM YOU COMMITTED TO. You can do it! You can get through this time TOGETHER.
I hope that this has been helpful. As this series ends, I hope I have given you information that you can go back to when you need it. If you have any further questions or need help, please call me and set up an appointment or check out some of my other BLOG POSTS.
Want to read the rest of the blog series? START HERE
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 706-955-0230.
To schedule an appointment online, click the orange button at the top right part of this page.
5 Ways Honesty Improves Marriages
/in Anxiety, Arguments, Communication, Forgivneness, Grace, Intimacy, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Resolving Conflict /by Brand0nTrust is very important in relationships, AS IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT. Deceit can destroy trust, but full honesty can build trust. Early on in my life I attempted to do something that I knew my parents did not approve of. I was young, stupid, and didn’t fully realize what being a follower of Christ meant back then. Does that sound familiar to you? I also still had my sin nature, and STILL DO. I remember when I made the choice to follow through with my stupidity that I had a since of guilt almost immediately, but just pushed it aside. When I was confronted about it later, I also had an immediate since of fear and anxiety. I thought, “I have been found out! Oh No! What do I do now?” I realize now that I was probably afraid that I would get a more severe punishment than I wanted, or worse, my parents wouldn’t love me anymore. I didn’t want to lose what was important to me. SO I LIED! The minute I did that, IT GOT WORSE. I not only received a consequence for my behavior, but I received multiple “consequences” for my lying. I honestly wish I had learned my lesson that day. It would have saved me much heart ache throughout my life.
Although it has taken me a long time to learn and grow as a person to where the fear doesn’t always want to take hold of me. I still do have fear when I have done something I think my spouse would not approve of. We need to understand these 5 principles to better help us navigate times when the assumption that a lie is better than the truth comes about. To go along with my post on the 5 Ways Lying Destroys Marriages, I share with you these 5 ways that honesty can be beneficial and help you not have to endure the heart ache and pain of mistrust throughout your life.
Next time you start feeling the desire to be dishonest and the fear of consequences arise, fight the urge to tell lies. Be honest with your spouse. Don’t lose the trust they have in you. It is YOUR CHOICE. You choose to hurt them or build deep security with them. Honesty is important to the point that some have said that the problem with humans is their dishonesty with themselves. Your marriage can be great! Honesty is a part of building a deeply connected relationship.
To read the companion post to this article read: 5 Ways Lying Destroys Marriages
My latest series: Improve your Marriage While in Quarantine.
If you need help with being honest and genuine call me 706-955-0230.
If you would like help with your relationship or help with this issue. Please contact me or schedule a session through my online portal.
How Teamwork Can Help to Improve Your Marriage While Quarantined
/in Arguments, Communication, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Resolving Conflict /by Brand0nThe last of my Quarantine post! I am ecstatic! I have actually fulfilled a goal of keeping a series of blog post running. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my thoughts on how to help improve your marriage. You might be one of the families stuck at home or spending more time at home during this time, and I hope this will continue to be helpful. I hope you share it with those who you know need it. Things have been a lot different in the past 3-4 months for all of us. I believe the changes that we all have had to make in the past few months has caused each of us increased stress in a variety of ways. It’s important to have tools to keep yourself and your family sane. Having some clear guidelines and actions you can take to make things a little easier on yourself can be huge as we move forward as a family, community and nation in uncertain times.
The final tip that I think would be helpful for your marriage during this time, although there is much more I could provide, is to focus on teamwork in your relationship. Why teamwork? I am GLAD you asked!
First off, what happens when we get stressed and things aren’t going well?
Did I leave anything out? Probably, but the above is a pretty good list of what happens when we get stressed, right? Every one of those points above also spell out in an indirect way, “Me, me, me.” We start to think about ourselves when we get stressed, and we distance ourselves from the problem. Thinking this way is a PROBLEM! Ever heard of the cliche: “There is no ‘I’ in T-E-A-M”? When we start moving in this negative direction, we pit ourselves against others instead of rallying for others.
What can be done about this? How are we going to get back to US oriented and not ME oriented? How would that even help?
The first step to getting back to a TEAM mentality is to THINK TEAM. I believe getting our minds reset to think about your partner as your teammate and what it means to be a teammate is important. Focus on your partner as your partner. Focus on your relationship as unified and together. Meditate on the WE and not ME.
The second step is to visualize what a TEAM looks like. By the way, what does a team look like? I try to visualize a sports team. I love football. A football team cannot WIN or reach their goals without the maximum effort and unity of everyone on the team. Even the players who are not on the field have a role. Your role may be only to cheer on your team or to learn and watch the game so they know what is going on. No matter how small the role is, NO ROLE IS INSIGNIFICANT! When visualizing a team, the most important aspect of being a team is that they ALL have ONE GOAL! You and your spouse have the SAME GOAL. Why would we be against each other if we have the same end goal in mind?
Third, know your role! You can’t play every position on the field. A running back blocks and runs the ball. If he is running the ball, someone else has to block for him or run a fake route. In your marriage or relationship, you can’t do everything and be everything. You also can’t expect your spouse to do everything and be everything. You also need to realize that your spouse has an important role that is desperately needed in order to reach your mutual goals. Did you get into a relationship to do things alone or by yourself? NO! Understand your own role and focus on your own role. Also, realize that your spouse’s role is important, but you cannot do their role for them and it does not help to criticize them or fight them.
Fourth, try to listen and empathize with your partner. Better said, try to understand your spouse’s point of view. That helps you understand their role and their struggles with fulfilling their role.
Finally, remember that you are FOR each other! You want each other to succeed. If one of you doesn’t succeed, neither of you will likely succeed. Be each other’s cheerleaders! Help each other, encourage each other, praise each other, love each other, think about each other, share with each other, and be gentle with each other!
Teamwork will help you stay focused and will help you feel like you are not alone. Feeling alone is probably the most stressful thing in life, and loneliness is the last thing each of us need. You have each other in your corner. Don’t take that for granted. I challenge you to use “team” terminology to improve your focus on teamwork. Team terminology is any term that might relate to being a team and can help you refocus on acting like a team. Be the TEAM YOU COMMITTED TO. You can do it! You can get through this time TOGETHER.
I hope that this has been helpful. As this series ends, I hope I have given you information that you can go back to when you need it. If you have any further questions or need help, please call me and set up an appointment or check out some of my other BLOG POSTS.
Want to read the rest of the blog series? START HERE
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 706-955-0230.
To schedule an appointment online, click the orange button at the top right part of this page.
How Relaxation Can Help Improve Your Marriage While Quarantined
/in Marriage, Relationships, Stress Management /by Brand0nCan you resonate with being too busy? Overwhelmed? Stressed? Running to the store, going to work, cleaning the house, cooking, laundry, dishes, setting aside time with the kids, setting aside time to spend with the spouse, cutting the grass, etc. It seems to never end. Right? We all feel like we are on never ending treadmills. How many items on our list of tasks did we not complete today, and how many tomorrow and the next day will be left incomplete? What are we chasing after? If you are on that chase, and it is hurting your relationship or just causing you to not succeed, maybe it’s time to sit down, relax and allow yourself to assess and rework your day to day life.
Relaxation is important, as well as work is. Sometimes we get so caught up in what seems important to us that we do not take time to relax and take a break. When we are busy and do not take time to slow down and relax, we may find ourselves worse off than we thought we would be. Have you ever forgotten something or did poor work? Maybe it was because you overworked or overbooked yourself. Sometimes when we get too busy, we actually get less done and the quality of our work suffers.
These same concerns can come into marriage when life gets busy. Kids involved in every sport, racing to get to the next event, trying to just keep up with life and do it all. Are the mistakes and incomplete tasks piling up? Slowing down and taking things off your plate can be helpful. Taking the time to EXPERIENCE the moment instead of RUSH through it, can do wonders for increasing quality workmanship and relationships. Are we sacrificing depth for quantity?
Anxiety tends to be more prevalent in our world than in history. Why? Many leaders in the world believe it is due to the constant need to complete and compete to keep up. We don’t want to fall behind. What are we sacrificing just to keep up? Might this contribute to the divorce rate being 50% in America? Are we too busy and too overwhelmed to enjoy what we have right in front of us?
Here’s what you can do: Slow Down! Cut something out of your life. Take the time to see, smell, taste, hear and touch what is right in front of you. Experience your life! It will be well worth it. I have had clients that after working with them for a while, we come to realize their problem is that they see each day as a list of tasks to complete, but never really become fulfilled. Humans were not meant to be fulfilled by tasks, drugs, sex, or anything else that is finite. Experiences are not finite! God made us to enjoy Him and His creation. Do you enjoy your life? Even the tough times? Have you ever thought, “Wow, so this is what this feels like?” If you don’t know that quote, go watch Sweet Home Alabama and fast forward to the end. At the wedding, the main character stops the wedding and tells the groom he does not want to marry her. He is stunned. However, he does not react how most of us would. He was supposed to be angry. Instead, he marveled at the feeling of rejection. Whether we fail or succeed, is it possible to slow down and experience either outcome so we can know what REAL LIFE FEELS LIKE.
When you slow down in marriage and take the time to relax and experience each moment, your spouse will see a person who is genuine and real. Connection will be possible. Listening will be possible. Empathy will be possible. Love will be possible. Having a true life will be possible. You want your marriage to improve? Slow down and take the time to attend to each moment so that you don’t make mistakes and you go into every moment fulfilling your full potential in that moment. Surface level interaction never goes deep. We can talk about a lot of subjects, but until you take the time to stop, and focus on one subject deeply, you will never truly get anything out of anything. I can do a lot of things in a short amount of time, but it may not be quality work. I can do one thing in the same time and it will be quality and well done! How well do you want to do life? How well do you want to do marriage? Choose to slow down and do the simple things in marriage well!
Want to read the rest of the blog series? START HERE
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 706-955-0230.
To schedule an appointment online, click the orange button at the top right part of this page.
Next Post In Series – Teamwork
How Resting Can Help Improve Your Marriage During Quarantine
/in Marriage, Relationships /by Brand0nI don’t know about you, but I have not been resting as much as I could be during this time at home with my family. I say could, because I know I have more time on my hands. I have somehow been able to fill that time with something to do. I actually feel more stressed and more tired at times than I did prior to all this craziness. I know I need more rest, and I believe it would help my wife and I improve our relationship.
Rest is important in your life. Ever wonder why God created us to rest? I believe rest was created to force us to slow down so we don’t miss so much. We get so caught up in our accomplishments that we do not take time to enjoy them. We just keep working and working and WORKING, because we want more. God did not necessarily create us to complete every task in the universe. He created us to ENJOY Him over everything else. I miss so much when I am focused on completing a task. It is hard for my wife to get my attention when I am so focused. Our need for rest is a blessing from a God who knows us best!
God rested on the seventh day. He said, “Come to me…I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). God commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath Holy. The Bible talks about rest over and over. It must be important!
In marriage, rest is important, especially when you are juggling parenting, careers, households and yourself. That’s a lot to do. It’s overwhelming. How many of you mother’s out their are saying as you read this, “Brandon, you just don’t even know.” You are right. I don’t know! I do know to ask this question though, “With all this stuff to do, what are you going to do when you can’t take it anymore?”
I suggest not letting it get to that point. Stress builds and bursts. One way to manage stress is to get rest. Some benefits to rest are: improving thought organization, distance from the situation that causes stress, and giving a greater appreciation for what is happening. I heard someone who knew more than me say that studying right before bed helped them do better on a test. I also heard that while studying, taking a break every 45 minutes to an hour helps you to retain the information and helps to refocus the mind in order to study longer.
Rest doesn’t necessarily mean sleep. It can mean, resting the mind, or the muscles. Maybe taking a break from communication or spending quiet time together can be positive rest. Sometimes we just need a break in the activity of life. Rest can help improve your immune system. Too much activity or stress can decrease your immune systems ability to fight off sickness. Research suggests that sleep helps heal the body faster. REST IS GOOD!
So how can we use rest to improve our relationship?
Simply put, rest heals relationships and keeps them strong because you have more energy, clearer thinking and more enjoyment of the things around you. Getting adequate sleep helps your mind and body stay healthy. Sleep helps you think better and can help you regulate your emotions better. Anybody heard the phrase, “Sleep on it?” Decisions are sometimes better when a good night sleep happened right before the decision.
Taking breaks from each other can give you time to be alone or to enjoy activities you like that would not involve your partner.
Sometimes just sitting quietly together can be extremely soothing and enjoyable. Take the pressure off the need to be moving and doing. Start learning how to take time to smell the flowers and hear the birds. Take in the details of your life and you will feel more calm, whole and positive. Other types of rest can be active, such as, meditation and relaxation activities. By intentionally “resting,” you will be able to interact with your spouse or partner in a healthier, more relaxed way. Be creative and find ways you can rest together and apart. Rest your mind and your body. Create time in your busy schedule to take care of yourself through REST.
Resting is important! It can help you be a better person. It can improve your marriage. How are you going to define rest for you? My challenge to you is to define rest for yourself and your marriage. Then set some rules and parameters around how you are going to obtain that rest.
Want to read the rest of the blog series? START HERE
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 706-955-0230.
To schedule an appointment online, click the orange button at the top right part of this page.
Next Post In Series – Relax
Practice Listening to Improve Your Marriage While Quarantined
/in Communication, Marriage, Relationships /by Brand0nI hope you have received help through this series. I have enjoyed writing it, but I am concerned that I am not focusing on what’s most important right now. I don’t want to miss the fact that life has shifted for everyone of us so quickly. Many people are hurting right now. Some couples are scared and worried about their future and their families. There are many couples grieving due to loss. Everything has been turned upside down in only a few short months. How many of us have seen so much change so quickly. Even for those who have not been hit hard, it’s still be shocking and thrown us off in some way. The reality and gravity of the situation has still not been fully grasped. But I do know one thing, we need each other more than ever at this time. We need to be CONNECTED.
This opening brings me to my topic for this week. How can we practice listening to improve our relationships? I fully believe that learning to listen is one of the most important skills a couple can build. Most couples I work with have a listening problem. In fact, I think we all do! I would never leave myself out of that group. Some couples have even said about their spouse, “He/She doesn’t listen to me.” Have you ever heard that? I have definitely thought that a few times. In most of my relationships I have thought that at some point. Sorry Mom, Dad, friends, and family! But it’s true. If we are honest with ourselves, we would say at some point in our lives we felt unheard. If most of us have felt unheard, then the opposite is true: It’s likely most of us have not listened well at times also. If you KNOW that you are not so good at listening, or maybe you just want to learn how to listen better, let’s dig into how we can all PRACTICE being better listeners, especially in this time of change and unpredictability, so we can increase CONNECTION.
My 4 tips to listening can help all of us connect better in our relationships and decrease negative interactions. During this tough time, emotions may run high. Increased stress, hurt and pain may lead to quick reactions. Unfortunately, all to often, we are unable to stop these quick reactions. It is more important than ever to learn how to avoid these negative interactions, otherwise we double our pain and stress.
With our world turned upside down, now may be a better time than ever to turn your marriage back right side up. Don’t waste this time! Don’t waste the opportunity to fix things while you have more time. The world will get back moving again, probably sooner than we think. It already is in some ways. Don’t regret intentionally taking the time to learn to listen and connect to your spouse.
If you want to learn more about listening, visit this PAGE.
If you want to read the other blog post in this series, here is the first POST.
If you want help with your relationship, please call me at 706-955-0230 or CLICK ON THE ORANGE BAR AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT OR FREE 15 MINUTE CONSULT!
Next Post In Series – Rest
Be Playful to Help Improve Your Marriage While in Quarantine
/in Communication, Intimacy, Love, Marriage, Positive Attention, Positive Thinking, Relationships, Thankfulness /by Brand0nThroughout my son’s childhood, I have admired his ability to play with just about anything he can put his hands on. My house usually looks like the path after a tornado by the end of the day. It gets frustrating to clean it all up and can be sense of contention between my wife and I as well as our children. However, I have noticed that when we are helping him pick it up, that his creativity in his play is mind boggling. He doesn’t just play with one set of toys or stay in one spot (hence the tornado). He has a unique ability to gather different objects and play with them together. It sometimes seems to have no rhyme or reason. He tends to have a knack for spontaneity by just picking up a toy where ever he is at, at any given time, and just go with it. I wish I still had that ability.
Somewhere along the way, we adults lose this ability. We lose the ability to be creative and the ability to just enjoy being spontaneous. We lose the ability to be flexible and go with the flow. And, not only that, we lose the ability to be playful.
Play involves all of those things: spontaneity, creativity, flexibility, and fun! The definition of play is engaging in an activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. Being serious squelches fun and sometimes creativity. Have you ever been so focused on one thing, that you miss something important? Being serious also keeps us from being flexible at times. I know this first hand. When it’s bed time, IT’S BED TIME! My wife probably thinks I have a stick up my YOU KNOW WHAT every night about 8:00 PM. IT’S BED TIME! I am rarely flexible on this issue, and I become serious and goal oriented about this same time every night. I don’t know if this is my anxiety or fear about what may happen if they don’t get in bed on time, but that is another topic for another day and should be explored. Staying on topic, play rarely has a set goal if it is fun. Sometimes even playing sports can be so goal oriented that it loses it’s fun. PLAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!
Many couples lose their ability to play and have fun. When they were dating, they were flirty and playful… spontaneous, surprising, flexible and creative, BUT not long after they tied the knot, their life became mundane and monotonous…stressful, tense and goal oriented.
Relationships thrive off of playfulness!
Think about when you had your best times. Were you playful? Were you spontaneous? My guess is the answer is “YES!” The times we have the most fun with our partner is when we are playful. Being playful helps others to relax and enjoy the moment. Having fun creates memories that have a lasting affect on us and help couples to build deeper connections and help to grow the relationship. When we are playful, we tend to seize the moment. When we are playful, we don’t take life for granted. Being playful with your spouse is about loving and enjoying life despite the stressors around you. It’s about controlling what you actually CAN control. You CAN CONTROL how much fun you have and create with each other, even in time of stress and discomfort.
I encourage you to use this time to play with one another. Be creative as we talked about in a previous blog post. Don’t let the worries of this world keep you from enjoying each day with one another. Lighten up! Be spontaneous, flexible and open to the possibilities around you. Play as my son plays! As you walk through your life, STOP and NOTICE the things around you. Be curious. Be that tornado that leaves a path of meaning behind you as you enjoy each moment with your spouse!
If you are having trouble find ways to play or enjoying time with your spouse, please let me know. Email Me or Call Me at 706-955-0230. Set up a free 15 minute consultation! Or go back and check out the rest of this blog series.
Next Post In Series – Practice listening and understanding
10 Outdoors Activities That Can Improve Your Marriage During Quarantine!
/in Intimacy, Love, Marriage, Positive Attention, Relationships, Stress Management, Uncategorized /by Brand0nOne of the best ways to improve your relationship is to have fun together. The more diverse the activities you experience together, the more you learn about each other and grow your admiration for one another. When you are stuck at home, one way to expand your activities is to get creative OUTSIDE. Obviously we all have different places we live, but being in quarantine does not necessarily mean you have to stay in your house, at least in Georgia where I live. Getting outside provide you Vitamin D from the sun that will help boost your mood. It will provide you fresh air and room to move. Also, it gets you away from those screens that we all have our eyes glued to. When you get away from screen time you invite activities that help to release energy and stress.
Here is my list of 10 activities that everyone of us can do outdoors:
I hope these 10 suggestions help. I know their are a lot more and if you think of more, share them with others. I just want to jog your thoughts to help you be open to the many outdoor activities that we can experience together, even when our world is turned upside down. I even encourage you to find some that you will continue when or if everything returns to normal. It’s more about connecting with each other than it is about the actual activity.
If you want to check out the original blog post for this series GO HERE!
If you have questions or have concerns about your relationship, please call me at 706-955-0230 or EMAIL ME from my CONTACT page.
Next Post In Series – Be playful
How Grace and Forgiveness can Help Your Relationship During Quarantine
/in Communication, Forgivneness, Grace, Intimacy, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Resolving Conflict /by Brand0nStress and monotony becoming the norm? Being at home more than usual and not being able to get out increases boredom, unless you have figured out how to be creative since two blog posts ago. Sometimes there is not enough creativity to help a couple to feel good about each. More time spent together and more time outside of your element may make it hard to look past each other’s faults.
EXTRA grace and forgiveness at this time may go a long way! It may even save a relationship! Maybe a little more grace and forgiveness is what your relationship has always needed!
Everyone knows what grace and forgiveness are, but just in case you are a little fuzzy on it, let me clue you in to what I am referring to. Grace is the ability to look past someone’s mistakes when they don’t deserve it. From a Christian view, Grace means “unmerited favor.” If a couple gives each other grace, they will withhold their criticism and anger when their spouse or partner does something they shouldn’t. Grace can be really healing. Grace can bring a couple closer due to feeling like your partner understands that their is more to you than your mistakes. Grace allows a two people to be able to be themselves around each other.
Forgiveness is the ability stop feeling upset towards someone about an offense. Some people don’t like the idea of forgiveness because they think it means to “forgive and FORGET.” I tell my clients that forgiveness is important, but forgetting is impossible. Our brains were not really made to forget. So what does forgiveness look like then? It looks like being able to give up the fight to hold your partner accountable. It goes hand and hand with grace. It looks like loving them and letting go of the hurt. One way to think about forgiveness is to make a DELIBERATE CHOICE to release feelings of resentment and hurt so as to open back up to someone else to possibility to make it right.
So, as things continue to be confusing, stressful and tough, CHOOSE to give your spouse or partner a chance to make mistakes. And when they do, CHOOSE to give them the gift of forgiveness!
To learn more, go back to my original blog of this series.
If you would like to ask me questions about relationship concerns, call me at 706-955-0230 or EMAIL ME.
Next Post In Series – Get outside
Improve your marriage while in quarantine by sharing duties and giving time to reboot
/in Anxiety, Communication, Grace, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Resolving Conflict, Stress Management /by Brand0nMany of us who are home at this time find that our duties are actually increasing. Children being home from school and more people in the household creating messes means more clean up and monitoring of the homestead. If you are still working, especially from home, you might be pulling double duty. This increases the stress that spouses are facing compared to the usual life of going to work. Few breaks are available. At least, if I am at work I get away from the home environment for some amount of time. If I am working from home and the kids are there, it all runs together. I fortunately have a remote place I can work from, but I have taken the time to go home for lunch or in the middle of the day for an hour or so. By doing this, I believe I am giving my wife a break and breaking up my own day.
Sharing duties and giving time to reboot can help with this increased strain on the household and the marriage. Communication is the key here. If you are feeling stressed and need some help with certain duties or just time to yourself, it is important to verbalize your needs. I unfortunately do not have the ability to hear my wife’s thoughts, so I bet your spouse does not have that ability either.
There are some keys to verbalizing your needs though.
First, understand that your expectations to get what you need may not be met. By lowering your expectations, you may help to keep from creating conflict with your partner. So, how does verbalizing my needs help? The more information provided to your spouse, the more likely they will be able to meet your needs or help you get what you need. I am sure you have heard the phrase, “If it is not documented, it didn’t happen.” In this case, if it was not verbalized, then it is not a problem to be resolved.
The second thing to remember when verbalizing your needs is TIMING. Please make sure you don’t just verbalize your needs because you are emotional. Emotions are never a good clock to tell you when you should communicate about something. God gave us brains for a reason. If your partner is busy, stressed or upset at that time, maybe it is not the best TIME to express needs.
Third, figure out how to express your needs in the best way possible. Check out my thoughts about communication in relationships. Finding the right way to say something is important. Some tips are to watch your tone, check your volume and monitor your attitude. Men, soften your voice like you are speaking to your beloved grandmother. A booming, commanding voice is not necessarily “assertive.” Women, a high pitch, screechy voice will not get your husband to hear you. Try getting close to him, gently placing your hand on his arm and speaking him name in a regular, loving tone (Directed at both genders). Ask your partner how they would like you to speak to them. Then, ask them to help you practice. Practice makes perfect.
By communicating well, you are able to help your spouse to understand your needs. Now that you are able to do that, partners need to be selfless. As you learn what your spouse needs, offer to help them with those needs. That’s where sharing duties comes in. If your husband is working from home and now finds himself pulling double duty with the kids and work, but usually cleans the bathrooms and takes out the trash too, maybe as a wife you can pick up one of those tasks to lighten his load. If you are a husband who’s wife is home all day with the kids (2 months before they were supposed to be home all day), tell your wife to go take a bath when you get home and enjoy some alone time while you make dinner, wash the dishes and get the kids ready for bed (Giving your wife a reboot). It is understandable that stress had increased along with possibly your duties at home. A little teamwork, sharing duties, and serving each other will go a long ways. It’s definitely not time to dig your hills in. It’s not time to fight. It’s time to communicate your needs and work as a team. Serving one another is loving one another. You finally have a chance to do that. Don’t waste time being mad at each other. Good Luck!
Check out the original post to this series HERE.
Next Post In Series – Learn about grace and forgiveness
Using Creativity to Improve Your Marriage While in Quarantine
/in Anxiety, Communication, Intimacy, Love, Marriage, Positive Thinking, Relationships, Resolving Conflict /by Brand0nI have been home all weekend and have been struggling with this way to improve my marriage. I am the expert on marriage and can’t even help myself sometimes. But creativity doesn’t necessarily come easily. I was thinking about how I was putting what I tell others to do into practice. I guess a fun thing we did do this weekend was to get our kids a blow up water slide. Yes, I know, it was kind of chilly. They LOVED it! I think playing on that was the most exhaustive thing they have done since being out of school. It wasn’t necessarily for me and my wife, but we did get some enjoyment out of watching the kids. I could list all the generic things we have done, but that wouldn’t help you with creativity or marriage.
I want to give you one inspiring thought though. Sometimes marriage is boring. I know that isn’t very exciting or arousing, but it’s true! Isn’t that amazing? I am actually glad that it can be boring. Because creativity usually gets sparked in times of rest and monotony. So, while the spouse and I were sitting around a lot this weekend, I seemed to have more ideas pop into my mind than usual. Although, without a little direction, they weren’t necessarily thoughts about improving my marriage. So, lets see how we can do this.
I think being intentional is important. Like I said, my thoughts weren’t directed at my marriage, but I did have a lot of new and creative ideas. What would have happened if I had directed them at my marriage? Well, hopefully I would have been more open and creative with improving my marriage.
Next, I think the traditional brainstorming technique would be helpful. Yes! That technique we all learned in English class. Basically, sit with a piece of paper and write down everything that comes to mind about a certain topic. Then write down everything that comes to mind about each of those topics and so on and so forth. Let me try it real quick:
Basketball, Baseball, throwing the ball, hitting the ball, fun outside, fun inside….Okay, I will stop with that. That reminds me. My spouse and eye got a glove, a bat and a bunch of tennis balls a few days ago and I threw her some while she wacked them way to far. I got tired quickly for having to run 30 or 40 yards to retrieve all of them. I guess I need to work on that. Which leads me to another idea. How many of you exercise regularly? Why not exercise together?
You see, I just came up with 2 in no time through brainstorming. Other ways you can come up with ideas is to call up friends and family and ask them what they are doing. You can also check out things on the internet. I recently found out you can get an escape room in a box shipped to you.
Another way to increase creativity is to shut off your devices. TV, video games, scrolling Facebook all do the thinking for you. Shut them down. Read a book. Write a journal about what you are experience. Write letters. Read that Bible you have been wanting to read if only you had time off. Pray together.
Finally, I encourage you to do whatever you come up with, together! Think about what each other like. Your brains are powerful! It is made by the Creator of the Universe! Don’t lose it, use it! God has given us a unique opportunity to make changes to our life due to slowing everything down. It’s time to really work on the creative side to increase love and connection with each other. Marriage takes effort and creativity may take time. But it’s worth it! Let me know what creative ideas you come up with by emailing me. Maybe I will add them to this post.
If you are struggling with your marriage call me at 706-955-0230. If you want to read more posts go to my Blog.
Next Post In Series – Share duties and give each other time to reboot