When a couple chooses to get married, they walk into the heightened possibility of having children. We all know at least one person who planned to wait several years to have kids who ended up being a mommy or daddy within the first year. Even when planned, sometimes birth control fails to prevent pregnancy or the timing wasn’t right to avoid pregnancy. As a result, for those getting married, children need to be considered and discussed prior to marriage. Topics need to be discussed such as: If we do get pregnant sooner than we expected, are we both going to work or are we going to live on … [Read more...]
What Children Think of Marriage
In the below (adorable) clip, Grover from Sesame Street discusses what marriage is with Jesse. This is actually an important topic to discuss with children because it is at this point in their lives that they are learning what life, including marriage, is all about. For fun, and to be of some help, spend some time serving children during children's church and talk to them about relationships and marriage. See what they say and help them to understand what the Bible says. You and they will both be blessed for it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQJvSzkVfRg … [Read more...]
How to Date Your Future In-Laws
Caitlan, from Dallas, Texas asks: “What about in-laws? How do we balance our time between both sets of parents?” For most families, when a couple marries, they not only marry each other, but they also marry their spouse’s family. In that, I mean that his or her spouse’s family will be an integral part of life from the point of marriage. So, when a couple is dating, in a sense, they are dating their potential future in-laws as well. It is very common for a girl to ask for the opinions of her family members about the guy she is dating; whereas, in his family, they may offer their opinions … [Read more...]
Mom (Tara Leigh Cobble)
I first met Tara Leigh Cobble a decade ago as a girl travelling the country doing concerts. Today, she has matured as an independent artist and has amazing talent - and is still travelling the country doing concerts. Her last CD, "Morning's War" was in my car's CD player for months (the dynamics, thoughtfulness, and artistry of the music are amazing - I especially liked the percussion in the album). She's also an author of two books and on her way to writing a third. For Mother's Day, today, she wrote a blog post about her mom. I found it insightful and thought I would share it with … [Read more...]
How Does He Treat His Mother? How Does She Treat Her Father?
Early in a relationship, you may not spend a whole lot of time with your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s parents, but as the relationship progresses, it is a good idea to spend a balanced amount of time with them. Why? Because it is important to see how your potential spouse treats his or her parents before becoming engaged. More specifically, it is important to see how he treats his mother and how she treats her father. Ladies, how he treats his mother is a good indication of how he will treat you. If he treats her with respect and honor, he will more than likely treat you with respect and … [Read more...]