Tag Archives: connecting

My Family Is On Facebook

I come from a very large family. Most of my family lives in the Midwestern United States, and I live in California. The distance can make it difficult to keep in touch with all my relatives, because I cannot easily drop by for lunch, or attend birthday parties and other family events. I never expected to find so many family members on facebook, but there they are! I resisted joining facebook for a long time. I’m not very involved in “social networking”, and most of what I heard about facebook involved description of time waster games, (such as the popular … Continue reading →

Create Space for Conversations

Have you ever noticed how there are just some environments that lend themselves to conversation? There is a reason they have those big comfy chairs and cozy corners at your favorite coffee shop, or that fine restaurants have a different décor and arrangement that the local fast-food joint. Surely, you have been in homes that felt cozier and more open to lingering conversation than others? When it comes to our family life, we might have a perfectly utilitarian family room and a high tech living room—but is there space in your house that encourages family members (and others) to just … Continue reading →

5 Ways To Connect As A Family

School has been in session for about a month and a half and for me the time as just flown by. If you are like most families in the country between schools, sports, work, and other activities it is hard to find the time to connect as a family. So try implementing one of these five ways and start connecting with your kids again. 1. Limit activities. Children don’t need to be involved in a million different things to be happy. In fact recent research shows that too many activities can put a strain upon a child increasing their stress. … Continue reading →

5 Ways to Reconnect in Your Marriage

When we get married, the first years of our relationship may coast as you continue to celebrate your union. With the birth of children, more gems are added to the beautiful jewels of your life. Still, at some point, every couple hits a rocky patch. Maybe they are too busy or maybe they have changed. The simple fact is that conflicts happen, even in the happiest of relationships. Conflicts do not end relationships, healthy conflicts help you air things out in the relationship and healthy arguments are the root of a good debate. Still, if you are concerned about not … Continue reading →

Relationship Keys

When it comes to marriage, possessing social confidence is not always automatic. Whether we are 20, 30 or 50, we can learn to be socially confident in order to help develop great relationships with our friends, our family and our spouses. There are some who absorb these skills without great effort. They are skilled at relationships and they likely had fantastic models in their parents. They cannot explain why they are good at relationships, they just are. If you were to ask one to articulate the skills they use to manage their relationships, they would not be able to answer. … Continue reading →

What Can I Do?

These are four little words that can make all the difference in your relationships and not just with your spouse. Marriage can be a journey of self-discovery with your spouse sharing navigation duties. Sometimes you get good directions and sometimes you don’t. But as long as you’re talking, you are not alone on the journey. Asking yourself what can I do? or asking your spouse what can I do? can help you get out of communication traffic jams in your relationship. By asking the question you are opening up to discussion, both positive and negative. Sometimes, the worst negatives you … Continue reading →

Re-Evaluating Where You Both Are

Marriage is often depicted as a ‘happily ever after’ that occurs after the wedding. For most marriages, however, ‘happily ever after’ is a constant adventure in the evolution of a relationship. There are tidal forces of life that ebb and flow surrounding the marriage. These forces can lead to greater intimacy, distance, depth of friendship and commitment and turbulent times. There are both positive and negative aspects in every marriage. One partner may be more dominant than another. Passive aggressiveness may play a role. Growth and development are definitely key. When children are introduced, the dynamic changes even more. What … Continue reading →