01Apr

Relationships 101 — The Practical Side

“You don’t need love to make a relationship last.” I recently heard this quote at a speaking engagement.  The topic was marriage and the expert was illustrating how love gets us into our relationships, but that it takes much more than that for a love relationship to stand the test of time. For a relationship […]

11Feb

Take the Risk – Be Intentional in Your Relationships

We are meant for connection that is intimate, where we can be truly known by another. When someone knows only where we work, how many kids we have, our relationship status or other very practical things about our lives; they only know what is on the surface. Intimate connection involves peeling back the layers of our lives […]

11Dec

Seasons Change, Our Need for Connection Remains

Tomorrow morning if you wake up And the future is unclear I… I will be here -Steven Curtis Chapman, I Will Be Here The holiday season can be a time of connection where friends and family get together for parties, dinners and other gatherings. Everywhere one goes there are reminders of the season…

15Aug

Building Trust

Many couples (whether they are dating or in a committed relationship) spend so much time and energy whirling around in circles. They’re trying to understand each other, guessing if the other truly cares, wondering if they are committed… mostly just trying to figure out if they can trust each other. Part of the game is due […]

18Jul

Can We Fall in Love Again?

This question is asked by many couples who find themselves in a place where one or both no longer feel affection for the other. They wonder how they got here, and is there any possibility they can love each other again? Dr. Sue Johnson, author of Love Sense, The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships, […]

13May

Building Your Sound Relationship House: Part 7- Creating Shared Meaning

The final step in Gottman’s Sound Relationship House is Creating Shared Meaning. This area focuses on rituals of connection, roles, goals, and symbols for the couple. Gottman posits that each family creates its own unique culture. Within that family’s culture, different things, holidays, traditions, etc. hold great importance. For example, some families insist that dinnertime […]

26Sep

Building Your Sound Relationship House Part 1- Enhancing Love Maps

Marriages and romantic relationships take a lot of work, and it is hard to know what to do when we don’t feel the relationship is as satisfying as it could be.  Luckily, there is a researcher named John Gottman who has spent decades studying love and marriage scientifically and has developed a list of traits […]