• Communication in Marriage,  Relationship Advice

    How To Write a Love Letter

    My husband Bobby has offered numerous gestures of love over our 30+ years of marriage. But there has never been anything that meant more to me than his love letters. Is there a gift that could offer more than a love letter? Think about it. A letter from a loved one is from the one you love. It’s unique to you, and your relationship, deeply personal, and the effort alone shows how much they care. Because I know what a Big Deal this is, I’m going to share how to write a love letter. First, confession time. I have never written a love letter. But, I have perfect examples from Bobby…

  • Relationship Advice,  Relationships Take Work

    Sustain a Marriage With Forgiveness

    I read an article recently called “Why We Need Moments of Mad Thinking.” In it, the author contends, “We banish a great many thoughts from our minds on the grounds that they are, as we put it, ‘mad’.  Some of them evidently are: too mean, flawed, absurd or petty to deserve further exploration. But it’s one of the tragedies of our thinking lives that, amidst the detritus of dismissed thoughts, there are invariably a great many that could have been of high value, if only we had dared to examine them further, if only we hadn’t been so scared of their less conventional and more speculative dimensions, if only we…

  • Relationship Advice,  Relationship Advice for Men,  Relationship Advice for Women

    Sweet Words Of Thanks To Your Love

    Thanksgiving is coming! I love it; it’s my favorite holiday. I have so much to be thankful for! Sara Algoe, an associate professor of social psychology at the University of North Carolina, has been studying why gratitude is so important. Her research has found that appreciation is good for relationships and has “follow-on effects” on physical health. She said, “Taking the moment to acknowledge the things people do for us that we value actually has downstream consequences for both people. When couples express gratitude more frequently and descriptively to each other, they are happier in their relationship.” I can vouch for that 100%! My husband thanks me every morning for…

  • Communication in Marriage

    How To Show Appreciation To the Love of Your Life

    Growing up, my family had the best tradition at Thanksgiving. Gathered around the table, we would each take our turn and share what we were most thankful for that year. My brother was always funny, as he’d take the opportunity to poke fun at everyone for things that happened throughout the year. But then, right at the end, he’d hit us with the sentimental zinger that always made me and Mom cry. Dad and Mom always said they were thankful for the same thing every year: Family. I don’t remember what I said, but I recall how those words of appreciation reminded us that were weren’t just four people existing…