NewsBreak Original

*This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a friend who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. My friend Kristen was so excited to get married to her fiancée Tom.

The purpose of marriage can seem like a complicated one. Many believe it is to provide emotional and physical intimacy. Some believe it is about accomplishing something bigger than the two of you, while on this earth. It is more than making your partner happy. We believe that God puts two people together in matrimony for a reason. It is important for them to figure out what that reason is when they become one in marriage.

Link in article leads to free downloadable checklist from our company Marriage Built 2 Last. Every marriage has its own challenges. One of the most common issues that couples face is the feeling of being taken for granted.

Do you want to make a strong we-ness in your love and life? It is essential for a healthy love life and to become that Confident Couple. I believe everyone should try to create a strong we-ness in their personal love life. By achieving a solid relationship, you can have a healthy mix in your love and professional life. This can happen by achieving better communication which is always the key to creating strong relationships. Keep in mind that we-ness is another name for a strong, connected, positive relationship.

CoupleH Articscoka (CC by 2.0) Many of us have all-but-forgotten the freedom to go out to a restaurant without regard to the status of the Covid virus or get together with friends without thinking about whether their comfort level with indoor settings is the same as ours. What about hiring a babysitter? Do you worry about their exposure to Covid?

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a close friend, who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. My friend, who has been in a relationship for a little more than a year, called me in a panic recently.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events that I have experienced firsthand; used with permission. When I was engaged to be married, a woman told me that “marriage is when two people become one.” At the time, I nodded my head and feigned a smile, but inside I was cringing.

A few years ago, an essay by Isabelle Tessier, "I want to be single – but with you," zipped around the internet, amassing hundreds of thousands of likes. The longings Tessier described may well be even more widely shared now than they were then.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a close friend, who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. “Unicorn hunting” is becoming increasingly popular these days, as more and more people are drawn to the challenge and excitement of mixing things up in long-term relationships.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events that I have experienced firsthand; used with permission. “Get out of the car!” I yelled at him. He just sat there, staring at me with a smirk on his face. We’d been on our way back from Las Vegas when he decided that it was a great time to rehash an old argument.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events that I have experienced firsthand; used with permission. When I met my partner, we were both gunshy about being in a committed relationship. After being in unhealthy relationships that lasted for longer than they should have, neither of us was interested in repeating the same mistakes.

Hoovering, in the realm of narcissistic abuse, is a technique used by abusers to prevent their victims from actually leaving them once they have decided to end the relationship.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events that I have experienced firsthand; used with permission. Do you ever have those moments where you get totally bogged down by the relationship upkeep required to maintain a functioning, healthy relationship?

While researching my book, How We Live Now: Redefining Home and Family in the 21st Century, I discovered something interesting about how coupling has been practiced over the past three-quarters of a century. In some significant ways, couples have been acting more like single people. It started with couples living together and skipping over the part about getting married. Those who did marry have ended up doing so at later and later ages. From 1980 through 2000, married couples began to do things separately from each other a bit more often. Now, a nontrivial number of couples are deciding not to live together at all, even though they are totally committed to their relationship.

Jostes Family providing community service(Jostes) Kathleen Palmieri would rarely go more than a few days without knocking on a door or visiting a Bible student as part of her volunteer ministry. That abruptly changed in the spring of 2020 when Jehovah’s Witnesses suspended their in-person public ministry, meetings and large conventions.