With the holidays coming up, there can be a lot of small talk over dinner with family or friends. This holiday season, what if you were able to connect with those you are celebrating with in a deeper, more meaningful way? What if there was a way to go deeper while still laughing and having fun? In this week's blog, Alisa Grace shares an experience that led their family to adopt this fun, meaningful new tradition into their the holiday celebration!

"In marriage, joy functions like engine oil. It reduces relational friction, which not only helps us uphold our commitment but also rejoice in it. Joy runs deeper than happiness because it has the capacity to transcend the details of our lives."  Dorothy Littell Greco explains how choosing to find joy in marriage, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, can be a source of life for your relationship.

Friendships can be a huge source of support and encouragement to you in life. When you start out on a dating relationships or a marriage, those friendships will undergo a change. Are those friendships still important to maintain? What place do they serve in the relationship with your significant other? How much time should you spend with friends once that new relationship begins? Dr. Chris Grace and Dr. TIm Muehlhoff share today about some of the things they have learned over the years about friendship within those relationships!

These last few months I have been experiencing physical symptoms such as lightheadedness, fast heartbeat, loss of appetite/desire to eat, headaches, and fatigue. I have seen several doctors and gotten multiple blood tests done, but so far, everything has turned out to be normal. I find myself feeling anxious and wonder if my physical symptoms are arising from stress/not knowing how to cope with stress at work?

If we want a transformed marriage, we need to regularly confess our sins to each other. Confession is not indiscriminately spewing your feelings on social media. It’s an honest, humble admission of the ways we have fallen short of God’s laws. Soong-Chan Rah writes in Prophetic Lament, “Confession acknowledges the need for God and opens the door for God’s intervention.” All of us need God’s intervention if we want a long-lasting, satisfying marriage. 

Often times, affairs are thought of just as physical. However, emotional affairs can take place if we neglect the emotional need of our spouse. From observation and research, these insights will help you preemptively protect yourself from these taking place!

We all know from personal experience that stress and anxiety are a normal part of our human experience. Life is full of daily hassles, perceived or real threats and challenges, and the usual ups and downs. Such experiences impact us physically, psychologically and behaviorally, as well as influencing our ability to engage in satisfying relationships. 

Listening and acknowledging a person you are communicating with in conversation seems very basic and easy to do, but is it? It seems that it is becoming less and less common with so many distractions in our lives. Dr. Tim Muelhoff explains some things to focus on as you communicate in conversation with your spouse, significant other, friend, or work colleague!