More and more of today’s engaged couples are seeing the benefits of saying, “I do,” to premarital counseling and education. In fact, research shows that couples that seek out premarital education enjoy a 30% lower chance of divorce than the couples who do not. But before heading out the door to your first appointment, you need to consider the importance of whom you choose to counsel you. 

We live in a sexualized culture, and our exposure to pornography is staggering. A simple click gets us free and instantly available porn—images, videos and erotic stories—on every device we own. Ten years ago the book Pornified described how our relationships and families were being transformed by pornography. Today our exposure to pornography is in uncharted territory. 

Over-sharing on social media has become rampant. Whether it’s the latest video blog of a husband showing how he got his wife’s urine sample out of the toilet for a surprise pregnancy test (I’m not kidding!) or an angry wife’s post fresh off an argument with her husband, there is such a thing as too much information!

A fascinating study done by relationship experts at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh sought to determine if romantic comedies influenced how we view love, sex, and marriage. They specifically examined 40 box office hits between 1995 and 2005, such as Runaway Bride, Notting Hill, You’ve Got Mail, Maid in Manhattan, and While You Were Sleeping. Have you seen any of them? If so, researchers were interested in how they might influence your expectations about love. 

“We spend money we don’t have,” observed Woody Allen, “to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.” Three years ago, an economics professor, an environmental watchdog, and an award-winning television producer set out to see if Allen’s humorous insight was true—do we Americans purchase things to feel better about ourselves and impress others? After carefully examining our frantic American lifestyle, they diagnosed us with a fictitious disease they creatively called affluenza. 

A few years ago my university started videotaping courses and posting lectures on iTunes U and YouTube. Two of my courses were selected and the effect it had on me was profound.

Marriage is one of the most reliable indicators of happiness. Martin Seligman writes in his book Authentic Happiness that “marriage is robustly related to happiness,” is one of the best predictors of life satisfaction, and that married couples express the highest levels of happiness and satisfaction.

When marriage is done well, couples not only experience the wonderful emotional and physical intimacy of being “on the same page” but also frequently sense a deeper, more profound, spiritual connection. While some couples think of it as being “soul-mates,” there is an aspect to it that is qualitatively different...