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Marriage goes through seasons

All marriages go through seasons – much like the seasons of nature. Marriage is born in the Spring, blossoms over the Summer, grows to maturity in the Fall, and settles in over the Winter. When we find true love, most of us find it for a lifetime. Those marriages and relationships that last over time started with the simple planting of a seed. The seed was nourished over time. Love grown with tender and loving care matures into fully-grown love that can withstand the tests of time.

Join Our New Blog

Please join our new blog location at http://simplethingsmatter.wordpress.com to continue our great conversation about love, marriage and relationships.

How To Fall In Love Again With Your Spouse

Let’s face it – we love our spouse more than life itself. And frankly, we cannot imagine life without them! But the truth is, from time to time, our love for each other needs renewal. While love can be forever, it often needs nurturance, recommitment, and an occasional makeover. Love has its season for renewal.

Every so often, our “love affair” needs rekindling. Every once in awhile, we need to “strike another match” and rekindle the fire in our relationship. And the simple truth is, sometimes we need to fall in love all over again!

So here is the question of the day – how do you keep your love alive? How do you fall in love all over again?

Our research on successful marriage suggests five actions you can take to fall in love again – to incur the passion you once knew in your marriage. Here they are in nutshell:

1. Our research has revealed time and time again the importance of the “loving touch.”
2. Engage in a process that allows you to re-establish the communication links between the two of you.
3. Work hard to have fun with each other!
4. Upend expectancies!
5. Tell your spouse how much you love them and why!

To learn more read How To Fall In Love Again With Your Spouse

Recipe for Finding Love Again

We know how you feel! Starting over is really difficult when it comes to love and marriage. Getting a divorce, breaking up, or losing the one you love due to their death can be overwhelmingly painful.

The simple truth is this – you entered into your loving relationship with another person expecting it to last forever. But all acts of love are, we are afraid to say, not everlasting.

As the old song goes, “Breaking up is hard to do” – whether that breakup is due to death or falling out of love – the pain is still not minimized. It is hard to start over. It is downright challenging to find true love again.

If you are faced with finding new love, we have discovered some simple truths that will help you make the appropriate transition to new love. If you pay close and particular attention to the following seven secrets for finding love again, you will be well onyour way in your pursuit of new love.

Read the entire article, Recipe For Finding Love Again

Does Online Dating Lead to Marriage?

Oh, the times, they are a-changing! This refrain is from a very famous Peter, Paul, and Mary song. And the truth is, people are finding love in different ways than they did is year’s past. Online dating is a reality today.

According to recent estimates – and we think they are pretty credible – one in eight couples who got married last year met online. Some think the number is closer to one in four. However, we see no evidence that this is the case. One in eight is much more likely to be true.

So here is the important question – is it appropriate and safe to meet online? To see what we have learned read Does Online Dating Lead to Marriage?

Jon and Kate Got It All Wrong: Married With Children

Like us, we are sure many of you have been following the on-going saga surrounding the so-called “reality” show, Jon & Kate Plus Eight. Well, it seems like Jon and Kate are going to go their separate ways – divorce seems eminent. Ah, but apparently, the show must go on in spite of their impending divorce. Where to begin!

The sad truth is, Jon and Kate could have learned some valuable lessons if only they had reviewed our research findings! If they had, they might still be happily married and their eight children might have gotten to live and grow up in a loving, caring, and facilitative home environment. But alas, they didn’t.

So here is where our message comes in today – there are four major caveats we have learned over the years from all those successfully married couples we have interviewed that we think applies to the case of Jon & Kate Plus Eight – the Gosselin family.

Here they are in a nutshell:
1. The relationship between mom and dad trumps everything else in a marriage.
2. Successfully married couples do not air their family laundry (dirty or otherwise) in public.
3. Exploiting your family, particularly your children, for fame and fortune is never a good thing.
4. Privacy and alone time are one of the hallmarks of a successful marriage.

In the end, Jon and Kate would certainly have benefitted by knowing the “four caveats of successful marriage,” Maybe there is hope for their family. Maybe there is hope for their eight children.

To learn more about these read Married With Children: Jon and Kate Did It All Wrong