Archive for 'Partnership Marriage'

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I am looking forward to being together with family and eating bountifully. As usual, this holiday comes at a very busy time of the year for Martha and me and reminds me just how seldom I give thanks for anything, let alone the wonderful life we have. Martha, I […]

The Power of Conversation

Oscar Wilde wrote, “Ultimately, the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation, and conversation must have a common basis…” Over a lifetime, a married couple expresses all kinds of feelings, viewpoints, opinions, judgments, and ideas in conversation with each other. Their conversations can, at times, be creative, productive, and affirming […]

By the Year 2017…

In the summer of 2005, Martha and I were living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with two of our three children, and starting to think about coming back home to the United States. Martha’s four-year expatriate contract with an international bank would be coming to an end in a year’s time, our eldest daughter was getting […]

Conversations for Partnership

Over the past year, I’ve been writing a book on partnership in marriage. The focus of my book is the power of conversation in marriage and how couples, by having important conversations, can create a fulfilling and enduring partnership over a lifetime. Here’s an excerpt from the first draft: “It is the nature of a […]

The Power of Co-creating Vision

From 2002 to 2006, Martha and I spent four wonderful years living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with two of our three children. In the spring of 2006, our expatriate assignment was drawing to a close and it was time for us to return home to the United States. We wanted to live in the Boston […]

Putting Us First

At the end of August, Martha and I spent a wonderful and much needed vacation for a week and a half on Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire. We swam, hiked, put together puzzles and read our books. We didn’t think about work or other responsibilities for a minute. We relaxed and replenished ourselves. We […]

The Wisdom of Ogden Nash

Ogden Nash wrote: “To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; Whenever you’re right, shut up.” Everyone has a valid point of view. And each person’s point of view has a particular “rightness” to it, given that it is the only point of view a person can […]

Investing in your Marriage

There is a good deal of research that suggests that couples who are successful in marriage benefit greatly. These couples are happier, are healthier, have longer lives, are wealthier and have better sex lives than couples who divorce or individuals who remain single (Waite & Gallagher, 2000). Investing in your marriage is one of the […]

The Head of the Household

My brother-in-law sent me a book on marriage last week called “Make Yours a Happy Marriage” by O.A. Geiseman. It was written in 1946 just two years after my parents were married. Dr. Geiseman was the pastor at a Lutheran Church in Illinois and was a well known speaker at the time in practical religious […]

Connecting to Us Couples Retreat

I am happy to announce that a colleague of mine, Joanie Yanusas, and I are facilitating a couples retreat on the second weekend in October at a peaceful and beautiful venue in Elmira, New York.  Joanie is a certified professional coach and Retreat Leader whom I met at a leadership course several years ago. She […]