After a rough divorce, last week I stumbled into a World Marriage Day celebration. . .

By Beverly Willett I got off to a slow start last Sunday morning, but realized I could still make the 11:30 a.m. mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah’s Roman Catholic Mother Church. So I hurried off, parked, and quickly ducked inside, clueless about what awaited me. Each weekend mass is well-attended, […]

Friendship Before Sex: A New Plan for Finding Love

By Sara Goff “Young love is a flame; very pretty, very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering.  The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deepburning, unquenchable.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher (from RQ Relationship Intelligence by Richard A. Panzer) In my late twenties, I found myself in a two-year […]

Loving Service — The Basic Principle of Magnanimous Marriage

By Krsnanandini Devi Dasi, CFLE A few years ago, my husband, Tariq and I presented a seminar on the concept of what we term “Magnanimous Marriage.”  In such a marriage, husband and wife are actual benefactors for one another. Benefactor is defined as a kindly helper, a person who benefits and supports another. “A happy […]

Marriage is Not Dead – And Our Fascination With the Royal Wedding Proves It

By Beverly Willett I thought marriage was supposed to be dead in the United States. So what’s up with the lovefest over the Royal Wedding? After all, the marriage rate is barely at 50%, down from 72% in 1960. Since all 50 states adopted no-fault divorce, the divorce rate skyrocketed, too. It’s now at 40-50%, […]

Thirty Years In: A Reflection on “Soul Mates”

By Jennifer Grant A friend posts a status update, tagging his wife, on Facebook:          A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity. The order varies in any given year. Thanks for 20 YEARS of all the above, my dearest! I think long-married people are less likely […]

Great Expectations — The Real Key to Happily Ever After

By Lisa Wilkes Took the plunge. Ball and chain. Found my soul mate. Happily ever after. You complete me. If you Google euphemisms for marriage, these are some of the phrases that will pop up. With today’s divorce rate nearing 50%, a lasting and fulfilling marriage is often the exception, however, not the rule. So […]

Don’t Divorce — Why Mending Your Marriage Makes Better Sense

By Mike McManus Marriage has fallen on hard times. Half of America’s marriages have ended in divorce since 1975 – a divorce rate that is triple that of Britain or France. Dr. Diane Medved offers answers in a compelling new book, Don’t Divorce: Compelling Arguments for Saving and Revitalizing Your Marriage.  It is must reading for […]

Save Your Marriage — Don’t Even THINK About Divorce!

By Suzanne Venker What’s your attitude toward marriage as an institution? Is it more traditional in nature, or does it match the culture’s more progressive, cavalier view? Your attitude is the single most important determiner of your success in life. Life will throw you a thousand curve balls. So will marriage. But it isn’t the curve balls […]

Something Continues To Be Missing From The Conversation….

By David Schel I was born in 1963, so I don’t remember where I was the day President Kennedy was assassinated. I vividly remember the morning of September 11th though, and having coffee with my wife on the West Coast. December 14, 2012 is another of those days I can’t forget. Sitting at my desk, […]

Screw Monogamy?

By Michele Weiner-Davis Not So Fast. Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about the fact that monogamy is an outdated, unrealistic and suffocating institution.  “After all,” we’re told, “human beings simply aren’t wired to have only one sexual partner.  It’s unnatural, unworkable, unrealistic.” Additionally, even though it’s natural to be attracted to other people, […]