Did you know there are over 100 synonyms for the word “Encourage“? When I first became interested in how spouses encourage each other, I decided to do a search for all the words related to encouragement. One of the synonyms of encourage is INVITE. Invite. An invitation. To ask in a friendly way – politely – to make a request – to welcome – to tempt. When we first met our spouse, we may have accepted an...

A week ago I spent the day writing down 101 phrases to encourage your spouse (click to go to that post) and it’s had a unique effect in our home… but let me quickly explain our current family dynamics. We have three adult children living in our home for the last few months – our daughter who lives in the self-contained basement apartment because she’s gone back to school, and our son with his wife who are in the guest...

    I love you. Thank you. We have a good future together. I believe God put us together for a reason. I just prayed for you. What would you like for me to ask God for – on your behalf? I would like to help – what would you like me to do? You are amazing. I would like to give you a hug. Let’s kiss for a while. My arms are a great place if you want to cry for a bit. Everybody makes mistakes – it’s OK. I...

 Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? ~ Amos 3:3 Where are you and your spouse going? It’s not really a hard question – “Where are you going?” You’re going forward, right? But are you going forward, moving in the same direction, with your spouse?  That’s a little more difficult to answer. Marriage = 2 people journeying through joys & sorrows, advancing in agreement. Advance:...

You are a spouse. A Wife  -  A Husband In our role as husband or wife, different seasons in marriage require varying talents. There are seasons where one spouse may wear the badge “wage-earner” and the other “child-nurturer”.  Later in life we’ve seen husband or wife wear the tag “care-giver” for the other. Being a husband – or wife – means shifting from one label to another as our path...

How can a “dis” word be an encouraging word? We would never use the word “dis-courage”.  And yet, this word – dissuade –  is a synonym of discourage! When would you not encourage your spouse? Imagine… Two companions, while walking arm-in-arm down a road chatting and laughing, come to a fork in the road. Their path to this point has had some challenges – fallen logs, swamps, uphill climbs, and...