1. Work Out A Budget
IF money seems to be the constant source of your argument, consider working out a budget that everyone can live with. This way, both parties are clear on what is expected of themselves and what to expect of the other. Many couples have a hard time working out a budget that both parties can live with at first, so be open to changing a few things around depending on what is and is not working out for you and your spouse. After you have your finances squared away you will be surprised at the stress that is lifted off of you shoulders, and the stress that is lifted off of the shoulders of your spouse as well. Bills and money are real stressors; they do not have to go it alone and they should know that.

2. Consider Marriage Counseling
Communication barriers are one of the most trying issues that any married couple can face. Marriage counselors are trained to understand the nature of even the most seemingly crackpot relationships and as long as you are honest with your therapist they might be able to help you and your spouse pinpoint some of the issues that are putting the most stress on your spouse. Perhaps they feel unappreciated, or intimidated. Perhaps they are bored or would like something different but do not know how to say it. Marriage counselors can help you and your spouse stay married and work through the difficulties; after all, if trivial problems were going to break you up, you would not have gotten married now, would you?

3. Keep Your Business Your Business
Often times, the most disruptive factor in a marriage can be outside influences. This has to do with the impact that children, in-laws, friends and other family members can have on your relationship. If the influence of other people has been known to cause problems in your relationship, seek the advice of one person to keep the buzz down or seek the services of a therapist or marriage counselor. If you and your spouse are in agreement as to how to handle the influence of outside people, then you will be that much stronger as a couple and more able to handle anything that comes your way.

Helping yourself and your spouse work toward a better marriage is not always the easiest thing to do, but with the proper dedication and the proper help you and your significant other can overcome anything.

The biggest downfall in relationships is poor communication, communicating poorly in a relationship leads to problems such as misunderstandings, disagreements, and anger and eventually putting your relationship at a distance. Improving your communication in relationships can help you to develop a deeper, lasting, more meaningful relationship and so a much happier life. There are many tips and techniques which are quick and easy to learn to get more out of your relationships and develop them into more meaningful ones, here are just a few.

• When dealing with conflicts in relationships never bring up the past, try to stick to the issue at hand and working towards a solution, bringing up past issues will only confuse the situation more and is very unlikely to go towards resolving the problem.
• Try to see any conflict from the other person�s point of view, if you are both only focusing on your own point of view there will very likely be no give and take and ultimately no solution to the problem.
• Always listen to what the person is saying, while many of us think we do very few actually do listen whole-heartedly, most of the time we drift off to think about other things or think about what the person is going to say next.
• Don�t immediately get on the defensive when you are criticized, while this is hard to do, as no one like to hear criticism it is important to understand the others thoughts.
• Instead of being pig headed and always trying to win the argument, try looking for ways that you can come to some sort of compromise together, working together is more productive than working against each other.
• If tempers become frayed while discussing a difference of opinion, take a break; going at it all out will only lead to one or the other saying something which they will regret when cooled down.
• Don�t always put the blame on the other person, realize that you are not perfect and not always right all the time.
• If you feel your relationship is going downhill fast then don�t be afraid to get some help via counseling.
• Make time for your relationships; take long walks that give you the opportunity to talk instead of sitting down in front of the TV.
• Make a surprise and unexpected call to your loved one, family members or friends if for nothing else but just to say �Hi, I was just thinking about you�
• Make them feel special every now and again, give them a token of your appreciation to let them know you care or to say thank you.
• In loving relationships make sure the other knows how you feel, when talking hold hands or show some other sign of affection to them.

Sexual Skills for the Christian Husband

From “Sexual Skills For The Christian Husband” by Robert Irwin

Myth 1: Sex Isn’t As Important In A Christian Marriage

Did you realize that the divorce rate among Christian married couples is exactly the same as that of non-Christian couples?

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers presented a study of the major reasons for the failure of marriages. They ranked “failed expectations or unmet needs” as the most important cause of divorce.

And, in my experience those “failed expectations and unmet needs are usually in the bedroom.

In my research for this book, I consulted pastors and Christian counselors and read EVERY Scripture that dealt with sex.

And you know what?

Sex in a Christian marriage is MORE important than in a non-Christian marriage!

In this book, you’ll discover why this is…and how to bring back the sex to your Christian marriage.

Myth 2: Good Christians Don’t Have Exciting Sex

I’ll address this idea first with one of my favorite C. S. Lewis quotes…

“Christianity is almost the only one of the great religions which thoroughly approves of the body – which believes that matter is good, that God Himself once took on a human body, that some kind of body is going to be given to us even in Heaven and is going to be an essential part of our happiness, our beauty, and our energy…Christianity has glorified marriage more than any other religion: and nearly all the greatest love poetry in the world has been produced by Christians. If anyone says that sex, in itself, is bad, Christianity contradicts him at once…”

Christians have a pretty bad reputation when it comes to sex and sexuality.

Within popular culture, Christians are portrayed as either sexually repressed or sexually deviant hypocrites.

This is predictable- Jesus told us that the world would not understand us (actually, he said it would hate us) because of Him.

So, this wouldn’t be a problem, if we did not sometimes (unconsciously or consciously) accept these false ideas, as well.

It is understandable. Many of the “authorities” to which we seek guidance have, at times, given us incorrect information regarding Christian sexuality and its relationship to pleasing God (holiness).

These false ideas can have particularly strong negative effects on Christian women.

Many times, we have heard Christians express their confusion with this topic in the following ways:

“How can I be pleasing to God and be a sensual, sexual, person?”

“I can not imagine that being that passionate is very Christian-like…”

“My spouse would never respect me if I did that…”

Within Christianity, as explained by C. S. Lewis above, there is no struggle between holiness and sexuality (within marriage).

The idea that we are to avoid physical pleasure to achieve spiritual holiness is not a Christian concept.

It was proposed by the philosopher Plato and it is where we get the term “platonic.” Followers of this “platonic” philosophy look at the physical world, including sexuality, as lesser “shadows” of the better, “spiritual” things. It pitted the physical and spiritual against each other. To pursue one was, by definition, to lose the other.

Unfortunately, this idea has, at times, found its way into the church, despite Scripture’s clear message otherwise.

Within this book, you will learn what God really wants for you, sexually.

Myth 3: Women Are Less Sexually Responsive Than Men

This is one of the most common (and damaging) ‘Christian sex myths.’

This myth has caused countless Christian couples to experience lifetimes of sexual disappointment.

But, once you learn THE TRUTH about female sexual response and arousal, you will not have to be one of these couples!

In this book, you will learn why, scientifically, women have 10X the sexual potential of most men.

More importantly, you will learn EXACTLY how to unleash this potential.

“Sexual Skills For The Christian Husband”

by Robert Irwin

Sexual Skills for the Christian Husband