Marriage Actually - An honest look at marriage

June 23rd, 2008

Independence vs. Marriage

In our church meeting last night we were reading First Corinthians. It’s a long letter, and in one section the author, Paul, gives some advice about marriage. Some of what he says is a bit odd if for no other reason than its distant context. Sex, for example, was a common aspect of worship in […]

By Bald Man -- 4 comments

May 19th, 2008

Marriage - Two Strands of Change

I’ve finished Marriage: a History, and no doubt it will inform my thinking and writing for some time to come. For now, I want to give you an extended quote from the conclusion.
The historical transformation in marriage over the ages has created a… paradox for society as a whole. Marriage has become more joyful, more […]

By Bald Man -- 1 comment

May 5th, 2008

Book Giveaway Winner

Congrats to Erin Gee, who is the winner of last week’s book giveaway. Her definition of marriage:
A very wise friend once told me that marriage is the three C’s. Commitment, communication and compromise. I like to add caring, crazy and the occasional good cuss to that list!
Thanks to all who entered, and be sure to […]

By Bald Man -- 0 comments

April 28th, 2008

What Is Marriage?

After all of the comments from last week’s Bloggy Giveaways, I could get use to all the voices around here. I hoping a few of you will come back and leave a comment here.
To entice you, I’m going to offer up a book. I mentioned that I’ve been reading Marriage: a History, and it has […]

By Bald Man -- 11 comments

April 1st, 2008

Book Giveaway! Generation NeXt Marriage

Deborah at Books Movies and Chinese Food is giving away a marriage book. Generation NeXt Marriage, by Tricia Goyer, aims to tackle the unique challenges Generation X faces when it comes to having success in their marriages. Five quick hits:

Gen Xers saw more divorces than successful marriages.
Without role models, many GenXers turned to music, movies […]

By Bald Man -- 0 comments

February 12th, 2008

Marriage, a History

I came across a book that looks quite interesting, Marriage, a History, by Stephanie Coontz. This is from the book jacket:
Marriage today is held up as a blissful haven of love and friendship, sex and stability. We long for the gold standard, the traditional marriage, but marriage turns out to have a checkered past. This […]

By Bald Man -- 0 comments

November 29th, 2007

Marriage Book Request

OK, I’ve got the next book lined up for review here at Marriage Actually, but it’s gonna have to wait until late December or early January. I’ve got an accreditation exam coming up in a couple weeks, so unless you want to hear all about 401(k) nondiscrimination testing it’s better for you if I don’t […]

By Bald Man -- 3 comments

November 13th, 2007

Marriage Fitness 7

The library says I can’t renew Marriage Fitness any longer, so it’s time to finish up the review. Onto Step #4 - Save Yourself. “Save Yourself” is the most overtly sexual of all the Steps. Step #2, Give Presence, brushes up against the issue in the context of giving gifts that have meaning and value […]

By Bald Man -- 2 comments

November 7th, 2007

Marriage Fitness 6

Back from the brief hiatus to continue our review of Marriage Fitness. We’re up to Step #3 - Move from Me to We. No summary equation this time, but the crux of the step is making choices to grow together.
I think this step will fly in the face of our modern individualism. Exercises include letting […]

By Bald Man -- 3 comments

October 22nd, 2007

Marriage Fitness 5

Let’s continue our series on Mort Fertel’s Marriage Fitness and look at Step #2 - Give Presence. Step #2 can be summarized with a simple equation much like Step #1.
Love = Knowing
Here Fertel focuses on express love by learning our spouse and communicating that knowledge to our spouse through gift giving. In yet another pun, […]

By Bald Man -- 0 comments