The Case Aganist Marrying Young

I've been noticing that the new thing is for parents to discourage their children from getting married.

The child is in love, they've just finished college, they have a great job, and they are ready to settle down. It sounds like the ideal situation to me, yet there is this attitude of "you have to live your life first, then get married."

Somewhere along the lines the worldly way of thinking has crept up into Christian homes. How are we to encourage our children to be pure, if we are telling them to wait until they are 30 to get married? Does this mean that purity is no longer a valid option and we'll just conveniently forget that Godly commandment?

Stop looking at marriage as a curse and a hindrance, and see it as something that God has called a lot of us to do. Sometimes it's not about living your life so you can get married, and instead it's about getting married so you can live the life God has planned for you.

Don't encourage your children to live in any type of sin. Yet, encourage responsibility and maturity.

2 Timothy 2:22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

How To Divorce-Proof Your Marriage

Before we got married we had a discussion on divorce.

He said he didn't believe in divorce- period.

I said I don't believe in divorce for me, but I am not going to make a blanket statement when I couldn't possibly know the details of everyones personal lives.

Different perspectives, but we came to the same conclusion, divorce is not an option.

That's the way you divorce-proof your marriage; you don't talk about divorce, you don't wonder about it, you don't mention it because it's not an option.

Your options are to find a way to make it work, or live a very miserable life.

Which one sounds more appealing?

Of course this only works if both people have this perspective, it can't be one-sided.

Once you stop looking at your partner as an option, you erase this notion of "I only want to be with you when it's convenient for me, and once you step outside of what I like, I'm done."

Instead you should see your partner as the person you've chosen through thick and thin, ups and downs, highs and lows. They aren't an option, you've already committed. Sometimes things will be inconvenient, but you have a choice whether to work through that, or give up.

Matthew 18:8 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning."

Communication Issues in Marriage

My husband and I have problems just like everyone else, but I love being married to him.

Right now our main issue is communication. I don't know what the deal is, but we are on two different planets when it comes to communication.

I am open, I like to get to the point, I want to talk everything out and then ask you twice to repeat what I said just to make sure you understood.

He isn't so open. In fact he doesn't like to talk about much and trying to get him to is like pulling teeth. He wants to handle everything by himself and the only time he'll talk is when he's so frustrated that everything is driving him crazy.

This of course leads to many arguments.

But you know what, we are working on it. After a big blowout the other day we both decided that something has to change.

Now communication is our top priority. I will give him room to be silent, but at the same time he has to be willing to talk sometimes.

Proverbs 15:23 A man finds joy in giving an apt reply-- and how good is a timely word!