Viewing entries tagged
communication
When couples don’t learn how to handle conflicts well, they end up tearing down the very person they committed their lives to. And because marriage is so intimate, words said in anger and conflicts that turn ugly hurt more than in any other relationship. If your conflicts don’t get resolved, there may be one or more of these three problems getting in the way.
Many people are naturally encouraging with their friends. And they’re polite and uplifting to clerks, servers, and strangers. But often the filter comes off when they walk through their front door, and their spouse gets the worst of their words. Couples may think that their biggest problem is that thing they can’t agree on, but often it’s the way they speak with one another that can do the most damage. The Bible helps us rethink how we communicate with our partner.
Sometimes we avoid saying things in order to avoid burdening or hurting our spouse, but when hard conversations are regularly avoided, it can create distance in a marriage. This post looks at how to communicate honestly, graciously, and openly even when what you have to say is difficult.
When a spouse fails to listen well, the problems that were signaled with cues and comments early on grow into something much bigger, and their partner can be left feeling unheard and unloved. This post looks at how to improve listening and reflect the way that God Himself sees and hears us.
You can be in a room full of people and still feel completely alone. Sometimes, even our closest relationships leave us feeling unseen or misunderstood. The Bible helps us understand why that kind of closeness can be so difficult to find and shows us what we can do to build it.
When we find ourselves in conversations about issues that are important to us, it’s easy to lose out to our worst tendencies. Our words can degrade into sarcasm and discussions can end with door slamming. Consider some of the things that can make conversations go sideways and what to do instead.
When a conversation feels awkward, my instinct is to clam up and withdraw. Other people push forward and say things they regret. These principles help both types have more productive conversations about the things that matter.
The late Nelson Mandela once said, “It is never my custom to use words lightly. If 27 years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die.” Although we’ve all experienced more solitude and isolation over the last two years, we haven’t necessarily grown in our respect for the impact of our words and how we use them.
I was on a road trip with my two sons and something they said led me to share a very personal story. I went into detail about what happened, what I’d learned, and how it had such an impact on me. As I came to the end, I looked over at my sons, half-hoping to see wide-eyed expression of wonder and awe. They were both fast asleep! Communicating with children is hard. Let me share some tips from the Bible about how to speak in a way that reaches your child.
This morning I woke up listening to a podcast interview on marriage with Matt and Lauren Chandler. They’ve gained attention for their book on marriage entitled, “The Mingling of Souls,” and are promoting an upcoming conference that will be offered on-line in February. Several things stood out to me.
