Do you have any ideas for dealing with a spouse who is overly sensitive, like a land-mine just waiting to go off? I walk around the house on eggshells, trying desperately to avoid triggering yet another emotional overreaction. Is there a better way to deal with this?
Relationships & Marriage Q&As
What can I do about my spouse’s disorganized and scatter-brained behavior? He’s extremely irresponsible, and it’s making my life impossible. Not only does he misplace things around the house (bills, important personal documents, etc.), but he travels regularly as part of his job, and we’re constantly having to replace expensive electronic devices – cell phones, …
How can I encourage my parents to stop spoiling our children? Grandma and Grandpa give my kids whatever they ask for, sometimes in complete disregard of my wishes. I don’t want to alienate my parents, but I’ve got to do something. Any ideas?
Do you have any recommendations for couples who find themselves owing a lot of money to a lot of different creditors? I’m not quite sure how it happened, but my spouse and I have come to the realization that we’re in deep debt and serious financial trouble. As you can imagine, this is putting a …
Should I pursue a serious relationship with someone of another denomination whose theological framework is radically different from my own? While serving on a short-term mission this summer, I met a young lady for whom I have developed deep feelings and great respect. We’ve been corresponding since we returned to the States, and our friendship …
How can my spouse and I make major decisions together with the least amount of conflict and misunderstanding? As a young couple just starting out, we want to practice good communication skills that will help us build a successful lifelong marriage. Where do we begin?
I’ve had significant problems in the area of talking meaningfully with my spouse. This in turn is creating serious difficulties in our marriage. We’ve been going to counseling, and I’ve been trying hard to be more open and available to my wife, but she says she’s ready for a divorce. How can I learn to …
Should I consider remarrying my ex-spouse for the sake of our child? We are both Christians, but we recently got divorced. Over the past few weeks I’ve become increasingly concerned about the impact of this family breakup upon our preschooler. What do you think I should do?
Is it wrong of me – especially in a family setting – to keep silent when others want me to converse? I’m an introverted person, and there are times when I just don’t feel like talking. My spouse understands, but my kids get upset. Can’t I just be quiet if I want to?
Are repeated emotional affairs biblical grounds for divorce? On several occasions my husband has become emotionally involved with other women in ways that have been seriously destructive to our marriage. The most recent incident involved a lady with whom he’d been emotionally intimate in the past. I’m tired of his betrayals, and though we’ve been …
Should my husband and I discontinue our friendship with another couple simply because the man and I became involved in an emotional affair? It’s over now, and my spouse and the man’s wife have taken a firm but conciliatory attitude towards the whole thing. For obvious reasons, we’ve also suspended our normal get-togethers for the …
How can my spouse and I overcome growing feelings of estrangement and regain the closeness we had in the early days of our marriage? We both lead extremely busy lives. My husband’s workload should ease up soon, but in the meantime I sense that he’s becoming increasingly distant from me emotionally. What can I do …
Do you have any advice regarding the care of an aging spouse with serious health challenges? My husband and I are both getting on in years. I’m still healthy, but he isn’t. As a result, I’ve become his caregiver, and we’ve lost a lot of our social life. Other couples our age are still able …
How important is it for family members to talk to one another on a regular basis? Communication has been an “issue” in our marriage for a long time, but recently I’ve noticed that the problem is spreading to the kids as well: it seems that none of us spend any time actually talking to each …
Why do we need to laugh together as a family? I’ve always felt that this is important, but I’ve been wondering: does the Bible have anything to say about family fun? What do the experts have to say about this aspect of relationships? How can we use humor to create a more cheerful, upbeat, encouraging, …
Now that we are committed to be married, why should we wait to have sexual intercourse? How can there be anything wrong with our love-making when we’ve already promised to spend our lives together?
Should I hold on to pictures of old girlfriends now that I’m engaged to be married? I’ve had a few relationships before this one that never resulted in marriage. I don’t like the thought of destroying my photos of those girls, but I’m pretty certain that my bride-to-be would react strongly if I don’t get …
Could my feelings of inferiority have anything to do with an inability to forgive my husband for being unfaithful with a close friend of mine? The affair happened a year ago, but we’ve since reconciled and our marriage is on track to become something much better than it has ever been before. In spite of …
Can you help me deal with the pain of being abandoned by my father? He left the family when I was young. Now that I’m getting older and really need his input, he’s not here for me. What should I do?
As a bride-to-be, how can I get past the struggle and disappointment I’m experiencing due to the fact that the man I’m marrying isn’t a virgin? I don’t hold this against him. In fact, I almost feel guilty for having these feelings because he is a devoted Christian, gentle and kind, and a man of …
