Tag Archives: time together

Nicole and Me

Apart from the fact we’re both Aussies, I never thought I’d have anything in common with Nicole Kidman. I’m not young or beautiful or a movie star. So what do we have in common? The other day I briefly caught Nicole Kidman talking about marriage. She maintains the best idea for marriage is not to spend too much time apart – no more than three days if possible. I agree – wholeheartedly. Recently I was contemplating applying for a particular fellowship to do with the writing. The moment I found out it would require me being away for a whole … Continue reading →

Mothers Day, a Celebration or a Trial?

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Mothers Day can be lovely or it can be a time of pain. For those with good relationships, it’s a chance to get together and celebrate. For those estranged from family or whose mother has died or they live a distance away, it can be a time of misery and loneliness. Yesterday, Mothers Day here, for me was a lovely family day. Our daughter and her husband were unable to come down to us. That’s the way it is when your daughter is married to someone in ministry and Mothers Day falls on a Sunday. Sunday for them is a … Continue reading →

Goals For Marriage

Yesterday we looked at the idea of goal setting and marriage. but what about setting goals for your marriage. Some the goals you might want to consider are: Commit fully to your marriage and make it your goal to have a long, lasting marriage. Make your goal a loving, nurturing environment for family where they can grow and develop. Here are some practical ways you can do this. Make sure you set aside time each day to sit and talk with your spouse, even if it’s only 15 minutes. Make it a goal to never be so involved with work … Continue reading →

Ts for Two

After a few diversions, I am back to my alphabetical blog on marriage. Several things stand out to me that should be incorporated into any marriage. True The first one is true, that means true to your marriage vows and your spouse not only in your actions but your thought life as well. All our actions result from what we think about. So no, it’s not okay to be thinking and day dreaming about the new guy or woman at work or that you see somewhere else. Think about and daydream about your spouse instead. Trustworthy This goes along with … Continue reading →

Happiness Is…

On Friday Mick and I spent a lovely day. In the morning I finally made our Christmas cakes. You’ll find the recipe of one of them on yesterday’s food blog. The other one went up earlier. On Wednesday I put two lots of fruit intended for two Christmas cakes to soak in port but since Thursday was close to 104 degrees, I decided to leave it till the next day when it was supposed to turn cooler. Thankfully it did. So the cakes got made. Mick meanwhile was busy card making. He’s been working on family birthday cards for the … Continue reading →

5 Fun Activities

When you love someone it doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you’re together. So today I thought I’d give some fun suggestions of things you and your spouse might do together, as it comes on to Christmas. Some of them might even help others as well. 1. Get a group together and go out caroling. Mick and I did have done this in the past with a group and it was a lot of fun. If you have someone who can play guitar or flute that’s good, but if not the carols are so well-known you don’t … Continue reading →

A Day in the Sun

It’s the little things that make memories. It’s the little things that build relationships and maintain them. It doesn’t have to be anything world shattering. It could be something as simple as a day together. On Saturday we had an early start to the day and drove up to Sydney. There we got together with our daughter and her husband. Along with thousands of other people, we enjoyed the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Bondi. No, thousands is not an exaggeration. It is a very popular exhibition. I described it to a friend later as a moving stairway. It … Continue reading →

Shopping with Your Spouse

Do you and your spouse shop together for clothes? Or do you simply go and buy your spouse’s clothes? Or do they go on their own and buy clothes? I’ve heard of women who want to buy all the clothes for their man without any input from him. Their attitude seems to be ‘what he would know about what looks good on him. I’ll tell him what looks good.’ Such an attitude undermines him and refuses to allow him to think for himself. The reverse would also be true if the husband went shopping for the wife and chose all … Continue reading →

Marriage Doesn’t Prepare People

‘Marriage doesn’t prepare people for retirement,’Mick said today as we were talking about people we know and they way they hardly interact with each other. Think about it. His comment makes a lot of sense. The reality is for most of married life it is a case of the husband, or more commonly these days both parties, going off to work. They work in separate places and spend a lot of hours apart then come together in the evening with family. Then there are chores to be done and kids to feed and meals to prepare. It is not exactly … Continue reading →

The Value of Playing Games

Have architects and house designers had a negative impact on family life? Yesterday Mick and I went out for the day to look at some exhibition homes in a display village. Not that we have any plans to up and move from where we are, but often it is away to pick up decorating ideas and we did come home with one or two. However the thing that struck me most and saddened me was the idea of parent’s bedrooms often with large parents retreats where they can sit and relax are well away from children’s bedrooms, being at opposite … Continue reading →