Communication (Mutual Understanding)

Is communication the key to a successful marriage? Imagine two people, one fluent in German and the other in Spanish. Without a mutual understanding of each's language, communication is impossible. They just talk louder. Mutual understanding must come first to communicate. On this Collection Page, we will discover the power of love and respect as the languages husbands and wives need to speak. Based on Ephesians 5:33, when a husband speaks love and a wife speaks respect, there is mutual understanding and, thus, communication.

Articles

Are You Decoding Your Spouse’s Design When It Comes to Their Communication Styles?

In a survey from Focus on the Family, participants were asked, “What was (and possibly still is) the biggest problem affecting your marriage?” For both men and women the most popular answers by far all dealt with communication. These findings match up with what we have learned at Love and Respect Ministries. Having studied thousands of letters and emails from husbands of wives of both long marriages and newer ones, the common thread that runs through almost all of them is that, in one way or another, the major challenge for the common couple is communication.

Are You Decoding Your Spouse’s Design When It Comes to Their Communication Styles?

Marriage

min read

Are You Hearing Yourself the Same Way Your Spouse Does?

Most people hate the sound of their voice when they hear themselves on a voicemail or on the radio or on some other type of recording. They can’t believe they sound as high as they do, or as whiney, or so robotic, with very little reflection in their voice. Like hearing nails scraping across a chalkboard, they absolutely cringe at the sound of their voice. That can’t be me, they think to themselves. Is my voice really that annoying?

Are You Hearing Yourself the Same Way Your Spouse Does?

Marriage

min read

What Happened Several Years After the Wedding?

Soon after the wedding, as a husband you most likely found it easy to quote Proverbs 31:11: "The heart of her husband trusts in her . . ." As a newlywed wife how readily you could probably echo Song of Solomon 5:16: "This is my beloved and this is my friend . . .”

What Happened Several Years After the Wedding?

Marriage

min read

What Came First—the Chicken or the Egg?

In marriage one spouse tends to assign blame to the other for starting the marital troubles. For example, in courtship the husband was very talkative but after marriage he talked less, even withdrawing and stonewalling during conflict. From the wife’s perspective, this was a bait-and-switch trick. He tricked her into thinking he was a communicative person but after marriage refused to meet her motional need to connect via sharing hearts and feelings.

What Came First—the Chicken or the Egg?

Marriage

min read

What I Say Is Not What You Hear

Emerson paraphrases a well-known explanation of why and how we send messages in code and don’t communicate: “What I say is not what you hear, and what you think you heard is not what I meant at all.” Emerson and Sarah almost get into a serious argument about who was listening to what on the radio. How did Emerson finally break the codes they were sending and stop the problem from escalating?

What I Say Is Not What You Hear

Marriage

min read

The Everyday Challenge to Communicate Successfully with Your Mate

It was a beautiful June morning where we live in Michigan, a great time to be eating breakfast on the patio in our backyard filled with colorful flowers and overlooking a beautiful watery marsh covered with lily pads and cattails. I was just finishing my bowl of cereal when Sarah came out, her Bible and devotional books in hand. The moment I saw her, I said, “I’m leaving.” No “Good morning” or even a “Hi.” Just “I’m leaving.”

The Everyday Challenge to Communicate Successfully with Your Mate

Marriage

min read

Why Do I Rebel Against the Rules of Femininity or Masculinity?

I can't stand rules like being told to be kind, loving, and respectful. I'll be anyway I wish to be! Some rules are more like realities. They are the fixed facts of life that govern the essentials of living. They are immutable. Rebel against them and look like the village idiot. For example, we can rebel against the command of nature to eat, drink, and breathe, but why? Worse than looking like an idiot, we’d simply die. When rules reflect reality, why rebel against them?

Why Do I Rebel Against the Rules of Femininity or Masculinity?

Marriage

min read

What Overwhelms a Wife and Husband?

All of us can feel overwhelmed at times by the challenges we face in marriage. The Husband: On the one hand, a husband can feel overwhelmed by his wife’s complaints and criticisms toward him.He feels he is never good enough. He can feel he does not deserve all of her negativity. Frankly, her negativity is beyond his understanding.

What Overwhelms a Wife and Husband?

Marriage

min read