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Ann Malmberg

Staying Strong Through Hard Seasons

Staying Strong Through Hard Seasons

By Resilience3 Comments

Are you going through a hard season of marriage right now? Or have you come out on the other side of one?

It’s become pretty common to talk about marriage in terms of seasons. It’s actually a fitting way to frame the ebb and flow of your life together. Of course, this insinuates it’s not always smooth sailing, and if you can’t attest to that now, you’ll likely be able to at some point in your marriage.

When you’re in the thick of a hard season, it can seem like you’re navigating uncharted territory without a map. Where do we go from here? Are we the only ones going through this? Will things get better? It can feel isolating and discouraging, but you’re not alone.

In order to normalize your experiences and help you feel more prepared, we’re sharing some of the common hard seasons you might go through in your marriage, along with the keys to staying strong throughout them. Read More

July 24, 2024
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5 Keys to Breaking the Defensiveness Cycle

5 Keys to Breaking the Defensiveness Cycle

By Conflict, Relationship Basics9 Comments

Defensiveness in your relationship can be a vicious cycle. One of you makes a comment. The other person gets defensive and responds critically, causing the other person to get defensive in return. The longer this cycle continues, the harder it is to talk through issues and be open, authentic, and vulnerable with each other. So, how do you break out of this pattern? These are the key things to keep in mind: Read More

July 17, 2024
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5 Signs You Need More Time Apart

5 Signs You Need More Time Apart

By Relationship Basics11 Comments

As a married couple, you probably spend a significant amount of time together, and that’s a good thing! Feeling highly connected to each other is a crucial part of a healthy marriage, and it’s hard to build that sense of intimacy when you don’t get to spend much time together. Across this very blog, you’ll find a multitude of posts detailing ways to prioritize togetherness, boost connection, and spend more time together. This begs the question: can you have too much of a good thing?

Surprisingly (or not), the answer is yes. As with many things in life, it’s all about balance. While high levels of closeness and connection can be a good thing, it needs to be counterbalanced by a sense of separateness as well. So how do you know if you need a little more time apart? Here are five signs to look for. Read More

July 10, 2024
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Making a Game Plan for Family Events

Making a Game Plan for Family Events

By Family & Friends3 Comments

Family reunions, holiday gatherings, Sunday dinners, special occasions. For most couples, family events are a normal part of your life together. Whether you’re nervously meeting each other’s family for the first time, or you’ve known them forever, whether you get along great or there’s some tension, whether you see them weekly or every few years, one thing is certain: navigating family events isn’t always easy.

It seems straightforward enough. Go to said event, spend time with family, go home. But families in general are rarely that simple. Complicated dynamics, unspoken rules, outspoken relatives – these are just a few of the factors that can lead to awkward moments, tension, or even conflict with family members and even your spouse.

While you can’t predict or prevent everything that’s going to happen, you can make a game plan to ensure you and your spouse are on the same page. Here are some things to consider before, during, and after the event. Read More

July 3, 2024
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4 Different Ways You Support Your Spouse

4 Different Ways You Support Your Spouse

By Resilience5 Comments

Supporting your spouse seems like a given, right? Maybe your wedding vows didn’t express it in those exact words (or maybe they did), but the central tenet remains: the lifelong commitment you’ve made to each other includes supporting each other through whatever life throws your way.

When we think of supporting someone, we often associate it with them being in a weakened state or in a time of need. In marriage, that can certainly be the case. Other times, supporting your spouse can take a much more subtle form.

Are you appreciating all the ways your spouse supports you, or missing opportunities to support them? Let’s explore the wide range of ways you can support each other throughout your marriage. Read More

June 26, 2024
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4 Surprising Ways You Invest In Your Marriage

4 Surprising Ways You Invest in Your Marriage

By Resilience4 Comments

When you think of investing in something, what comes to mind? If money immediately pops into your head, you’re probably not alone. It’s true – investing is often associated with finances. But in this post we’ll be talking about what is arguably the most important investment in your life – your marriage!

When you get married, you’re investing all you have into that commitment – financially, sure – but also on levels much deeper than that. Energy, time, emotion, love – you put all of those eggs into the basket that is your marriage. You’re banking on a lifelong commitment and a future together.

So what does this look like in the context of everyday life? Here are four surprising ways you invest in your marriage: Read More

June 19, 2024
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6 reasons newlywed counseling makes sense

6 Reasons Newlywed Counseling Makes Sense

By Premarital, Relationship Basics2 Comments

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you did some form of premarital counseling, and that’s great! It’s a proven and proactive way to get your marriage off on the right foot. Premarital education is where Prepare/Enrich first made its mark over 40 years ago, and it goes without saying that we couldn’t be bigger proponents of it.

But what happens after the wedding, when you start living the real married life? What do you do when you encounter those first big conflicts or need help navigating issues you never could have foreseen before marriage? It seems like this would be a really good time for another check-in on your relationship – in the form of newlywed counseling. Read More

June 12, 2024
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Communication Mistakes We Make When We're Stressed

4 Communication Mistakes We Make When We’re Stressed

By Relationship Basics4 Comments

You missed an appointment you’d been waiting on for months because the car is acting up again. You just got a call from your son’s school about some behavior issues, and – oh look, the dog threw up on the carpet. ARGH! You’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed, to say the least. Now, your spouse walks in looking serious and wants to talk.

Let’s hit pause here for a second. What do you think happens next? It’s probably pretty safe to assume that you aren’t in the best state of mind for a serious conversation with your partner. In fact, here are four communication mistakes we tend to make when we’re stressed out or overwhelmed. Read More

June 5, 2024
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Decision Fatigue & Marriage

Decision Fatigue and Marriage

By Relationship Basics10 Comments

“What should we have for dinner tonight?”

It’s an innocent question, yet it’s one that couples everywhere can probably relate to dreading at some point. Your spouse poses the question and your immediate feeling is UGH. Maybe you get disproportionately annoyed and take it out on them. Or perhaps it feels like just another thing piled on your already full plate (no pun intended). What is so triggering about it? Is it really about figuring out dinner? More often than not, it’s tied to a broader issue. Read More

May 22, 2024
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