Posts by Francine & Byron Pirola
Love Lesson
Love is complicated…or is it? A message from kids on love for St Valentine’s Day.
Read MoreBe My Valen-time!
Insufficient time together is one of the biggest contributors to relationship breakdown. Whether our relationship is flying or sinking, time together is like a balm, healing the bumps and bruises of life and stimulating our feelings of affection and tenderness. And with Valentines’ Day approaching, it’s the perfect opportunity to give the gift of time.…
Read MoreBreaking Through
Every marriage goes through seasons – seasons of delight and seasons of heartache.Sometimes, those dark seasons are simple missteps that are corrected quickly and overcome with an even deeper tenderness the result. Sometimes they can seem interminable – stretching into a hope-voided distance. Whatever your season of marriage, the SmartLoving BreakThrough workshop is an essential experience. Unlike…
Read MoreFive Myths About Marriage
Is marriage outdated? Here are five myths about marriage that may surprise you. Marriage gets a pretty bad rap these days. Celebrity bust-ups, high profile infidelity and a cohabitation takeover seem destined to put marriage into retirement. If it’s not already dead, it’s fast heading for extinction. Or so you might think. The truth is, despite…
Read MoreMercy
Central to the experience of God’s mercy is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which, with the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, is a specific sacrament for healing and mercy. Sam Guzeman and Linda Lochtefeld offer their powerful experiences of God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Connie Rossini suggests some other ways we can celebrate…
Read MoreThe Stick Kit
It’s not always easy to stick together! When relationships come under stress, its tempting to give up, give in or walk away. Whether its a marriage or parent-child relationship, you can find the support you need to transform your relationships into thriving, healthy interactions at The Stick Kit – online, anytime, anywhere. Here, Philipa Caulfield, project…
Read MoreBreakThrough Strategy – TaNGo
Do you feel stuck in your relationship? Going nowhere? Frustrated and hurt by your spouse’s behavior? Read on to learn about TaNGo, a powerful strategy from the BreakThrough workshop. For additional notes, visit the slide show at http://www.haikudeck.com/p/vT9bK4GbW4/breakthrough# Breakthrough – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires To find out more about the BreakThrough…
Read MoreSt Valentines Day 2016 Resource
Him & Her – The Joy of Difference The Australian Catholic Marriage & Family Council has released its 2016 St Valentine’s Day handout, this time exploring sexual complementarity. From the ACMFC website: In 2010, the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life launched the St Valentine’s Day initiative. We are delighted to offer you our 2016 edition…
Read MoreThe Marriage Myth
Part 5 in the Quest for Happiness Series Too many times have we heard the complaint – “I’m just not happy in this marriage anymore”. For couples today, personal happiness has become the measure of whether a marriage is ‘working’. The mass media and our romantic fantasies conspire to convince us that we have a…
Read MoreWhat is Happiness Anyway?
Part 4 in the Quest for Happiness Series Speaking of what makes a wife or husband happy (see SmartLoving The Equality Myth, What Women Really Want & What do Men Want?) perhaps we should look at what happiness is and more importantly, whether it really is the ultimate goal. ‘Happiness’ should be distinguished from ‘joy’.…
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