Posts by Francine & Byron Pirola
What Do Men Want?
Part 3 in the Quest for Happiness Series In all the discussions about what makes a wife happy (see Smart Loving What Women Really Want & The Equality Myth), it strikes us that the happiness of husbands is often overlooked. Actually, it’s rarely on the agenda. That in itself says something about us as a…
Read MoreWhat Women Really Want
Part 2 of the Quest for Happiness Series If equality in work isn’t the answer for making happy wives (see Smart Loving, The Equality Myth), what is? According to the same study that looked at the division of labour*, the best predictor of marital satisfaction among wives was emotional connection. ‘Emotion work’, as psychologists call…
Read MoreThe Equality Myth
Part 1 of the Quest for Happiness Series Inequality in the division of labour at home has long been a sore point for married women. In theory, the egalitarian model of the modern dual-income, shared-homemaking marriage should solve this problem; as women move into the paid workforce, men would assume more responsibility at home.Right? This…
Read MoreMarriage Enemy #1: Lethargy
We asked a marriage counselor friend of ours about why a marriage fails. We were expecting a long complex answer so we already had a bottle of wine open. Yet her answer was short. According to her, if there are no addictions or mental illness involved, then most marriages fail through simple, straight-forward laziness. Almost…
Read MoreBusiness Time
We were reading an article today about an African tribe that refers to sex as the ‘work of the night’. It made us think of this classic from the Flight of the Conchords. Makes us laugh! Enjoy!
Read MoreYour Unique Love Profile
Gratitude: Superfood for Relationships
We all seek happiness and are drawn to the things we believe will make us happy. But sometimes, the things we desire fail to deliver. Whether it’s a lotto payout, the dream job, the celebrity-style wedding or the mega mansion in the best part of town, it often turns out that the things we think…
Read MoreMercy Gospel Reflection: Dec 13
Gospel Reflections for Married Couples 13 December | 3rd Sunday of Advent Saint John the Baptist in this week’s Gospel tells us that in preparing for Christ “if anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.” In order…
Read MoreMercy – The Gift you Give Yourself
The Year of Mercy began on December 8 and forgiveness is in the air. Pope Francis has called this extraordinary Jubilee year to draw attention to the need for mercy at all levels of society and in the church community too. But seeking mercy is not easy and giving it can be equally hard. None-the-less,…
Read MoreAnnulments made easy…really?
In September when Pope Francis announced a reform of the annulment process, media headlines suggested the Church was stepping towards the acceptance of divorce. However, the closing of the Synod on the Family just one month later saw confirmation that the Church would not change its teaching on the indissolvability of marriage. So what is…
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