Commitment
In his book, 'The Power of Commitment', Scott Stanley (USA) provides some very useful insights into the nature of commitment. He identifies two types of relationship commitment: constraints and
Pandemic Weddings – Keeping our Eye on What Matters
For those who had a wedding planned this year, the disruption imposed by Covid19 has created all sorts of complications, frustration and additional expense. Last week, a young man from New Zealand called us. His
SmartLoving Keys
On a mission to love… Every couple wants to avoid divorce and get along without too many fights. A successful marriage however, is much more than just this; it
Making Stumble-Stone Altars
There will be mistakes. We will make errors and we will mess up in this marriage business. Obstacles and challenges will be part of every romance. The critical issue
Sex – more than just an activity
Almost everything around us – movies, magazines, social media, even our friends and relatives - approach sex as something we ‘do’. In other words, sex is seen primarily as
The Science of Falling in Love
Falling in love is a common experience and a wonderful one. It sweeps us up in a euphoric passion that dominates our thoughts day and night. But is there more to it than simple emotions?
Romantic Love: Feeling or Choice?
From Hollywood to Cleo, the cultural representations of Romantic Love are clear: it’s a spontaneous feeling of attraction and affection for another. And like all feelings, we don’t choose
Never see a need…
It’s the feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop this week (Aug 8) – Australia’s first, and so far, only, saint. She co-founded the Sisters of St
The Nature of Love
We all 'know' what love is: it's that feeling of affection and attachment we experience for another person. But is love just a feeling? Or is there more to it?
Couples need a village too
It takes a village The saying: “It takes a village to raise a child”, resonates deeply with us. No parent, no matter how attentive, capable and loving, can adequately raise a child
It Doesn’t Matter Anyway…Or Does It?
Divorce creates a problem for us, a cognitive dissonance: Love is not permanent, vast, unrelenting, faithful. Redefining the ideals we have for marriage however, leads to more divorce and pain, not less.
Three Ways to a Resilient Marriage
We’ve been hearing from many of our SmartLoving leaders around the world looking for help in supporting couples under stress. There’s certainly lots of stress going around with pandemic
Five Ways to Build Trust
Today we had a meeting. Sigh… The dreaded meeting! Being a couple and working together is complex. We’re both strong-willed and passionate about what we do so it’s easy
Porn free, not free porn
The destructive ubiquitousness of porn: It is not a pleasant topic but we need to get serious about addressing the negative impact of pornography on our society and our
Expectations in Marriage
In this post we feature some extracts from a homily by Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas. Read the full article: here Happiness is determined by