Change Starts Here

By Francine & Byron Pirola | September 9, 2021

Part 4 of It Takes One to Tango. See others in this series here, here. and here. All change in our relationships should start with ourselves.…

R E A D   M O R E →

Making Stumble-Stone Altars 

By Francine & Byron Pirola | September 2, 2021

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…

R E A D   M O R E →

Why Reality TV Makes Us Stupider

By Francine & Byron Pirola | August 27, 2021

These days we rightly talk a lot about exploitation and abuse. It comes in many forms and we worry we might walk past it without…

R E A D   M O R E →

Forward Planning your Family Planning

By Francine & Byron Pirola | August 5, 2021

Some years ago, I (Francine) was teaching a couple fertility awareness. They had been married five years and assumed that once they discontinued the pill,…

R E A D   M O R E →

Song of Songs Explained

By Guest Author | July 22, 2021

Get in touch with one of the greatest love songs of all time – the Book of the Song of Songs in the Old Testament.…

R E A D   M O R E →

Families on Mission

By Francine & Byron Pirola | July 9, 2021

In 2016 Pope Francis published Amoris Laetitia which translates as the ‘Joy of Love’. The document, the result of discernment over several years and two…

R E A D   M O R E →

Myths about Arguments

By Francine & Byron Pirola | July 1, 2021

When it comes to marriage and relationship, there are a lot of myths out there. Here are five of the most common. Myth 1: Good…

R E A D   M O R E →

We Married Too Young

By Francine & Byron Pirola | June 4, 2021

Lots of people told us so. Neither of us had really experienced life: Byron at 27 had at least lived out of home for three…

R E A D   M O R E →

Why Two is better than One

By Francine & Byron Pirola | April 30, 2021

One of the more popular posts on the SmartLoving blog features Couple Projects. First published in 2014, our search data over the years shows that…

R E A D   M O R E →

Honest Talk about Physical Intimacy – Messy Family Podcast

By Francine & Byron Pirola | April 27, 2021

The sexual intimacy we share as spouses is both wonderful and complicated! 

R E A D   M O R E →
||

Say a little prayer for marriage

By Francine & Byron Pirola | March 10, 2021

In October a few years ago, the Australian bishops called the entire Catholic community to pray for marriage and family. The initiative was joined by…

R E A D   M O R E →

Something worth dying for – Saint Valentine’s Day

By Francine & Byron Pirola | January 18, 2021

On February 14 every year, couples around the world celebrate one of the heroes of Catholic history.   As the story goes, Valentine was a Roman priest who married young couples in secret despite…

R E A D   M O R E →

Joyfully Married…Sometimes

By Francine & Byron Pirola | December 11, 2020

Advent is a season of penance in preparation for the Lord’s coming; not the first coming which we celebrate on Christmas Day (his birthday), but…

R E A D   M O R E →

The Names we use Matter

By Francine & Byron Pirola | November 27, 2020

Our second granddaughter finally has a name. Born over a month ago, her parents took their sweet, merry time before committing it to official record.…

R E A D   M O R E →
|Avoid Falling for a Jerk

No Jerks Allowed!

By Francine & Byron Pirola | November 5, 2020

Quiz people about the qualities that make a lousy spouse and things emerge like being a liar, secretive, disrespectful, selfish, temper prone, unforgiving. Yet, if…

R E A D   M O R E →