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 Expectations and Happiness Happiness is determined by our expectations and our ability to notice and rejoice in little things. If our expectations are modest, life will usually exceed our…

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The Marriage Kit: Why Marry?

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Couples marry for all sorts of reasons, but one of the almost universal expectations of couples is that marriage will make them happy. It is after all a dominant emotion of the romance experience. But is this really what marriage is for? In this short video we explore happiness and the true purpose of marriage.…

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The 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…

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What 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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What 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…

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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…

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Resilience Of The Marital Kind

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Let’s face it – marriage can be a tough gig these days. Living in a culture that almost expects marriage to fail, couples wonder what they can do to immunise their relationship against the tragedy of divorce. Marital resilience starts with a well-grounded understanding of what marriage is and what it isn’t. A lot of…

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Is marriage meant to make you happy?

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Byron & Francine Pirola discuss the purpose of marriage is this excerpt from The Marriage Kit, an online course for married couples. Marriage isn’t meant to make us happy. Rather, marriage is meant to help us grow and ultimately that leads to fulfilment. There can be no fulfilment without growth. We all seek happiness, but…

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Marriage: to be happy or to be holy?

”… And they lived happily ever after”… it’s the ending of the fairy tale love story and has become the expected story line of most modern day couples. Swept away by passion and the overwhelming experience of ‘falling in love’, couples expect the wedding to seal their happiness in permanent (and effortless) marital bliss. Of…

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