When working with couple, parents, families, or leaders there is one concern that is voiced far above any other. That is communication. What you hear is the well known line from the classic movie Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman, “what we have hear is a failure to communicate”. Communication failure indeed. There is a simple rubric to learn how to communicate everything better.
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Featured Presentation: How to Breath Life Into Your Marriage
“Lazarus, come forth.” These powerful words of Jesus (John 11:43) resonate in my heart as I consider the state of our Christian marriages. While there are clearly many God-honoring marriages, the sad reality is that a staggering number of marriages in the church are in fact dying or already “dead”—bound in grave clothes of selfishness, deception, and unforgiveness. These lifeless marriages, occupying both the pulpit and the pew, highlight an unprecedented level of emotional detachment in the very relationships intended to mirror God’s unconditional love us. Each of us must consider how to recognize and recover when we are experiencing such a crisis in our own marriage.
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This month, June 2014, marks the five-year anniversary of the end of the period between December 2007 and June 2009 that the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) officially dubbed the Great Recession. While we certainly have seen some economic recovery in both corporate profits and the stock market, the feeling on Main Street remains pessimistic. Family relationships are buckling under the strain. But, are economic or relational deficits more responsible?
It is true that stagnation in both unemployment and housing markets continue to heavily weigh on working and middle class America. In fact, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that the majority of American adults (57%) believe that the U.S. economy is still in a recession despite what the NBER reports. These economic strains have significantly impacted family life.
Countless couples cite financial problems as a primary reason for their family struggles—especially marital strain. It is difficult to listen to the stories of sorrow that come from many of these couples.
These stories, however, have led me to believe that relational rather than economic deficits are the truer source of our sorrows.