Renewing Your Vows

Love, hard work, and dedication are just some of the elements that create a successful marriage. After all the ups and downs, adventures, challenges, and joys, one very special way to celebrate your life together is a vow renewal ceremony.

Many couples choose a vow renewal as part of a special anniversary celebration. For others, it is the perfect way to reaffirm their commitment after a difficult period in the relationship. Some just want to remind each other, and the world, that they would happily do it all over again.

Your Chances of Getting Divorced

“

  Half of all marriages end in divorce!

”   

We hear this all the time. It may or may not be quite true, but let's say it is.

Given this state of affairs, people assume that every happy couple walking down the aisle faces a fifty percent chance of ending up divorced.

And that isn't true at all.

Wait a minute. I can do the math. Fifty percent of couples tying the knot today will eventually divorce. So if I get married, I have only a fifty percent chance of making it "till death do us part." Right?

Wrong.

Two For the Seesaw

Years ago when I was a college theater student, one of the plays we performed was William Gibson's Two For the Seesaw. I saw it mentioned somewhere recently, and vaguely remembered that it had something to say about the nature of love and attachment. The library's battered copy hadn't been checked out in ten years, and a couple of pages were missing. The characterizations and dialog (written in 1958) are painfully outdated, but the theme, searching for a connection with the right person, is still contemporary.

Great Reads

Here are some of the many valuable articles I have found on marriage blogs during recent weeks. Please take a moment to browse through the list. There is information and inspiration here for everyone.

Great Gifts For Husband or Wife - If you are still struggling with holiday shopping and looking for the right gift for your mate, this article by Patty Newbold at Assume Love might make you rethink the whole process.

Commitment in Love - Dr. Rich Nicastro at Strengthen Your Relationship explains why we need a secure foundation of commitment to keep love strong.

How to Be Romantic Without Cards, Flowers or Chocolate - Sean at Simple Marriage has some advice on how to break away from the cliches and make romance personal again.

Avoid Fights About Money - Loren Berlin at the Huffington Post outlines the best strategies to avoid financial conflicts in your relationships.

Five Proven Steps to Protect Your Marriage - Rick Reynolds at Affair Recovery offers some simple steps to invest in your marriage and protect yourself against infidelity.

How to Stay in Love - At The Power of Two, the longest-married couple shares the secrets that have enabled them to maintain a happy, healthy connection for 87 years.

Marriage is a Team Sport

by guest blogger Mark

What's Wrong With the Team?

In today's modern (post modern) culture, we have elevated individual rights and expectations to an art form. For many couples, the transition from single life to married life somehow fails to take place, and it really is "all about me." The early days, filled with chemical rushes that cause what more closely resembles mental illness than a long-term relationship filled with love, somehow become the standard for what the relationship should be like forever. These unrealistic expectations are soon dashed by very real difficulty of integrating two totally separate lives in a way that lets each contribute to the relationship.

Marriage is Saying We Are On the Same Team

by guest blogger Marie McKinney-Oates

I wish I could give everyone transcripts from arguments with my husband. Not because we're communication ninjas, but because you'd see how often we use what I'm talking about. And how often we repeat certain phrases. Like, "You suck" or "Really? You really want to try and tell me that this dish is clean. Really?"

Just kidding.

Actually, the phrase that gets tossed around most is, "I don't feel like we're on the same team right now."

Grow Old Along With Me

Robert Browning began his poem "Rabbi ben Ezra" with these words:

        Grow old along with me!
        The best is yet to be.

John Lennon borrowed Browning's words as the inspiration for one of his last songs. It has been recorded by a number of artists, including Glen Campbell and Mary Chapin Carpenter. The lyrics are deceptively simple, conveying the depth of love and commitment that hold us together through a lifetime of challenges and rewards. This is what we mean when we recite, "To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live."

        Grow old along with me
        Whatever fate decrees
        We will see it through
        For our love is true

What could be better than to experience it all, side by side with the one you love and trust most in the world? And at the end, to sit and watch the sunset, holding hands with the person who shares all those memories with you.