Contracts In Our Marriage
by Dr. Gary Chapman   

 Contracts are important.  Most married couples have made numerous ones with each other through the years: "If you will get the children to bed, I will clean up the kitchen."  "If you will wash the windows on the outside, I will wash them on the inside." "If you will vacuum and dust,  I will mow the grass and trim the shrubs."   

There is nothing wrong with making such contracts.  In fact, such agreements are a part of any couple's life.  These agreements help us get things done, using our different abilities and interests to mutual benefit.

The problem arises when we come to view our marriage only as a contract or a series of contracts.   

When this happens, we have become totally secular in our thinking and have abandoned the biblical view of marriage.   

The Bible views marriage ultimately as a covenant although contracts may be an important part of carrying out our covenant.    

This article is taken from Dr. Chapman's book, Now You're Speaking My Language , published by Broadman and Holman.  

It's About Time
by Dr. David Clarke  

Near the end of every married couple's first therapy session with me, I ask the same question:  "How much face-to-face, no-distractions-allowed, just-the-two-of-you-together time do you spend in the average week?"  

Ninety-nine percent give the same answer: "Not much, if any."

One of my first jobs as a therapist is to convince these couples to establish a regular, daily, twenty- to thirty-minute communication time.  I tell them that this planned, intentional block of time will be a crucial, wholly indispensable ingredient in the makeover of their marriage.   

Time together is a critical prerequisite to intimacy.   

Time does not guarantee intimacy, but it is simply necessary for intimacy to be created. 

Article is based on the book, The Total Marriage Makeover   by Dr. David Clarke. Published by Barbour Books.   

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30