Blog posts and Podcast Episodes on Marriage
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#656 When Opposites Attract: Managing Different Clutter Levels in Marriage
In this enlightening episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi Lipp welcomes author Arlene Pellicane to discuss the delicate balance of managing different organizational styles within marriage. If you're struggling with a spouse who has different standards of tidiness,...
#612 How to Deal with the Mental Load Part 2
612 - How to Deal with the Mental Load Part 2Do you feel like you are the only person in your house who understands the amount of strategic planning it takes to do the grocery shopping? You are not alone, my friend! Join us for How to Deal with the Mental Load Part 2,...
#611 How to Deal with the Mental Load Part 1
611 - How to Deal with the Mental Load Part 1Do you ever feel like you have to be the woman who does it all and are failing miserably? Join Kathi and her guest, Clutter Free Academy champion Tonya Kubo, as they discuss the concept of mental load and working that...
#568 Responding Responsibly to a “Waste Not, Want Not” Mentality – Part 2
568: Responding Responsibly to a “Waste Not, Want Not” Mentality - Part 2How do you start a conversation with someone who says that absolutely everything is valuable and should be cherished? Especially when that means that you, not they, should be the person to make...
#567 Responding Responsibly to a “Waste Not, Want Not” Mentality – Part 1
567: Responding Responsibly to a “Waste Not, Want Not” Mentality - Part 1Sometimes we hear sayings like “waste not, want not” and we assume they are true all the time and in every circumstance. Or we may want to get rid of something, but someone else in our life...
#549 Should You try to Be Clutter Free in A Crisis (And How)?
549: Should You Try to Be Clutter Free in A Crisis (And How)?Have you ever found yourself in a crisis? Sometimes we know a crisis is coming and other times, it takes us by surprise. Decluttering might not take top priority during a crisis but decluttering can help us...
#371: When His Stuff Drives You Crazy, Absolutely Crazy (Or The Other Way Around)
Kathi sits down this week with bestselling author, Proverbs 31 speaker, and boomerang friend, Karen Ehman, to discuss how to cope when someone else’s stuff drives you crazy. Clutter is a major source of conflict in relationships, especially since clutter-prone people...
#369: Decluttering Your Way to a Better Marriage (Really!)
This week, Kathi returns to her first love: helping you have a happier, better marriage. Kathi is joined by frequent guest and host of Clutter Free Academy online, Tonya Kubo, to discuss several ways that decluttering can help you build a better marriage. One of the...
Fun Ways to Pep Up Your Marriage with Focus on the Family
Whether it is a date-night, a simple gesture of kindness, or spending time with other couples, shake up the routine.
3 Ways to Stop Screen Time from Ruining Your Mood — and Your Marriage!
3 Ways to Stop Screen Time from Ruining Your Mood--and Your Marriage! A few years ago I found myself, on pretty much a weekly basis, pondering, "How can life be so cruel?" I'd fixate on how deplorable our culture was. I'd bemoan how awful so many men were to so many...
4 Ways to Express LOVE to Your Not-So-Organized Spouse, Plus Free Printable
Socks scattered across the bedroom floor. Again. Love is patient. Paper piles covering every flat surface, even though I created a file system for them. Love is not easily angered. How many times do I have to remind him there is a container for the chips? Love keeps...
Episode #261: Making Love Last: Divorce-Proofing Your Young Marriage with Laura Taggart
Making Love Last With thirty years of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist, Laura Taggart understands the unique struggles of newly married couples who find marriage much more difficult than they imagined. Failed expectations, unanticipated conflict,...
How to Have a Happier Husband on Focus on the Family Today!
Friends, I hope you are staying cool somehow in this crazy heat (at least in California we are having an epic heat wave). I am excited to share with you that Focus on the Family is running an episode in which I share tips on "How to Have a Happier Husband". I love...
Episode #246: Tips on Keeping Romance Alive
"If you don't invest in your marriage now, you will have to invest in the recovery of your marriage later." - Kathi LippKathi and co-host, Erin MacPherson discuss a reader question about how to keep the romance alive in a marriage. This all too familiar struggle in a...
The 5 Senses Guide to Sex
My husband and I are fans of the book The Five Love Languages, by Gary D. Chapman. Our love languages relate to more than just the day to day, but it also impacts how you approach your sex life. The 5 senses guide to sex It came as no surprise my husband's love...
Love Intentionally: Celebrating Romance All Year Long
Valentine’s Day is great—it nudges us to celebrate romance. But we don’t want to celebrate only on special occasions, not when we can weave romance into the rhythm of our lives. How do we keep celebrating romance all year long? Between kids and jobs, home...
Love Intentionally: Stop Talking Bad About Our Husbands
We’re talking about Loving Intentionally this week, and I want to share one of my tools for guarding my heart and tongue against the bend in our culture (and often our friendships) to demean, belittle, and yes, bash our husbands. We can be intentional about setting...
Love Intentionally When Your Husband is Overwhelmed
This question comes up a lot when I’m speaking: What should I do when my husband is overwhelmed? And I get it – we are all looking for ways to connect during the hardest times. His struggle could be because of work – or finances. Or there’s stuff going on with his...
Love Intentionally: Respect Your Husband (Even if You Think He Doesn’t Deserve It)
My husband Ron admits he used to be jerk, but I discovered a secret formula that turned him into a loving husband. I started treating him like a VIP! Ron always wanted my respect, but I thought he should earn it — and I had to feel it — before I could give it. Wrong....
Love Intentionally: Letting Go of Expectations
Valentine’s Day wreaks havoc on a girl with unrealistic expectations. I know. I’ve been there. My husband, Mike, set the bar very high during our whirlwind courtship, fairytale wedding, and over-the-top honeymoon. He pursued me like a glass of cold water in the middle...
Couch Time: Reconnecting with Your Husband is Vital
Too often when I crawl into bed I realize that the day has brought little (if any) emotional connection with my husband. I might be living and married to this man, but I often wish I had more quality time with him. I realize I miss him. I miss us. Busy lives and...
How to Date Your Husband Without Leaving the House
“Never stop dating your spouse.” It’s one of the top pieces of advice newlyweds get. But years later, with kids and bills piling up, it’s much easier said than done. How to date your husband isn't as impossible as it feels! Often, after paying the orthodontist, the...
Romance: It’s Not Just for Us Girls
If there’s one thing I know about us girls, it’s that we like romance! We love romance novels, romance comedies, romance tragedies, and romance, romance, romance. Most gals would much rather take in a romantic movie than an action film. And what woman doesn’t dream...
Connecting With Your Husband in the Everyday
It’s like we were two ships passing in the night. Something was out of sync, and my husband and I just weren’t connecting in the everyday. I think he thought everything was fine but I was frustrated by how little we communicated. He got home after I put our son to bed...
Why can’t my husband be more like me?
Why can't my husband be more like me? I don’t need reminders. I see how dirty the floor is, and I put things back where they belong to make life easier for the next person. If only my husband were more like ... me! Life sure would be easier if my husband saw these...
Enlarging Your Faith: Never Say Never
Shortly after getting married, in fact it was on our honeymoon, when I slipped into my flirty pajamas, jumped into bed next to my husband and exclaimed, “OK, I'm ready!” and he asked, “For what?” I replied with the obvious response, “To pray together … you know, a...
The 5 Day Love Challenge: Day 5 Love Him with Scripture
Love him with scripture. Today is the final day of our love challenge, but the reality is, we can keep up these simple habits every day. For our Day 5 challenge to love on your man, I want you to love him with scripture. I know it comes as no surprise to you that I...
The 5 Day Love Challenge – Day 4 Love Him with SEX
We've made it to Day 4 of our 5 Day Love Challenge, and it’s time to talk about sex, ladies. Let's love him with sex. It is an important to marriage and feeling connected. Your man needs and wants sex, probably more than you do. If a man feels like he’s desirable to...
The 5 Day Love Challenge: Day 3 41 Ways to Love Your Man with Actions!
For today's challenge, we are talking about how to love your man with actions. I hit the streets ... OK, I asked my Facebook peeps to write the blog post for me. How do you love your man with actions?!? Here are 41 Ways that you said you love your man with actions...
Episode #220- Rebuilding a Marriage Better than New
Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New“When you go through a major crisis in your marriage, you have a choice to make,” says Cindy Beall, author of Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New. “If you decide to stay together, a few simple cosmetic changes won’t do. You need...
The 4 Day Love Challenge – Day 2: Love Him with Stuff
I get frustrated at times with the idea we all get to determine how much our partner loves us by the size of the gift and whether the gesture of love went viral on YouTube. Yuck. We don't need over the top. I think we just need a little something special for our men,...
5 Day Love Challenge – Day 1 Love Him with WORDS
Your first challenge is simple. All I want you to do is say something nice to your husband. That's it. Really. Let's just love him with words. Because the truth is: often we wives have the power to change the way our husbands walk through the world by choosing the...
5 Ways to Keep The Husband Project Going
Being intentional about anything is always the best way to make it better. Whether we are talking eating right, clearing the clutter, having quiet time with the Lord, or loving on our man. As we wrap up our study this week with all of our friends at Proverbs 31, I...
A Relationship-Crushing Lie (And the Truth That Busts It)
My father-in-law regularly repeats a joke that used to do the macarena on my last nerve. “Your mom and I have a great relationship. Want to know the secret?” he’d ask my husband and me with a smirk. “Low expectations.” As a woman of exceedingly high standards for...
Episode #209-Fawn Weaver and Happy Marriages: The Ultimate Resource Guide for (trying to be) Awesome Wives Part 5
Having trouble with the Husband Project when you're not in the best place in your marriage? You are not alone.It's hard to talk about, but some marriages are difficult and you may be doing the Husband Project Online Bible Study with Proverbs 31 Ministries, but your...
10 At-Home Ways to Create the Bed & Breakfast Romance
One of our favorite getaway spots is a little bed-and-breakfast in the mountains. When you ask my husband why he likes it so much, you very well might hear about the cheese and cracker plate with fruit that is always waiting for us when we arrive. My thought has...
Episode #208-Dineen Miller and Lynn Donovan and The Ultimate Resource Guide for (trying to be) Awesome Wives
Are you married to a non-Christian? Do you have friends that are? For the Husband Project, I really want women to see God active in their marriages whether they have a pre-believing spouse or a believing spouse. That is why I am speaking with Dineen Miller and Lynn...
Dress to Impress Your Man
guest post by Kim Nowlin One way we show our husbands we love them is by looking our best each day. Does that mean I am wearing a ball gown and full makeup everyday when he comes home? Not at all. In fact, there are seasons — think just had a baby — when you are lucky...
The Secret to Winning in Your Marriage
I'm at my mom’s house, and she's just asked me to do the dishes. I don't want to. Now don’t get me wrong; I would do just about anything for the woman who gave me life. But doing the dishes at my mom’s house comes with a certain amount of built-in humility. Because I...
Episode #207-Sheila Wray Gregoire and The Ultimate Resource Guide for (trying to be) Awesome Wives
WARNING: NOT FOR LITTLE EARS. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ADULT CONTENT IN THIS EPISODEDid you think we would have The Husband Project and NOT talk about sex? Of course not. So I brought in our resident sex-pert, Sheila Wray Gregoire, to share her wisdom.As the author of the...