Pre-marriage education is the most important part of your wedding preparations ... It might just be the best wedding present you can give to each other!
Affordable Pre-marriage Education is available from Open Doors to help you -
A checklist of myths about commitment and some ideas about what it really means.
There are many false beliefs about commitment. Check your ideas against the following and see if you can grasp a better understanding of what it means.
"Ultimately you can only be responsible for yourself and for your own happiness."
Some quick communication tips and ideas on strengthening your relationship.
A lot of people think communication is about just talking but every effective communicator knows the skill of ‘active listening’. It is ‘active’ rather than ‘passive’ because the listener works at grasping what the speaker is feeling and attempts to help him express those feelings. This can be extremely difficult especially when we hear criticism. The usual response is to ignore or interrupt and correct the speaker. Active listening gives a message of acceptance and worth to the speaker.
This article describes the different ways violence can be experienced in a relationship, how the victims may feel and react, and gives support for seeking help.
Violence
Suddenly everything seems to have changed: listening to certain songs is different to before, and hearing the phone ring doesn’t mean the same...
Breaking up is as much part of a relationship as going together. But that doesn’t make it any less painful. It can be a major loss of something that you invested a lot of yourself in.
You may feel a sense of relief or release at being ‘single’ again, particularly if the relationship has had its problems. But you still miss that person.
Right when it’s just happened, the hurt, anger and loneliness can make breaking up feel like the worst. But once you start getting over it, breaking up can turn out to be the best thing too.
We all have an in-built need to belong, to love and be loved. We long for intimacy. Experiencing the feelings of love and intimacy can be the most wonderful and the most heartbreaking moments in your life. The longing and need for intimacy are part of life for everyone. These longings can be even stronger if you’re troubled by the feeling that you don’t "belong". Sometimes we make mistakes about how to find true intimacy and belonging.
