But if, once we return to the real world of human choice, we choose to be kind and generous, that is real love.
It may surprise you that the primary lifetime threat to your child is his or her own anger.
We even fall in love with love.
Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.
Inside every child is an ‘emotional tank’ waiting to be filled with love.
People tend to criticize their spouse most loudly in the area where they themselves have the deepest emotional need.
Conflicts are not a sign you’ve married the wrong person. They simply affirm you are human.
Love doesn’t erase the past, but it makes the future different.
Our most basic emotional need is not to fall in love but to be genuinely loved by another, to know a love that grows out of reason and choice, not instinct. I need to be loved by someone who chooses to love me, who sees in me something worth loving.
True love cannot begin until the “in love” experience has run it’s course.
People do not get married planning to divorce. Divorce is the result of a lack of preparation for marriage and the failure to learn the skills of working together as teammates in an intimate relationship.
What we dislike in others is often a weakness in our own lives.
Love is a choice you make every day.
Don’t be a victim of the urgent. In the long run, much of what seems so pressing right now won’t even matter. What you do with your children will matter forever.
Lack of love from parents often motivates their children to go searching for love in other relationships. This search is often misguided and leads to further disappointment.
Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a choice to show mercy, not to hold the offense up against the offender. Forgiveness is an expression of love.
Love is something you do for someone else, not something you do for yourself.
Remember that your ultimate goal is for your children to grow up secure in your love, strong in their faith, and with sound character.
When people respond too quickly, they often respond to the wrong issue. Listening helps us focus on the heart of the conflict. When we listen, understand, and respect each other’s ideas, we can then find a solution in which both of us are winners.
If we are to develop an intimate relationship, we need to know each other’s desires. If we wish to love each other, we need to know what the other person wants.