The tradition of asking a father for his blessing to marry his daughter reflects this human intuition of responsibility of care. As we welcome each child’s spouse into our family, we entrust them with our child’s care and commit to supporting them in this endeavour.

Every married couple needs to grow in love, and listening to love songs is one way to strengthen your marriage. Here are my top ten greatest love songs!

Just think: when listening to music together, your neurons work in unison with the neurons of another person, and for reasons that we do not yet fully understand, this process releases the hormone of happiness and love — oxytocin.

Loving needs to be unconditional. That’s what we’re all called to do as husbands and fathers. When a family member has a need, we take action. Even if it’s inconvenient! Love is more about commitment than feelings. But thankfully, the loving feelings will often follow the loving actions.

As we mark World Childless Week (16-24 September 2024), our question is this: Are our young people given all the information they need to make truly informed choices about their fertility management?

Having a healthy and strong marriage is not just a luxury item; it’s something we should strive for and expect. Marriage researchers have determined that having a healthy, happy, fulfilling marriage benefits all family members and society at large.

Father’s Day is for all the dads you know, so let’s consider broadening the boundaries of Father’s Day to include a few more men who could use an encouraging word. Here are a few men to keep in mind on Father’s Day and questions to help inspire a meaningful message.

What we call each other and how we address each other impacts the sense of trust and safety in our relationship. Let’s make the names we use for each other a blessing.

Some time ago, we were chatting with a man in his late twenties. He had been living with his girlfriend for some years, and she was restless: she wanted a commitment to marriage and family. After seven years together, he was still uncertain.

Towards the end of July, we celebrate World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. This year (2024), the theme is loneliness and references Psalm 71:9 — “Do not cast me off in my old age”.  

In 2019, Paak released "Make It Better", featuring Smokey Robinson — a sweet, phat track that contains much wisdom for us married men.

Disagreements and tension with our children’s mother can’t help but spill over into how we relate to our kids. Our words and actions (or our inaction) can have powerful consequences for our families and children.

Behind every behaviour or decision that you make, is a value; something that you hold in high esteem and is advanced in some way by the action. Deliberately choosing to make what is important to one, important to both, is the way you can intentionally develop your coupleness.

Pride is profoundly I-centred. It defends our threatened ego by diminishing the other and consequently puts distance between us. Humility is the foundation of harmony and love between husband and wife. It helps us get the focus off winning and onto each other.

In one simple sentence, Dr Johnson nailed the foundation of couple arguments: “Arguments are a protest against disconnection.” It revolutionised our interactions.

It’s the second law of thermodynamics and we use the term regularly in ordinary conversation. But what does entropy have to do with relationships? 

Renewing our vows can be done as frequently as we choose; from the mundane routines to settings in the extreme. When we start to think this way, there must be thousands of opportunities for couples to renew their vows.

An intentional marriage that is loving and affirming, is a powerful way to heal the wounds of insecure attachment. It’s one of the great graces of marriage as we grow in attachment to each other by providing consistent and responsive care.

The phenomenon of eloping to avoid the drama and cost of a big event is not a new idea. What is new, is having the big event, but exchanging vows separately in a smaller, more intimate, ceremony.

Vows are not just words. Unlike a promise, which is typically made between people and may be private to them, a sacred vow is made to God, or before God as a witness. It is never totally private and carries accountability to the person (or people) to whom we made the vow and to God.