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Marriage

I Absolutely Do

WeddingBW.jpgAmongst the frantic pace of this time of the year I’m taking a little time out to reflect on the last couple of decades. It was almost twenty years ago, in January 1992, that I met an incredibly beautiful woman. I don’t know that I believe in ‘love at first sight’ but I certainly believe in ‘overwhelming, all consuming, attraction at first sight’. That attraction was the beginning of the best thing that has ever happened to me.

On a hot December day back in 1992, I married an amazing lady.

Pauline and I met in the January of 1992 and were married on the 12th of December the same year. Once we got engaged, half way through the year, we couldn’t stand the thought of having to wait until ‘next year’ to be husband and wife, so we picked a date in the last month of the year and started planning.

I’m still hopelessly in love with Pauline and plan to stay that way for the rest of my days. I really can’t recall a day in the past nineteen years that I haven’t told Pauline that I love her. I guess there have been a few times when I’ve been travelling and we haven’t been able to talk but we’ve talked on the phone on most of those days.

It still amazes me that such an incredible lady would choose to spend her life with me. She’s clever, intelligent, funny, thoughtful, wise, remarkably beautiful and so much more. Words really can’t describe how I truly feel about Pauline and how I adore her.

On that day nineteen years ago I said ‘I do’ and today and every day I still do.

Happy 19th Anniversary to the most wonderful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

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Can Love Last?

In an age where we’re told that we shouldn’t hang around in a relationship if it’s no longer working for us, and that life time commitment is a concept from long ago, FamilyLife Australia co-founder Rex Campbell believes that love can last. He joined me in the studio this morning on 98.5 Sonshine FM.

You can listen to our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

I started by asking him why he thinks we have lost faith in long term love. We also talked about some of the practical steps we can take to ensure that our relationships can last the distance.

Do you have any advice on keeping love alive and making it last the distance?

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I Still Do

WeddingBW.jpgWe have a very busy day planned for today.

We’ll start with church then on to a picnic, followed by a practice for Road to Bethlehem which starts tomorrow night.

After all that we’ll be back at church for a movie night.

Amongst all that busyness, I’m hoping we’ll still find plenty of time to remember a very significant event that happened 18 years ago today. On a hot December day back in 1992, I married an amazing lady.

Pauline and I met in the January of 1992 and were married on the 12th of December the same year. Once we got engaged, half way through the year, we couldn’t stand the thought of having to wait until ‘next year’ to be husband and wife, so we picked a date in the last month of the year and started planning.

I’m still hopelessly in love with Pauline and plan to stay that way for the rest of my days. It still boggles my mind that such an incredible lady would choose to spend her life with me. She’s clever, intelligent, funny, thoughtful, wise, remarkably beautiful and so much more.

Eighteen years later and my love continues to burn brightly for my incredible bride. On that day I said ‘I do’ and today and every day I still do.

Happy 18th Anniversary to the most wonderful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

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Marriage Week

It’s Marriage Week. A time to refocus and reassess this very important relationship.

It’s a time to ask ourselves whether the vows we made on our wedding day still hold today, or if we’re looking to enter a marriage, whether we have what it takes to go the distance.

Wherever we are in our relationships, it’s wise to make a concious effort to look at where we can improve and to discover steps to ensure that we are growing individually and together.

Our marriages are not private matters. Our children, gain emotional security and a myriad of benefits from our marriage, our love and union. Our marriages matter to our extended family. They matter to our employers. They matter to society. They are the fabric that holds families together. On average married people live longer and have good relationships with their children; families enjoy better physical health, married men earn more money. Wow, that puts a lot of weight on marriage!

So, do something for your marriage in this week in September, come to think of it why wait – do it now! Write a letter of thanks or praise to show your love for your spouse. Buy them a special gift, it does not have to be large or expensive. – Marriage Week

Graham and Gai Irvine were married way back in 1979. They’re the Family Pastors at Riverview Church and are on the FamilyLife Australia speaker team. They joined me in the studio at 98.5 Sonshine FM yesterday to talk about Marriage Week. You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Graham and Gai gave some great, simple, practical advice on building marriage. You can also find some excellent resources at the Marriage Week website.

What are you doing this week to strengthen your marriage?

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Sorry Pauline

If this article at News.com.au is right, Pauline’s in big trouble.

It claims that the more time you spend with someone, the more similar you become, and that includes the way you look. I’ve heard that dogs begin to look like their owners but couples looking like each other takes it to a whole new level.

US research comparing photographs of the same couples as newlyweds and snaps taken 25 years later found many had grown to look more like each other over time because people in close contact mimic each other’s facial expressions.

I could do with a touch of Pauline’s beauty and I wouldn’t mind a thicker head of hair but I’m not convinced she would be keen on looking more like me. The longer couples stay together the more alike they become and considering that we’re intedning on sticking together ’til death do us part’ there may be very little hope.

Dr Ruth Walker from the Flinders Centre for Ageing Studies at Flinders University said similarities between couples could also have health impacts.

“If one person’s mood is quite negative, even depressive it will affect the other person, as it will if they’re happy,” she said.

Have you seen older couples becoming more and more similar in mannerisms, moods, interests, behaviours and looks?

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