Top Reasons Marriages Fail:
Homework: (Communicate with each other)
- Lack of constructive communication
- Spouse over-commitment (job, sports, church, etc.)
- Financial matters
- Sexual infidelity
Homework: (Communicate with each other)
- Talk about and come up with a plan on how to handle disagreements.
- What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses?
- What do you see as your partner’s strengths and weaknesses?
- How are you going to compliment each other? (function as a team)
- Who’s going to handle the money decisions? (going into debt, making major purchases, etc.)
- What kind of budget do you have for paying bills and putting money aside for the future?
- How many children are you planning on having and when?
- Discuss the size home you will need to accommodate your family and the cost of living in such.
- How are you going to handle discipline of the children?
- Who is going to administer such discipline?
- What do you plan on doing as a family in the near future, 5 years, and 10 years from now?
- How much do you trust your partner and why?
- Discuss who will do what chores (grocery shopping, cleaning, lawn care, laundry, etc.)
- Discuss spiritual goals you have with your spouse.
- Discuss your personal goals for now and the future with your partner.
- Discuss what truly makes you happy.
- Discuss what really makes you sad or angry.
- Discuss dates you can have before and after marriage to develop your relationship with each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
- Discuss what Christ brings to a marriage (see below illustration).
- Discuss what pre-marital sex can do to a marriage.
- Discuss your extended families and your strong/weak relationship with them.
- Discuss how you respond to adversity (i.e., do you need space or closeness when you are upset, etc.)
- Discuss what you need most when you have been hurt by the world or each other.
- Discuss likes and dislikes in types of meals (food).
- Discuss likes and dislikes in music, clothes, hair, house (or room) decoration and cleanliness, etc.
How are the three linked together, or are they?
Christ -
You Spouse