Tip my married friend should remember; Listening is one of the most important aspects of effective communication. Successful listening means not just understanding the words or the information being communicated, but also understanding how the speaker feels about what they’re communicating. Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger: James 1:19 KJV. In order to communicate effectively with someone, you don’t have to like them or agree with their ideas, values, or opinions. However, you do need to set aside your judgment and withhold blame and criticism in order to fully understand a person. The most difficult communication, when successfully executed, can lead to the most unlikely and profound connection with someone. When we communicate things that we care about, we do so mainly using nonverbal signals. Wordless communication, or body language, includes facial expressions, body movement and gestures, eye contact, posture, the tone of your voice, and even your muscle tension and breathing. The way you look, listen, move, and react to another person tells them more about how you’re feeling than words alone ever can. Developing the ability to understand and use nonverbal communication can help you connect with others, express what you really mean, navigate challenging situations, and build better relationships at home and work. I wish you the best in your communication that will lead to great relationships in your families.

Successful Relationship; A successful relationship is an inward journey which must be traveled using the right vehicle. Nobody enjoys his/her journey if he/she travels using a faulty vehicle. No one I know enjoy being rejected, ignored, disappointed, or pushed aside for a more suitable mate, yet it is these very reactions from the significant people in your life that force you to look inside yourself and ultimately to stretch, grow, and gain more knowledge and understanding about yourself. Falling in love is the easy part. It is effortless and pleasurable. Staying in love is the ultimate challenge. It takes energy, effort, time, concentration, knowledge, and commitment. Oddly enough, these are the same ingredients necessary to be successful in your professional life. The easy part is getting a job. The hard part is fulfilling the requirements that are necessary to remain employed. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance is the fuel and oil which runs the relationship to be successful.

Marriage Mystery

A mystery all married couples and those who intend to marry should think of; Ephesians 5:31-32 King James Version (KJV) 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. According to the Bible, the marriage act is more than a physical act. It is an act of sharing. It is an act of communion. It is an act of total self-giving wherein the husband gives himself completely to the wife, and the wife gives herself to the husband in such a way that the two actually become one flesh. So friends, in marriage you better be wise: prefer the person before money, virtue before beauty, the mind before the body; then you will have a husband/wife, a friend, a companion, a second self.

Marriage is For Life

Genesis 2:24 King James Version (KJV) 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. God intends and expects marriage to be a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman, based on the principles of biblical love. The relationship between Jesus Christ and His church is the supreme example of the committed love that a husband and wife are to follow in their relationship with each other. Always remember that Marriage is a total commitment and a total sharing of the total person with another person until death Becoming one flesh is a broad concept involving the totality of life. The context of Genesis 2 and the teaching of the rest of the Bible about marriage demand this. At the same time, it is generally recognized that there is no place where this total sharing is more beautifully pictured or fully experienced than in the sexual relationship of the man and his wife. A married person does not live in isolation. He or she has made a promise, a pledge, a vow, to another person. Until that vow is fulfilled and the promise is kept, the individual is in debt to his marriage partner. That is what he owes. “You owe it to yourself” is not a valid excuse for breaking a marriage vow but a creed of selfishness.

Communication Tips.

Communication tips to the married couples. This is to the one speaking; Communication is an art which can be learned, and if we do it right, you and your partner will enjoy the communication even when things are not that good. When it comes to great communication, you can’t beat the simple advice of James. “Take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19-20). That is easier said than done, right? In fact, this may be hardest to do in marriage because of the great potential to feel hurt by those we love. 1. Speak for yourself. Don’t mind read. Talk about your thoughts, feelings, and concerns, not your perceptions or interpretations of the Listener’s point of view or motives. Try to use “I” statements, and talk about your own point of view. 2. Talk in small chunks. You will have plenty of opportunity to say all you need to say, so you don’t have to say it all at once. It is very important to keep what you say in manageable pieces to help the Listener actively listen. If you are in the habit of giving long monologues, remember that having the floor protects you from interruption, so you can afford to pause for the paraphrase to be sure your partner understands you. 3. Stop and let the Listener paraphrase. After saying a bit, perhaps a sentence or two stop and allow the Listener to paraphrase what you just said. If the paraphrase was not quite accurate, you should politely restate what was not heard in the way it was intended to be heard. Your goal is to help the Listener hear and understand your point of view. Next time we will come with some tips for the listener.