Relationships

Learn how to deal with the challenges of relationships, friendships, marriage and family life.

13 Things Strong-Willed People Won’t Do

| Rachel Boulos

13 things strong willed people don't doStrong-willed people get a bad rap. They can be seen as stubborn, dominant, unreasonable or headstrong.

But are they, really?Dealing with a strong-willed spouse or child can be quite challenging. Our marriage is more unique in that we have not one, but two strong-willed individuals (how’d that happen?!). And odds are high we will end up with strong-willed children to boot.

If you fail to understand your strong-willed spouse or child, it can easily lead to power struggles, conflict and misunderstanding of character. Continue reading →

4 Excuses That Will Keep You from Helping Others

| Rachel Boulos

4 excuses that keep you from helping othersDon’t do what I just did.

I was standing in the aisle at Walgreens perusing Mother’s Day cards when I heard her. A distressed, elderly woman in tears because she was lost and couldn’t find her way home.

Seeing her distress, my heart surged with compassion and concern.

But what did I do?

Nothing. Instead of lifting my voice or offering a hand, I sifted through each logical reason excuse while the entire episode played before me. Should I help? Should I say something? Should I get involved? Someone else should probably handle it.

In truth, the store clerk got involved and she likely made it home just fine. But I sure didn’t.

I saw the need. But I didn’t respond to it. And it disturbed me greatly. Continue reading →

1 Word that’s Derailing Your Marriage

| Rachel Boulos

one word derailing your marriageWhat is one thing you can do to make your marriage better? How can you ensure success?

Stop using the word “try”.

If you find yourself saying “let’s try to make this work”, chances are it won’t.

Why? Because lurking behind the word try is a mindset and attitude that failure is acceptable. Whether you want to change your marriage or yourself, saying you’ll try is like giving yourself a pass if things go south. Continue reading →

4 Lies You May Believe About Love

| Rachel Boulos

lies you might believe about loveWhat is this thing called love and where can I get me some?

Is it an idea? A feeling? A state of being? And if you can fall in it, can you fall out of it?

Most of what we believe or know about love is a paper maché we’ve pieced together from past experiences, movies, the media and social circles. And let’s not forget Disney, with its magic and princess happily-ever-afters.

But if we take a closer look at love, we may find our perspective has been skewed with a few lies along the way.
Continue reading →

3 Cures for the Blogging Blues (and comparison)

| Rachel Boulos

3 cures for the blogging and comparison bluesYesterday was a down in the dumps kind of day.

I was tired. We returned earlier in the week from our travels and hit the ground running.

I felt overwhelmed. My last few days have been engulfed by piles of laundry, chores, work, errands, packing lunches, and scraping together dinners.

I also personally committed to myself (and you) that I would post at least once a week on this blog. But a crazy road trip + daily responsibilities left me with a bad case of writer’s block. I stared at a blank screen more times this week than I want to admit.

So naturally, I did what any tired and overwhelmed writer would do. Continue reading →

Because Freedom Isn’t Free

| Rachel Boulos

The first summer my husband and I were married we decided to road trip-it for a two week tour of the East Coast. So naturally, we bought our first car and racked up 3,000 miles within the first month.

Our trip was a conglomerate of sightseeing, trail-hiking, food-consuming, memory-making moments.Freedom Isn't Free

But there is one moment, one day in particular, I will never forget.

One moment in time that has been forever etched in my mind.

We celebrated the 4th of July with millions of other people. In Boston. Where the story of America began. Continue reading →

When Father’s Day is not a Happy One

| Rachel Boulos

when Father's Day is not a happy oneI’m not gonna lie. If there’s one day I dread each year, it’s Father’s Day.

For many families, it’s a time of celebration; a day honoring the men they love and admire.

Every year, we go to church surrounded by families only to watch them all disperse to after-church lunch venues. In that moment, my husband and I look at each other with half-hearted smile and ask, “Well, what do you wanna do today?”

Because for some of us, Father’s Day isn’t always a happy one. Continue reading →

Don’t Let Technology Disconnect You: 5 ways to engage in relationships

| Rachel Boulos

5 ways to engage in relationshipsThanks to technology and social media, we are now more connected than ever before.

Yet we are more isolated and alone than ever before.

Today, the average person has 300+ facebook “friends” yet the average American reports having only 2 close friends. 25% of Americans report having no close friends (Dave Sumrall, The Struggle is Real: Relationships).

Social media has made it easy for us to feel connected to others without actually requiring us to be in relationship. Continue reading →