Well here we are on the heals of another World Series. Two teams (Yanks & Philies) playin for the first time in 50 years and setting up 2 former champions against each other.  Baseball brings out the kid in all of us, but their is something to think about here on both of these teams and how it cane impact your marriage.

Even though they have had good seasons, previous championships in their teams history, anything can happen when you get to the World Series. The teams have built a great foundation to get this far but it is a game that also keeps track and depends on the errors of the other team.

In your marriage, there may be a good foundation for your ‘team’.  Actually, no matter what condition your relationship is in, the key to any team/marriage success is to build on the good things you did the day before.  On the flip side, you have to be will to work on the things that you did wrong and give attention by being in constant communication with your team mates.

One thing marriage doesn’t have is a relief pitcher when you need to win the game. However, when both the husband and wife are in a team mentality, your marriage is set up with plenty of hand signals and fans of support to set you up to play your best together. Even though your marriage isn’t playing against other marriages, you are playing constant offense by having a defense that sets up boundaries and good habits to win.

Regardless of which team you are pulling for in this series, remember championships on the field and in marriage are built on consistency and resiliency. Not on perfection and not on the strength of just one player.

The Marriage Playbook                                                                                                                                                                                       ~where marriage is going~

 I’ve talked to several couples that are facing issues financially due to the economy. Lost Jobs and down sizing are impacting so many families and the fact that costs continue to go up on everything doesn’t help matters either.

Hopefully this year has put you and your spouse in constant talks about your budget. Getting on the same page about money can drastically reduce the stress at home.

The one item that may not be on the budget list that you need to allow for is grace. Regardless of which of the above mentioned that your marriage is facing, money woes cause people to have shorter fuses with one another. In families where there were already down to 1 income and then this year hit, it quickly elevated money to the front of things couples are fighting about.

If communication is not flowing at home, I hope that you will stop, catch your breathe and remember to show grace to your spouse. You are both feeling the same stress as it pertains to your money. You are a team and it’s not his money issues or her money problems. Asking your spouse how you can help will be the beginning of having your money work for you instead of you working for your money. You are in this together and it’s time to start budgeting grace into it’s own itemized category.

The Marriage Playbook ~where marriage is going~

Out of all the new shows on this fall, ABC’s “Flash Forward” seems to be getting the most attention. The basis for the shows is that the entire world has experienced a blackout by ‘flashing forward’ 6 months. They each see 2 minutes and 14 seconds of their future. Some see positive things while others see negative. Then the story revolves around who and why they happened and are these things that they can prevent from happening?

Even though these are things that only TV and movies can dream up, there’s something that hit me as I’m watching it this week. Much like what the characters in the show are dealing with, there are things that we are doing today that in 6 months we will see the power of that moment. Did we make the right choice? Did we do something to protect or tear down our marriage?

(six months later)

What can you do to fix what you may need to fix based on that decision? What can you build on  that you did to show love to your spouse? You can’t take it back but you can move on.

Each moment in your marriage is about communicating love in positive or negative way. We don’t need to see into the future to know if we are doing well in our relationship. We can look into the face of our spouse or better yet ask them if they feel love from us.

I don’t worry about what my relationship with my wife will look like based what I do today, I do however, make sure she felt love/saw love from me today. If I string enough of those together though, I not only will have a stronger relationship six months from now, but I will have the happily ever after that we only read about or see on TV.