Every marriage experiences stress. It can come from work, family, friends, and even finances. Couples may suffer from stress over a conflict or a difficult period in their marriage- arguments, differences, or feeling neglected.  While we already know how stress affects us mentally and physically, Stress can negatively impact relationships. Although stress is part of the human experience, it can be harmful for relationships. What happens to many of us is that we bottle it up or keep the stress to ourselves, which makes it difficult for our partners to understand what we are going through a ..read more

I'm so excited to share my interview with Andrea Balboni.  Andrea is a certified Sex, Love and Relationships Coach.  She helps couples experience deeper connection in their relationship and greater fulfillment and pleasure in their intimate lives, whether they've been together for a long time or are new in love.  We will focus on sexual intimacy today, a key component of an intimate relationship.  Topics will include Exceptional love Sexual chemistry Tapping into your own sensuality Sacred sex Tips to develop sexual intimacy by creating space and valuing pleasure. Join ..read more

Listen to this definition of discouragement: "Discouragement is dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust for the future." That hit the mark for me because that is precisely what the discouragement in my marriage felt like. And it is a feeling many couples go through as they work on their marriage. A husband and wife can begin improving their marriage, taking steps to work things out, and still get discouraged. I see this all the time. I heard someone say the other day, "I just don't know if it's worth it." That's discouragement in a nutshell. In other words, the pa ..read more

Today we will talk about what fear of Intimacy is, where it comes from, and steps to overcome it for a deeper connection.  You'll find show notes at reviveyourmidlifemarriage.com/86 Fear of Intimacy is often a subconscious fear of closeness that frequently affects people's relationships. This fear of intimacy appears in people's closest and most meaningful relationships. According to Psychalive.org, psychology for everyday life, "Even though the fear of Intimacy is a largely unconscious process, we can still observe how it affects our behavior. When we push our partners away emotionally o ..read more

Here are some typical defensive responses to some legitimate  complaints. “I felt like you were making fun of me at dinner with our friends tonight. I was embarrassed.” “Don’t be so sensitive I wasn’t making fun of you. Everyone thought it was funny. You’ve made jokes about me at dinner before. I don’t know what the big deal is. Nobody thinks less of you.”  “I need more help around the house. I feel so overwhelmed with so many things to do.” “Oh, and I don’t? I’m just as busy as you are. I never do anything, right do I? I do a whole lot more than most  spouses.” “You made decisi ..read more

When you look back on your life, the experiences that have the most lasting impact on your life are the meaningful moments spent with those you love. While the details of each moment may be different, they all have one thing in common. There is a connection at the moment. It is the equivalent of emotionally holding hands if you will—a turning toward each other.  I asked 3 close friends to tell me what constitutes meaningful time together. The first one felt connected when they took time away from work and went away together. Most of us can agree we feel more connected with our spouses whe ..read more

You might be thinking nothing comes before my children!  Hey, I get it.  Let's face it, most of us  would give up an arm if our kids needed it, right?   But there is danger is making your children more important than your marriage.   And if you, like my husband and I, spent your time putting your kids before your marriage for most of their lives, the habit might be even harder to break as they get older.  One of the major breakdowns in intimacy is putting your marriage secondary to your kids. They grow up and your stuck in bad habits and so are your kids.  ..read more

You'd be surprised how much of our behavior is fear based. And behind that fear is the fear of vulnerability.  In this episode I'm going to be talking about 3 fears that thwart intimacy. The fear of sharing our true selves by being truly authentic, the fear of conflict, and the fear of talking about sex.  I'll talk about the fear behind these and give you 5 ways to face the fear and overcome it for greater intimacy.  You'll find complete show notes at http://reviveyourmidlifemarriage.com/82 ..read more

There is a difference between social drinking and alcohol abuse.  And there are varying degrees of alcohol abuse. If you've been questioning your relationship with alcohol or if you've questioned your spouse's, Kari will share her story, how it affected her marriage, and hope for moving out of the gray areas of your life. A complete transcript can be found at http://reviveyourmidlifemarriage.com/81 ..read more

I love a real love story between two imperfect people and that is what you are going to hear in this episode. Juli and Dave Gold are experiencing what they call a "love unimaginable." Has it been easy? NO! This is their second marriage and they met in midlife. They brought with them old wounds and kids into the mix which made things challenging.  They will be sharing their story and practices with us so we too can enjoy a love unimaginable in our own marriages.  ..read more