There is a simple thing in relationships that keeps them strong.  This thing can slip away almost unnoticed, and takes conscious effort to get back. That thing is slow time.  Slow time is time when you have nothing pressing, when everything else fades away into nothingness.  It is when you let go of all the distractions that of the rest of the world, and nothing else exists but the two of you. In today’s world, [...]

Spending time with the kids can be fun and rewarding, bringing you closer together as you build shared experiences, memories to look back on in the future. It can also be expensive, depending on what you do.  Amusement parks, last time I looked, generally cost $50 or more per person. You can, however, have fun without spending too much.  That's what this article is all about, fun and inexpensive things to do with your kids [...]

We all have some sort of principles that we at least claim to have, whether or not we actually live by them.  Very few people, on the other hand, will even claim to live by their principles all of the time.  At best most people will claim that they try most of the time. If you want to have a principle driven life, the first thing you have to do is determine what your principles [...]

Do you want a really simple way to strengthen your family?  It's really not complex, and it doesn't have to cost much, financially… it just takes your time and attention.  Do I have your attention? One of the simplest ways to strengthen a family is to plan dates.  This includes, of course, your spouse… but isn't limited to them.  It could and should include everyone in your family, at least once a month (if possible… [...]

It seems like these days it’s hard to find someone saying good things about their father.  I don’t know if the overall quality of fathering is going down, if people don’t appreciate their father as much, or if people just talk about it more these days, but almost every time you hear about someone’s father, it’s in a negative light. Well, I’m here to tell you that my dad is great.  I really couldn’t ask [...]

Ah yes, the joys of procrastination… putting off all the hard or unpleasant work that you need to get done until later.  Then, when it all piles up until it's over your head, you feel overwhelmed, wondering how you managed to end up so deep in a mess and how to escape. Some people seem to have a natural tendency toward procrastination, always putting off until tomorrow what could be done today.  Others don't seem [...]

One of the most important things in any relationship is to show the other person that they are special to you, worthy of your time, effort, and attention.  This can be done with huge, lavish gestures, like buying them a car, but in the long run, the little things that you do on a regular basis make more of a difference. There are obviously a vast number of small things that you can do for [...]

Everyone has to deal with difficult people some times.  It might be someone who is difficult all the time, someone who is simply being difficult right now, or someone you don't know, so that you have no idea if it's just right now or an every day thing for them.  It might be your boss, your spouse, your friend, your enemy, or a stranger.  There are ways of dealing with each type of person, and [...]

If you write creatively much, you’ve come across the thing known as writer’s block.  You may be sitting there looking at a blank document (I’m a blogger… I write using my computer, not paper), or you may get “blocked” in the middle of your writing.  I, personally, actually experience the second more than the first. You may have a deadline, or you may just want to get it done and out, even though there is [...]

  Some people wake up instantly alert, focused, and ready to get to work on a new day.  Others set their alarm an hour or more before they actually have to get up because they drag it out so much, and even once they are up, it takes them another half-hour or more to really be with it.  If you fall into the first category, you probably don't need this list (although you may find [...]