Remarriage | Grit and Grace Life

Remarriage—5 Tips for How to Make it Work

In the words of Samuel Johnson, remarriage is, “The triumph of hope over experience.” Hope should remain that a healthy second marriage can be found. To do that, here are a few tips to ponder before taking that next, fateful step. 1. Don’t hang on to past emotions. Whether you are widowed or divorced, there are emotions you are left with that must be dealt with. A new marriage will have its own set of relationship challenges to work out, so the addition of old problems with the new ones will only make things more difficult. 2. Be honest with yourself. Whether widowed or divorced, you must be willing to look at your past relationship and assess your role. We all can improve […]

Remarriage—5 Tips for How to Make it Work Read More »

Marriage Matters: Here’s How to Invest in Yours – 062

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreAttitudes toward marriage have changed. Fewer couples are choosing to marry and, instead, are living together and starting families without the additional commitment that marriage brings. Often, their reasoning is that marriage doesn’t last, but we do not believe it has to be this way! We know from experience that relationships take the investment of time and attention and can always be improved. Recent stats on millennials reveal that those who are getting married are staying married. So, something is working. In this episode, co-hosts Darlene Brock (married more decades than she wants to admit—but only so you won’t calculate her age) and Julie Graham

Marriage Matters: Here’s How to Invest in Yours – 062 Read More »

A Therapist’s Practical Advice for Blended Families with Dr. Zoe Shaw – 050

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreSince nearly 50% of new marriages are remarriages, it should come as no surprise that many women are blending families. It doesn’t take long after making those marriage vows to discover combining families can be complicated. It can also be beautiful. How? We brought in our most reliable expert, psychotherapist, and relationship counselor, Dr. Zoe, to share a balanced and a realistic view of how to blend these separate families into one unit with equal parts grit and grace. Darlene (married mom of two adult daughters) and Julie (widowed single mom) ask the often searched for questions that are frequently found at The Grit and

A Therapist’s Practical Advice for Blended Families with Dr. Zoe Shaw – 050 Read More »

Her Story Will Make You Cry, But Help You Find Hope

By Ashby Duval / Faith

Sometimes I think about how amazing it would be if we could know just a little bit about what the future holds. But, if you had told me 10 years ago about everything that would come my way, I probably would have curled up in the fetal position and opted out. (If you missed my full story, start here.) We have such definite ideas about what we want and what we think will bring us happiness. Thankfully I’ve learned that God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, knows which prayers and desires to answer and which ones to veto, although sometimes I don’t understand the “why” behind it. I think that’s okay. I think sometimes you can go through something so horrible that

Her Story Will Make You Cry, But Help You Find Hope Read More »

My Really Different Kind of Family

By Ashby Duval / Best Of, Relationships

My new husband, my new baby, and my son from my first marriage just got back from visiting my dead husband’s parents on our vacation. Did you get all of that? Yeah, that’s a lot to take in so let me back up a bit. Six years and two months ago, my beautiful, gregarious, hilarious husband, Spencer, literally died in my arms. He was 34 years old, seemingly healthy and in shape, and there were absolutely no warning signs. He had an enlarged heart, and we had no idea. His entire family was visiting us in Florida from Minnesota for Mother’s Day. I was five and a half months pregnant with our first child. We were staying at the Hyatt Regency hotel with his

My Really Different Kind of Family Read More »

5 Ways You Can Revive a Stale Marriage

By Lydia McIntosh / Relationships

The other day I admitted to myself and my husband that I was not happy with our marriage. Saying the words out loud was difficult, and I was embarrassed for them to pass through my lips as I felt failure and disappointment weighing on me. The busy schedules, juggling parenting and marriage, as well as the feelings of neglect and uselessness drove my passionate love from firey to lukewarm in mere weeks. My relationship with my husband had become monotonous, selfish, and dull. A lack of stirred affections left me stale. I didn’t feel like a young, 20-something woman who garnered this crazy, undying love for her husband. I felt like a live-in nanny whose sole purpose was to take care of

5 Ways You Can Revive a Stale Marriage Read More »