Simple Marriage | adventure

If Your Marriage Were A Movie, Would You Want To Go See It?

Morning after morning, we get up to the same routine, the same job, the same chores, only to go to bed and repeat it all the next day – the next week – the next month. What would it be like to live in the epic relationships we see in movies?

I used to think there were times that my life was playing out on the big screen. My life was a movie and there were people on the other side of the screen watching it unfold.

At times, I didn’t want them watching.

Many times however, if people really were watching, they’d ask for their money back.

What if this was true for your marriage?

The idea of life as a story fascinates me. There are other things going on around us. We are not the center of the universe. We are interconnected with everything.

If life, or marriage, are a story – what kind of story are you living?

It turns out there are certain rules or principles that must be present in order for a story to be good.

There has to be a protagonist that you care about. That’s you. How well are you caring for yourself in your story?
There has to be some sort of conflict. If you’re married, this one is probably already present. Even if you’re not, life is still full of conflict. It’s unavoidable.
The story must have a climactic ending. This is not your death, it’s the milestones you achieve in life. The realization of dreams. The conquering of fears. There are many climactic endings throughout life and marriage.

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“A Simple Marriage” Launches Today!

Written by Corey · 2 Comments

photo credit: Fevi in Cayman

Five years into our marriage my wife and I found ourselves sitting at a food court in the mall one afternoon staring at each other. At that time we didn’t really like each other. Love was still present. But we were seemingly heading in different directions.

We discussed how if some things didn’t change between us, we probably weren’t going to make it. That moment is largely responsible for the marriage we’ve created today. It’s also what has led to the writing of my book, A Simple Marriage, which launches today!

This book is designed to assist you and your spouse in creating the marriage you desire.

It’s filled with questions and exercises to work on separately and together. These exercises provide a framework to view what goes on naturally in marriage and committed relationships. Once you have a good view, you can harness the energy and dynamics between you to experience more than you thought possible in marriage! Read more »

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Essential Rules for Traveling Light in Marriage

Written by Corey · 5 Comments

Photo courtesy Cindy and Robert

A year ago on Simple Marriage: originally posted April 8, 2008.

This past weekend my wife and I traveled to Florida for a family wedding with our two kids, ages 1 and 3, in tow. Admittedly, before the trip we were both apprehensive.

Would we be asked to get off the plane at one of our layover stops due to one of our kids “loosing it” during the flight? Would something happen that we hadn’t planned on while at the hotel?

To prepare for all possible occurrences, we packed too much stuff. This was confirmed when we had a 30 minute layover in Houston and our next flight left from a different terminal.

Upon returning home after the trip, my wife and I discussed what we learned. Read more »

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7 Marriage Hacks to More Passion and Adventure

Written by Corey · 8 Comments

A year ago on Simple Marriage: originally posted March 3, 2008.

If you have been married for any length of time you know full well the amount of work that has already taken place. Yet, there is still more work looming.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some short cuts to experiencing more blessings in a marriage?

While there are no easy tricks or short cuts that will lead to success in marriage (there is simply no way around the fact that marriage takes work) there are some different hacks you can try that may bring about another level of passion and adventure.

Some of these my wife and I have tried with success, a few others we are attempting along with you. Read more »

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Man Up: How To Answer The Question, What Do You Do?

Written by Corey · 8 Comments

Photo courtesy Kaka & Epli

While at a social event, you find yourself standing next to a guy you don’t know all that well. He approaches you and you know the question that’s coming, “So… what do you do?” As males, its hardwired into our genetics to ask this within the first few minutes of any conversation with someone we’ve just met.

The default answer to this question is to use your job title, especially if you are proud of the status associated with your job. If not, there are more colorful descriptions used. I’m a resource manager for the city (trash collector) or I’m a petroleum transfer engineer (gas station attendant).

What is it that makes us men become defined by our jobs? Since when have we become only what we do for a living? It’s like being a father or husband is not good enough. Read more »

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