I used to say, along with everyone else, that marriage is hard work. Yes, challenges will come in life that affect the marriage. There are differences to work through. And you must invest time into your relationship.

But if we view marriage primarily as something you have to “work at,” we may actually miss what a good marriage is.

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Here’s another installment of the 1950’s marriage preparation films I came across. In these, the young couple visit their minister counselor. The minister tells them to watch out for the “boing!” Ok, got your attention. You’ll laugh for sure, but then you can spend some time talking about some of the areas that brought up. Enjoy!

Part One

Part Two

Got something today you’ll get a kick out of. I stumbled across these 1950’s marriage preparation films. The one below is called “How do you know it’s love?” You’ll laugh yourself silly at some of this, but when it’s over, ask yourself the question, “How do you know it’s love?”

There are a lot of directions you can take that discussion. Here’s one: I co-officiated a wedding last weekend, and the other minister made this observation: In marriage, there is an evolving relationship between feelings and action. Early on, feelings (of love) lead to action. As the marriage goes along, often the actions are what create the feelings (of love). What do you think?

Enjoy the movie and your discussion. There are two parts, each about 7 minutes long.
Part One



Part Two

The holidays are upon us! Aren’t Thanksgiving and Christmas wonderful times of the year! They are family times. But wait. Once you are married, the family is bigger now.

Two families with their holiday traditions brought together by your marriage. Or maybe brought together are the wrong words. These family traditions are part of the adjustments (or challenges) you have to make early in your marriage.

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Nicole Kidman was interviewed by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America today. It’s when she was asked about a quote from her husband Keith Urban that the tears swelled up in her eyes.

The quote had to do with Urban’s entering rehab for alcoholism 4 months after he and Kidman were married. Urban said that in most marriages such challenges come later, not so soon in a marriage, but when it happens, it’s like having a house burn down and having to build another one. And he added, she (Nicole) makes me want to be a better man.

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I put this video together some time ago for a funny look at falling in love. Hope you are amused but of course there is a point. Falling in love is the easy part - staying in love takes some effort.

Falling in Love, marriage preparation, premarital preparation, expectations in marriage

As you prepare for marriage, spend some time thinking about your marriage years down the line. When you look back 10, 20 or 50 years from now, what do you want to be able to say about your life together as husband and wife?

Don’t know if you are a Martina McBride fan, but she does seem to have strong family values. That certainly comes out in the song she sings called All The Things We’ve Never Done.

Very romantic I think, and maybe fodder for you and your partner to talk about your goals and priorities in life.

There may be some things in life you don’t achieve but what greater accomplishment than to look back over your marriage one day and know that you have been faithful to one another over the years.

Here are the lyrics to McBride’s song:

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