The Silent Treatment. I’m guessing that every spouse has given or gotten it at least once. It communicates a ton without saying a word, conveying things like anger, frustration, bitterness, manipulation, resignation, disappointment, and sorrow. But a long bout of the silent treatment can hurt a marriage and causes loneliness. The habitually silent spouse isolates the other, who becomes the lonely spouse. If you’re the lonely spouse, suffering in silence, there is hope. Here’s some things to understand and to do to encourage communication again

In speeches, articles, and blog posts through the years, I’ve been fond of sharing this tried-and-true adage: the family that prays together stays together. I believe that with all my heart. As author Tim Keller says, “Prayer is both conversation and encounter with God.” Susan and I like to have that encounter alone with God and we also enjoy having our prayer time together. We pray together just about every day.

If you’ve been married for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced your spouse grieving. Maybe it’s the death of a parent or an old friend, or they lose a job or find something else taken from them in a way that impacts them deeply. You want to be there for them, but how?