The Bible is crystal clear about our priorities: Put God first. Put people second. Matthew 6:33 spells it out for us. Jesus says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Jesus made this promise while chastising His disciples for their unbelief toward God and their anxiety about life's provision. Jesus promised faithful and complete blessings for the person who gives God priority over everything else.

"Negative Thinking" (also called false or irrational beliefs, unrealistic expectations, self-defeating attitudes, unjustified negative explanations, or illogical conclusions) is powerful because how a partner perceives and interprets what the other does can be far more important in determining marital satisfaction than those actions themselves.

Negative thinking occurs when a spouse consistently believes that the motives of the other are more negative than is really the case. In other words, a husband or wife interprets the

Every time a new year comes around, I usually start it with money on my mind. It's a time to set budgets, plan for vacations, and start thinking about tax returns. The vacation planning is fun, but it's not always enjoyable to take a hard look at your finances. Yuck.

Early in our marriage, Karen asked if she could give $40 to our church. At the time, I was making less than $800 a month to provide for us. She wasn't working. We were barely getting by. I broke into a cold sweat just thinking about giving that money away.

I'll never forget how shocked I was when I first heard that half of the couples filing for divorce will list financial problems as a significant cause.

I can't vouch for the current accuracy of that statistic - I first ran across it several years ago - but it certainly seems right. From my own experience

In marriage, there will be many occasions when we must confront our spouses about something they've done that we don't like. It might be a slight concern or annoyance. It could be a larger, more serious offense.

Whatever the problem, we need to be able to chat with our spouses in a healthy, healing manner. This is a skill that can be learned and practiced, and it is very important. Some of the greatest damage to marriages occurs when a couple is trying to

Have you ever talked to someone who wouldn't look you in the eye? Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation with someone who was clearly distracted? It's frustrating. Their body language makes it clear they don't care about you.

When the uncaring person is a stranger-someone you've just met, like checker at the grocery store-then uncaring communication is only a minor annoyance. But what if the lack of caring comes from your spouse?

That's when it becomes painful.

Enjoy Being Together One thing I tell Karen all the time is that there is no one in the world I'd rather be with than her. I like her and I enjoy doing things with her. Earlier in our marriage, there were times when we didn't get along. To be honest, I looked forward to the times I could "get away" from her to pursue my own interests.

One day, on television, I watched the famous comedian Jonathan Winters speak openly about his abusive childhood. He recalled how his father had beaten him severely, in addition to other forms of abuse. Then Winters said something I'll never forget. He told the interviewer he would gladly take a physical beating

A dream marriage is the kind of marriage where both the husband and wife are concerned about meeting each others' needs. The man sacrifices to meet his wife's need for security and meaningful communication. The wife sacrifices to meet his need for honor and respect.