Husband Olympics - What Medal Would You Receive?

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Since it seems like everything else these days is Olympic-themed, I thought I would join in on the fun!

What does it take to be a gold-medal husband?  here's my take...

Good Husband vs. Good Wife

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As I thought about and wrote my last blog post on the 4 fundamentals of being a good husband, I found an interesting statistic which, while not a surprise, is somewhat troubling.

As I was playing around with different keywords on Google AdWords Keyword Tool and noticed the following:

The Eternal Blessings of Marriage

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This past weekend was the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and there was one talk that stood out to me and that was incredibly applicable to the audience of this blog (among countless others).

The talk was given by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and was titled "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage."

Here is a link to the full text of the talk, and below are few of my favorite quotations. (Note: The message is applicable to all, not just members of the LDS Church)... Enjoy!

Is She Faking It? ...Maybe You Should Too

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No, I'm not talking about THAT! but please keep reading anyway...

Life has a lot of demands on our time and efforts.  We tend to over schedule ourselves and are hurriedly moving from one thing to the next.  So what happens when you are upset, unhappy, or just in a bad mood? Sometimes you just feel like laying on the coach, eating junk food and watching TV all day... when this is not possible - Fake it!

5-Year Anniversary!

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Happy anniversary to my wife! Today is our 5-year wedding anniversary.

What a great 5 years it has been!! Like all couples, we've been through our ups and downs (especially for a couple who only knew each other for 10 months before the wedding).  We've had a very busy, stressful, and eventful 5 years.  Here's a few of the things we've been through together:

• We both graduated from college with our bachelor's degree
• We've moved 4 times (including buying our first home)
• Had 2 children (both preemies with complicated pregnancies, bed rest, and NICU admissions)
• Multiple Job changes
• Numerous health issues with us and our children (5 total surgeries)

All of these things on top of the stress and demands of everyday life has made it a crazy 5 years. It feels like we've been through 10 years of trials and experiences. While its been crazy, all of these experiences have helped us grow closer. We are really looking forward to slowing down for the next couple of years... hopefully!

My wife was so sweet and surprised me last weekend with a night at the Salish Lodge.  It was amazing (especially being away from kids and finally getting a good night's sleep!).  Wood-burning fireplace, huge jetted tube, and breakfast in bed made it an amazing getaway!

Be a Better Husband and Father by NOT Buying the iPad 2

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photo © 2010 Steve Paine | more info (via: Wylio)
Did you know the iPad 2 was released in the US on Friday?

...if you didn't, than you're the only one in the country that didn't.  The amazing popularity of this unnecessary luxury item astounds me!  I read in the Wall Street Journal, that analysts are estimating that Apple sold close to 600,000 iPad 2's in 3 days this past weekend.  It is also estimated that 6 million will be sold before March 31st, and 30 million by year's end.  Wow.

Let me give you 2 reasons for the title of this post and why it may not be appropriate for you, as a husband and father, to buy an iPad 2 (or any other expensive unnessecary item):

Better Husband Resource: 15-Minute Marriage Makeover

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This week Dustin Riechmann, of Engaged Marriage and Fit Marriage, announced his new e-book: 15-Minute Marriage Makeover! He was kind enough to end me a copy to review and I am VERY impressed.  There is a quotation hidden in the Day 2 of the book that I love and I think sums up the book pretty well -

A Reponse to "Where Have All the Good Men Gone?"

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photo © 1937 State Library of New South Wales | more info (via: Wylio)

Last Summer I wrote a blog post in reaction to an article from The Atlantic.  The article as it turned out was pretty biased and it was clear the female author had anti-man tendencies.  I have found a similar article, this time from the Wall Street Journal and this time a little bit worse.  The article is title "Where have all the Good Men Gone?" Go take a read and let me know what you think.

Spritual Thought: To visit the Fatherless and Widows...

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photo © 2010 Ryk Neethling | more info (via: Wylio)
I was reading in James recently and came across a verse that really spoke to me regarding the importance of our roles as Husbands and Fathers.

 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27)

In other words, visit those without a Father or a Husband during difficult times. I think there are 2 important lessons to learn from James' words:

• Husbands and Father have an important role in the lives of wives and children.  This makes me want to be a better husband and father. My wife and kids do have me here... I better be taking good care of them.

• We have a responsibility to reach out with love to those who may be without a father or husband.  Chances are you know kids without a dad or a woman without a husband, will you be there during times of affliction?

Survey Results: Husbands' Biggest Opportunities to be Better

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Last week we looked at  What Qualities wives want in their husband.  As we continue to look at the results from the survey for wives, today we will look at Question 2 (If you are a wife and haven't taken my survey, please join 53 other women and go take it now!) ...and no, I won't keep going this slow in posting results, the first 2 questions were pretty loaded so they deserved their own post.

To help you put Question #2 results into perspective, please refresh your memory on Question 1 (which qualities are most important to wives), because this week we talk about this question:

Date Your Wife: 24-hour Date!

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photo © 2009 Robbert van der Steeg | more info (via: Wylio)
I came across a date idea in an article from "The Nest" and thought I would share it because I really like the idea - A 24-hour Date!

We often talk about Date Nights, or sometimes even weekend getaways, but somewhere in the middle you find 24-hour dates.  They are more doable then weekend getaways, but more special that the standard weekly/bi-weekly/monthly date

When was the last time you spent 24 hours "dating" your wife? ...When was the last time you even spent 24-hours WITH your wife?

What Qualities Does Your Wife Want in a Husband?

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photo © 2009 epSos .de | more info (via: Wylio)
A couple months ago I created a survey for wives, so I could learn a little bit more about what is important to them in a husband as well as to glean some of the greatest opportunities that we have to become better husbands. Currently, 48 wives have taken this survey, and I think we can learn a lot from the results.

I am going to be sharing some insights from the survey with you through a series of posts. For this first one we will focus on the following survey question:

Matt Hasselbeck, XXXChurch, and National Porn Sunday

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photo © 2006 Mister Leung | more info (via: Wylio) I've always liked Matt Hasselbeck, but a few days ago I found another reason to like him.  Not only like him, but I truly admire him now.  Here's why...

I was listening to local Sports Talk radio here in seattle and they were talking about Hasselbeck's involvement with XXXChurch and National Porn Sunday.  So, I did a little more research and found this CNN Article which goes into more detail about it.

The XXXChurch is described as "Christian group that... helps people battling pornography addictions." They are the organizing National Porn Sunday.  As you may already know, Sunday is also Super Bowl Sunday. XXXChurch is planning on using the Super Bowl as a "way to get churches around the country talking about pornography." To do this, professional football players were recruited to be a part of the video that will be broadcast to over 300 churches nationwide.

Valentine's Day Ideas for Your Wife

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photo © 2006 Rebecca Partington | more info (via: Wylio) If I've learned nothing else from my marriage, I've learned this: Valentines day is still important after marriage. Men often go all out for their girlfriends or women they may be trying to convince to be their girlfriends, but some men forget the basics after they get married. Make Valentine's Day special for your wife!

So how do you do that?

When I asked my wife about what we should do for this upcoming Valentine's Day, she said "nothing, we have no time, money, or sleep!" While all of this is true, I'm pretty sure I can come up with something she will love! No matter your circumstances or situation, you know your wife and I'm confident you can make her feel special, at least for one day!

Here's a few Valentines Day tips and ideas -

Date Your Wife Date Idea - Dessert!

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Dessert is a great date idea ...and not only because it is delicious!  Dessert is somewhat of a novelty around our house (although we seemed to have more when my wife was pregnant!) espcially when it comes to professionally made desserts.

How Much Privacy Should You have in Marriage?

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photo © 2008 Rob Pongsajapan | more info (via: Wylio)

I have been pretty busy welcoming a new son into the world, but I been catching bit and pieces of a news story that has definitely got my attention, so I thought I would weigh in with my thoughts.

As you might has guessed, it is the pending case in Michigan against husband, Leon Walker.  You can find a pretty good summary of it here, but if you haven't heard, the gist of it is that he is being sued because he read his wife's e-mail (and found out that yes, in fact she was having an affair).  I don't really want to discuss much about the legal nuances of the case, but it has brought up an interesting question: How much privacy do/should we have from our spouse?

Resolve to be a Better Husband and Father in 2011 and Beyond!

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The beginning of a new year brings exciting opportunities to start fresh. For years, people have used January 1st to decide to be a better person.  So this year (like every year) resolve to be a Better Husband and Father!

To give you some ideas of where to start, I am going to give you a sneak peak of the results from a survey of I have conducted with about 40 wives.  Here is one of the questions I asked:

5 Ways to be a Better Husband: #5 - Date Your Wife

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The final installment in the  Top 5 Ways to be a Better Husband series.

#1 - Saying "I love you"
#2 - Service
#3 - Hold Hands
#4 -  Surprises!

 #5 - Date Night
I love Date Night! One of the first things that I did when I start this blog was to include a weekly Date Your Wife date idea (see the Date Your Wife Archive page). I think that when you spend regular quality time with your wife, it will pay huge dividends in your relationship.

Date Your Wife: Chose Your Own Adventure

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The Date: A while back I read a great date idea from my friend Brent over at GreatDateSpot.com, in which he created a "choose your own adventure" date! I always say that the most creative dates are the most fun (...and I'm not them most creative guy, so that's why I have to get these ideas from guys like Brent!).  So how would you go about creating a choose your own adventure date? let's here it from Brent...

5 Ways to be a Better Husband: #4 - Surprises!

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The latest post in the  Top 5 Ways to be a Better Husband series.

#1 - Saying "I love you"
#2 - Service
#3 - Hold Hands

#4 -  Surprises!
All women feel love differently. However, all women loved to get surprised.  What the surprise is will vary from wife to wife, but I believe all wives enjoy a good surprise.  A surprise breaks the routine of everyday life and  It shows your wife that you are thinking about her.