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Saturday, July 31, 2010

Before you do...


This post was written by Tangie Henry aka Inspired Sistah, a Certified Life Coach, Marriage Mentor & Coach. I first encountered Tangie on The BOSS Network, and I met her in real life at BlogLive Atlanta where she was a panelist. I knew she had a series online called Marriage Ain't for Wimps so I thought she'd be a perfect person to contribute to this blog. Enjoy!

This year, my husband and I celebrated fifteen years of marriage. One thing that we emphatically agree on is that proper preparation prior to getting married would have saved us many years of hurt, anger, frustration and disappointment.

In a time when the divorce rate is through the roof, it would behoove couples preparing to take the wonderful leap into marriage to try to prepare themselves as much as possible. Although that fact has been stated ad nauseam, for some reason, couples still frolic into their marriage convenant with little or no preparation and then wonder why they're having so many challenges. I've also run into the mindset of engaged couples who hear about the challenges of marriage but assume that they will be exempt. They reject sound guidance as if someone is trying to rain on their parade. Granted, there are some disgruntled married persons that you want to steer clear of, but I hope to provide a balance between fantasy and reality as well as offer some suggestions to help prepare you before you do.

Pay Attention: I'm a firm believer that your "Intended" will show you everything about himself/herself prior to The Big Day. Whether you choose to pay attention or not is totally up to you. Does she have a nasty, little habit of overspending? Or does he seem to shut down when you prefer that he open up? Those are things that need to be addressed. If they are bothering you now, they will really rub you afterwards.

Deal with the Real: Fantasy is only suitable for the arts. It's important that you accept your Honey for who he is and not who you want him to be. Don't go into the union assuming that things will change afterwards. Does he seem to be having trouble holding a job? Ummm...getting hitched will not suddenly cure him.

Ask the Hard Questions:
Do you want to have children? What religious belief will you raise your children under? Who will handle the money? Will you have a joint account? These are all questions that too many couples make assumptions about and then find themselves in a state of frustration when their assumptions clash with the reality.

Get Sound Counsel: I am a huge advocate of structured, intensive pre-marital counseling. I'm not talking about the quick, one hour session where you sit down with a minister and tell him or her about your wedding plans. I'm talking about an intensive preparation course where it spurs deep thought and intense conversations.

Take Your Time: In the dating phase of a relationship, it seems that the natural progression would be engagement and, ultimately, marriage. However, there is a huge emphasis on getting from, "Hi, my name is Kendra," to "I now pronounce you man and wife." The more time you spend exploring your relationship prior to getting hitched, the more fulfilling your union will be.

In summary, having a partner that you've committed to before God and man is a wonderful opportunity. So don't shortchange yourself by not being properly prepared. Let's be real, there are some things that you are just not going to know until you take the plunge, but completing some prerequisites will make the transition a whole lot smoother. So take a break from the phone calls to caterers and florists, and get in your Honey's face for some real dialouge. You'll be glad you did!

Check Tangie's blog Marriage Ain't for Wimps which promotes and advocates for love and marriage, and check her site, Inspired Sistah which inspires women to live on top of the world.


Tuesday, July 27, 2010

God's sense of humor

So I was procrastinating reading some of the Facebook statuses on BaisdenLive from The Michael Baisden Show. He asked Christian women if they prayed to God for husband, do they believe He would send him? I read some responses, and one woman said to be careful what you pray for because God does have a sense of humor. Basically, you need to be specific about the kind of man you want.

That made me think about my previous relationship. I don't know if I told ya'll, but this was a time when I thought there would be no other "good" men left after I left the college atmosphere. I figured this is as good as it gets, so I better hold on to him! {Lol, don't judge me}. Anyway, sometimes, I used to pray that I would marry him {so sad, I know, Lol}. It wasn't an everyday thing, just when I thought about it, I'd be like, "God, let me marry Paul."

Well, obviously, he and I broke up. But coincidentally (or not), I am marrying Paul:

Christopher Paul Dixon!

Isn't God funny?! I just thought I'd share that because I think it's kind of cool and ironic that I got what I asked for. But for real though, whatever you want in life, make sure you are very specific about it! : )

Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Guest List

Last week, Chris and I started making our first guest list...and all I can say right now is oh boy.

Together, we wrote down the names of about 250 people. And the thing about it is most of the people on our list are family members! I also totally forgot a lot some people so now, of course, I'm feeling a little stressed about who to invite. I mean, we only have a few friends on the list, and we'd like to at least have some there. Everyone else is family...I never realized how huge our families are until this stupid list. So now I have a dilemma-- who to cut from the list. I know that everyone invited won't attend, but still, I really don't want to send out 250+ invitations...Ugh, what to do??? Help me!! Lol {No really...}

Friday, July 2, 2010

L-O-V-E

I'm reading this thread on Nappturality.com, and a member asked how long did it take for others to fall in love. Of course, I started reminiscing...

Chris and I were friends for about a year before we came official. Our best friends dated each other so we started hanging out more and more during the summer and on breaks because we were in college. I was in a rocky relationship, so I really didn't think of Chris like that-- and he never tried to get me to break up with my then-boyfriend; in fact, he encouraged me to try to make things work. Anyhoo, I was really starting to fall for Chris, and I told my bff this on New Year's Day after we were done hanging out with them, and she was like, "Duh." Lol

Starting on January 1, 2008, Chris and I texted everyday (oh yeah, I didn't have a bf then); we texted because neither of us really liked talking on the phone...We became official on January 18, 2008, and I really felt like I loved him, and he used to say it, but I would always be like it's too early for me to say it. So I guess I knew I loved him even before we really started dating, but I really didn't want to admit it {and still don't} Lol. I just think it's weird that I could love someone so soon, but hey, guess you can't fight the feeling...Anyway, just wanted to share that ♥ ♥