When my wife and I had arguments in the early stages of our marriage, we did not have the tools necessary to work through our disagreements. Kate tended to walk out of the room and did not want to talk about the issue any more. I, on the other hand, followed her from room to room, telling her that the conversation was not finished until we came to a resolution. It was a painful, terrible process. Both of us acted immaturely, but we have since added some communication tools to our toolbox, and the disagreements are now much less contentious. 

One of those tools is a list of Fair Fight Rules. These are the boundaries and expectations that you both create for times when conversations devolve into arguments. They are great for clamping down on bad behavior. The exercises included in these pages may cause some heated discussions, and its best to have these rules in place, before you begin in order to minimize the friction. Here are our fair fight rules:

• No swearing.
• No leaving the room...

In this episode with Zach and Kate, they dive into one of the best strategies they have incorporated into their relationship since they got married to make sure they are on the same page, resolve issues quickly, and avoid big problems in the future.

Kate and I have been together now for almost 14 years, and married for almost 13. We have a blended family, 3 kiddos, full time jobs, a full course load in graduate school, and yet our marriage is thriving more than ever. 

Lucky? 

Nope. 

Not even close. 

Kate and I are extremely intentional with meeting each other's needs on a daily basis, and as often as we can, we make time and prioritize "us" time for dates and alone time. Over the years what a date looks like can drastically change ranging on the age of our kiddos and what we have going on in our lives. But the fact remains that we continue to pour into each other and invest into our relationship to keep it growing and moving forward. We made a commitment to prioritizing our relationship and it has paid dividends. 

So what is your story? Where are you at with your spouse? Do you prioritize spending quality time with them? Do you actively engage in bettering your relationship and yourself for your spouse? If you do, great! Keep...

In the game of relationships, we are never given a playbook with how best we can have critical conversations with our spouse. Communication and conflict resolution are both skills that need to be learned and they aren't something you're just going to be great at - especially dealing with conflict with your spouse. 

Now, is it true that some of us are naturally better communicators or better at handling conflict than others? The short answer is, yes. However, just like any skill, the more you practice and focus on that skill, the better you're going to get at it and the more comfortable you're going to become using the skill. 

This week I've been sharing tips for you and your spouse to press the reset button in your relationship if you haven't been getting along lately. They are the following: 

1. Clarity - in order to understand what's going on in your relationship and why you're fighting, you need to get clarity. One of the best ways to get clarity is to start moving your body (i.e...