Marriage is a wonderful thing... 

Well, at least it should be wonderful. In our Phone Counseling and Life Coaching business we all too often see marriage issues leading to separation, divorce, and even at times violence.

Our hope and prayer is that we can lead people to an awareness of where they are in the marriage, and begin a process of reconstruction or rebuilding the relationship. But, that is jumping ahead... So, let's look at the three levels of marriage closely.

First, this is often called the "Romance" stage - as two people have captured one another's heart and attention. This period can and usually includes the dating and engagement period. The romance stage is all too often a "time of blindness" where we unconsciously ignore the negative and focus solely on the attractiveness of one another. This stage, unless affected by other past relationships or other deep issues, is usually fun-loving and care free. It is also usually easy to discuss "toxic issues" such as sex, money, and family. This romance stage almost always transforms into the second stage of relationships, which I refer to as the...