Insights:

Do You Know These 5 Stats On Marriage?

I love marriage. I love being married. Sure, marriage is hard but all great things require hard work! Marriage teaches us so much about ourselves, about being in a close relationship, and about how God always has answers for us.

So when I came across an article in The Hill Online about marriage in America, it caught my attention. This is a sampling of what I read:

Since the U.S. government began keeping marriage records in 1867, the current marriage rate is the lowest its been
70 years ago, 80% of U.S. households were made up of married couples.
In 2020, that number fell to 49%
Record proportions of young U.S. adults are expected to never marry
The institution of marriage in America appears to have become increasingly inconsequential for growing numbers of young men and women, including couples having children together

Why? What happened? Why is the option of marriage so far down the list of priorities for so many people today? Is marriage going the way of other things that were once a real part of our lives but are no longer around today?

Are there any positive stats about marriage today? If there are, do we tend to ignore them as a culture?

Consider these stats:

On average, married couples have better physical health, more financial stability, and greater social mobility than unmarried people.
The children of those couples are more likely to experience higher academic performance, emotional maturity, and financial stability than children who don’t have both parents in the home.
Studies show divorce and unwed childbearing cost taxpayers over $110 billion each year.
Children raised in single-parent homes are statistically more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, exhibit poor social behaviors, commit violent crimes and are more likely to drop out of school.
Marriage also reduces the probability of child poverty by 80%.

I wish I had the answer but I don’t. So what do we do? We strengthen our marriages. We show the world that it is possible to have good marriages. We encourage the world to look at our marriages and see that there is something very special there. We fight back by example and love. It begins with your marriage. It is the only marriage you have agency over. What if each of us committed to work on our marriages day after day and then someone sees our marriage and decides they can do the same thing in theirs? I believe we really can have a world full of awesome marriages and that will literally change the world!

Our new Awesome Marriage Sex Course is coming to Awesome Marriage University soon! Watch for our announcement!

Things For You To Think About:

Pick one thing you can work on together to strengthen your marriage.
When the world looks at your marriage what do they see?
What do you want them to see?

2 Minute Drill

Nancy and I answer a question we get asked a lot!

Quick Hits:

This Week’s Quote: Theodore Seuss Geisel, "Dr. Seuss"

Children’s book author and cartoonist Theodore Geisel was born on March 2, 1904. He wrote over 60 books as Dr. Suess. Dr. Seuss's honors include two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, the Inkpot Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Sometimes, when I see my granddaughters make small discoveries of their own, I wish I were a child.
Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!

This Week’s Trivia Question:

Which country artist threw javelin while attending Oklahoma State University?

This Week’s “Did You Know?”

There are actually two Air Force Ones. So when Air Force One's SAM 28000 Boeing 747-200B plane is getting a tune-up, there's an identical SAM 29000 standing by. One plane is always ready for the president's use whenever needed.

Something To Talk About

Would you rather never get tired or never have to go to the bathroom?

Awesome Marriage This week

AM Podcast: 5 Rhythms of a Healthy Marriage with Chris & Jennie Graebe | Ep. 545

The co-hosts of the Rhythm Of Us podcast and the authors of The Rhythm of Us: Create the Thriving Marriage You Long For join me as we look at how to build healthy rhythms in your marriage.

AM YouTube Channel: How To Take Control Of Your Day

What would your day look like if there was balance? Let’s look at how to make that happen.

AM YouVersion Plan: Traffic Signs and Your Marriage Part 2

What would it look like if we took these common signs and applied them to our marriage? Let’s look at 4 more signs this week.

This Week’s Trivia Answer:

Garth Brooks