Secrets of a Successful Marriage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to highlight a Christopher News Note called "Secrets of a Successful Marriage."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Secrets of a Successful Marriage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to highlight a Christopher News Note called "Secrets of a Successful Marriage."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Christopher Closeup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-14T11:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-02-14T15:07:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/christophers\/files\/2012\/02\/NN541.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tony Rossi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tony Rossi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/\",\"name\":\"Secrets of a Successful Marriage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-14T11:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-02-14T15:07:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/9215d33862959dfe2334a97a802ebf1d\"},\"description\":\"Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to highlight a Christopher News Note called \\\"Secrets of a Successful Marriage.\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Secrets of a Successful Marriage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/\",\"name\":\"Christopher Closeup\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/9215d33862959dfe2334a97a802ebf1d\",\"name\":\"Tony Rossi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef58b23d79989facf5779819377620d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef58b23d79989facf5779819377620d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tony Rossi\"},\"description\":\"After graduating from St. John's University in New York with degrees in Communications and English, Tony Rossi found a job at the Catholic media organization, The Christophers, that allowed him to indulge his interest in religion, media, and pop culture. 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{"id":311,"date":"2012-02-14T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/?p=311"},"modified":"2012-02-14T10:07:30","modified_gmt":"2012-02-14T15:07:30","slug":"secrets-of-a-successful-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/02\/secrets-of-a-successful-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Secrets of a Successful Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a>Since it\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to highlight a Christopher News Note called \u201cSecrets of a Successful Marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re not aware, Christopher News Notes<\/a> are pamphlets on various spiritual or social issues that we\u2019ve been using to stay in touch with our supporters via direct mail for more than 60 years. Individual copies are sent out free-of-charge, while some churches get them in bulk in return for a donation that helps offset our printing costs. We also send them to some prisons and hospitals where people find them sources of hope and encouragement.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an excerpt from \u201cSecrets of a Successful Marriage:\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI DO.\u201d WITH THOSE TWO LITTLE WORDS, A MARRIED COUPLE SETS OFF ON A LIFELONG JOURNEY OF LOVE AND COMMITMENT.<\/em><\/p>\n

Even the most blissfully happy couples will tell you, however, that marriage is hard work. These husbands and wives don\u2019t just coast through life on a wave of romance and passion; they are constantly gauging the state of their relationship and how they can make it stronger.<\/em><\/p>\n

After all, very few jobs require people to be as adept at so many things all at once: communication, financial planning, faith building, child-rearing and so much more. It\u2019s quite a skill set marriage demands. So how do couples manage the details of married life without losing sight of the love that brought them together in the first place?<\/p>\n

It requires a shift in perspective, away from the \u201ceverything is temporary\u201d attitude of our culture toward an eternal mindset. Marriage can\u2019t be viewed as a contract, something one partner can walk away from if times get bad. Because times will get bad, at least now and then. For any marriage to work, spouses have to step into it with one absolute in mind: no matter what, we stay together. From that place of certainty and security, couples can navigate the rough spots and know that they will come out safely on the other side.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the secret to a truly happy marriage? Therapist Gregory Popcak set out to answer that question in his book \u201cThe Exceptional Seven Percent: Nine Secrets of the World\u2019s Happiest Couples.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery couple\u2019s marriage revolves around a theme, that thing to which a couple gives most of their time and emotional energy. For example, most conventional couples build their lives and marriages around either securing their basic needs, maintaining companionship and security, or finding each other\u2019s place in the world, investing heavily in careers and social roles,\u201d writes Popcak.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cExceptional couples, on the other hand, while concerned with all of these to some degree, spend most of their energy working together to pursue the development of positive character traits, moral virtue, and spiritual growth\u2014a theme I call a marital imperative,\u201d he says. \u201cIn other words, exceptional couples consider their marriage to be their best hope for becoming the people they want to be at the end of their lives.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

To read the complete News Note, \u201cSecrets of a Successful Marriage,\u201d you can request a free copy by writing to mail@christophers.org<\/a> \u2013 or you can read it online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>And if you need a last-minute Valentine\u2019s gift, you\u2019re in luck because the angelically-voiced Audrey Assad\u2019s new album, \u201cHeart,\u201d is out today. You can check out sample tracks and buy the album on iTunes<\/a> or Amazon<\/a>. The album will soothe your soul and establish world peace.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"