3 Relationship Myths Debunked to Save Your Marriage

Posted on 14. Jun, 2012 by Dr. Patty Ann - Relationship Expert in Communication, relationship advice

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Regardless of their origins, relationship myths abound and negatively impact your relationship ? and may, in fact, create tension and escalate fighting in your marriage instead of bringing difficult issues to a resolution.? The media is filled with inaccurate ? and sometimes just plain wrong information on the subject of how to save your marriage, keep your romance alive, how to keep your man happy, how to skyrocket your sex life and on and on and on.? And what?s incredible to me is that so much of this information is wrong and yet it is repeated by the media (and some other so-called relationship experts) as if it is divine wisdom.

Throughout my years helping couples achieve intimacy and romance in their relationship, I have seen first hand the chaos and damage these relationship myths have created.? Therefore, read below and I will debunk 3 common, and what may potentially be quite damaging relationship myths that I have heard and/or read throughout the years ? and ones that I know you have heard too! After having read this article, it is my hope that your relationship will not fall prey to all the myths and false information out there on how to save your marriage.

Myth #1 Never go to bed angry with each other.? Are you kidding me??? Relationships are not TV shows where all issues get wrapped up and resolved within a one hour time frame (which is really only a twenty minute time frame if you include all the commercials).? Some ? if not most ? important relationship issues are just too impossible, complicated or emotionally charged to be resolved within 24 hours.? Thinking you ?should not? go to bed angry at each other because that is the conventional wisdom perpetuated by the relationship myths you?ve heard, often leaves you feeling angrier and angrier at each other as you attempt to resolve an emotional issue before you go to bed, with the conflict unnecessarily escalating out of control because of a false ?deadline?. ?I would love to hear from all the couples out there how often that approach has worked for you in the past. ?Yeah, I didn?t think it did.

Therefore, I often advise couples to stop trying to resolve an issue that appears to be particularly difficult for one reason or another and just go to bed ? even if you are pissed off at each other.?? Sleep on it and then re-visit the issue when clearer heads prevail. ?It is amazing how much a good night?s sleep can put things in a better perspective in the morning.

Myth #2 Happy couples never fight. Actually nothing could be further from the truth.? Happy couples do fight; in fact, it is the manner in which a couple fights that determines their happiness.? The ability to communicate your differences with respect and understanding are the qualities that happy couples exhibit when they fight.

Healthy happy couples stick to the issue at hand and do not engage in what I refer to as ?character assassination?, i.e. name calling, yelling, screaming, and the assertion that their partner?s position is ?stupid?, ?dumb? or just plain wrong.

Also, when happy couples fight, they realize there are some issues that they will never see eye to eye on and that all differences cannot, in fact, be resolved.? Therefore, happy couples respectfully ?agree to disagree? and then move on.? It is what it is.?

Check out my best selling book: ?Not Tonight Dear, I?ve Got a Business to Run!? http://nottonightdearbook.com for more great information, exercises and tips on healthy communication and conflict resolution.

Myth #3 Happy couples share ALL their feelings and emotions with each other ALL the Time. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth and perhaps more damaging to a relationship.? Think about this for a moment.? You had a life before you met your partner and many feelings are very private and many feelings should be kept that way.? Does your partner really need to know that you don?t like something that they absolutely treasure???? Share feelings and emotions with an understanding of how they will impact your partner. Communicating feelings and information which will only cause hurt and pain, without any positive benefit for the relationship, does not make any sense ? so keep some feelings to yourself!? Let common sense prevail here.

I hope this article provided some insight for you and took some of the pressure off you trying to do the impossible in your relationship!?? Remember, if you want to increase romance and happiness in your relationship, it is really okay to go to bed angry with each other; happy couples do indeed fight ? but they fight fair, and finally,? happy couples do not, in fact, share all their feelings and emotions with each other all the time!

Rekindle Romance and Happiness in Your Relationship,

Dr. Patty Ann
www.drpattyann.com
www.drpattyann.com/blog
www.twitter.com/drpattyann
www.facebook.com/drpattyann

Tags: communicating feelings, increase romance and happiness in your relationship, intimacy and romance, keep romance alive, relationship myths. relationships

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U.N. observers enter town overrun by Syrian troops

BEIRUT (AP) - Smoldering buildings, looted shops, smashed cars and a strong stench of death greeted U.N. observers who entered the nearly deserted Syrian town of Haffa on Thursday, a day after President Bashar Assad's forces overran it as part of a major offensive to recover rebel-controlled territories.

The observers had been trying to get into the town for a week after fears were raised that a brutal assault by regime forces was under way. They found the main hospital burned, state buildings and an office of the ruling Baath party in ruins and a corpse lying in the street.

"A strong stench of dead bodies was in the air," said Sausan Ghosheh, spokeswoman for the U.N. observers. She said there was still fighting in some pockets of the mountainous town in the seaside province of Latakia.

The number of casualties was unclear, Ghosheh said, and it appeared likely that, as in the past, bodies had been removed or buried before the U.N. mission got in.

The fighting, now mostly quelled in Haffa, was mirrored in other parts of Syria, where more than 40 civilians and opposition fighters were killed Thursday, according to activists, alongside more than a half-dozen Syrian forces.

From the day's early hours, Syrian troops bombarded rebel-held areas with tanks, mortars and helicopters in the central town of Rastan, the Damascus suburb of Douma, the central city of Homs and the northern towns of Anadan and Hreitan, near the Turkish border, the activists said.

They said the fighting included clashes in the town of Hamuriya, near Damascus, that killed at least nine men who were allegedly butchered with knives. A video circulated by activists showed a pile of lifeless men, including one who was clearly slashed through the neck.

"Slaughter, slaughter!" a person could be heard screaming in the background. Another video showed a man lying in a garden, his arm blown off. There was no way to independently confirm the content of the videos because reporters are not allowed to work freely in Syria.

For more than a week, Syrian troops have been sweeping through villages and towns in Syria's northern, central, southern and seaside provinces, attacking rebel-held areas and opposition strongholds in what appears to be the largest offensive since an internationally-brokered cease-fire went into effect two months ago. The regime and the opposition have both largely ignored the April 12 truce.

Rami Abdul-Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian observatory for Human Rights, said it appeared the Syrian regime was trying to implement a kind of scorched earth policy in the central city of Homs, which government forces have been heavily shelling for the past week. He said the use of tanks and helicopters to smash residential buildings and city infrastructure indicated that they wanted to destroy areas, not just chase out rebels.

The U.N. observers' description of the smoldering ruins they found in Haffa suggested Syrian forces were using intense force to quell rebels. But it also indicated the rebels were determined to smash all symbols of the hated Assad regime, including state institutions.

"Most government institutions, including the post office, were set on fire from inside," Ghosheh said. "Archives were burnt, stores were looted and set on fire."

She said homes were broken into, while the ruling Baath party headquarters was shelled, "and appeared to be the scene of heavy fighting." The observers also found remnants of heavy weapons scattered through the town; it was not clear who they belonged to.

On Tuesday, an angry crowd hurled rocks and sticks at the U.N. mission's vehicles near Haffa, forcing them to turn back. But the Syrian government urged them to enter after they announced Wednesday that they had "cleansed" Haffa of "armed terrorist groups" - the regime's term for rebel fighters.

The U.N. observers' visit to Haffa came hours after a suicide bomber detonated a van packed with explosives in a Damascus suburb, wounding 14 people and damaging one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, according to witnesses and Syria's state-run news agency.

It was not immediately clear whether the bomber intended to target the golden-domed Sayyida Zainab complex or a police station 15 yards (meters) away. Believed to house the remains of the granddaughter of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, the shrine attracts tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims from around the world.

U.N. observers have reported a steep rise in violence and a dangerous shift in tactics by both sides in Syria in recent weeks. Car bombs and suicide bombings have become increasingly common as the 15-month uprising against Assad becomes militarized. Most have targeted security buildings and police buses, symbols of Assad's regime.

In Rastan, a rebel-held town that was heavily bombed Thursday, two rights groups said the dead included Maj. Ahmad Bahbouh, an army defector who headed the town's opposition military council. Activists said helicopters pounded the town, which has been held by rebels for months.

They said troops also heavily bombed the Damascus suburb of Douma killing at least five people. Abdul-Rahman said Syrian forces seized control of the northern town of Hreitan, where they conducted house-to-house raids and set homes of anti-government activists on fire.

An amateur video from the nearby town of Anadan, showed two babies receiving treatment in a makeshift hospital. One baby, screaming in pain, had part of his left foot blown off and severe head injuries. A third baby was dead and covered with a blanket. Activists said the children were the victims of government shelling. There was no way to verify the claim.

Activists say some 14,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011.

A military expert said it was unlikely that Assad's forces would be able to defeat the insurgency.

"Rebels are not seeking to hold ground, but to confuse, exhaust and bleed out army forces by attacking them in different areas simultaneously," said Elias Hanna, a retired Lebanese army general.

He said the army's response - typical of conventional forces - was to heavily shell the rebels' urban hideouts, which "creates more opposition against the regime, because it inflicts heavy civilian casualties, and damages and destroys their communities."

As the violence grows more chaotic, it is difficult to assign blame for much of the bloodshed. Western officials say there is little doubt that Islamist extremists, some associated with al-Qaida, have made inroads in Syria as instability has spread.

---

Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus and Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.

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Bair decries hyperventilation over JPMorgan loss

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This project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA?s funding should not be construed as an endorsement of any products, opinions or services. All SBA-funded projects are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

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Q&A: Hard times for Obama from economic recovery

In this Thursday, May 31, 2012, job seekers gather for employment opportunities at the 11th annual Skid Row Career Fair at the Los Angeles Mission in Los Angeles. U.S. employers created 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate ticked up. The dismal jobs figures could fan fears that the economy is sputtering. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

In this Thursday, May 31, 2012, job seekers gather for employment opportunities at the 11th annual Skid Row Career Fair at the Los Angeles Mission in Los Angeles. U.S. employers created 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate ticked up. The dismal jobs figures could fan fears that the economy is sputtering. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

This AP graphic shows U.S. Job creation in May from 2008-2012. Only 69,000 jobs were added in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate rose from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent. (AP Photo)

President Barack Obama greets supporters after speaking about jobs for veterans, Friday, June 1, 2012, at Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Global Headquarters in Golden Valley, Minn. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

FILE - In this May 31, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks outside the Solyndra manufacturing facility, in Fremont, Calif. Romney says Friday's jobs report is ?devastating news? for American workers and families. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Nothing upsets a president's re-election groove like ugly economic numbers.

A spring slowdown in hiring and a rise in the unemployment rate are weighing on President Barack Obama, while enhancing Republican challenger Mitt Romney's argument that the Democratic incumbent is in over his head.

Some questions and answers about how Friday's economic news may play in a close presidential race:

Q: How bad is this for Obama?

A: Pretty awful. Polls show Obama's handling of the economy is his biggest weak spot. People in the United States overwhelmingly rate the economy as their biggest worry, and jobs are what they say matters most.

But the president still has time for the jobs outlook to improve. Five more monthly unemployment reports are due ? the last coming just four days before the Nov. 6 election. The fall numbers will mean more when voters head to the polls.

Q: What can Obama tell voters if the job picture stays bleak?

A: After 3 1/2 years in office, it's getting harder to blame the painfully slow recovery on the mistakes of his predecessor, George W. Bush. But Obama keeps reminding the public of how bad things were when he took office in January 2009. The economy was deep into the recession and losing jobs month after bleak month.

In contrast, over the past two years, Obama notes, businesses have been consistently adding jobs, just not as quickly as needed.

He's also tried shifting blame to congressional Republicans, saying they've held up the recovery by refusing to pass most elements of his jobs bill. And he says some factors dragging down the U.S. economy are beyond a president's control, such as the European economic crisis and fluctuating gasoline prices. The weakening economy in China and turbulence in the Middle East haven't helped, either.

Q: Is Romney seizing this opportunity?

A: With both hands. The lousy jobs numbers fit neatly into Romney's central campaign pitch: That guy doesn't have a clue how to fix the economy, so let me get it done.

He called the jobs news "devastating" and a "harsh indictment" of Obama. Romney says his own experience with a private equity firm, making millions of dollars by overhauling struggling companies, taught him how to revive the economy and create jobs.

Q: So which guy do the voters believe?

A: It's a toss-up so far.

There hasn't been time to measure the impact of Friday's figures. But in an Associated Press-GfK poll last month, people were split over who they'd trust most to handle the economy, Romney or Obama. Asked specifically whether they approve of the way Obama has dealt with unemployment, about half did and half didn't, mostly along party lines.

Still, jobs are clearly a weakness for Obama. His poll numbers are stronger than Romney's on many other qualities, such as which candidate understands regular people, is a strong leader and says what he really believes.

He may benefit from the perception that the mess is so big no one knows what to do. In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, two-thirds of those surveyed said they were only somewhat confident or not at all confident that Obama has the right goals and policies to improve the economy. Asked this about Romney, three-quarters were only somewhat or not at all confident.

Q: Sure, people care about jobs, but do they really follow the latest economic reports?

A: One number seems to break through: the unemployment rate. That easy-to-understand figure ? representing what share of Americans are looking for work and can't find it ? edged up to 8.2 percent in May, from 8.1 percent the month before.

And Obama has yet to get it down to even the troublingly high 7.8 percent in place when he took office. (It zoomed to a peak of 10 percent in October 2009.)

Since the government began closely tracking unemployment in 1948, no president has won re-election with numbers as high as those Obama's staring down. The champ is Ronald Reagan, who coasted to a second term in 1984 despite 7.4 percent unemployment in October. A far greater percentage of people were out of work in 1936, when Franklin Roosevelt won re-election in a landslide amid the Great Depression.

Prospects for the unemployment rate to drop sharply before November aren't good. The economy needs to generate at least 125,000 jobs per month just to keep up with population growth ? a mark it's fallen far short of for the past two months. And it would take tens of thousands more jobs each month to bring the rate down.

Q: Couldn't the economic outlook brighten before Election Day?

A: It might. Some economists think the weakness could be temporary, reflecting the fallout from an unusually warm winter and technical issues that can sway the government's numbers. Consumer spending and exports remain solid, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, and the outlook may bounce back to last winter's optimism.

Or the weak report could mark the beginning of a stall in the already sluggish recovery. Discouraging numbers can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just look at the way they drove the stock market down 275 points Friday, in the worst trading day of the year. That sort of thing rattles the business leaders who make hiring decisions.

Many of them are feeling uneasy about world events.

"Europe is the key swing factor," Zandi said.

If Europe addresses its financial troubles, and keeps Greece in the eurozone, the financial markets are likely to settle, he said, and boost U.S. employers' confidence. But if Europe slowly worsens, it will be a drag on the U.S. economy.

By Nov. 6, when a president is picked, the employment picture may look rosier ? or glum.

Associated Press

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NYT: Constraints on economy hurting Obama

WASHINGTON ?? The bleak jobs report on Friday predictably had heads snapping toward the White House, looking to President Obama to do something. Yet his proposed remedies only underscore how much the president, just five months before he faces voters, is at the mercy of actors in Europe, China and Congress whose political interests often conflict with his own.

That day, Mr. Obama continued his weekly travels around the country, prodding Congressional Republicans to pass his ?to-do list? of temporary tax cuts and spending initiatives to help create jobs. The Republicans only mock him, which leaves Mr. Obama free to blame his opponents and their presidential standard-bearer, Mitt Romney. But in doing so, he telegraphs a message of powerlessness that no leader likes to convey ? least of all one who ran for office four years ago vowing to bridge Washington?s partisan gulf.

Developments overseas have not helped either. American officials have complained as Beijing began letting its currency devalue again, making its exports cheaper and those from the United States to China more costly. And administration officials, and Mr. Obama himself, have lobbied leaders in Europe for more forceful action to promote growth or at least contain the threat of financial contagion there.

Romney calls May jobs report 'devastating news'

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In his weekly address on Saturday, recorded on Friday at a Honeywell International plant near Minneapolis, the president cited the global woes buffeting the economy. But he singled out Congress for rebuke.

?While we can?t fully control everything that happens in other parts of the world, there are plenty of things we can control here at home,? Mr. Obama said. ?There are plenty of steps we can take right now to help create jobs and grow this economy.?

Without mentioning Republicans, Mr. Obama said Congress had not passed measures he had proposed to get jobless construction workers rebuilding roads, bridges and runways; to give small businesses a tax break for new hires; and to help states pay teachers, firefighters and police officers. The steady elimination of public sector jobs has offset increased hiring in the private sector for more than two years.

?So my message to Congress is: Get to work,? he added.

Alan J. Auerbach, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, said, ?Frankly, I don?t see what President Obama can do right now other than to forcefully present a detailed plan for action and challenge Congress to take it up.?

But ?short of a real crisis,? as in 2008, Mr. Auerbach, an expert on fiscal policy, added, ?I doubt that there is anything he can do to spur meaningful legislation before the election.?

Jobs report points to close election

Yet even in 2008, with the financial system near collapse, most Congressional Republicans rejected the rescue plan of a Republican president, George W. Bush. And now, despite their own record-low numbers in the polls, they have next to no incentive to help an embattled Democratic president lift the economy.

Continued economic anemia plays to Mr. Romney?s call for new stewardship, and to Republicans? demands to extend and deepen the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans rather than let them expire, as Mr. Obama and Democrats want. And they figure that if Mr. Romney succeeds, it will probably help them win close House and Senate races, while Mr. Obama?s re-election could do the opposite.

By emboldening Republicans, the report on Friday that the economy added only 69,000 jobs in May seemed to dash the hopes of some in the White House for a replay of 1996. That summer, as President Bill Clinton sought re-election with the economy improving, Republicans in Congress decided that their party?s weak presidential nominee, Senator Bob Dole, was doomed. To Mr. Dole?s chagrin, they compromised with the Democratic president to notch some significant achievements and ensure their own survival.

Slowing economy sends gas prices lower

Gene Sperling, the chief White House economic adviser, said, ?There is no question that had Congress acted on the president?s proposals nine months ago to prevent teacher layoffs, put construction workers back to work and cut small-business taxes, our job situation today would be notably stronger and unemployment would be lower.? Analyses by macroeconomic firms and nonpartisan financial analysts agreed.

While Mr. Obama seeks to make Republicans the villains when it comes to the economy, he is also, more diplomatically, blaming Europe. In Minneapolis and Chicago on Friday, he cited the impact of the continent?s travails on the American economy.

Citing the jobs report, Mr. Obama said, ?A lot of that is attributable to Europe and the cloud that?s coming over from the Atlantic, and the whole world economy has been weakened by it.?

NBC-Marist polls; Obama, Romney deadlocked in three key states

As lackluster as the American jobs data was, with unemployment inching up one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.2 percent, the news from Europe was far worse: the jobless rate in the euro zone hit 11 percent, the highest since tracking began in 1995. ?There?s really nothing the U.S. can do,? said Charles Calomiris, professor of finance and economics at Columbia Business School.

On Wednesday, Mr. Obama had a video conference call with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Fran?ois Hollande of France and Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy to discuss developments in Europe and plan for this month?s G-20 summit meeting in Mexico. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner continued to trade calls with Germany?s finance minister, Wolfgang Sch?uble. And late Friday, Mr. Obama?s Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, Lael Brainard, returned from a week of consultations in Athens, Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris and Berlin.

Mr. Obama ?emphasizes that what happens in Europe is of global concern,? said Michael Froman, the White House adviser for international economic affairs. ?We want to be of help, whether in providing ideas or lessons from our experience as they work through these issues.?

For more than two years, Mr. Obama and Mr. Geithner have prodded Europe, led by Germany, to do more to revive the region?s weakest economies rather than push budget cuts, which have resulted in more losses of jobs and consumer spending power. Their results, however, have been limited at best.

Germany has shown some willingness to bend. Officials in Berlin have signaled that they could accept higher wages at home and inflation above the euro zone?s average. Last week, a finance ministry spokesman said Germany could be more flexible about the timing of budget cuts in Spain ? after Greece, the source of greatest anxiety now.

Obama races the clock with summer economic numbers

But Germans are deeply concerned that supporting big transfers of aid to troubled countries within the euro zone will create a precedent and the expectation in other countries that they, or their banks, will be bailed out whenever necessary. Germans also believe that issuing debt jointly with other European countries, known as euro bonds, which the United States supports, would be struck down as unconstitutional by their high court.

And they routinely dismiss any criticism from across the Atlantic as election-year politicking.

?Germans do not think Americans have anything to offer at the moment in terms of helping us with the euro crisis,? said Thomas Risse, professor of international politics at the Free University in Berlin. ?Everyone thinks it?s just about Obama?s re-election here, which is wrong, but they think it.?

After the United States said this spring that it would not increase its contribution to the International Monetary Fund, its influence in Europe was blunted.

Even so, ?the I.M.F. appears to not be having the influence it usually does,? said Franklin Allen, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania?s Wharton School. ?It seems like Berlin is making all the decisions at the moment.?

Jackie Calmes reported from Washington, and Nicholas Kulish from Berlin.

This article, "Weak Economy Points to Obama?s Constraints," first appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright ? 2012 The New York Times

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Jon's Blog: UCC Piece: "Why Gay Marriage is Good for the USA" VS ...

One month ago, United Church of Christ pastor, Rev. Robert Apgar-Taylor, wrote an opinion piece titled "Why Same-Gender Marriage is Good for America." He is a Maryland-based pastor who decided to write a response to an assertion that equal marriage rights threatens the very institution of Marriage itself. He, like I and many other marriage equality advocates, questioned the truthiness of this belief. In fact, Rev. Apgar-Taylor ended up writing that marriage equality is actually a wonderful thing for all Americans:

This discussion has forced us to confront the true meaning of marriage. I heard a politician on the news a few years ago state, "Everyone knows marriage is about having children. It has nothing to do with love!" Really? I hope he has informed his wife of this. Marriage in fact is not about having children nor is it really about love as an emotion. It is about covenant, mutual respect and commitment. It is not an institution that depends on emotional state or on procreative abilities. (If it were, we would have required fertility testing prior to marriage long ago.) And to be honest, can anyone really say that his or her marriage is personally fulfilling and loving every moment of every day? Are you always happy to be married? Of course not. Marriage is about coming together as two people and committing hearts and lives through both good times and bad. It is not about feeling love but about deciding to love. I am committed to be with my husband through whatever life brings us, not just when it feels good to do so. As a person of faith, I promise to love him, even in those moments when I don't feel loving or when either of us are not being very "lovable," and in so doing, I strive to mirror for him just a glimpse of what God's love is like. Let me be clear: being gay or lesbian is not a choice. The choice is in living an authentic life that gives witness to the love of God in and through all our relationships. Marriage is the highest of those relationships...

Having full marriage equality is not a threat to marriage. Not having it is. This decision (hopefully) forces us to celebrate and come to terms with the reality that marriage is not about romantic love, happiness and years full of wine and roses. That is Hallmark, not reality. Don't misunderstand me: Feeling romantic love is wonderful. Children are indeed a blessing. But marriage is really about two persons committing themselves to each other in ways that mirror true unconditional love, mutual respect and support through whatever storms life brings their way. Then, and only then, is the institution of marriage strengthened "as God intended it to be."

It shouldn't really surprise any readers of my blog, but I agree with Rev. Apgar-Taylor. Check out the link for the rest of his piece.

Sadly (yet predictably), Rev. Apgar-Taylor's piece drew plenty of comments from opponents of marriage equality. Few were gracious:

Marriage is a commitment between opposite sex human that can truly make a comple (sic) and complimentary union. Male & female humans are meant for each other. Homosexuality is a choice of sex with same sex humans. 2 same sex humans make an off balanced couple. 2 opposite humans make a balanced couple. THAT is what marriage IS and should aleays (sic) be. Commitment makes a relationship it IS NOT a marriage!!!

Jack Wilson -- Rob would be on the mark if we lived in a Godless world with no Bible for instruction. Far better than Rob claiming to be a Pastor, he should admit that he made up his own religion and rules. Don't forget Rob, you can not say you believe some of the Bible. You either believe it or not. The religion you belong to is human secularism and it is absent of a true God and replaced with your own god that you have constructed in your image.

Paul clearly states that if someone claims to be a believer and is caught in sin then it is our job as believers to help restore them to the light. Homosexuality, in GOD's words, is an abomination. You might be born gay but you still have a choice to engage in it.

So if I'm born a child molestor (sic) thats?(sic) cool too? As long as I am honest with myself and don't "live a lie". Really?

Jerald J?-- That has nothing to do with a man living as a sexual deviant and calling himself a minister in the process! You can love people without being a party to their ugly perversion, and show me where you can't be!

Gov. O'malley was against gay marriage before he was for it. Folks its wrong, and in the governors case, it is all about getting the gay vote in Maryoand (sic). When the gay people adopt and put the children on welfare immeaditely (sic), it cost this nation. Remember we have to borrow 42 cents on the dollar from China to keep this nation afloat. Not to mention when they get divorced. Gay marriage is as wroing (sic) a child porn or child rape. It is wrong!!!!!!!!!! This is my opinion only....

This is a cult. The Bible says only opposite sex is godly.

Jerald J?-- Better yet, what is right about one man ripping another man's anus apart..in the name of "Equality?"

I don't even know how to respond to these statements. I had to stop after the last one. Trust me, it continued for quite some time.

I have been an ongoing discussion/debate over marriage protections for gay and lesbian couples for a few weeks now over at a discussion board that I used to visit quite a bit?more?in past years. I have no idea why I enter these debates. They just frustrate me and piss me off.

I have been told -- and I believe it -- that we will not make changes until people learn our stories and learn about us. Granted, I write a lot more here about things other than my family. But that was the general gist when I started this blog. But how do you respond when someone calls a minister a cultist who rips other anuses apart and is pretty much a child molester?

I guess you don't. Reach out to those people, that is. There will always be people who will never find anything of value or worth or blessedness in GLBT people or our families. We will never reach them. We need to reach out to cooler minds and hope that they eventually?stick up for our families at the ballot box even when they disagree with our families in principle.

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