About Russ

Russ & Sharon Peterson started Growing Marriages in 2005 to provide information and resources for couples looking to build healthy, growing marriages. They are active in their local church marriage ministry and provide mentoring for couples interested in preparing for, enriching, or repairing their marriage. They have three adult children and six grandchildren and reside in sunny Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Coping With Typical Solvable Problems: Part 3

This month's post is the last of a three part series discussing how to cope with typical problems. [divider] payday loan one hourgrowportland.org/migration/ Last month we looked at three common sources of stress and conflict in marriage—Money, Sex, & Housework. This month we have some tips for perhaps the biggest culprit of stress in a marriage—children. The first child, for [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Coping With Typical Solvable Problems: Part 2

This month's post is part two of a three part series discussing how to cope with typical problems. [divider] Last month we looked at the typical problems of Stress and In-Laws. Maybe these aren't problems for you. Maybe you were saying to yourself, "I don't really have any issues with these things". If that was true for you, then maybe [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Conflict Resolution|0 Comments

Take the Love Language Challenge

Sharon and I just finished week one of the "Love Language Challenge". It's a five week challenge designed to have couples be more intentional about expressing love to their spouses—particularly in their primary love language. You may be thinking, I have no idea what my love language is, or my spouse's for that matter. No worries. There is an app [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

Coping With Typical Solvable Problems: Part 1

This month's post is part one of a three part series discussing how to cope with typical problems. [divider] How many times have you heard someone say, “a good marriage takes work”. Most people would readily agree with that statement, but what does that really mean? Every marriage is faced with certain emotional tasks that husband and wife need to [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Conflict Resolution, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

Principle 5–Solve Your Solvable Problems

This month's post is a bit long, but it has some great information on solving those problems that are not perpetual problems—those that cannot be resolved to mutual satisfaction. If you'll follow these steps, I think you'll find you can solve a lot more problems—and in a healthier way—than you have before. [divider] Last month we talked about perpetual problems [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Conflict Resolution, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

The Two Kinds of Marital Conflict

It's a new year with a clean slate...or is it? Do you experience the same conflicts over and over again seemingly making little or no progress to resolve them? Your not alone. Sharon and I have several conflicts like these that pop up with way too much regularity. Despite our best efforts to change, we end up going over the [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Conflict Resolution, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

Principle 4: Letting Your Partner Influence You

How important do you think it is to allow yourself to be influenced by your spouse? Men, is being a strong spiritual leader to your family mean that you have all the answers and that you don't need any help from your wife? Women, are you receptive to your husbands suggestions, or do you think he is as inept as [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

Principle 3: Turning Toward Each Other Instead of Away

Back in September we looked at how fueling your fondness and admiration for each other was one of the most cricial elements in a rewarding and long-lasting romance. This month, we will examine Dr. Gottman's 3rd Principle for making your marriage work. If you view Hollywood's formula for romance as the standard and have consistently fallen far short, I have [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

Principle 2: Nurturing Your Fondness and Admiration

Just in case anyone noticed, we skipped our August newsletter last month. It's been a little crazy in our house lately. We had one daughter get married and another have her first baby—which makes us first-time grandparents! With all the craziness that goes with those events, we decided to take a month off and relax. Now that we're rested and [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

Principle 1: Enhancing Your Love Maps

Last month we looked at 6 signs that you may have trouble in your marriage. This month we continue our series on Dr. John Gottman's classic book about marriage relationships, "The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work" and look at his first principle for making marriage work. How well do you know your spouse? Whether you've meen married 6 months [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:29-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments
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