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.

6 Signs of Trouble in Your Marriage

Last month we looked at some myths about marriage and what really makes a marriage work. This month we continue our series on Dr. John Gottman's classic book about marriage relationships, "The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work" and examine six signs that you may be having trouble in your marriage. When predicting if a couple will divorce, or stay [...]

Healthy Communication

As we continue looking at building and maintaining a healthy, connected marriage relationship when raising a family, this month we look at developing and maintaining healthy communication with our spouse. You often hear people saying “having good communication is important in your marriage relationship”. But what does that mean exactly? After all, there are many aspects to [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:28-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

What’s Your Priority?

This month we continue looking at building and maintaining a healthy, connected marriage relationship when raising a family as we examine the topic of priorities. One of the most common enemies of marital harmony—especially when we are parents—is misaligned priorities. It’s so easy to spend so much time and energy raising our kids that we don’t even [...]

Creating a Legacy of Love

We took a month off for Summer break and enjoyed a bit of what Colorado has to offer. This month, we're starting a new topic that I'm sure many married couples can relate to—how to maintain a healthy, growing marriage relationship in the midst of raising a family. We will spend the next few posts on this topic. It [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:28-05:00April 25, 2026|Love & Relationships, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments

Impaired Love Styles – Part 2

This month we wrap up our discussion of Milan & Kay Yerkovich's book titled, "How We Love". It shows how crucial our early childhood experiences are and how they impact how we give and receive love even today as adults. Last month we looked at two of the four love styles that impair how we love others, especially our [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:28-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Help & Healing, Love & Relationships|0 Comments

Impaired Love Styles – Part 1

Milan & Kay Yerkovich, in their book titled, "How We Love", have identified four love styles that impair how we love others, especially our spouse. They are: The Avoider Style, The Pleaser Style, The Vacillator Style, and The Chaotic (Controller & Victim) Style. Last month we examined how crucial our early childhood experiences are and how they impact how [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:28-05:00April 25, 2026|Communication, Help & Healing, Love & Relationships|0 Comments

The Importance of Being Comforted

Last month we started sharing excerpts and principles from Milan & Kay Yerkovich's book titled, "How We Love", which examines the connection between our childhood experiences and how we give and receive love as adults. We talked about why every marriage gets stuck sometimes and asked a pivotal question—"Can you recall being comforted as a child after a time [...]

How We Love

Every marriage has nagging problems calling for our attention. Some of us may come to the conclusion that our difficulties are because we married the wrong person. Those who decide to divorce and marry someone else soon find that the same issues keep popping up no matter who they are with. We seem to have the same chronic irritations [...]

Cherish is the word…

When you hear the word "cherish", what do you think of? I think of the 1966 song "Cherish" by the band The Association. Yeah, I'm THAT old. The song starts out with these lyrics... Cherish is the word I use to describe All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside When I hear the word cherish—almost [...]

Better Than Roses & Chocolates

As Valentine's Day approaches once again, you can almost smell the panic in many husbands and boyfriends knowing that their wives or girlfriends are wanting—and in many cases—perhaps even expecting something special to happen that day. I have a certain disdain for these “Hallmark” holidays contrived to sell more greeting cards, chocolates, and flowers than you can imagine. They [...]

By |2026-04-25T11:12:28-05:00April 25, 2026|Love & Relationships, Marriage Enrichment|0 Comments
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