Nashville Marriage Studio

There are two types of couples in the world.

The ones who argue. And the ones who don’t.

I’ve never been part of a relationship that doesn’t argue, so I don’t have tons to say about them. I meet them all the time, though. They’re usually smiling and they look at each other and say things like, “Oh, we never argue.”

Sometimes I want to cry out “Bull poopie!” I mean, I can’t watch reality tv without getting emotional about something, so I wonder how on earth two people could be in a relationship where things were always smooth sailing. Honestly, though? I believe them. Some couples are made up of two easy-going people who aren’t necessarily inclined to fight or argue about much of anything.

Then there’s the rest of us. The rest of us argue. Some of us have small arguments all the time. Others of us have huge blow outs occasionally. Either way, many of us on this side of the fence wish we could be more like the other couples. I know I have wished that wish many times.

And then I read The Marry Blogger’s recent post about the I Promise Marriage Conference with the Smalleys and one of the nuggets of wisdom he gathered was this:

Disagreement is the doorway to better relationships. – Gary Smalley

Many of us arguing couples spend way too much time trying to find ways to stop fighting (i.e. hold it  in, focus on being more thankful, ignore your spouse) rather than trying to figure out how to use our disagreements in a productive way.
Disagreements are going to happen. Fights that end in The Ugly Cry are going happen. The question is do you know how to turn those moments in your relationship into the doorways that Gary Smalley is talking about? (Thank you so much for sharing what you learned, The Marry Blogger!)

If you’re one of the arguing couples that wants to turn your arguments into healing moments that cause your relationship to grow then check out the Bound Together Workshop. It’s geared towards couples who are about to get married, but it’s truly designed for any couple that wants to begin building a stronger relationship. The only additional perk for the engaged couple is that they get $60 off their TN marriage license.

The workshop is $99 and some change/couple if you register at the Eventbrite site. Use the discount code Blog to get 50% off.

Or just email me at marie.mckinney@gmail.com and let me know you guys are going to show up. Mention you read the Nashville Marriage Studio blog and I’ll sign you up for a flat $50/couple.

The last Bound Together Workshop of 2009 is on October 23rd & 24th at 241 Wilson Pike Circle, Brentwood, Tennessee.

What’s stopping you from turning that disagreement into a doorway?