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I LOVE THEE, I LOVE THEE NOT -PART 4C

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A good marriage isn't necessarily an easy marriage. Take, for example, our friends Dan and Debbie. They fell desperately in love during high school and got married in college. The intoxication of young love was intense, but so was the hangover when infatuation wore off. Both came from divorced parents, so they had few good role models of happy marriages. Both were stubborn and willful. Lots of days they just didn't like each other and wondered whether they should be married at all. So many members of their extended families had divorced that failure was almost expected. They felt quite alone.

Yet today, 25 years later, Dan and Debbie make one of the best marriages we know. Their differences complement each other. They encourage and strengthen many others through their hospitality and outreach.

	"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

How did they make it? The answer has to do with faith. During their high school years both had come to trust in Jesus Christ. In fact, their faith drew them together in that intoxicating love. Through their struggles, they lost the intoxication but not the faith. They held on to the conviction that God loved them. They believed God wanted them to persist—and they were deeply committed to following God. That gave them the extra strength they needed. They came out tested and strong.

When we see people struggling in their marriage, this is our message, before any other: God is for you as a married couple. Too often your friends and family aren't sure. When they recognize the depth of your differences, they may stand back and wait to see if you self-destruct.

God is unreservedly on your side, not in some abstract and theoretical sense, but in earthy, deeply practical ways. He doesn't wait to see how marriage works out. He works for your marriage.

When Jesus was asked about divorce, he didn't speak to the legalities. Nor did he offer advice on how to overcome problems. His response went directly to God: "Haven't you read in your Bible that the Creator originally made man and woman for each other, male and female?. . .Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart" (Matthew 19:4, 6, The Message).

An important corollary is this: God is working on your spouse. Sooner or later every married person comes to the traumatic realization that his or her mate has character flaws. We don't mean bad habits, such as leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor. If your spouse can't be trusted to tell the truth, or shows an uncontrollable temper, or reacts with fear and rigidity to change, those are character flaws. You probably have limited leverage to change them. Those flaws are well defended!

However, you aren't the only one involved. God is working on your spouse. (He's also working on you.) Sometimes your job is simply to trust God's pace of change. Tell God, "I trust you to do what you need to do with my partner. Take the time you need: I give it to you."

When marriage partners have that kind of faith, they learn to accept each other. They don't have to like each other's character defects. Nor should they ignore them. (If your spouse abuses you or has problems with alcohol, for example, intervention is essential.) Accepting each other means you accept Jesus as the person in charge of your partner's life. If Jesus is willing to work patiently with such material—and to love it despite the obvious flaws—you can be willing to do the same. Such faith helps a marriage endure and grow.

Making faith work for your marriage
So far we've talked about faith as a way of looking at the world—a perspective that brings God into your understanding of reality. To make faith a pillar in your marriage takes more than perspective, though. Some practical steps are necessary.

Find a church where you can worship together. How basic can you get? Yet some marriages fail to settle this fundamental point. If you don't attend church, or if you sit in different pews on Sunday morning, you'll have a hard time building your marriage on faith. Likewise, if you're in the same building but one partner is mentally out to lunch, your "spiritual unity" will be fractured.

Some neighborhood friends of ours used to faithfully attend a nearby church. We thought they were happy there until one day Beth stopped us in the street. "What do I have to do," she asked, "if I want to go to your church?"

It came out that her husband, Peter, had attended her church for years but never really liked it. Recently, some events had completely alienated him. He swore he was done attending. Worse, their children followed his lead and wanted to stay home too.

It was difficult for Beth to stop attending her church. She realized, though, that her family needed a church they all could appreciate. Though she agonized over leaving the church traditions she'd grown up with, the traditions she loved, Beth began attending our church with Peter. Soon the whole family became involved. They never miss a service. Beth has come to love our church deeply. She has no regrets, because she loves going to church with her whole family.

The point is not that our particular church is wonderful. The same thing has happened with some families leaving our church. While we regret losing them, we understand their need. To build your marriage on faith, you need to worship together. Church provides a common starting point for everything you do—and especially for your life of faith together.

Find a community of faith for you as a couple. This isn't the same as finding a place to worship together. A "fellowship" group or a Bible study often supply such support. You need people who, like God, are for you as a married couple—people who know you both well, who interact with you frequently, and who believe in you as a unit.

Early in our marriage, we had a Bible study with a collection of single and married couples from several different churches. We met in our apartment, and not all the meetings were fabulous or inspiring. Some people who came had deep problems, and sometimes those threatened to dominate the group. Nevertheless, that group came to know us intimately, and they shared their lives with us. They believed in us! As a married couple, we grew closer in faith through that small, struggling community.

Pray together. For many couples, this is difficult advice. They can't explain what the problem is—after all, they're not shy about sleeping together—but when they try to pray they feel awkward.

Prayer is a deeply intimate exercise, with great personal vulnerability. Every couple needs to find a way that's comfortable to them. Charlie Shedd, a wise counselor, used to advise couples to pray silently while holding hands, and then tell each other what they'd prayed. We've known couples who could only pray together reading from a prayer book. Whatever works!

Sometimes couples have such an idealistic conception of what family prayer should be, it keeps them from praying. We're grateful we haven't suffered from such high standards. For us, prayer is usually a few minutes at the beginning of the day, done "on the fly." Nevertheless prayer is a connection point for our day. It reminds us our faith is the glue that holds us together.

God made your marriage. He put you together. He isn't a God who goes halfway. He doesn't give up on something he's started. God is for your marriage. Get a grip on that, and it will make a strong pillar for your marriage.

Inside all of us is a Love Bank with accounts in the names of everyone we know. When these people are associated with our good feelings, "love units" are deposited into their accounts, and when they are associated with our bad feelings, love units are withdrawn. We are emotionally attracted to people with positive balances and repulsed by those with negative balances. This is the way our emotions encourage us to be with people who seem to treat us well, and avoid those who seem to hurt us.

The emotional reactions we have toward people, whether attraction or repulsion, is not a matter of choice. Love Bank balances cause them. Try "choosing" to be attracted to those you associate with some of your worst experiences -- it's almost impossible. Or try to feel repulsed by those associated with your best feelings. You do not decide whom you will like or dislike -- it's their association with your feelings, whether they have made Love Bank deposits or withdrawals, that determines your emotional reactions to them.

We like those with positive Love Bank balances and dislike those with negative balances. But if an account reaches a certain threshold, a very special emotional reaction is triggered -- romantic love. We no longer simply like the person -- we are in love. It's a feeling of incredible attraction to someone of the opposite sex.

The feeling of love is the way our emotions encourage us to spend more time with someone who takes especially good care of us -- someone who is effective at making us very happy and knows how to avoid making us unhappy. We would certainly want to spend time with someone we simply liked, but by giving us the feeling we call love, our emotions give us added motivation. We find ourselves not only wanting to be with the person, but also craving that person. When we are together we feel fulfilled, and when apart we feel lonely and incomplete. So the feeling of love is usually effective not only in drawing people together for significant amounts of time, but also in encouraging them to spend their entire lives together in marriage.

But our emotions give us more than the feeling of love. When they identify someone who makes us happy, they also motivate us to reciprocate by encouraging us to make that person happy. They do this by making it seem almost effortless to do what makes most of us the happiest. Have you ever noticed that when you are in love, you seem instinctively affectionate, conversant, admiring and willing to make love? That's because your emotions want to keep that person around, so it gives you instincts to help you make that person happy which, if effective, triggers his or her feeling of love for you. The "look of love" not only communicates our feeling of love for someone, but also reflects our instinct to do whatever it takes to make that person happy.

When a man and woman are both in love, their emotions encourage them to make each other happy for life. In fact, the thought of spending life apart is usually frightening. It seems to them that they were made to be together for eternity. In almost every case, a man and woman marry because they are in love, and they are in love because their love bank balances are above the romantic love threshold.

But what goes up can usually come down, and love bank balances are no exception. As most married couples have discovered, the feeling of romantic love is much more fragile than originally thought. And if Love Bank balances drop below the romantic love threshold, a couple not only lose their feeling of passion for each other, but they lose their instinct to make each other happy. What was once effortless now becomes awkward, and even repulsive. Instead of the look of love, couples have the look of apathy. And without love, a husband and wife no longer want to spend their lives together. Instead, they start thinking of divorce, or at least living their lives apart from one another.

It should be obvious to you by now that the Love Bank is an extremely important concept in marriage. If you want your instincts and emotions to support your marriage you must keep your Love Bank accounts over the romantic love threshold. But how can you keep your balances that high? And what can you do if they have already fallen below that threshold?

I've worked long and hard to find answers to those questions, because they hold the key to saving marriages. Without love, spouses are poorly motivated to remain married for life, but with the restoration of love and its accompanying instinct to spend life together, the threat of divorce is overcome. Marriages are saved when love is restored.

All of my remaining basic concepts will help me explain the answer to those questions, but the general principle is simple: If a couple wants to have a happy and fulfilling marriage, they must make as many Love Bank deposits as possible and avoid making withdrawals. To achieve this, behavior must change. A husband and wife must learn how to make each other happy, and how to stop making each other unhappy.

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I LOVE THEE, I LOVE THEE NOT -PART 4B

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The following content is taken directly from www.usc.edu/dept/MSC/humanrelations/womeninislam/marriage.html:

Marriage

Prof. Abdur Rahman I. Doi Professor and Director, Center for Islamic Legal Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, Nigeria.

Importance of Marriage in Islam

And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your hearts. Undoubtedly in these are signs for those who reflect. (30:21)

And Allah has made for you your mates of your own nature, and made for you, out of them, sons and daughters and grandchildren, and provided for you sustenance of the best. (16:72)

"O you young men! Whoever is able to marry should marry, for that will help him to lower his gaze and guard his modesty." (Al-Bukhari)

The importance of the institution or marriage receives its greatest emphasis from the following hadith of the Prophet,

"Marriage is my sunna. Whosoever keeps away from it is not from me."

The word zawaj is used in the Qur'an to signify a pair or a mate. But in common parlance it stands for marriage. Since the family is the nucleus of Islamic society, and marriage is the only way to bring families into existence, the Prophet (peace be upon him) insisted upon his followers entering into marriage The Shari'ah prescribes rules to regulate the functioning of the family so that both spouses can live together in love, security, and tranquillity. Marriage in Islam has aspects of both 'ibadah (worship) of Allah and mu'amalah (transactions between human beings).

In its 'ibadah aspect, marriage is an act pleasing to Allah because it is in accordance with his commandments that husband and wife love each other and help each other to make efforts to continue the human race and rear and nurse their children to become true servants of Allah.

In its mu'amalah aspect, marriage being a lawful response to the basic biological instinct to have sexual intercourse and to procreate children, the Shari'ah has prescribed detailed rules for translating this response into a living human institution reinforced by a whole framework of legally enforceable rights and duties, not only of the spouses, but also of their offspring.

These aspects are beautifully explained in a tradition of the Prophet. It is narrated by Anas that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,

"When a man marries, he has fulfilled half of his religion, so let him fear Allah regarding the remaining half."

Conditions of Marriage

However, according to the Maliki school, under certain conditions it is obligatory (fard) for a Muslim to marry even if he is not in a position to earn his living:

• If he fears that by not marrying he will commit fornication (zina).
• If he is unable to fast to control his passions or his fasting does not help him to refrain from zina.
• Even if he is unable to find a slave girl or a destitute girl to marry.

The Hanafi school considers marriage as obligatory (fard) for a man:

• If he is sure that he will commit zina if he does not marry.
• If he cannot fast to control his passions or even if he can fast, his fast does not help him to control his passion.
• If he cannot get a slave-girl to marry.
• If he is able to pay the dowry (mahr) and to earn a lawful livelihood.

It is not desirable (makruh) for a man who possesses no sexual desire at all or who has no love for children or who is sure to be slackened in his religious obligations as a result of marriage.

In a beautiful tradition the Prophet (peace be upon him) has given the most important point that should weigh with every Muslim in selecting his bride:

"Whoever marries a woman solely for her power and position, Allah will only increase him in humiliation. Whoever marries a woman solely for her wealth, Allah will only increase him in poverty. Whoever marries a woman because of her beauty, Allah will only increase him in ugliness. But whoever marries a woman in order that he may restrain his eyes, observe cautiousness, and treat his relations kindly, Allah puts a blessing in her for him and in him for her."

Since believing men and women are referred to in the Qur'an, a woman also has the right to look at her potential husband.

The special permission for men and women to see each other with a view to matrimony does not contravene the code of conduct for believing men and women to lower their gaze and be modest which is laid down in the Holy Qur'an.

Ijbar: A Safety Valve

Do not prevent them from marrying their husbands when they agree between themselves in a lawful manner. (2: 232)

It may sometimes happen that in her immaturity or over-zealousness, a girl may want to marry a man about whom she has distorted information or who does not possess good character or who lacks proper means of livelihood. In such a case, it is better, or rather incumbent upon the girl's father or guardian, that, in the wider interests of the girl, he restrains her from marrying such a worthless man and finds a suitable person to be her husband. Generally speaking, such marriages arranged by fathers and guardians work better than a marriage brought about through western courtship.

The case of Abu Juham bin Hudhaifah and Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan is relevant here. They proposed marriage to Fatimah bint Ghaith. The Prophet (peace be upon him) advised Fatimah not to marry either of them on the grounds that Mu'awiyah was then a pauper and Abu Juham was cruel and harsh. So she married Usamah.

The Free Consent of the Parties

"The widow and the divorced woman shall not be married until their order is obtained, and the virgin shall not be married until her consent is obtained." (AlBukhari)

"When a man gives his daughter in marriage and she dislikes it, the marriage shall be annulled." Once a virgin girl came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said that her father had married her to a man against her wishes. The Prophet gave her the right to repudiate the marriage. (Abu Dawud).

And when you divorce women, and they have come to the end of their waiting period, hinder them not from marrying other men if they have agreed with each other in a fair manner. (2: 232)

And if any of you die and leave behind wives, they bequeath thereby to their widows (the right to) one year's maintenance without their being obliged to leave (their husband's home), but if they leave (the residence) of their own accord, there is no blame on you for what they do with themselves in a lawful manner. (2:234)

Prohibited Marriage Partners

And marry not those women whom your fathers married, except what has already happened (of that nature) in the past. Lo! it was ever lewdness and abomination, and an evil way. Forbidden unto you are your mothers and your daughters, and your sisters and your father's sisters and your mother's sisters, and your brother's daughters and your sister's daughters, and your foster-mothers and your foster-sisters, and your mothers-in-law and your step-daughters who are under your mother-in-law and your step-daughters who are under your protection (born) of your women unto whom you have gone into -- but if you have not gone into them, then it is no sin for you (to marry their daughters) -- and the wives of your sons from your own loins, and that you should have two sisters together, except what has already happened (of that nature) in the past. Allah is ever-Forgiving, Merciful. (4:22 - 24)

1. His mother
2. His step-mother (this practice continues in Yoruba land in Nigeria, where in some cases the eldest son inherits the youngest wife of his father)
3. His grandmother (including father's and mother's mothers and all preceding mothers e.g. great grandmothers )
4. His daughter (including granddaughters and beyond )
5. His sister (whether full, consanguine or uterine)
6. His father's sisters (including paternal grandfather's sisters)
7. His mother's sisters (including maternal grandmother's sisters)
8. His brother's daughters
9. His foster mother
10. His foster mother's sister
11. His sister's daughter
12. His foster sister
13. His wife's mother
14. His step-daughter (i.e. a daughter by a former husband of a woman he has married if the marriage has been consummated. However, if such a marriage was not consummated, there is no prohibition)
15. His real son's wife

Temporary prohibitions are those which arise only on account of certain special circumstances in which the parties are placed. If the circumstances change, the prohibition also disappears. They are as follows:

1. A man must not have two sisters as wives at the same time nor can he marry a girl and her aunt at the same time.
2. A man must not marry a woman who is already married. However this impediment is removed immediately if the marriage is dissolved either by the death of her former husband, or by divorce followed by completion of the period of 'iddah (retreat).
3. A man must not have more than four wives at one time. This impediment is, of course, removed as soon as one of the wives dies or is divorced.
4. A man must not marry a woman during her 'iddah.

...but do not make a secret contract with them except in honourable terms, nor resolve on the tie of marriage till the term prescribed is fulfilled. (2:235)

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I LOVE THEE, I LOVE THEE NOT -PART 4A



The concept of A LIFETIME Marriage is no longer to be taken for granted but to be taken SERIOUSLY.

In my search for jokes and quotes, I can across so many online "marriage universities" offering courses from premarital course to solving conflicts!

Here I am taking this rare opportunity to share with you a few websites which I hope will be handy when you need it or anyhow, KNOWLEDGE IS POWERFUL,hence,SEEK THEM for your PIECE OF MIND! AMEN.

The second portion of the text I have taken directly from www.marriagebuilders.com ,these are two other interesting sites which may interest you; www.2equal1.com and http://marriage.about.com, and special site I found for Muslims, www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/humanrelations/womeninislam/marriage.html ; from the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.


Happy reading and once again,I thank you for sharing.


Always,

~*~ShAkirA~*~


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MARRIAGE QUOTES #1


Nuns: Women who marry God.


If they divorce Him, do they get half the universe?


Perfection is what American women expect to find in their husbands, but English women only hope to find in their butlers. -- W. Somerset Maugham


Republican boys date Democratic girls. They plan to marry Republican girls, but feel they're entitled to a little fun first.


Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.


Shotgun wedding: a case of wife or death.


Spinster: A bachelor's wife.


Suicide is belated acquiescence in the opinion of one's wife's relatives.


Question: Ted Kennedy: "Where was George?"
Answer: Dry, sober, and at home with his wife


The days just before marriage are like a snappy introduction to a tedious book.


To heck with marrying a girl who makes biscuits like her mother--I want to marry one who makes dough like her father.


MARRIAGE QUOTES #2


The difference between marriage and death? Dead people are free.


The husband who wants a happy marriage should learn to keep his mouth shut and his checkbook open. -- Groucho Marx


The marriage of Marxism and feminism has been like the marriage of husband and wife depicted in English common law: Marxism and feminism are one, and that one is Marxism. --Heidi Hartmann [The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism]


The most happy marriage I can imagine to myself would be the union of a deaf man to a blind woman. -- S. T. Coleridge


The only one of your children who does not grow up and move away is your husband.


The theory used to be you marry an older man because they are more mature. The new theory is that men don't mature. So you might as well marry a younger one.


There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage. -- James Holt McGavran


To keep your marriage brimming With love in the marriage cup, Whenever you're wrong, admit it, Whenever you're right, shut up. -- Nash

MARRIAGE QUOTES #3

This delivery driver carries no money. His wife has it all.


We in the industry know that behind every successful screenwriter stands a woman. And behind her stands his wife. -- Groucho Marx


We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart. -- H.L. Mencken


What's new? Most of my wife.


When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her. -- Guitry


When marriage is outlawed, only outlaws will have inlaws.


Why bother with marriage? Just find a woman you hate and buy her a house.


Wife: The perfect acquisition for any gentleman feeling himself to have excessive control over his personal affairs.


You will marry into an Indian tribe and become one big Hopi family.


MARRIAGE QUOTES #4

All marriages are happy--it's the living together afterward that causes all the problems.


Did you hear about the scientist whose wife had twins? He baptized one and kept the other as a control.


Disclaimer: Even my wife doesn't agree with everything I say, and she loves me dearly. My employers don't love me nearly as much as she does. Draw your own conclusions.


It was very good of God to let Carlyle and Mrs Carlyle marry one another and so make only two people miserable instead of four, besides being very amusing.


May you be blessed with a wife so healthy and strong, she can pull the plow when your horse drops dead.


May you learn to perform miracles: earn a living and marry off your daughters.


May your daughters marry men of substance: gypsies with two bears.


Sign in a marriage counselor's window: "Out to lunch - Think it over."


The gods gave man fire and he invented fire engines. They gave him love and he invented marriage.


There is no realizable power that man cannot, in time, fashion the tools to attain, nor any power so secure that the naked ape will not abuse it. So it is written in the genetic cards - only physics and war hold him in check. And the wife who wants him home by five, of course. -- Encyclopaedia Apocryphia


MARRIAGE QUOTES #5


I belong to Bridegrooms Anonymous.


Whenever I feel like getting married, they send over a lady in a housecoat and hair curlers to burn my toast for me. -- Dick Martin


I do not see the EEC as a great love affair. It is more like nine desperate middle-ages couples with failing marriages meeting at a Brussels hotel for a group grope. -- Tynan


I think of my wife and I think of Lot, and I think of the lucky break he got.


I tried a mail order bride, once, but she was damaged in the mail, and I had to return the unused part for my full refund.


I've been asked to say a couple of words about my husband, Fang. How about 'short' and 'cheap'? -- Phyllis Diller


I've been trying desperately to save my marriage for the last 35 years.


If all men were brothers, would you let one marry your sister?


If you are afraid of loneliness, do not marry. -- Chekhov


If you never want to see a man again, say, "I love you, I want to marry you, I want to have children..." - they leave skid marks. -- Rita Rudner

MARRIAGE QUOTES #6

If your wife wants to learn how to drive, don't stand in her way.


In marriage, as in war, it is permitted to take every advantage of the enemy. In marriage, the bridge gets a shower. But for the groom, it's curtains!


Jimmy Carter as President is like Truman Capote marrying Dolly Parton. The job is just too big for him. -- Rich Little


Joint Checking Account: a handly little device which permits my wife to beat me to the draw.


Long engagements give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which is never advisable. -- Oscar Wilde


Losing a wife can be hard. In my case, it was almost impossible.


Love thy neighbor, but make sure her husband is away first.


Love: An obsessive delusion that is cured by marriage.


Man and wife make one fool.


MARRIAGE QUOTES #7


Many a wife thinks her husband is the world's greatest lover. But she can never catch him at it.


Marriage is a matter of give and take, but so far I haven't been able to find anybody who'll take what I have to give. -- Cass Daley


Marriage is a mutual relationship if both parties know when to be mute.


Marriage is a rest period between romances.


Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering.


Marriage is a trip between Niagara Falls and Reno.


Marriage is an institution--but who wants to live in an institution?


Marriage is bliss. Ignorance is bliss.


Ergo... Marriage is like a hot bath. Once you get used to it, it's not so hot.


MARRIAGE QUOTES #8


Marriage is like a mousetrap.


Those on the outside are trying to get in. Those on the inside are trying to get out.


Marriage is low down, but you spend the rest of your life paying for it.


Marriage is the process of finding out what kind of man your wife would have preferred.


Marriage is the sole cause of divorce.

Marriage means commitment. Of course, so does insanity.


Marriage still confers one very special privilege - only a married person can get divorced.


Marriage: A ceremony in which rings are put on the finger of the lady and around the hands and feet of the man.


Marriage: the only sport in which the trapped animal has to buy the license.


Marriages are made in heaven and consummated on Earth. -- John Lyly


MARRIAGE QUOTES #9


Marry not a tennis player. For love means nothing to them.


May you be too good for the world and not good enough for your wife.


May you grow so rich your widow's second husband never has to worry about a living, God forbid.


May you live happily ever after with a poor, ugly, shrewish wife.


May you never leave your marriage alive.


May your wife be a witch who takes after her mother, and may you all live together in a one-room house.


Men have a much better time of it than women; for one thing, they marry later; for another thing, they die earlier. --H.L. Mencken


My darling wife was always glum. I drowned her in a cask of rum, And so made sure that she would stay, In better spirits night and day.


My opinions are my wife's, and she says I'm lucky to have them.


MARRIAGE QUOTES #10

My other wife is beautiful.


My wife doesn't care what I do away from home, as long as I don't enjoy it.


My wife has a split personality, and I hate both of them.


My wife ran off with my best friend last week. I miss him!


My wife says if I go fishing one more time she's going to leave me. Gosh, I'm going to miss her.


My wife submits and I obey; she always lets me have her way.


Never be unfaithful to a lover, except with your wife. -- PJ O'Rourke


No man should marry until he has studied anatomy and dissected at least one woman. -- Honore de Balzac


Nothing says loving like marrying your cousin! -- Al Bundy


I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.



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