Marriage Forecasting: Changing the Climate of Your Relationship One Conversation at a Time

What's the forecast for your marriage? Marriages are as variable as the weather, and every marriage has a climate. Some are chilly and lack intimacy. Others are stormy and filled with conflict. But while the weather outdoors is beyond our control, the communication climates within our homes can be changed--for the better. Communication specialist Tim Muehlhoff offers simple strategies for improving the climate of a marriage. Our individual words and actions always take place within an overall atmosphere of expectations. Without a healthy climate of trust, we are prone to miscommunication and misunderstanding. Muehlhoff shows how to take an accurate climate reading of a relationship and explains what causes climates of poor communication. With current research on marital communication, listening skills, empathy and conflict resolution, Marriage Forecasting provides practical ways for couples to rebuild a warm relational climate. Don't just talk about the weather. Break the cold front, clear the fog, and change the extended outlook for your marriage.

Tim Muehlhoff (Ph.D., University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill) is associate professor of communication at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he teaches classes in family communication, interpersonal communication and gender. Tim is the coauthor of The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith and Authentic Communication: Christian Speech Engaging Culture. He and his wife, Noreen, are frequent speakers at FamilyLife marriage conferences, and Tim has served with Campus Crusade for Christ since 1986. They live in Brea, California, with their three boys.
Dan B. Allender (PhD, counseling psychology, Michigan State University) is professor of counseling at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He taught previously at Grace Theological Seminary and Colorado Christian University. A speaker and writer, his books include The Healing Path, To Be Told, How Children Raise Parents, The Wounded Heart and Leading with a Limp. With Tremper Longman, he wrote Bold Love, Cry of the Soul, Intimate Allies and the Intimate Marriage Bible studies.