Second marriages are by nature more complicated and more at-risk for divorce than first marriages (over 60 percent divorce rate, compared to around 50 percent for first-time marriages). Yet it's also clear that remarriages need the same strong and consistent nurturing as first marriages. No matter what your stage of life or circumstance, with some extra TLC and effective communication, your second marriage can succeed.

My wife and I agreed that if we use any piece of exercise apparatus, we reward each other with a rubdown. Not only was our new plan genius, compared to all the rest it was a fairly cheap piece of equipment. I've got to tell you, this plan changed our lives. Not that we started exercising more. That sad attempt at a reward system master plan lasted all of a week. We've simply skipped the exercise part and gone right to the table.

I read a Washington Post news story about the latest blast of data from a major think tank on issues linked to marriage. Let’s start with at the top, which includes language that will inspire legions of preachers to step into their pulpits and a remind their listeners that — chant this, if you will — couples “that pray together, stay together.”

The shiny BMW motorcycle startled me as it rumbled into my parents' driveway and stopped beside my husband and me. In disbelief, I watched John,* a high-school boyfriend from more than 20 years ago, dismount and remove his helmet. After a confusion of hugs and handshakes, John insisted I not let his surprise visit disrupt the after-dinner walk with my family we were just beginning. Instead, he invited himself along.

I’m curious about your thoughts and experiences. Has your own marriage taken a hit because of ministry? Have you known others whose has? Or, on the flip side, how have you seen marriages flourish from ministry involvement?

The fantasy of marriage looks a lot different from reality. Here's a wake-up call.

Chelsea Clinton, raised Methodist, and Marc Mezvinsky, Jewish, got married this weekend. Statistics show that 37 percent of Americans have a spouse of a different faith. Statistics also show that couples in interfaith marriages are "three times more likely to be divorced or separated than those who were in same-religion marriages." Is interfaith marriage good for American society? Is it good for religion? What is lost -and gained -when religious people intermarry?

Statistics indicate that a growing number of Americans are marrying someone from outside their own religious commitments. Is this a trend we should encourage? Not if you are committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The National Organization for Marriage continued its Summer for Marriage Tour 2010, holding a rally at the State House in Providence, R.I. NOM’s goal is to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. According to NOM President Brian Brown, about 150 same-sex marriage supporters “came right into our crowd...getting in people’s faces and shouting at our marriage supporters. These activists simply embarrassed themselves and their cause. Mocking religion. Mocking children.

Having an escape option in marriage is what makes it easy to quit. Deciding to take divorce off the table can help bring a couple back to a place where God can restore their union.