This is a very good article. Read it. Those who are still single may learn something from here....Those who are already married may take it as a guideline to improve Your marriage....

DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?" I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind.

Here's the answer.

EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love. With your spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love...Because it's happening TO YOU. People in love sometimes say, "I was swept off my feet." Think about the imagery of that ___expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU. Falling is love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience.

But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?" And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON; IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND. SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to make" it day in and day out. That's why we have the ___expression "the labor of love." Because it takes time, effort, and energy, And most importantly, it takes WISDOM . You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage. Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable...you can "make" love work.

Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling

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"Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:24-25, RSV)

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28)

"Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything.Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:7, Philips)

You’re married and you’re female. How do you write your name? Let the 1987 Civil Code count the ways.

Under Article 370 of the 1987 Civil Code, a married woman may use:

(1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husband's surname,(i.e: Vanessa Abando-Galagala) or
(2) Her maiden first name and her husband's surname (i.e: Vanessa Galagala) or
(3) Her husband's full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as "Mrs." (i.e: Mrs. Marino Christopher Galagala)

Source:
Nolledo, Jose N. "The Family Code of the Philippines." The Civil Code of the Philippines. 2000 Revised Edition

With the 4th World Meeting of Families coming up next year, let us re-visit how the law defines the family.

The Family Code of the Philippines sees the family as the foundation of the nation and as a basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects. Consequently, family relations are governed by law and no custom, practice or agreement destructive of the family shall be recognized or given effect.

Article 150 states that family relations include those:

1. Between husband and wife;
2. Between parents and children;
3. Among brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half-blood.