User talk:Biyaki

By: Mercyline Biyaki Mood: jovial and loving. Hobbies: traveling, making, and chatting friends Language: English, Kiswahili, Kisii Nationality: Kenyan Likes:

YOUR FRIENDSHIP IS A TREASURE TO ME Some friends do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers. You friendship is a precious treasure I want to thank you for being part of my life. Flowers die, stories end, songs fade, memories forgotten and all things end. But precious people like you will are treasured forever (Isaiah 65:17-25) Friends are the roses in our life which ensure that we forget the thorns thanks for emitting to me sweet fragrance of friendship it as been a privilege to my life. I want to thank you for being a part of my life I know I can count on you in difficult times to share with you happy moments

MY POEM TO YOU Love is a great adventure it may be difficult but it is also very beautiful I need to look at you young man, To be able to admire you And discover you Your hidden riches I also need you To help me Find mine

I need you to tell me Your thoughts, your feelings and your plans So that I will not be a afraid To tell you mine I need to see you standing and walking on your own Without the crutches provided by so many willing girls I need you to look at me And be at my side So that I may know That you are more than Someone you seek When you are bored

I also need the joy of holding Your warm hands in mine And the happiness Of feeling your arm Resting on my shoulder So that I may know That young man’s arms Are not just traps Set to catch us And finally I need your friendship Just as you, need mine. Love is a plant of heavenly growth and it must be fostered and nourished. Affectionate hearts, truthful, loving words, will make happy families and exert an elevating influence upon all who come within the sphere of their influence. Thank God for who you are and for being able to love and be loved. Dear friends let us love one another because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God (1ST John 4:7-8)

A WOMAN To be a woman is to have the Same needs and belongings as a Man. We need love and wish To give it. If only we all could Accept that there is no difference Between us where human values Are concerned, whatever sex. Whatever the life we Choose to live.

Remember to keep your life in Balance. There is more to happiness Than having an immediate friend You have a whole world to Explore, a full life to live A career to enjoy. And being happy But single is far better than Married and bitter.

The power of love Love is power. Intellectual and moral strength are involved in this principle, and cannot be separated from it. The power of wealth has a tendency to corrupt and destroy; the power of force is strong to do hurt; but the excellence and value of pure love consist in its efficiency to do well, and to do nothing else than good.

My desires Love, Peaceful, happy union, escape of future misery and sorrow, to be with you forever until death separates us. Let us keep our wants, Joys, sorrows, cares, and our fears before God. The hearth yearns for human love, but this love is not strong enough, or precious enough to supply the place of the love of Jesus. Only in the saviour can give a person or a woman find wisdom, strength, and grace to meet the cares, responsibilities, and sorrows of life. I know that I can count on you in difficult times I know I can share with you happy moments and also know that our friendship is based on mutual love. I will give you everything you love in me and I will make sure that its enough for you, I will shows you how I feel to let you know that my love is real and I will make sure that its enough. I wish I would have a journey through your mind and find emotions that you always try to hide, I do believe that ther’s life a want to share in takin care of you.

MY aspiration I love you and I want to spend my entire life with you. Your love to me is strong I thank you for that let God strengthen it Yours truly, My dear before entering into marriage we need to inquire whether: Will our destiny will be worthy? Will we find true peace and joy in our affection or relationship? Will you allow me to preserve my individuality or must my judgments and conscience be surrendered to the control of you? Will our body and soul, thoughts and purpose, be preserved pure and holy? Will this union be heavenward? Will it increase my love for God? Will it enlarge my sphere of usefulness in this life? Will you be patient with my mistakes? When the novelty of marriage is over will you love me still?

It is great to enjoy the attentions Of a partner, God designed It that way, but it’s Necessary to stay in control.

Marriage and God One thing important Choosing a partner who also l Likes you is sometimes a Difficult and frustrating But don’t rush in its The most important decision In our life.

Loving one another in the life long relationship of friendship or marriage can be a real gift of God. Having God as the centre of your friendship or marriage is incredibly important. God in his love can give us the ability to love, to forgive and to truly care for one another even when things get difficult. The good news is that god loves us and has wonderful plans for our relationship or marriage. Difficult times deepen us they help us move from the shallow plans of daily routines and the mad rush called modern living into the deeper realm of the spirit and we experience God’s power to pull us through the difficult times, it gives us faith and hope that will take care of us though whatever storms may come our way. In the ocean of life, god is our buoyant force no matter how strong the wind and how gigantic the waves are we will not sink because we are anchored to him. Good thoughts and action can never produce bad results, bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles. In the world that is full of obstacles a world where the challenges facing humanity keep on mounting day by day; all humanity are called upon to stand up and be counted! Don’t loose the focus; go for the bigger picture and you will soon realize that you are the best. In the presence of hope faith is born in the presence of faith love becomes a possibility and in the presence of love miracles happen. The human heart is a place where God resides. When we talk about the depth of a person, we are talking about something sacred. If we treat genital sexuality as something trivial as something which involves contact between bodies only and separated from the depths of the heart. The total physical self-giving becomes a lie.

Young man, You have often gone poaching in the Wood of love And many girls Have let themselves be caught in your arms.

But when you have boasted To you admiring friends about your success I have felt sickened.

You assure me that we have to seek Pleasure and enjoyment But I am not your plaything And you are not mine And love is not just a game Pleasure may not be a forbidden fruit But it is a fruit That has to ripen Before it is picked.

If I am uncertain, I bring you My uncertainty, If I am afraid, I bring you my fear, If I am undisciplined, I bring you My indiscipline If I am possessive, I bring you My possession. If I am sad a bring you my tears.

But if I am confident, I bring you my confidence If I am disciplined, I bring you My self-control. If I am generous, I bring you My generosity If I am joyful, I bring you My joy.

Friends in our life are like pillars on our porch. A real friend is a person who when you have made a fool of yourself lets you forget it. Good friendships always multiply our joy and divide our grief. Keep away from people who try to be little to your ambitions, small people always do that but the reality great people make you feel that you too can became great. You must be the person god has made you to be. Comfort zone I used to have a comfort zone Where I knew I couldn’t fail The same four walls of busy work Were really more fail

I longed so much to do the things I had never done before But I stayed inside my comfort zone And paced the same avoid floor.

I said it didn’t matter That I wasn’t doing much, I said I didn’t care the things Like dream, goals and much.

I claimed to be so busy With the things inside my zone But deep inside my I longed for Something special of my own

I couldn’t let my life go by, Just watching others win. I held my breath and stepped outside And let the change begin

I took as step with new strength I’d never felt before I kissed my comfort zone goodbye And closed and locked the door

If you are in a comfort zone Afraid to venture out Remember that all winners were At one time filled with doubt

A step of faith and wind of God Can make your dreams come true Greet your future with a smile Success is there for you!

Nice quotes Lean on my shoulder but let’s sign a lasting deal. I have walked That long road to freedom But I have discovered that after climbing A great hill, One only finds that there are many more hills to climb I have taken a moment here To rest (Nelson Mandela) A society that does not value its artist does not value its culture. And when society does not value its culture it sets stage for its progeny to become slaves of other culture. Once we can grasp that each moment contains some sign of the will of God, we shall find in all we can possibly desire for there is nothing more reasonable, more excellent more holy than his will. The present moment is always overflowing with immeasurable riches, far more than you are able to hold your faith will measure it out to you as believe so you will receive. A worthy goal So many days I had walked a lone And never thought I’ll find someone Who would fill the gap that aches my heart? And make me fill to never want Until the time I crossed your strees

You smiled at me I felt so complete It was then that I believed That way we talked the way you looked You are a worthy goal that I would mind

I took my time and came round a gain If I would see you satisfaction I would gain I searched you cut my heavely bliss My cloud a bove the clear skies

But what a fright you are not around I struggled to find where you were bound The truth was out so hard and cold Never would I see you as I would mind.

LOVE QUOTES When I first saw you, I said love Many girls flaunt their best designs but there was something missing. I will never starve coz you are my dream maker I could never trust pretty smiles Because looks are deceiving My life my time and my heart have all been dedicated to you You are always in my heart, always on my mind I came to you with open arms, nothing to hide believe what I say. If there’s one spark of hope left in my grasp I will hold it with both hands, it worth the risk of burning to have a second chance. I am leaving my life in your hands, how you got me blind is still a mystery I can’t get you out of my mind. I have tried to hide it so that no one knows but I guess it shows when you look into my eyes. Baby I know you are hunting, right now you feel like you could not love a gain. Now I will ask for a chance to prove that I love you. As I walk by you will get to know me a little more better girl, that’s the way love goes and I know you are a afraid to let your feelings show and I understand but get its time to let it go. But honey he is nothing like me darling why can’t you see.

The Hero                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The heavens were silent The earth weeped in pain Nations were trembling and hope never came A Terror filled the air And it wouldn't go away We needed a hero to come and save Famine and hunger, Disease in the land The hatred, the killing, taking lives from your hand Creation waits through the darkness we pray Tell me where is the hero to come and save Through the nails Through the thorns From the hill to the grave Was a voice in the distance,the lamb that was slain My soul had no song and my debt I couldn't pay When I needed a hero you came and you saved To the homeless The widow The fatherless son To the sick and the broken alone with no one Lift up your head your hope is on the way When we needed a hero you came and you saved the day

When the curtain had closed And it felt like the end When your blood caught the fall and took away every sin Even though men deny You're the only sacrifice That loved us enough you loved us so much Lord That you gave your life. See you saved my life Now I can see you I'm no longer ashamed Your power I feel, see our lives have exchanged Every wrong is erased, Jesus You are my hero you came and you saved the day The Holy Alphabet... This is Beautiful

Although things are not perfect Because of trial or pain Continue in thanksgiving Do not begin to blame Even when the times are hard Fierce winds are bound to blow God is forever able Hold on to what you know Imagine life without His love Joy would cease to be Keep thanking Him for all the things Love imparts to thee Move out of "Camp Complaining" No weapon that is known On earth can yield the power Praise can do alone Quit looking at the future Redeem the time at hand Start every day with worship To "thank" is a command Until we see Him coming Victorious in the sky We’ll run the race with gratitude Exalting God most high Yes, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but... Zion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!

"I AM Too blessed to be stressed!" The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. Love and peace be with you forever, Amen 75 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF An old proverb says, “He that cannot ask cannot live”. If you want answers you have to ask questions. These are 75 questions you should ask yourself and try to answer. You can ask yourself these questions right now and over the course of your life. 1. Why not me? 2. Am I nice? 3. Am I doing what I really want to do? 4. What am I grateful for? 5. What’s missing in my life? 6. Am I honest? 7. Do I listen to others? 8. Do I work hard? 9. Do I help others? 10. What do I need to change about myself? 11. Have I hurt others? 12. Do I complain? 13. What’s next for me? 14. Do I have fun? 15. Have I seized opportunities? 16. Do I care about others? 17. Do I spend enough time with my family? 18. Am I open-minded? 19. Have I seen enough of the world? 20. Do I judge others? 21. Do I take risks? 22. What is my purpose? 23. What is my biggest fear? 24. How can I conquer that fear? 25. Do I thank people enough? 26. Am I successful? 27. What am I ashamed of? 28. Do I annoy others? 29. What are my dreams? 30. Am I positive? 31. Am I negative? 32. Is there an afterlife? 33. Does everything happen for a reason? 34. What can I do to change the world? 35. What is the most foolish thing I’ve ever done? 36. Am I cheap? 37. Am I greedy? 38. Who do I love? 39. Who do I want to meet? 40. Where do I want to go? 41. What am I most proud of? 42. Do I care what others think about me? 43. What are my talents? 44. Do I utilize those talents? 45. What makes me happy? 46. What makes me sad? 47. What makes me angry? 48. Am I satisfied with my appearance? 49. Am I healthy? 50. What was the toughest time in my life? 51. What was the easiest time in my life? 52. Am I selfish? 53. What was the craziest thing I did? 54. What is the craziest thing I want to do? 55. Do I procrastinate? 56. What is my greatest regret? 57. What has had the greatest impact on my life? 58. Who has had the greatest impact on my life? 59. Do I stand up for myself? 60. Have I settled for mediocrity? 61. Do I hold grudges? 62. Do I read enough? 63. Do I listen to my heart? 64. Do I donate enough to the less fortunate? 65. Do I pray only when I want something? 66. Do I constantly dwell on the past? 67. Do I let other people’s negativity affect me? 68. Do I forgive myself? 69. When I help someone do I think “What’s in it for me”? 70. Am I aware that someone always has it worse than me? 71. Do I smile more than I frown? 72. Do I surround myself with good people? 73. Do I take time out for myself? 74. Do I ask enough questions? 75. What other questions do I have? God's Word brings us a comforting promise, along with an insightful command as we face a New Year: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5-6). We can live this coming year without fear if we apply these four incredibly wonderful truths to our lives and root them deep into our hearts. The Contentment of His Provision Contentment is not getting what you want, but it is wanting what you already have. First Timothy 6:6-8 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us therewith be content." If you know Jesus Christ, you have contentment. If you've got clothes on your back, something to eat, and Jesus Christ in your heart, you're rich! Do you know why we have fear? Because we think our needs or the needs of someone we love are not going to be met. Or we fear that the things we think are meeting our needs are going to be taken away from us. The deepest need of your heart can only be met in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Companionship of His Presence I don't know what I'm going to face next year. But there's one thing I know, He will never leave me. Are you a child of God? He will never leave you either. Isn't that wonderful! What's another reason we may fear in the coming year? Because we're afraid we're going to have to face something we don't understand, and we're going to have to face it alone. When God's Word promises that God will never forsake you, it literally means that He will never abandon you. He will not give up on you. We need to practice the presence of the Lord this coming year. When the devil comes and knocks at you heart's door, you can simply say, "Jesus, please go answer the door." The Confidence of His Promise We're going to zero in on a little phrase in our verses in Hebrews, "He hath said." A promise is no better than the one who makes it. Who says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"? It is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. This is the confidence of His promise. In the coming year, when you say, "God, I just don't have the strength." The omnipotent God will answer, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." When you say, "God, I'm afraid of what is going to happen." The omnipresent God says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." And when you say, "God, I don't know what to do." The omniscient God will respond, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." He himself hath said it. The Comfort of His Protection Hebrews 13:6 promises, "So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." Now, put that with verse five which says, "He hath said." Like I said earlier, I don't know what you're going to go through this coming year. But I know you can boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, so I will not fear what man shall do to me." When you find your contentment, companionship, and confidence in Jesus. Then, you'll find your comfort and courage in Jesus An interesting story A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said 'I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.' 'Is the man of the house home? they asked. 'No', she replied. 'He's out.' 'Then we cannot come in', they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. 'Go tell them I am home and invite them in!' The woman went out and invited the men in' 'We do not go into a House together,' they replied.. 'Why is that?' she asked. One of the old men explained: 'His name is Wealth,' he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, 'He is Success, and I am Love.' Then he added, 'Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.' The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed.. 'How nice!!', he said. 'Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!' His wife disagreed. 'My dear, why don't we invite Success?' Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: 'Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!' 'Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice,' said the husband to his wife. 'Go out and invite Love to be our guest.' The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, 'Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.' Love got up and started walking toward the house The other 2 also got up and followed him Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: 'I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?' The old men replied together: 'If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!' MY WISH FOR YOU...

-Where there is pain, I wish you peace and mercy. -Where there is self-doubting, I wish you a renewed confidence in your ability to work through it. -Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I wish you understanding, patience, and renewed strength. -Where there is fear, I wish you love, and courage..

Discover the 5 Keys to Habit Changing Success The Rose That Grew from Concrete Autobiographical Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete Proving nature's laws wrong it learned 2 walk without having feet Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams it learned 2 breathe fresh air Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared! In the Depths of Solitude Dedicated 2 Me I exist in the depths of solitude pondering my true goal Trying 2 find peace of mind and still preserve my soul CONSTANTLY yearning 2 be accepted and from all receive respect Never compromising but sometimes risky and that is my only regret A young heart with an old soul how can there be peace How can I be in the depths of solitude when there R 2 inside of me This Duo within me causes the perfect opportunity 2 learn and live twice as fast as those who accept simplicity Sometimes I Cry Sometimes when I'm alone I cry because I'm on my own The tears I cry R bitter and warm They flow with life but take no form I cry because my heart is torn and I find it difficult 2 carry on If I had an ear 2 confide in I would cry among my treasured friends But who do u know that stops that long to help another carry on The world moves fast and it would rather pass u by than 2 stop and c what makes u cry It's painful and sad and sometimes I cry and no one cares about why. Under the Skies Above After the Miscarriage My child is out there somewhere under the skies above waiting anxiously 4 u and me 2 bless it with our love A part of me a part of u and a part of this love we share will protect my unborn child who lives dormant out there somewhere Sometimes in my dreams I imagine what it would be like How could I properly guide him when even I don't know what's right Whether he is born in wealth or poverty there will be no deficiency in love I welcome this gift of life given from GOD under the skies above

In today's lesson, I'm gonna introduce you to the The S.M.A.R.T. HABITS-Building System. This is a simple system you can use to quickly start a successful habits-building program…

S – Start small M – Motivate yourself A – Accumulate positive habits R – Resist impulses T – Track it

And it's the same system we use to teach the members of MySmartHabits.com more than 52 success habits with great success. Let’s talk about each step in more details… S – START SMALL

We all want to improve ourselves and our place in the world. Sometimes radically. However, implementing "radical change" isn't always practical for people facing multiple pressures. It’s not like we can suddenly stop being parents, employees or employers, and running the household while we put all our improvements in place!

So how do you implement change and still continue to function day-to-day? By implementing small, easy improvements every day. This will put you on a continual path of bettering yourself and your situation.

While the daily improvements you make will be simple, over time they will add up to a radical transformation.

This is how change happens – step-by-step. And that is our approach in this program, slow and steady will win this race!

M – MOTIVATE YOURSELF

If you think you can break old bad habits, and build new positive habits easily, think again.

The fact is that good habits are hard to form, but easy to live with. Bad habits, on the other hand are easy to form, but hard to live with.

But don't panic. My job is to make sure you breeze through this journey smoothly and with a lot of joy.

My point here is, you need to put yourself into a high motivation status (and stay there) in order to achieve success. This training program has been designed to make sure you stay: •	Focused •	Motivated •	Disciplined

A – ACCUMULATE POSITIVE HABITS

The concept of short-term success or big changes is great, but short lived. For a long-term success, you'll need to take small, constant steps on your way to create successful change and improvement.

Slow and steady wins this race. Remember this always. By the end of this 12-month program, you'll realize how much you've grown, changed and improved. How much closer you are to living the life you want to live. If doesn't happen overnight, but it will happen!

For you to develop positive habits, you'll need to: •	Build positive habit #1 •	Build positive habit #2, while keeping habit #1 too •	Build positive habit #3, while keeping habits 2 &1 •	And so on… Got the idea?

This approach guarantees a low-pressure change, quick short-term success and most importantly, huge future success!

The good news is that the habits you'll be develop over the course of the next 12 lessons support each other. Each habit builds upon the next.

R – RESIST IMPULSES

Let's be honest… If you are a human being, then you will face temptation to return to your old bad habits. It's easier to stay in your comfort zone.

Unless you're a Robot or having an iron-like self-discipline, then it's normal to slip sometimes or find it difficult, especially at the start.

The solution? We need to make sure that you… •	Catch yourself when you feel that impulse •	Kill that temptation before it escalates •	Sharpen your self-discipline Remember what I said before? "Unless you're a robot or having an iron-like self-discipline, then it's normal to slip sometimes or find it difficult, especially at the start."

Well, considering that you are NOT a robot :), then your only choice is to develop an iron-like self-discipline. And you definitely can.

So get prepared for that! Self-disciplined is the best gift you can give yourself.

T – TRACK IT

Finally, you will need to keep track of your progress with those positive habits. You'll need to take notes, clarify any difficulties you faced in order to adjust your approach accordingly. As you know by now, you need to accumulate good habits overtime. So, it's not a surprise that after, say 3 months you'll be tracking 12-15 new positive habits in your life! What about 6 months? 24-30 new positive habits in your life… and so on.

This part can be The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert

Inside the Seattle Love Lab: The Truth about Happy Marriages It's a surprisingly cloudless Seattle morning as newlyweds Mark and Janice Gordon sit down to breakfast. Outside the apartment's picture window, the waters of Montlake cut a deep-blue swath, while runners jog and geese waddle along the lakeside park. Mark and Janice are enjoying the view as they munch on their French toast and share the Sunday paper. Later Mark will probably switch on the football game while Janice chats over the phone with her mom in St. Louis. All seems ordinary enough inside this studio apartment--until you notice the three video cameras bolted to the wall, the microphones clipped talk-show style to Mark's and Janice's collars, and the Holter monitors strapped around their chests. Mark and Janice's lovely studio with a view is really not their apartment at all. It's a laboratory at the University of Washington in Seattle, where for sixteen years I have spearheaded the most extensive and innovative research ever into marriage and divorce. As part of one of these studies, Mark and Janice (as well as forty-nine other randomly selected couples) volunteered to stay overnight in our fabricated apartment, affectionately known as the Love Lab. Their instructions were to act as naturally as possible, despite my team of scientists observing them from behind the one-way kitchen mirror, the cameras recording their every word and facial expression, and the sensors tracking bodily signs of stress or relaxation, such as how quickly their hearts pound. (To preserve basic privacy, the couples were monitored only from nine a.m. to nine p.m. and never while in the bathroom.) The apartment comes equipped with a fold-out sofa, a working kitchen, a phone, TV, VCR, and CD player. Couples were told to bring their groceries, their newspapers, their laptops, needlepoint, hand weights, even their pets--whatever they would need to experience a typical weekend. My goal has been nothing more ambitious than to uncover the truth about marriage--to finally answer the questions that have puzzled people for so long: Why is marriage so tough at times? Why do some lifelong relationships click, while others just tick away like a time bomb? And how can you prevent a marriage from going bad--or rescue one that already has? Predicting Divorce with 91 Percent Accuracy After years of research I can finally answer these questions. In fact, I am now able to predict whether a couple will stay happily together or lose their way. I can make this prediction after listening to the couple interact in our Love Lab for as little as five minutes! My accuracy rate in these predictions averages 91 percent over three separate studies. In other words, in 91 percent of the cases where I have predicted that a couple's marriage would eventually fail or succeed, time has proven me right. These predictions are not based on my intuition or preconceived notions of what marriage "should" be, but on the data I've accumulated over years of study. At first you might be tempted to shrug off my research results as just another in a long line of newfangled theories. It's certainly easy to be cynical when someone tells you they've figured out what really makes marriages last and can show you how to rescue or divorce-proof your own. Plenty of people consider themselves to be experts on marriage--and are more than happy to give you their opinion of how to form a more perfect union. But that's the key word--opinion. Before the breakthroughs my research provided, point of view was pretty much all that anyone trying to help couples had to go on. And that includes just about every qualified, talented, and well-trained marriage counselor out there. Usually a responsible therapist's approach to helping couples is based on his or her professional training and experience, intuition, family history, perhaps even religious conviction. But the one thing it's not based on is hard scientific evidence. Because until now there really hasn't been any rigorous scientific data about why some marriages succeed and others flop. For all of the attention my ability to predict divorce has earned me, the most rewarding findings to come out of my studies are the Seven Principles that will prevent a marriage from breaking up. Emotionally Intelligent Marriages What can make a marriage work is surprisingly simple. Happily married couples aren't smarter, richer, or more psychologically astute than others. But in their day-to-day lives, they have hit upon a dynamic that keeps their negative thoughts and feelings about each other (which all couples have) from overwhelming their positive ones. They have what I call an emotionally intelligent marriage. I can predict whether a couple will divorce after watching and listening to them for just five minutes. Recently, emotional intelligence has become widely recognized as an important predictor of a child's success later in life. The more in touch with emotions and the better able a child is to understand and get along with others, the sunnier that child's future, whatever his or her academic IQ. The same is true for relationships between spouses. The more emotionally intelligent a couple--the better able they are to understand, honor, and respect each other and their marriage--the more likely that they will indeed live happily ever after. Just as parents can teach their children emotional intelligence, this is also a skill that a couple can be taught. As simple as it sounds, it can keep husband and wife on the positive side of the divorce odds. Why Save Your Marriage? Speaking of those odds, the divorce statistics remain dire. The chance of a first marriage ending in divorce over a forty-year period is 67 percent. Half of all divorces will occur in the first seven years. Some studies find the divorce rate for second marriages is as much as 10 percent higher than for first-timers. The chance of getting divorced remains so high that it makes sense for all married couples--including those who are currently satisfied with their relationship--to put extra effort into their marriages to keep them strong. handled by simple paper trackers or software, more on this later.