Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Dr. David Clarke with William G. Clarke's book, I Don't Want a Divorce: A 90-Day Guide to Saving Your Marriage, (Fleming H. Revell, 2009).

You and your spouse annoy each other more than enjoy each other.  There's very little romance left in your marriage, but plenty of conflicts.  All attempts so far to improve your relationship have failed.  You don't want to continue living like this, but you don't want the trauma of divorce, either.

What to do?  You can walk away from your old marriage and create a new and better one with your same spouse.  Here's how:

Face your problems.  Admit that your marriage has become so broken that it isn't working.  Don't waste any more time and energy wallowing in misery.  Instead, think of all the joy and satisfaction that you both and your children are missing with your marriage in its current state.  Let that motivate you to make changes.

Tear down your old marriage and start rebuilding.  Think of your old marriage as an unsafe building that must be torn down so a new building can be built in its place.  Set a solid foundation in place for your new marriage by constructing three pillars: growing closer to God through spiritual disciplines like regular prayer, Bible reading, and church attendance; both you and your spouse meeting with your own accountability partner weekly, and scheduling four times to talk as a couple each week for 20 to 30 minutes each time.

Repent.  Rather than blaming your spouse for the problems in your marriage, acknowledge that both of you have contributed to its breakdown.  Take responsibility for your own mistakes that have harmed the marriage.  Accept that you can't change your spouse, but you can change your own attitudes and actions, so focus on how God wants you to change.  Confess and repent of your sins in specific ways, and tell God how sorry you are about the impact your sins have had on your relationships with Him and others, such as your spouse.  Ask God to forgive you.  Commit to turning away from your sins and walking in the opposite direction - toward God - from now on.

Discuss your mistakes and work to correct them.  Write a letter to your spouse describing your mistakes from the day you met to today and expressing your repentance.  Ask your spouse to do the same.  Then read your letters out loud to one another, while you each take turns listening and making positive - not negative - comments about each other's letters.  Identify each of your top two mistakes and come up with a plan to correct those mistakes in your marriage.

Choose to be positive.  Even while your feelings toward your spouse are negative, you can decide to interact in positive ways that will eventually improve your feelings toward each other.  Figure out what specific behaviors you can do that will demonstrate that you care about your spouse; then follow through by doing them regularly.  Ask God to help you notice qualities you can appreciate about your spouse and make a habit of complimenting him or her often.  Make time to share conversations about topics you both enjoy.