Marriage to the Max Podcast

Is it okay to admit that you have emotional needs? Why, of course it is! Without being able to communicate your emotional needs to your spouse, it’s going to be very difficult for your partner to be able to walk in harmony with you. And vice versa. In this week’s episode, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement discuss how much more effective growing in grace can become for a married couple who has learned the ability to express their emotions effectively, specifically and sensitively. Thanks to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications and engineer/musician Grant Supak for their help in getting this weekly podcast posted. Episode 49 – Emotional Needs By Brett & Kellie Hurst

How does a married couple manage depression? In this episode, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement have an informative conversation with author and therapist Trisha Taylor (www.trishataylor.org) about common and sometimes misunderstood aspects of depression and how it can affect marriages. We encourage couples dealing with these issue to reach out to their church communities and professionals for further help. Don’t suffer in silence with this all too common affliction. Episode 48 – Dealing With Depression In Marriage (interview With Trisha Taylor) by Brett & Kellie Hurst

How much does your family of origin influence your marriage? Does it tend to make you look at life through a very specific lens? Maybe your spouse is not as crazy as you think! In this episode, Brett & Kellie Hurst interview Richard & Sheri Bright (www.marriagefunatics.com) about how drastically different our families of origin can be and how that can show up in our marriage relationship. This is a fun episode! Thanks to Grant Peterson, Grant Supak and Zach Alkire for their assistance in producing and posting this episode of Marriage to the Max. Episode 47 – All In The Family (Interview with Richard & Sheri Bright) by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Are you currently encountering a great deal of anger in your marriage? Is all anger bad? How does a couple manage anger effectively? Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement interview therapist and author Trisha Taylor to get her thoughts on the many facets of anger. To find out more about Trisha Taylor, go to www.trishataylor.org. Find out more about Home Encouragement at www.homeencouragement.org. Many thanks to Grant Peterson, Grant Supak and Zach Alkire for their help in getting this episode produced and posted. Episode 46 – Dealing With Anger (an Interview With Trisha Taylor) By Brett & Kellie Hurst

What do married couples have to learn from people who have walked through divorce? Actually, quite a lot, as it turns out. This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst discuss some of the practical lessons learned from those who have walked through the pain and tragedy of divorce. Thanks to Grant Peterson, Grant Supak and Zach Alkire for helping us with the production and posting of this week’s episode. Episode 45 - A Divorced Person’s Guide To Marriage by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Can business leadership principles also benefit a marriage? That may not sound very romantic, but, actually, some principles can. This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement discuss a few basic leadership concepts from the business world that can also enhance a healthier marriage relationship. Thanks for listening!

When was the last time you apologized to your spouse? Maybe a better question would be to ask when was the last you needed to apologize to your spouse? What is an apology, anyway? Is it merely saying, “I’m sorry” and that’s the end of it? This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement have a conversation about the many facets of apology. We hope it will encourage couples to tear down even more walls of indifference, contempt or even bitterness between them. Thanks to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications and also to our engineer Zach Alkire for helping us produce and post this podcast each week. Episode 43 – The Anatomy Of An Apology by Brett & Kellie Hurst

How do you manage anxiety in marriage? Are you tempted to disengage? Even worse, do you have a tendency to want to manage your partner? This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst interview Ken Shuman, an adjunct professor at the Houston Graduate School of Theology. Ken has been married for thirty-six years, has over thirty years of experience as a coach, leader, pastor and teacher, and has personal experience in transformational leadership development and training. He currently teaches Family Systems Theory at the graduate level and has an innate ability to make conceptual ideas practical. We are confident that this extensive and rich interview with Ken will give you as a married couple a lot to discuss. Episode 42 – Managing Anxiety In Relationships (interview with Ken Shuman) by Brett & Kellie Hurst.

Do you play enough together as a couple? When was the last time that you felt like you had a truly fun time with your spouse? Well, pardner….that’s too long! This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement encourage married couples to enjoy one another by doing some off-the-wall things together….just for the fun of it! We believe that couples that play together stay together. We’d love to hear back from you on things that you do for enjoyment as a tandem. Thanks again to Grant Peterson and Zach Alkire for making weekly production and posting of Marriage to the Max possible. Episode 41 – Have Some Fun!

What are the cheesier things you enjoy that you would never admit to anyone—except for your spouse? Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement believe that husbands and wives that are comfortable with speaking freely about such things can actually enjoy a richer marriage. After all, it’s just another facet of marital intimacy, isn't it? What topics would you like us to tackle on Marriage to the Max? Feel free to send your comments or suggestions to us at thehursts@homeencouragement.org. Episode 40 – Guilty Pleasures by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Why is forgiveness so often so difficult for us? Wouldn’t we rather be free of the pain that unforgiveness can cause? This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement discuss the many facets of forgiveness and how it can benefit marriage health. If you are struggling with forgiveness in your home or with someone else, we hope this conversation will spark healthy conversation in your situation. Incidental music by Zach Alkire. Opening and closing theme: Loopsound. Extra thanks: Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications. Episode 39 – Forgiveness by Brett & Kellie Hurst

What happens when a romantic getaway cruise suddenly becomes anything but that? Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement interview their friends Danny and Trisha Kennedy who, earlier this year, found themselves stranded on a crippled cruise ship somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. In spite of their anxiety and struggles, what the Kennedy's learned from this experience about themselves, each other, and their marriage was a nice surprise. As always, thanks to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications and to engineer/musician Zach Alkire for their ongoing help in posting “Marriage to the Max” each week! Episode 38 – A Sea Of Love (interview With Danny & Trisha Kennedy) by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Do you always mean what you say? This week, Brett Hurst of Home Encouragement unwisely interviews his wife Kellie about words and phrases that she uses in their marriage relationship that often have alternative intentions and meaning. This is potentially an unwise move for Brett. Going down this road will most likely result in some kind of retribution toward Brett from Kellie… probably in a future episode. We hope you enjoy the episode. Thanks to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications and our engineer/musician Zach Alkire for all of their constant efforts to support the ongoing production of “Marriage to the Max”. We’d be lost without them! Episode 37 – Miss Communication Vs. Miscommunication by Brett and Kellie Hurst

What relational tools work best to get a marriage back on track? Since every married couple is different, there are too many effective tools to mention. However, this week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement mention a few that they have used time and time again to effectively encourage spouses in their marriages. With prayer and grace, these tools (and others) might be beneficial to your marriage. Resources mentioned on this podcast include: Gary Chapman www.garychapman.org; The Smalley Institute www.smalley.cc; Kelly Simpson/Active Relationships Center www.activerelationships.com; David Ferguson (www.greatcommandment.net); Karl Elkins/Christway Counseling www.christwaycounseling.com; John Gottman/The Gottman Institute (www.gottman.com). If you have any further questions or have an effective tool that has worked for you in that past that you would like to share with others, please contact us at thehursts@homeencouragement.org. As always, thanks for listening! Episode 36 – Tried And True Tools by Brett & Kellie Hurst

This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement discuss the ideas of personal privacy as it involves couples. Should a wife have the access codes and passwords into her husband’s accounts and social media—and vice versa? Will this enhance intimacy and trust? How much is too much? Should individual spouses have their own sense of privacy? The idea for this podcast episode actually was triggered by a conversation with our recording engineer, Zach Alkire. As a result, Zach was spontaneously asked to join the episode midway through our discussion. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Thanks Zach! Episode 35 – Private Eyes by Brett & Kellie Hurst