Marriage to the Max Podcast

This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement interview Mickey and Stephanie Peters of Upside Ministries in Houston. The Peters have a remarkable story of infidelity recovery as well as an outreach to couples that have suffered or are suffering from the devastating trauma of betrayal, infidelity and sexual addiction. This is a candid conversation about the realities of dealing with such an extraordinary marital roadblock. There are few tougher blows that a married couple can experience. Yet, hope is always available for recovery for willing spouses. This discussion briefly explores the possibilities of healing from these wounds. A couple of good resources mentioned during this episode including Mickey and Stephanie Peters of Upside Ministries (www.upsideministries.com) as well as Affair Recovery Center (www.affairrecovery.com) Both would be good starting places for couples that have suffered from the effects of infidelity. If you have further questions or comments, you may contact thehursts@homeencouragement.org. As always, thank you very much for listening! Episode 34 – Recovering From Infidelity (interview With Mickey And Stephanie Peters) by Brett & Kellie Hurst

This week on “Marriage to the Max”, Brett & Kellie Hurst revisit some famous and not-so-famous quotes about marriage... mainly not-so-famous. We hope you enjoy the conversation. This particular series has become a favorite installment of the hosts (not so sure if that’s the case for our listeners!). At any rate, send us your favorite celebrity quotes about marriage at thehursts@homeencouragement.org. We’d love to potentially use them in a future podcast. And thanks so much for listening each week. Special thanks to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications and Zach Alkire. Opening and closing theme by Loopsound. Episode 33 – Again With The Marriage Quotes? by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Although this sounds like a seminar, in this episode of “Marriage to the Max” Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement are merely having an informal conversation discussing how to prioritize relationships, particularly the relationship with one’s spouse. How does the math work out in your relationship? It might be worth having your own discussion about your personal schedules. Thanks to our musical engineer Zach Alkire, as well as to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications for their ongoing efforts to post our podcast each week. Zach’s original music can be found at www.soundcloud.com/alkiremedia. Opening and closing theme music by Loopsound. Episode 32 – Relational Time Management by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Sometimes, in marriage, the most seemingly insignificant traditions can be the most important ones. As a couple, do you have little rituals that you share together that help make your marriage special and personal? Do you have a favorite song? A favorite movie that you don’t mind watching over and over? A favorite place to get coffee? A special restaurant that is “your place”? If not, we encourage you to begin conversations about adopting special rituals of connection in order to further enhance the bonds of your marriage. Even the smallest traditions make more of an impact toward creating more intimacy between a husband and wife than you might think. By the way, if you have some special “little tradition” that you enjoy as a couple that you would be willing to share with others, we’d love to hear about it. You may contact us at thehursts@homeencouragement.org. As always, thanks so much for listening! Episode 31 – The Importance Of Rituals In Marriage by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Marriage was never designed to be a relationship that exists in isolation. In our opinion, especially in today’s world, the challenges of staying on course in a God-centered, fulfilling marriage are too much to handle without the support of others. This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement interview their very good friends David and Sue Harkins about their Married Life Group. The Hursts and the Harkins are two of seven couples that have met monthly together for the last seven years simply to enjoy honest conversation about their marriages. Whatever you wish to call a small group like this, a group of married couples meeting together regularly can strengthen a marriage bonds beyond what might be imagined. Every couple needs the prayerful support of other couples, encouraging them to stay strong in their marriage commitment. We hope this episode inspires others to consider starting something similar within their own circles of influence. Special thanks to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications and to our engineer Zach Alkire for tireless efforts to get Marriage to the Max produced and posted each week. For more on Zach’s music, check out www.soundcloud.com/alkiremedia. Opening and closing theme by Loopsound. Episode 30 – Starting A Married Life Group (interview With David & Sue Harkins) by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Wouldn’t life be so much easier if your spouse would just “get with the program”?  If only our spouses were as enlightened, kind, compassionate, trustworthy, athletic, dependable, productive and brilliant as we are!  Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement discuss the question above that frequently seems to come up in conversation with married couples.  However, when frustrated about periodic seasons of difficulty in marriage, perhaps this is not always the best question to be asking.  In fact, it’s actually possible that, in many cases, we would witness more overall change in our marriages by instead surrendering more of ourselves to God’s sovereign care for us. Thank you so much for listening! Episode 29 – Why Is My Spouse Always The Problem? by Brett & Kellie Hurst

In this week’s episode, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement discuss a recent survey that apparently gauges what today’s dating men look for first in women…and…what dating women seem to look for first in men. What does this all mean? We have no idea. But we thought it might be an interesting window into today’s dating scene. We’d love to hear from you about what first attracted you to your spouse or dating partner! You can email us at thehursts@homeencouragement.org. Thanks again to Grant Peterson, the whiz at South Hill Communications for posting these podcast episodes each week. Also, we appreciate the funky interlude music each week from our talented engineer, Zach Alkire. Opening and closing themes by Loopsound. Episode 28 – What Do Today’s Dating Men And Women Seem To Want? by Brett & Kellie Hurst

Can a couple really find “true love” on the reality show “The Bachelor”? Only time will tell... as will the ratings. This week, just for fun, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement bring their deepest thoughts (not really) about the weekly antics of one of television’s longest running “reality” shows. We hope that you take this particular podcast episode about as seriously as we did. Thanks so much for your continued listening to this marriage podcast. If you would like to contact us, you can email us at thehursts@homeencouragement.org. We would love to hear from you. Thanks again to Grant and Zach for all their help! Episode 27 – Deep Thoughts About “The Bachelor” by Brett & Kellie Hurst

What are the types of conversations that married couples should be having together on the subject of money and finances? In this episode, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement once again interview Randy Schroeder of Ron Blue & Co. LLC to discuss possible answers. Money continues to be a great stressor in many marriages. We encourage couples to be as open and transparent with each other on this subject in order to increase understanding and, ultimately, greater intimacy. As always thanks to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications for helping us post this podcast each week. We’re also grateful to engineer/musician Zach Alkire for his creativity and encouragement in producing Marriage to the Max. Opening and closing theme by Loopsound. Episode 26 – Money Talk With Randy Schroeder (part II) by Brett & Kellie Hurst.

What is the number one cause of divorce in America? What is the least talked about significant topic in most marriages? Most studies indicate that money is the number one answer to both questions. This week, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement interview good friend Randy Schroeder to talk about money issues that center around engaged and newlywed couples. Randy is the Managing Director for Ronald Blue & Co. LLC’s branch office in Houston. As a Certified Financial Planner, Randy focuses on how individuals can meet their life goals through proper management of their financial resources. This conversation will be extremely beneficial to any married couple that is looking toward a long married future together. Episode 25 – Money Talk With Randy Schroeder (part I) by Brett & Kellie Hurst

The many stressors of life can often simply wear out a married couple. Because of this ongoing daily pressure, couples often strangely find themselves unable to make conversation together. This week’s episode of Marriage to the Max with Brett and Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement centers on spouses asking one another simple questions beginning with “What is your favorite…?” As silly as this exercise might seem to some, it is a guaranteed way to start conversation that is not centered around bills, work, taxes and other things that bump in the night. We encourage you to try it sometime just for fun. Thanks to Grant Peterson and Zach Alkire for all of their continued efforts in making the Marriage to the Max weekly episodes possible! Episode 24 – “what Is Your Favorite…? by Brett & Kellie Hurst

“I didn’t sign up for this!” This week, Brett and Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement discuss a phrase that they hear often from married couples, both newly married and those that have been married a long time. Frequently, this comment is made in the midst of a peak moment of frustration or disillusionment within marriage. It’s not uncommon. In fact, if most happily married “veteran” couples were completely honest, they would admit that they have uttered this desperate phrase a time or two (or three) throughout particularly heated instances in their long married life. But, on the other hand, this is a remark that we are hearing with more regularity, often preceding a drastic step of a couple choosing to leave the relationship. Because of this, we want to encourage married couples to honor their vows and commitments, seeking out help for those tougher stretches of life. Horizons can change dramatically when a couple allows God to intervene. As a matter of fact, a recent study showed that over two-thirds of unhappily married couples that stayed together reported much higher satisfaction five years later. Many great things can happen to a husband and wife when they stay true to their commitment to one another. We want to encourage couples to consider praying and fighting for their marriages. Episode 23 – I Didn’t Sign Up For This! with Brett and Kellie Hurst

Where would you take your spouse for a “dream” date night? A sunset beach setting? A mountaintop view? Or would it be your local hospital? In this episode, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement unpack a recent family health crisis. During this conversation, they discuss the many lessons about their marriage that they learned and re-learned as they went through this particular experience together. Thank you to engineer/musician/buddy Zach Alkire and to our great friend Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications for their tireless assistance in bringing “Marriage to the Max” to you. And we appreciate you for listening, for your encouraging comments, and for subscribing on iTunes! Episode 22 – Date Night At The Hospital with Brett & Kellie Hurst

This week on “Marriage to the Max”, Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement interview good friends Chris & Meka Arend. The Hursts and the Arends have been in the same Married Life Group for the last five years. During this episode, the conversation centers around the Arends’ new innovative idea–—having an annual “State of the Union” marriage and family retreat. Chris and Meka unpack their inspiration of getting away for a weekend (without kids) to pray, dream and plan together as husband and wife. During their initial weekend retreat experience, more and more specific marriage and family goals became clearer to both Chris and Meka as a result of being able to think clearly and without having the distractions of daily life. We think you will be intrigued by their idea and you may want to consider some similar kind of annual experience for your own marriage. Thanks again to Grant Peterson of South Hill Communications and to engineer/musician Zach Alkire. Opening and closing theme by Loopsound. Episode 21 – Interview With Chris And Meka Arend by Brett & Kellie Hurst

We appreciate your ongoing listening to “Marriage to the Max”, the weekly marriage podcast hosted by Brett & Kellie Hurst of Home Encouragement. This week, we revisit the topic of managing conflict within marriage. As always, it’s important for us to emphasize that EVERY married couple will encounter the challenges of disagreement—it’s a very normal situation in marriage. Conflict is simply a difference of perspective, and no two people see things exactly the same way. If they did, they would be clones of each other! We hope to give you further practical insights this week to make typical conflict challenges more navigable. And, by the way, if you have additional insights that have been effective for you and your spouse, we would love to hear about them! Please feel free to contact us at thehursts@homeencouragement.org and let us know what has worked well for you in your marriage. After all, we’re all part of a growing healthy marriage community! Thanks again to Grant Peterson of Southhill Communications and to our very talented engineer/funky musical interlude composer Zach Alkire. Each week, they help us bring “Marriage to the Max” to you and, hopefully, make it a much more pleasant experience—in spite of us! Also, you should know that this episode concludes the trilogy of Brett-as-a-sick-as-a-dog-co-host. Whew! Thanks for the prayers. Feeling much better now! Episode 20 – Conflict 201 by Brett & Kellie Hurst