The Married Life

After a year off of the Married Life Podcast, we are back with more resources than ever. A new website, themarriedlife.org, new blogs, new videos, coaching and more! It feels good to be back!

Yea, we named the episode Kanye West. Why? Because it is evident that his life has changed. The way he speaks, raps, leads his family, it has all changed. The question for you and I in our marriage is, does our life look as different as his?  Can your wife look at you and say "My husband looks like Jesus."  Or when you look at your wife do you say "You give me more grace than I deserve."  Our life should look differently daily as we pursue Christ and our spouse daily. If we look like the same husband or wife from last year, we haven't been taking steps to grow and serve our spouse better.  Today on the Podcast we are going to talk about how Kanye's life looks totally different, and how you and I can and should always be striving to look more like Jesus.  Welcome to The Married Life 

When you think of honey, what do you think of? Sweet? Sticky? Soft? What if our words to our spouse was like that? Sweet, stick and soft. Instead of honey sometimes our words are sharp, hard and hurtful. On todays Podcast we dive into how to communicate to your spouse the good over the bad and to focus on what you want most in your relationship.  Welcome to The Married Life Sweet things to tell your spouse: Thanks for doing the dishes Thanks for making dinner. It was delicious. Thanks for cleaning up the kitchen Thanks for bathing the children. Thanks for doing the laundry. Thanks for supporting me when I talked about my __________ Thanks for listening to how my day went I really appreciated you being so affectionate lately (give specifics) You look great in that. Thanks for listening to the married life podcast with me Thanks for talking to me I am really proud of you. (Give specifics) Thank you for desiring me (ladies) You are a great kisser Thank you for getting that fixed Thank you for taking the kids to the park

Last week on the podcast we talked about  1. Managing the train  and  2. Laying the tracks forward.  This week we hit on numbers 3 and 4 of the 4 Responsibilities in Marriage. Today we are going to give practical tips to do with each other to make your marriage even better! It's going to be a fun podcast!  Welcome to The Married Life.

On todays episode we breakdown 2 of 4 practical points to help your marriage thrive. These are tips you can do on a date night, when the kids go to bed, even driving in the car. Sometimes we over complicate a healthy marriage when really we just need to be responsible for our marriage. Today we dive into the 4 responsibilities in marriage.  Welcome to The Married Life. 

Before Krissy and I are devoted to each other, we are devoted to Jesus. We tried a relationship without Him before and it was horrible. We do a simple method for growing our relationship with Jesus daily that we think might help you out too. Incase you are wondering, how to read the Bible or pray, here is quick "how to" grow with Christ.    Welcome to The Married Life

Sometimes in a marriage we forget how we got there. What it was like when we first started. What made us fall in love. What causes us to continue to fight for this. Sometimes we have to go back to basics.  On today's podcast that is exactly what we hit on. We get open and vulnerable as we show our weaknesses and how we keep it basic to stay strong.  Welcome to The Married Life. 

Ever look at that other relationship and think, "We will never be  that in love." or "My spouses doesn't do that for me." Ever get caught up comparing your relationship to others? Especially in a social media world now when everyone is putting out their highlight reel but hiding their trash.  There is a book in the Bible called Galatians. In the contemporary english version Galatians 6:4 says  'Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don't compare yourself with others. ' Do you work work well. You have specific calling on your life to do well. Not what others are doing and comparing yourself to it. But to know what God created you to do, and do it well.  On todays Episode we are going to dive into that and help you know what God has for you in your life and how you can avoid the comparison trap.  Welcome to The Married Life!  Book references: Chazown:  Mountain Top of Marriage:

Ever have expectations in your marriage that aren’t met? Have you got the new job that isn't what you expected and now your bringing home that weight? Did you expect a weekly date night that your husband has forgotten about multiple times? Did you think your sex life wouldn't die down like this?  Sometimes we have things mapped out in our heads of how they are going to go and they go the opposite way. So how do we respond in marriage when our expectations aren’t met? Welcome to The Married Life.  Show Links:  The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery Shepherding a Child's Heart

We know money in marriage can cause fights, thats why we are doing this podcast. Last week we started the talk on money and marriage and giving some tips how to get on the same page. Today we continue that talk to help you and your spouse have the best marriage possible.  Welcome to The Married Life. 

One of the biggest causes for fighting and divorce in marriage is money and we get that. You're not taught in school how to budget money. You're not taught that your spouse sees spending money differently than you do. You're not sure how much to save, how much to give, how to even start a budget (whats a budget?) So today Krissy and I (Joe), want to help you with your money problems. And maybe you don't even have money problems, then lets work on a system that will keep it that way, not just assume it will always be that way.  Welcome to The Married Life 

Ever think you and your spouse are so different and you just can't understand why he does that, or why she feels that way? On todays podcast we continue with the Enneagram test, a personality test that will help you and your spouse understand one another better. We discuss what happens when your unhealthy, your "wing" and give some resources on how to maximize knowing your personality.  Welcome to The Married Life Links  Personalities in relationship with one another - https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/the-enneagram-type-combinations The Test - https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test Book - The Road Back To You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery 

On this week’s podcast we are taking a test. I know the words no man ever wants to hear lol. But this test will help you know yourself better and your spouse! It’s called the enneagram test. You may have taken it and if you haven’t but your spouses hasn’t have them take it. It’s a fun test to talk about, won’t take long (Krissy took hers on the way to a cubs game in 10 minutes). Plus there is a book called The Road Back To You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron.  Welcome to The Married Life   Link https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test https://www.amazon.com/Road-Back-You-Enneagram-Self-Discovery/dp/0830846190

On todays episode we have some fun by asking each other some random questions. We actually did this on our way back from a Cubs game and thought other couples would have fun asking these questions to their spouses. Check out our answers then plan to ask your spouse some of these fun questions on your next date night.  Welcome to The Married Life. Questions to ask:   What’s a new hobby you’ve always wanted to try? What would you do with a week of solitary confinement? How many days could you go without electricity?  If you went on a game what would it be? Do you think that you would be a good politician?  What is something you hated as a kid but now you appreciate? Did you ever do something that sent you to the principals office? If you had a clone, how would you most utilize them? Did you ever make up a secret hand shake with a friend and do you remember it? If safety wasn’t a concern, what natural disaster would you want to experience? Would you rather put together a 20,000 piece puzzle or read a dictionary cover-to-cover? What is your favorite date of ours?

Welcome to episode 65 of the podcast! We have counseled many couples who get married before asking important questions to one another. Questions on faith, sex, family background, budgeting, kids and more. In Scott Kedersha's book "Ready or Knot" he hands out the questions all couples should ask each other before marriage and during marriage. Scott discusses some of those questions today and how you can start having those conversations with your spouse. You can also get a free chapter of his book right here to go deeper into 1 of the questions.  Welcome to The Married Life.