There are many things my husband and I are both on board with. Our food preferences are very similar as is our taste in furniture, décor, music, and perfume. But when we don’t agree, I am quietly stubborn and he bristles at any attempt to control him. He wants to air the conflict and I would much prefer to wish it away. He sees in black and white and I point out how the same thing could be seen from multiple angles. He is decisive, and the less important a decision is, the harder it is for me to make it. If you haven’t guessed it by now, we are in a lot of ways polar opposites. Perhaps you can relate. But what happens when you and your spouse find that you feel very differently about something that is pretty important to you? This week we are going to dive into the question of how do we live on mission in our neighborhood if our spouse is not on board.

Next up in the “Obstacles to Neighborhood Missional Living” series is “Neighborhood Missional Living When My Spouse Is Not on Board”! Listen in, or if you prefer to read, head on over here to the blog. From this page you can view the full topic line-up for the series and easily click over to the post on the blog.

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Links Mentioned:

• Cultivate your relationship with God. Links: Cultivating a Life Worth Imitating and Better Than a Roller Coaster High
• Objection: Why does it matter—missional living seems irrelevant. Link: What Is My Mission?
• Objection: I’m not comfortable talking about Jesus with other people. Link: When to Share Our Faith with Words
• Objection: Money is tight—can’t share food all the time. Link: When My Offering Feels Small
• Objection: I don’t have anything in common/no relationship with any of our neighbors. Link: When Age Differences Bring Us Together
• Objection: I feel we would be judged because we don’t always live Christ-like. Link: Real Talk: What We May Not Know We Are Missing
• Objection: I just want space and quiet. Links: Neighborhood Missional Living When I Am an Introvert and The Me That Is Needed
• Objection: I need to finish these projects with the house first. Link: Befriending the Awkward
• Objection: We already have friends/church/small group—can’t invest relationally in another arena. Links: When My Neighbor Lives Next-Door and Word of the Year: Open
• Objection: We are just too busy! Links: Margin Meets Mission: The Gift of Availability and The Paradox of Rest

 

Recommended Resources List:

The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

The Path Between Us by Suzanne Stabile

Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Small is Big, Slow is Fast by Caesar Kalinowski

A Field Guide for Everyday Mission by Ben Connelly and Bob Roberts, Jr.

The Turquoise Table by Kristin Shell

Start with Your People by Brian Dixon, especially chapter 6, “Spouse: From Kryptonite to Superpower”