Awesome Marriage Podcast

Has you or your spouse’s insecurity affected your marriage? We’re all insecure about something, and the way we see ourselves will end up spilling over into the way we relate to others. Nowhere is this more likely to happen than in marriage. 

In this episode Dr. Kim and Christina share  ways to address your insecurity and your spouse’s insecurity, including a surprising way Dr. Kim has learned to turn his weaknesses to strengths. Tune in for wisdom and practical tips. 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• How insecurity affects a marriage 

• Advice if your spouse’s insecurity is weighing you down 

• Advice if your OWN insecurity weighs you down 

• Practical steps to overcome insecurity 

• How to fight back against your insecurities

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “How you view yourself absolutely affects how you’re going to interact with others.” - Christina Dodson 

• “I think the role of the spouse is to build each other up. Your marriage should be your safest place, next to your relationship with God.”  - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “Perfection is not what God expects from you, nor should anyone else be expecting it from you.” - Christina Dodson 

• “You begin to believe the things God says about you and who you are in Christ, and that changes your countenance. You will look like a different person.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “There’s less holding you back if you’re not weighed down by your insecurities. There’s more joy, more abundance, freedom to enjoy life together. ” - Christina Dodson 

• “One thing God does so well for us is he loves us right where we are. Our goal is to love our spouse right where they are.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling  

• “You can’t take it over. You can’t fix it for them. But you can come alongside and do what God wants you to do.” -  Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “No one is thinking about you as much as you’re thinking about you. To me, that’s really freeing!” - Christina Dodson 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Our 5 Days to Deeper Emotional Intimacy digital resource provides practical steps to understand and share your emotions, and to work together to grow your emotional intimacy…and it’s our gift to you for your donation of any amount.

• The Christmas in July Sale is on at Awesome Marriage University and that means you get 30% OFF ANY and ALL of our online marriage courses! BROWSE our course offerings to find which one your marriage needs and use the code JULY at checkout!

Want better connection with your spouse? One thing we hear a lot from couples is that they don’t feel close to each other or that their relationship feels like it’s missing some depth. That’s why today we’re re-airing this episode from Dr. Kim and Christina that talks all about emotional intimacy and gives you ideas of practical ways to deepen the emotional intimacy in your marriage. 

We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• What is emotional intimacy, and why does it matter? 

• Warning signs you need to grow in this area 

• Emotional intimacy killers to avoid  

• Tips to start working on this - alone, and together 

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “It is hard work knowing someone. You have to pay attention. It takes work to be intimate.” - Christina Dodson 

• “Laziness and business are going to block your intimacy, so we have to fight against those things.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “Give yourself opportunities to connect.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “It adds value to my marriage for me to have a relationship with my friends, just like it benefits our marriage that he has guy friends.” - Christina Dodson 

• “You could have had the best childhood in the world and you still have baggage because we’re human. That’s okay, and you can deal with that.” - Christina Dodson 

• “You can’t be emotionally intimate with your spouse if you aren’t aware of your own emotions.” - Christina Dodson 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Our 5 Days to Deeper Emotional Intimacy digital resource provides practical steps to understand and share your emotions, and to work together to grow your emotional intimacy…and it’s our gift to you for your donation of any amount. 

• Your marriage can only be as healthy as the two of you are. The Bible says, “Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40). Our new Self Check-In Guide will help you do just that! 

• Print out this Feelings Chart and use it to help you talk about your emotions.

• Our Questions To Help Your Spouse Open Up resource is a simple way to help build the closeness between you and your spouseAccountability is a biblical and helpful tool for growing in holiness.

What is a “gospeler”?  

It’s probably a lot simpler than you think! It is something that will certainly impact you and your marriage, but also has the potential to have a huge impact on others around you. 

Today Willie Robertson shares  how one person sharing the Gospel impacted thousands, starting with his family, and he explains just how simple it can be to begin to care enough for others to share the Gospel with them. 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

•  Gospel genealogy & the ripple effect one conversation can have 

• The Biblical basis for this kind of conversation 

• Where to start if you don’t know where to start 

• Advice for parents to share their faith in parenting 

• Different ways to approach sharing your faith 

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “When you’re active in sharing your faith, it takes care of a lot of other things for you as well.” - Willie Robertston

• “The great commission was for all of us.” - Willie Robertston

• “Make disciples, baptize people, teach people; you’re not going to do any of those 3 unless you open your mouth.” - Willie Robertston

• “It starts with caring about people.” - Willie Robertston

• “You start learning the Word, you’ll start standing out in the crowd.” - Willie Robertston

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Order Willie’s new book, Gospeler today! 

• Find more from Willie at DuckCommander.com and WillieRobertson.com 

• Our 5 Days to Deeper Emotional Intimacy digital resource provides practical steps to understand and share your emotions, and to work together to grow your emotional intimacy…and it’s our gift to you for your donation of any amount. 

Are you ever a bit too helpful in your marriage? Do you find yourself frustrated with the way your spouse responds to you? 

You may be trying to control your spouse by “helping” even if you don’t mean to! 

Today Laura Doyle from the Empowered Wife Podcast joins Dr. Kim to teach us some ways to shift our marriage culture - without resorting to control tactics. Tune in to learn how! 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• Empowering ways to shift the culture of your marriage, even if your spouse isn’t on board

• “Cheat phrases” to help you shift from controlling tendencies to deeper intimacy   

• The unexpected lesson of sitting down with your spouse and getting nothing done! 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Find more of Laura’s content, including her free Empowered Wife Road Map on her website

• Check out Laura’s book, the Empowered Wife!

• Our 5 Days to Deeper Emotional Intimacy digital resource provides practical steps to understand and share your emotions, and to work together to grow your emotional intimacy…and it’s our gift to you for your donation of any amount. 

Most of us deal with self doubt, regret, and feelings of not measuring up. But learning to love ourselves properly means learning to see ourselves as God does, and it allows us to love others more freely and graciously. 

Today, Bryan Crum will help you step away from nagging self doubts and into a solid biblical perspective. Give your marriage the gift of seeing yourself and your spouse through God’s eyes.

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• Unexpected lessons learned from people who are facing their mortality 

• Why is it hard to accept loving and valuing ourselves properly? 

• Rewriting negative messages we’ve learned 

• Ideas to break away from self-doubt 

• Why relationships are needed to help us learn to love ourselves 

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “I’m on a mission to help people fall in love with God’s greatest creation; and that’s us.” - Bryan Crum 

• “We all want to know our time on this earth means something.” - Bryan Crum 

• “I’ve discovered 2 truths about living: 1. We’re priceless. 2. For some reason, we’ve forgotten that truth.” - Bryan Crum 

• “We interact with people every day but we don’t always treat them like they are valuable.” - Bryan Crum 

• “When we acknowledge the truth of what we’re worth, we’re acknowledging a truth heaven knows well.” - Bryan Crum 

• “The first step is to stop comparing ourselves to each other.” - Bryan Crum 

• “There's power in giving each other the benefit of the doubt.”   - Bryan Crum 

• “Giving each other grace is a small step that covers a lot of distance.” - Bryan Crum 

• “Marriage is promising each other that we’re all-in. We’ve got to make the conscious choice to say, ‘I’m still here.’”  - Bryan Crum 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• If your marriage is doing okay but could use a jumpstart, then this 5 Week Marriage Refresher Challenge is for you! 

• Find more from Bryan HERE

• Order Bryan’s book, Neighbor, Love Yourself HERE  

Conflict is no one’s favorite, but it is an inevitable part of life. And today Donna Jones teaches us why it’s nothing to be afraid of by busting some of the most common misunderstandings that lead to conflict avoidance, and providing a biblical roadmap to handle conflict in a healthy way. 

Tune in to learn more about approaching conflict in a healthy, biblical way. 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• The biggest mistakes most couples make in conflict 

• The trick to de-escalate in the heat of the moment. 

• The inner characteristics that build better conflict habits 

• Help to break conflict patterns in your marriage 

• The healthy way to apologize well

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “When we handle conflict in a healthy way, the outcome is peace. Peace between us and who we have conflict with; peace in our own souls.” - Donna Jones 

• “When we are in conflict, it literally affects everything about us. We function, but on the inside, we’re torn to pieces.” - Donna Jones 

• “The reason so many of us think conflict is bad, is that we never learned to see how conflict can turn out good.”  - Donna Jones 

• “When we have conflict, we tend to think it means 1 of 3 things: There’s something wrong with you; there’s something wrong with me, or there’s something wrong with us. But conflict doesn’t mean that.” - Donna Jones 

• “No relationship can survive an atmosphere of disrespect over the long haul.”  - Donna Jones 

• “The most important thing is not an act, it’s an attitude: Humility.”  - Donna Jones 

• “If you want to know how strong a person really is, look for humility.” - Donna Jones 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Order Donna’s book Healthy Conflict, Peaceful Life today! 

• Find Donna on her website, on Instagram @DonnaAJones or Facebook @donnajonesspeak/

• For more help to break the conflict cycle, sign up for Dr. Kim’s “8 Guidelines for Fighting Fair Webinar”

• If your marriage is feeling a bit blah, the Marriage Refresher is the jumpstart you need to bring fresh life into your marriage!

We have gotten a lot of questions about gaslighting and narcissism, and today Dr. Kim is answering. This topic is layered and one podcast episode cannot take the place of more in-depth interventions, but we can offer helpful and hopeful next steps. In today’s episode we’re covering how to know what constitutes abuse versus the sin nature we all struggle with. Listen for 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• Marriage counseling doesn’t work with abusers – So what does?

• Can a marriage recover after long-term gaslighting? 

• How to diagnose abuse using the power and control wheel

• Does the “gray rock” strategy work in marriage?  

• Reasons why emotional abuse is often dismissed 

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “Narcissism is all about power and control. Neither of those have a place in marriage at all.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “I don't think God expects anyone to live in an abusive situation. In many ways, it’s as much a violation of vows as adultery is to not take seriously your vow to love and cherish your spouse.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “You deserve to be safe.”  - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “If you look at the message of the BIble, you can’t defend any type of abuse, for any person, ever.”  - Lindsay Few 

• “The goal would be repentance and reconciliation.” - Lindsay Few  

• “The reason a lot of people minimize emotional abuse because they haven’t seen it.”  - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “I’ve seen people who gaslight and don't really understand what they’ve been doing.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “Nobody’s uplifted or brought closer to Christ through manipulative behaviors.” - Lindsay Few 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• The Power and Control Wheel is helpful to understand what constitutes abuse 

• If your marriage is doing okay but could use a jumpstart, then this 5 Week Marriage Refresher Challenge is for you! 

• Past episodes on the topic: 

  • Gaslighting in Marriage 

  • Accidental Gaslighting 

  • When is Enough Enough? With Dr. David E. Clarke 

  • Recent series with Kathy’s Story 

    • Escaping an Emotionally Abusive Marriage: Kathy’s Story | Ep. 608

    • Escaping an Emotionally Abusive Marriage Part 2: Seeking Church Support | Kathy’s Story Ep. 609

    • Escaping an Emotionally Abusive Marriage Part 3: Help to Get Out and Get Safe | Ep. 610

Is there a war on fathers? Our guest on today’s podcast thinks so. The impact of fathers on their kids is so valuable, yet it’s incredibly difficult to know how to engage purposefully in the process of parenting. 

If you’ve had a hand in raising kids, you already know that parenting is not for the faint of heart! That’s why we are so thankful to share today’s episode and Kent Evans’ practical advice and encouragement for dads. Kent Evans is a wise and helpful mentor for dads who are searching for their purpose in parenting. Listen and learn Kent’s simple, practical tips for dads and moms alike. 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• What prevents dads from being confident to engage in fatherhood? 

• The reasons why your kids need an imperfect dad 

• Advice for the dad who feels like it’s too late to start to engage well  

• Steps to growing in your purpose as a dad 

• Advice for the wife who wants her husband to engage 

• An incredible tip for finding friends & community 

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “Satan wants us to take us out of the fatherhood game by getting us to self-select and walk off the field.” - Kent Evans 

• “God wants to be known as a dad, therefore there’s a war on fathers.”  - Kent Evans 

• “My experience as a dad is that God can take care of the things I mess up.” - Dr. Kim 

• “Even if we could be perfect, it would not be beneficial. It would deprive them of the example of how to fall off the horse then get back on.” - Kent Evans 

• There are few things more motivating to a man than the praise of his wife, but it’s multiplied by an exponent when she does it in front of the children.” - Kent Evans 

• “I didn’t get it right. I didn’t do it perfectly, but God took my loaves and fishes and they landed as nourishment.”

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Grab Kent’s great tools for dads at ManhoodJourney.org

• Listen to the Father on Purpose Podcast 

• With the Creative Questions Bundle you will NOT lack for great conversation topics! Get all the details here! 

• Sign up here to get the Couple’s Conversation Guide for each episode!

Marriage doesn’t have to get boring … but for too many couples, it has. If you’re ready to break out of the routine and restore the joy in your marriage, this one's for you! 

Listen for ways to have more interesting and connective conversations, new ideas of things to try, and how to avoid common mistakes that keep couples from enjoying their marriage. 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• Better questions to ask for better conversations

• 2 common mistakes that keep couples from having fun together 

• Several ideas for fun things to try 

• For Dr. Kim’s bullet point list of steps, sign up for the Conversation Guide

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “When we’re dating our future wife, we guys up our game.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “We loved our time with our kids, but we realized we also had to be intentional about our marriage.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “You have to give yourself time to do the fun stuff. The mundane will still be there when you’re done.” - Lindsay Few 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• With the Creative Questions Bundle you will NOT lack for great conversation topics! Get all the details here! 

• Check in on your marriage each week with our Weekly Check In Guide to keep your connection strong

• Sign up here to get the Couple’s Conversation Guide for each episode!

• Questions to Help Your Spouse Open Up

• Is there a marriage resource you need us to make? Tell us your idea! 

• Arlene Pellicane will be on the podcast later this summer. She has written some great books on tech in the family! 

  • Cool, Calm and Connected: 5 Digital Habits for a More Balanced Life

  • Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World

  • Screen Kids: 5 Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World  

Do you ever feel like you and your spouse are two ships passing in the night? Strangers living under the same roof? Business partners executing the plans you’ve made for your kids and household? Then you’re in a disconnected marriage. The marriage relationship should nurture both spouses.

If you’ve lost the connection in your marriage, or just want to step up from where you are right now, tune in today to learn the practical steps for reconnecting. 

We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage. 

Episode highlights include:  

• Why do couples disconnect? 

• The steps to reconnection

• A helpful source for fun marriage ideas and resources 

*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here! 

QUOTES 

• “Little tweaks can make such a difference.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “Living separate lives is not going to get you a connected, fun marriage.” Christina Dodson 

• “We weren’t always there but we chose to stay in the marriage and work through things. It’s worth it.”  - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

• “You can continue to grow, but you have to work at it.”   - Dr. Kim Kimberling 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

• Check in on your marriage each week with our Weekly Check In Guide to keep your connection strong Creative Questions Bundle

• Sign up here to get the Couple’s Conversation Guide for each episode!

• The Sex Talk course equips you to teach your kids about sex in a biblical, God-honoring way