EQ Dads Pod

Frank Lopez joins for a candid and authentic discussion on the challenges and complexities that being enlisted in the military brings to marriages.

He shares how he and his wife are still going strong 30 years later and offers advice to navigate the challenges that have unfortunately produced many divorces.

Taylor Isselhard joins the program representing the '10 years' range of marriage experience. We hit on indicators that you and your spouse need to check in with each other. We talked about how to create healthy boundaries around work particularly if self-employed. We also talked about how the marriage dynamic changes throughout the early years of marriage and advice for young dads.

Pastor Dave George of Good News Community Church joins to share his wisdom from 52 years of marriage.

We hit on truly listening to your spouse, overcoming awkwardness around praying together, and fostering emotional intimacy through the years.

Chris Lawrenson from Family Life joins for a special launch episode of Season 3: How Marriage Impacts Parenting

We hit on identifying signs of drift in marriage, when both spouses' assessment of how the marriage is going does not align, how to keep momentum from marriage retreats like Weekend to Remember going, how to routinely maintain a marriage like we would other aspects of our life, and the natural ebbs and flows of marriage relative to expectation.

This episode was a real treat to kick off season 3!

We tackle listener submitted questions on

-if a spouse needs a quick parenting-break to reset

-Explaining death to young children

-Prioritizing marriage during busy parenting years

-And more!

Wesley Swenson shares his insight from the cybersecurity industry for helping parents navigate all of the dangers and opportunities the digital world provides

-Balancing parents' hesitancy towards being perceived as controlling with the real dangers of the digital world

-Practical tips for control features on your children's devices

-Common internet scams and how to navigate them

-Open source information and what you should be aware of

-Tips and tricks for sound password security

Cody Glickert joins the program and we hit on

-When (or if!) to watch movies that you may be excited to share with your child but are not the most appropriate for children

-Navigating the public school vs private school question with your spouse

-Modeling prayer for your children

-When your child is developing friends with questionable character

Justin Shaffer joins the program to share his experience with starting his own business and all of the considerations that entails! We also hit on some finer points of navigating debt and finances

-Aggressive approaches to getting out of debt and targeting lowest amounts of highest interest rates?

-College degrees and paths that are worth it or not worth it?

- Are we too quick to want to buy houses?

-When should dating couples be transparent and iron out if they are on similar pages about debt?

Ryan Ozzello joins the program to analyze Christian dating culture and the implications of seemingly everyone wanting to get married and feeling unfulfilled if are getting older and still single. What are the implications for contentment in Christ, scriptural passages that address singleness, high rates of marital dissatisfaction, the depth and quality of our non-romantic friendships?

We also touch on how to go deeper in the world of guy friendships and transcend the surfacy sports talk that guys tend to excel at.

Sam Myers join the program to discuss the first year of parenting and how it has deepened his marriage. We also discuss Sam reverting to church after 15 years away and advice he has for people who grew up in the church and have since left. Finally we end on a lighthearted note contrasting our experience as a Patriots fan living in Western NY vs a Bills fan living in New England