From a viewer: “The greatest struggle in our marriage is raising your 4-year-old granddaughter because your son and the mother have substance abuse issues. My husband doesn't want to raise another set of kids. I don't want my grand babies to go into foster care. Tough situation."

In this situation, you have to realize you are their best hope.

From a friend on Facebook: “I just wanted to send you guys a thank you. We were at your show in Durham last weekend. On Monday night we had the opportunity to try one of your suggestions. I had accidently back into my husbands car on Monday night and needless to say my husband was very angry. WE had a pretty big fight and then he went upstairs to our room mad while I was in the living room trying to figure out what to do. After about 15 minutes my husband came downstairs and sat beside me on the couch. He said, "Will this matter in 100 years?" and I said "No". We have never gotten over a major fight this quickly before and it was all do to what we learned at your show Saturday night. I am so glad we came. I just wanted you guys to know that you may not know it but you do change people’s lives with your talks. They are hilarious but also helpful. The way you guys were picking on each other at the show reminded us so much of ourselves, we tell people all the time that if you can't pick on the person you are married to then you will have a very boring marriage. Again thank you guys so much.”

Join us for an Ultimate Date Night or Celebrate Your Marriage Conference this fall! Check out our upcoming schedule at http://tickets.jayandlaura.com

From a Viewer:

“Our biggest challenge in our marriage is letting go of preconceived notions of past marriages. It is a 2nd marriage for each of us and even after 8 years of marriage together, we still expect the other to act/react like our past spouses. Crazy! So we come into a discussion, life situation or argument with an expectation that puts us on the defense right out of the gate. Emotions take over and things rarely go well. We love each other so much but that doesn't make it much easier.”

You can’t change the past, it’s a part of your story. And we’re not promised tomorrow … so make the best of the present.

From a viewer: “Our biggest challenge? Dealing with outside stressors together rather than taking them out on each other.”

Do you take everything out on your spouse? Conquering stress together as a couple takes communication and compromise.

From a viewer: “Our greatest challenge right now is taking the time for each other! We blended families late last year and with both of us having two kids each, a household of six gets to be busy! (3 are under the age of 5!) We are working on our marriage daily with taking the time to be together and not let the stress of the kids get to us!”

We recommend our friend, Ron Deal's materials.

Visit his website at https://smartstepfamilies.com/

From a viewer: “The greatest challenge in our relationship right now is keeping sexual commitments and the passion alive. My husband complains of me being too cold and not showing desire for him. My complaint is that he works too many hours and he is always tired. How can we pass through that? We commit to make more time for ourselves, but there is always something in between. We have a 7 years old son that only wants to sleep with us. Although we are a young couple married for 10 years, I am 8 years older than my husband but our sexual activity is maybe 1 to none during a week.”

There is a lot going on here, we break it down piece by piece on this week's’ episode.

From a Viewer: “The greatest challenge we face in our marriage right now is one on one time for each other. We both work 40+ hours a week and try and juggle kids, church, and work. We definitely find ourselves on the back burner. By the time we get home each day I find myself going straight to bed.”

You have to be aware - You can't say yes without saying no.

Books mentioned:

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

Buy now at http://amzn.to/2tnSOB7

Make Love Everyday by Jay & Laura

Buy now at http://amzn.to/2tx42aK

Intimacy is important and sometimes our hormones don’t cooperate. There are ways to resolve this problem!

For more information about using essential oils, contact [email protected]

When dealing with a family member’s death or suicide, don’t be afraid to seek professional help.

From a viewer:

Our greatest challenge is my wife's dad committed suicide 6 months ago. (I found him) My wife and I have a good solid marriage but this has created a lot of stress. With God’s help and good friends, we are making it through. Our oldest son is having the most difficult time with it and has become very angry and mad at God. He got married 4 months before this happened and it has created a lot of stress on their new relationship. Please pray for them. Thanks.

From a viewer:

Our biggest challenge in marriage? Finding the balance between a 7-month-old baby, 2 full time working parents, and a Ph.D. student.

Watch now for our response!