One Degree Marriage: Christ-Centered Communication & Habits

It’s easy to read Scripture with your spouse in mind.

In marriage, we often approach the Bible looking for what they should change instead of allowing God’s Word to confront us first. But Scripture was never meant to be a tool for managing your spouse’s obedience. It’s meant to shape your own heart.

In this episode of the One Degree Marriage Podcast, we talk about why the Bible addresses individuals before relationships, how passages like Ephesians 5 are often misunderstood, and why obedience in marriage isn’t meant to be transactional. We also discuss what faithfulness looks like when your spouse isn’t changing, how to pursue obedience without resentment, and when bringing in wise counsel is both biblical and necessary.

This conversation is for Christian couples who want a stronger, healthier marriage but feel stuck focusing on what their spouse isn’t doing instead of what God is calling them to do.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why Scripture is meant to be a mirror before it’s ever a megaphone
• How Ephesians 5 speaks to personal responsibility, not control
• The difference between faithfulness and transactional obedience
• What to do when obedience isn’t reciprocated in marriage
• When prayer, counsel, and community are essential
• Why marriage isn’t about fixing each other, but pursuing faithfulness together

One Degree Shift:

This week, read Scripture asking, “How am I being called to obey?” rather than “How should my spouse change?”

Mentioned in this episode:

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

What if one simple habit could dramatically improve communication, reduce conflict, and help your marriage stay spiritually connected, without adding more to your plate?

In this episode, we break down the Weekly Marriage Meeting, the one habit we believe has had the biggest long-term impact on our marriage.

We explain exactly what a Weekly Marriage Meeting is, why it works when other marriage goals fail, and how this simple rhythm helps couples move from feeling like roommates to feeling deeply connected again. You’ll hear the real structure we use each week, including how we talk about communication, conflict, intimacy, finances, schedules, and spiritual growth.... without awkwardness or overwhelm.

Whether you’re newly married or have been married for decades, this episode will help you build intentional connection through small, consistent habits that compound over time.

RESOURCES:

FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Weekly Marriage Meeting Journal

Mentioned in this episode:

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

If you and your spouse feel spiritually disconnected, you’re not alone. In this episode, we talk about spiritual intimacy in marriage: what it is, what it looks like in real life, and how to grow it through simple spiritual habits—from prayer, to reading the Bible together—that actually stick. We cover personal vs. shared spiritual disciplines, how habits shape what you love, and what to do if your spouse isn’t on board spiritually. Plus, we share a practical One Degree Shift you can start today to pursue Christ together without trying to change everything overnight.

In this episode:

• What spiritual intimacy in marriage means
• Signs of healthy spiritual intimacy (safety, depth, honesty)
• Personal habits vs. couple habits
• Prayer, Scripture, fasting, and consistency over intensity
• What to do when your spouse isn’t on the same page spiritually
• A simple “one habit for 365 days” challenge

Resources mentioned:

• You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith: humans are shaped more by what they love than what they think, and habits and cultural liturgies form our desires.

Get our Free Weekly Marriage Meeting Template or go deeper in the habit with a Weekly Marriage Meeting Journal!

Mentioned in this episode:

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

Do you love your spouse but feel like you’re living parallel lives?

In this episode of the One Degree Podcast, we talk about why so many couples feel like roommates in marriage—and how to actually reverse it.

We unpack why busyness isn’t the real problem, how lack of intentionality and discipline slowly erodes connection, and what small, repeatable rhythms can help you rebuild emotional intimacy. This isn’t about fixing a “broken” marriage. It’s about helping a good marriage grow into a thriving one.

You’ll learn:

• Why feeling like roommates is so common (especially in busy seasons)
• The difference between busyness and misplaced priorities
• How intentionality, commitment, and discipline restore connection
• Simple daily and weekly rhythms that help couples reconnect
• Why consistency matters more than grand gestures

If your marriage feels more like a partnership than a relationship, this episode will help you take one small step back toward closeness.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Weekly Marriage Meeting Journal
• Nick Bare Podcast (discipline and consistency)

Mentioned in this episode:

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

Need an easy, cozy listen? This one’s a “just vibes” episode where we share the things we’ve been loving lately, sparked by a listener request from our recent survey.

We talk about what’s been surprisingly fruitful for discipling little kids (and why we’ve been obsessed with Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey), the at-home workouts that keep us consistent, leaning into winter instead of fighting it, a dangerously good Aldi chocolate, and the structured Bible studies that have been helping us slow down and actually sit with Scripture.

Plus: a quick update on why the Weekly Marriage Meeting Journal™ has been such a game-changer for us in staying consistent through the full meeting, not just the first half.

Resources Mentioned:

• Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey (Lithos Kids)
• Nourish Move Love workouts
• Aldi orange + dark chocolate (orange almond bars)
• The Diary of a CEO episode mentioned (cancer/health foods conversation)
• The Daily Grace Co. Bible studies (Haggai, James, Revelation mentioned)
• Weekly Marriage Meeting Journal™

Mentioned in this episode:

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

We're pulling back the curtain and sharing the real areas we're actively working on in our marriage right now. Not from a "we've got it all figured out" place—but from a posture of humility, honesty, and a desire to grow together.

We walk through four rhythms we want to strengthen as we head into a new season:

• Praying together daily (and why it matters more than we realize)

• Actually finishing our weekly marriage meetings—mission statement, core values, and all

• Being more intentional about serving in our local church

• Slowing down and soaking up this sweet (and chaotic) season with our kids

If you want a practical, Christ-centered conversation that feels like friends on the couch figuring out marriage together... this one's for you.

Resources Mentioned

• Weekly Marriage Meeting™ Journal (structure + accountability for the meeting)
• Expositional preaching (definition + example explained)

Mentioned in this episode:

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

Conflict is inevitable when two sinful people share a life, a home, and a very full playroom. In this episode, we unpack a real conflict from our Sabbath (yes, we handled it poorly at first) and use it as a springboard to talk through five components of healthy, Christ-centered conflict: soft start-ups, ditching "always/never" language, having a conflict resolution plan, regularly debriefing in a weekly marriage meeting, and humbly apologizing and asking how to better serve each other.

If you've ever thought, "We just keep fighting about the same things," this one's for you.

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Weekly Marriage Meeting Guide
• Episode Mentioned: No. 119: Our Favorite Way to Fight

Mentioned in this episode:

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

Sex is meant to be a gift, but what happens when it feels confusing, painful, or even like a burden?

In this honest conversation, we open up about the first few years of our marriage when sex was really difficult. We share what we learned through trial, tears, and prayer: how to handle mismatched drives, pain, pressure, and the impact of purity culture.

You'll hear five practical steps we wish we'd known sooner, and why patient, sacrificial love (and some gentle honesty) changes everything.

🎧 Plus, paid Substack subscribers get this week's bonus: The Honest Intimacy Conversation Guide — a step-by-step tool to start gentle, Christ-centered conversations about sex.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

📚 Books:

• The Mingling of Souls — Matt Chandler • The Meaning of Marriage — Tim & Kathy Keller (referenced for context) • Intended for Pleasure — Ed & Gaye Wheat (older book; contains some outdated views) • A Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex — Sheila Wray Gregoire (the "good girl's" title they were recalling)

Other:

• @christiansexeducator — education on biblical, healthy sexuality
• Mentionables Lingerie— model-free, beautiful lingerie (10% off with ONEDEGREE)
• Intimately Us app— clean, marriage-focused intimacy app for couples

👉 Download the free Weekly Marriage Meeting Template 👉 Become a paid Substack subscriber for the bonus guide

Mentioned in this episode:

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

What do you do when your spouse isn't leading, isn't helping with the kids, and is far from Christ? In this conversation, we share six anchors: pray daily for your spouse, pursue personal holiness, "win without a word" through conduct, lead your children spiritually, seek wise care and counsel, and know your biblical freedom without trivializing covenant.

Scripture referenced:

• Ezekiel 36:26; James 1:5
• John 15:1–5; Galatians 5:22–23
• 1 Peter 3:1–2
• 2 Timothy 1:5; Acts 16:1–3
• 1 Corinthians 7 (esp. v.15)

Links/Resources:

• ACTS prayer model guide (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication)
• 7-Day Spouse Prayer Challenge (this week's bonus resource for paid Substack Subscribers)
• Related episode: "When You Feel Like You're the Only One Trying"

Mentioned in this episode:

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

Ever feel like you're swimming upstream in your marriage? You're trying to grow spiritually and build healthy rhythms while your spouse just… isn't there? You're not alone. In this episode, we're breaking down how to stay faithful, hopeful, and steadfast when it feels one-sided.

Bonus Resource:

Subscribers on Substack get access to our new 7-Day Pray-for-Your-Spouse Challenge — a short daily guide to help you pray intentionally and stay hopeful in this season.

👉 SUBSCRIBE AND GET ACCESS TO ALL PODCAST BONUS RESOURCES

Mentioned in this episode:

March Marriage Challenge

https://onedegreemarriage.com/challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=preroll

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template

Download the FREE Weekly Marriage Meeting Template at onedegreemarriage.com/meeting