We all know the Christmas songs that promise "Joy to the World" and "Peace on Earth", but for a lot of us that is the opposite of how we feel during Christmas time. There is pressure to give the perfect gift, to host the perfect party and to have the perfect family. Oh how we have twisted this season. Jesus came because he is the only perfect thing and we cannot possibly do anything that compares to his perfect sacrifice. This is also a time where we see a huge spike in divorce, right after the holiday season. No one wants to ruin Christmas or allow other people to know that the facade is crumbling. Instead of counting down the days until the new year when you can finally be rid of the baggage of your relationship, this year we want to offer you hope. You can have joy, peace and goodwill in your marriage, right now. If you feel hopeless please reach out to us and we can help: [email protected]

One of the most humbling and rewarding things we get to do at Live the Life is serve our military. For over 5 years we have been serving bases, not only around the country, but around the world. In this episode we talk to Chaplain West about all of the amazing services the Chaplain Corps provides for men and women on base. Because of them, we are able to offer Adventures in Marriage retreats for married couple and Family Frontiers for families. We have seen a dramatic shift in loneliness, which is a huge indicator of suicide, and we talk about how that has been a reoccurring theme from weekends: couples feel bonded and connected in a way that makes them feel like they are not alone. In some cases, Adventures in Marriage has been able to save, not just their marriage, but their life. 

We want to say thank you to all the men and women who fight so bravely to protect our country. 

For some of us cheating is the cardinal sin, the one thing we can't forgive and we will definitely never forget. On this episode we talk to Jimmy and Angie who tell us the story of how the Lord stepped in and gave them the ability to forgive in the face of unfaithfulness. Jimmy and Angie were married for 16 years, they were focused on work, they weren't communicating and they allowed that to become the norm. That lead to a gap in intimacy and ultimately separation. Listen to hear how God used a seemingly impossible situation to create a bond that is now stronger than ever. 

You may be familiar with Live the Life, but do you know the whole story? You may not know that it involved Christian music star Michael W. Smith, a president before he was president, a woman telling her husband she was done with their marriage and how that one act has impacted hundreds of thousands of people. Well today we get the good, the bad and the ugly of how Richard Albertson started Live the Life and where we are now. 

This week we take on a heavy topic: how to deal with the terminal diagnosis of a loved one. We are joined by Big Bend Hospice Social Worker Charles Hyde and  Volunteer Department Manager Katie Mandell. You may have questions like: what services do hospice offer? What exactly is hospice? or even, what does hospice cost? Big Bend Hospice can take stress off of a caregivers relationship by walking you through this difficult process.  We tend to look over and not prepare for future situations and as a result our relationships can be effected. Charles and Katie give us information and shed light on some negative stigmas that can help families and marriages thrive when loss is at our doorstep. For more information on hospice and what Big Bend Hospice you can go on their website:https://bigbendhospice.org/

This was a fan favorite so we decided to  bring the boys back! In this week’s episode of Relationship Realtalk the men of North Florida regional office, Richard Albertson, Doug Stephens, Cameron Briggs, and Jimmy Cash, join Alphonso again to have an open, honest discussion about men finding their worth in today’s society, men dealing with the pressures of life, and the benefits of having support.  Whether you’re new in a relationship, married for a while or single, every guy will get something out of this episode!

*WARNING* this episode contains graphic material about abortion procedures.

On this episode we are joined by  Bre Craven-Crockett and Sherri Daume. These wonderful women work in our local pregnancy centers, Mosaic Clinic and A Woman Pregnancy Center(AWPC) here in Tallahassee, Florida . We dive into quit a few  serious topics as these ladies share information not only about the services that Mosaic Clinic and AWPC offer but we discuss sexually transmited infections(STIs), and we have a real, unfiltered discussion on what abortion is and the other choices women have for unplanned pregnancies.  If you would like to find out more information you can visit their websites here:

AWPC Website:
https://awomenspregnancycenter.com

Mosaic Clinic:
https://mosaicclinictally.com

Ok...ok... That is a little dramatic. BUT sometimes marriage can feel very suffocating and unfulfilling. Today we talk about how important preparing for your marriage actually is in order to have a happy, fulfilling marriage. We talk with BYU Professor, Dr. Alan Hawkins and his research assistant, Tiffany Clyde. They wrote the article: Revising Premarital Relationship Interventions for the Next Generation. This article covers 4 main areas that pre-marital education needs to cover to be effective in reaching todays couples: 1) Individualism and Commitment Ambivalence, 2) Meaning of and Attitude about Marriage, 3) Premarital Relationship History and Experiences and 4) the Effects of Media. We cover each of these topics and why they are so important to discuss BEFORE you get married to help couples have the marriage they want. 

In this episode Ashley and Alphonso tackle an interesting topic: marriage problems. They argue that there is no such thing as marriage problems, instead there are people problems that we bring into marriage.  We typically try to use  marriage as a “magical” fix or switch we flip to make our relationship perfect.  But then when things go wrong, marriage is the scapegoat, the focus of our blame: my marriage didn’t work. What we really need is to own our individual mess, work to fix that and then we can begin a happy, healthy marriage.  

On this episode of Relationship RealTalk Alphonso and Kaylyn  go over one of Live the Life's most used tools: the Daily Temperature Reading (DTR). The DTR is basically a menu for discussion which provides a way for couples to connect and bond. We start with appreciations to get that dopamine flowing in our brains then it takes you through other important topics such as new information and constructive ways to ask our partner to do something different: complaints with requests for change.  All of the steps in the DTR are scientifically proven to produce bonding in a couple, but you can also use this with friends, kids or coworkers! As Kaylyn and Alphonso go over each step and give real life examples of each section you'll see how easy it really is to do. To find out more information on the DTR and more of our marriage tools be sure to visit our website www.livethelife.org