The Jar Podcast | Marriage Counseling, Healthy Communication, Conflict Resolution, Rebuild Trust

I see you, Friend, sitting on the couch with your glass of wine after a long day, scrolling Instagram, thumbing through the picture-perfect filtered photos instead of facing the unfiltered truth of your life right now. 

I see you turning on Netflix to binge-watch that show instead of braving the conversation you know you need to have with your husband about when you felt frustrated earlier that day.

I see you grabbing your car keys to head out to get a mani-pedi for some "me time" when you know the funds are low and time is short and it might cut into dinner preparations because you just need to get out and away from the chaos.

You're avoiding the tough parts of your marriage or relationship...and... I've been there, too. 

Today we're asking ourselves these 3 questions to help us stop ESCAPING and start ENGAGING in our marriages.

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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How do you KNOW if you've truly forgiven your husband? 

What do you do when your heart still hurts and hasn't fully healed from the pain in your marriage?

You've tried everything to make it work, to fix it, to fix...him. But it's not working. You're living undivorced under the same roof, he's left you and wants a divorce, or things are just so bad that SOMEthing is about to give.

Tune in to Part 2 of my interview with my friend Beatriz Vargas from The Grace Fueled Wife podcast to hear 5 steps to get to the place of the ONE thing that truly changes you and how you handle the pain in your marriage: surrender.

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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Have you lost hope, wanted to just toss it out, and, like a seed planted in soil, rolled your eyes at the thing that’s probably never going to actually grow, turned your back and decided who cares and let the sun scorch it cuz it’s already dead?

You tried watering, following all the instructions, shading it and giving just the rights amount of water, researching just how much to give it and when…only to become so exasperated that nothing’s happening and then giving up?

What if I told you that there’s something happening in that darkness… there are little signs of victory that we can’t see or refuse to believe… and in the silence of watching and waiting… there’s hope?

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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Are you tired of being the spiritually mature one in your marriage? Do you feel like your husband just isn't invested in your marriage like you are? Have you gotten to the point of GIVING UP because... well, he just isn't in this. Maybe he's even left you, and you're living separated right now...either physically or emotionally but under the same roof. 

Friend, in this two-part series with my friend Beatriz Vargas from The Grace Fueled Wife podcast, I encourage you to listen with the willingness to learn YOUR part in the dynamic, know how to handle this tough situation with GRACE, honesty, and vulnerability that will lead you to surrender it all at the feet of Jesus.

It's never too late, and now is the time. 

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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Shut down and avoid?

Lash out with a torrent of harsh words at your husband?

Bottle it up, shove it down and move on when you feel frustrated?

As different as each of these ways of dealing with this emotion are, they all have one thing in common-- anger. Whether or not you claim to be an "angry person," or whether you know you're actually angry and not just slightly annoyed, there IS a way to manage your anger in a way that honors God. 

In today's episode I offer 3 biblically-based truths that can help you respond differently in your anger and what the best God-honoring actions are when we feel angry. 

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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Are you sitting there feeling hopeless since your husband walked out? That his struggle with pornography is ongoing? That infidelity has wrecked your marriage (whether it was yours or his)? Maybe your marriage is at rock bottom right now, and you're struggling to see the light. 

If you're not sure how something so broken can be restored or how God can possibly work a miracle in your marriage, this episode is for you, Friend. I see you, and I was you. And so was my guest Katie Thornhill, and she is bringing a message of hope, healing, and recovery that will leave you encouraged to own your brokenness, fix only what is within your control, and trust the God who heals no matter what life throws at you.

Find more about Katie and her journey at anchoredinalways.com.

Find a Celebrate Recovery near you!

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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Maybe you’re the girl in the coffee shop, sitting across from a friend, and dabbing at your tears as you share with her how frustrated you are that your husband “just doesn’t understand” this… thing in your heart.

Maybe you’re the mom on her phone at the park, being misjudged for ignoring your kids, when you’re just trying to let them have fun and not see how defeated you really feel as you text a friend from church about how you don’t know how to follow God when your husband is against your dreams.

Or… maybe you’re sitting at the desk of your current job and going through the motions of it, increasingly disliking it, and deep down knowing God’s calling you somewhere else, but your husband isn’t on board yet.

Maybe that’s you, and I see you… because that was me too.

I have SUCH good news for you in today’s episode. Let me be that friend sitting on the other end of that phone or table, encouraging you to obey God, W.A.I.T. on the Lord and for your husband when he doesn’t agree with your job, your work, your call, your desires and more.

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to The Jar Podcast and all of YOU who have listened once or have been here since the beginning-- thank you. 

God can do SO much with our obedience, and the results are always up to Him. Any "success" is a testament to His faithfulness in my life, in healing me from the inside out, in mending my broken marriage, and in reclaiming my identity in Him. 

As a Christian wife, it can be hard to know how to communicate well, to know what the Bible says about how to treat your husband, or how to love your husband when he's not following the Lord. It can be difficult to not feel like we always have to be put together, look perfect, and check off all the boxes of "the perfect wife." 

In season 2 of this podcast, we will continue to discuss topics like shame, guilt, resentment, sin struggles, negative thought patterns. I will continue to provide practical, biblically based solutions that lead to better communication, peaceful responses instead of reactions, and the importance of keeping our hearts in check.

I hope you ENJOY this celebration and stick around for Season 2!

Loads of Love,

Lydia

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Is it ok to be angry with God? 

What if He takes away everything important to us, we face a broken marriage, our child is diagnosed with cancer, and all the dreams we had of what was "good" are stripped away... What if our pain makes no sense?

Is God still good? Is He enough?

From coworkers teaching at the same school, to sharing some pain surrounding cancer, to walks and talks about God's sovereignty and life's biggest questions...Elisha and I go LIVE in my Facebook group, Christian Wife and Marriage community, to share with YOU what God has done and continues to do through our "shattered dreams."