The Real Marriage Podcast

The demands on your life are strong.

Do you often feel like you can't keep up? Like you are falling behind and missing things you should be keeping up with?

One of the most common questions Griffin and Heather get is "How do you do it all?"  The true answer is that they don't feel like they do.  The feeling is often that we are not keeping up well enough.

Listen and hear Heather specifically unpack how this challenge feels as a mother.  She speaks candidly about trying to meet the needs of the kids, keep up with the house, love Griffin well, etc.  

Words matter.

You can think back to different times in your life where words made a significant impact on your life.  It could have been positive or negative but when people speak into your life it leaves a mark, especially when those words come from someone you care about.

It's no different in marriage and parenting.  Your words to your spouse and kids are of extreme importance.  Choose them wisely!

Listen and hear Griffin and Heather open up about the significance of their words in each other's lives.  You will hear how they have failed at this, learned from previous mistakes and how they approach this with their entire family.  

Everyone parents differently.  

There is no easy or perfect template to parenting that creates the best case scenario with our kids.  One thing that is true, though, about parenting is that we are responsible for them.  Their growth, their character, their values, etc.  

Increasingly, it is becoming harder to fight against the influences of our culture to have a strong voice in the lives of our kids.  We fight social media, other kid's influences, and the norms of the world and often times that clashes with what you value as a parent.

In this episode, Heather and Griffin talk about these challenges and some of the decision they are making to gain more influence in the lives of their five kids.  They aren't telling you to do it their way but having a conversation on not only what they are doing but why they are doing it.  Hopefully it sparks great thoughts for you as a parent or a future parent.  

Dreams can be difficult.

On the one hand we get excited about what could be and striving for more.  On the other hand not all of our dreams should be the focus of our attention.  How do you balance this in your marriage?

Listen to an open conversation about a recent dream that was crushed in Heather's life and how it sparked a great conversation between Griffin and Heather.  You will hear them unpack the different way they approach dreams and how their faith plays a massive role in what they pursue.

While life seems to get busier by the day the distractions seem to come just as quickly.

Whether it is aimlessly scrolling through social media, watching the random tv shows or however you fill the ever so small blank space you have in your day-to-day it never seems to help us move forward. In other words, our distractions can hold us back.  

This episode is a conversation we try to always keep in front of us.  Are we spending our time on the right things?  Are we focused? Are we overwhelmed and overdoing our schedule?

While we aren't perfect in this space and fall into the traps of not being as intentional with our time we know that we need rest and to prioritize putting our time into the things that matter most.  This episode will challenge you to do the same.  

You probably have many goals for the new year.  

Getting healthy physically and maybe spiritually.  Goals for your kids and relationships.  

What if sex and intimacy was a part of your goals this year?  When God created marriage He made it to where sex is a major component of strengthening and protecting a marriage.  It is a blessing that we get to take part in.

However, as life goes on and we get busier and more overwhelmed by our responsibilities our intimacy in marriage can take a backseat.  And slowly, your start to grow a part and assumptions are made and bitterness and confusion can step it.

Listen and hear Heather and Griffin openly talk about the significance sex and intimacy should play in your marriage.  They unpack the challenges you deal with as well as the reality of how it becomes less of a priority.  But in the end, the right approach in your marriage should make sex and intimacy better as you move forward.  

Somehow the year is already over.

Another year down and 2024 is now to come.  One of the practices we try to do often is reflecting on where we have been and what we have been through.  

For us, 2023 has been full of new challenges as well as circumstances to celebrate.  Listen and hear us unpack our takeaways from the year.  From challenges with kids and work, learning how to keep maturing and finding more ways to unify as a couple, we experienced plenty this past year.  There will be plenty that you resonate with.  

Do you ever feel like you and your spouse aren't on the same page?  Do you feel like you are headed in two different directions? 

Sometimes in our marriage one spouse can change as time goes on.  Your passions, your beliefs, your core values can grow as you do but your spouse doesn't come along with you.  This can be common for many marriages when life change happens like having kids, moving to a new area or changing jobs. It can be the reason couples decide to split up because thinking about a lifelong partnership with someone who isn't growing like you are can be daunting.  

Listen and hear Heather and Griffin talk about the many challenges they have heard couples go through with this particular issue.  Also hear some encouragement on how to approach your spouse in a healthy way to spark healthy growth in them. 

Yes, it is a blessing!

Last episode we unpacked the burden of parenting.  One thing we noticed was how easy it was to think about those ideas.  The blessings were a little more in depth to uncover.  

And that is what makes the blessings so impactful.  The role and responsibility of a parent is so unique and so impactful, the blessing play out for decades.  

Listen and hear Heather and Griffin speak about how they experience blessings now with young kids in the home but also look forward to the built-in lifelong blessing of relationships with their children for a lifetime.  

Parenting is forever.

The word "burden" carries a negative connotation but the reality is that parenting is both beautiful and difficult.  At the very least the incredible responsibility of parenthood can feel like a burden in one way or another.  Because it is so constant and is a role you carry for so long it's worth understanding what the experience is truly like. 

Listen and hear Griffin and Heather share what parenting has felt like to them.  They discuss how they have experienced the weight of their role as mom and dad and what they have learned as they have partnered together to lead their five children for the last ten years.