Action Plan For Christmas: Marriage, Expectations, & Extended Family (Part 1) :: [Ep. 132]

Today on this special episode, Action Plan for Christmas, we’re going to weave together a practical and heart-oriented action plan for Marriage, Budget, Extended Family Relationships, Connection with our Savior and other areas that may need some prayer and reevaluation around this time of the year. 

If the stress of Christmas is stealing your joy and unity as a couple, it is totally possible to get those back. 

Find out how you can transform the way you think about the holidays by looking at all the craziness through the lens of eternity. We’ll change the tune from stress to spending ourselves well for the glory of our Father and the advancement of His Gospel.

BONUS! I have a FREE Action Plan for Christmas resource for you. Click the link to get it in your inbox: https://vowstokeep.com/episode132.

Check out our new BLOG at www.VowsToKeep.com!

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For episode transcripts, click HERE.

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Smashing Marriage Myths: Our Kids Needs Have to Come First (Part 4) :: [Ep. 131]


Is it possible that there are basic myths and lies that are ruining your life - holding back your marriage or justifying an unhappy or unfulfilled union?  The little things we believe can go a long way toward derailing our success!

Why do capable Christians fail to break through the barriers of the most common marriage myths to take their marriage to the next level?  If we’re not careful, our lives become dictated by ideas which sound convincing at some level but are really myths! 

In Part 1, we confronted several common myths: 'marriage will make me happy', 'marriage takes the fun out of the relationship', and 'marriage is becoming an outdated institution'. In Part 2,  we attacked the 'I married the wrong person!' myth, as well as, 'Some marriages are beyond repair'. If you missed these episodes, go take a listen!  In Part 3, we addressed more common myths believed that are tearing marriages apart like: Marriage should be 50/50 and if I marry the right person, I should always feel in love with them.

This week, we conclude this series by shedding light on the myth: My kids needs have to come first. We will provide counsel and truth from God's Word to help us overcome this subtle myth. Don't miss it!

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

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For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

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Smashing Marriage Myths: Marriage Should Be 50/50 (Part 3) :: [Ep. 130]

The past several weeks, we have been tackling common Marriage Myths - the  untrue things we’ve been influenced by. We have been exposing the lies that, for many, are guiding them AWAY from the healing their marriage could have and into isolation and division.

In Part 1, we confronted several common myths: 'marriage will make me happy', 'marriage takes the fun out of the relationship', and 'marriage is becoming an outdated institution'. In Part 2,  we attacked the 'I married the wrong person!' myth, as well as, 'Some marriages are beyond repair'. If you missed these episodes, go take a listen!

And this week, in Part 3, we are addressing more common myths believed that are tearing marriages apart:

• Marriage should be 50/50, right?!
• If I marry the right person, I should always feel in love with them, right?
• Our kids need us so they should come first.

Tune in to learn more. And if you have been unknowingly believing them in your own marriage, learn how to overcome!

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

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For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

Apple Podcast listener? Would you consider leaving us a review, as this helps more couple's to find our resources?! Leave your review HERE.

Smashing Marriage Myths: I Married the Wrong Person! (Part 2) :: [Ep. 129]

In this episode, we’re continuing the conversation about marriage myth’s and how you might be poisoning your marriage and not even knowing it. You’d never drink poison if someone handed you a glass  - but what if it was more pervasive? Thankfully, God has given us a filtration system!

In this episode, we are going to talk about the lie: I married the wrong person.

This fear that 'I married the wrong person' can FEEL true when things are caustic or dead. It can feel true when we want to be free from their sin, free from the problems they create. BUT the TRUTH is: the person you are married to is the person God wants you to remain married to, as long as you both shall live.

Tune in to hear truth from God's Word about this very important topic!

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

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For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

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Smashing Marriage Myths: Marriage Will Make ME Happy/Marriage Takes All the Fun Out of the Relationship (Part 1) :: [Ep. 128]

Over the next (several) broadcasts, we're going to tackle some easy-to-believe marriage myths (I think most of us have believed one or more of them). It’s NEVER free to believe a lie. These myths cost our marriages deeply if we fall for them. 

Constant evaluation is vital! I must ask myself (and so should you!) - Is what I am believing about my spouse or my marriage or what I expect from them TRUE? Can I back up what I’m believing with God’s Word? 

Because if I can’t, then it’s just a TRUTH I’ve invented or picked up from someone else’s “truth” that they’ve invented. Aka, a myth or a lie.

I tend to buy into what’s convenient, popular, and most of the time - what will get me out of a bind. If it’s not from God’s Word and how He asks us to live our lives, then it’s a trap. And before long, I’m deep down in a pit I can’t remember digging. That’s not a place of freedom. 

In Part 1 of this series on Marriage Myths, we’re going to look at some distorted illusions that look right at first glance:

• Marriage will make me happy.
• Marriage takes all the fun out of a relationship.
• Marriage is becoming an outdated institution. 
• I Married the Wrong Person.

I know at least one of these rings a bell with you...And even if none of them do, you have couples in your life who are struggling right now with these questions and coming up with no solid answers. There is truth that will set us free…Tune in!

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

Support the show

For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

Apple Podcast listener? Would you consider leaving us a review, as this helps more couple's to find our resources?! Leave your review HERE.

Prayer Is A Powerful Tool For Your Marriage :: [Ep. 127]

Are you consistently praying for your marriage?  You are not alone if you are not. So many of us feel incapable to pray or honestly don’t understand what prayer is for. Prayer is this term we hear - but because I hear it from so many people with clearly different ideals, we realize not all prayer is the same.

What does it all mean?

Most christians wish for prayer to be a part of their marriage but don't know how to get there.

Join me (David) today as I get real about how the relationship of prayer relates to our relationship in marriage. I’ll unpack how we should view prayer as well as, why we have to treat it and our marriage differently.  To push us to have passionate, heartfelt relationships with our God and our spouse.

Regular, powerful prayer can the best part of your marriage! Tune in!

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

Support the show

For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

Apple Podcast listener? Would you consider leaving us a review, as this helps more couple's to find our resources?! Leave your review HERE.

Your Self-Talk About Your Spouse Could Be Ruining Your Relationship: 'If He Really Loved Me He Would.../Let's Make a Deal' (Part 4) :: [Ep. 126]

Is this the ticker tape of thoughts running through your head when it comes to your husband?

If he really loved me, he would…

He’s not being intentional, he doesn’t care or love me...

If I don’t do that, he’s going to leave me…

He won’t do what I asked, so I won’t either...

Let's Make a Deal - I will _____ if you will_____...

This is where I draw the line…

Today, on Part 4 of Your Self-Talk About Your Husband Could Be Ruining Your Relationship, we’re going to compare the thoughts we’re having - whether they are true, partially true or not true at all - with the truth of who God is. We’ll look specifically at fearful thoughts and thoughts where our frustration or (score keeping) causes us to draw the line. 

Find out how you can transform your marriage by THINKING LIFE - renewing your mind and tuning it to understand God’s perfect will on today’s episode of VowsToKeep Radio, the show where you get sound Biblical counsel you can apply immediately to your marriage. I’m your host, Tracy Sellars of VowsToKeep. David and I are Biblical marriage counselors, authors, teachers, radio hosts and conference speakers. If you want to get back to being on fire for your spouse and for God, you’re definitely in the right place.

I've created a FREE resource for you to print out and put in your Bible or keep on your phone for when you need to THINK LIFE and replace harmful thoughts with truth from God's Word. For your copy, email me at [email protected] and put SELF TALK in the subject line.

Once you have listened, come back and read this Blog article to learn more!
https://www.vowstokeep.com/post/generosity-the-power-of-graciously-giving-to-your-spouse

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

Support the show

For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

Apple Podcast listener? Would you consider leaving us a review, as this helps more couple's to find our resources?! Leave your review HERE.

Your Self-Talk About Your Husband Could Be Ruining Your Relationship: 'He's Not Doing It the Way I Would/Why Am I the Only One Who Ever...?' (Part 3) :: [Ep. 125]

At one point or another, most wives have all had these thoughts about their husbands…’He’s not doing it the way I asked him to!’ or ‘He’s never going to get it right, so I just have to handle it myself.’

This week, on VowsToKeep Radio, join Tracy Sellars as she dives into Part 3 of the Self-Talk series.  You will find out how you can set your marriage on a new trajectory just by changing the way you think about your husband. She will guide us through God’s Word to see what and how we should be thinking, and what we should be replacing these thoughts with and how all of this will profoundly impact our marriages.

Don’t miss it!

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

Support the show

For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

Apple Podcast listener? Would you consider leaving us a review, as this helps more couple's to find our resources?! Leave your review HERE.

Your Self-Talk About Your Husband Could Be Ruining Your Relationship: 'He Always/He Never' (Part 2) :: [Ep. 124]

Do you ever have a conversation with yourself in your head about your husband? Mentally berating him for something he isn’t doing right? Do you silently call him names like ‘what a fool,’ ‘what a jerk,’ or ‘what an idiot’?

Tracy's going to dive into Part 2 of our Self-Talk series, talking about how silent judgement could be sabotaging your marriage. Though you may be guilty of this, you can change directions! Tune in to find out how!

RESOURCE: We've created a FREE resource for you to print out or keep on your phone for when you need to THINK LIFE and replace harmful thoughts with truth from God's Word. If you would like this, just email me at [email protected] and put SELF TALK in the subject line.

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

Support the show

For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

Apple Podcast listener? Would you consider leaving us a review, as this helps more couple's to find our resources?! Leave your review HERE.

Your Self-Talk About Your Spouse Could Be Ruining Your Relationship: 'He Doesn't See Me/He'll Never Change' (Part 1) :: [Ep. 123]

Do you mentally argue with your spouse but never say what you’re thinking out loud? Do you keep your opinion on his shortcomings to yourself but rehearse them often in your thoughts? In an argument, do you silently call him names?

Doesn’t he see all I am doing, he should get up and help!

Ugh, he just doesn’t get me!

Doesn’t he see I’m upset?

He doesn’t care, why bother?

He won’t lead, so I…..

He’ll never change. Just get used to it.

Thoughts like these are common for us, but until recently, I hadn't considered that they were starting to harden my heart toward David.
 
Join me, Tracy, in Part 1 of a new series about the effects of self talk on your marriage.

I'll unpack where thoughts like these come from, why we have them, what to do when we have them and how to dig out these unhealthy roots. When we do this, we will begin the process of having healthy hearts and minds toward our husbands. Don’t miss it!

We've created a FREE resource for you to print out or keep on your phone for when you need to THINK LIFE and replace harmful thoughts with truth from God's Word. If you would like this, just email me at [email protected] and put SELF TALK in the subject line.

For more marriage encouragement, visit www.VowsToKeep.com!

Support the show

For episode transcripts, click HERE.

For more marriage encouragement, visit: www.VowsToKeep.com | V2K Blog | Marriage Counseling | Insta | FB

Apple Podcast listener? Would you consider leaving us a review, as this helps more couple's to find our resources?! Leave your review HERE.