This is a HUGE area that needs to be addressed in YOUR marriage. According to Ameritrade 41% of divorced Gen Xers and 29% of Boomers say they got divorced over money issues!! This isn't something that should be ignored until it creates conflict, but should be worked on frequently, addressed in conversation, and planned out.  

We are delighted on this episode to introduce to you special guests, Juli & Thomas, with Marriage Puzzle. They are marriage and financial coaches and they share with us a wealth of knowledge on both topics. They have a journey in their life that has shown them the importance of transparency both in their marriage and their finances, and they share many practical tips to implement in your daily life. Go and follow them on their Podcast and social media, and reach out to them to set up your own coaching session. https://www.marriagepuzzle.com/

As always, we would love to hear from you! DM us on social media, and follow us wherever you listen to Podcasts.

We are on our 4th part in our series on G.R.O.W. The W stands for War. Have you ever thought about the spiritual battle that is being waged around you? Have you ever considered the armor that God wants to equip you with? We do not want you to live your life cowering in fear, or stay on the sidelines living your life passively. We want you to train and we want you to be equipped. Be battle ready...knowing that the Lord will fight for you. We implore you to start recognizing the spiritual battle being waged, and specifically the attack happening on marriages. Consider the attack on YOUR marriage. You have a real enemy who is out to steal, kill, and destroy. Don't stand by and let that happen. Fight for your marriage. Fight for your family. Go to WAR!

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

As always, we would love to hear from you! DM us on social media, and follow us wherever you listen to Podcasts.

We are on the 3rd episode of our 4 part series titled G.R.O.W. If you haven't listened to the previous 2 episodes we encourage you to do so because we want each of you to grow as an individual, and in your marriage!

On this episode we discussed obedience. Obedience is hard for ALL of us! However, God calls us to obey Him, and when we obey Him, He entrusts us with even more. 

1st John 5:3-5 says "For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden, because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. And who is the one who conquers the world but the one believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

Our challenge this week consists of asking you to step out in obedience to whatever God has called you to. We all have things in our daily life we know we need to do, and some of you need to take a giant leap of faith. Trust that God has a plan and a purpose in each step of obedience He has called you to take...and then OBEY!

As always, we would love to hear from you! DM us on social media, and follow us wherever you listen to Podcasts. 

Have you ever considered that YOU are called to the ministry of reconciliation. That God is making His appeal THROUGH YOU! It is humbling to think that this is a ministry we are all called to, and that we need to seek restoration for ourselves as well. 

We encourage you to walk through whatever is necessary to work on this in your life. We challenge you this week to take that one step, do that one thing, that begins the process to restore something with a person, in an area, or in yourself. 

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[a] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As always, we would love to hear from you

This is the 1st in a 4 part series on how to grow as an individual, in your marriage, and in your relationship with God. We discussed the G. in Grow which stands for gratitude on this episode. If you want to change your life, change your perspective. Shift your attitude to find things to be grateful  for DESPITE your circumstances. Look for opportunities to express gratitude for your spouse, and don't allow yourself to have a critical mindset.

Our challenge this week consists of scripture memorization. 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you my be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

We pray these verses and this topic encourage you as you strive to G.R.O.W.

As always, we would love to hear from you

2022 is fast approaching, and we want to encourage you to approach this New Year differently. So many people set goals that quickly fade as they try to correct or improve something in themselves. We are asking you to shift your mindset from trying to training. Training embodies so much and we should always be in training. It involves setbacks, growth, daily decisions, and injuries. Instead of trying....commit to training. 

Focus on the words of Paul to the Corinthian church in 1st Corinthians 9:24-27, "Do you not know that in a race that all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

In addition, pray and ask God for a word that you can focus on for the year that allows you to be purposeful in your training. We wish you a Happy New Year and pray that each of you grows in your relationship with Jesus this next year. 

As always, we would love to hear from you

There is a plethora of advice out there, vast knowledge, and divine wisdom. It is all available, and many people receive that knowledge, but never choose to change because of it. The truth is that you will never change if you never change. 

On this episode we talk about how we need to take what is given to us and apply it, not just hear it. We need to grow instead of being content to stay the same. We need to go to the author of all wisdom and allow Jesus to transform us. We discuss the verses in Hebrew 5:11-14 where it talks about the people being dull of hearing. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

Don't be satisfied with a shake! Go for the steak!

Merry Christmas! We are so grateful to each of our listeners and pray that you have a beautiful time with your family this season and focus on the true meaning.

As always, we would love to hear from you

We live in a world today that is full of hopelessness, but we don't want you to live that way. Our desire for you is that you have a hope that surpasses all circumstances. Matthew 12:21 tell us this about Jesus, "And His name will be the hope of the world." We want you to have unwavering hope, not in what you can see, but in who He is, and what He can do. 

As Abraham trusted in what God promised, even when he couldn't see how it was possible, we want you to be unwavering. Romans 4:20-21 says "No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised."

In this episode, we share our own journey of hope, and how God has showed up in our life over and over and brought hope to hopeless places. Remember, in your own story, that He can do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine. Lean into the hope of the world.

As always, we would love to hear from you

We discussed generosity in this episode, but not in the way you might assume. We often think of generosity in a monetary way but we want to discuss what generosity in marriage looks like. Have you ever considered whether you are generous in your marriage? What does that look like? What do you need to work on? We go over several ways you can express generosity as found in the article Generosity in Marriage by Greg Smalley from our words, small acts of kindness, expressions of affection, to forgiveness and grace. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/generosity-in-marriage-small-acts-that-make-a-big-difference/

As always, we would love to hear from you

When we spoke our vows 20 years ago, we had no idea what they meant. We had no idea the immense meaning of "For better or worse, sickness or health, till death do us part." However, those words mean more now because we know what they truly encompass. We know what it means to bear one another up, and we believe this is a big part of marriage and life. We are meant to bear one another's burdens. We are not meant to try and keep everything fair, keep score, or not allow our spouse to help us. Ultimately, we are meant to bring our burdens to Jesus. To cast all our cares on Him. We challenge each of you to reflect on whether you need to help your spouse bear their burdens, let your spouse help bear your burdens, and ultimately if you have handed those burdens to your Heavenly Father.

We also encourage you to get bare as well. It also helps your relationship with your spouse and helps you both to bear one another's burdens. 

As always, we would love to hear from you!

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.