Behind Our Smiles Marriage Podcast

Keeping your marriage strong while parenting young children can be challenging… but there is a different set of challenges to when parenting grown children. But we don't have to fear the empty nest! In this episode, we share the struggles and truths we're experiencing as our kids leave the nest!       To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/po...

Sometimes someone else says it better than we can! In this episode, we share some some helpful and hilarious marriage tips from Christian writer, Anne Kennedy.   If you need some encouragement and a good laugh, read the whole list on "25 Ways to Be Happy in Marriage" over at Anne's Substack .       To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/podca...

Your spouse is not the source of all that you need and long for, but they do play a critical role in what they can provide: companionship, intimacy, loyalty.   When we promised in our vows to care for our spouse, they put all their eggs in our basket.   In this episode we share how we've learned to take responsibility for the eggs that are in our basket!   To connect with us on social media: Faceb...

Is there anything you long for in your marriage?   Maybe there are longings you have that your spouse doesn't even know about. In this episode, we're shaing our experience with submitting those desires to God and recognizing where we may be leaving our spouse longing.   To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/podcasts/behind-our-smiles Email:...

Is your husband or wife always counting down to the next big game?   How does our love for sports affect our marriages- for the good or bad?   Our culture puts a high value on sports but it can become excessive when every game is a big game.   In this episode we share how God has shifted our hearts in the role that sports has in our home.   To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram be...

Have you even been in a classroom or job environment and you had no idea what was expected of you and no idea how to get there?   It's hard to succeed when you don't even understand the assignment!   We've experienced that feeling in our marriage!   In this episode, we share how we learned to trust God to guide us when we don't know what we're doing.     To connect with us on social media: Faceboo...

What's your first reaction when you remember being in classroom as a child?   Did you enjoy getting those good grades or was it just another way to feel inadequate?     Our school experiences often shape how "smart" we feel.   Then we can bring those feelings into our marriage and how we treat our husband or wife.   In this week's episode, we share how needing to feel smarter affects the intimacy...

If you've been to any weddings this summer, you can see it in the faces of a new bride and groom- the spark! It's that special attraction that keeps you and your spouse connected. But ten, twenty year later the spark often dies out.   This episode we're sharing five ways (SPARK) to ignite or re-ignite- the spark in your marriage! S: Smile P: Pursue A: Admire R: Repair   K: Kiss To connect with us...

We have called the process of raising our teenage sons as pulling the man out of the boy.   In Part 2 fo this series, we finish sharing our man-building principles in our PULLING acrostic!   P: Pray   U: Understand   L: Lead your heart   L; Look out for others   I: Influence   N: No excuses   G: Grit     To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com...

Following Father's Day, we want to dig deeper into the influence of fathers, and especially on sons.   We have been raising teenage boys for the past ten years and we've seen how critical Dad's role is during that time.   We call that process pulling the man out.   It's not always easy, but it is necessary.   In this episode, we share how we parented to help our boys become men.   A Father's Role...

Happy Father's Day! What are the traits that make a good father and what is their significance in our lives?   In this episode we reflect on the differences between how Joe was fathered and how he has fathered our children.     To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/podcasts/behind-our-smiles Email: tara@behindoursmiles.com

There's something comforting when you know you have equity in your home.   It may not be immediately touchable, but it represents something you will benefit from in the future.   Over the years, we have seen how the equity in our marriage has helped keep us afloat us during rough patches.   In this episode, we share about the value of growing equity in your relationships.       To connect with us...

Do you like to plan   for what you want your life and relationships to look like in five years?   The small decisions we make every day can set us on a trajectory that make it easier- or harder- to get us where we want to be.   In this episode, we share about what some of our five-year-plans have looked like and keeping perspective helps us to stay the course.     To connect with us on social medi...

As Mother's Day approaches, what kind of emotions come to the surface?  Specifically, when you think of your mother, what do you hear her saying?  The messages we hear as a child can often stay with us for life, especially if those messages were negative or hurtful.  This week we're sharing our emotions around Mother's Day and the importance of replacing negative voices with God's truth. Older epi...

Have you ever been told, "it's not you, it's me"?   It may be true but it can still make us feeling awkward.   In our marriages though, many times the issue is really not our spouse, but something we're just dealing with as an individual.   In this episode, we share the tension of working through "it's not you" in our marriage.   To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmil...

How can you make your spouse smile?   Let us count the ways!   In this episode we're letting several of our listeners share what that looks like in their marriages.   You might learn a new way to make your spouse smile, too!   Thank you to the husbands and wives for setting a great example for us!  To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/podca...

Experience the story of Jesus like never before in  THE CHRIST , a four-part Easter audio epic. THE CHRIST  brings the gospel narrative vividly to life—from the humble manger to the victorious resurrection—through world-class voice talent, cinematic soundscapes, and stirring music. From the halls of Roman power to the wilderness of Judea and the hills of Galilee, this immersive audio drama follows...

Do you ever wish your spouse could just cut you some slack?   We've all had those times where we know we messed up, but we don't want anyone on our case about it making it worse.   We have walked through many seasons where neither of us had much grace to give.   Why is offering grace so hard, yet we want it for ourselves so badly?   In this episode we share our journey and process of growing a gra...

There's something really fun about hearing from a married couple that's still at the beginning of their journey.   In this episode we talk with recording artist Hannah Kerr and her husband Jason. In their short time of being married, they have had to tackle the real stuff of life, from a Covid wedding to life on the road to unexpected losses.  They've learned early on what it looks like to surrend...

Do you consider your spouse's opinions as valid your own?   Marriage would be so much easier if we always had the same preferences and thoughts.   Instead, as we choose to let our spouse's opinion truly matter to us, we grow respect and trust in our marriage. In this episode we're sharing some of our opinions… and try to figure out whose opinion matters more!     To connect with us on social media...

Have you ever forgotten a significant day in your relationship? Taking extra effort to celebrate each other can grow trust and romance in our marriage.   In this episode, we share our times of  wrong expectations and mishandling our romantic holidays.   To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/podcasts/behind-our-smiles Email: tara@behindoursmi...

So much of our relationship is defined by what happens in private, between the two of us. But a lot of our relationship is also how we function together in public.   In this episode we're sharing how we try to look out for each other in social settings (and the times we haven't!)   To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/podcasts/behind-our-sm...

Happy New Year!   The new year can give us new hope- the promise of the change we so desperately want to see. Other times the new year can be discouraging. Here we are with a brand new year, yet here we are, having the same conversation. In this episode we share some of our "same conversations" in our marriage and how we work past that feeling of being stuck.     To connect with us on social media...

Tara and Joe share a short devotional about God's goodness. We hope you and your family have much to celebrate this Christmas!   This week we share a short article from one of our favorite writers about seeing God in the hard places.     To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com myfaithpodcasts.com/podcasts/behind-our-smiles Email: tara@behindoursmiles.com

We all know that person who starts listening to Christmas music in October… who fills their home with multiple Christmas trees and has decorations on every shelf and lights in every window.  They are "Christmas people" through and through. But maybe you feel more like a Grinch and don't care for all the holiday trappings. Does that mean Christmas is not for you?  In this episode we share our strug...