Behind Our Smiles Marriage Podcast

In recent times, smart phones have become the one thing that consumes most of our attention.   Almost every thing and every person can be brushed aside when we hear any type of "ding" coming from our phones.   How do we give our spouse our undivided attention with all the distraction that these devices bring?   It can feel like an impossible task.   This week we talk about how not to let our scree...

Attention is one of the greatest gifts we can give another person due to the fact that it is such a limited resource. We all only have 24 hours in a day, and we all only have so much mental energy to share with another person.   So many other people and things can demand our attention that it can leave our husband or wife feeling lonely.     In this week's episode we talk about how to steward our...

Are you in a season where you feel completely overwhelmed?   Or maybe several back-to-back seasons?   Living in overwhelm can leave us drained and can put a strain on our marriage.   In this episode we share ways to combat the overwhelm together and find refuge in the ROCK!     O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed....

This week we're talking with Lee and Terry Burnham, as they share how they found hope and renewed faith after the loss of their 3 year old daughter, Amanda.   Their story is one of sorrow, faith, and the unlikely survival of their marriage despite overwhelming loss. In this episode, Lee and Terry share the painful journey leading up to Amanda's diagnosis, the heartbreak of losing her, and how thei...

When we go overboard with giving good gifts, it's often called spoiling someone. But spoiling isn't just for the grandkids: we can also show that abundant, extravagant love to our spouse!   We can find ways to make him or her feel super special and cherished.   In this episode, we share ways what that "spoiling" can look like and common pitfalls to avoid.     To connect with us on social media: Fa...

Do you have special pet names   for your spouse?   Babe, sweetheart, honey, darling? One easy way to grow our connection and intimacy in marriage is using those special names that only we can use!   This week we're sharing our history with pet names and sharing a few new ones you might want to add to your vocabulary! To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com wowgod...

How does it affect your marriage when you or your spouse are going through a hard time?  That could be grief, depression, or feeling directionless.  This week we're following up on the last two episodes and share what that struggle looked like for us and how we got through it with our faith and our relationship in tact.     To connect with us on social media: Facebook   Instagram behindoursmiles.c...

What happens when your perfect plan falls completely apart and you have to start from scratch?   We're sharing about a time in our lives when Joe was figuring out what to do with his future and nothing went as he planned.   But God was faithful even in the rock bottom, walking with us and teaching us to trust.   In this week's episode we share what we learned how we learned to trust God in that pa...

  Do you remember a time you felt hopeless and weren't sure you were going to make it?   When your world seemed to be falling apart and you doubted if God would pull you through?   In this episode we revisit a pre-marriage season of our life that shook our world and our relationship.   And how God used those painful moments to bring us to where we are now!     To connect with us on social media: F...

Happy New Year! The start of the year is a great time to set goals and reflect on the areas we need to improve.   Sometimes our spouse is the first person to notice and be affected by those weaknesses and then we react in defensiveness.   But when we own our weaknesses and commit to change, that benefits both ourselves and our marriage!   In this week's episode, we share about how to give and rece...

Our special guests today are Larry and Hope Ware, hosts of the popular YouTube Channel, Under the Median.   Even though they specialize in helping families with practical frugality and getting our of debt, they also have a lot to share from their 35 years of marriage. From a rocky start to infertility to having babies "past their prime" to major financial hurdles, Larry and Hope have had to lean o...

Joe and Tara are stopping in to wish and your family a Merry Christmas and to share about where they find joy when Christmas isn't everything we're dreaming it should be.   We hope you and your family are enjoying a joyous and hope-filled Christmas season.     To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com wowgod.com Email: tara@behindoursmiles.com

To quote C.S. Lewis, "The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man."   At the heart of the Christmas story is the "word becoming flesh" and without that first miracle, the rest of the story doesn't matter! In this week's episode we talk about the significance of that primary miracle and our place in that story.   Read more of Lewis' thoughts on the in...

Are you so excited it's Christmas?   Will you get to see family?"   Have you ever wanted to answer: well, it's complicated. The holiday season can be a magnifying glass to whatever joys and hurts you're experiencing in your life.   For many people, it is a time that can be isolating and painful.   So even though the reason for the season hasn't changed, our circumstances and feelings around it can...

One common source of marital contention is when one spouse is more interested in being on time than the other.   This simple difference can end up adding more tension to already stressful days.   In this episode, we share about growing love and unity even when we're running late!     If you're not 15 minutes early, you're late.   That's what they say, and I agree with them!   I really don't like b...

Do you ever feel like you deserve more than you're currently getting in your marriage?   Look at the facts, it's in the contract, I'm getting the short end of the stick and deserve just a little more.   Even though marriage involves a promise and even a legal document, feeling entitled will destroy the intimacy and connection in marriage.   In this episode, we share how we're growing true gratitud...

Have you ever thought, I don't deserve this?   When you have experienced pain and suffering, you are often quick to think, I deserve better.   But the more we feel entitled to the good things that God has for us, the less we can truly appreciate them. In this week's episode we share how understanding God's grace and mercy helps move us to a place of true gratitude.     To connect with us on social...

Have you ever just wanted to be given the benefit of the doubt?   It feels awful when someone, especially your spouse, assumes the worst of you in a doubtful or unclear situation.   When it's assumed that our intentions are off,   we get defensive and less likely to offer grace in return. This week we're sharing how we're learning to give each other benefit of the doubt and how to grow in grace in...

Behind Our Smiles just celebrated three years of podcasting! And over 160 episodes!!   Many listeners have asked us if we enjoy podcasting together (we do!) and where we find our topics for each episode.   This week we're giving you a behind the scenes look at our podcast- how we plan our episodes and why we love spending time with you each week!   Thank you so much for listening these past three...

By this time in an elections season, we can become worn out from all the divisive rhetoric both from the politicians and their followers. Sometimes it makes you want to scream, can't we all just get along?   Why is everyone talking and no one actually listening?   We can have similar issues in our marriages and relationships, where we become more and more polarized when someone doesn't agree with...

  As adults we may not dress up in costumes as often as our kids do.   But we do wear our own kinds of masks that keeps people from seeing who we really are.   In this week's episode we're sharing how to live without the masks and have more authenticity in our marriage.   To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram behindoursmiles.com wowgod.com Email: tara@behindoursmiles.com

How do you feel when someone asks you to share a cup of coffee with them?   That request indicates that they want to connect with you and get to know you on a deeper level.   In our experience, coffee dates promote conversations that are both comforting, encouraging, and full of laughter.   Our marriages can benefit from coffee-fueled conversations too!! In this episode, we share from sharing abou...

Sometimes conflict is necessary and other times we just need to pause and say, does this fight even make any sense?   We both want to be close an grow our connection… but we are sabotaging that very goal by fighting over something silly.   In this episode we're working to avoid super silly arguments that serve no purpose but to divide us.   To connect with us on social media: Facebook Instagram be...

Sexual intimacy requires a vulnerability and giving of ourselves like nothing else that we share in our marriage.   Then throw in previous trauma, marital disconnection, and the demands of modern life, and it's not surprising that we're not always "in the mood". In this episode, we talk about how we overcome our obstacles to sexual intimacy.   Content note: Although we do discuss the effects of tr...

Happy Fall!   Instead of bringing you a new episode of our podcast, we want to share with you some of the podcasts we're listening to!   If you're looking for other podcasts to binge on, these are a great start! WowGod.com Morning Focus Daily Devotional Manly with Andy (The Sex Talk You Never Got w/ Sam Jolman) I Love that Song (Consumed by Fire) Mental Health w Dr. Mork   (Panic Attacks)   To con...