Delight Your Marriage

Married 42 Years, Living Like Roommates – Until Everything Changed After 42 years of marriage, Carol could barely stand being in the same room as her husband. They had raised four children, welcomed nine grandchildren, and dedicated much of their lives to Christian ministry. But behind closed doors, their marriage had become a painful, disconnected relationship. They weren't experiencing the close...

Have you ever been embarrassed by something your husband said or did? Maybe he told a story and got a few details wrong. Maybe he said something in front of friends that made you cringe. Or maybe he just does things differently than you would. And before you even realize it, you're correcting him, interrupting him, or giving him that look. But what if those little moments are doing more damage to...

Sex, Intimacy, and the Marriage God Actually Designed | Belah Rose on the Grace Marriage Podcast with Brad Rhoads What if the reason your marriage feels disconnected isn't because something terrible happened? What if it's simply because you've stopped growing closer? You're not fighting all the time. You're not thinking about leaving. Life is busy, the kids need attention, work is demanding, and y...

Married (Sacred) Sex: Interview with Gary Thomas - Listener Favorite (Re-release)     What if growing closer to God could also help you grow closer to your spouse?     In this Listener Favorite re-release, Belah welcomes bestselling author and international speaker Gary Thomas for an honest conversation about faith, marriage, and sexual intimacy.     Gary's books—including Sacred Marriage, Sacred...

Jesus Was Kind, but He Didn't Care. Until... Ben planned a date night by the pool. Charcuterie board, music, the whole thing. And that night his wife told him: "If you don't change, I'm leaving." Married 24 years. Four kids. A business owner who casts limestone mantles and is in his shop by 5:15 every morning. A man's man. On one of his first calls he told me, (amongst explitives) "I've never even...

The Fatherhood Focus That Changes Everything with Brad Rhoads "Most parents miss the joys of parenting trying to be a good parent." That's what Brad Rhoads's mentor told him. And it wrecked him in the best way. Brad's a father of five. Married to Marilyn for 30 years. He ran a law practice for 22 years before launching Grace Marriage (gracemarriage.com), a ministry that equips churches with ongoin...

He thought his wife was the problem. A lawnmower ride changed everything. Zack was frustrated. Confused. Married 22 years with four kids, no big crisis, no infidelity, no blowups. Just a slow, quiet drift that left him on his mower wondering, "Does my wife really love me?" She kept saying, "I don't feel emotionally connected to you." He had no idea what that even meant. And she couldn't really put...

Unified in Future Planning for Your Marriage: Interview with Brad and Deidre King Brad's a financial planner. Spreadsheets, formulas, five-year plans. That's his world. Deidre? Her life goal at 18 was to marry Brad. Done. Next dream? Mission field. Adoption. A farm. Big, wild, beautiful dreams... You can imagine the tension. He's thinking: "Is this just a dream, or am I actually supposed to take a...

I talk to men every single week often they tell me their good intentions: "She was in pain and I was there. I was present." And I have to applaud them, because that's certainly a win! But I do want to encourage them that presence without words is not enough. Your silence when she's hurting isn't neutral. Unfortunately, it can feel like you don't care. She may even worry that you're judging her. Sa...

I was on the phone with a friend the other day, crying over a broken promise. Someone I trusted deeply said they'd do something significant, and after many assurances, they didn't. So yeah. I cried. And my friend let me. She didn't rush me. She didn't fix me. She just held space. But here's the thing: I didn't stay there. A mutual friend, a previous client, had said something really powerful about...

They were in ministry together for decades. Everyone thought they had a great marriage.   Behind closed doors? Roommates. Disconnected. (Rare) duty sex. No affection. No real intimacy in years.   Then Jody looked at David after a premarital counseling session he was leading and said: "You're a hypocrite."   He didn't just hear her. He heard God through her.   David joined Masculinity Reclaimed. Jo...

Is the 50% Divorce Rate a Myth?   You've probably heard this your entire life:   "50% of marriages end in divorce."   It's repeated so often that most of us don't even question it. But what if it's not actually true?   I recently interviewed social researcher and bestselling author Shaunti Feldhahn, and she shared something I think every married person should hear.   Years ago, Shaunti went lookin...

Brutal Truths (about Spiritual Leadership) that Husbands Need to Hear - Part 3 Husband,   Your family feels what you carry into the room. They feel your peace. They feel your resentment. They feel your patience.   And they feel your anger—even when you never raise your voice. That may sound heavy, but it is also hopeful. Because it means you have more influence in your home than you may realize.  ...

Brutal Truths (about Sex) that Husbands Need to Hear - Part 2 Can we encourage you with something? Wanting intimacy with your wife doesn't make you selfish. God designed that desire. But wanting the right thing doesn't always mean we're pursuing it the right way. Sometimes the very strategies that seem like they should bring us closer actually create more distance. If you've ever thought: "Why doe...

Brutal Truths: Husbands Need to Hear Part 1 Every husband wants to be respected. But here's a difficult question: Have you become the kind of man who is truly respectable? Most people think respect is earned in the big moments. The promotions. The accomplishments. The recognition. But God often builds respectable men much differently. In private. When no one is watching. One courageous choice. One...

Could Women Be Increasing Fatherlessness? Take a moment and ask yourself this question: What does your husband see when he looks into your eyes? Does he see admiration? Does he feel respected? Or does he brace himself for another correction? It's not an easy question. Most wives don't wake up wanting to criticize their husbands. You simply want your marriage to be better. You want him to grow. You...

Pastor Finds His Own Marriage Revival Here: Interview with Father Joe Sometimes the smallest changes tell the biggest story. In this week's conversation, Father Joe shares the very first change he noticed after his wife went through coaching. She stopped telling him how to drive. (Yes, really!) It might sound like a funny detail. But to him, it represented something much deeper. Less tension. Less...

Surrender Your Masculinity to Jesus: Interview with Aaron Smith Consider this question: If your marriage never changed... Would Jesus still be enough? That question is at the heart of this week's conversation with Aaron Smith. For four long years, he and his wife struggled with painful intimacy issues that nearly ended their marriage. Like many couples, they kept praying for God to change their ci...

Is It Manipulation or Is It Kindness? Whether you realize it or not, you're already influencing your spouse. Every day. Through your words. Your attitudes. Your reactions. Your encouragement. Your silence. The question isn't whether you're influencing them. The question is why. Are you trying to get your own way? Or are you trying to help them become who God created them to be? That's what this we...

Not a Bad Marriage, But the Future Looked Disconnected: David's Transformation Journey One of the biggest lies couples believe is this: "This is just what marriage becomes." The excitement fades. The connection weakens. The emotional intimacy disappears. And we convince ourselves that's normal. This is where David found himself. His marriage wasn't falling apart, but it wasn't thriving either. He...

If you've ever looked in the mirror and felt disappointed... If you've ever believed the lie that your body isn't beautiful enough, desirable enough, or worthy enough... I want you to know something. That voice is not God's voice. The God who knit you together in your mother's womb did not make a mistake when He made you. Your body is not something to be ashamed of. Your story is not something to...

In case you need this reminder today: You are allowed to be in process. You are allowed to say, "I do not have all the answers yet, but I want to learn." You are allowed to be growing. That is not failure. That is humility. And humility is often far stronger than we realize. Sometimes we think confidence means having everything figured out before we take a step. But that's not real confidence at a...

Sometimes Christians speak about the body as though it barely matters. As though spiritual growth and physical stewardship are completely separate things. But Scripture paints a very different picture. God created your body intentionally. Jesus came in a body. Jesus rose in a body. And one day, we will receive glorified bodies. Your body matters to God. In this episode, Justin Roethlingshoefer (Ow...

Maybe intimacy in your marriage doesn't look the way you thought it would. Maybe there are physical limitations. Health challenges. Pain. Insecurity. Lack of desire. Aging. Shame. Or just a deep sadness that things don't feel the way they "should." And maybe, quietly, you've wondered: Is something wrong with me? Is something wrong with us? Are we just broken? This episode is for the husband or wif...