Marriage Talk

Sheldon and Valerie talk about the tendency to underestimate the difficulty of things and overestimate our abilities at times and how it's good to be realistic and honest with ourselves. The solution to this is to gain understanding and tools so that we can overcome these difficulties.  Processing Questions: What are areas where you have underestimated the difficulty of things? What are areas wher...

Sheldon and Valerie chat with Scott and Joanne Williams. Scott and Joanne Williams live in Fredericton, NB where they work together in their business, raised their children and enjoy church ministry and a life full of rich friendships. They are the proud parents of 3 incredible children – Taylor (27), Micah (23) and Tori (21). Their story is one of redemption, forgiveness, healing and God’s faithf...

Sheldon and Valerie talk about lessons they learnt while paddling the Churchill River for 5 days with a group of 20 friends and family. They share some of their highlights and life lessons which include: When you tip you can still smile; It’s ok to lighten the load; Steer towards your destination; Share life with family and friends; Life is an adventure - live it!; Attitude Matters; Soul Care; Lea...

Sheldon and Valerie continue their conversation on building culture focusing on building block #4, “write down your core value statements”. The three steps are:  Step 1: Think of what you want your values to embody; Step 2: Isolate the unique principles; Step 3: Create memorable language that’s prescriptive and descriptive. Processing Questions: What would creating value statements do in your fami...

Sheldon and Valerie talk about creating culture in our marriages and families. They chat about a blog by Carey Nieuwhof titled 5 Essential Building Blocks of a Healthy Church Culture and the principles he uses in building church culture. Processing Questions: What is the current culture of your family? What do you want the culture to be? How do you achieve the culture that you want? Carey Nieuwhof...

Valerie and Sheldon interview Elaine and Darren Lee on their marriage journey. The things they have done well and the things they have learned from along the way. Darren is a Quality Assurance Manager working for a global tech company. Elaine is a Strategic Projects Lead working in Power to Change.  Elaine and Darren are passionate about food and travel and they each do equal amounts of eating and...

Sheldon and Valerie interview Pat and Anita Neuman on their marriage journey. The things they have done well and the things they have learned from along the way. Pat and Anita Neuman are actually part of the volunteer team that helps with FamilyLife Canada’s Weekend Getaways in the maritimes. They have been married for 27 years and have 4 children, 3 of whom are out on their own now, and their you...

Valerie and Sheldon talk about what to do if grandparents are being too involved in our lives. In this episode they introduce 3 elements that can help parents navigate the conversation with grandparents that are too involved (1. Be A Team; 2. Make A Game Plan Together; 3. Have The Honest Conversation). Intentional Grandparenting Here is the link that is talked about in the show regarding FamilyLif...

Sheldon and Valerie talk about being stuck in a gridlock, not the traffic kind but the marriage kind. They unpack the 5 steps to move us out of gridlock identified in the book “The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work” by Dr. John Gottman. Step 1 - Be A Dream Detective; Step 2 - Don’t Solve Rather Seek To Understand; Step 3 - Soothe Each Other; Step 4 - End The Gridlock; Step 5 - Say Thank Yo...

We have the privilege of having my dad, Terry, and Sheldon's dad, David, on the podcast today and of course Sheldon is here with us also. I will be interviewing them on their journey of fatherhood. 

Sheldon and Valerie talk with Randy and Donna Carter (founders of STM Ministries ) about their marriage journey. The things they have done well and the things they have learned from along the way. Randy and Donna Carter began speaking at marriage conferences in 2015 after experiencing a renaissance in their own marriage. They quickly discovered that they love sharing, both what they’ve learned ove...

Sheldon and Valerie talk about how we will be remembered. What kind of attributes and character traits, what kind of person do we want to be remembered for? They talk about some things we can all do to make sure our family is getting our best.  

Sheldon and Valerie talk about self-care. Why it matters, what it can look like and the benefits of taking care of ourselves. They talk about the balance between loving and serving others while also taking care of our own mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.  

Sheldon interviews Valerie, Brenda Breker (Valerie's mom), and Edith Dean (Sheldon's mom) on their journey of motherhood. This episode is full of laughter and tears and we trust it will be an encouragement to those who listen. 

Sheldon and Valerie talk about another 5 strategies we can do to make the switch from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. This is part 2 of the series. To hear the other 5 strategies tune in to episode 81.

Sheldon and Valerie talk about 5 strategies we can do to make the switch from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. This is a two part series and next week they will talk about another 5 strategies.

Sheldon and Valerie talk about the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset and three markers that will help us determine which mindset we have. Those markers are our expectations, how we communicate and handle conflict. FamilyLife Parenting Conference Article that is discussed in the episode.

Sheldon and Valerie talk about vulnerability; why we should be vulnerable; what happens when we are not vulnerable; and how we can become more vulnerable. FamilyLife Canada

Sheldon and Valerie talk about how to build and restore hope in our relationships.

Sheldon and Valerie talk about why non-sexual touch is important, what it does in a relationship, and what it can look like.

Sheldon and Valerie talk about the concept of how life is meant to be spent.

Sheldon and Valerie talk about 6 factors that we can use to train ourselves to be more resilient. This episode covers the last 3 in this two part series. Here is the link to the Culture Translator  that is mentioned in this episode.  

Sheldon and Valerie talk about 6 factors that we can use to train ourselves to be more resilient. This episode covers the first 3 in this two part series. 

Sheldon and Valerie talk about four guard rails they recommend to have in marriage.

Sheldon and Valerie talk about how we respond when our spouse or kids make an attempt for a positive connection with us, do we turn towards or away from them?