Operation: Thriving Marriage

A thriving marriage is not something you arrive at but rather a journey you’re on. This episode discusses some of the signs you will see when a marriage is thriving.

Becoming parents is not the purpose of marriage. Parenting, however, can lead to conflicts in marriage when you, as a couple, don’t agree on how to handle things. It’s important to manage the Unexpectations around parenting. If you don’t it will keep your marriage from thriving.

Does your spouse complete you? Is that the biblical vision for marriage? Well, the answer is no. The one who completes us is God not our spouse. A thriving marriage is not a couple completing each other. A thriving marriage is two people complete in Christ growing in holiness together. Your marriage will thrive when you look to God to complete you and your spouse to be your partner in growing to b...

According to an article in the Washington Post by Terrence Real there is a normal amount of marital hatred.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/23/marriage-relationships-conflict/ Is that true? Is there a normal amount of hatred in marriage? Well, Jesus calls us to love our enemies. If that’s true then even more so then we should love our spouses. Hate does not have a place in Christi...

Marriage exists to help to people become more fit to fulfill the purpose that God has for them. One of the ways we do that is by supporting each other. To be effective at this we need to match the right support to the need. Support can be emotional, tangible, or informational. Each one is necessary at different times to make a marriage thrive. You can find the article Jen references in this episod...

Marriages go through natural phases of development. In this episode, Bryon and Jen apply Bruce Tuckman’s theory of group development to our marriages and use his observations to help us navigate the storms we all face in marriage.

Holidays can be very stressful for a marriage. The Unexpectations (unmet expectations that are unvoiced, unshared, or unreasonable) that crop up during the holidays can create significant conflicts in a marriage. In this episode, Bryon and Jen talk about navigating the conflicts that often occur during the stressful holiday season.

In this episode Bryon and Jen discuss the theology of gender and what the Bible says about gender roles in marriage.

What do you do if you find someone other than your spouse attractive? Is it okay to find someone other than your spouse attractive? There are attractive people out there. Seeing attractive people is unavoidable. You can control what you think about and how you look at attractive people. Three things can help you deal with feelings of attraction: Choose to love your spouse. Take every thought capti...

You need to talk about sex! Sex is an important part of marriage. Healthy marriages have healthy sex lives. To have a thriving marriage you need to be able to talk about sex in your marriage.

Communication is one of the most important aspects of a marriage. Good communication will solve problems when they arise. Even better though, good communication will prevent problems from arising in the first place. The trick to healthy communication in marriage is to listen in a way your spouse wants to speak to you and speak in a way your spouse wants to listen.

One of the core principles of Operation: Thriving Marriage is the idea of Team Marriage. Having a thriving marriage requires you as a couple working together as a team. In this session we unpack the theology and practical aspects of building a team in your marriage.

This is the third installment of our live event at New Life Church in Ann Arbor, MI. Here we talk about a concept we call “Unexpectations.” Every argument you’ve ever had or ever will have in your marriage stems from an Unexpectations. These are expectations that are unvoiced, unshared, or unreasonable. Knowing the Unexpectations and why it is an Unexpectations is the first step in resolving confl...

This is a continuation of the Operation: Thriving Marriage Experience that we did at New Life Church in Ann Arbor in May of 2022. In this session we continue to talk about the biblical purpose of marriage. What you believe about marriage affects what you think about marriage which affects how you behave in your marriage. Do you believe what God says the purpose of marriage is or what your family o...

This episode is a replay of the first session from our Operation: Thriving Marriage Experience at New Life Church in Ann Arbor. This episode covers God’s purpose for marriage.

Did you marry your soulmate? Are you sure? The truth is you probably didn’t marry your soulmate because soulmates are a concepts developed out of romance novels not from Scripture. In this episode, Bryon and Jen bust the myth of soulmates and talk about what it means to develop truly lasting love within the marriage that God has given you.

At a recent Operation: Thriving Marriage Experience, we were asked what are some marks or waypoints of a mature or maturing sex life. We are inundated with unrealistic skewed expectations about sex. It is important for us to know and talk about healthy sex rather than chase the ideas and attitudes in the media. The most important thing is for couples to love each other, listen to each other, and e...

There has been a trend of spouses coming to us after they receive divorce papers. It is much harder to fix a marriage when one person in the couple is ready to end it. Marriage, however, works when you work it. In this episode, Bryon and Jen talk about the importance of addressing problems early so they don’t become become big problems.

In this episode, Bryon and Jen talk about managing in-law expectations. All in-laws have expectations on their loved ones’ marriages. This is normal. It can be tricky, though. When not handled correctly, these expectations can have a negative effect on your marriage. If handled well, however, it is possible to have both a thriving marriage and a thriving relationship with your in-laws. There are a...

In the last podcast, we talked about listening better. In this one we talk about how we can speak in a way to improve communication in our marriages. It is important to learn skills that will help us communicate well with our spouses.

This is the first of a two part series on communication. In this episode, Bryon and Jen talk about how you can practically improve your listening skills to strengthen your marriage.

Money is regularly cited as the number one reason for divorce. It is also one of the things Jesus talked about the most. Why is money so dangerous? Why is it so important? In this episode, Bryon and Jen discuss the place money has in marriage and how we can ensure that it helps us build thriving marriages and doesn't rip our relationships apart.

Have you seen marriages that just seem to go from one fight to another? Clearly those marriages are not thriving. Marriage is not designed to be a conflict. Marriage functions best when as a couple you work as a team. There are essential elements to building a good team. In this podcast we will talk about those essentials to building your thriving marriage.

Why are you married? Why did you get married? What is marriage for? In this episode Bryon and Jen talk about the purpose of marriage from a biblical and theological perspective. They explain that marriage is about holiness and godliness, and becoming the people that God created us to be.

Love is often confusing and misunderstood. Yet, love is key to a thriving marriage. In this episode Bryon and Jen talk about the biblical definition of love and how to strengthen love in your marriage.