The Living Marriages Podcast | Effective Communication, Intimacy, Healthy Habits, Christian Counseling, Christian Parenting

For many of us, finances cause us a lot of grief and confusion or even worse, it can lead to bitterness and strife in our marriages. Often that stress comes from "clutter" in our finances, e.g. not understanding how much is coming in or going out, what is important to us or our spouse.  In this episode, we heed God's invitation to begin to declutter our finances by: admitting we need help having a...

We had the best of intentions. A wonderful anniversary trip away. Time spent with each other and the Lord visioning what he was calling our family to. We were so excited to implement our family vision as soon as we got home! And then we came home to the clutter and the chaos. We've been struggling to implement our vision since so we decided we need to start by decluttering first.  Note: This episo...

Drama. Even as God's image-bearers, drama is a reality of our fallen human experience. Often within our marriages and our families, we step into drama in one of three ways: as the victim, persecutor or rescuer. We can often cycle through these different roles in our family systems or even in our own perspectives. As we continue to cycle through these roles, we continue to live in drama. Thankfully...

In Nehemiah 12, we see God's people gather to celebrate God's goodness and faithfulness to his people through a difficult time in their history. We also see God giving us a blueprint for how worship in song matters and can transform our marriages families. In worship: God reminds us that our story is a part of his bigger story God renews our minds and our relationships God invites us to rejoice be...

A recent conversation with a stranger with grown kids got us thinking about the direction our family and our marriage are going. We've only got so much time with our kids at home to disciple them and model for them the values we feel God calling us to. How are we doing? In this conversation we talk about: Why today is the day to start making decisions about your family's directions and why it's ne...

We are away this week celebrating our 15th anniversary so we wanted to share one of our favourite episodes from the Living Marriages archive...our first conversation with Dr. John Littlejohn. We'll be back with fresh content next week. Enjoy! Have you wondered what people mean when they say they want Christ "at the centre" of their marriage? What does it look like to hear the voice of God in our m...

Have you ever gone through times when you've felt distant from God; when it feels like he isn't present? Or maybe you're so consumed by the current struggle that you don't even have the mental or emotional capacity to remember his goodness and faithfulness in times past. It is so easy to forget that the God that we serve is with us in the midst of it all; loving us. Sometimes he even surprises us...

Early on in their marriage, Matthew and Joanna Raabsmith thought they would help others in their marriage. They were both in seminary receiving excellent training, they both had a heart to help others. Little did they know that even though they would help others in their marriage, God needed to do a deep work in their marriage first. It began by confronting the lie that was at the centre of their...

Routine is good. In fact, our family tends to thrive on routine! However, making space for adventure and spontaneity is also good. In fact, we'd say it's an essential part of being human. If we are made in the image of God and he is creative, we need space for fun and creativity as well. We know...it takes effort to be spontaneous and energy to seek playfulness and adventure. But the payoff for yo...

After tragedy struck their family, Ian and Courtney Hogaboam heard from God. It started with a recurring dream for Courtney and it ended up with Jesus becoming the centre of their lives and their marriage. Since then, Ian and Courtney have become dear friends, regular listeners of the Living Marriages Podcast and marriage mentees. In our conversation, we discover: How Jesus sought them out in diff...

Assertiveness, Assumptions, Aggression: only one of these things is healthy in a marriage (hint: it's the first one!) Assertiveness is critical for any marriage as it allows us to be seen and heard and it rescues us from assumptions. However, it does not come easy for many of us though, owing to past wounding, personality type or even an unsafe space to express ourselves in marriage. For others, a...

In the hands of the enemy, differences can be used to drive our marriages and families apart. But in the hands of the Holy Spirit joined with curious and humble hearts, differences can truly strengthen a marriage. In this episode you'll hear about: How assumptions can kill your relationship The 80/20 rule when it comes to understanding gender differences The critical importance of curiosity in you...

Sex and finances are the two topics that we seem to find ourselves coming back to often because they are two of the largest stress points in any marriage.  On this episode, we talk about: Our journey with money and learning what "mammon" is Exploring Jesus' puzzling parable on money from Luke 16 Learning to see money as a tool for the kingdom that is to be leveraged Learning to trust God as our Go...

Research has shown that it can take couples between 2 and 6 years to finally reach out for help from the time they realize they're having trouble in their marriage. We've got one question: why wait so long? On today's episode we discuss: the benefits of marriage mentoring and why getting ahead of the problem is healthy the shame and pressure couples feel when they are having issues that may preven...

We're so excited to be joined by a new friend, author and marriage coach Dana Che. In this wide-ranging conversation we talk about: her story of how God raised her up as a marriage coach after infidelity in her marriage what a "biblical marriage" is and is not the new book that God laid on her heart and how it's been helping couples encounter him and one another what hope there is for couples goin...

Trigger warning: In this episode we share about the loss of a parent. With increased life expectancy and older first-time parents, the so-called "Sandwich Generation" - people having to care for both young children and aging or ill parents - is growing. Being a part of this generation of care-givers, we have experienced the tremendous pressure and complexity this creates. On today's episode we sha...

I confess! I (Aaron) love big, radical things! I'm always looking for the "next big idea" that will change our lives and our marriages, the "silver bullet" or "magic formula" that will bring dramatic transformation. However, while we should not discount the big things, I've been learning the ways in which God is inviting us to discover and invest in the small things. When these are done often, wit...

Difference and Drift. These 2 things can be subtle but deadly for our marriages. Have you discovered some differences with your spouse that have left you discouraged? Do you find yourself drifting further and further apart from your partner? We're so excited to share our conversation with Braden and Kristin Hafner of Family Life Canada about God's hope for our marriages! On this episode you'll hea...

When we use the word "intimacy," our culture (and even our churches) have conditioned us to think of what happens in the bedroom, of sexual intimacy. While sexual intimacy is an integral part of marriage, it is not the full picture of what God has created us for and invited us into. There is so much more to intimacy and today's episode is meant to get the conversation going on what intimacy in mar...

This is a first for the Living Marriages Podcast - a rebroadcast of one of our and your favourite episodes! Be encouraged as we re-visit this conversation with our good friend and mentor, Katie Skurja. ------ "Shame is the most powerful force on the planet, apart from grace." Katie Skurja, founder of Imago Dei Ministries, is an internationally recognized inner healing practitioner, spiritual direc...

Greetings friends! When we began the Living Marriages podcast over a year ago, we could never have imagined what a wonderful ride God was inviting us to - one filled with inspiring interviews, challenging conversations and the incredible opportunity to get to know some of you, our listeners. We felt called from the beginning to offer 2 episodes a week (outside of once-a-week summer episodes) and w...

Are you feeling hurried, busy beyond what you thought was possible, stripped of joy? Our culture has a solution for you - buy this bathrobe or three of these candles or this SUV to take you to the mountains so you can find the rest you so desperately want and need.  They have one thing right - we need this rest! But here's what they have wrong - you don't need to buy it. God offers it to you. It's...

On this Thursday Thought, we provide some time for reflection as God invites us to consider: Are there areas of our marriage or our lives where we don't feel contented or satisfied? If so, why might that be? In what ways is God calling us to a fast in those areas, whether that be from food or spending? Where do you have a sense that God is inviting you to fast in order to prepare you for his feast...

Dopamine is profitable. We live in an age where everything is designed to give us quick dopamine hits, from our devices to our online shopping carts, because retailers and marketers know that dopamine drives sales. But is this what God designed us for? As individuals and in our marriages? On this episode, we share about our experience of doing a "No Spend Week". We talk about: The difficulties the...

In our last episode , we discussed the dangers and harm that can come to our relationships from unhealthy relationships with our devices.  Today, we're providing space for us to reflect with God and one another. How have I given in to my phone and social media's design to give me quick dopamine hits? How has this replaced the slower work of intimacy and conversation in my marriage and family? How...