Is Jesus in Your Boat?
The Gospel of Mark chapter 4 tells us the story of Jesus launching out across the Sea of Galilee with his disciples to get some rest. After a full day of ministry while crossing, they encounter a fierce windstorm, waters coming in to their little ship, and these seasoned fishermen tried their best to navigate to the other side. They […]
Six Reasons Why Your Love Life Loses Its Sizzle
Over the years of marriage, lovemaking may not be as frequent or as earth shattering as it once was. It may have lost its sizzle. The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 7:1-5 warns us of the dangers of sexual temptation. We see couples at our intensives who are struggling with the consequences of an unsatisfying love life. So if your […]
Believing the Best in Your Spouse
A couple’s marriage was crumbling. Her husband’s heart had morphed into stone. He dearly loved her for years, but struggled to demonstrate it in a way she could recognize. As her insecurity grew, he assumed he could never please her. He stopped trying and eventually left, and doing an autopsy of her marriage, this wife realized that starting in the infancy of […]
Communication Breakdown
Our daily exposure to superficial noise via the Internet, social media, TV and radio makes it easy for us to become immune to significant communication. We have become a soundbite culture and we can’t build meaningful relationships with soundbites. Jesus made a habit of getting away from the noise in his everyday life to have some meaningful communication with his […]
Water Heaters and Marriage
At our marriage intensives, I often liken our couples’ marriages to a water heater. Now you’re probably thinking, I don’t see the comparison. Well, let me explain. Water heaters have two heating elements…one at the bottom and one in the middle of the tank. And when both of these elements are doing what they’re supposed to be doing, the […]
Become a Better We by Being a Better Me
One of the little phrases that we teach couples at our marriage hub intensives is this…“If you want a better we, become a better me”. That makes sense because the two of us are one, and what one does will impact the oneness. So the question becomes, “How do I become a better me?” There are at least two answers to […]
Becoming Your Spouse’s Greatest Cheerleader
Have you ever experienced the wonder and privilege of having someone who’s a cheerleader for you? One who always believes the best about you, who speaks your praises in front of others? It’s a great feeling. It’s so many of us who are married don’t feel like our spouses are cheerleaders. That’s funny because when we were dating, we were great […]
Unmet Expectations
We see couples every weekend at our intensives who are struggling in their marriages because both spouses don’t feel that they’re getting what they hoped for out of the relationship. At the root of their problems are all of the unconscious, unspoken and unrealistic expectations they have for each other. So let’s take a minute to look at […]
Priority
We minister to over 100 struggling couples a year in our marriage hub intensives. People often ask me, what’s the number one problem you see in marriages? Many think it’s communication or the inability to resolve conflicts or the lack of forgiveness. And those are some real biggies. But I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the most common and deepest hurts […]
Will Love Keep Us Together?
I’m sure you’ve heard the iconic Beatles song “All We Need is Love.” And there have been literally millions of love songs written all proclaiming the same message…the only thing you need to make a relationship last forever is love. And unfortunately, our culture has bought hook, line and sinker into what I believe is the biggest relationship lie of all. And […]