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

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 the first page of the Bible!
Join us for this conversation where we explore:
What Sabbath truly is
What it means to "work from rest" rather than "rest from work"
Why God's heart for Sabbath rest for us today matters more than ever
Why legalism will ruin Sabbath for anybody
Why we need to give ourselves grace as we seek to practice, not perfect Sabbath
Here are a few of the resources we referenced during our conversation:
The Body Teaches The Soul by Justin Whitmel Earley
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren
Next Steps
Do you have some Sabbath practices that work for you? Get in touch so we can share them with our listeners! info@livingmarriages.com
We'd love to pray with you and hear how things are going in your marriage and family as well!

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?
For those interested in trying a "No-Spend Week" here is some advice from what we've learned:
1. Prepare! Make sure you have what you need for the week you won't be spending.
2. Do it in community. Ask another family or your small group to join you in this.
3. Give yourself grace. There will be things that don't go according to plan this week.
4. Pay attention. Are you still being drawn to fill your online shopping cart even if you aren't spending? What are you filling your time with that you'd normally be spending shopping? What is God trying to teach you as you observe these things?
Interested in a food fast? You can find a resource to explore here.
Next Steps
Thanks for tuning in! We'd love to hear from you with how things are going with any fast God is inviting you into. We'd also love to pray for you. Get in touch! info@livingmarriages.com

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 there are in overcoming these quick dopamine hits
What we learned from our week of not spending
Why it's important to flex our "no muscle" (thanks to Bob and Linda Lotich for that reference!)
Two tips for starting your "No Spend Week"
Next Steps
Let us know if you're going to try a No Spend Week so we can be praying for you and encouraging you! info@livingmarriages.com
 

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 is God inviting me to more?
We'll also pray for God's freedom for us from our devices and new habits to make sure our phones don't have the last word in our relationships.
Next Steps
Would you like some accountability or encouragement? Prayer? Please feel free to get in touch with us. It's always an honour hearing from you: info@livingmarriages.com
 

We recently heard a very convicting conversation between Joey Odom of ReclaimWell and the great folks over at the Intentional Parenthood Podcast. In that conversation, Joey warns of how the phone can really kill intimacy between spouses and harm relationships between parents and children.
On this episode, we review some of the harmful habits and attitudes we've formed around our devices and seek to discover God's hope, one small change at a time.
We also make one suggestion we feel so strongly about that we put it directly in the show notes and that we believe will help you break proximity with your device: please do not charge your phones in your bedrooms! The harm far outweighs the good.
Next Steps
Join us for this Thursday's episode where we provide space for reflection on the relationship between us and our devices.
If you'd like to get in touch for prayer, encouragement or if you have show ideas, email us: info@livingmarriages.com
 

On this Thursday Thought, we re-visit our powerful conversation with Dr. John Littlejohn. (Listen to that on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening to us from!)
We reflect on the ways we intentionally or unintentionally fall into idolatry, how to seek God first, especially in the mundane and unpack the difference between an inward-focused grumbling that negatively affects our life and marriage and a God-focused groaning, where the Spirit of God groans with us. (Romans 8:22-27)
We pray for those of us who feel like we're caught in a cycle of grumbling and complaint.
Next steps
If you'd like to get in touch with a prayer request or episode idea, we'd love to hear from you! info@livingmarriages.com
You can also donate to this non-profit ministry at our website - https://livingmarriages.com
God bless!
 
 
 

For our 101st episode, we're thrilled to welcome back our great friend and a favourite podcast guest, Dr. John Littlejohn! We hear God's heart and word for his people in 2026, including:
What it means for our lives and marriages to put God first
What that means for us in the mundane details of life and marriage
God's invitation to discover the plank in our eye before trying to take the speck out of our spouse's
You'll also hear the first ever reference to Stevie Wonder on the Living Marriages Podcast!
To find out more about Dr. John Littlejohn and his ministry and music, please click here.
Next Steps
Need some encouragement? Have an episode idea? Get in touch with us! We're always so excited to hear from you. info@livingmarriages.com
Make a charitable donation to this non-profit ministry at our website - https://livingmarriages.com
 
 

100 episodes ago, we asked a single question: Is your marriage healthy, or is it just dry bones? Today, we are celebrating 100 moments of God’s faithfulness, 100 conversations about intimacy, and the incredible goodness of a God who breathes life into the hardest places of our relationships.
In this milestone episode of The Living Marriages Podcast, we are going back to where it all began. We re-visit the original vision God gave us from Ezekiel 37—the vision that launched Episode 1—and reflect on how that "Dry Bones" message is more relevant today than ever before.
 
Next Steps
Help us celebrate! The best "gift" you could give us for Episode 100 is to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this episode with one couple who needs to hear that their "dry bones" can live again.
Feel free to get in touch with us for prayer, encouragement and if you have episode ideas or guest suggestions! info@livingmarriages.com
 
Healthy Marriage, Ezekiel 37 Marriage, God’s Faithfulness in Marriage, The Living Marriages Podcast, Christian Relationship Advice, Restoration of Marriage, Marriage Mentoring

If you've ever felt like a failure because you've had a hard time getting a family devotional started, this episode is for you. We’re sharing the one habit we’ve attached to our morning breakfast routine that's been working so far —and why God's grace is more important than perfection, especially when Kim Chi ruins breakfast!
Resources
A free online family devotional that uses the practice of lectio divina.
This is The Biggest Story devotional our family has been using. This resource is written from a Reformed perspective. There are helpful videos that lead off each week's readings. Sometimes the questions are a bit simplistic or leading but overall our family has found it helpful. We'll often ask the kids our own questions based on the readings which have led to some incredibly fruitful conversations! (If you have the curiosity of a kid, you'll come up with some great questions for them!)
Next Steps
Feel free to get in touch with us for prayer, resources or with your episode ideas and guest suggestions! It's always a blessing hearing from you! info@livingmarriages.com
 

In Episode 97, we interviewed renowned author Sheila Wray Gregoire about God's beautiful vision for sex and intimacy and how, sadly, there has been much harmful teaching and messaging that has made sex feel like anything other than a good gift from a good God.
On this Thursday Thought, join us as we provide space and reflection to examine the messages we have learned about sex, how that has shaped our view and practice and intimacy in marriage and receive God's invitation to remain curious in this area. We also pray for God's healing, wholeness and freedom in the area of sexual intimacy in marriage.
Next Steps
Would you like prayer or to connect? We'd love to hear from you! info@livingmarriages.com
If you'd like to donate to this non-profit ministry, please visit our website to make a charitable donation: https://livingmarriages.com