The Living Marriages Podcast | Effective Communication, Intimacy, Healthy Habits, Christian Counseling, Christian Parenting
The Go-To Podcast for Those Who Want To Rebuild Intimacy and Connection in Their Christ Centered Marriage Has the excitement of your wedding day now faded into the background? Are you so exhausted that the last thing you want to think about is your marriage? Do you and your spouse feel like ships passing in the night? If you’re craving the intimate, connected marriage God has for you, you’ve come to the right place! We’re April and Aaron Au, marriage coaches with over a decade of experience, who are on the journey to finding God’s best for our marriage while raising two young boys. We recently heard this wisdom: “If your marriage isn’t growing, it’s dying.” Yikes! That really got our attention! But if you think about it, it’s true. Marriages need direction, purpose and a common vision to thrive. If they don’t, they will inevitably drift apart. When you add the pressures of raising young children and the grind of daily work to the mix, there are even more forces that threaten to pull our marriages apart. Thankfully, God has a beautiful vision for our marriages. He wants us to cultivate and enjoy intimacy and connection in our marriage. What’s more, God wants to breathe his Spirit and life into our marriages through beautiful encounters with him in prayer and worship. In this podcast, we’ll learn about: - Simple, healthy habits that lead to effective communication and intentional conversations - The assumptions and expectations that can sabotage our marriages - How community is essential for a connected marriage - God’s heart to bring healing and wholeness to us, as individuals and as a family And of course, we’ll dive into all of the fun topics like sex, money, parenting and why you shouldn’t buy a car without talking to your spouse first. We’ll also have space to encounter God through prayer, worship and reflection through regular episodes called “Thursday Thoughts.” So join us on this beautiful journey that we call “Living Marriages.” Get in touch! info@livingmarriages.com Like the podcast? You can make a charitable donation to keep fresh content coming: livingmarriages.com
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Episodes
Thursday Feb 13, 2025
Thursday Feb 13, 2025
When is the last time you thanked your spouse? For who they are or for something they did? Has it been awhile?
On this Thursday Thought, join Aaron as he explores another tip on creating a healthy marriage with God, this time by looking at the transformative power of gratitude in your marriage.
Topics we cover:
Why gratitude matters
How gratitude can transform your marriage along with some of the science that backs it up
How keeping a gratitude journal transformed one man's view of his wife and his marriage
Resources
Gary Thomas: “Gratitude With Purpose In Marriage”
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/gratitude-with-purpose-in-marriage/
Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/imperfect-spirituality/202310/gratitude-could-help-your-marriage-last
Are you thankful for something in your marriage or your spouse? Please feel free to share! info@livingmarriages.com
Tuesday Feb 11, 2025
Tuesday Feb 11, 2025
Do you want to know God's will for your life but you're not sure where to start? Do you want to hear his voice for your marriage but you're not sure what you're listening for?
In this episode, we explore what it means to discern God's will in the context of your marriage and how Paul provides some (uncomfortable) direction in Romans 12.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Romans 12:1
Join Aaron and April as we discuss:
What it means to offer your marriage to God as a living sacrifice
Why being a living sacrifice can be uncomfortable (especially when the heat gets turned up on the altar)
Why we can still trust God and know his heart and will when things are getting hot
Here is the discernment tool we talk about that we have used in our marriage to know if we are hearing God's voice:
https://www.prmi.org/four-discernment-tests/
Have any other thoughts, questions, ideas? How can we be praying for you? Get in touch: info@livingmarriages.com
Thursday Feb 06, 2025
Thursday Feb 06, 2025
Are you wanting to bring some health, vitality, new life to your marriage? Are you wanting to have God at the centre of your marriage but aren't sure where to start?
Over the next 5 Thursday Thoughts episodes, we'll explore practical ideas of how we can create a healthy, vibrant marriage with God and our spouse.
On this episode, April starts at the very beginning. If you want God at the centre of your marriage, you have to see how he's already there! We'll discover:
How God is already at work in your marriage
Why we need to make space to encounter him there already (as a couple and as individuals)
Some practical ideas on how we can encounter him
This is not an episode to induce guilt to becoming a "better" Christian but rather a gracious invitation from the God who loves us and desires his best for us, to encounter him in our life and our marriage.
Suggested devotional resources for couples:
https://timothykeller.com/books/the-meaning-of-marriage-a-couples-devotional
https://www.scottkedersha.com/the-ready-or-knot-prayer-guide
Suggested devotional resources for individuals:
https://timothykeller.com/books/the-songs-of-jesus
https://bibleproject.com/reading-plans/
Connect with us!
info@livingmarriages.com
Our website: livingmarriages.com
Tuesday Feb 04, 2025
Tuesday Feb 04, 2025
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 marriage, together and as individuals?
In today's episode, we are so excited to welcome our first-ever guest, Dr. John "Adidam" Littlejohn! A deeply loved pastor and internationally recognized musician, John explores with us in this fun and in-depth conversation, questions like:
If God desires to speak to us, how do we hear God's voice in our marriage?
If God is at the centre of our marriage, how do we keep moving towards him, no matter where we're coming from?
Does God have a vision for our marriage?
We were so incredibly blessed and challenged by our conversation with John and we pray you will be too!
Find out more about John here:
https://www.adidammusic.com
https://www.instagram.com/adidammusic/
https://www.infinitusmusic.com
https://www.thekingdomlife.ca
Connect with us:
info@livingmarriages.com
www.livingmarriages.com
Thursday Jan 30, 2025
Thursday Jan 30, 2025
Welcome to the first “Thursday Thought” of the Living Marriages Podcast!
Over the next several episodes, we are exploring our vision statement together: “Create a healthy marriage through encountering the living God.”
Today, Aaron reflects on the idea of “creating” in our marriages:
Why creating beauty in our marriages so important and why it’s something we rarely think about
Why as image-bearers of God, he’s inviting us to co-create with him in our marriages
What co-creating in our marriages could look like (hint: I’m not 100% sure yet but let’s be creative together!)
We pray today’s episode gets those creative juices flowing for your marriage!
Check out Dr. Curt Thompson’s inspiring book “The Soul of Desire” here:
https://curtthompsonmd.com/books/
Get in touch with us! info@livingmarriages.com
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
On today’s episode, you’ll get to know your hosts of the Living Marriages Podcast, April and Aaron, better!
God has given us a crazy and fun story to share:
Hear how God brought us together in some rather miraculous ways
Discover how God's best for you is WAY better than broccoli flavoured cough syrup
We'd love to hear your marriage story as well! Get in touch: info@livingmarriages.com
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Welcome to the Living Marriages Podcast - our first episode ever!
Today, you’ll hear about God’s heart for marriage and why we’re joining him on this journey of helping you create a healthy marriage through encountering the living God.
We explore:
Why our marriage of almost 14 years was doing just “fine” but maybe why fine isn’t all that God has for us.
Why, if your marriage isn’t growing, it’s dying.
We’ll share the vision God gave us for marriages from Ezekiel 37:
We ask ourselves and you: Is your marriage living or dry bones?
What would it look like to have God breathe his life, his Spirit into our marriage?
Three important questions to reflect on:
Who do you and your spouse say God is? (Is that the same or different?)
Who does God say you are?
Who does God say your spouse is?
We look forward to journeying together with you towards the healthy, living marriage that God has for all of us!
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2037%3A1-14&version=ESV
Check out this incredible conversation about the breath and Spirit of God from amazing folks at the Bible Project:
https://bibleproject.com/podcast/holy-spirit-part-2/
Get in touch! info@livingmarriages.com
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Has the excitement of your wedding day now faded into the background? Is the honeymoon over and now you’re wondering what’s next? Do you want to live your marriage God’s way but you’re not sure where to start?
If you said yes to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place! Welcome to the Living Marriages Podcast. We are April and Aaron Au, marriage coaches.
For over a decade, we’ve been sharing some of the marriage tools and insight we’ve learned with couples, and now we’re thrilled to be able to share those with you in this podcast through fun, honest and curiosity-filled conversations.
We’ll explore topics like understanding why your spouse flipped out over nothing, why honeymoon sex is nothing like Hollywood, why you shouldn’t buy a car without telling your spouse and why men loving your wives as Christ loves the church might mean doing the laundry.
We’re also eager to continue our own journey of discovery along with you as we interview wise, Spirit-led guests in the areas of inner healing, finances, sexual intimacy and so much more! So join us on this beautiful and crazy journey of Living Marriages as we learn to love and be loved together with God.
Want to get in touch? info@livingmarriages.com