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

In Ep. 59, we heard the incredible story of how God invited Bob and Linda Lotich to trust him with their finances, including giving an incredible 31% of their income. Linda mentioned that they were able to step into this with obedience and surrender because of how they had seen God's faithfulness to them earlier.

1 Samuel 17 tells the story of a young man named David who confronts a giant that nobody else will. How does he do it? I...

We are so incredibly excited and honoured to welcome two Spirit-led guests who we've looked up to for years in the areas of finance and marriage: Bob and Linda Lotich of Seedtime.

As Bob and Linda sought out God's wisdom for their finances and obeyed him, he moved them from beginning their marriage with crushing debt to giving away $1 million by the time they were 40 with incredible joy.

Join us for Part One of this incredible conv...

As we conclude this series on examining the Lord's Prayer and Marriage, we're reminded of the simple yet profound fact that everything, including our marriage, belongs to God. Are we willing to seek him in our marriages together? Are we willing to surrender our lives and marriages to him daily, in prayer?

Research has shown that couples that pray out loud together daily lower the odds of divorce from around 50% to 1%. It's a stunni...

"Lead us not into temptation..." has always been an interesting petition in the Lord's Prayer since Scripture clearly tells us that God does not tempt us (James 1:13) Why did Jesus include this in his prayer then? 

Join us as we explore Jesus' invitation to "keep us from the test" - to keep us from unnecessary testing in our lives and marriages and to have a renewed mindset, finding our hope and deliverance in him.

Next Steps

If yo...

Unforgiveness...bitterness...resentment. This is fertile ground for God's enemy to sow all kinds of chaos into our marriages and families. And yet this is the same ground where, when it comes into God's light, we can see his incredible transforming grace and love at work, bringing healing, wholeness and hope.

That's why today's petition of the Lord's Prayer is so incredibly important for our lives, for our marriages, and for our fa...

As we continue our series in the Lord's Prayer and marriage, we come to the petition that I (Aaron) find both incredibly comforting and incredibly challenging. Can I trust you, God, to meet my needs and those of our family today? And not just today but every day? 

This petition, as we'll discover, goes far beyond just our material needs though. It's also a daily call for us to trust God with what we need emotionally and spiritually...

Today we pray "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is heaven." What does it mean to have heaven in our marriages today? Why does God invite us to surrender our lives and marriages to him through this petition and why the heck is that so hard???

Resources

To find out more about John Ortberg's book "Eternity Is Now In Session," please click here. 

You can find that beautiful quote by Thomas Green here, along with a si...

Thursday Thoughts will be taking a break for the next several weeks. That doesn't mean, though, that we aren't praying for you and your marriage. In fact, we are taking the time we would normally put into recording, editing and publishing these episodes and will be praying for you and your marriage. We'd love it if you joined us in that.

We'll still be praying with you on the podcast as well as part of our weekly teaching/discussio...

The Lord's Prayer contains a word we just don't use very often today and so we often struggle its meaning: "hallow". What does it mean to hallow the name of the Lord in our lives and in our marriage?

Join us in our series on the Lord's Prayer as we discover what it means to hallow God's name, why that might be scary and the beauty and freedom that can come from this, as God hallows his name in our lives and marriages in answer to t...

On this Thursday Thought, as we take up the habit of praying the Lord's Prayer daily in our marriages, we take time to reflect on the opening address of the Lord's Prayer and consider if we might be treating as something transactional or relational. We also pray for those who experience an obstacle praying to our "heavenly Father" because of past trauma and we spend time worshiping the God in heaven, who is worthy of our praise!

Ne...

Do you ever worry you're not doing or saying something right in prayer? That if you only knew the secrets to unlocking prayer that you would have your heart's desire? If so, you're not alone. We've been there and still struggle with this idea. If we persist in this attitude of prayer, we may be in danger of treating God like a vending machine.

As God invites you to take up the Lord's Prayer as a couple daily, we examine the opening...

On today's Thursday Thought, we reflect on the simple habits that allow us to connect in powerful and transformational ways throughout our day and ask God to highlight the habits we can celebrate as well as be open to the new habits he's inviting us to try in our marriage.

We also consider how powerfully the Lord's Prayer, as a daily habit we participate in together, will powerfully combat the forces of drift and difference that co...

What if there was a small, simple, habit that could transform and shape your marriage for years to come? What if this habit only took you thirty seconds?

Over the next several weeks, we'll be doing a deep dive into the prayer that Jesus taught his apprentices to pray - The Lord's Prayer - and how God can transform and shape your marriage through the habit of praying this together daily as a couple. Today, we just want to give you a...

As you heard in Episode 46, JB and Erin Crocker were only an hour away from having their marriage end for good. And then God gave them a miracle - a miracle of repentance, of transformation, new hope and a new marriage.

Join us on this Thursday Thought as we pray for a miracle of breakthrough in your marriage as you seek God's best for your marriage together.

Next Steps

We realize that some of you may relate to the story of brokenn...

In Part One of JB and Erin's story (Ep 44), we heard about how God brought their marriage to an end - a marriage that was characterized by conflict, manipulation, brokenness and despair.

In Part Two today, we'll hear about:

• The work God called JB to in order to find healing and the release of the baggage he brought into marriage
• How God invited JB to show up in marriage to be present and serve Erin in the ways she needed
• The w...

The good news of the gospel is that God, in his love, meets us right where we are at. The good news though, is also that God loves us too much to leave us there.

In Episode 44, we heard the story of JB and Erin Crocker and how God met them in the midst of the brokenness of their marriage and invited them to something new. But before there was something new, something old had to pass away first.

Join us for this Thursday Thought as ...

JB and Erin Crocker have been on a journey in their marriage. It's one that involved brokenness, despair and ultimately hope and redemption. 

On today's episode, we are privileged to hear the first part of their story: how God ended "Version 1.0" of their marriage - a marriage that was filled with manipulation, fear and shame; a marriage that was no longer sustainable.

We'll hear:

• Why not understanding the baggage you bring in...

On this Thursday thought, we consider how God's fingerprints are all over our stories, especially when we're in a place of pain or confusion and may not sense God there. We reflect on what it means that Jesus calls us "friends" (John 15:15) and we pray that we might see how our stories, our marriages are a part of God's larger story.

Next Steps

In this episode, we share the story of our journey through infertility. We understand th...

On today's episode, we share how God showed up in a very unique way for us. You'll hear how April kept seeing the time 11:11 and the Scripture God finally nudged her to check out, the evening before we found out we were pregnant.

We also humbly acknowledge that our story is not everyone's story - that God may have another outcome for you in the journey you're on. At the same time, we believe that if we're willing and open, we'll se...