It’s Finally Here! Joe’s NEW Marriage Book
It’s finally here!
Over 25 years ago, Joe began teaching a seminar called, Marriage Building 101 in churches all around the country. Eventually, this teaching became a small group study, and now, it’s a book!
Pre-Order your copy of Joe’s NEW book You Don’t Find a Great Marriage; You Build One and you’ll get a signed copy [while supplies last].
Is a Good Heart with No Head Knowledge Hurting Your Marriage?
Having a right heart is great, but if you don’t have knowledge to go along with it, it’ll mess up your life.
Marriage was God’s idea, and like everything else He created, it hums with power. Fire will warm you or it can burn you to death. Water will quench your thirst or it can drown you. Marriage is the closest thing to Heaven on earth or the closest thing to Hell on earth. The results you get in marriage, as with anything else God has made, depend on one thing — how you handle it.
God created marriage and our ignorance of how to handle it (we’ll call that—having no head knowledge) can hurt our marriage relationship.
Friday Funnies: Football and Listening
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In this Friday Funnies clip, Joe shares how he and his wife had to work on their patience with the blending of football season and listening.
Remember, that your spouse is a gift from God and the game is temporary.
[Watch this Friday Funnies and be encouraged.]
Friday Funnies: Let’s Play Kissy Face
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Once children arrive on the scene, priorities change for a while and adjustments have to be made.
Listen in as Joe shares his experience of taking a nose-dive down the priority list, what he had to do to turn his attitude around, and how he started building a stronger marriage by getting to work in the kitchen.
[Watch this Friday Funnies and be encouraged.]
Friday Funnies [Classics]: All This and We Still Have to Talk…
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Some things never change and that includes God’s Word!
For today’s Friday Funnies clip, we’re going back in the vaults to a classic teaching from Joe’s Marriage Building 101 seminar.
This video is 25 years in the making, but it’s a great reminder for couples who are struggling to connect and communicate.
[Marriage] Two Ticks and No Dog
Have you ever heard the phrase That’s like two ticks and no dog?
We often say that in our marriage seminars when we’re talking about a couple who’s trying to get from each other what only God can give them.
[Parenting] How To Find Boundaries as a Grandparent
Boundaries with grandparents can be a tough topic, but when you talk and find a balance you can come out stronger on the other side.
Listen as Joe shares his experience trying to set boundaries with his children’s grandparents and now honoring those boundaries as a grandparent himself.
[Marriage] How To Set Boundaries with Family
Why can’t we spend Christmas with my family? How long are your parents going to stay? What did your parent’s say in front of the kids?
Couples will run into these questions (and more) over the course of their marriage. It’s important to love and honor your in-laws, but it’s also important to set boundaries and establish expectations.
Part of doing that is having a conversation with your spouse and determining how you will approach everything from holidays to overnight visits and more. There are NO set rules. For some people, the more time they can spend with both sets of families the better. For other situations, couples may want to set limits because of distance between homes. It’s not about cutting things out, it’s about finding what works for you and your spouse. Make sure you take their concerns and desires as seriously as you do your own.
[Marriage] How To Create True Intimacy
Problem-solving the wrong way can end up in relationship conflict. It’s not about whose idea is best or winning an argument; the goal is to solve a problem.
Listen in as Joe and Denise share the biblical way to problem solve as a couple.
How to: Communicate with Your Spouse
In marriage, you are going to have to communicate with your spouse all the time. You can’t avoid it if you want to build a strong, healthy relationship.
Talking at and communicating with your spouse are two different things.
DO YOU FALL INTO ONE OF THESE PATTERNS?
Many people fall into the pattern of avoidance. They think that they shouldn’t cause conflict, so they shouldn’t get “real” with their spouse, but that’s not right.
Other people feel that it’s their responsibility to say whatever hits their brain and that’s not right either.
You and your spouse are meant to be a problem solving team. You are a gift from God to each other. You have a responsibility to help each other get better, but you must also remember that they are a child of God and you are to walk in love with them.
WATCH
Laugh-and-learn a few tips on communicating with your spouse.
WORK ON IT
It’s important that you avoid getting offended when your spouse points something out that you could improve. Yes, it’s important for them to do this in love and not in a hurtful manner, but it’s your responsibility to keep the channels of truthful communication open, so they feel comfortable enough to share. In this way, you are both getting better and stronger – together.
THE TAKE AWAY
Don’t try to be “nice” because that kind of communication only builds walls between you two. Walk in love because that will build the intimacy needed to create an even stronger, healthier marriage.
Gain the skills you need to give the right response to the right person at the right time – including your spouse.
Click for more marriage building resources.
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