Awesome Marriage Podcast

We are doing a series on the Top 8 Marriage Issues in 2019. These 8 issues are the top 8 issues that Dr. Kim has seen this year with marriages. We will be breaking them down starting with #8 and working our way towards the #1 marriage issue.  In this episode Dr. Kim and Christina talk about the 5th biggest issue in marriages this year which is: traumatic situations.  Because we live in a broken and fallen world, so many couples end up facing traumatic situations. Death of a child, abuse, suicide of someone close to you, assault, a life-changing diagnosis, war, natural disaster, the list goes on. Often times when faced with traumatic situations, naturally, couples struggle to cope and many end up losing their marriage over it. But does a life changing event have to mean the end of your marriage?  Dr. Kim has walked alongside countless couples through life-changing events. A traumatic situation does not have to mean the end of your marriage.  In this episode Dr. Kim and Christina share about how to cope with life-altering and traumatic situations in a way that builds up your marriage instead of tearing it down.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “A traumatic situation is anytime life goes differently than we thought it would.” - Dr. Kim “Your grief might look different from your spouse’s grief and that’s ok.” - Dr. Kim “Nobody can’t define what grief looks like for you.” - Dr. Kim “Allow your spouse to express whatever emotions they feel when they’re grieving.” - Dr. Kim “Put God in the middle of your grief.” - Dr. Kim “Be present with your spouse when they’re grieving, don’t put pressure on yourself to say the right thing, your presence alone will help them.” - Dr. Kim “Be honest when you’re communicating with your spouse about your grief.” - Christina “Blaming is not going to heal anything.” - Dr. Kim “After a life-altering event you have to find a new normal.” - Christina   SPONSORS Thank you to Honoring Intimates for sponsoring this podcast episode! Honoring Intimates is a safe place for believers to learn about marital sex and shop for the highest quality lubricant, lotions, and lingerie items at reasonable prices. There are no inappropriate images on the site and the company uses mannequins to display their lingerie. Use the code “AWESOMEMARRIAGE” to receive 20% off your entire order.  RESOURCES You can check out Lysa Terkeust’s book It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way here.  You can check out Craig Groschel’s book Hope In The Dark here.  Check out the devotional Dr. Kim mentioned here: Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love: Daily Meditations to Help You Through the Grieving Process  Plan to spend some quality time with your sweetie by grabbing our FALLing For You Date Design here! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here! 

We are doing a series on the Top 8 Marriage Issues in 2019. These 8 issues are the top 8 issues that Dr. Kim has seen this year with marriages. We will be breaking them down starting with #8 and working our way towards the #1 marriage issue.  In this episode Dr. Kim & Christina talk about the 6th biggest issue in marriages this year which is: stress.  So many of us deal with stress on a regular basis. Being stressed out makes it hard to be a good spouse. It’s hard to be intentional in your marriage or really even focus on your marriage at all when you are consumed with stress. It’s bad for our health and our mental space. Stress piles negative emotions on to our marriage and steals joy.  In this episode Dr. Kim and Christina talk about what stress does to marriages and how to deal with stress in a healthy way as well as some tips to help you eliminate any unnecessary stress in your life. NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “People died of diarrhea back then.” - Dr. Kim “Deciding what you can and can’t do something about can help you be realistic about what you’re stressed about.” - Christina “If there is nothing that you can do about something, the best (but not always easiest) thing to do is pray about it and leave it in God’s hands.” - Dr. Kim “Our emotions are good indicators but they’re not good truth tellers.” - Christina “Ask your spouse to come alongside you and help you deal with your stress.” - Dr. Kim “Take the time to empathize with your spouse when they’re stressed.” - Dr. Kim “To the moms: the best thing you can do for your kids is to take care of yourself.” - Christina “Don’t buy into the lie that stress is just the way you are; there’s an answer to stress.” - Dr. Kim “God gave you a spouse to walk through life with, don’t push your spouse away in times of stress, embrace them.” - Dr. Kim   SPONSORS Thank you to Honoring Intimates for sponsoring this podcast episode! Honoring Intimates is a safe place for believers to learn about marital sex and shop for the highest quality lubricant, lotions, and lingerie items at reasonable prices. There are no inappropriate images on the site and the company uses mannequins to display their lingerie. Use the code “AWESOMEMARRIAGE” to receive 20% off your entire order.  RESOURCES Plan to spend some quality time with your sweetie by grabbing our FALLing For You Date Design here! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here!   

For the next few weeks on the podcast we are doing a series on the Top 8 Marriage Issues in 2019. These 8 issues are the top 8 issues that Dr. Kim has seen this year with marriages. We will be breaking them down starting with #8 and working our way towards the #1 marriage issue.  In this episode Dr. Kim & Christina talk about the 7th biggest issue in marriages this year which is: boredom.  With time, some spouse’s become bored with their relationship. Boredom in marriage is a dangerous thing to dwell on and can easily slip into even bigger issues.  It also doesn’t help that our culture is telling us that monogamy and marriage is boring. But marriage does NOT have to be boring. There are real, practical things you can do to keep boredom at bay and protect your marriage from boredom.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “Connection = Zero Boredom in marriage.” - Dr. Kim “You don’t have to be screaming and yelling and throwing things at each other for you to go to marriage counseling.” - Christina “Boredom can happen if we’re not intentional about giving to our marriage as much as we’re taking from it.” - Dr. Kim “Be intentional about having fun with each other, even when life gets busy; remember there’s something that got you to the altar in the first place.” - Dr. Kim “Find creative questions to ask each other.” - Christina “There are going to be times you get bored in your marriage, it’s about recognizing when that’s happening and committing to reconnecting so you don’t stay bored and disconnected.” - Dr. Kim SPONSORS Thank you to Honoring Intimates for sponsoring this podcast episode! Honoring Intimates is a safe place for believers to learn about marital sex and shop for the highest quality lubricant, lotions, and lingerie items at reasonable prices. There are no inappropriate images on the site and the company uses mannequins to display their lingerie. Use the code “AWESOMEMARRIAGE” to receive 20% off your entire order.  RESOURCES Plan to spend some quality time with your sweetie by grabbing our FALLing For You Date Design here! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here!   

For the next few weeks on the podcast we are doing a series on the Top 8 Marriage Issues in 2019. These 8 issues are the top 8 issues that Dr. Kim has seen this year with marriages in the counseling room. We will be breaking them down starting with number 8 and working our way towards the number 1 marriage issue in 2019.  Today we are kicking off the series with talking about the 8th biggest issue in marriages this year which is: jealousy.  Jealousy puts a real strain on your marriage. When you have jealous feelings it affects you, your spouse, and your marriage. In this episode Dr. Kim and Christina talk about this issue and how to deal with it in a healthy way.  You may think jealousy isn’t a struggle for you, but there are some subtle ways this often plays out that doesn’t always get noticed and addressed.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “A lot of times jealousy can be tied to insecurity or discontentment.” - Christina “Paul in the Bible is a great example of being content with whatever he had and whatever situation he was in.” - Dr. Kim “You can get so consumed with jealousy that you neglect your marriage.” - Dr. Kim “Jealousy affects your ability to be present in your marriage.” - Christina “If you are willing to be honest with yourself and why you’re jealous, these jealous feelings can be an opportunity for God to grow and teach you.” - Christina “You have to run your race, you can’t run someone else’s race.” - Christina “If your spouse is struggling with jealousy, it gives you an opportunity to come alongside them and help them work through those feelings.” - Dr. Kim   SPONSORS Thank you to Honoring Intimates for sponsoring this podcast episode! Honoring Intimates is a safe place for believers to learn about marital sex and shop for the highest quality lubricant, lotions, and lingerie items at reasonable prices. There are no inappropriate images on the site and the company uses mannequins to display their lingerie. Use the code “AWESOMEMARRIAGE” to receive 20% off your entire order.  RESOURCES Plan to spend some quality time with your sweetie by grabbing our FALLing For You Date Design here! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here!   

Can we implement boundaries with our spouse? Is it loving? Is it Christ-centered?  Boundaries in marriage may seem counterintuitive to some, but we believe it should be normal and natural in a marriage.  In this episode, Dr. Kim and Christina share about boundaries with your spouse: why you need them, examples of what they might be, and how to implement them. If you have never thought about boundaries with your spouse, we hope this conversation is helpful to you and that it provides you with some great talking points that you and your spouse can explore as you work to have a healthier, happier, holier marriage.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “You can help your spouse see that they might need to set a boundary with someone by asking them questions.” - Dr. Kim “You can encourage your spouse to learn about boundaries but also be willing to walk with them through what that will look like.” - Christina “Always offer your thoughts on your spouse’s situation as a suggestion, not as a solution to their problem.” - Dr. Kim “You might need to set a boundary with someone if you’re taking on their consequences.” - Christina “If you’ve never set boundaries before start setting them in safe places first.” - Christina “Remember that if someone doesn’t respond to the boundaries that you set in a healthy way, you can only control yourself, you can’t control how they will react.” - Dr. Kim “It sounds silly but role playing setting boundaries with your spouse can be really helpful for them to prepare for those hard conversations.” - Christina “Let your spouse know that you are not going to stop loving them if they set a healthy boundary with you.” - Christina   SPONSORS Thank you to Honoring Intimates for sponsoring this podcast episode! Honoring Intimates is a safe place for believers to learn about marital sex and shop for the highest quality lubricant, lotions, and lingerie items at reasonable prices. There are no inappropriate images on the site and the company uses mannequins to display their lingerie. Use the code “AWESOMEMARRIAGE” to receive 20% off your entire order.  RESOURCES As we approach the holidays, it’s so important to make time for your spouse. Plan to spend some quality time with your sweetie by grabbing our FALLing For You Date Design here! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here! 

Can we implement boundaries with our spouse? Is it loving? Is it Christ-centered?    Boundaries in marriage may seem counterintuitive to some, but we believe it should be normal and natural in a marriage.    In this episode, Dr. Kim and Christina share about boundaries with your spouse: why you need them, examples of what they might be, and how to implement them. If you have never thought about boundaries with your spouse, we hope this conversation is helpful to you and that it provides you with some great talking points that you and your spouse can explore as you work to have a healthier, happier, holier marriage.    NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “Boundaries with your spouse can actually draw you closer together.” - Dr. Kim “Having boundaries in your marriage isn’t meant to be a punishment, it’s meant to be freeing for you and your spouse.” - Christina “You can’t have true intimacy without boundaries.” - Christina “I tell singles that I counsel, you have to show the person you’re dating the real you at some point during the dating process.” - Dr. Kim “It’s unloving and unwise to not set boundaries where they need to be.” - Christina “To rescue people from the natural consequences of their behavior is to render them powerless.” - Dr. Henry Cloud & John Townsend (from Boundaries book) “It’s so important to talk about boundaries in your sexual relationship.” - Dr. Kim “Boundaries helps you understand your marriage relationship better.” - Dr. Kim “Your spouse’s comfortability should matter to you more than what you want for yourself.” - Christina “Boundaries are about controlling the only person that you can control: yourself.” - Christina “Don’t set boundaries to manipulate or control your spouse.”  - Dr. Kim “If you’re in an unhealthy relationship, be prepared for setting boundaries to cause a lot of conflict.” - Dr. Kim “A boundary without consequences isn’t a boundary at all.” - Christina   SPONSORS Thank you to Honoring Intimates for sponsoring this podcast episode! Honoring Intimates is a safe place for believers to learn about marital sex and shop for the highest quality lubricant, lotions, and lingerie items at reasonable prices. There are no inappropriate images on the site and the company uses mannequins to display their lingerie. Use the code “AWESOMEMARRIAGE” to receive 20% off your entire order.  RESOURCES As we approach the holidays, it’s so important to make time for your spouse. Plan to spend some quality time with your sweetie by grabbing our FALLing For You Date Design here! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here! 

Everyone has the same amount of time - 24 hours in a day. But so many of us struggle to manage this time well. Some of us say yes to way too many things and then that leaves us burnt out and miserable. Others of us don’t use our time wisely enough and don’t steward their time well to get done what they need to get done.  In the fast paced, hustle glorified, culture that we live in where everyone has access to you all the time it can be really hard to set limits on our time. But if we don’t plan well, our time will just pass us by. But if we do plan well and set up healthy boundaries, we can have healthier relationships, a better marriage, and get off the "hustle til you’re burnt out" game that way too many of us are playing.  In this episode, Dr. Kim and Christina share about the importance of setting up time boundaries and how to implement them.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “You have to be an example for your kids of what it looks like to prioritize your spouse.” - Dr. Kim “You have to manage your time to plan for the future.” - Christina “Make sure your schedule reflects your priorities.” - Dr. Kim “Make a habit of doing the things that are important to you.” - Dr. Kim “When we feel like we’re constantly busy we often don’t take the time to do things that are going to have long-term benefits on our marriage.” - Dr. Kim “There’s no shortcut to having time with your spouse; you have to make quality time with them happen.” - Dr. Kim “We had to learn to say no, even to good things, if they would get in the way of us spending quality time together and investing in our marriage.” - Dr. Kim “Decide as a couple where you want you want to prioritize your time and then build the rest of the things you do in life around that.” - Dr. Kim “It’s a red flag that you’re not doing a good job of prioritizing your marriage if you haven’t talked to your wife in so long that you forgot what her name is.” - Dr. Kim “Take the time to address red flags in your marriage as soon as you see them; it will save you so much time in the long run.” - Dr. Kim SPONSORS Thank you to Plant Package for sponsoring this podcast episode! With Plant Package, the prep work of gardening is done for you. Plant Package is delivered straight to your door with easy instructions on how to plant your fun new plant that even someone with a black thumb could execute! Plant Package selects durable seasonal plants, an appropriate and stylish container, sends just the right amount of soil and plant food, and includes instructions for assembly and plant care. The Plants can thrive indoors or outdoors – the choice is yours! Use the code “awesome” to receive a FREE Starter Kit with your order. Starter kits include gardening gloves, a gardening shovel, and farm hand’s soap. Simply select “ADD STARTER KIT” and enter the code AWESOME on the payment checkout page.  RESOURCES Need help building unity in your marriage? Snag our brand new resource Diary of An Awesome Marriage: The Couple’s Unity Building Journal today! This resource is a 23 page PDF, with 9 sections on common areas that marriages. Each section has questions for you to reflect on, pray about, answer, and then discuss with your spouse. Get closer by getting more unified on the things that matter! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here!  Dr. Kim’s new book, 14 Keys to Lasting Love, came out earlier this year. If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, what are you waiting for? Order here now.   

What does it look like to honor our marriage, protect our marriage, and still have honoring relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ?  So many couples want to know what is okay and not okay when it comes to friendships with the opposite sex.  In this episode, Dr. Kim and Christina share about safe boundaries, why they are important, and how to implement them practically.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “Establishing boundaries with the opposite sex is one of the ways we accomplish the goal of having an awesome marriage.” - Dr. Kim “Having boundaries in place with the opposite sex protects you and your marriage.” - Dr. Kim “Never say you can’t be tempted; we are all sinners and can be tempted.” - Dr. Kim “Boundaries aren’t a lack of freedom; they’re ensuring the safety of your marriage.” - Christina “You’re not going to have a good marriage if you’re only thinking about yourself.” - Christina “A good thing to ask yourself is, ‘Am I ok with my spouse seeing this text or email that I’m sending to someone of the opposite sex?’” - Dr. Kim “It’s much easier to ignite a flame that’s already been lit than to start a new fire; don’t keep in touch with your ex boyfriends and girlfriends.” - Christina SPONSORS Thank you to Plant Package for sponsoring this podcast episode! With Plant Package, the prep work of gardening is done for you. Plant Package is delivered straight to your door with easy instructions on how to plant your fun new plant that even someone with a black thumb could execute! Plant Package selects durable seasonal plants, an appropriate and stylish container, sends just the right amount of soil and plant food, and includes instructions for assembly and plant care. The Plants can thrive indoors or outdoors – the choice is yours! Use the code “awesome” to receive a FREE Starter Kit with your order. Starter kits include gardening gloves, a gardening shovel, and farm hand’s soap. Simply select “ADD STARTER KIT” and enter the code AWESOME on the payment checkout page.  RESOURCES Need help building unity in your marriage? Snag our brand new resource Diary of An Awesome Marriage: The Couple’s Unity Building Journal today! This resource is a 23 page PDF, with 9 sections on common areas that marriages. Each section has questions for you to reflect on, pray about, answer, and then discuss with your spouse. Get closer by getting more unified on the things that matter! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here!  Dr. Kim’s new book, 14 Keys to Lasting Love, came out earlier this year. If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, what are you waiting for? Order here now. 

Well we love it when you guys send it topics you want us to cover! One listener recently suggested we cover what it means to “come alongside your spouse.” It’s something Dr. Kim says a lot, what does it practically mean? How would Dr. Kim define this method that he so often encourages us to do?  In this episode, Dr. Kim goes deep into describing it and defining it for us.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “Coming alongside your spouse is the visual representation of walking in unity together and supporting one another as a married couple.” - Christina “Coming alongside your spouse is the manifestation of being on the same team as your spouse.” - Dr. Kim “Something is wrong if you’re in a marriage and you feel like you’re all alone.” - Dr. Kim “How you come alongside your spouse might look different from how your spouse comes alongside you; we all receive love and support in different ways.” - Dr. Kim “Ask yourself: is what you’re doing right now going to help you have an awesome marriage?” - Christina “If it’s important to your spouse make it important for you.” - Dr. Kim “The worst loneliness is when you’re in your house with your spouse and you feel lonely. You’re not coming alongside each other in your marriage, you’re just coexisting” - Dr. Kim “It’s so important to have empathy in a marriage.” - Dr. Kim “We may not always understand why our spouse feels the way they do but we can accept that they are feeling that way and come alongside them.” - Dr. Kim “How you handle your differences in marriage will either draw you together or tear you apart.” - Dr. Kim SPONSORS Thank you to Plant Package for sponsoring this podcast episode! With Plant Package, the prep work of gardening is done for you. Plant Package is delivered straight to your door with easy instructions on how to plant your fun new plant that even someone with a black thumb could execute! Plant Package selects durable seasonal plants, an appropriate and stylish container, sends just the right amount of soil and plant food, and includes instructions for assembly and plant care. The Plants can thrive indoors or outdoors – the choice is yours! Use the code “awesome” to receive a FREE Starter Kit with your order. Starter kits include gardening gloves, a gardening shovel, and farm hand’s soap. Simply select “ADD STARTER KIT” and enter the code AWESOME on the payment checkout page.  RESOURCES Need help building unity in your marriage? Snag our brand new resource Diary of An Awesome Marriage: The Couple’s Unity Building Journal today! This resource is a 23 page PDF, with 9 sections on common areas that marriages. Each section has questions for you to reflect on, pray about, answer, and then discuss with your spouse. Get closer by getting more unified on the things that matter! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here!  Dr. Kim’s new book, 14 Keys to Lasting Love, came out earlier this year. If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, what are you waiting for? Order here now.   

In this episode Caroline Harries joins Dr. Kim to talk about waiting and how God is good even in the waiting. They talk about infertility, support groups, and how infertility and waiting can affect your marriage.  Caroline is an author of a 60-day devotional ‘In Due Time’ as well as the founder of ‘Moms in the Making’ faith based infertility support groups. She shares her story and talks open and honestly about her waiting and their marriage in the waiting.  Chances are you are waiting on something. Maybe it’s a baby, maybe it’s a house, a job, a fresh start, or restored relationship. Whatever it is you’re waiting on - this conversation is going to encourage you.  NOTEWORTHY QUOTES “1 in 8 women experience infertility; it’s not as rare as you think.” - Caroline Harries “We have to make God the focus of our lives, no matter what season of life we’re in.” - Caroline Harries “In every trial you face you choose to run to or away from God.” - Caroline Harries “It’s important to not make having a baby an idol or put that in the place of pursuing a relationship with God.” - Caroline Harries  SPONSORS Thank you to Plant Package for sponsoring this podcast episode! With Plant Package, the prep work of gardening is done for you. Plant Package is delivered straight to your door with easy instructions on how to plant your fun new plant that even someone with a black thumb could execute! Plant Package selects durable seasonal plants, an appropriate and stylish container, sends just the right amount of soil and plant food, and includes instructions for assembly and plant care. The Plants can thrive indoors or outdoors – the choice is yours! Use the code “awesome” to receive a FREE Starter Kit with your order. Starter kits include gardening gloves, a gardening shovel, and farm hand’s soap. Simply select “ADD STARTER KIT” and enter the code AWESOME on the payment checkout page.  RESOURCES Buy Caroline’s Devotional ‘In Due Time’ here. Join a Moms In The Making Infertility Support Group today.  Need help building unity in your marriage? Snag our brand new resource Diary of An Awesome Marriage: The Couple’s Unity Building Journal today! This resource is a 23 page PDF, with 9 sections on common areas that marriages. Each section has questions for you to reflect on, pray about, answer, and then discuss with your spouse. Get closer by getting more unified on the things that matter! Become a Marriage Changer and receive some sweet exclusive benefits. Learn more here! Sign up to get Dr. Kim’s One Thing To Grow Your Marriage Each Day via email, text, or podcast here!  Dr. Kim’s new book, 14 Keys to Lasting Love, came out earlier this year. If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, what are you waiting for? Order here now.