Awesome Marriage Podcast

An affair doesn’t have to mean the end of a marriage. At Awesome Marriage, we have seen so many marriages restored! Yet the recovery process will take time and working together to see the Lord heal the union. If you’ve experienced this pain, you need a guide to help you along the way.  Rick Reynolds joins Dr. Kim today to share his story of marriage recovery, and how he’s used his own painful experience to help others through the process of rebuilding after infidelity.  We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage.  Episode highlights include:  How to avoid common behaviors that can set you up for an affair   How to rebuild a marriage after affair - better than before Why Christians need to be aware of their own vulnerability How to overcome the obstacles to recovering after infidelity  Common mistakes in the affair recovery process    *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!  Couples Conversation Guide:  Main takeaway: One of the best ways to protect your marriage from an affair is to realize you could be vulnerable to infidelity, and put boundaries in place. If your marriage has experienced infidelity, it can be restored much stronger than before.   Questions to Discuss:  What boundaries do you have in your life to prevent even baby steps toward an affair?  Are you a safe place for your spouse to be completely honest and open? What would help make your marriage a safer place for honesty?   QUOTES  “When we fall, what’s important is what we do afterwards.” - Rick Reynolds  “A lot of Christians don’t realize they’re vulnerable, so they don’t put constraints in place. Then they find themselves in a mess.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling  “What heals is empathy and emotional responsiveness.” - Rick Reynolds  “The wayward spouse needs to understand that disclosure is the way that trust is reestablished.” - Rick Reynolds MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   Learn more or sign up for the Hope Rising Conference at AffairRecovery.com If you feel defeated about your marriage, or are considering divorce, our 90 Days to Save Your Marriage plan is for you. Learn more here.

When costs keep rising, and earnings often don’t match, money stress is bound to invade your marriage. Most couples face additional tension around how to handle finances well – as well as how to handle them together.    In today’s podcast, Dr. Kim talks with Dan and Kay Ockey about how to take control of your finances, even in times of financial uncertainty. Dan and Kay offer concrete and actionable advice on how to take the steps to get out of debt, make a realistic plan, and work together. Tune in for help to get your finances in order.    We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:  The action plan for how to start tracking finances  Productive ways to handle the realities of inflation and financial uncertainty  2 keys for financial success in a marriage Use this reframing shift and fight over finances less    *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    QUOTES  "The magic bullet doesn't exist, but being real about your numbers and not spending more than you make is key." - Dan Ockey  “We’re finding that among a lot of people there’s an expectation you should have the life you want.” - Dan Ockey  “We may not have the money to do all the things we want right now, and that’s ok. You’re not a failure - you can work toward that.” - Dan Ockey  “Our money conversations were so painful. Then I realized that our unity was more important than my beliefs about money.”  - Dan Ockey    Couples Conversation Guide:    Main takeaway: Unity in your marriage finances requires a team mindset, learning about each other, and learning the skills to handle money well.     Questions to Discuss:  What financial beliefs are keeping you from unity in your marriage?  Are you working toward a common goal together today? If not, work together to set one.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   Learn how to avoid the 4 common budgeting mistakes couples make when in the FREE Centsei Class. Learn more here.  The Gap and the Gain  Get the budget conversation started with 27 Money Questions Every Couple Needs to Ask Marriage Multiplier is a quick and highly practical weekly email to help you invest in your marriage. CLICK HERE to learn more!

Show of hands: Are you an Amazon box hider? … or do you have your spouse break down the boxes for you?  All joking aside, online shopping can be an issue that hinders couples’ closeness. Money management in general can be a hot topic, but the wide range of ways we can spend money online with just the click of a button can create some additional obstacles, and we hear about it from couples all the time. Today we’re equipping you to resolve this issue.  We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:  Red flags that you need to address online spending with your spouse.  The role of trust in marriage money habits  How to know when online shopping has become a problem  The negative cycle of emotional triggers     *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    QUOTES  “When you look into what’s most important with money, you make a lot more progress more quickly.” - Lindsay Few  "When you quit being a team, that's when it becomes a problem." - Dr. Kim Kimberling "If shopping is getting in the way of closeness with your spouse, then something needs to change." - Dr. Kim Kimberling   Couple's Conversation Guide:  Main takeaway: Money secrets do not serve your marriage well, so do what it takes to build trust with your spouse around finances.  Questions to Discuss:  Are there any money habits your spouse does not know about you?  What areas bring out money tension for your marriage?  What is one step that would help you work through that and build unity today?    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   Learn how to avoid the 4 common budgeting mistakes couples make when in the FREE Centsei Class. Learn more here.  Get the budget conversation started with 27 Money Questions Every Couple Needs to Ask Marriage Multiplier is a quick and highly practical weekly email to help you invest in your marriage. CLICK HERE to learn more!  

We don’t often talk about our failures, but maybe that needs to change. It’s easy to focus on others’ highlight reel, while we’re highly aware of our own personal shortcomings. But the shame of feeling like we don’t measure up keeps us from real relationships.   Today we’re going there with special guest, Becky Kiser, as we talk about the power of the gospel and how God uses us in spite of our shortcomings. Don’t miss this powerful conversation. We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage.  Episode highlights include:    Fight the cascade effect of feeling like a failure  The two most debated sections of Becky’s new book - and why! The 1st step to start loving your spouse well    How to move out of shame and into freedom   *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    QUOTES  “Even women who are successful; women who have accomplished a bunch, deal with failure.” - Becky Kiser  “The Gospel message is not, ‘Get your life together then God can do something with your life.’” - Becky Kiser  “I’ve found the most freedom from acknowledging I can’t.” - Becky Kiser   "Not all failures are actual failures. They’re just a part of life.” - Becky Kiser  "We spend so much time ‘dying to ourselves’ that we think there’s no value to ourselves.” - Becky Kiser    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   Find Becky at https://www.beckykiser.com/ and on Instagram @beckykiser Grab the new book, “But God Can” today!   Get the budget conversation started with 27 Money Questions Every Couple Needs to Ask Marriage Multiplier is a quick and highly practical weekly email to help you invest in your marriage. CLICK HERE to learn more!  

After five years of marriage, Kristin and Todd Evans’ world was rocked when they learned they were about to become parents to a child with a disability. The stress, grief and the demands of learning to be caregivers to a child with disabilities transformed their once-joyful marriage and nearly broke it apart.       When spouses are also caregivers, the marriage will face challenges that others may not know anything about. Today Todd and Kristin share their powerful story of learning to navigate this reality and how they have kept their marriage strong through it all.      We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:   The additional challenges parents face as caregivers Learning to cope with the ‘living loss’ of disability How to set and communicate priorities in an unending to do list Ways to deepening emotional connection & intimacy while always “on call” Handling grief and chronic sorrow together   *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    QUOTES  “For all parents, there’s a sacrificial piece to it. For special needs parents, it goes to a new level of what you have to sacrifice.” - Todd Evans   “1 in 3 caregivers experience depression and anxiety.” - Kristin Evans  “I couldn’t understand why I couldn't’ get over my grief, but Todd had moved on.” - Kristin Evans “There’s not a right or wrong way to grieve, it’s just different.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   Order the Evans’ book, How to Build a Thriving Marriage as You Care for Children with Disabilities Follow @DisabilityParenting on Instagram for more great tips! Get the budget conversation started with 27 Money Questions Every Couple Needs to Ask Marriage Multiplier is a quick and highly practical weekly email to help you invest in your marriage. CLICK HERE to learn more!

Reduce money stress in your marriage by making sure your money knows where to go!    Don’t avoid talking about money with your spouse: Establishing a budget you can both stick to will certainly pay off long term. Today Dr. Kim shares several simple tricks that help him and Nancy to stress less and be intentional with their finances.    We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:   The basic starting point for building a budget  The budget category Dr. Kim & Nancy would NEVER cut out   The power of breaking a scarcity mindset and becoming generous  Strategies to better money management  How to get started if you’ve never budgeted    *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    QUOTES  “We felt like it was always important to have a date.” - Dr. Kim Kimberling   “Make sure to build in your budget that you can go out somewhere each week and not have to worry about it.”  - Dr. Kim Kimberling   “God is so generous, and that’s really what we want to emulate.” - Lindsay Few  “My lack of generosity was not the person I wanted to be.” - Lindsay Few   Continue to ask, “What are our financial goals? How do we budget to make them work?”  - Dr. Kim Kimberling   “If you need help, get it. If you’re going to fight about money for 50 years, that doesn’t sound fun at all. ”- Dr. Kim Kimberling   “When you tithe 10%, the 90% you have left goes a lot further than you thought the 100% would.” - Lindsay Few  “I don’t know anyone personally who would say they regret tithing.”  - Lindsay Few  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   Get the budget conversation started with 27 Money Questions Every Couple Needs to Ask Learn how to avoid the 4 common budgeting mistakes couples make when in the FREE Centsei Class. Learn more here. Marriage Multiplier is a quick and highly practical weekly email to help you invest in your marriage. CLICK HERE to learn more!

Do your habits online support your marriage? Or damage it?    Fewer couples are getting married than ever. Tech is hitting marriages hard today. Yet research shows that marriage can provide a huge boost to personal happiness. Today’s guest Arlene Pellicane has written several books on how technology is impacting relationships, and today she shares tech habits that will help you and your marriage to thrive.       We pray this episode is helpful for you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:   The 1 habit that leads to a 99% marriage success rate  Simple to streamline your tech habits for more connection  Why today’s tech affects relationships differently than before  Research shows how marriage can impact happiness   Parenting tips to break unhealthy tech habits and get your child back     *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    QUOTES  “If we seek God and His guidance, He’s always going to have an answer.” Dr. Kim Kimberling  “Is technology bringing you closer together? Or causing you to grow farther apart.”  - Arlene Pellicane  “We're missing all these little times to connect. That’s why you feel disconnected.”  - Arlene Pellicane  “You have to prepare to be unpopular, because as a parent, it’s your job to protect your child.”  - Arlene Pellicane    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:  If you need help with family tech habits, DO NOT miss Arlene’s books on the topic.  National Marriage Week is each February 7-14th – and their great marriage building resources are available all year long! Learn more and support the mission on the WEB, FACEBOOK, X (TWITTER) or INSTAGRAM ! Learn more about what boundaries can do for your marriage in Dr. Kim’s free Building Healthy Boundaries Webinar. Learn more here!  What could 1 intentional weekend do for you and your spouse? Find out when you take on our Marriage Weekend Challenge! Click to learn more! Don’t let screens come between you: Use our free 17 Questions Every Couple Should Ask About Tech printable to get on the same page! Marriage Multiplier is a quick and highly practical weekly email to help you invest in your marriage. CLICK HERE to learn more!