Zig Ziglar, author and motivational speaker, says, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” Too often that’s what we do with relationships and especially marriage; we don’t have a plan to keep our relationship healthy or make it better and we end up aiming at nothing. This causes us to drift away from our partner and into an unhealthy, unintentional relationship.
My guests today believe that intentionally designing your marriage is a vital concept for a strong relationship. Ashley and Dino Petrone have been married for 16 years and they live in Florida with their four children. Dino is a Senior Engineer while Ashley is a full-time mom, blogger, and interior designer. Together they have authored a new book called Designed to Last: Our Journey of Building an Intentional Home, Growing in Faith, and Finding Joy in the In-Between.
Let me tell you, they have quite a story! From selling everything they owned and living in a trailer as a family for a period of time to purchasing and redesigning an inn to coming to terms with where their true identity lies, Ashley and Dino have a lot of wisdom to share.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How challenging experiences can be the seasons where we experience the deepest intimacy
- Why intentionality is one of the most important aspects of a thriving marriage
- What it looks like to be marriage-centered rather than child-centered
- How to live a life that’s focused on what truly matters.
I loved my conversation with Ashley and Dino, and I hope you do as well!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Ashley and Dino’s Website
- Follow Ashley and Dino on Instagram and Facebook
- Designed to Last by Ashley and Dino Petrone
- [Blog] 10 Years of a Thriving Marriage
- The Joie Inn
- Living With Less So Your Family Has More by Mark and Jill Savage
- No More Perfect Marriage by Mark and Jill Savage
- As a thank you for listening, get your 3 free eBooks!
My Key Takeaways:
1) Intentionality is key to a thriving marriage. You may not decide to pack up everything and live in an Airstream but I really appreciated what Ashley and Dino shared about what they learned about intentionality during that season of their life. The most important thing is that you don’t have to wait until life feels stressful to be intentional! Make a habit of setting aside intentional and creative connection time with your spouse—What could that look like for you this week?
2) Prioritize your marriage relationship first. This doesn’t mean that you don’t prioritize your children or other relationships. However, too often we have seen relationships where children become the center of attention. As a result, the marriage is weakened. When we prioritize our marriage first, we are actually providing security to our children and ensuring that the foundation of our family is rock solid. On the practical side as well, your children will not be in your home forever. When your children leave, it’s important that your marriage hasn’t been put on the back-burner all those years.
3) Invest in the things that really matter. We have a tendency to spend our time investing in things that are temporary like the clothes we wear, where we live, or even staying relevant on social media. In the end, those things will all fade. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with appreciating those things, but we should be careful that we don’t prioritize them over what truly matters, like our relationship with our spouse, our relationship with God, or our family.
About Ashley & Dino:
Ashley and Dino Petrone are co-authors of Designed to Last: Our Journey of Building an Intentional Home, Growing in Faith, and Finding Joy in the In-Between. Dino is a Senior Engineer while Ashley is a full-time mom, blogger, and interior designer. They went viral on Instagram when Ashley shared about their lives while living in and renovating a trailer, vulnerability about what they had learned about marriage, daily family life, and their faith. Ashley and Dino have been married for 16 years and they live in Florida with their four children and are currently renovating an inn.
