Every marriage has a story. Ours is no exception. I was so excited to sit down with Mark to share a bit about our journey as well as how we went from Mark and Jill 1.0 to Mark and Jill 2.0. There’s no denying that over the years we have had lots of ups and...
Jill: Over the past two months, we’ve found that anger is a recurring theme with many of the couples we are coaching. For some it’s always been there and for others, the quarantine life is increasing or introducing anger. Mark: In our early years, my anger...
Do you know someone who feels very deeply? They might even be affected by bright lights, strong scents, itchy clothing, and loud sounds. It’s possible they sense other people’s feelings before they ever say a word. They may even have a rich and complex...
I’m super excited to be launching the No More Perfect Podcast! Episode 1 is now available and I’m pulling back the curtain on a place where I’ve had a big learning curve in my life. As a mom and wife, I am always learning and growing. One of the...
The young mom on the other end of the phone poured out her frustrations. She desired sex, but her husband could care less. As the parents of five, all under the age of six, they rarely found time for each other outside the bedroom, let alone inside. She confessed that...
Jill: Believe it or not, when a marriage starts to experience distance it usually starts with our thoughts. Mark: When I look back on my part of our marriage crisis nine years ago, my thinking was hurting our marriage BIG TIME. I ruminated in my mind all kinds of...
Mark: I love woodworking. It’s a hobby and a skill I’ve enjoyed my entire life. When it comes to fixing houses, I am a natural craftsman. I know what to do and I usually know what tool I need. Jill: Mark is amazing as a handyman and builder. I usually...
As marriage coaches, we have the opportunity to help healthy marriages stay healthy and struggling marriages get back on track. Sometimes, however, we run into toxic and even abusive relationships. To better understand the difference between healthy, struggling, and...
Mark: Several years ago, Jill and I and our son Austin traveled to Yellowstone National Park. On our way there, we stopped at a historical site where you can actually see the Oregon Trail. You see, so many wagons traveled the Oregon Trail that it indented the land and...
In the Spring of 2020 I had the opportunity to share three programs on Family Life radio. We talked about three different subject on the three days of programming: empty nest, marriage, and loving your LGBTQ+ kids. If you’d like more information about any of...
Mark: I confess that praying together is not something Jill and I have always done well. As a pastor, I could pray with just about anyone except my wife. Why is that? Fear of judgment. My own lies in my head. My fear of disappointing and not doing it right. Those are...
Jill: Over the past few months we have coached quite a few young couples that have felt their hearts are miles apart. As we dug into each of their stories, it became evident that parenting had taken over their lives, leaving their marriages on autopilot. Mark: In our...
Mark: Conflict handled without care can bring out the worst in us. Unless we’re intentional about responding rather than reacting, we can end up with a mess to clean up. Jill: It’s rare that we both haven’t contributed to the mess in some way. So we...
Mark: I have been working on changing my view of the conflicts within marriage. To be honest, I am not someone who likes conflict at all. There was too much of it when I was growing up so I wanted my own family to be conflict free (can you say “unrealistic...
Jill: It was 2011 and proving to be the darkest year of our then 27 years of marriage. Mark: The slow fades of unrealistic expectations, avoiding emotion, defensiveness, and minimizing had been eroding the foundation of our marriage for years, but we didn’t know it. ...
