Managing Expectations in Marriage | Episode 247

©2025 FamilyLife. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. If we’re being completely honest, many of us enter into marriage with stars in our eyes and the hope that our spouse will live up to our every expectation. Isn’t it funny how we can spend months...

Making Marriage Easier with Arlene Pellicane | Episode 246

Have you heard some variation of this before?  “Marriage is hard. It’s unfair. One of you will always pull more weight. Marriage doesn’t make you happy; it makes you miserable.”  I’d like to push back against that pessimistic mindset. Yes,...

When a Loved One Hurts | Episode 245

When a loved one hurts, it can be hard to know how to respond and support them through the crisis or pain they feel. Our first response is often to jump straight into “fix it” mode or lighten the mood by offering platitudes. However, the key to true comfort lies in a...

How to Uncover Your Baggage | Episode 243

Everyone has baggage. We carry it around with us everywhere–into marriage, adulthood, and every aspect of our lives. It’s part of being human, and while there’s no shame in having baggage, it’s important to take the time to consider how the behaviors we’ve...

Sitting With Jesus with Tera Elness | Episode 242

What does your morning routine look like? A typical morning may look like rolling out of bed, getting ready, and grabbing breakfast to feed your body before you tackle the day. But how often do you prioritize feeding your soul as well as your physical body? My...

Moving from Jill 1.0 to Jill 2.0 | Episode 240

Dear Mark & Jill, I listen to your podcast every week and I love it. It seems like when you are talking together, we hear a lot more about what Mark did wrong before and during your marriage crisis. I identify more with Jill’s personality before your marriage...

Managing Emotions with Alicia Michelle | Episode 239

As a coach, one of the things I do most often is help people learn how to manage their emotions in a healthy way. The human capacity to feel is God-given. However, when our feelings go unchecked, that’s when emotional ups and downs can start to steal our peace,...

Understanding Confirmation Bias in Relationships | Episode 238

Mark and I are excited to bring you another special episode with just the two of us! In this conversation, we are talking about confirmation bias. It’s something we have experienced in our own relationship and we see it time and time again in the couples we coach....

Healing Your Family After Broken Trust | Episode 236

The topic of this episode was inspired by a question submitted by one of our listeners: What does it take to heal a family after trust has been broken? How do you acknowledge the wider influence of pain, and where do you go from there? As marriage coaches, we often...

Midlife Marriages | Episode 234

What is a “Midlife Marriage”? It’s the season of life that begins after the whirlwind of kids’ soccer practices, dance recitals, and endless extracurriculars comes to an end—when the nest is empty, and it’s just you and your spouse, rediscovering life together. As...

Strategies to Have a Day of Rest with Kathi Lipp | Episode 233

After 20 years of youth ministry, my son-in-law recently completed a much-needed, four-month sabbatical. It’s encouraging to see that, more and more, both employees and their employers are valuing the soul-satisfying, replenishing healing that comes with taking...