Jill: Do you have a routine for your marriage in the morning and evening? When we were first married, our days were a blank slate. We had to learn each other’s habits and before we knew it our lives had meshed together in small routines. Mark: Whether that is always...
Mark: I didn’t realize coming into marriage how much idealism and unrealistic expectations drove my everyday thinking and perspective. When my expectations weren’t met, my “slow fade of unrealistic expectations” led to disappointment and discouragement....
Jill: Imagine this: You finish dropping your last child off at college, you work through some of the heavy emotions in the car ride home, and you sit down at dinner once you get back home. You’ve made it to a major milestone: An empty nest. But wait… Who...
Mark: Jill and I developed our marriage ministry because we wanted to use our own marriage pain and healing work to help others, and boy did we get a huge number of requests once we started offering marriage coaching. Jill: You know, we’ve received hundreds of...
Jill: If you’ve been following us on Instagram and Facebook or seen some of our past blog posts, then you know that we recently traveled to Uganda to minister to the marriages of pastors there. Mark: We were also able to teach on relationships at Uganda Christian...
Is there any better season than summer? It’s one of my favorite times of year because I enjoy gardening and the opportunity to take regular walks outside. Now that I’m an empty-nester, I also love summer because I get to spend extra time with my grandchildren...
Jill: Mark and I often say that we have been married for 39 years—29 of them happily. Mark: That’s right. In the 10 unhappy years, our marriage was a mess in many ways. You wouldn’t have thought it looking in from the outside because we were doing everything “right.”...
Jill: You know, summer is one of my favorite seasons. The sun is out, I get to tend to my garden, and I love getting to enjoy time with our grandchildren while they are on school break. Mark: I do as well. Along with summer, though, comes busy schedules, BBQs to...
We live in an age of an endless and overwhelming amount of information. Whether or not we realize it, it can start to take a toll on us. It can begin to affect our personal well-being and create depletion, exhaustion, impatience, and it can bring out versions of...
In the past, we have shared about some shifts we have made to our evening routine to feel better connected in our marriage. We thought it’s about time we talk about better connecting in the morning as well! The mornings are such an important part of the day for...
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to London, England. While there, I used the Underground (subway) for all my transportation. Every time I would get on or off the Underground, a voice would come on and say, “Mind the gap. Mind the gap.” I soon...
For this week’s #MarriageMonday, we are looking at the God-tool of acceptance, one of the God-tools we cover in No More Perfect Marriages. When we use our God-tool of acceptance, it’s actually a gift to our spouse because we’re letting them be...
Did you know that the divorce rate is almost 50%? Seriously. That means that nearly half of all marriages end in divorce. In today’s short #MarriageMonday, we’re identifying 8 questions you can ask to start putting more energy towards saving your marriage...
As we enter the fall season, the school year picks back up and, for many of us, life gets busier. In today’s #MarriageMonday, we’re sharing some practical ways we can stay connected in busy seasons, even when we’re apart. Mark: In marriage, it really...
One of the things Mark and I talk about quite a bit are the Marriage 2.0 Intensives we have the opportunity to host at our home in Normal, IL. However, one of the questions we often get is, What happens at a marriage intensive? That’s what we want to share with you on...
