Mark: When Jill and I look back at what contributed to the dark season in our marriage, we found that it wasn’t the big things that made a difference. It was actually the little things that simmered under the surface. These things began an unraveling that gained...
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...
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.”...
Mark: We’ve written this before we left, but you’ll be reading this article right when we’re in the middle of ministering to marriages in Uganda and Tanzania. Jill: That’s right! God literally connected dots that caused our lives to intersect with...
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...
Jill: I think it’s accurate to say that most of our conversations as Mark & Jill 1.0 (before our crisis) were not very emotionally-safe conversations. But now as Mark & Jill 2.0 (since we have been intentionally investing in our marriage), our conversations...
Years of mentoring hurting couples and navigating our own hurting relationship have led us to conclude that the number one cause of divorce isn’t money or sex or infidelity or even communication. These are all secondary issues of the deeper issue. They are symptoms 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...
Today I want to let you in on a little secret! I want to tell you the #1 myth people often have about marriage seminars (and honestly, marriage resources in general). But first I’ll start with a story… Earlier this spring, we were teaching our No More...
I have my hubby, Mark, on the podcast with me today! We are tackling an important topic, not just for married couples, but for any relationship. What’s the topic? Communication. (Can we get an amen!?) Learning how to stop assuming and start communicating was at the...
Do you ever feel like you and your spouse are just going through the motions in marriage? Or like you don’t have as much fun together as you did when you were dating? You’re not alone. Today, we’re sharing a few ideas for how to bring back the fun in...
What is your evening routine like? Is connecting as a couple something you intentionally do? Last week, I shared about reaching your goals for the New Year. Today I want to share about a goal I hope you have in mind for this year: Increasing connection in your...
