Your Marriage Matters Podcast

"Podfading" refers to the end or transition of a podcast program. The Your Marriage Matters Podcast has consistently published a weekly show for almost 18 months, or 71 episodes. I must turn my efforts toward writing on the topics of marriage, family and childbirth and am no longer able to keep pace with a weekly show. Instead, I will look for opportunities to present sporadic programs in the future. Until next time, "make your marriage great." -Lynn, www.marriagecoachlynn.com and www.unassistedhomebirth.com.

Marriage: The Next Generation. Listen to Lynn and Bob talk about their experience at the wedding of their first child. What's it like when your adult child gets married? 

This podcast episode is a book review of John Bosio's "Happy Together: the Catholic Blueprint for a Loving Marriage. It is also the foundation of the program "Happy Together: 6 Dates for Catholic Couples." www.happy-together.net. http://marriagecoachlynn.com/index.html - You're invited to join the Your Marriage Matters Movement if you support lifelong, happy marriage. https://www.facebook.com/MarriageCoac... https://www.amazon.com/Reenergize-You... https://twitter.com/MarriageCoachLn  

  What can you do when your marriage is hanging by threads? Many will give up, thinking they’ve exhausted all possibilities. But wait - listen to this podcast. There may be just one thing - one thing you can do that can turn things around.

What can we do when our marriage is at the end? Can we salvage it? How can we reconcile? What can we do when we’ve exhausted everything? Today we’ll take about Gary Chapman’s book, “One More Try: What to do When Your Marriage is Falling Apart.” Don’t lose hope! There’s a lot you can do.

Workaholic spouse? Non-communicative Spouse? Controlling Spouse? Abusive Spouse? Unfaithful spouse? How can we overcome some of the most difficult problems? Today’s episode is on “Loving Solutions: Overcoming Barriers in Your Marriage.”

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. What are the 4 seasons of marriage and what can we do if we find ourselves in a season that is not very enjoyable? Find out on today’s episode where we’ll discuss “The 4 Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage.”

Do you know the 4 pitfalls to communication? 3 secrets you can easily do to ensure a thriving relationship? Listen to today’s podcast as we talk about Gary Chapman’s book, “Covenant Marriage: Building Commitment and Intimacy.

2 books will be discussed today: “Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married” and “The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted.” Do you have the marriage you’ve always wanted? Do you know what’s going wrong? Have you gotten off track? There are some simple areas to pay attention too. Let’s take the mystery and frustration out of relationships and focus on what matters.

We’re beginning a 6-part series on books by Dr. Gary Chapman. We’ll start with his most well known book: The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts. What’s your love language? Do you know your spouse’s? Knowing your love language and those around you is beneficial in building intimacy and improving your relationship.  Speak your partner’s language, whether it’s words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, or physical touch.

"Blueprint for a Lasting Marriage: How to Create Your Happily Ever After with More Intention, Less Work," by Lesli Doares. A great book to give as a gift to engaged couples or newly married couples, Doares outlines 5 steps in creating a blueprint or plan for a marriage that will flourish if you do a few basic things.

How do we create a great marriage? That's the topic for today. When two people get married, they enter a process of creating a whole new relationship. What does it take? How do you do that? Does it naturally happen? Listen to today's episode to learn two ways or shortcuts to creating a great marriage.

If you are successful in most parts of your life, will you be successful in your marriage? Do you know what you want and are you working toward sharing your talents with the world? Knowing what you want not only effects you, but others. How does your success and happiness or lack of success and happiness effect your spouse and family? How do you deal with challenges and differences in your relationship?

How can differences strengthen a marriage? That's the focus of today's episode.

Happiness. We all want it. What is it and how do we go about building a happy marriage? Today's episode is the first in a series about how to have a happy marriage.

  Marriage Therapist and Author Dr. John Gottman has identified 4 kinds of negativity, if allowed to grow and fester, would be extremely lethal to a relationship: criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling. Listen to today’s podcast where we talk about the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This concludes the Middle Years of Marriage Series. Remember to adopt the right attitude within. Practice gratitude, forgiveness and charity and your spaceship will soar to great heights.

What does your spouse do that bothers you? Today’s show might surprise you as we focus on YOU rather than what you think your spouse does that irritates you. Where do these irritations originate? What is the source of these irritations? What bothered you when you first got married and no longer bothers you? Why did this change? What did you do? We’re going to dissect irritations and how you can manage them. The first point we need to make is that irritations come in many forms and intensities. Irritations have to do with your expectations.

Do’s and Don’ts for the Middle Years and Beyond:   Don’t be a complainer. Don’t neglect each other. Don’t deceive or lie. Don’t put excessive energy into your past or future and instead, live in the present - that’s all we’ve got. Do make your home a sanctuary, speak kindly to each other, bring pleasure to your partner, cultivate a proper temper and feed the heart.

Middle Age Malaise doesn’t have to creep into your marriage if you know what to look for and how to address important areas of your relationship. What are crucial things to look for? Boredom, neglecting the concept of LOVE MAPS - or sharing your inner world with your spouse, the importance of having a passion and shared goals. Today’s episode is the first in a 4-part series on the Middle Years of Marriage.

"What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." (Matthew 19:4-6). A happy marriage usually contains happy people, better physical and mental health and a higher level of wealth. Author Steve Bollman ("The Choice Wine: 7 Steps to a Superabundant Marriage") says if you follow the 7 steps, your marriage will have a foretaste of paradise. The last chapter ties everything together and Bollman explains how the steps parallel the holy family. He says God wished to give couples the superabundant joy that was experienced by man and woman in paradise. He doesn't want us to have sufficiency, but superabundance - to truly thrive. Here are the 7 steps: honor your wedding vows, use money for other people, give God some of your time, set your mind on things above, find God in yourself, find God in other people, make it easy to be good and hard to be bad.

In "Three to Get Married," Fulton Sheen addresses the longings in our hearts, the imperfections of relationships, the relationship between man and God, and husband and wife. As you might have guessed in the title, it takes a husband, wife, and God to make a marriage profound and meaningful.

What is mature love? What is responsible love? Is chastity necessary in marriage? What about contraception? Is it harmful to marriage? If yes, how so? What are Pope John Paul II’s views on children and family? Listen to today’s podcast episode and discover some interesting viewpoints that run counter to our culture, but can bring great joy to marriage. We will review Edward Sri’s “Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II’s ‘Love and Responsibility.’ “

Although “Male and Female He Created Them” was written in 2003, it’s a book worth reading. From the history of marriage to marriage as a sacrament, there’s so much in this book that shows the beauty of marriage.  I like how this book states plainly and clearly the reasons behind such topics as chastity, love, the indissolubility of marriage and many other topics. Here’s a question to ask: “Do I think about my duty to be for my spouse a support in his sanctification or his or her search for God?” Listen to today’s podcast for a good look at “Male and Female He Created Them” on Marriage and the Family, by Jorge Cardinal Medina Estevez

“Marriage: A Path to Sanctity,” by Javier Abad and Eugenio Fenoy The sacrament of matrimony gives couples lasting strength to fulfill their duties as spouse and parent. Do you want a life filled with faith, hope and love? Than all you have to do is surrender with a cheerful heart, set aside your ego, and respect natural law. You have a higher probability for blissful harmony if you adhere to fidelity in marriage. Today’s podcast is a summary of this insightful book.

Covenanted Happiness: Love and Commitment in Marriage by Cormac Burke. There are certain rules that couples can follow and this book explains why we get into predicaments and encounter unhappiness and demise in marriage. Love is other-centered, not self-centered. "A married love that is fully human is a compound of sense and spirit." A beautiful book with challenging concepts.

Nonviolent Communication is a way to create peace and calm in the home. Who wouldn’t want to make a connection in a way that everybody’s needs get met through natural giving? Listen to today’s podcast and discover the process of nonviolent communication, when the speaker cites an observation, feeling, need and request. For more information, look up Dr. Marshall Rosenberg and www.cnvc.org.

Arguments. We all have them. Sometimes disagreements can bring us down and keep us down. Some people say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” but it is said that the little things can do damage to a marriage - especially if those so called little things are left unsolved or unattended. A wall of resentment can build due to the little things. It’s much harder to demolish a brick wall, so let’s try to not build that wall in the first place and deal with conflict as it arises. Today, we are going to discover some secrets to dealing with conflict.

Are you a good listener?  How do you know?  Find out what it takes to be a good listener and how to go about listening for meaning.  If you aren’t a good listener, chances are, you are not in tune with your spouse.

This is part 1 in a 4-part series on communication. Today’s episode will explore why we have breakdowns and what we can do about it. There are many ways we can ensure effective communication.

In this final part of our 6-part series on Emotional Fidelity, we discuss what you can do to repair and rebuild a relationship that has been rocked by a sexual and emotional affair. It will take time, vulnerability and reconnection to start anew. What else? Listen to today’s episode for guidance and suggestions.

Monogamy. Are We Kidding Ourselves? Find out why cheating is common, the 3 main reasons we cheat, and what we can do to prevent against it happening to us.

Pornography is contributing to a breakdown in love and marriage.  People who regularly view pornography have a 300% increase in having an affair or hookup outside marriage. It is negatively influencing the way humans perceive and relate to each other. Pornography isn’t just an art form or harmless individual freedom, it’s the portrayal of explicit sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual excitement and erotic satisfaction, minus love or mature relationships. Porn is disrespectful of women.  It brings with it tremendous consequences that shouldn’t be overlooked. We’ll talk about those devastating consequences on today’s episode, episode 4 of the 6-Part Series “Emotional Fidelity.”  

Emotional Infidelity is a silent killer. How can you guard against Emotional Infidelity? There are at least 8 ways. Can you name some? Here are 2: (1) Commit to love as a decision, not a feeling. (2) Don’t put energy into the past. You must continuously tend to the garden of your relationship lest it become overwrought with weeds. There are many ways in which to ensure the emotional health of your marriage. Find out on today’s episode. This is episode 3 of 6 in the Emotional Fidelity Series. Subscribe to Your Marriage Matters Podcast on your favorite platform.

Secrets to mastering emotional well-being. Emotional health in marriage means developing a high degree of self-awareness. It means seeking a balance or control when emotions are strong. Emotional health means taking responsibility and not blaming or burdening others. What else can we do to increase emotional health in marriage?  Today is Part 2 of a 6-Part Series.

What are the most common emotional needs we all have and how do we go about fulfilling those needs? Find out the 10 secrets to a great relationship and see how you measure up.

More marriages are ruined by dishonesty than honesty. What is the policy of “Radical Honesty?” According to Dr. Willard Harley, “Reveal to your spouse as much information about yourself as you know: your thoughts, feelings, habits, likes, dislikes, personal history, daily activities, and plans for the future.” Today’s episode will make you think twice if you conceal things from your spouse. Do you want an authentic relationship where your spouse understands you or are you building a “false harmony” partnership? This episode poses over a dozen of important questions. For a full list, sign up for the YMM Movement by visiting marriagecoachlynn.com

EVERYONE LIES! Today’s podcast reveals why we lie and examines the detrimental effects of dishonesty. If you’re not honest with yourself or your partner, you’re shortchanging yourself. Discover why you’re at risk if you have too many little lies circulating and what you can do to get back on track.  

DO YOU HONOR YOUR SPOUSE? Do you place your spouse on a pedestal? Listen to today’s episode and discover why listening, patience and trust are part of honor. We’ll talk about everything from creating a safe environment so that honor can flourish. We’ll talk about fidelity, openness and how to create more honor in your marriage. In four words: Be consistent, not conditional.  

Today we will discuss friendship in marriage. Aristotle says there are 3 reasons for friendship: pleasure, utility and perfected friendship. Find out why you probably don’t have a perfected friendship on your wedding day and how to attain it through the years. Partners who are good friends with each other are likely to have long-lasting marriages that thrive.

 THE BIG 4: Perfect these and your marriage will be highly satisfying. The Big 4 are forgiveness, friendship, honor and honesty. We’ll start the series with FORGIVENESS. Why is forgiveness important?  What does it require? What blocks us from forgiving? What happens if we refuse to forgive? Listen to today’s episode and discover why forgiveness is important for marriage - and not just forgiving the big things. Make forgiveness an ongoing process in your marriage. Continue to forgive yourself and your partner and watch your relationship thrive.

This concludes the series “How Babies Impact Marriage.” Episodes: #28 - So, You're Having a Baby! How to Have the Pregnancy and Birth of Your Dreams #29 - Infancy and Postpartum Challenges for Couples #30 - And Baby Makes 3: How to Transition to a New Family Unit #31 - Tips for Marriage When Raising Young Children Get enough rest; be a planner; make your marriage relationship a priority. Find out the top 7 tips you need to know when raising a family.

  And Baby Makes 3: How to Transition to a New Family Unit The birth of a child means changes for marriage. Who will do the chores? How can I get enough sleep in order to function? How do we balance home life and work life? What will our vacations look like? What will our life look like? We’ll talk about expectations and the many changes that happen in marriage when a baby is welcomed into the family.  

Infancy and postpartum recovery pose different challenges for different couples. How will you adjust to your new life? What are some of the challenges that arise when a new baby joins the family? Today’s episode explores the adjustments that couples face when starting a family.

So, You're Having a Baby! How to Have the Pregnancy and Birth of Your Dreams Your first pregnancy and baby are not only life-changing events, but add a whole new dimension to your marriage. How, exactly does this change your life? Today’s podcast explores ways of having a satisfying pregnancy and birth and how to navigate through the physical and emotional changes taking place. This is Part 1 in a Series of 4 on "How Babies Impact Marriage." Subscribe to Your Marriage Matters Podcast and don't miss out on thought-provoking episodes.

Give the 4 Gifts of Love and watch your intimacy soar! The Gift of Care, Protection, Honesty and Time. What is most important to you? Your partner? Here’s a phrase that can change your life: “Honesty is the only way that you and your spouse will ever come to understand each other.” - Dr. Willard Harley. Inspired by Dr. Harley’s book titled “The Four Gifts of Love: Preparing for Marriage that Will Last a Lifetime,” today’s episode is bound to reveal something new to you. Listen and write down the four promises you can refer to that will keep you on the path to an amazing marriage. Isn’t that what you want?!

  Do you want an AWEsome marriage? Affection, Warmth and Encouragement are the secrets! They are responsible for building physical and emotional intimacy.

Want to find out everything a newlywed needs to know? Here’s a list of the top 12 things to set you on the right path.

“What do I do if I married a Narcissist?!” This is not an unusual question. Today’s episode explains narcissism and some helpful techniques to consider if you live with a narcissist. Important resources are listed on website www.marriagecoachlynn.com and on youtube channel “marriagecoachlynn” during the last few minutes of the 7/30/18 video episode of Podcast #24.

Preparing for Marriage What are you doing to prepare for a lifetime of marriage? Not the wedding day, the marriage? Find out the most important things you can to do to prepare for marriage. Welcome to the “Before You Get Married” Series. 4 episodes have been designed especially for those who are unmarried and considering marriage. These episodes will remove any mystery or questions you may have. Part 1: Episode #20: Know Yourself / Your Best Self / Be the Right Mate Part 2: Episode #21: Know Your Partner/ Selecting the Right Mate Part 3: Episode #22: “How Do I Know if He / She’s the Right One?” Part 4: Episode #23: Preparing for Marriage

How Do I Know if He / She’s “THE ONE?” This is one of the most important question’s of your life! Episode #22 is Part 3 in the Four-Part Series, “Before You Get Married.” Welcome to the “Before You Get Married” Series. 4 episodes have been designed especially for those who are unmarried and considering marriage. These episodes will remove any mystery or questions you may have. Part 1: Episode #20: Know Yourself / Your Best Self / Be the Right Mate Part 2: Episode #21: Know Your Partner/ Selecting the Right Mate Part 3: Episode #22: “How Do I Know if He / She’s the Right One?” Part 4: Episode #23: Preparing for Marriage

Before You Get Married: Knowing Your Partner There are things you need to know before getting married. Why set yourself up for failure when success is at your fingertips - or eardrums? Don’t miss this episode!  Welcome to the “Before You Get Married” Series. 4 episodes have been designed especially for those who are unmarried and considering marriage. These episodes will remove any mystery or questions you may have. Part 1: Episode #20: Know Yourself / Your Best Self / Be the Right Mate Part 2: Episode #21: Know Your Partner/ Selecting the Right Mate Part 3: Episode #22: “How Do I Know if He / She’s the Right One?” Part 4: Episode #23: Preparing for Marriage