Welcome!  Today we’re addressing an important question; it’s so important that we’ve included it in our book, 101 Conversations Every Couple Ought to Have Before They Get Married.  

What are some of your favorite memories growing up?

This question is important for the following reasons:

• You will get to know your future spouse in a deeper way.
• You will get a good perspective on how they see their formative years.
• You will understand where they got their beliefs and values.
• You will gain great insight into each other.
• You will have an opportunity to be open and transparent about small, simple things and huge things like family traditions and holidays.
• Even if your family dynamics differ (Like Jim and Christie!), you will understand their family heritage, connection, and what things were meaningful parts of their lives.

The assignment is to write down 2-3 favorite memories, even if they aren’t all positive ones.  Discuss them together, because these are things you need to know about your future spouse.

Listener Question of the Week:  What are some of the red flags you see in couples that make you worry about them?

Fun Question of the Week:  If the house is burning down, but all people and pets are safe, what is one thing you would try to save?

Welcome!  We sometimes talk about “Team Jacobus,” but we really are a team, as any marriage should be.  A team is stronger when relying on each other, standing shoulder to shoulder to face whatever comes.  We’ve been working in our book and decided today to talk about an important topic in marriage:  Roles and Responsibilities.  Essentially, we are discussing how you function together to accomplish things in your household and your marriage.

Here is the question:  What are the strengths you bring to the marriage regarding roles and responsibilities?

We want to model this for you by listing some things that we respect about each other’s strengths:

• Jim’s strengths:  (from Christie)
• • Makes decisions quickly
  • Uses data and takes action
  • Very handy around the house
  • A fearless learner who explores and finds out more
• Christie’s strengths:  (from Jim)
• • Cautious about decision-making
  • Displays nursing abilities
  • Is a great bargain hunter

Your assignment is to write down 3-4 things you admire and respect about each other.  Then have the discussion and share them with each other.  

As a result of this conversation, you will be able to categorize tasks and decide what will be hired out.  You will be an encouragement to each other and become strategic about running your household as a team.  It’s a win-win, so give it a try!  Thanks for joining us!

Listener Question of the Week:  Why is having a relationship so damn hard?

Fun Question of the Week:  What is your favorite chore around the house?

Welcome!  After attending Podcast Movement 2015 recently, we’ve learned about new things we want to bring to the podcast.  One of those is to have interviews with experts and counselors that can help all of us in marriage and relationships.  We start with those interviews today!  Jim is interviewing his first—and favorite—guest, Christie!

Christie shares the following about her growing up years and career:

• Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Christie grew up in a family with a mother, father, and older brother.
• Christie attended nursing school at the University of Texas and then ended up working at a hospital in Houston after graduation.
• She held several different nursing jobs, then transitioned into education and counseling, securing a master’s degree.
• Through the scope of Christie’s career work, she has been able to see the holistic aspect of health in the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual areas.
• Christie concentrates her work today in counseling, especially enjoying her work with premarital counseling and education.
• Christie recently finished up a four-week series called “Prepare to Last,” working with six couples.  
• Interestingly enough, the state of Texas provides a $60 discount off marriage license fees to couples who attend premarital counseling classes!
• Christie’s top tip for pre-married couples is to spend time together having the difficult conversations about the tough issues in marriage.

You don’t want to miss Christie’s moving story that wraps up this episode!  It’s a beautiful true story every married person should hear about “Grace.”  Listen in for more!

Listener Question of the Week:  How do you handle the differences in your religious traditions?

Fun Question of the Week:  What types of games do you like to play with friends or family?

Welcome!  We’ve been traveling a lot lately, and we’ve just returned from the Podcast Movement 2015 in Fort Worth, TX.  We had a great time, met some great people and learned a lot about how to make this podcast better.  The best aspect of the conference was to attend TOGETHER.  You’ve heard us discuss the importance of putting yourself in a learning environment as a COUPLE, and we are thankful we were able to do so.

Here are some of the highlights of what we learned at the conference:

• There is ALWAYS something new to learn!
• In doing a podcast, it’s important to structure your content properly.
• You should create a podcast that YOU would want to hear.
• Be willing to change when needed to bring value to listeners.
• Always tap into resources that can help.
• Podcasts should be user-friendly and interesting!
• There are some things we are doing right and some things we need to improve.
• Our goal is to share our message.
• From any learning environment, you should walk out with new skills.
• You can gain new inspiration from witnessing the passion of others.
• Attending an event/conference allows you to connect with a lot of different people.

Attending the conference as a couple allowed us to strengthen our team, to share conversations and perspective, and to gain a shared vision for the future.

**Your assignment is to find three things that you can do together or learn about together.  Enter into each other’s world and interests; this will bring your relationship closer together.

Listener Question of the Week:  You guys talk a lot about learning.  I am a passionate learner; I love to read, take classes, and things like that.  My potential spouse doesn’t seem to be interested in any of those things or even in listening to this podcast, reading books, or learning at all!  What are your thoughts?

Another Learning Question:  What are 1-2 books that you’ve read in the last couple of years that have had an impact or that you’ve loved?