Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode #049! We have a special treat for you in this one as Team Jacobus interviews Wedding Industry Expert Amanda Meeker Vela ... and boy does she have some incredible insights for us all!

We recommend getting out your notepads and you might want to grab a box of Kleenex as well! This is some really good stuff Amanda shares with us as she reflects on her own marriage, her parents marriage and her work in the wedding industry both on the photography and video perspective as well as being a co-owner and Director of Business Development for The Meekermark wedding venue. To learn more about the venue or their amazing wedding photography go to www.themeekermark.com !

Also, if you haven't signed up for The Cupid Challenge we encourage you to do so! We are just a few days away from launching this 14 day fun event on February 1st! Each day you will receive an e-mail with a short video giving us all a fun, easy to do challenge designed to help develop a more vibrant healthy marriage!

We trust you will enjoy this awesome interview with Amanda Meeker Vela! 

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ...

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode #048 where this week Team Jacobus Answers "What Are The Biggest Threats To YOUR Marriage In 2019?"

We are regularly asked this questions in the workshops that we do and were just asked it again the other day so we thought why not tackle it right from the get go here at the beginning of 2019! Our answers about what to do about them may surprise you!

Also, we are well under way in getting people signed up for "The Cupid Challenge"! This 14 day challenge will begin on February 1st and will end on February 14th which is, of course, Valentine's Day!

This is going to be a fun filled time of doing simple things each day to be more intentional about building more vibrant healthy marriages! Every day you will receive an e-mail from us with a short video describing our challenge for the day. We are excited to hear what you come up with each day!

To sign up you can ... 

1. Go to the website www.thecupidchallenge.com and register there!
2. You can go to our Facebook Group "Your Marriage Matterz" and sign up there and join the FB group if you haven't already. To go to the FB Group Click Here!

Again, this is going to be a lot of fun so we invite you to join us!

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode #047 ... Team Jacobus Answers 2 Great Questions About Conflict! 

Day in and day out we regularly receive questions that have to do with conflict in marriage. Those questions consistently revolve around people who avoid conflict and people that always seem to be in conflict. The truth is conflict is healthy in a marriage when dealt with appropriately!

In this episode we tackle 2 very common questions:

1. What do you do when your spouse won't engage in conflict and consequently nothing ever gets resolved. 
2. What do you do when it seems like we argue about everything?

You are going to hear some great ideas regarding what to do about both in this podcast!

Also, we introduced "The Cupid Challenge" in this episode. Simply put it is going to be 14 days of focus on being intentional about building more vibrant healthy marriages and it is going to be a lot of fun!

To sign up Click Here to go to our Facebook Group or go wo www.thecupidchallenge.com and you can sign up there. Join us for this cool event and have some fun learning some new ways to grow your marriage!

We trust you will enjoy and learn a lot from this week's podcast ... 

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode #046 What Are YOUR Word(s) To Drive Success In 2019? 

As we have turned the page on 2018 and moved into 2019 there has been a lot of discussion on Social Media regarding what word, or words, will you lock in on to drive success in 2019. 

We share with you what our words are but really want to hear what will be the focus for building your own vibrant healthy marriage in 2019? Take a moment to fo to our Facebook Group - YOUR Marriage Matterz and share your thoughts!

Also, we announced The Cupid Challenge a 14 day event we will launch on February 1st that will run through Valentine's Day. Each day we will send you an e-mail with a video that will put a fun, simple and exciting challenge in front of you for that day. Each challenge will help us all, Christie and I included, to build a more vibrant healthy marriage. 

Click Here to sign up for The Cupid Challenge!

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz podcast episode #044 4 Questions To Ask Yourself To Make 2019 YOUR Best Year Ever! This is Week 4 in the series ... the last week of the series and the last week of 2018!

We wrap up the series and the year with a great question - "what do you want to do that is BIG in 2019"? This question is a lot like last week's question but focuses on something that would be a game changer for you! Remember we are asking ourselves this question:

• Individually
• Collectively as a couple or family
• Personally
• And, professionally

So much of what we have done in this series is tied to us being "intentional" about our lives and specifically our marriages! In this episode we discuss some things we have done through the years that have been game changers for us and our marriage. And, we give you some ideas for what you could do that might be "BIG" in your marriage.

To download your cheat sheet for this week Click Here. We trust you will enjoy the wrap up question for this awesome series!

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode #044 "4 Questions To Ask Yourself To Make 2019 YOUR Best Year Ever"! We are in week 3 of this 4 week series and our question this week is ... "What do you want to do in 2019 that is NEW"!

We love this question for a lot of reasons including ... 

1. It allows us to plan for exciting new things in 2019
2. It gives us the opportunity to enlist the blessing and support of our spouse for what we want to do new. 
3. It gives us great insights into ways we can grow individually and collectively!

So, download the handout by Clicking Here or by going to our Facebook Group at Your Marriage Matterz and let's get started!

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YMM episode #044 ... 4 Questions To Ask Yourself To Make 2019 YOUR Best Year Ever! In Week 3 of this 4 week series our question of the week is "What do we want to do that's NEW in 2019"? 

This question helps us in a couple of ways ... 

1. It allows us to plan for exciting things we may want to do together!
2. It allows us to be able to plan things we want to do individually but want or need our partners blessing or help to make it successful!
3. It gets us on the same page!
4. It gives us a ton of stuff to look forward to in 2019

We are going to ask ourselves this question in the following ways as will our spouse. Then we will compare notes. 

• Personally as an individual
• Professionally as an individual
• Personally as a collective or couple (Team Jacobus)
• Professionally as a collective or couple (Team Jacobus)

Be sure and download the handout we have for you before listening to the podcast. You can download the handout at Click Here!

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YMM episode #043 ... 4 Questions To Ask Yourself To Make 2019 YOUR Best Year Ever! In Week 2 of this 4 week series our question of the week is "What's not working in your life and how do you get rid of it, or make it work"? 

This question helps us in a couple of ways ... 

1. It allows us to get rid of the things in our life that no longer bring us value or don't bring us enough value to justify the time we are investing.
2. It allows us to examine how to male these things work so that we are maximizing the value they bring.
3. Most important ... it creates margin in our lives so we can add new and more valuable things into our lives and our marriages!
4. A new level of intentionality is added to our marriages!

We are going to ask ourselves this question in the following ways as will our spouse. Then we will compare notes. 

• Personally as an individual
• Professionally as an individual
• Personally as a collective or couple (Team Jacobus)
• Professionally as a collective or couple (Team Jacobus)

Be sure and download the handout we have for you before listening to the podcast. You can download the handout at Click Here!

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz with Jim & Christie Jacobus! This week's episode is titled The Power Of Personality Styles and How They Impact YOUR Marriage!

This is a two part podcast and is the last in our series of 4 Ways To Be Intentional About YOUR Marriage! This is one of our favorite topics to teach on marriage. It is the source of a lot of marital conflict when couples fail to see how God made them and their spouse. It can become a great strength as we learn that God was wise beyond our understanding when he put us together. 

So after you listen to the podcast please download the Personality Styles Cheat Sheet for taking notes and then watch the video to learn what your basic style is. Next week's episode will be about debriefing the strengths and challenges of each style, looking at the natural conflicts that will arise because we are different and then giving you some ways to use the info to be intentional about growing your marriage! 

Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way! Enjoy these two episodes on The Power Of Personality Styles and How They Impact YOUR Marriage!

Jim & Christie Jacobus

Hey gang ... 

Below you will find both the downloadable Cheat Sheet for Episodes 41 & 42 as well as a link to the video's for both 41 and 42. Note: The video for 42 will not be added until YMM #042 is published ... no jumping ahead!

If you have any questions or difficulty with the downloads or the videos reach out to us Jim@JJacobus.com. We trust you will enjoy this episode! 

• Here is the link to the downloadable Cheat Sheet - Click Here
• Here is the link to the Week 1 YMM #041 video - Click Here 

Have an awesome day! 

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz episode YMM#040 The Power of Thanksgiving In Marriage ... and Life!

We feel so blessed to be able to do this work that we do and blessed that you would follow us. We are prayerful this Thanksgiving for all of the marriages out there and wanted to pass on a Thanksgiving 2018 podcast to encourage you!

As always, we do have a great exercise at the end of this podcast and encourage you to take some time to do it. And then, share it on the Facebook Group at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1017258051759978/

We look forward to seeing your responses!

Happy Thanksgiving from Team Jacobus ... 

Jim & Christie Jacobus

Hey gang ...

With Thanksgiving just 2 weeks away we wanted to run one of our most popular podcasts ever on "How Will You Decide Where To Spend The Holidays"! We think you will enjoy how we, as Team Jacobus, go about making those tough decisions even after 31 years of marriage!

We trust you will enjoy ... 

Welcome!  Today’s episode is about Holidays.  Where will you spend them?  Have you and your spouse had this important conversation?  This topic involves the expectations you have of your marriage and ties to family beliefs and traditions.  There are several variables to consider:  stepfamilies, geographic location, travel, and children.  This topic is best addressed before marriage and is certainly one that requires couples to work together.  

Consider the following about your holiday plans:

• Assess what the different holidays and traditions mean to each of you.
• Try to begin new traditions with your partner.  Remember that your marriage relationship comes before any other family ties.
• Once you make decisions, “have each other’s backs” and don’t blame the other partner.
• Negotiate “win-win” situations for both of you.
• “Rate the debate” based on how important each element is to you: 1^st choice, 2^nd choice, and 3^rd choice.
• Establish communication and exercise your problem-solving skills.
• This is NOT the time to be selfish and demanding!

What can you expect if you handle this conversation well?  

• You achieve teamwork and unity with your spouse in the eyes of friends and family.
• You may end up enjoying the family traditions and the bonding opportunities with your spouse’s family.

Listener Question of the Week:  I am really frustrated.  My fiancé and I have been together for several years and have been through many birthdays and holidays.  He likes to give practical gifts, and I like fun, crazy gifts.  What are your recommendations as to what to do?

Fun Question of the Week:  What is your idea of a great gift?

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode YMM #037 ... How To Make YOUR Spouse Feel Loved! Getting the Most From YOUR Survey ... 

We have a great show for you this week as we dig into being intentional about building strong, vibrant marriages and learning what our relational needs are and how they give us the keys to making our spouse feel loved!

This week we are digging deeper into last week's podcast and going through a debriefing process that will bring a lot of clarity around what do I do exactly to make my spouse feel loved! 

We have a Relational Needs Debriefing form you can download at ... 

1. Our Your Marriage Matterz Facebook page - Click Here
2. Or, go to our podcast blog page - Click Here
3. Or, e-mail Jim and put SURVEY in the subject line and he will send it to you ... jim@teamjacobus.com 

On the podcast we model the debrief for you and while doing it we learned new things about each other even after 31 years of marriage. We are excited to hear what you learn in your debrief!

Let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you in anyway ... 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode YMM #036 ... How To Make YOUR Spouse Feel Loved! Understanding Relational Needs In Marriage!

We have a great show for you this week as we dig into being intentional about building strong, vibrant marriages and learning what our relational needs are and how they give us the keys to making our spouse feel loved!

We have a Relational Needs Survey you can download at ... 

1. Our Your Marriage Matterz Facebook page - Click Here
2. Or, go to our podcast blog page - Click Here
3. Or, e-mail Jim and put SURVEY in the subject line and he will send it to you ... jim@teamjacobus.com 

In this survey we measure 10 different relational needs ... Acceptance, Affection, Appreciation, Approval, Attention, Comfort, Encouragement, Respect, Security and Support. Here are some things you will learn:

• Doing the survey will provide a lot of clarity around the mystery of how do I make my wife/husband happy!
• Why doesn't he/she respond when I (try to make them feel loved with what makes me feel loved)? 
• Some great ways to communicate what you want from your spouse and learn what they want from you!
• Clear up a lot of sources of frustration in your marriage you may never have even known existed!
• A great plan moving forward for being intentional in your marriage1

We know you will enjoy this week's podcast so download the survey, complete it and let's get started!

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to a replay of one of our most downloaded episodes from the archives of the Your Marriage Matterz podcast! Today we are going to tackle 5 Fundamental Principles For Building A Vibrant Healthy Marriage!

Our definition of a principle is that it "will work anywhere, any time and for anybody"! The principles in this podcast will make us better business men and women, better golfers or tennis players, better men, women, mothers, fathers and yes ... better husbands and wives! They will make us better, even extraordinary, at anything we choose in life. 

The principles we will share with you in this podcast are as follows:

• Be passionate about your life and you marriage
• Be committed to it 100%
• Have a big vision, or dream, for your marriage
• Keep learning and growing in your marriage
• Take total responsibility for your life and your marriage

We trust you will enjoy these principles!

Jim & Christie Jacobus

Read more at http://marriagematters.libsyn.com/page/2/size/25#g5zQ7HwEXLTCdrPU.99

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode YMM #034 The Power of Prayer In A Marriage ... 4 Keys To Success!

We are following up on our podcast last week on 4 Ways To Be Intentional About Growing YOUR Marriage by diving off into the power of prayer in a marriage. 

This week we give you 4 Keys To Success as you introduce prayer or, if you are already praying together, into your relationship! This has been a game changer for us and we know it will be for you as well!

Grab your notebooks and let's get started!

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz podcast YMM #033 ... 4 Ways To Be Intentional About Growing YOUR Marriage! And, something you can do RIGHT NOW!

Time is flying by! In the process it is easy to overlook those we love and even take for granted they are even going to be here another day. This episode is focused on 4 Ways You Can Be Intentional about your marriage, getting to know your spouse at a deeper level and growing the quality of your relationship. 

As always, grab a pen and a piece of paper and take notes! Here we go ... 

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to the YOUR Marriage Matterz podcast episode #026 Friends ... 6 Reasonable Expectations Every Couple Need To Agree On! This is the 4th in our series on Marital Expectations.

Along with these baseline expectations:

1. If the bible speaks to it that is our starting point
2. We will learn how to communicate openly and transparently
3. We will learn how to solve problems together

We are bringing you 3 more very reasonable expectations when it comes to our friends!

Get out your notepads because YOUR Marriage Matterz!

Jim & Christie Jacobus 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz podcast #023 The Power of Expectations For Good (and Bad) In Your Marriage! In this episode we are beginning to unpack the role that marital expectations play for good, and bad, in our marriages!

All of our expectations come from somewhere ... family, culture, past relationships, friends and on and on. Our job is to decide if the expectations are good, reasonable, add to our marriage(or take away) and learn to communicate them effectively to each other. 

From there we really want to focus on keeping the good stuff, add to it creative ideas to make them even better and create shared expectations. And, we always want to challenge the status quo to see if even our good expectations can be even better. 

In the next few podcasts we are going to tackle expectations regarding things like 

• Sex ... yes we will tackle this one!
• Money ... uh oh! 
• Careers
• Family and friends
• Roles and responsibilities
• And others (if you have an idea we would love to hear from you!)

So, get out your notepads! Here we go ... 

Jim & Christie Jacobus
info@yourmarriagematterz.com 

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz podcast #022 5 Myths About Marriage - Crushed By Team Jacobus! 

This week we look at 5 common things that create problems in marriage and are myths created by our culture and misinformation in general! The myths are ... 

• Happy couples never argue
• My spouse should "just know" 
• If you loved me you would change
• I have a right to privacy
• I would be better off alone, or with someone else

Check and see if you struggle with any of these! Getting rid of the myth, or myths, in your marriage will create a healthier, more vibrant connection between the two of you!

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us at info@yourmarriagematterz.com or by connecting with us via our Facebook page Your Marriage Matterz!

Jim & Christie Jacobus

Hey there ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz podcast #021 ... Marriage At the Speed Of Life! This week we recap a 6 week study of Dr's Les and Leslie Parrott's awesome book The Time Starved Marriage! 

This was an awesome opportunity to look at time from so many different perspectives and really focus on a couple of key factors ... 

• Be intentional about the time we have in our marriage
• When we are so busy focus on quality instead of quantity
• Making our marriage a priority

We certainly learned a lot ourselves that we have already put into practice!

If you want to access the books, videos and other Time Starved Marriage resources CLICK HERE!

Check out our brand new Facebook Group by Clicking Here! 

We trust you will enjoy this week's podcast! Let us know if you have any questions or if you have any ideas for future podcasts!

Jim & Christie Jacobus
info@yourmarriagematterz.com 

Hey there ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz podcast #020 6 GREAT Date Night Questions To Ask Each Other ... Making "Date Night" Great again! This week we are going to give you 6 excellent date night questions you can ask each other to get to know more about ... 

• Your spouses history!
• Your spouses present!
• And, your spouses past!

After last week's "Listener Question of the Week" ... how often should we have date night we got tons of feedback wanting to know more about date night. So, this week we are taking a deeper dive into the subject and providing you with some great discussion questions to Make "Date Night" Great Again!

We trust you will enjoy this podcast! If you have any questions or if we can assist you in any way feel free to contact us via our Facebook Group Your Marriage Matterz or e-mail us info@yourmarriagematterz.com. We look forward to hearing from you !

Jim & Christie Jacobus

Hey gang ... 

Welcome to the Your Marriage Matterz podcast episode #019! We are asked all of the time what are the most common mistakes we see married couples make? So, to answer that question here is our podcast titled The 5 Most Common FAILS We See In Marriage Today And, What To Do About Them! 

Through the years we have seen these same 5 things pop up over and over again ... 

• Fail #1 - unreasonable marital expectations
• Fail #2 - not investing in the marriage
• Fail #3 - not working to develop trust
• Fail #4 - taking your spouse for granted
• Fail #5 - not making marriage a priority

Guilty of any of these? If you said yes ... enjoy the podcast!

Again, welcome to the Your Marriage Matterz podcast #019. We appreciate your listening!

Jim & Christie Jacobus
info@yourmarriagematterz.com 

Hey folks ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz and YMM #015 - Turning Your Marriage Into A Team That Can't Lose! This is the last session in our Couples At the Crossroads series. In this episode we discuss 5 things that will help you create a team atmosphere within your marriage. 

You hear us constantly refer to our marriage as Team Jacobus and that we take on the world shoulder to shoulder as a team. Our 5 keys this week are:

1. Be committed, or all in, on your marriage
2. The Team comes before the individual
3. Keep growing individually and collectively
4. Be your team's biggest cheerleader
5. Pass it on by teaching and mentoring others

Marriage wasn't meant to be a lonely individual endeavor but the joining of 2 people into one flesh. This podcast will get us on the way to making YOUR TEAM one that can't lose!

Thanks for listening ... 

Jim & Christie Jacobus
info@yourmarriagematterz.com 

Hey there gang ... 

Welcome to Your Marriage Matterz episode #017. Today's topic is Conflict Resolution and How To Effectively Solving Problems Together! 

Conflict in a marriage is inevitable! It is part of the deal when two people growing up with different backgrounds live together, play together and are focused on building a life together. 

How we handle this inevitable challenge will determine whether the conflict drives a wedge between us or actually strengthens our relationship. Learning to do it well will give us confidence in ourselves, each other and in our marriage!

This episode we will cover ... 

• Some basics about conflict in a marriage
• The difference in "Fighting In Our Marriage" and "Fighting For Our Marriage"
• And ... we are going to give you two of our favorite conflict resolution strategies you can use right away!

So, welcome to Your Marriage Matterz episode #017! Grab a pen and some paper! You are going to want to take notes on this one ... 

Jim & Christie Jacobus
info@yourmarriagematterz.com