On this Thursday Thought, we reflect on what it means to be blessed. We'll discover how being blessed is not about what we have (or don't have) but rather the presence of God in our lives.

We reflect on Stanley Hauerwas' invitation to consider the Beatitudes, those beautiful "Blessed are..." from Matthew 5 and what this might mean for our marriage:

Too often the Beatitudes are turned into ideals we must strive to attain. But Jesus does not tell us that we should try to be poor in spirit, or meek, or peacemakers. He simply says that many who are called into his kingdom will find themselves so constituted.

Stanley Hauerwas, "Jesus Changes Everything"

Next Steps

In this episode, we share the story of our journey through infertility. We understand that the journey of infertility is painful. We also know that you might be in the middle of another journey of pain or confusion. We'd love to be able to hear your story and pray with you. Please feel free to reach out to us by clicking here.

You can also e-mail us: info@livingmarriages.com

Want to support this non-profit ministry with a charitable donation? Please visit our website http://livingmarriages.com

How many times have you heard someone say, "I'm so blessed..." when they're referring to having something they desire? Does that mean that someone who doesn't have what they desire isn't blessed?

On today's episode, April and Aaron share their 3 1/2 year journey through infertility and how God met them in the midst of their journey, even though they couldn't always sense him. You'll also hear how God taught them what true blessing is (hint: it's not in what you have or don't have).

Whether you are on the journey of infertility or not, this episode points to the lovingkindness of the God who meets us in the midst of our pain and confusion.

Next Steps

We understand that the journey of infertility is painful. We also know that you might be in the middle of another journey of pain or confusion. We'd love to be able to hear your story and pray with you. Please feel free to reach out to us by clicking here.

You can also e-mail us: info@livingmarriages.com

Want to support this non-profit ministry with a charitable donation? Please visit our website http://livingmarriages.com

Join us for this Thursday Thought as we:

• find out how Aaron and April's fun date went
• reflect on our friendship with our spouse
• consider how God might be inviting us to invest in that friendship with fun

We'll meditate on Proverbs 17:22 together and pray God's grace and blessing on the friendship in our marriage.

If you have a story of something fun you like doing in your marriage that we can share with our listeners, please click here!

Or you can e-mail us: info@livingmarriages.com

Recently, we have been reminded of the importance of fun and friendship in marriage. To make sure we have time to invest in some of that fun ourselves, we're keeping the episode shorter and asking for your help!

We'd love to hear from you about one way you and your spouse have fun in your marriage We'll share your ideas in an upcoming episode.

You can click right here and get in touch with us: https://livingmarriages.com/contact#httpslivingmarriagescomcontact

Or e-mail us:

info@livingmarriages.com

God bless!

We were so inspired by our conversation with Your Bible Coach Keith Ferrin in episode 36! Who knew that reading our Bibles could be helpful AND fun!

On this Thursday thought, we spend more time in reflection about what it means that time with God in the word is "relational", not just "informational" and we pray that you may grow in intimacy with God and each other through your time in his Word.

Ignatian Gospel Contemplation Resources

A helpful short video that explains the practice of gospel contemplation: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-contemplation/

Another helpful website with further explanations and guided examples of Ignatian gospel contemplation: https://www.lindsayboyer.com/ignatian-meditation

Next Steps

Would you like to explore some of these ideas further or would you like prayer for your marriage? We'd love to journey with you in that so get in touch! info@livingmarriages.com

We need your prayers and support to keep this non-profit ministry going. Please consider how you could partner with us. To make a charitable donation, visit: http://livingmarriages.com

"We expect the Bible to be true, we just don't expect it to be good."

Keith Ferrin

Anybody who has grown up in the church has been taught that reading our Bibles is an important part of being a follower of Jesus. The problem is that many of us don't know where to start or if we have, how to stay consistent with it. These problems follow us into our marriages where, with the busyness of life and young families, bible reading habits either disappear of feel burdensome.

Today's guest, speaker and Bible coach Keith Ferrin, offers insight into this problem, helping us move from seeing Bible reading as a burden to the joy God has meant it to be!

On this fascinating episode we discuss:

• A mindset shift from an informational to a relational approach to Scripture
• A methodology shift that will help us understand and enjoy what we read
• How Bible reading that is enjoyable and alive can transform your marriage and family

To find Keith and his excellent resources, please visit:

https://www.keithferrin.com/

He also has a wonderful YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@keithferrin

If you'd like to connect with us to ask for prayer, coaching or to give us feedback or suggestions, we'd love to hear from you! info@livingmarriages.com

You can also visit our website to find out how you can support this non-profit ministry with a charitable donation: http://livingmarriages.com

Grab a pen, your journal, your Bible and your favourite drink and join us for this Thursday Thought!

Today, Aaron shares a reflection on what unity is from God's perspective and how it's been his heart for humanity since the beginning of time. He also prays that we'd discover what it means to have Christ at the head of our marriage and that we'd find a "togetherness" as we confront problems.

Resources

Check out Tim Mackie's excellent bible study on the idea of "One Flesh" from The Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/classroom/adam-to-noah/sessions/15

Next Steps

We'd love to hear from you! If you'd like prayer for your marriage, would like us to journey with you in your marriage or have feedback or ideas for us, get in touch: info@livingmarriages.com

Support our non-profit ministry! If you'd like to help keep new episodes of the podcast coming, please visit http://livingmarriages.com to make a charitable donation. Thank you!

"We are on the same team!"

This one simple truth has the power to transform our marriages and bring us greater unity. Yet, it is a truth that eludes us as so often we find ourselves seeing our spouse as the problem, rather than being able to confront the problem together with our spouse.

In this episode, we chat about:

• How easy it is for us to forget that we are on the same team
• God's invitation to shift our mindset to one of unity
• How making the time and effort to connect with one another is an important key to unity

We also discuss the Edmonton Oilers latest Stanley Cup playoff run and what we can learn in our marriages by Leon Draisaitl playing good defence.

Next Steps

We'd love to hear from you! If you'd like prayer for your marriage, would like us to journey with you in your marriage or have feedback or ideas for us, get in touch: info@livingmarriages.com

Support our non-profit ministry! If you'd like to help keep new episodes of the podcast coming, please visit http://livingmarriages.com to make a charitable donation. Thank you!