When Dreams Don't Go as Planned Pt 2 (Marriage Reset Series) - 301

What if the cure for a tired, distant marriage isn’t more date nights, but a shared mission that points beyond yourselves? We unpack how dreaming together—with God at the center—reignites intimacy, restores hope, and turns everyday partners into a united team with purpose. From the slow fade of busyness to the subtle spiritual resistance that chills connection, we name what’s really happening and offer a path forward grounded in service, story, and faith.

We explore why outward-focused dreams breathe life back into relationships, whether that looks like mentoring a younger couple, volunteering at a shelter, or freeing your finances to give generously. Drawing from the biblical partnership of Priscilla and Aquila, we show how ordinary work can fund extraordinary ministry when a couple aligns gifts, calendars, and courage. Along the way, we get practical: prayerfully asking soul-searching questions, choosing small steady actions, and persevering through setbacks without losing heart.

You’ll also hear how the story you tell about your relationship can forecast your future. Leveraging John Gottman’s research, we share why hopeful storytelling—honest about pain yet anchored in growth—protects your bond and reshapes your outlook. We open our own journey to show how serving together deepened emotional, spiritual, and even physical intimacy, and how testimony heals both the teller and the listener. If you’ve been living more like roommates than soulmates, this is your invitation to reconnect, rebuild, and dream again with purpose.

If this resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a couple who needs fresh hope. Then tell us: what dream could you chase together this year?

Reconnected-G&ES

Transcript

Why Marriages Stop Dreaming

Daniel Moore 0:05

Marriage has a funny way of starting with big dreams and late-night what if conversations, and then somehow ending up as two people standing in the kitchen at 9 p.m. arguing about who forgot to move the laundry. In this episode, we're talking about why God didn't design marriage just to survive schedules, pay bills, and politely coexist. But to dream together, serve together, and aim for something bigger than comfort. Whether your shared dream is adopting a child, serving your community, starting a ministry, or just figuring out how to be on the same page again, we'll explore how dreaming together can breathe life back into your relationship. Because when couples stop dreaming, they don't usually notice it right away. They just slowly trade soulmates for roommates. And we're here to help you flip that script with faith, purpose, and maybe a little laughter along the way. Welcome to Marriage Life and More. This is a podcast about marriage, Bible, and book studies, and we interview people with inspiring stories. I'm Daniel Moore, your host, and once again over here next to me this week is my beautiful co-host, my wife Michelle.

Michelle Moore 1:19

Hey, hey.

Daniel Moore 1:20

She even waved at you.

Michelle Moore 1:21

Can't even see it.

Series Context: Roommates To Soulmates

Dreaming Together As A Spiritual Practice

Daniel Moore 1:22

Yeah, thank you guys for joining us this week. If you're not familiar with our show, check out our website at Marriage Life and more. Our platforms, our YouTube and Remo links are there. We're also in the Christian Podcasting app at Edifi. We're also on your Alexa and Google Smart Devices. You can also visit us on social, on Facebook, Instagram, and X at CTGAP Online. If you're a fan of our show, please subscribe. Leave a comment on our platforms, give us a thumbs up or five-star review and Apple Podcast, and we'd be eternally thankful to you for doing that. Well, last week we started off episode 12 and made it through the first half of that one. And as we mentioned, if you guys have listened to it, you'll know that that is the last episode that we have in our series for marriage reset: Roommates to Soulmates in Your Marriage. And as we left last week, we were talking about if you're in this situation where you feel like you're a roommate, and we've gone through all these different episodes, and maybe you've kind of started figuring out what some of your issues are and the different things, different dynamics maybe that's going on in your marriage. Uh, there's no better way, I don't think, to wrap it up than what we're discussing last week and this week. Because regardless of what you try to fix in your marriage, the issues that you may have, if you still don't put dreams into place and have dreams to try to attain as a couple, then it's going to be real difficult still to nurture that intimacy and that closeness that you have if you're just existing. And so this part about dreaming in marriage is very important. But sometimes in marriages, dreams just don't go as they were planned. And that's what we're going to talk about this week as we wrap up our series on marriage reset, as we get back into episode 12.

Service Over Self: The Big List

Michelle Moore 3:23

We wholeheartedly urge you to rediscover the importance of dreaming together as a couple. God brought you into unity to accomplish something extraordinary. Your marriage should aim for more than just personal satisfaction, minor disagreements, or the chase for comfort. Marriages that are solely inward looking often leave couples feeling unfulfilled. The love you share is meant to bless others as well. Pursuing a mutual dream can keep your relationship flourishing. Your shared dream may look different, and that's perfectly okay. When couples have been asked about their shared dreams, they have shared many different responses over the years, whether it may be raising godly children, to get out of debt so we can financially support a ministry, or coach a youth sports team together, where we could bake cookies for a retirement home, provide foster care, we could serve veterans, adopt a child, or go on a short-term missions trip, volunteer at a local food bank or homeless shelter, work with troubled youth, mentor a young married couple, serve single parents in our church, or help troubled marriages, or volunteer at a women's shelter or crisis pregnancy center, provide respite care for parents of foster children, tutor immigrants studying for the citizen test, become a foster grandparent, start a new business together, build homes for habitat for humanity, serve on the mission field in Africa, start a ministry for the homeless in the city, become youth pastors, or write a book together. Maybe minister to Olympic ice skaters.

Daniel Moore 5:22

As I look at this list, you and I have done several of these that seems way out there.

Michelle Moore 5:28

I know. When you minister to Olympic ice skaters, I mean you just didn't know. I mean, here in Missouri, that's like, you know, amazing.

Daniel Moore 5:34

Yep. Just kidding. Well, we've uh we've provided foster care.

Michelle Moore 5:38

Yep.

Our Story: Serving Changed Us

Daniel Moore 5:39

And we have volunteered to help kind of like a food bank where you feed home homeless type people. We did that ministry for a while at a different church where our church came in and we cooked a meal and and fed them and that kind of thing. We've we now mentor married couples and we help troubled marriages. I mean, there's several things there that at one point in time in our past wasn't on our radar. By any stretch of the imagination. We'd never ever thought of us being doing some of those things making a difference. But one thing I did notice here with all of this list that you just shared is did you notice how they're about other people?

Michelle Moore 6:21

Yeah. They're not selfishly pointed towards just uh definitely serving other people. Yeah. Yeah.

Daniel Moore 6:27

I think when, and this was a list, as you said, when you first started reading this, these are answers that other couples gave when they were asked about that. And I think that goes to show the importance of doing outside ministry as a couple. It not only helps yourselves, but helping other people and how that can just change your life dramatically.

Michelle Moore 6:50

Absolutely.

Daniel Moore 6:50

I think that was really cool because you're reading all of that. I was like, you know, hardly none of those are serving themselves. Right. Almost every one of them is looking out there. So maybe that's an inspiration for somebody that has is listening today. Maybe you're maybe you're in a uh have a block, middle block going on, you can't think of what to do. Maybe it's because you're looking too many too much towards what can me and my spouse do just for us. Yeah. Maybe you need to expand those borders a little bit and think outside the box.

Michelle Moore 7:18

Yeah, it's good.

Daniel Moore 7:19

So go ahead.

Biblical Model: Priscilla And Aquila

Michelle Moore 7:20

The opportunities for a shared purpose in marriage are limitless. It isn't about chasing a specific goal as much as it is about being united in a vision that reaches beyond yourselves and brings hope and encouragement to others. Consider couples like John and Susanna Wes Wesley, who raise children that help spark spiritual revival on a modern day couple who open their homes for mentorship, leading community outreach projects, or serve overseas. Their impact flowed from a shared heart to serve and uplift others, not simply from their individual pursuits. Take, for example, the story of Priscilla and Aquila in the early church. They were known for their deep commitment to God and to each other. Together they worked, traveled, and partnered with the Apostle Paul in ministry. Through their trade was tent making, their calling as a couple was far greater. They led, taught, hosted gatherings of believers in their home, and played a key role in nurturing young leaders like Apollos. Remarkably, Scripture never refers to one without the other. They were always a team standing side by side in mission and purpose. An inspiring aspect of the relationship is the way Scripture seems to emphasize their mutual respect and equality. In culture, where women often regarded as subject, the Apostle Paul affirmed that both as co-laborers in the kingdom. Sometimes Priscilla's name is mentioned first, and sometimes Aquilus, an intentional reminder of the balance and shared leadership that define their marriage. Some even believe Priscilla could have authored the Book of Hebrews, highlighting her deep spiritual insight. Much like this influential couple, we believe every marriage holds the potential for something greater than personal dreams. Your calling as a couple carries a unique power that individual efforts alone may never achieve. God sees the strength in your union and the lasting impact you can make together. Take some time and discuss these questions. What might God be calling us to do together to serve Him and bless others? What are some common goals, hopes, and dreams we can pursue together? What do we want our life together to be like five years from now? Ten years? Twenty years? Fifty years? At the end of our life together, what accomplishments do we want to be able to look back over and celebrate? What qualities do we want people to remember about us? What values do we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren? In what specific ways are we creating a marriage worth repeating for our children? I love that. What kind of legacy do we want to leave? Those are really good.

Daniel Moore 10:38

They are.

Michelle Moore 10:44

Oh, I think I said the name wrong.

Soul-Searching Questions For Couples

Daniel Moore 10:46

Oh, it's fine. It's pronounced different ways. But that the book that I wrote, uh, Marriage is a Mission, I actually use this story also as an example. And this one will come up quite often if if you if you go online and Google couples in the Bible that m done ministry together and made a difference as a couple, this is one of them that will almost always pop up pretty much first at the top of the list. And the reason I think that this story is so important when you look at it from a couple's aspect of two couples or two people in a relationship doing ministry together, one of the chapters in my book was about how as married couples, that is an expectation that God has of us. Yes, is we need to be in ministry. We need to be pouring into other people. We we take care of ourselves first, uh, ask God to pour into our lives, ask him to search our hearts, uh, you know, take out all those bad things, and we live for him. And then our next goal then should be pouring into others and becoming a team to go out and to further the kingdom. And that's exactly what Priscilla and Akeelah did. And it even got so far to the point where it talked about Apollos there, they found out that he was teaching some things to people that weren't quite right. And they were so ingrained into the ministry that God had called them to to make sure that it was done right, that they went and had a meeting with Apollos and they trained him further so that he could then spread the gospel the the correct way and tell it correctly the way it was supposed to be done. And if them two had argued and fought and kicked and screamed, and I'm not gonna do this because you want to do it, and no matter what your dream is, my dream's this, and I'm going off a separate direction and gonna do whatever I want to do, uh that never would have happened. Um, a lot of churches, and they also took Paul in as well. Uh, that was another part of this story. Uh, Paul was being chased around by a lot of people at that time trying to kill him. He kept getting thrown in jail, and he showed up as a stranger and they took him in and they allowed him to do tent working with them. And so that was another part of that story that's not shared here. If you look at the grand scope of all of that, if they've never allowed him to come in and give him harbor, if they had never went and talked to Apollos, those were two big instigators of the church and where the church is today. Yeah, that may have never happened. And so if you look back at that couple and see how because they opened their heart up and they allowed God to use them in whatever way that he wanted to, and they actually fulfilled that mission that God put within their hearts, and they took it to the fullest extent of whatever they just they just did what had to be done. And because they did that, we have the church today in the way that it is. And so you can't never say that, well, it doesn't matter. You know, I'm nobody. No matter what I do or whatever me and my spouse do, yeah, it might be noticed here in this little circle around me, but it's not that it's not gonna make that big a difference, you know. And they and you just push it off. You should never say that because you never know whose life you're going to touch. You never know whose life you're gonna change or maybe even save. That's right. I mean, you just don't know about those those things that might come up with that. And I do think these questions that you read here, like you said, those are really good questions to ask yourself because this these are soul searching questions.

Michelle Moore 14:24

Yeah, I was gonna say they're deep.

Daniel Moore 14:26

Yeah. They're deep. And sometimes we don't want to know what those answers are because we're terrified of where God's gonna send us next. And so we have a tendency to not ask God some of these questions, but God has us here for a purpose, he has us here for a reason. And so, because of that, if we are truly sold all in to doing what God has called us to do and to follow that path he set before us, that destiny that he's given us, the whole reason that he created us and put us here, if we're willing to fulfill that in our lives, we have to ask these tough questions. And we have to ask God, you know, what are the answers to these? Yeah. And how do I move forward? And that's a conversation that even us as couples have to have too. Because we have to align with a lot of that. Yeah. So um, if you don't have anything else to add to that, you can go ahead and continue there.

Working Side By Side Deepens Intimacy

Michelle Moore 15:21

Take everything that God begins to place on your hearts as a couple and surrender it to him in prayer. He may answer quickly, or it might take years to see how things unfold. Either way, keep pressing in and trusting his timing. As Matthew 7 7 in the message translation encourages, be bold and straightforward. Ask God for what you need, then let go of the timeline. He knows exactly what your marriage needs and how your shared dream will impact others. You might be thinking, That's easy for you to say. Things worked out fine in that situation, but we aren't in your shoes. The truth is we didn't have all the answers either. We've come to believe that dreaming together as a couple isn't solely reaching the final destination. It's just as much about the journey you embark on with each other and with God. When you dream in unity, it creates a closeness between you that's hard to describe. The connection, the honesty, and the spiritual unity deepen in ways that only shared purpose can bring. And as one dream comes to life, or even if it ends in an unexpected way, don't stop dreaming. Ask God what the next chapter is. When we fixed things with us, we kept praying. Lord, what do you have next for us? We felt stirred in toward marriage ministry. Working side by side has brought us to an incredible bond. We communicate better, we connect emotionally, spiritually on a deeper level, and yes, even our physical intimacy has flourished. There's something profound about building a future together, laying brick by brick toward a vision God planted in both of our hearts. When you live out your shared calling, your marriage truly reflects the beauty of two becoming one. As you keep dreaming together, stay attuned to God's voice. Like the worship song, Nothing I Hold On To says so simply, I give it all to you, God, trusting that you'll make something beautiful out of me. Trust that he is doing exactly what that with your marriage. The process might be messy at times, full of unexpected challenges and surprising turns, but it's all part of his design to shape you and your marriage into his likeness. Be alert in the hard moments. That's often where he speaks most clearly. He knows the depths of your heart, and he will meet you right in the midst of your questions and struggles. So don't give up on your dreams. The blessings of dreaming together are far too valuable to let your relationship drift aimlessly through life. Reconnect, reignite your shared vision, and start imagining your futures together once again.

Daniel Moore 18:33

I like that. We have to be intentional.

Michelle Moore 18:36

The story of us.

Tell Your Story With Hope

Daniel Moore 18:37

We have to make sure that everything that we do, that we want a good purpose to come out of that to make a difference. I know every time that I know speaking for myself, every time that I've done something to help another person, it's amazing how you feel so much more fulfilled. Yeah. Whenever you do something like that than if you just do it for your own gain. And I think you can speak into this as well, just for us, even, uh, when we help other couples and we mentor other couples, have those breakthrough moments and those aha moments and those things that take place and all of that. We get so excited.

Michelle Moore 19:18

We do. I mean, it's just we want to celebrate.

Gottman’s Findings On Narratives

Daniel Moore 19:20

Yes, it's just awesome just to watch God work, watch God move and change things, move those mountains, move those walls, re-reconstruct those boundaries, you know, all those things that happens in marriage sometimes. We love seeing that. And I think there's nothing more fulfilling than for us to be able to share that together with the other couple and not just being one of us. So definitely we have to make sure that we work hard to keep those dreams alive! As we close out this series, we love a good love story. But more importantly, we believe telling our love story is one of the most powerful ways we can keep our marriage strong. Now the good news is it's not the particulars of our story that matter, it's how we tell it that's most important. According to marriage researcher Dr. John Gottman, he can predict with 94% accuracy if a couple will make it based solely on how they tell their story. That's astounding. In Gottman's study, couples who had a positive view of their history together were more likely to stay together. Happy couples talked about their relationship in a positive way and filtered the early days through a rose-colored lens, a relationship filled with good times. They were able to see their challenges as both painful and as experiences that grew them as a couple. Unhappy couples, however, focused more on the difficult times, the pain and the struggles. Sadly, they edited out all the good times as anomalies and altered their history to reflect their current state of unhappiness. We are constantly telling our stories. We use these for the marriage episodes we share, but we also tell them to our children and friends as well. Author Jerry Jenkins has a wonderful perspective about sharing your story. He says to tell your marriage story. Tell it to your kids, your friends, your brothers and sisters, but especially to each other. The more your story is implanted in your brain, the more it serves as a hedge against a marriage of forces that seek to destroy your marriage. Make your story so familiar that it becomes part of the fabric of your being. It should always become a Legend that is shared through the generations as you grow a family tree that defies all odds and boasts marriage after marriage of stability, strength, and longevity. We want our love story to inspire our children. We want to create a marriage worth repeating. After all, our marriage is their blueprint for their future relationships. They need to hear us talk about the fun times, the good times, the hard times, all of it, but from a positive viewpoint. We want to remind them that God has brought us far. And I can vouch for this. Michelle and I, we can tell whenever you talk to a couple if they're very negative about everything in their relationship. You can almost guarantee they're probably having some problems because it's that glass half full, half empty thing, but it's in a whole new perspective. I think. A lot of times. Because yeah, we'd make some progress, but then we still saw the bad stuff and we're like, you know, is this really ever going to fix? Are we ever going to really get back to where we need to be? And it almost seemed like it was a really tall mountain to have to try to climb. But I think since we've worked through everything and we've now flipped the story, and now anybody we talk to, how do we talk to them when we tell them about our testimony?

Michelle Moore 23:31

Oh, we're just splunt.

Daniel Moore 23:32

Yeah.

Michelle Moore 23:33

I mean we don't hide anything. And you know, it it's okay because that's our story.

Daniel Moore 23:39

But we're positive about it.

Michelle Moore 23:41

I was gonna say, and not only that, I think like God restored our marriage, he can restore yours. It's like it's just a miracle, and it's like we love talking about it, you know. Yeah, you wouldn't say that, you know, five, six, seven years ago, because but I do, we we do. We talk about it as in a positive way.

Daniel Moore 24:01

Yeah. And a lot of times you can actually if you're talking to a couple that's really struggling, you can really kind of see the lights kind of come on just a little bit even while you're talking about it. Cause I think in that moment they think maybe there's hope.

Michelle Moore 24:15

Well, it's a lot of times when you say you have problems and you can work through those and look at you now, but when they really hear your dirty laundry and you speak it out and they're like, they went through that and God restored their marriage, yeah, He can do that for ours.

Daniel Moore 24:35

Yep. It just gives a whole new outlook on the situation and gives them something to work towards.

Michelle Moore 24:41

Yeah.

God’s Bigger Story For Marriage

Daniel Moore 24:42

Because if God's done it for them, then why won't he do it for us? Yeah. And so it's very important, if anything, you get out of this today. Make sure when you tell your story that tell it in a positive manner, all the good things that God has done. Don't let the good stuff just become the tag ons at the end and let the bad stuff overpower the good. Because anytime we have a good thing happen in our marriage, that's an awesome thing. And we need to make sure that we, you know, keep that in our heart and think about that. You know, what research has shown us, particularly through the work of Dr. Gottman, is that the way couples tell the story of their relationship can greatly influence their long-term success. Couples who reflect positively on their shared past, even during times of adversity, are far more likely to stay connected and committed. They don't only talk about the happy memories, they also honor the struggles. Yeah. Something that you and I do. Because we would never go, we would never want to go back and go through any of that ever again. But we do know that if we hadn't have gone through those things, we would not be where we're at now. We have grown so much from those struggles. Healthy couples openly discuss both the joyful moments and the battles that they fought together. So there you go. That's that's why Michelle and I are so open about this stuff. They share the full journey, the mountaintops, the valleys, the pivotal turning points that shape them. These couples don't shy away from discussing the real difficulties, whether if it's financial problems, health scares, disagreements with family, challenges in parenting, betrayal or loneliness. What's powerful though is that they don't stop there. They also emphasize how those painful moments refine their character and strengthen their bond. They talk about healing, perspective shifts, spiritual growth, counseling breakthroughs, and how God worked through their trials to bring about transformation. They view the relationship as part of a greater, unfolding story. As author Dave Willis puts it, your story is important, but more importantly, it should be wrapped up in the story that's bigger than you. We agree with that wholeheartedly. The significance of your marriage isn't found only in the milestones, memories, or shared history. It lies in how your marriage fits into God's broader plan. Your relationship should be visible reflection of your faith in Christ, radiating hope to those around you. And that's something you and I do a lot because we know if it wasn't for Christ, we wouldn't be here right now.

Michelle Moore 27:08

Yeah, and we're so thankful that there are other couples that are willing to speak that out as well.

Daniel Moore 27:13

Yeah.

Michelle Moore 27:13

You know, I mean, we've talked to a couple of them, and it's like we would have never known, you know, and they are they they share it as well. And it's, you know, it's it's good to hear that.

The Slow Fade And Spiritual Attack

Daniel Moore 27:25

Yeah. It's a very strong healing process when you're able to speak that stuff out and share. It there is a huge healing that goes on even inside of you while you're doing that. You know, one of the most vital parts of sharing your marriage journey is recognizing God's role throughout it all. Couples who thrive don't just credit personal strength or luck. They acknowledge God's guidance, provision, and his grace. Couples like that live in the truth of Romans 8.28, which says that God works all things together for the good of those who love him and are living according to his purpose. Even when God feels distant, he's never absent. He is always working, molding you through struggles, protecting your heart, developing your spiritual maturity, and writing something worthwhile with your lives. Thankfully, he's creating a story. You're writing your own story. Sometimes we forget we have a very real spiritual enemy. Satan despises marriage because he knows the power of a unified couple committed to Christ. He will do anything he can to divide, distract, and discourage you. But don't lose heart. With God's help, your marriage can withstand the fiercest attacks. The more you lean into him, the stronger your relationship becomes. Evil may try to tear you apart, but the grace of God always gives you strength to stand firm. Hope in Christ is never misplaced. In C.S. Lewis's classic The Lion, the Witch in the Wardrobe, the villain, the White Witch, uses her magic to freeze her enemies, turning them into cold, lifeless statues. In many ways, this mirrors the enemy strategy in our marriages. Satan despises the beauty and unity found in God designed marriage. He doesn't necessarily use dramatic attacks to tear couples apart. Instead, he operates subtly, using small distractions, unresolved issues and daily stressors, what scripture calls the little foxes to slowly erode intimacy and connection. The truth is most marriages don't collapse overnight from catastrophic failures like betrayal or abuse. Instead, many drift into disconnection over time. It's the slow fade, when emotional distance quietly replaces closeness, when busyness overshadows intentional time, and when passion gives way to routine. But growing apart doesn't have to be the story. That's not God's plan for your marriage. God wants more for us. He designed marriage to lead us towards deep intimacy, joy, laughter, vulnerability, and spiritual connection. He even envisioned marriage as a reflection of himself, a shining example of his character. Our relationship should represent his love, patience, grace, and forgiveness to a world desperate for hope. The first marriage between Adam and Eve came with a blessing, be fruitful and multiply. But this fruitfulness means more than just having children. It also speaks to the spiritual and emotional impact of a vibrant union, blessing one another, influencing your children, and serving as a beacon of light to others. I think sometimes we forget, and we brought this up several times in our episodes to make sure our listeners don't forget, but we forget that our marriage is a reflection of marriage in heaven. When we have the marriage supper with the bride with Christ, and that whole ceremony takes place in heaven, it's going to be a hugely glorified example of what you and I have walked here on earth, hopefully, because that is what God expects out of us in our marriages is to reflect Christ. When we talk to other couples, when we try to pour into them, try to help mentor them to through things, try to give them hope, give them positive things, you know, from our stories. Uh that's us sharing Christ with them. That's being Christ, being the servant to help others. And it's easy for us to get wrapped up in our problems. It's easy for us to get wrapped up in our own issues and get stuck in that little routine inside the box and not do what God's called us to do. But I think I think you can vouch for this when we decided to start using our testimony for Christ. Not only have we seen it help in other couples' scenarios, but how much has it helped us to grow?

Michelle Moore 32:04

Oh, a lot. In fact, I I would have to say it has helped us grow immensely. I mean, you would think that, hey, we're healed and everything else, but since we've been doing it, it's came easier. And not only that, it's grown us so much closer.

Daniel Moore 32:23

Yeah.

Michelle Moore 32:24

The healing process has I mean, it just it blows my mind. You would never think that, but honestly, it has been amazing.

Fruitfulness Beyond Comfort

Daniel Moore 32:32

Yeah. I don't think you can ever outgrow the relationships portion between a spouse uh ever reach the height. Right. I think the more you pour into your marriage, the more that you enjoy each other every day. I think you just keep climbing to new heights and it's unlimited, really. Yeah. Which is similar to our relationship with Christ. That's good. You know, we'll never reach the fullness of Christ and who he is here on this earth. It's going to continue to grow and grow as long as we allow it to inside of our hearts until the day that we end up in heaven with him. Yeah. And so we should always look at our marriages that same way. We should always look at it in a positive manner that we want to reach the highest heights that we could ever imagine in our marriages. And just like you mentioned, we thought we were in a really good place when we started this podcast together, this journey together a couple years ago, because we'd already, you know, worked through a lot of things and we were a happy couple in a good spot. But truly, we've had a lot of healing even just in all the episodes that we've given, uh, even more so uh than what we've already previously done with some of the damage we did in our marriage. So so never give up on the fact that okay, this is it. This is I'm I've reached my height, it's done, there's no more moving forwards. You start looking for something elsewhere. That's not the case. Yeah. Uh you need to make sure that that marriage continues to build as you go. Yes. Because, you know, your marriage isn't just about your happiness, it's part of a much greater plan. When people see the health, warmth, and love in your relationship, they should be inspired. You should be that example. Children should hope for a marriage like yours, not fear it. A marriage that resembles a business partnership or quiet cohabitation can't reflect God's vibrant vision. Satan wants you content in a tired, disconnected marriage, one where intimacy is replaced with routine and the hearts grow cold. But we aren't powerless. Just like Lewis's story, where Aslan breathes life back into the stone statues, Jesus can breathe life back into a numb or distant marriage. The cold spell can be reversed. If you and your spouse are living more like roommates than soulmates, it's time to reclaim what was once strong and passionate. But it's not going to happen overnight. This transformation will take steady choices, small intentional actions, and a commitment to long-term change. You know, think of it like turning around a large ship. It takes time, space, and a clear decision to shift course. You might experience some quick wins, but true relational transformation requires faithfulness and effort over time. As you consistently choose to engage in loving, thoughtful, and meaningful behaviors, your connection will start to rekindle. I think one thing that we see quite often is whenever we talk to couples that are struggling and they have a really good moment where they make a breakthrough, but then two weeks later, something happens and it creates major issues in the relationship, they get very discouraged. And I think, you know, with Michelle and I, we can definitely tell you that we didn't fix stuff overnight. Um, this stuff has been going on for a long time. And even now, I think, you know, we could probably say, won't you wouldn't you say as well, that even if we have situations now that take place, uh sometimes it it might be an instant fix because we just work right through it right then and there, but there are sometimes it might take a day or two to make sure that things are resolved and it's back to where it really needs to be because it depends on the depth of the situation and what's going on that really determines how fast that's gonna happen. Right. But don't give up.

Michelle Moore 37:08

Right. Yeah. Don't.

Daniel Moore 37:09

I mean, yeah. If Michelle and I would have given up because we had hiccups in the road, we'd have never made it to where we're at right now. But you've got to persevere and you've got to stick with it. So is there anything that you wanted to add to any of this as far as our whole series we've done or uh this episode for today?

Michelle Moore 37:29

No.

Daniel Moore 37:30

I think we got it all covered.

Michelle Moore 37:31

I think so.

Daniel Moore 37:32

Okay.

Michelle Moore 37:32

It's so good.

Testimony Heals You And Others

Daniel Moore 37:33

It was. I really enjoyed this. I'm so glad that we went through this. The next series we're doing is going to be more of a happy upbeat series. I know we've done a couple of series here so far that has dealt a lot with damaged marriages or marriages on the rocks or that kind of thing. But the reason Michelle and I went through these right off the get-go is because as marriage mentors, we are realizing how much Satan's really attacking marriages, even within the church. It's unbelievable how many people come to church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and sit next to you that are struggling to even stay alive in their marriage. And some of them are ready to snip the cord and call it quits. And of course, that's what Satan wants us to do. He does not want the church to thrive. Yeah. So therefore, he attacks the families, which makes up the church. And as Michelle and I have seen this, we just because our testimony does come from a very rocky place. A lot of these things we've talked about over the last few months in this series, Michelle and I have walked all of that. We've lived it, we've persevered, we've made it through the bad times to get where we're at now. And because we've done that, we know you can too.

Michelle Moore 38:48

That's right.

Keep Climbing: Growth Has No Ceiling

Daniel Moore 38:49

We pray over all of your marriages all the time. For the people that listen to this podcast and the people that we know personally that are going through things, uh, we always want to be in prayer over all of you. So you don't have to wait until a crisis occurs to recognize the drift. Even if you're just feeling the distance grow, you can change direction today. And the good news is you can rediscover your soulmate. You can reignite the passion, the laughter, and closeness that once came naturally. And through it all, God stands ready to breathe new life into your marriage, guiding you from disconnection towards vibrant unity once again. So the takeaway from this episode and to finish up this series, roommates have no long-term plans, soulmates pursue shared dreams together. Roommates are a temporary arrangement. Soulmates persevere through the hard times and recognize the power of their love story. What a better way to finish this series on marriage reset. We're going to call it good for this week. As I said, next week, over the next three weeks here, we are planning on having some special episodes coming your way that we're going to do with another couple. We're super excited to do this and bring those to you. We feel like that you're going to really enjoy those. Uh, this couple also leads a marriage ministry in their church. And so we're looking forward to that. And then if things still go as planned, we'll probably be starting another series after that. Uh, we'll attack that when the time comes. In the meantime, you can visit our website at marriagelife.com to learn anything about our ministry to reach out to us, connect with us. We'd love to hear your testimonies, uh, things that God's doing in your marriages, and how things are turning around for you. If you're having issues and problems, uh we'd always love to hear those kinds of things from you. You can email us at Daniel at connectingthegap.net. There's a form on the website you can fill out and send in as well. And don't forget we do have books available. Um, marriage is a mission, and then there's a 42-day devotional for couples. You can pick those up on the website. Anywhere that you can get books online, you can also go there and purchase those as well. And we pray that those will bless you if you purchase one of those books, and it also helps this ministry to continue to grow. Well, that's all for this week, and we just pray that your marriage is stronger and your walk with God is closer after this episode. This is an extension of Connecting the Gap Ministries, and we pray that you have a blessed week.