66: Communication Lessons For Marriage with Chris Tuggle

A few playful questions open the door to a deeper conversation about the everyday work of staying united in marriage—right on time for Valentine’s Day. We unpack the real friction points couples face and the simple structures that turn pressure into partnership: who talks to which side of the family, how to protect the fragile postpartum window, and how to navigate holidays when your families live far apart. We get candid about money too—combining accounts, paying off debt, and running recurring budget meetings so surprise expenses don’t turn into surprise resentments.

From there we go straight at intimacy with compassion and clarity. Desire can be mismatched without either partner failing. So we name what we need, invite initiation, and use Love Languages to serve each other in practical ways. When emotions spike, we walk through why we sometimes sleep on it, then talk when our thinking brains are back online. No grandstanding, no audience—just eye-to-eye, one team, solving one problem. That mindset shift has saved us from winning arguments and losing connection.

We also share the rhythms that keep us steady: a monthly “marriage meeting” date to review what worked and what needs care, plus daily micro check-ins without the kids so small issues stay small. As seasons change, timing shifts—sometimes evenings, sometimes early mornings—but priority stays the same. And threading through it all is faith. “Word before world” grounds our day, helps us hear God’s voice over the noise, and keeps our alignment vertical so we can align with each other. If you’re craving practical tools for finances, family boundaries, intimacy, and conflict, this conversation offers a clear, honest playbook. If it resonates, tap follow, share with a couple you love, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

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Transcript

Lighthearted Warm-Up And Quickfire Questions

Leanne Tuggle 0:50

Well, friends, today I am excited to welcome back to the show Chris Toggle, my husband. He joined me on the show about a year ago, and I thought it would be fun to have him back on, especially since Valentine's Day is right around the corner. What could be more fun than talking about marriage just before the day dedicated to celebrating love? And I know you all love to hear a guy's perspective on some of these topics. For the purpose of this episode, I have an intention for it to be lighthearted as well as to look a little bit deeper at communication, especially communication between married couples. So no matter what season of married life you are in, communication is a huge part of connection. So, honey, thank you for joining me here today. To kick off this episode, I thought we could both answer some questions just for fun. Yay. Okay, so we've been married for 13 years. So after 13 years of marriage, who would you say is the better driver?

Chris Tuggle 1:53

Obviously, I'm not even the question.

Leanne Tuggle 1:57

I think I would also agree with that. Okay, who is more dramatic when they're sick?

Chris Tuggle 2:01

Well, I know what you're gonna say.

Leanne Tuggle 2:03

And what is that?

Chris Tuggle 2:04

That I'm more dramatic then. Um I think I would agree with that.

Leanne Tuggle 2:10

Okay, I think so. It's the man cult. They're so silly. Who would you say is the planner and who is the more spontaneous one?

Chris Tuggle 2:21

This is this is an unusual one because I'm I'm in the military and my life is lived around planning and execution of things and tasks, but no one takes it to a level planning to a level like you do. And so as much as I plan, I look like the spontaneous one next to you, which is really weird.

Leanne Tuggle 2:44

So you're saying we're both planners, but that I'm the more intense planner.

Chris Tuggle 2:51

Without a doubt.

Leanne Tuggle 2:52

Okay. What's one thing that you would say has that has gotten better with time about me? Like what is one thing about me that has gotten better with time, in your opinion?

Chris Tuggle 3:06

Everything.

Leanne Tuggle 3:08

Thank you.

Chris Tuggle 3:09

Uh but I would have to say your intentionality with with communication. Um, I mean, I I I believe we as all you know couples start out, you know, you think you're communicating. And as things get harder, life gets more challenging. The need to really focus in on certain you know aspects or things going on in the life, and you know, being willing to make time and plan opportunities for those conversations to happen.

Leanne Tuggle 3:39

I think that communication has gotten better with time, definitely for both of us. And we're gonna talk a little bit more about that in just a minute. One thing I would say that I feel like has gotten better with time is probably some intimacy. I feel like that has gotten better and more exciting over time.

Chris Tuggle 3:59

Yay.

Leanne Tuggle 4:01

Okay, so what's one habit or quirk about the other person that you have learned to love?

Chris Tuggle 4:08

Well, I mean, of course, I love everything about it.

Leanne Tuggle 4:10

Oh, of course.

Chris Tuggle 4:13

I wouldn't say there's really anything that that drives me crazy. I mean, there's certain things you do that just kind of make me roll my eyes sometimes. Uh the incessant planting. Uh your gravitational pull towards me in any possible scenario. And the little leg that you just often leave hanging out there for me to trip over.

Leanne Tuggle 4:38

I would say so a habit or quirk that I have learned to love when you've always kind of imitated sounds or things that you hear around you, whether it's repeating the sounds that birds make or just funny quotes that you hear. And I remember when we were dating, and even in the early years of Mary Shankin, that was just kind of this odd quirk that you had. I didn't hate it, but I just thought it was kind of odd. And now we have three children who do the same thing. And so I feel like I just I have been forced to learn to love all of the sound effects and the little things because they all do it, everyone in this house except for me. So thanks for that. So, how would you finish this sentence?

Chris Tuggle 5:23

You know you've been married for a long time when your wife makes up random names or words, and you know exactly what she means.

Early Marriage Surprises And Family Boundaries

Leanne Tuggle 5:32

That's what I was gonna say, too. I like to mesh words together, and I've been doing this forever. It's probably my like weird quirk that you failed to mention earlier. But and you know you've been married for a long time when I can say that and you know what I mean. Yes, it's pretty great. Okay, so that was fun. Thank you for humoring me with that. So now I want to shift a little bit to the topic of communication that we kind of hinted at just a moment ago. But I think that most married couples would acknowledge that communication is super important. I I feel like when we did our premarital counseling, that was something that our pastor really stressed for us was to make sure that we were focusing on communication, that that would be very helpful. So, with that in mind, when we think back to our early years of marriage, what would you say is a conversation that you didn't realize that we needed to have, but we eventually learned was essential?

Chris Tuggle 6:30

How do we separate and spend time with your families? And how does that look? Like which family values more, you know, Christmas times or you know, summertime funds, and how do you divide that, especially when you know we're in the military and we're moving around everywhere and we've got family that live on opposite coasts, and like how do you just navigate that? I mean, I think fortunately for the early stages of our marriage, we're kind of sheltered from it because you know, we went to Germany, and then of course, when we came back with with Annalise, and then everybody wanted everybody wanted to come. Everyone wanted time and and trying to figure that out. And so I would say, you know, that's one of those things where some families, like my family, we love, I mean, we we spend time with each other, but we're not as connected as your family is. And so that desire to be present with each other and to talk and do all those things is not quite as strong for my family as it is for yours. And so you kind of have to really dig into that and how involved your families are going to be in each of your lives, respectively. How much you're going to choose to let that happen and how much you're gonna let them be a part of that. That's it's it can be a major stressor, but it can create a a wedge in between you two, and then of course your families often don't help with that problem either.

Leanne Tuggle 7:55

I remember when we were doing that premarital counseling, that that was one of the topics that our pastor told us to make sure that we talk about that family is one area that can cause strife in a marriage for the very reasons that you were saying. Just we come from two different backgrounds, we're used to the example that was set before us by our own families, and so coming together and kind of creating like we are our own family now, but also holding some of the traditions or values that we came from, and so being able to blend those together. So I think you're right. That was that's a really good conversation that we, like you said, were kind of forced to have. But one of the things I remember that was given to us as advice in the beginning that I think has helped us with this is that anything that was pertaining to my family in terms of communication that we needed to have with my family, that I would be the point person for that. And anything that had to do with communication for your family, you were the point person for that. And I think that that has really helped us because any time that we're having to deliver the news, like, oh, we can't come to that reunion, or we're not gonna be able to make it for that holiday for whatever reason, that coming from me to my family was better received than you tried to say that, that it like I was gonna take the brunt of like, well, we can't come and it's my fault instead of blaming it on you or something like that. So I think that being able to be in communication with each other and then also clearly communicating with your family about where you're at and what you're doing, I think is really important.

Chris Tuggle 9:28

Yeah, and I'd say a kind of a like a tangential topic that also follows that is you know, if you're if your family is blessed to have children, what does that first couple weeks or months look like with family expectations? How, you know, one of the things that I learned, especially from the first one, definitely going into the second one, is how do I serve and protect my wife and ensure that the people that we're inviting into our home to help are actually there to help? And my wife, whose sole purpose is to take care of those children and feed them and rest and do it all over again, doesn't have to deal with who's cooking this and who's doing that, and you know what's the purpose. And so having that conversation before baby comes and how you're gonna handle family and expectations of each of the family and who's gonna communicate that message, those are all things that can make that time even more stressful or a blessing.

Finances, Debt, And Team Budgeting

Leanne Tuggle 10:31

Was there a moment in our marriage when you realized that we need to get on the same page about something or things were going to stay hard? I know when I think about this question, the thing that comes to mind for me is the finances, like in those early days of marriage. I think when we came together, we were young, we both had some debt that we were bringing into the marriage. Um, and I think it was probably within the first three months that we realized we needed to get on the same page with our finances and just that kind of thing. So we took the Financial Peace University course that's put on by Dave Ramsey, and I think that that really helped us get on the same page and to kind of establish some goals in terms of paying off debt and saving and that kind of thing. Like you're definitely much better with the finances and budgeting than what I am, but I needed to understand it so that I could support the goals that we were making as a married couple.

Chris Tuggle 11:29

Yeah, well, without a doubt, I mean, when you look at the most common causes of, you know, disagreement or trouble or even divorce within a within a marriage, it's it's usually finances or you know, love, sex, sexual life, intimacy type type items. And I would say, even though we went through financial peace and we learned that you know, you're the free spirit, you know, I'm the I'm the planner when it comes to finances and the fact that I needed to get you involved so that you could actually see the money coming and going and understanding what that means. And that was good, and I think it provided a great foundation. But I think as time goes on, like you naturally move away from you know rigidness of some of that. And maybe there's several times where we had to just break out the credit card statement and the budget and start looking at items that we were spending because it was it was keeping us from you know moving toward the goals that we wanted, like financial freedom, independence from debt that we still had, and even you know, just just the day in, day out unexpected expenses. We had budgets, we had a great spreadsheet, but then things would just kind of creep into it. Once again, we weren't having those conversations about unexpected expenses, needs versus wants. Right. Amazon Prime, good lord. It's so easy to just collect the next thing that you got it. Then you look back and you're like, well, that wasn't budgeted, that wasn't budgeted, that wasn't budgeted, and now my credit cards, you know, climbing again. So yeah, having continual discussions about your budget, and even, you know, having a meeting about your budget occasionally must change what needs to grow or shrink, or where are we gonna have to cut back just based off of the financial realities that we may be facing?

Leanne Tuggle 13:19

Yeah. So that's kind of like part of one of the next question that I was thinking about too is like what are those non-negotiable conversations that married couples need to revisit regularly? And it sounds like you would say budgeting finances, that those are something that you should conversations you should have regularly.

Chris Tuggle 13:34

Without a doubt. Because it's it's so very I mean, life is life. One day you know you're everything's fine, the next day all the kids' clothes don't fit. Um the knees are blown out, or all of a sudden they join sports and now they've got to have three hundred dollars worth of gloves and equipment that he was never budgeted for. Or I've got this work event now that I need to, you know, pay for and wasn't in the budget. I mean, things happen with just making sure that you know you as a as a couple, as a single unit, think and act that way instead of two independent parties pulling from the same bank account. And I would say that's another thing that we've done immediately is we don't have different bank accounts. We have a bank account because it is our funds. Yes, I make ninety-nine point nine percent of the money, but that's not the point. It's ours, and we desi we decide on how we spend it. Right. Um and if one party wants to spend money on this versus that, then we have to have a discussion. Fortunately, we haven't really had any major disagreements on what we want to spend, but that's not the case in every marriage.

Leanne Tuggle 14:45

Right. Are there any other non-negoti non-negotiable conversations that you feel should be revisited regularly in a marriage? Physical intimacy.

Revisiting Nonnegotiables: Money And Intimacy

Chris Tuggle 14:54

Okay. Without a doubt. I mean, you have to understand, you know, where each each other feels where they're at. I mean, yes, m majority of the time the man's libido is going crazy and he wants it all the time. And honestly, when you know you had kids or you had kids hold hanging on to you all day, you're just not feeling understanding, you know, your needs and me communicating my needs and you communicating your needs. I mean, you we all go through phases. I mean, even sometimes I want it more, sometimes I want it less, sometimes I want it less than you, surprisingly. And it's just navigating that and being on being honest with each other. I mean, you become one flesh, right? And so don't be afraid to have those questions about the one flesh that you're becoming and your needs and desires that that you have for each other. Um, and then the reality of it is like everything in life, finances, there's going to be a little bit of sacrifice. Sacrifice to yourself and to the Lord, and being true to your spouse and honoring that. Not everything in life you do, you do because you want to. And I'm not to say that physical intimacy is one of those things, but there may be times where it's just like I'm not feeling that right now. And I would say Leanne probably would say that a lot of the times, but as soon as I start to initiate, things change. And then as a man, you know, I've communicated several times that I like it when she initiates. Sometimes I feel, you know, not as loved if she doesn't initiate. And so that me communicating that to her helps her understand how she can approach that, navigate that, and fulfill that need.

Leanne Tuggle 16:34

Especially it helps me know how I can love you better, how I can meet those needs. And you're right, like there's different seasons. I know for women, like based on where we are and our monthly cycle, can either increase or decrease that libido. And so being able to communicate that to you, of like even just letting you know where I'm at with that, I feel like you come from a very understanding and supportive place. And and knowing that you do desire my initiation in intimacy or that kind of thing, I think is good for me to know because then I can love and serve you in that capacity as your wife and as we are one flesh, like it tells us in the Bible. So I think that's good.

Chris Tuggle 17:16

And then, you know, on the on the other side, beyond just the physical, you know, intimacy side of things, like if you haven't read, you know, the Love Languages book, like understanding how people feel loved. Like I'm a physical, physical touch and you know, quality time type of person. Um, certainly quality of time, but she you know likes physical touch to a certain extent. And so understanding those needs, because if you're like a person that shows love by giving gifts and she doesn't receive love by giving gifts, well, you're gonna feel fulfilled, and she's not and vice versa. If I love physical touch and she doesn't, that's one of those things where you you kind of have to sacrifice to yourself and figure out a different way to meet that that love need that she she has.

Leanne Tuggle 18:05

There's an element of that selflessness that I think that you're kind of referring to in the marriage. And I think that as believers, that is part of the sanctification process of being married, that just marriage as a whole is very sanctifying, that we deny ourselves in order to better love our spouse. And there are times when that is harder than others, but every time we step out of our own selfishness and choose to serve the other person and love them fully in the way that they would best receive, then we are we're doing the Lord's work. We are being kingdom followers, so we are seeking what is best for others and not just ourselves. So I think that's a good thing to remember when it comes to marriage. How would you say that we approach hard conversations when emotions are high, but our unity still matters? Like, do you think we have any rules or rhythms for times like that?

Chris Tuggle 19:06

Well, I think I mean, based on you know, the 13 years we've we've been together, I know that if there's something that is going to drive emotions, you're going to rapidly accelerate, escalate your emotions. And then, you know, your that's your feeling brain. And then your thinking brain will start to kind of take over after a little time. So from my perspective, most of the time I'll just need to give you a night to sleep on it and think through it and work through it. So engaging directly with you in the moment isn't often the best idea. What I typically do in those moments is just patiently listen to you know what you what you're going through, do my best to, you know, provide some insight. You know, men love to solve problems, and I've learned that I don't need to solve problems in those situations. I just need to listen and and hear you out and provide, you know, some some support. And then the next day you it's usually it's usually either resolved or we have a conversation that's free of the emotions that were were present previously.

Leanne Tuggle 20:17

Yep.

Chris Tuggle 20:18

And then we can go into it from a logical and more agreeable situation.

Handling High Emotions And Cooling-Off Rules

Leanne Tuggle 20:24

You know, what's interesting about what you're saying, I mean, you're right. And I again, every person addresses emotions or has those feelings in a different way. And like what Chris is talking about is very true. My I tend to get very emotional, very quick, and kind of spin up. And he's been very good about just listening and hearing me out, maybe not interjecting a ton. I know that he has thoughts and feelings about it too, but it they're not the time and the place to voice them. That because I think I tend to be a little more volatile when it comes. To that emotional high. And then Lynn, he's right. Like the, I love that you mentioned the feeling brain and the thinking brain. We've been talking about that with our kids lately. And it's very helpful to think of it in two different ways. But the when the thinking brain does come into effect, that's that's the part of your brain that is able to articulate a little bit better and communicate. So being able to sleep on it is helpful for kind of calming down those emotions. But what's interesting about that is I think that there's like an old adage that says, like, never go to bed angry. And I some in this case, I kind of disagree with that because I think sometimes, like not to the point where you're like really mad at the person, but being able to kind of like I think sometimes you have to go to bed a little bit angry and frustrated so that you can wake up with a different perspective, with a fresh perspective and being like, okay, let's look at this a different way. I think if you try to battle it out before you go to sleep, just so that you don't go to bed angry, you you may not actually come to any sort of like conclusion that is beneficial for anyone.

Chris Tuggle 21:51

And I think, you know, that certainly is true for you. Um because some people, and I was just gonna say, you know, the corollary to that is some people may need to address that. Some people may not be able to calm down self-regulate, like and that's gonna be challenging. Right. And it's gonna have to be calm and patient in a in a situation that is. I mean, you have to set the situation for success, no distractions, right? Like kids have to be in bed, like or in a different room, like it's just you and your spouse focused in on the problem at hand, eye to eye, working together calmly, with a with a mindset that we're not enemies here.

Leanne Tuggle 22:59

Right. We're not adversaries.

Chris Tuggle 23:01

Yep. Right? That's true. And we're both working to try and solve the issue at hand, not trying to figure out how to win this particular argument or or or issue here. And so if you can come at it from that lens, once again, we are one flesh, we are one team. I'm not trying to gain a victory here, she's not trying to gain a victory here, we're just trying to resolve how we're gonna handle this issue, then I think majority of the time, things will things will move along in the right direction.

Leanne Tuggle 23:32

Right. Yep, I think that's true. How how do we communicate expectations, especially around things like parenting or household roles or schedules without there being resentment buildup?

Setting Rhythms: Bridge Meetings And Daily Check-Ins

Chris Tuggle 23:45

Well, once again, communication. But I but you know, one of the things that I like that we started, and this is actually from one of the ladies that you had on your podcast, the bridge meeting. Uh and we do that once a month, the first you know, Sunday of the month. We right now, because we're a Monterey and we have a membership with this wine club called Taste of Monterey, and it has an amazingly beautiful scene. We get a babysitter, I get the soup getting, you know, on the on the stove, ready to go, and we go down there and spend just an hour connecting with a couple questions that we do we answer every time and address, and it's just a time to connect and discuss what's what's worked over the last you know week or month, what's what we need to work on, and the things that you know we're looking to do in the future. And so that makes makes time to connect and have those discussions. For us, that regularity of a month works. And then, of course, like you know, every evening, our normal battle rhythm is you know, after we put the kids down, she's got a book, and I'm just kind of watching TV. But if there's something that we need to talk about, we're right next to each other. Uh and as sometimes those conversations need to be had or they they come up or organically, then we've got that time together. And so just making sure that you know life is busy, you're pulled in many different directions. Whether you come together for 30 minutes or an hour every day, just you two, you you gotta make sure that you devote that time to just connectedness, and you don't have to have grand conversations and have a plan to have a conversation, just physically being near each other, right? Just maintaining that connection, right? Um, and once again, love languages, time, gifts, acts of service, all those different things, like what can you do to make that time more special?

Leanne Tuggle 25:30

Yeah. So I hear you saying in there too, just like a we have developed, or the I guess the rhythms or how we have communicated those expectations is with monthly marriage meeting to just kind of get the big picture overview, what's working, what's not working, and then the daily little check-ins. How you know, how is your day? Anything I can be praying for you about, anything crazy like that kind of thing, or or sometimes I'm divulging stuff that has happened with the kids during the day just so that you know what's going on with them, or hearing about any parenting struggles I may have dealt with during the day. You know, if you have work stuff going on that you need to just kind of offload, like I think that time of daily connection is really important. But the other thing that I'm hearing that I think can be hard for different seasons, depending on what season you're in, is that we are doing that together, that there aren't other distractions, that we're having that time of connection without our kids present. And I think that that can be hard when they're little or even when they're older and they're not going to bed by eight o'clock every night. And so being able to be really intentional about that time. When your kids are younger, maybe you can wait until they're in bed to be able to have those conversations. But as they get older, which thankfully they're usually old enough to stay home by themselves, then maybe it is going and grabbing a cup of coffee every Saturday morning so that you can have that time of connection because you maybe don't get it every evening. So I think it's important to know that you need to regularly connect and communicate those expectations with each other, but you need the time and the space built into your busy life to make it happen.

Chris Tuggle 27:07

Yeah. And that battle rhythm may change for us. I'm I remember I was pleasantly surprised, you know, to hear a different, different way to do that when my my previous commanding officer they had shifted their battle rhythm where their connection time was in the morning. Right. The kids are a little bit older, and so they stayed up later. They had basketball and sports and homework and all that kind of stuff, and it was just impossible to do it in the evening before they both fell asleep. And so military is an early riser, and she would get up and prepare, and they would spend that time connecting. And so I I envision a point in time where that may end up happening.

Leanne Tuggle 27:39

Right.

Chris Tuggle 27:39

Uh shifting.

Couple-Centered Homes And Protecting Connection

Leanne Tuggle 27:41

But the but the point being that you have to find that time and and prioritize it, I think. I was reading a book today that was talking about the difference between a couple-centered home and a child-centered home and how we actually do our children a disservice to make them be the center of the relationship, that really ultimately Jesus needs to be the center of your relationship. But that then it needs to be a couple-centered relationship or home, because that when the couple is enjoying a happy, fruitful, well-communicated marriage, then the children actually benefit from that. And so I think that's there'll be more to come on that topic later on, but just something to kind of keep in mind that this communication, this regular communication, helps to keep your home a couple-centered home. And that is ultimately what you want because that was God's design for families. How would you say that your faith has shaped the way you communicate and pursue unity in our marriage?

Faith First: Alignment With God And Each Other

Chris Tuggle 28:42

Well, I mean, at an early age in our relationship, you made it unequivocally clear that God was the center of your life. He was number one, and everything else was after that. I remember that that shocking conversation we had, and we were dating at the time, but nonetheless, I I look back on it, I talk about it all the time with guys, how shocking but clear that was. And once again, it it kind of poked me in the heart and said, Well, who's my number one? I think I'm trying to make Leanne my number one, and she shouldn't be my number one. God should be my number one, Jesus should be my number one.

Leanne Tuggle 29:21

Right.

Chris Tuggle 29:21

So that if I am always focused, my eyes are focused on him, and her eyes are focused on him, then we're connected to the same thing. The great creator, the great Lord, the great savior, who is much better than us, and who will give us what we both need to love each other in the way that he loves us. And so that's how I, you know, have tried to to come at anything and everything in our in our marriage and relationship is it's it's it's Jesus first.

Leanne Tuggle 29:49

Right.

Chris Tuggle 29:49

My alignment is there, and I know if her alignment is there, then we should be aligned in both in alignment. And there shouldn't be any problems. Now, there's obviously the human sin side that we often hide and we'll have to work through, but nonetheless, if we're both committing ourselves to to the Lord and making and submitting ourselves to that first and foremost, then it makes it much easier to submit ourselves to each other.

Leanne Tuggle 30:12

Yep, I think that's true. And I think just to reiterate that with having God as your number one, just like you have regular communication with each other as a spouse, as a couple, you want to be regularly communicating with with God as your number one. So regularly in the Word, regularly praying, both on your own and then together as a couple. Like we we definitely love to attend church together every Sunday. We are praying for each other individually. We are praying together. I think that those kind of things are what helps to shape our marriage as well as just keeping us on the same page. We're communicating our love for the Lord as well as for each other. And I think that just kind of as we wrap up this episode, too, I think that that's probably at least the advice or the encouragement that I would give to other couples is to just kind of check your own heart first. Are you pursuing God first and foremost? It's going to be very hard to pursue your spouse in the way that God is calling you to if you are not in communication with him, first and foremost. So making God your number one, choosing to read your Bible, pray, know who God is, is going to help you then be able to love your spouse and even just see how God, be able to get a glimpse of how God sees your spouse, I think will then help you be able to see how he is created in the image of God and you want to love him to the best of your ability, and vice versa. Do you have any encouragement you would give to anyone?

Final Encouragements And Practical Reminders

Chris Tuggle 31:49

I would just say, you know, just uh you know reiterate, you know, what what uh Leanne was saying there is just once again whether it's in life together, life separate, you know, making sure that you're centered and alignment with God first and foremost. You know, oftentimes people ask the question, well, how do I know if it's God? How do I know what God sounds like when He's talking to me? Well, it's just like if you've never had a conversation with a friend or a family member, or it's been a really long time, you kind of lose that context. You kind of lose what their voice sounds like, how it's coming at it. And with so many different voices coming at you all the time every day, the best way to do that is spend time with the Lord. Devote that time in the morning. You know, Leanne kind of, you know, reminded me of this because there was a time where I would get up, and I still do occasionally, is look at my phone. Some of it's work-related, some of it's just the doom scrolling of social media. But the word before the world, making sure that you start the morning with the right mindset and the right focus will just make a massive difference in the rest of your day. And at the end of the day, the more that you come back to that, the more that you seek, you know, the Lord's guidance in everything that you do, the more that you'll be centered and be able to hear uh his voice in your life.

Leanne Tuggle 33:13

Thank you for all of your thoughts on that. I think it's always refreshing to hear from other couples and just kind of hear how they are, you know, we're all we're all kind of struggling through the same things. We're having to remember how important communication is repeatedly and just reminding ourselves that marriage is sanctification and that we are dying to ourselves and learning to what it means to truly love God and love others. So thank you, honey, for coming here and helping me communicate that with others. I appreciate you.

Chris Tuggle 33:43

My pleasure.