Okotoks Shorts: Is Your Family Thriving... Or Just Surviving?

Strong homes start with hard conversations.

In this Okotoks Shorts episode, Carlin Lutzer sits down with renowned speaker and family expert Dr. Dave Currie, who’s coming to town for a powerful weekend of events at the Okotoks Evangelical Free Church. 

From helping parents navigate the digital chaos affecting Gen Alpha, to practical tips on having the sex talk, and offering lifelines to marriages that feel like they’re barely hanging on…this conversation is full of hope, wisdom, and real tools for real families. 

With 50 years of experience in marriage and family counseling, Dr. Dave brings authenticity, humor, and encouragement to parents and couples who are looking for guidance in raising kids and deepening their relationships in a tech-dominated, fast-changing world.
 
 

Listen For

:20 What parenting challenges will Dr. Dave Currie tackle during his Okotoks visit?

2:11 How do you talk to your kids about sex in today’s world?

3:42 What digital battles are kids facing—and how can parents fight back?

4:11 What does a one-day marriage tune-up actually look like?

8:36 Can hopeless marriages really turn around after just one day?
 

Connect with guest: Dr. Dave Currie

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Connect with Carlin

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Sheep River Dog Rescue formally know as Moe Dog Rescue.  Passionate about giving Dogs another chance.

Special thanks to Okotoks Nissan for arranging this podcast with Kelly Hrudey.

Transcript

Welcome to the Okotoks Podcast, where the stories are as solid as The Big Rock, sponsored by Carlin Lutzer Real Estate.

Carlin Lutzer (00:20):

Today on the Okotoks Shorts, I'm joined by Dr. Dave Currie, who's coming to speak at the Okotoks Evangelical Free Church, January 30th, 31st, and February 1st. While he's here, he's going to be talking about parenting in the digital age, how to prepare kids for online battles, and why avoiding hard conversations only makes things harder. We also touch on marriage, why so many couples feel like they're just hanging on, and how intentional tuneups can make a real difference. Let's jump in. Well, Dave, thank you so much for joining me today.

Dr. Dave Currie (00:54):

Delighted to be here, Carla.

Carlin Lutzer (00:56):

Well, and I hear rumors that you are gracing Okotoks with your presence, which is fantastic.

Dr. Dave Currie (01:03):

Well, let's confirm that they're not rumors.

Carlin Lutzer (01:06):

For sure.

Dr. Dave Currie (01:07):

I will be there. I will be

Carlin Lutzer (01:08):

There. That's perfect. And you're coming the end of January. Can you tell us ... There's going to be three different things that you're going to be doing. Can you walk us through the weekend of your talks?

Dr. Dave Currie (01:19):

Totally, totally. Friday night, January 30th. This will all be at the Okotoks Evangelical Free Church. But Friday night, we're doing two parts of the I Parent series, which is all about how to parent your kids in this challenging day and age. I'm doing two talks that night. The most requested talks that I get asked to give. One is called Technological Warfare: Preparing Your Kids for Online Battle. And it's the whole online digital world and how they guide our kids through this because it's really, really messing up a lot of the youngest generation right now. Gen Alpha is really getting pooched by this. And so we need to talk about how to do that as parents, and frankly, for me as grandparents. And then the second talk I'm doing that night is, frankly, asked a lot, how do we do the sex talk in this generation?

(02:11):

How do we talk to our kids about the sexual issues in a winsome way, in a God-honoring way? And so those are the two talks I'm doing on Friday night. All right?

Carlin Lutzer (02:21):

Right, for sure. And obviously, me being a parent myself, I know there's a lot of tools and different things out there that we can grasp onto, but it just really feels like it is completely overwhelming. And at times it feels like you're just hanging on and hoping you're doing the right thing.

Dr. Dave Currie (02:39):

Yeah, totally. Totally. Because of the explosion of an accessibility of the internet, it has made parenting harder and harder. You used to be able to control who was interacting and who was affecting your kids. Now with the online world, there's hundreds of thousands of people could be influencing your kids that you don't always have control of. So if you don't have control of the devices, you don't have control of the influence. And so there's some work to do there to find that balance.

Carlin Lutzer (03:10):

Well, for someone that's ... My kids are younger, but I am an older dad. The pressures I even feel from social media and being online and dealing with jealousy and wishing that, why couldn't we? And all those things, I can't imagine how that is for kids, especially when they're starting to come in their own. Their bodies are taking shape. They're in the puberty years and they're trying to figure out who they are. It must be such a challenge these days for kids.

Dr. Dave Currie (03:42):

Yeah, no, it really is. It really is. And yeah, I'm just excited to walk with parents and give them some ideas of how to handle these challenging things.

Carlin Lutzer (03:51):

Absolutely. And then you shift gears a little bit, but still kind of maybe in a similar gear because when you're parenting your kids, obviously marriages and relationships inside of while you're raising the kids are so important. What are you talking about on the 31st?

Dr. Dave Currie (04:11):

Yeah. So the 31st is a one-day marriage billing experience called Fusion 2-1, Bonding of Two into One. And that'll be 8:30 to 4:30 that day. We actually have a manual for every person that's there. It's actually 108 pages, so it's not just fluff. We get a lot of helps that help you afterwards, but we've actually done this particular one-day marriage building event to over 7,500 people already. And it's been well received. Doesn't matter if you're a newlywed, only six months married or 50 years married. This is all about how to deepen your marriage in a wonderful way. And we cover six areas, attraction, how to continue to keep the closeness coming, the fun, the dating and all that, and be attracted to each other. Baggage, how to work through the garbage that's affected you coming into the marriage and connection, how to keep talking and working things through, friction, how to deal with conflict better, and passion, the whole intimacy.

(05:14):

And then finally, we call it the finale, which is how to break God into this so that it works even better because he's the chief architect of a great marriage. So that's kind of what the day's about. And we do talking and then we give a chance for the couple to answer some questions and talk to one another. So a lot of time talking and working things together.

Carlin Lutzer (05:37):

Right, for sure. And this is all at the Evangelical Free Church in Okotoks, and that's just behind the Lakeview Hotel in town. We don't have a lot of hotels in town, but that's one of the nicer ones in town that is right behind. So if people are wondering where the location is. And also, you can find more information if you go to the Evangelical Free Church's website, and you can find more information and I believe you register there as well. So now, Dave, kind of a little bit of an in- your-face question. Who are you to be speaking to these types of subjects? What kind of credentials do you have? What kind of experiences do you have so that you can tell the people that are listening that you have the qualifications to speak to this?

Dr. Dave Currie (06:28):

Yeah, yeah. This is a good time for you to ask this because right during this podcast, there's a reflection from the sun on my neighbor's window and there's an aura. You see the aura.

Carlin Lutzer (06:39):

Yes. It almost looks like a halo almost.

Dr. Dave Currie (06:42):

Yeah, exactly. I thought it would be important for people to realize. And no, sorry, I apologize that this is happening live and just the way the sun shifted, it's a horrendous aura. So who's Dr. Dave? Dr. Dave has been helping people in marriage and family for, well, this summer it'll be 50 years. And so I have a master's in counseling, master's in education focused on marriage and family. My PhD is in the area of marriage and family as well. Currently, I oversee two counseling centers and 31 therapists. My wife and I travel and speak all over the world on marriage and family. Next place up, we're going to be in Norway in April. Uganda in the fall already booked and just was recently in South Korea, was in Turkey. And so my wife and I go to places like Medicine Hat, Okotoks, Vancouver. We're just honored to help people to do family right, which is we believe God's way.

(07:47):

And so yeah, I've had the privilege of speaking many, many years on marriage and family. And the beautiful thing is when we do the marriage event on the Saturday, it's my wife and I together. So all the women listening are going to get the truth because if I speak something and my wife rolls her eyes, you know that that's bogus. You know what I mean?

Carlin Lutzer (08:08):

Yeah, she'll correct you. Yeah, for sure. Now, Dave, for the couple that may be listening or the person that may be listening, that feels that there's no hope for their marriage actually making it. Have you seen people that, even to you, it looks like this is virtually impossible and I don't know how it's ever going to come together, seen situations where marriages do come back together and they thrive?

Dr. Dave Currie (08:36):

Well, first of all, yes. Sometimes they need a little personal work with the therapist after the conference. They might get some helps. Now, some people's marriage incrementally turns around right during the day, which is a beautiful transformation that does take place. A lot of people are encouraged, a lot of people are empowered because we really tend to be really practical. There's 16 projects they get to work through and talk their spouse through with their spouse. And so there's a lot of practical work and we're very honest. We don't hide things. And so I think that authenticity and directness is going to help move people ahead. And some will have a wonderful sense of renewal and rebuilding from the day, but some will identify, there's some things we need to work through and that might be bigger than just the one day event. And I mean, to be honest, I'm not looking for clients.

(09:37):

I got another 31 staff that can help people across Canada because we can council online. Obviously, there's some great counselors there in the Calgary area, and we have two of them that work out of Calgary that are on our team. And so we'd be delighted to steer you in a good direction if you need more help. But this is kind of like when you have a car that goes in for scheduled maintenance,

(10:03):

This particular event can do a tune-up and schedule maintenance all at once. And yeah, it's been encouragement. So hopefully it'll be that for the couples that come.

Carlin Lutzer (10:13):

Yeah, that's perfect. Well, Dave, that is awesome. We're so glad that you are coming to Aid, help the parents and give them some tools to navigate some of the turbulent waters that kids face and then the marriages on Saturday. So yeah, we look forward to welcoming you as a guest to Okotoks. And then Sunday morning, you are then preaching two services at the Evangelical Free Church on February 1st already. My word. That's crazy.

Dr. Dave Currie (10:47):

Yeah. Yeah. So we're excited to be able to talk to people about how to pass their faith onto the next generation. And many parents are saying, we're not really concerned whether they become a doctor, lawyer, teacher, trucker, et cetera. They're more concerned that they really get anchored in their faith and can you help us Dave do that? And I just love doing this talk. It's the most requested talk for Sunday morning services that I do. Yeah, that's

Carlin Lutzer (11:10):

Perfect. Well, Dave, thanks for your time today. And would you come back to the Oak Oaks Podcast and talk to us more, a little bit more in depth with all the- Curious to look forward to it, Carlin. I really do. That's perfect. Thanks, Dave. Take care. Take care. That was Dr. Dave Currie, practical, honest, and right where families are living today. If you're a parent, married, or trying to raise the next generation with purpose, this is a conversation worth hearing. Check out Dave's upcoming talks at the Okotoks Evangelical Free Church and follow the Okotoks podcast for more short, meaningful conversations like this.

Announcer (11:57):

Another episode in the books. Thanks for rocking with us on the Okotoks podcast, brought to you by Carlin Lutzer Real Estate.