Dreaming Together, Growing Together

On this episode of the Authentic Marriage Podcast, hosts Shawn and Lauren, along with Chris and Brooke, discuss the importance of pursuing shared goals, dreams, and God's purpose together. From the beginning, God designed marriage to be a partnership, calling husbands and wives to walk in unity as they follow Him.

Chris and Brooke share how a difficult season with their daughter strengthened their marriage as they surrendered their circumstances to the Lord. Their story is a reminder that shared hardships can deepen faith and bring couples closer together when they lean on God.

Shawn and Lauren reflect on how reading The Circle Maker inspired them to dream boldly and invite God into every goal for their marriage and family. They encourage couples to stay in step with the Holy Spirit, remembering that dreams can look different for every marriage, but they should always begin with seeking the Lord.

The hosts also emphasize the importance of creating a shared vision. Drawing from Amos 3:3, they encourage couples to continue dating, connecting, and intentionally pursuing one another. They remind listeners that where there is no vision, marriages can drift apart, but pursuing God's purpose together strengthens unity and hope.

This episode encourages couples to surrender their plans to God, dream big together, and celebrate one another's unique calling without falling into comparison.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Welcome back to Love for Lifetimes Authentic Marriage Marriage Podcast. I'm Chris. This is my wife, Brooke. They are Sean and Lauren trying to learn to enunciate. Today we were going to talk about a little bit about shared goals and dreams or also shared purpose. And I was thinking about this topic, and Brooke and I were talking a little bit. And we're thinking back to uh earlier in our marriage, we moved quite a bit, especially when we were overseas, we moved quite a bit. And it was interesting to think about in those periods when we were moving from one location to another, we had a shared purpose and goal. So we were very good, right, as a team working together on that. And we were very viciant. And you know, Brooke took her pieces, I took my pieces, and we worked together. So we were very good at moving uh and getting things all in place to do that. But after being somewhere a little while, then we'd start to drift apart again. That was always kind of the risk, the middle of our marriages. We'd tend to drift apart where I was focused on career and Brooke was focused on raising the kids. But um, one of those moves, we had been there uh about two years, so we were past the initial move where we worked very well as a team. Uh, when when our daughter um was diagnosed with an eating disorder. Uh and kind of looking back on it, it was a really challenging time for us. Um but how that diagnosis and her sickness actually unified us, right? It actually brought us together in a time period when we were actually starting to drift apart. Brought us together with a common purpose, a common goal. We wanted to see her healed. Uh, it brought us together so that we were now, you know, instead of fighting with each other or fighting at each other, we were now locked in shoulders and and fighting um together. Uh and then eventually really kind of laying that all down and just putting it before the Lord because we just reached a point where you know we would we realized we were helpless without Him interceding uh for our daughter. So, but it's just an example that I thought about how about how important uh shared dreams and goals or purpose is in a marriage.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Yeah, we were really blessed because something like that can really tear a couple, tear them apart. Yeah. And for us, it really did help us to align and have to have conversations with each other about something that was common, not just reporting in on what the day was. And so while it was a very difficult time, it also turned out to be a really um sweet time in some ways, just for the two of us, but also for our relationship with the Lord. I think especially speak for you, just to say that you just really like you just hit a point of surrender. I have to give this up because I cannot make her well. I can pray for that, but I can't actually physically do much to make her well except to take her for treatment and pray for her.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

So we see that. So in Genesis 1 and 2, we see that you know God designed marriage for partnership and unity, uh, shared purpose, have dominion over the earth. Um uh but when couples have different priorities and they start drifting apart, it just creates that isolation, that emotional distance, the lack of intimacy. So it's really back to that, you know, the idea in Genesis 2.24 of leaving and cleaving. You know, man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the idea of one flesh is just so important in marriage and becoming that unified group. And and goals and purpose can do that.

SPEAKER_03 3:50

Yeah, and I think that's one thing we've appreciated about you two is you're you are so good about dreaming together. I can't say that that's been a strength of ours, to be honest, but being around you, like you guys are constantly, you kind of wear me out sometimes. We wear ourselves out. But it's really refreshing and it's inspirational to be around that. And I think that's God wants us to do that, right? To always be looking forward and looking ahead and bigger picture because he has more for us than what we create on our create on our own or are currently experiencing.

SPEAKER_02 4:23

Yeah, when you were talking about that, a lot of the times when we talk about the subject, I more think about the dreams part versus like the shared goals or the shared hardships. Because like if you um when you have a hardship come in, if you align together on what is the goal of this hardship, like how are we gonna get to the end, and you do it together, you're gonna have a much more successful outcome than drifting apart or like fighting each other on it. So I never actually saw it as even a shared goal and hardship. So even just talking about it now, it's like wow, that is so important. You know, we tend to go more towards the dreaming together than and we we do share goals in like when we have hardships, but we I don't I don't go to that first thinking about that when when talking about this subject. So I'm glad that y'all brought that up because it's a whole different perspective. Because sometimes the goal or is not like a fun goal to reach, but it's a goal you need to reach as a family for your marriage, for your children, whatever they may be. And if y'all are going the opposite direction, like had y'all been like, no, we're doing this, and no, we're doing this, how quickly that would have divided you, which wouldn't have helped my daughter at all.

SPEAKER_03 5:49

Or the marriage.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Well, just hearing that story just reminds me of how what the enemy means for evil, God can use for good, and that he works all things for good for those who are in him for for all those who have been called according to his purpose. And I love that about that story because you were called to his purpose when you started to really seek him, knowing that Lord, we need you, we're desperate for you. And what a great start of something that could have been so bad, turned into such a good place for you guys to start seeking the Lord together. And it sounds like Chris, that's kind of where you really humbled yourself and said, I can't do this anymore, I can't fix this.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

So that's yeah. I mean, I I hate that my daughter had to go through that, but but it's amazing, you know, some of the changes is made across our life and her life as well, I think.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Well, thankfully we can say it in the past tense that she's well and healed. Yeah, yeah. That's yeah, huge praise. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

So, but you guys, I think as you said, Lauren, you guys, you know, you tend to you guys do a lot of great dreaming together. You know, how do you guys start putting that together? What are some of the things you do to unify yourselves around, you know, whatever your next dream or project is?

SPEAKER_02 7:02

That's a good question. I mean, some of the things that, you know, we we do tend to dream a lot. We're we're creatives uh at heart. So sometimes it's it's a bit too much, you know. But I will say, I mean, even just like we've done like yearly, like, what are some things we want to accomplish this year together? What are some things we want to do? Um, one of the books we I think that really helped like get us into this kind of mode was um The Circle Maker, because he recommends putting down like lists of goals and things you want to accomplish, and he has you do it in categories. So, like, what are your spiritual goals? What are your um like vacation goals? What are your um financial goals? Like, and and like so, and then and then kind of like, you know, maybe you won't accomplish all of them, but they're more like almost bucket list items too, like that you'd like to accomplish. And then you can go back and say, what's realistic for this year, Lord? What do you want us to pursue this year? Um, you know, every year, God's kind of like the last couple years, it's been like building and growing and adding to some of our the things that we wanted to do. And this year, he specifically said, No more like uh of that. I want you to organize now. And so, I mean, being in tune with the Holy Spirit and really allowing God to speak into that is so important. Um, because if we weren't and we just kept going, um, it it would not be good for us.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Well, we started off, we started off, we had both gotten laid off, we worked together, we both got laid off, and then we began praying for God to do something where we could work together again. And it was as simple as we just want to work together again, give us an idea of how that would work. And then individually we got the ministry-based wedding venues, right? And so then we started talking, and that led us down that path of the shared vision, shared dream, shared, you know, all of those things. And and over time, a lot of prayer, a lot of a lot of craziness. Um, you know, but we were always on the same direction, going the same way. We wanted the same, you know, final result. And and that was kind of the start of us really learning how to dream. And uh, and it was through prayer.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

It was it was through prayer, and I also think, too, as you begin this journey, it becomes more and more exciting and fun. So you want to continue it, you know. Like I don't think people realize how fun it can be because I think people just kind of stick with like the status quo, do the regular thing, go to work, come home, you know.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

And and but once you get started, like it's really it's almost like it's like you don't want to stop because it's just so fun to dream together, you know, especially when you know it's a God-given dream because he's gonna take you places you never imagined, and it's an adventure and it's exciting. So for us, it's not the hardship, it's the excitement that God has given us and and and driven us into. And it's been, and not that it hasn't been hard, it's been hard, but it's been so cool too, and so rewarding. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:20

And and I think it's important too to say that you can work that job, that 40-hour whatever job, and but still be dreaming with your spouse. It doesn't mean stop and start a wedding venue or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

It's different for everybody.

SPEAKER_03 10:31

It is, but it's not, it doesn't have to be one or the other. It's how do you dream these dreams and then incorporate that into your life?

SPEAKER_00 10:39

And a dream doesn't have to be like a far-off goal or something you want to do. It's what kind of marriage do we want to have together, right? What do we want to have? And and discuss those things, and how do we start to navigate going down that road or or what kind of family do we want to have, right? You know, how do we want our kids to be raised? And and and that's a long-term goal, you know, trying to get your your children off and and you know, shot into the world for the kingdom, you know, and how how do we want to approach this? How do we want to discipline? What are our goals and dreams for that? You know, it doesn't have to be like a big grandiose thing.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

It can be but without goals, I find that you you have nothing to work towards, you know. So I do think it's important to have goals, yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

But without the goals, you don't take the steps. Yeah. You know, you don't take the first action to get it.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

Don't get disappointed if it doesn't happen. Like we've had we have lots of goals, and a lot of them have yet to happen, or they have we're like, that's not for this season, and we know we just, you know, discernment that that's not for right now. But um, so you know, not don't get discouraged if you don't hit that goal specifically.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

Sometimes it's the process more than actually attaining or achieving a goal. I think it's the daily together working towards something.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yeah, I like I like the the very simple scripture in Amos 3.3. Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so. And so those goals, those purpose is just like, hey, we're agreed this is where we're going to. Whether whether that whether that is a goal of of uh building a business together or whether that is a goal of seeing your child healed, you know, you're locking arms in arms and saying, we're walking this direction together.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

Together.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

We are walking this direction together, and we've we've got each other. Yeah, I think that's very important.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

And I think you have to really realize if you're not dreaming together and you're not moving in that same direction and you're pursuing individual goals, it's very easy to drift apart and really become separated from one another, or even in competition with each other for a goal, you know. Yeah, and I think that that's where that communication, having those talks or those check-ins with one another, saying, okay, what do we want to do? How are we gonna get there? And what's our first step? Because if you don't do those things, it's real easy for the world to pull you apart.

SPEAKER_04 13:00

That's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah, I think um years ago, Brooke and I, we actually went away for a weekend to kind of talk about um some family priorities and how we wanted to raise our kids and and just that, right? Trying to say, okay, how do you want to raise, how do we want to raise our children? What are the priorities we're gonna set in front of them? Um, it was important, right? Because then we parented heading in the same direction. What was some of the things I think you you wrote down that you remembered about or some of our priorities for raising our kids?

SPEAKER_03 13:30

Just um we really value honesty. That was our kids knew that that was one of the top priorities with us was honesty, um, openness. I think we've talked about that on this podcast too, but like there was nothing that was off-limits for them to come and talk with us about. Um, we want people to walk into our home, whether it's our our friends, our kids' friends, or whomever, but we want them to feel love and we want them to feel peace as they come into our house. So, how do we prioritize the things in our our lives that that allow that to that fruit to come forward?

SPEAKER_00 14:05

And that takes intention and some awkward stuff.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

It's not always easy, but it's really shifted my perspective, I think, then because for me, you know, we were agreed on this. It was like, okay, if the kids come to us and they bring to us something they did or a challenge they're having, it really challenged me to not react negatively or not to react out of anger or fear. Um, but it did. It helped me say, okay, wait a minute. We we said this is important to us, be open, be transparent, be honest. Uh so I need to make sure I'm reacting or not reacting, I am responding in a in a way that aligns with that. Um, but we were aligned in that. So I think that's something that helped me because I knew because we had talked about it.

SPEAKER_03 14:52

And I appreciated because you you were not raised in that environment. You come from a family where they're pretty closed and kind of stoic, less so now. But I think when you were growing up, you really didn't talk feelings a lot. So I think for him it was a big shift to let those conversations be okay and then to not react as well. Like that was a lot that you did a really good job of walk, you know, following through on that and trying to create that safe space for the kids, which I know now, especially now that they're older, they value so much that that's how they were raised.

SPEAKER_04 15:24

Yeah, I love that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

So I think an important thing too is like, what is your household gonna do if you've got children? So, like, I love the Joshua 24:15. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. So we've said we're going to serve the Lord in our family. And our children will serve the Lord as they get older. They're three and five now. They love the Lord. They absolutely love going to church. It's an excitement and it's a day of the week they look forward to. And we get to have these Lauren's really good about these conversations at dinner to really ask them about how were you kind today? Was somebody unkind to you, to allow them to start to be able to elaborate and do those things and be open and not be criticized or whatever within the house, a safe space to go. So, you know, I think that that's been a really new thing that we've done with these children that we didn't do with our um older kids.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

And I love that you just mentioned family dinner, and I know Laura and I talk about that in one of the podcasts we recorded, but I think that's so important, and I'm afraid a lot of our culture is getting away from that because we are letting the kids, you know, be so busy with these games and sports and ballet and all the things, and those are great. But I think family dinner is really where you can come together and hear where your kids are at, and vice versa as well. And um, why are you smirking as I say this?

SPEAKER_01 16:46

I'm smirking because I see the flashes of lightning on the wall. I've got a window behind me.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

Thunder storm coming on around the lanes of things that's what's happening. Family thingers is what we're talking about. You know, and really whatever age of things, starting that from when they're little, like yours, yours are, and really we valued that through high school as much as possible. Like just have that time where the family sits down and talks to each other and connects with one another. And um, I think that's a great place for your kids to get involved in some of that dreaming too, and goal setting, and how do we do this together as a family? I love that.

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Yeah, I I just I saw the scripture, um, Proverbs 29, 18 says, where there is no vision, the people perish. And I'm just going back to the fact that, like, if we don't have a vision for our future, if we don't have goals, if we don't have dreams, like the Lord wants us to have vision, you know. Um, and you know, I think we tend to drift apart when you know we've got all these schedules, we've got children, we've got work, we've got stress. It's just really a survival mode, you know. And um, I think, you know, a healthy marriage is gonna be around, you know, having a purpose, having directions and priority, prioritizing and and um even prioritizing like how like we were talking about earlier, like how much you're gonna take on as a family so that you can have some of these dreams and goals and things of that nature. So um, but I just wanted to show that scripture because you know God wants us to have visions, you know, he puts these things in the word because he wants that for us.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Yeah, and he didn't put us together so that we could get bogged down with bills and stuff, just the whole life thing, right? He he he brought us together as a as a unit, but ultimately still to fulfill his purpose. His purpose is to share Christ with you know the world to disciple others. But our marriage is such a great tool to learn how to disciple others, and so having a purpose of serving and um even a purpose of having a marriage that's built on um truth like you were talking about, or having a marriage that's built on family values or or these things, other people will see that. And so the purpose doesn't have to be this big extravagant thing, it can just be to have a marriage that uh inspires people to put Christ in the middle of their marriage because they see it working for you, because you can communicate well or you can dream well or you can do any of these other things, you know. So I I think it's as it can be as simple as that.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

I just that scripture is so strong that you said, Lauren, I've said it again, you know, where there is no vision, the people perish. And if I take marriage and I stick it in there, where there is no vision, the marriage perishes. Just think about how true that is, but you're saying, Sean, right? You know, have that shared vision, that fair shared dream and goal is so important. Otherwise, we're just as you said, we're stuck in this, are we just paying bills together? We're just you know coexisting, coexisting, trying to survive. And that's not that's not what was designed. That's not what God designed in the garden. He designed us to be, you know, naked and unashamed and and to enjoy all the pleasures of this earth and and everything he provides. So I think it's uh this just that idea is so strong. Yeah, without vision, you will perish. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:30

And it's so easy to fall into that. You know, we say if you're not intentionally moving toward each other, you're falling apart, basically. And um, we just need to, you know, keep dating each other and keep making sure we're connecting with each other because natural tendency in this fallen world is we are going to separate, you know, not you know, just drift apart from one another.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

So and as you as you move forward, even with a small goal, you'll start to see that as you start to move towards that goal, there becomes this connection, and then all of a sudden the goals can grow, right? The the purpose and the visions can grow from we just want to have we just want to pay off our debt. Okay, we're gonna do that. Well, now that we've paid off our debt, well, now we want to do this, right? And so financial goals are really good too, especially if you're working together because finances are one of the biggest stressors on a marriage. So if you have a common goal and you're both taking those steps together to solve those or to move in that direction, and then it opens up other goals, you know. And so I would almost suggest that everybody take a look at the things that are important in their lives and start to set little goals for each of those. And then as you accomplish those together, you start to really feel that connection together and you start to feel like, man, we can do this, we can do this together. Anything we put our mind to, we can do together, right? You put God in the middle of that, put God at the start of that, and you can do anything, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:57

And I also think when you have these shared Goals like you know, we talk about the importance of communication, and sometimes if you just get in a rut of like work and the schedule, like you you don't you just lose like like um the ability to have great communication, like it's like well, we're talking about the same thing when you have shared goals, like you have a lot to talk about, you know, it creates more opportunity to have uh deeper conversations, it opens up doors of like more things to talk about with one another. Um, it just spurs uh ideas and things like that, and so it is another way that just kind of lets you into seeing your spouse more too. Um I get to yeah, like when Sean has ideas, like he'll come to me and then we get to talk more about it, and I get to like kind of see the inner workings of Sean, and it's really cool to see that. Um, so I you know, I think it it increas it definitely is not going to decrease your uh your marriage closeness or intimacy. The only thing it can do is increase it, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Yeah, and I think the other thing that happens then is when challenges do come along, you can very quickly unify and align towards, hey, what are what are the priorities? Maybe we have to readjust something, but you have those lines of communication open so that when you need to adjust, you know, priorities or adapt because of because something that has changed, then you can do that more easily.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

Yeah, well, that challenge becomes a goal. Hey, how are we gonna get together and take on this challenge? Yeah, you know, and and and plan and and work together for that. So challenges can almost guide and direct you into hey, let's unify and let's do this together. And how are we gonna do that? And let's plan for it and let's seek God together in this. And I'm just we we dream big, but we didn't always and that's the thing is you know, the things that we've been able to accomplish through God's plans have been really awesome and amazing, but we didn't start like that. You know, we were just getting by, working on nine to five, figuring out how to navigate life and blend families and hardships here and there, and and and uh once we started to seek the Lord and then we started to pray about wanting these goals of reading books that other you know Christians have written or that have God has revealed something to somebody else and that it inspired us. Let's do that. Why don't we try to do that? And it changed our lives.

SPEAKER_03 24:29

So and one note on that it's been interesting, interesting for us walking alongside you guys with this, is been just be we're aware, be careful of comparison. And I want people to hear that because it can be easy to watch, because we've known you for eight years now, I guess. But I mean, how your lives have changed and how like these businesses which you were were so difficult, especially the first one at the beginning, but how they've just grown and blossomed and and we're so excited for you and we're so thankful we can be part of that with you. But I think there could be people who could get jealous of that kind of thing or be comparing. And we can sometimes I can be like, gosh, our dreams are quite like their dreams, but that's not what God's given us. God hasn't called us to open wedding rooms. Right now at all. So, you know, just be careful comparison. That's not what it's about. It's encouraging each other each other as friends, but then each other as spouses. How do we encourage each other in that?

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Yeah, I think you guys said it earlier on that that you take a lot of this to God in prayer. That's your first step, right? When you guys are trying to unify around a goal, you guys take it to prayer. And that's something I've learned and observed, we've learned and observed from you guys is that hey, you know, you you're trying to sit there and say, let's make sure we're not competing here, we're not on the wrong agendas or someone else's agenda. You guys take it to the Lord. And I think that's a it's a very powerful thing.

SPEAKER_02 25:53

I think it's very important, and I'll just give you a quick story, real quick. So I told you that God told me to organize this serum. And I have I have goals, you know. Like I I want to revamp some of the spaces in our venues and things like that. And it's not a bad thing to have those goals. But like I said earlier, you asking the Lord, is this for this season? Well, I didn't really ask him, and I start trying to revamp some spaces, and I was just talking to the Lord one day, and I'm like, I am so exhausted, I don't know why I am like so exhausted, like this is way too much, Lord.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

That's this part. The other part was maybe going and buying a piece of land and building our a dream home at some point, right? So we've added that to the list, which is building, not organizing. Yeah, that's creating and building again.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

It was so funny because I'm just talking to God, and God was like, Well, I never told you to update the spaces, I told you to organize. And that was just like a oh wow, you're right, Lord. Like, yes, these are goals, and I they're not bad goals, but they're not goals for right now. And so back to your point, I it's very, very important to bring it to God. And especially for me, because I'm just a go, go, go kind of person. I love to build, I love to, I'm always just thinking, yeah, this will be a good idea, but it's not necessarily, it's not that it's a bad idea, it's just not now. Not yeah. And God knows why, and God, God is good, and He's not, He's not doing it out of trying to, you know, uh hold me back. Right. You know, he's he knows the timing uh that's perfect for it all, and he knows how much I can handle at this moment, and he knows how much weight it already is, and so he's a good God, but back to the fact of like it's so important to ask him first. So when we're talking about these shared dreams and goals, don't just go run out on the first thing that you comes to mind, like prayerfully ask the Lord. And um, you know, we when we got started and everything, we'd say, Lord, open up the doors you want us to walk through and slam shut the doors you do not want us to walk through. And he was so faithful in that because there were so many properties like we looked at for sandalwood that we thought would be perfect, and we would go and and be like, we're gonna go put an offer down. And God was so good, he slammed the door completely shut on our face multiple times. And you know, now I look back and I'm like, thank you, Lord, because had that he not, that would not have been what we have now, and it would have been a lot harder to do the things that we did on that property, and even where it was located wouldn't have been good. And so the Lord is for you, not against you. So don't get discouraged to like be excited when the door is slammed because like you know that there's something greater coming.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

And that's not a place you have to walk down. Yeah, you don't even have to go down that route, which and and and have hardship. You can move to the open door. Not that there's not gonna be hardship. I always want to caveat that, but God's gonna get you through it when He brings you, when He brings you to whatever this dream is, He's gonna get you through it.

SPEAKER_04 29:16

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:17

Well I know we need to wrap up. I just had one thought for people Um, that as you're thinking about this and thinking about goals, I think one a valuable exercise can be to look at your where your money is going and look at your calendars, where are you spending your time? Because that's gonna show you where your priorities are and is that reflecting what you want it to be? Are you spending your time really where you should be? And are you spending your money where you you know you should be or want to be, or that are aligned with the goals that you feel you've been given. So that might be a kind of a starting place for people as they start to look into this.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah, I like that. And and I think just check-ins now and then to see if we're still aligned, if we're still moving the right way, you know, as as a couple. Yeah. Because if one of you really wants to go and the other doesn't, then there's gonna be some difficulty in your marriage. And so keeping that alignment together.

SPEAKER_03 30:06

And I'd schedule those check-ins because they won't just happen. Yeah, probably won't just organically happen. Like say every week or whatever, we're going to check in with each other. I totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

She doesn't know, but we're gonna go on a drive Friday and we're gonna check in. Check in.

SPEAKER_04 30:21

Oh, okay. I guess we are.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

We have not been on the same page in the last couple of weeks, and so we're gonna work to get back on the same page.

SPEAKER_03 30:34

But actually, that's a really good point, though, is I think it's helpful to not blindside a spouse if you've got a plan. We're gonna talk about this at this time or check-in, because I've done that to him in the past. It did not go well. You might not remember, I'll remind you later. But we went away for an overnight when we still had young kids. We were living in South Africa and it was dark, and I like started asking these questions, totally blindsided him, and things just did not go well at all. So I think it's helpful to share. I mean, you probably don't remember, but it's it's important to like say, hey, I'd really like if we could talk about some of these things so you both can be prepared. Because if one isn't the other isn't, it might go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

So on that note, let me let me pray for her. I'm putting myself.

SPEAKER_03 31:19

I won't remind you.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

Dear Lord, thank you. Thank you so much, Lord, and your infinite wisdom for bringing me this wonderful spouse, Lord. I just thank you for her. I just thank you for her love for you, Lord, how she also how she loves me. She loves our children, Lord. So we just thank you for our spouses. Uh Lord, we just thank you that um we get to share this life together with them, Lord, that you place ideas. Sometimes it's an idea in her head, sometimes it's an idea in my head, Lord, but that we can come to you and seek your guidance and you will unify us, Lord. So uh help us to continue to seek your face, Lord. Help us to continue to seek you more and more. Help us to come to you and seek guidance, Lord, and that you will uh place goals for us. We know that you have more planned for us than we could ever imagine, Lord. And we just thank you. We thank you so much for all that you've brought into our lives, all that you continue to do our lives, Lord. We just pray that you continue to sustain us and give us the energy we need to continue to seek you, to seek these goals and and visions together, Lord. So we just thank you that you just give us this ability uh just to to build and create, but also to you give this ability to organize, Lord. And so we just thank you for just these just so much that you bring into our lives, the richness and the quality, Lord. And we just thank you so much, especially uh for your son Jesus, how he died on that cross to forgive us, Lord. And we just place all this into his hands, Lord, into Jesus' hands, and we just pray together. Amen. Well, we hope we enjoyed that discussion with us. Uh we're Chris and Brooke, there's Sean and Lauren. Uh, and this is Love for a Lifetimes Authentic Marriage Podcast. We'll see you next time.