Behind Our Smiles Marriage Podcast

As we celebrate the Resurrection, we are reminded of the greatest Love that the world has ever been given. Jesus, who walked this earth, and showed us what truth, humility, and love looked like. Then He chose to become the ultimate sacrifice, so that we could live. Our desire is that we can reflect this kind of love to our spouse. But we also need to recognize the ways that we cannot be Jesus to each other. When we ask our spouse to give us the things only Jesus can give, we will end up disconnected from our spouse and from the real Savior.

In this episode, we sit down with Chad and Katie Mattson to hear the stories behind their smiles. You may be familiar with Chad Mattson as the lead singer of the band, Unspoken. Their early years of marriage were filled with the stress of life on the road, poverty, and uncertainty, as Chad threw his all into his music. As things began to stabilize, Katie began suffering with debilitating anxiety. This eventually led them to a breaking point where they were forced to re-evaluate priorities and make some tough decisions. Their faith in God and love for each other through it all will inspire and encourage you!

As each year goes by, we're reminded that time only goes faster. We look up and realize we're getting older, and hopefully wiser. But just because we're older doesn't mean God is done with us. We can look back at what He's done and look to what He has for our future. In this episode, we celebrate the joys of growing older together, even when we still have more growing to do!

Do you ever just need a hug from your spouse? Physical affection is a great way to grow your connection and communicate God's love to each other. Although in our marriage, with Joe having experienced child abuse, it felt complicated and could trigger unwelcome feelings. We had to learn to approach physical affection with sensitivity and understanding.

If we don't address the hurts in our marriage, they can pile up, create resentment, and block our connection. Forgiving each other isn't just something we have to do once or twice, but a continual posture in choosing not to seek revenge. In this week's episode, we share how humility and honesty help us create a culture of forgiveness in our marriage.

We believe that forgiving those who have hurt us is a key ingredient to healing from our past wounds. When we follow God in forgiving others as He has forgiven us, we find true freedom! In this week's episode, we talk about what forgiveness is, why we forgive, and how Joe found healing in forgiving his abusers.

There's a temporary satisfaction in being right and especially in proving to your spouse that you are in the right. But in the long run, insisting on being right only brings destruction and disconnection. In this week's episode, we talk about how to grow in humility within your marriage.

In this week's episode, we talk with Pastor Cal and Susan Rychener, an amazing couple who have been married and in pastoral ministry for over 40 years. From the time they met at a small Bible college in Indiana to founding one of the largest churches in Peoria, IL, and now moving into the golden years, they have learned what surrender to God looks like in every season. Their love story shows how when we understand our own brokenness and find freedom in Christ from our past wounds, our marriages can flourish. Content warning: infant loss https://puredesire.org https://northwoods.church

Anyone else married to a safety freak? In this week's episode, we share how Joe's desire to control every element of our safety caused tension in our early relationship. And we throw in some of Joe's best tips for keeping your family and home safe! https://www.wcicfm.org/are-you-also-a-safety-freak/

Valentine's Day brings up so many images of love and romance, many of which may feel unrealistic. In this week's episode, we discuss the key ingredients to keeping true romance and intimacy alive within your marriage.

Valentine's Day isn't the only time to plan a romantic date with your spouse! In this episode, we share the challenges and benefits of dating as a married couple. And we discuss some creative date ideas from the book, 52 Uncommon Dates.

Joe tends to be simple and to the point, whereas I like my emoji, exclamation points, and lots of words. In this episode, we share how to love each other well even when our many differences make it hard to feel connected.

In Part 2 of Ready or Not Here I Come, we share the story of how Joe's house of cards fell and our marriage found healing. After a period of depression and facing his childhood wounds, Joe began to see his story in new ways. It took being real and vulnerable with God about the pain he carried that gave him have a greater capacity to love. The game of hide and seek was coming to an end.

In this episode, Joe and I share one of the biggest challenges we faced in the early years of our marriage. The pain from Joe's past wasn't going to go away magically because we married, and it affected the very thing we both wanted out of marriage: intimacy. We couldn't play hide and seek forever.

Do you enjoy the "Reset" feature on your devices when they're acting up? Joe and I like to use our own Reset Button when a conversation needs a do-over. In this episode, we share how the reset button allows us to put our pride away and offer grace in tense conversations.

In this episode, we sit down with Adam and Christina Hannan as they share the stories behind their smiles. Only 6 years into marriage, with three little kids, they were faced with a life-changing diagnosis of their fourth child, Myles, on the day he was born. After a twenty-month fight to survive, baby Myles passed into the arms of Jesus, leaving Adam and Christina heartbroken but not hopeless. They share how their pursuit of Jesus at every step kept their marriage strong while healing from this devastating loss. For the resources mentioned in this episode, please click here: https://www.wcicfm.org/behind-our-smiles-podcast-episode-12-how-could-this-be-good-with-adam-and-christina-hannan

Things may or may not slow down next week, or next month, or even next year. So we have to learn to manage our stress in a way that doesn't damage our marriage. In this episode, Joe and I share how to pursue connection and love each other well through the crazy seasons. https://www.wcicfm.org/when-stress-pulls-at-your-marriage/

Do you or your spouse have any habits that you find highly annoying? Often those conversations can do more damage than actually solve the original problem. In this episode, we discuss how to attack a problem without de-valuing each other.

Do difficult experiences in your past make it hard for you to truly enjoy the Christmas season? Or maybe you're struggling this Christmas but don't want to bring down the ones you love. In this episode, Joe and I share our different feelings around the holidays and how it impacts our marriage. Read our blog post here: https://www.wcicfm.org/why-is-christmas-complicated/

Finding the perfect gift for your spouse can be tough, so in this episode, we're here to help. Joe and I share about gift-giving, failed expectations, and some of our favorite gifts we've given each other. And we have some fun adding our personal opinions on some popular gift ideas for spouses.

Everyone has blind spots in their lives that only others can see. In this episode, we share about how we are learning to help each other when we're struggling with figurative and literal blind spots.

Has your spouse ever asked you if you're mad at them? In our marriage, it either makes things worse or sweeps the issue under the rug! In this episode, we share some better ways to figure out the mystery of the "mad."

Trauma does have far-reaching effects on how we think, feel, and behave. But is the trauma we have experienced the only lens we look through? In this episode, Joe and I discuss the difficult task of discerning between the effects of trauma and our own sinful hearts. NOTE: the Samaritan Ministries promotion mentioned in this episode is not available. Please accept our sincerest apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Do you ever feel disconnected from your spouse? That you're just not as close as you once were? If you don't address what is causing the disconnection, the distance will only grow in your marriage. Fight for connection! NOTE: the Samaritan Ministries promotion mentioned in this episode is not available. Please accept our sincerest apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Who wants to be married to a loser? In this episode, we talk about the power of finding a way for you both to be winners in a disagreement.

Growing intimacy and connection in your marriage is impossible if all we do is shut each other down. Joe and I fall in that trap when we stay in the mindset of, "That won't work"! In this episode we share a better phrase to use that will build your marriage instead of tearing it down.

"Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite." In our first episode, we want to share why we started this podcast, and how we first met and fell in love. I might have been too young, and Joe might have had too much baggage to really make it work. But by pursuing God and each other, we were able to see God work miracles in our love story.