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429-Faith or Fear: When Will it Matter Enough to You?

Delight Your Marriage

Release Date: 05/02/2024

510-Is it Possible to Have Joy in Lovemaking? show art 510-Is it Possible to Have Joy in Lovemaking?

Delight Your Marriage

Is it Possible to Have Joy in Lovemaking? Physical intimacy can be one of the most painful topics in a woman’s life. Maybe you’ve felt shame for years. Maybe your husband brings it up constantly, and all you want to do is shrink away. Or maybe, deep down, you wonder if something is just wrong with you. If that’s where you are, I want you to know—I've been there. I’ve felt the fear. I’ve felt the pressure. I’ve carried the shame. And I want to walk with you through what I’ve learned on the other side: There is healing. There is hope. And yes, there is joy. The Pain Is Real—But...

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509-Eternal Marriage Mindset: Living Today for the Streets of Gold show art 509-Eternal Marriage Mindset: Living Today for the Streets of Gold

Delight Your Marriage

Eternal Marriage Mindset: Living Today for the Streets of Gold We get so caught up in the now—our needs, our feelings, our expectations—that we forget: this isn’t forever. And when it comes to your marriage, your mindset matters more than you know. What if the goal isn’t just earthly happiness… but eternal impact? Let’s shift our gaze from the temporary to the eternal—from trying to fix our spouse to faithfully loving them like Jesus. Because your marriage assignment? It impacts eternity. A Marriage Mindset That Reaches for Heaven If marriage is your god, you’ll do it your way....

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508-How Daily Habits Transformed His 36-Year Marriage: Harvey’s Story show art 508-How Daily Habits Transformed His 36-Year Marriage: Harvey’s Story

Delight Your Marriage

How Daily Habits Transformed His 36-Year Marriage: Harvey’s Story Marriage is holy work. Maybe you're reading this today because you're hoping your marriage will change. Maybe you're reading this because you've prayed, "Lord, please help my marriage," when really you mean "Lord, please help my spouse!" I hope this blog and episode will make you feel both comforted and inspired — that you’ll be reminded your marriage can change, not by grand gestures or perfect communication, but by small, faithful, daily habits of love. This is what Harvey discovered as well. That it wasn't grand...

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507-“Marriage First” Makes Your Life Unstable show art 507-“Marriage First” Makes Your Life Unstable

Delight Your Marriage

“Marriage First” Makes Your Life Unstable At the end of my life, I want to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  That’s the goal that keeps me grounded—and I know many of you share that desire. But here’s a hard truth I’ve learned through years of walking with couples: when our marriage or family becomes our first priority instead of God, everything starts to crumble. Why “Family First” Doesn’t Work I once had a conversation with someone I deeply love who said, “You think God has to be first—but I think family should be first.” His heart was...

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506-How to Not Have an Affair: Interview with Gary Thomas show art 506-How to Not Have an Affair: Interview with Gary Thomas

Delight Your Marriage

It doesn’t start with scandal. It often doesn't even start with feelings. It starts with a smile. A moment of connection. A conversation that feels easy—maybe easier than the ones you’ve been having at home. You walk away thinking, That was nothing. But somewhere deep down, you also know—it could become something. If that’s where you find yourself today (or even if you’ve seen the warning signs in someone you love), please take a deep breath. You’re not broken. You didn't marry the wrong person. You haven't done an irredeemable thing with no going back. You’re human. And this...

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505-How a Family Life Educator Took Her Marriage from Good to Great: Jen's Story show art 505-How a Family Life Educator Took Her Marriage from Good to Great: Jen's Story

Delight Your Marriage

How a Family Life Educator Took Her Marriage from Good to Great: Jen's Story Sometimes, the couples who join our programs aren’t on the brink of divorce. They aren’t fighting all the time. They actually have a good marriage. But deep down, they know it could be better. That’s exactly where Jen was when she found Delight Your Marriage. “We Had a Good Marriage… But I Knew It Could Be More” Jen and her husband had been married nearly 15 years. They had three young kids, a busy life, and no major marital crisis. As she put it, “We were not in conflict with each other. We didn’t...

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504-When Your Words Actually Bring Life (And How to Avoid Death): Interview With Ann & Dave Wilson show art 504-When Your Words Actually Bring Life (And How to Avoid Death): Interview With Ann & Dave Wilson

Delight Your Marriage

When Your Words Actually Bring Life (And How to Avoid Death): Interview With Ann & Dave Wilson Do you remember when you first fell in love—how easy it was to cheer him on? You’d light up at his stories. You’d say, “You’re amazing!” and mean it. You noticed everything good. But somewhere along the way, the cheers turned into corrections. The same man who once felt like your hero now feels like your project. And instead of applause, he mostly hears... boo. That’s what Ann Wilson discovered the day her husband, Dave, vulnerably told a room full of women that marriage sometimes...

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503-How a Farmer Learned to Lead & Love in His Marriage show art 503-How a Farmer Learned to Lead & Love in His Marriage

Delight Your Marriage

How a Farmer Learned to Lead & Love in His Marriage On the outside, Jake looked like a happy-go-lucky farmer. But inside, his marriage was falling apart. Control, years of infertility struggles, alcohol abuse, and pornography created a wall between him and his wife. Even counseling couldn’t break through the scar tissue of pain she carried. At one point, she said her willingness to work on the marriage was zero—she was ready to leave. Jake was out of options. Yet, in God’s kindness, what seemed like the worst day became the turning point. His confession of addiction cracked open the...

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502-How to Win an Argument: Interview with Dr. Kevin Downing show art 502-How to Win an Argument: Interview with Dr. Kevin Downing

Delight Your Marriage

Arguments that spiral out of control often leave behind words no one meant and wounds that take time to heal. Escalation may feel like “getting it all out,” but according to our guest today, it is actually poison to a marriage. Dr. Kevin Downing, founder of Turning Point Counseling in Southern California, has spent decades helping couples, pastors, and families find healthier ways to connect. His insights on escalation, self-control, and parenting bring both biblical grounding and practical tools. Why Escalation Is “Pure Poison” That Often Leads to Divorce Research from Dr. John...

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501-Wage War Against Body Insecurity show art 501-Wage War Against Body Insecurity

Delight Your Marriage

Body obsession has been a toughy for me all my life.  Wanting to be thin. Wanting to be beautiful. Wanting to fit into x size jeans. Wanting to see x on the scale. (The number of New Year's resolutions based on this makes me embarrassed.)  And once I am triggered about thinking I'm not thin, I would eat to assuage those hard feelings.  Or other hard feelings, I'd eat. Was it sin?  Was it a sin, for ME?  Let's put a pin in that thought. I think a major way the enemy tempts us nowadays is through distraction.  Is distraction a sin? Well, if God has a will for our...

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Have you ever not done something because of fear?

Have you ever done something that felt right at the time, but you were riddled with fear and anxiety later?  

Have you ever felt you had more potential than you were living into?

Welcome to human nature. 

But is that what he should do? 

Is that living according to our fears or God's will and His way? 

I don't think so. 

Instead, the Bible says it's impossible to please God without faith. (Heb 11:6)

You might wonder: 

Is it required to have faith for your marriage to change?

YES.

Even Jesus could do no mighty miracles in his hometown because of their lack of faith. (Mark 6:6)

Does it mean He will most certainly change your marriage and make you not go through suffering because you have faith? Well, we can look at John the Baptist to see that even if you have faith it's not a guarantee that God will pull you out of the hard situation and cause a miracle.

However, the woman with the issue of blood had suffered terribly for over a decade. 

She could have allowed her heart to grow calloused toward God and assume He doesn't care. 

She could have decided things will never change. 

She could have resigned herself to a life that would never get better. 

But she didn't, she stretched, she pushed through the crowd, she resisted anything that would try to discourage her faith...

and by faith, she touched the hem of His garment, believing He could heal her. 

And He did. 

"Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” (Mtt 9:22) 

I want to ask you, when... 

When will it matter enough? 

When will choosing to notice that God is here wanting to restore, redeem, heal matter enough to you? 

When will you see Jesus walking by and reach out in faith? 

Resist the enemy's...

Fear of being judged. 

 

Fear of loss. 

 

Fear of looking silly. 

 

Fear of being perceived a fool. 

 

Fear of change. 

 

Fear of responsibility. 

 

Fear of taking ownership. 

 

Fear of pain.

 

I invite you to stand up and choose faith. 

Stand up in faith. Reach for His garment. Do not be offended by His response but stay, stay, stay in faith as He might want to do a miracle that you (by your fear) are blocking. 

Choose the faith of freedom, hope, joy, love, connection, unity, healing... 

Live into the potential life He may be inviting you into.

Listen in today: Faith or Fear: When Will It Matter Enough to You?

Love,

 

Belah

PS - Marital Health Assessment is a free tool to discover where you are currently in your marriage and to give you a vision of what areas you may be missing and need to gain insight. It also provides free episodes that are uniquely selected for your situation. delightyourmarriage.com/health

 

PPS - If you're ready to transform your marriage through Christ-centered personal growth... we're here for you: delightyourmarriage.com/cc 

We'd love to help. 

 

Quote from a recent graduate heading for divorce:

“Delight Your Marriage saved my marriage. It has changed the course of all four of my kids lives. There is now peace in our home and friendship between me and my husband. Without this program I do not think we would have gotten here. I was too stubborn and too hurt. 

 

Belah’s teaching were humbling and eye opening to the ways I had repeatedly damaged my husband and the areas I had fallen short as a wife. Both of us have now gone through the program now and I know it was the push we needed to mature and build solid ground for the rest of our marriage.”