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448-Embrace Your Thorn Before it Kills You

Delight Your Marriage

Release Date: 09/12/2024

474-Her Marriage Was 474-Her Marriage Was "Dissolving", Now It's Saved & Growing: Kalee's Story

Delight Your Marriage

Her Marriage Was "Dissolving", Now It's Saved & Growing: Kalee's Story Before she began the Delighted Wife program, Kalee was in a place of deep discouragement. She and her husband, Chris, had been married for eight years, built a beautiful family together, and yet, they felt utterly lost. Their marriage was dissolving, and hopelessness had settled in. She didn’t see a way out. But God did. In His divine intervention, Chris was introduced to the program through a friend who had experienced transformation in his own marriage. Chris took a step of faith, signed up for the program, and...

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473-Energy and Motivation God's Way show art 473-Energy and Motivation God's Way

Delight Your Marriage

Getting out of your bed in the morning requires motivation. Doing your work requires motivation. Sacrificing for your spouse the way God asks us to, requires motivation.   You may be motivated by external forces like your boss, achieving certain bank account numbers, or a personal feeling of accomplishment. Those aren't necessarily bad. But if you're having trouble with motivation for the things that are most important in your life: God, marriage, kids... this episode is for you.    There are two encouragements Jesus gives us that can really help with your motivation to do what...

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472-There's Value and Hope in Your Mistakes show art 472-There's Value and Hope in Your Mistakes

Delight Your Marriage

Do you hate making mistakes? If you’re anything like me, you probably hold yourself to really high standards.  If you’re a Jesus follower, you’re actually called to be perfect as He is perfect. But because you're not Jesus, you will fail.  So, what happens when you mess up?  Do you feel like a failure, try to run away, numb the pain, isolate, ignore, do some negative/sinful addiction (porn/drinking/eating...) just to stop feeling the terrible failure-feelings? The problem is, even though we know we’re saved by His sacrifice, we often still struggle with shame and...

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471-Guiding The Next Generation Into Beautiful Marriages With Biblical Truth (Re-Release) show art 471-Guiding The Next Generation Into Beautiful Marriages With Biblical Truth (Re-Release)

Delight Your Marriage

Here at Delight Your Marriage, we’ve seen so many marriages transformed by God’s grace—couples who never thought they could feel close again, now thriving in ways they never imagined.  But here’s the thing… what if we could help the next generation BEFORE they get married? What if they had the tools and the wisdom now, so they don’t have to struggle the way so many of us did? Setting the Example of a Beautiful Marriage Before we can guide the next generation, we need to make sure our own marriages are solid. Let’s be real—kids don’t just listen to what we say, they watch...

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470-Awaken Wives to Pleasure with Gary Thomas, Juli Slattery, Belah Rose & Debra Fileta show art 470-Awaken Wives to Pleasure with Gary Thomas, Juli Slattery, Belah Rose & Debra Fileta

Delight Your Marriage

I recently had the incredible opportunity to be a guest on Gary Thomas’ podcast. If you’ve been around Delight Your Marriage for a while, you know what a dear friend Gary has been to this ministry. Not only is he a best-selling author and speaker, but he’s also been so generous in inviting us to share on his platform in the past. And this time? I got to be part of a panel alongside two truly amazing women: Juli Slattery—President and Co-Founder of Authentic Intimacy and author of several life-changing books, including God, Sex, & Your Marriage and Rethinking Sexuality. Debra...

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469-How Her Love Changed Her Husband: Interview with Amy show art 469-How Her Love Changed Her Husband: Interview with Amy

Delight Your Marriage

At Delight Your Marriage, we have the incredible privilege of witnessing God’s transformative power in marriages every day. Today, we are beyond honored to share Amy’s story—a testimony of healing, restoration, and redemption. How a Podcast Sparked a Transformation in Amy’s Marriage Amy first discovered our ministry through the podcast, and in one particular episode, she felt deeply convicted about her role as a wife from a biblical principles perspective. As she listened, one question struck her to the core: “When we stand before Jesus, will we be able to say that we loved our...

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468-Love, Faith, & the Joy of Discovery: Interview with Nathan Rittenhouse show art 468-Love, Faith, & the Joy of Discovery: Interview with Nathan Rittenhouse

Delight Your Marriage

I have been a long time fan of Nathan Rittenhouse and his work at Thinking Out Loud Together and today, I had the incredible privilege of sitting down with Nathan Rittenhouse for our podcast! Nathan is a speaker, apologist, and co-founder of Thinking Out Loud Together. Our conversation today was filled with rich insights about intimacy, humility, integrity, and the way marriage fits into God's grand design. I truly can’t wait for you to hear it! There’s so much to unpack, but here are some of the biggest takeaways from our conversation: The Bigger Purpose of Marriage: Building a Legacy...

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467-Knowing His Love: Growing in Faith in the Father's Kindness (Re-Release) show art 467-Knowing His Love: Growing in Faith in the Father's Kindness (Re-Release)

Delight Your Marriage

This episode is a Re-Release, formerly titled: If You Only Knew His Love We hope it blesses you now as it blessed you then! ---------------------------------------------------------------- When I look back on my life—when I see what is currently unseen—when I see Jesus face to face—when all has been revealed… I am convinced I will be BLOWN AWAY by the love I never realized He truly had for me. God’s Care for Every Living Thing The Bible says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them." (Matthew 6:26)...

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466-Dasha Had Lost Hope in Her Marriage, Now it’s Full of Fun! show art 466-Dasha Had Lost Hope in Her Marriage, Now it’s Full of Fun!

Delight Your Marriage

We are so honored to share Dasha's incredible transformation story with you today! If you’re looking for hope for your own relationship, Dasha’s journey might be just what you need to hear today. Dasha's Marriage Story Dasha came into her second marriage with a guarded heart, carrying pain from her previous relationship. It wasn't easy; the beginning of this new chapter was rocky. She felt disconnected and had no desire for her husband. At one point, she even told him he could leave if he was unhappy. Her Husband's Transformation But instead of walking away, her husband chose a different...

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465-Wives, Here is How To Trust Your Husband Again show art 465-Wives, Here is How To Trust Your Husband Again

Delight Your Marriage

Trust is an essential part of the foundation in your marriage, but what happens when that foundation cracks—or even shatters?  Maybe you’ve been hurt by the person you thought would always protect your heart. Perhaps betrayal, harsh words, or neglect have left you questioning everything. Can trust ever be rebuilt? Should you even try? If you’ve found yourself asking these questions, you’re not alone. Broken trust can feel overwhelming, leaving you guarded, uncertain, and even hopeless.  But this doesn’t have to be the end of your story. There is hope for healing, even in...

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Consider this: you might be more like Paul than you realize. Yes, Paul—the apostle whose praises were so powerful they shook prison walls, and who found joy even in his suffering. What could you possibly have in common with him?

Well, Paul had a thorn in his side. A persistent struggle that he begged God to remove. I’m willing to bet there’s a thorn in your side too—something you’ve desperately asked God to take away. Whether it’s sexual sin, pride, greed, jealousy, or anger, this thorn is your personal struggle.

I am here to tell you: Embrace the thorn in your side. This might sound counterintuitive, but in your weakness, God’s strength is made perfect. The thorn is there for a reason. God has given it to you to keep you humble, to remind you that you’re not in control of everything, and to draw you closer to Him.

How do folks often respond to their (God-given) thorns?

Disassociate. Disown. Disregard.

Disassociating yourself from these struggles—especially the deep ones like hidden addictions—can be perilous.

Essentially, if you do not embrace your thorn, it is the enemy's playground to attack you in the same way again... and again... and again... to the destruction of all those you love and the reputation of the gospel that you represent to others. 

We are urging you, bring these struggles into the light. Seek accountability, find support, and create a plan. On the good days it's easier to make that plan and structure to support you on the hard days that you know will come... because you've embraced the thorn that is God's gift which keeps you humble.

Important: Perfection isn’t required- 80% of a plan is enough to start making meaningful progress. The point is to start. Remember when you perceive the negative pattern in your history, it's time to take action so you can prevent things going downhill... for when you are weak, then you are strong.

This week, I encourage you to identify your thorn (start with one, we likely all have many! I certainly do), confront it, confess it to God, repent and confess it to safe people. Then, know that He forgives you and makes a way of escape for the future so you can truly truly walk in the humility that comes through the gift of this thorn... because His grace IS sufficient for you.

Love,

Belah & Team

PS - If you are interested in learning more about our program, maybe even getting that accountability in your life, we would love to talk to you. Check out delightyourmarriage.com/cc

PPS - I am excited to share with you a resource that I believe will be of value for your marital intimacy!

A group of pro-marriage / intimacy experts have gotten together and are doing a sex seminar. These are folks that believe marriage is right and good but they are not necessarily Bible-believing Christians. 

Amongst really valuable and wise content, there will likely be perspectives represented that I don’t 100% agree with. 

I encourage you (as always) to seek discernment from God to gain the good insights that may be in this event and leave what may not be helpful to you. 

Keep eternity in mind: at the end of it all we want to hear from God “well done.” We want it to be true that we loved the spouse we were given with a servant heart and according to His Word.

I hope you gain wonderful encouragement and practical ideas to love your spouse well through intimacy!

Here are the links-
2024 Sex Seminar: https://shop.thedatingdivas.com/discount/DYM24?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fsex-seminar-2024

Sex Seminar Bundle (all 5 years):
https://shop.thedatingdivas.com/discount/DYMBUNDLE24?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fsex-seminar-bundle-2024

PPPS - Here is a quote from a recent graduate:

"After 8 years of marriage, we had both grown complacent in investing in each other…  I have long struggled with pornography and I tend to be a bit of a workaholic while my wife has been at home with our kids for 15 years. It seems we took every one of those opportunities to create distance in our relationship… [Now], I'm taking ownership. This is my home. This is my marriage. She is my wife. Ours is a union blessed by God. In taking my roles as husband, father, help mate more seriously, my whole family has begun to benefit. The man's role is not to simply coexist, but to lead the marriage and family. I can make a difference in the family by leading to and with God.”