In this series (4 episodes) I am sharing key lessons that I wish I had known when we first got married as well as some lessons that can only be learned along the way to building a healthy and strong and vibrant marriage.

If you didn't listen to Part 1, with lessons 10-12, check it out here:

• Lesson 12: Change Yourself.  Don't try to change your husband. 
• Lesson 11: Being vulnerable helps you be understood
• Lesson 10: Cheerleading is a skill you must learn

In Part 2, I focus on the next 3 key lessons: 

• Lesson 9: You have to advocate for yourself.
• Lesson 8: Kids are a gift from God, but shouldn’t be the center of your entire world
• Lesson 7: My interests are my interests and so are yours

Tune into the episode to hear specific examples for each of these lessons and learn how you might apply them to your own marriage.

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So 12 years of marriage you ask? That's right!

I know you can't believe I'm that old, but, my husband and I celebrated 12 years of marriage this past September. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to reflect on some of the lessons that I've learned in this time.

If you've listened to the podcast before, you've heard me talk about marriage quite a bit.  And, of course, the first word in WifeMotherLeader is wife. 

In this series (4 episodes) I am going to share some lessons that I wish I had known I'm starting out and just some lessons that you learned along the way to build a healthy and strong and vibrant marriage.

In Part 1 (podcast episode #15), I focus on lessons 10-12. 

• Lesson 12: Change Yourself.  Don't try to change your husband. 
• Lesson 11: Being vulnerable helps you be understood
• Lesson 10: Cheerleading is a skill you must learn

Tune into the episode to hear specific examples for each of these lessons and learn how...

My ears perked up as I listened to Pastor Sid start sharing marriage statistics. Cullen and I were engaged. We were actively thinking about how to be intentional about building a healthy, thriving marriage.

Pastor Sid shared about how the divorce rate, even for Christians, was 50%. That was not particularly inspiring. Then, there was a “but.” He went on to share a statistic that would change the course of our marriage (which hadn’t even started yet) and our lives.

“Less than 1% of couples who pray together daily get divorced.” Wait, what?! Did he just reveal the secret to a successful marriage?

Wasn’t it more complicated than that? What about communication, forgiving one another, and mutual respect? Didn’t we have to go on regular date nights? Wasn’t he going to tell Cullen to make sure that he took on chores at home and didn’t focus only on work? Wasn't he going to tell me to ask for what I needed and not always put myself...