Hope Relentless Marriage Sarah-Gayle Galbreath

Summary

In this episode, Chad and Sarah Gayle discuss the importance of sexual intimacy in marriage and the need for open and honest conversations about it. They emphasize the role of beliefs in shaping our understanding of sex and the impact of cultural influences. They caution against the negative effects of pornography and unrealistic expectations from movies and media. They encourage couples to serve and honor each other in their sexual relationship and to seek God's design for sex within the context of marriage.


Takeaways


Sexual intimacy is an important aspect of marriage that requires open and honest conversations.Our beliefs about sex shape our understanding and actions in the sexual relationship.Cultural influences, such as pornography and unrealistic expectations from media, can negatively impact our sexual experiences.Couples should focus on serving and honoring each other in their sexual relationship.Seeking God's design for sex within the context of marriage can lead to fulfillment and joy.
Throughout the podcast, Chad and Sarah-Gayle encourage couples to prioritize serving and honoring each other in their sexual relationship, rather than solely focusing on personal pleasure. They emphasize the importance of aligning beliefs and values with God's design for sex within marriage, promoting a holistic approach to intimacy that strengthens the marital bond.

Sound Bites

"Today we are talking about sex and all the fellas said amen."
"There's an opportunity for joy and excitement and love and adventure in our sexual relationship."
"When our spouse feels pressured to do things they don't want to do, it's not honoring."

Hope Relentless 

In this episode of our podcast, the Hope Relentless Marriage Podcast, my husband Chad and I delve into the crucial role of serving within a marriage. We emphasize that serving goes beyond mere tasks; it's a profound expression of love and kindness towards each other. Throughout our conversation, we highlight how acts of service can deeply impact the atmosphere of a marriage, creating a space of vulnerability, freedom, and love.

We candidly address common fears and misconceptions surrounding serving, such as feeling like a doormat or being taken advantage of. We stress the importance of serving with a pure heart, rooted in a deep understanding of our own worth and identity.

Chad and I openly share the challenges we've faced in prioritizing serving within our own marriage, including battling selfish tendencies and the temptation to keep score. Nevertheless, we passionately advocate for serving unconditionally, even when it's difficult, recognizing its transformative potential over time.

We encourage our listeners to reflect on what might be holding them back from serving their spouse and to take intentional steps towards service. We highlight the profound impact serving can have not only on the marital relationship but also on children who observe and learn from their parents' example.

Our episode concludes on a heartfelt note with a segment of appreciation, where Chad and I express gratitude for each other's acts of service within our marriage, reinforcing the importance of showing appreciation and cultivating a positive atmosphere in our relationship.

Overall, this episode serves as a beacon of hope and encouragement, inspiring listeners to embrace the transformative power of serving within their marriages and nurturing the potential for a flourishing relationship.

For more info check out our website.
Here is a link directly to our Marriage Blog

In this podcast episode, we discuss the importance of personal responsibility in marriage. We emphasize that while communication and connection are vital tools, personal responsibility is equally crucial. Chad discusses the tendency for individuals to blame their spouse in challenging situations, highlighting how the blame game might provide short-term relief but doesn't offer a solution.

We explore common scenarios where personal responsibility can shift dynamics in a marriage, such as reacting to criticism, transactional interactions, unmet expectations, and the assumption that one's spouse should know what they need without clear communication. The conversation underscores the transformative power of personal responsibility in improving communication, understanding, and overall relationship dynamics.

We encourage couples to communicate clearly, avoid assumptions, and take proactive steps to understand and support each other. The episode ends with expressions of appreciation and encouragement for couples to persevere and find hope in their marriage journey.

For more info please visit our website: www.hoperelentless.com

The Hope Relentless Marriage Podcast, hosted by Chad and Sarah-Gayle Galbreath, focuses on building strong and healthy relationships. In this episode, we delve into the power of words in relationships. We emphasize the significance of positive communication and intentional deposits into the relationship's emotional bank account. Drawing from biblical teachings and scientific research, we highlight how words can impact not only emotions but also physical well-being.

We stress the importance of speaking life into each other, using encouraging words, and being intentional about positivity. We discuss practical steps couples can take to improve their communication, such as using "I" statements to express feelings and engaging in exercises like the encouragement exercise.

The episode concludes with an appreciation time, where we express gratitude for each other's positive attributes and contributions to our family life. Overall, our podcast encourages listeners to cultivate a culture of positivity, encouragement, and hope in their marriages.

Hope Relentless Marriage Podcast

Hello and welcome to the Hope Relentless Marriage Podcast. My name is Sarah-Gayle and Chad, my amazingly good-looking incredible husband, is online as well. We are honored that you are listening, and I just want to remind you that you are a world changer because resourcing your marriage makes a difference. Marriages impact families, families impact communities, and communities impact the world.

Last week we talked about building emotional intimacy. Today, I'm excited. We are going to talk about our thoughts. Our thoughts are pivotal in our individual lives and also in shaping the marriage that we want to create.

There's this quote by Gandhi that says, "Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, and your values become your destiny."

Wow, that's incredible. So it starts with beliefs and ends up being our destiny. I truly believe that progression is accurate, and we see it through and through that as we think, so are we. In Proverbs 23:7, it says, "As a man or woman thinks, so is he or she." This rings true in my own life, and I can see it in the lives of others as well.

I want to ask you two questions actually.
The first question is, what are you consistently thinking about concerning your spouse?

Second question, what are you consistently thinking about when it comes to yourself?

These questions are significant because when it comes to our spouse, if most of our thoughts are negative, then it would make sense that how we are experiencing them is also negative. And likewise, with ourselves a lot of us are thinking very negatively of ourselves, and this feeds into our marriage.

And so I wanna share, what do we do when our thoughts are negative? What do we do when we've had a pattern and a habit? I think part of it is recognizing we've had a pattern and a habit, and it's gonna take some time and some intentionality for things to change. Even big picture, when working with couples, I'm always blown away at how fast some couples can completely change the environment of their home.

This idea of taking every thought captive is important. This increased awareness where we can take inventory. What is it that I'm thinking about myself, and what is it that I'm thinking about my spouse? Those exact two questions that you asked. Those questions can be something that we just move past as insignificant, or we can really reflect, take out a piece of paper, take out our phone, and over the next week, really start to take an inventory. What are my thoughts? What am I thinking about myself, and what am I thinking about my spouse?

So once we can identify what our current thoughts are, it positions us to think through, well, what is the opposite? What are the opposite promises or encouragement or direction that God has for us?

Yeah, it's hard to do. It's not easy, but it's worth it. It is definitely worth it. And it's just being kind to ourselves because in our humanity, it's difficult to be inundated with a direction we don't wanna go in and then expect ourselves to go in a different one. And so we have to be intentional and make the choice and focus on what we wanna focus in that will lead us to the life that we wanna live.

Summary

In this episode, Chad and Sarah Gale discuss the importance of emotional intimacy in marriage. They highlight the impact of emotional connection on the overall health of a relationship and the hindrances that can prevent couples from achieving emotional intimacy. The conversation emphasizes the need for couples to have realistic expectations and open communication about emotional needs. Chad shares his personal journey of developing emotional health and vocabulary, while Sarah emphasizes the importance of time and presence in fostering emotional intimacy. The episode concludes with a discussion on the SASHET activity and the power of appreciation in strengthening emotional connection.

Takeaways

Emotional intimacy is a crucial aspect of a healthy marriage and requires intentional effort from both partners.
Having realistic expectations and open communication about emotional needs is essential for building emotional intimacy.
Men's emotional health is an important factor in fostering emotional connection in a relationship.
Creating emotional vocabulary and recognizing and addressing emotions are key steps towards emotional intimacy.
Making time for each other and being fully present in the relationship is vital for fostering emotional intimacy.
The SASHET activity, which involves sharing feelings of sadness, anger, fear, happiness, excitement, and tenderness, can be a helpful tool for couples to deepen emotional connection.
Avoiding the tendency to fix or criticize each other's emotions creates a safe space for emotional intimacy.
Expressing appreciation for each other on a consistent basis strengthens emotional connection in a marriage.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and the Impact of Marriage
00:24 Building Emotional Intimacy
01:32 Expectations of Emotional Intimacy
04:12 Recognizing and Addressing Emotional Needs
05:36 Men's Emotional Health
06:30 Creating Emotional Vocabulary
08:59 The Importance of Time and Presence
15:26 The SASHET Activity
19:06 Avoiding Fixing and Criticizing
20:53 Appreciation Time
23:29 Closing and Encouragement