One Degree Marriage: Christ-Centered Communication & Habits

Nathaniel & Xan Sibley
  • 5.0 (132)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

A Christian marriage podcast for couples who want to grow. Hosted by Nathaniel and Xan Sibley. A thriving marriage doesn't happen by accident... it's built one intentional choice at a time. How do we stay connected when life feels busy and disconnected? What rhythms help us handle conflict with grace instead of frustration? How do we grow spiritually together? What does it look like to bring fun, intimacy, and purpose back into our marriage? On the One Degree Marriage Podcast, Nathaniel and Xan get real about the everyday struggles and joys of marriage. With biblical wisdom and practical tools, we'll help you take small, one-degree shifts that lead to lasting transformation in your relationship. Grab a seat on our cozy virtual couch and join the conversation. Then take one step today toward the Christ-centered, flourishing marriage you've been longing for. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Follow along on Instagram @onedegreemarriage!

  1. 1d ago

    180: Who Gets the Final Say in Marriage? How to Decide Together

    Where to eat tonight is easy. Whether to move, which church to call home, or how to school your kids is not, and those are the moments that reveal whether we actually have a healthy way of deciding together or have just been getting lucky. This week we take on the question a lot of couples never say out loud: when you have prayed, talked it through, stayed kind, and still don't agree, who gets the final say? Building on our recent conversations about what it looks like to be a godly wife and a godly husband, we name three ditches couples drift into, then walk through the process we actually use for big decisions in our own marriage. We share real stories from choosing a seminary, moving to Wisconsin, and switching churches, and we get honest about where headship fits and where it absolutely does not.

  2. Oct 12

    Feeling Disconnected From Your Spouse? 7 Simple Habits to Grow Closer (Replay)

    Feeling more like roommates than teammates lately? Or maybe things are good, but you know there’s room to go deeper. In this replay of one of our most popular episodes (a rare solo one, since it’s just Xan this time), we walk through 7 practical habits that deeply connected couples actually practice. You don’t have to do all seven. Pick one or two to start this week and watch how those small, one-degree shifts add up. These habits aren’t a checklist to crush. Our hope is that they encourage you to seek the Lord more deeply first, and then to seek deeper connection with your spouse. Resources mentioned: Free Weekly Marriage Meeting Template: onedegreemarriage.com/meetingWeekly Marriage Meeting Journal: onedegreemarriage.com If this episode encouraged you, share it with a couple who might need it, and subscribe so you never miss a one-degree shift.

  3. Oct 5

    177: How to Lead Like Christ as a Husband

    Most husbands have heard that they are the head of the home. Far fewer have been told what kind of head they are supposed to be, and that gap is where a lot of quiet disconnection in a marriage starts. This week we sit down with Ephesians 5 and read it slowly, starting back at verse 18 where the whole thing is anchored: be filled with the Spirit. From there we work through what Paul actually asks of husbands, and it is not enforcement. Paul never tells a husband to make sure his wife submits. He spends three verses on wives and nine on husbands, and every one of those nine points the same direction: sacrificial love, modeled on a Jesus who washed feet and went to the cross. We look at what headship is not, four specific things Ephesians 5 asks husbands to do, and what all of it looks like on an ordinary Tuesday when nobody is watching. We also get honest about our own house, including where each of us is most tempted to lead by control instead of by serving. If you listened to last week's episode on what Ephesians 5 asks of wives, this is the other half of that conversation.

  4. Sep 28

    176: How to Be a Godly Wife: What Ephesians 5 Really Says About Submission and Respect (Replay)

    This week we're bringing back one of our most popular episodes ever. If you're new here, welcome! And if you heard it the first time around, we think it's worth a second listen. What does it really mean for wives to "submit" to their husbands in Ephesians 5? Few verses about marriage cause more tension, confusion, or quiet eye rolls. Is submission blind obedience? Does it mean tolerating sin or abuse? Is it outdated or oppressive? Or is it something deeper, and actually freeing? In this episode, we unpack what the Bible really says about being a godly wife, how submission and respect play out in real life, and why this passage makes no sense unless you read it alongside Christ's call for husbands to love sacrificially. In this episode, we cover: What biblical submission is notWhy Ephesians 5 has to be read alongside the call for husbands to love like ChristWhat submission looks like on an ordinary TuesdayHow respect, encouragement, and trust play out practicallyWhy submission is ultimately an act of worship to Christ If you've wrestled with this passage, or avoided it altogether, this conversation will help you think biblically, clearly, and courageously about your role in marriage. Scripture referenced: Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Peter 3, Genesis 2 If this one helped, send it to a friend who has ever wrestled with this passage. Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode, and if you have a minute, leaving a review helps other couples find this Christian marriage podcast. Love you, fam.

  5. Sep 21

    175: Setting Boundaries With Extended Family Without Starting a War

    The holidays are still months away on the calendar and already somebody is asking whose house you are coming to. If that question makes your stomach tighten, you are not the only couple feeling it. This week we are talking about what it actually looks like to set healthy boundaries with in-laws and extended family without blowing up the relationship. We walk through what Genesis 2:24 means by leave and cleave, why leaving your father and mother never cancels the command to honor them, and two of the healthiest in-law relationships in scripture. Then we get practical with five principles for navigating parents, in-laws, aunts, uncles, and everybody else who has an opinion about your marriage. We also talk honestly about the harder situations: what honoring looks like when there is addiction or abuse in the family, how to explain a limited relationship to your kids without tearing anyone down, and how to hold the holidays gently when grief is sitting at the table. Resources mentioned: Genesis 2:24 and Jesus quoting it in Matthew 19The command to honor your father and mother, Exodus 20:12Ruth 1:16Exodus 18, Jethro's counsel to MosesOur episode from two weeks ago on why your marriage was never meant to be privateFree Weekly Marriage Meeting Template: https://onedegreemarriage.com/meeting Here is your one degree shift: before the end of this month, sit down together and decide your Thanksgiving and Christmas plans out loud. Ask each other which tradition you would actually grieve losing and which one you would not mind letting go. Then tell both families what you decided, together. If this is the Christian marriage podcast conversation you have been avoiding, start with that fifteen minute talk. Share this episode with one couple heading into a tense holiday season, subscribe so you do not miss next week, and if it helped, leave us a review so other couples can find it.

  6. Sep 14

    174: Family Mission Statement: How to Write One (and Live It)

    Most of us never sat down and decided what our family is actually about. We just started living, and somewhere along the way the answer got decided for us by our upbringing, our friend group, or whatever we scrolled past last night. This week we open up our own family mission statement, the six core values underneath it, and the weekly rhythm that keeps them from becoming a pretty sign we never look at. We walk through why we landed on pursue faithfulness, play the long game, and live with open hands, the one line we changed after seven years, and how we score our values one to five in our weekly marriage meeting so we know what to focus on next. If you have never written a family mission statement, or you wrote one at a retreat and have not touched it since, this one is for you. In this episode: 00:28 The book that pushed us to run our family with the same intention we give our work02:20 What a family mission statement actually is, and the test that keeps it from being cheesy04:15 Our three line mission statement, read out loud and explained05:39 Why we aim for faithful instead of fruitful, famous, or efficient09:58 Playing the long game in parenting, money, fitness, and schooling decisions13:37 The one line we changed, and why reserving the right to change your mind is healthy15:29 Radical generosity when the budget says wait, and what the two copper coins teach us19:41 The one to five scoring system we use every week (and what a 1 actually looks like)22:13 The six values we live by, and why one of us fought hard for the last one24:39 How Friday Night Gang started because we stopped waiting for a bigger house28:47 A step by step way to write yours this week, even after the kids go to bed31:59 If you do not choose your family values, something else will choose them for you Resources mentioned: The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni1 Corinthians 4:2, Luke 16:10, Galatians 6:9, and the widow's two copper coins in Mark 12:41-44Free Weekly Marriage Meeting Template: https://onedegreemarriage.com/meetingWeekly Marriage Meeting Journal: https://shop.onedegreemarriage.com/ Your one degree shift this week: sit down together, no date night required, and write a rough first draft of your family mission statement and five to seven core values. Let it sit for a couple of weeks before you lock it in. If you already have one, put it in your weekly marriage meeting and start scoring it. If this one helped, send it to one couple who is in a full, loud season and would love a little more intention in it. Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode of the podcast, and if you have a minute, leaving a review helps other couples find this Christian marriage podcast. Love you, fam.

  7. Sep 7

    173: Venting vs. Inviting: Who Belongs in Your Marriage

    You can name the friend you would call if you needed to unload about your spouse. Now name the friend who would hear you out and then gently tell you the part you got wrong. Most of us have the first one. Almost none of us have the second. This week we talk about why your marriage was never meant to be lived privately. You made your vows in front of witnesses for a reason, and somewhere between the reception and real life, most of us quietly decided that our marriage was nobody else's business. We get into the difference between venting and inviting, which is not about what you say so much as what you are actually after. We walk through the three kinds of people worth letting in, the kinds who will do more harm than good, and the exact question that opens the door when you do not have anyone like that yet. We also tell on ourselves a little, because the wise couple twenty years ahead of us is the one thing we are still missing too. In this episode: 00:59 Why the witnesses at your wedding were supposed to be more than an audience 02:48 Highlight reels, and what we found when we got close to the "perfect" marriages 04:14 The two extremes couples swing between, and the middle ground nobody names 05:10 How to tell venting from inviting, by what you walk away feeling 07:07 The one word swap that changes the whole conversation 08:25 The recorded conversation test, a gut check you can run in four seconds 11:33 The three kinds of people worth inviting into your marriage 13:24 Why the couple ahead of you genuinely cannot remember what your season felt like 15:46 The question to ask a trusted friend that opens the door permanently 19:18 Who not to invite in, including the friend you enjoy the most 22:16 The honest part: the mentor couple we still do not have 25:58 This week's one degree shift Here is the one degree shift: sit down together this week and answer two questions out loud. Who is in our marriage right now? And who should be? Then send one text to the couple whose name you both said. If this one named something for you, share it with one couple who needs it, subscribe so you catch next week, and leave a review. It helps other couples find this Christian marriage podcast.

  8. Aug 31

    172: Mental Load in Marriage: Seeing What Your Spouse Carries

    You emptied the dehumidifier again this morning. You noticed the fridge was bare, rerouted the drive home, and still had dinner on the table by six. Nobody said a word. In episode 172, we're talking about the invisible work of marriage: the mental load, the quiet planning, the tasks your spouse handles that no one sees, including you. This is not a conversation about who does more. It's about learning to see your spouse clearly, and letting that turn into real gratitude and real action. We walk through the 10-minute exercise we recommend to every couple, why comparison ruins it, and how to name your own unseen load without putting your spouse on the defensive. If this one met you where you are, share it with one couple who needs it and leave us a review.

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About

A Christian marriage podcast for couples who want to grow. Hosted by Nathaniel and Xan Sibley. A thriving marriage doesn't happen by accident... it's built one intentional choice at a time. How do we stay connected when life feels busy and disconnected? What rhythms help us handle conflict with grace instead of frustration? How do we grow spiritually together? What does it look like to bring fun, intimacy, and purpose back into our marriage? On the One Degree Marriage Podcast, Nathaniel and Xan get real about the everyday struggles and joys of marriage. With biblical wisdom and practical tools, we'll help you take small, one-degree shifts that lead to lasting transformation in your relationship. Grab a seat on our cozy virtual couch and join the conversation. Then take one step today toward the Christ-centered, flourishing marriage you've been longing for. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Follow along on Instagram @onedegreemarriage!

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