Making Love Today

Anne and Patrick discuss how Mike and Vauna demonstrate the relationship skill of Courage throughout their 38+ years of marriage. While many of us consider relationship courage only to really apply at the beginning of our relationship, it's actually a skill that needs to be applied all throughout the course of our relationship. It's important to show courage in the decisions we make, in allowing ourselves to open up to our partner, and in doing all the daily little things which draw us closer together as a couple. 

Relationship Challenge of the Week: Identify what things you would like to be courageous about. Think about how you have shown courage in the past, how you can be courageous today, and in what ways you'd like to be courageous in the future.  

Follow us on Instagram at rekindle.love.today or on Facebook at fb.me/rekindle.love.today. 

Know a couple that you want to see featured on the podcast? Let us know at [email protected]. 

Anne and Patrick discuss how Mike and Vauna demonstrate the relationship skill of Courage throughout their 38+ years of marriage. While many of us consider relationship courage only to really apply at the beginning of our relationship, it's actually a skill that needs to be applied all throughout the course of our relationship. It's important to show courage in the decisions we make, in allowing ourselves to open up to our partner, and in doing all the daily little things which draw us closer together as a couple. 

Relationship Challenge of the Week: Identify what things you would like to be courageous about. Think about how you have shown courage in the past, how you can be courageous today, and in what ways you'd like to be courageous in the future.  

Follow us on Instagram at rekindle.love.today or on Facebook at fb.me/rekindle.love.today. 

Know a couple that you want to see featured on the podcast? Let us know at [email protected]. 

A chance meeting at a movie theater while at college has turned into going on four decades of marriage. Now married for 38 years, Mike and Vauna will readily admit that things were not always easy for the two of them. 

With Mike an extrovert, and Vauna an introvert the two of them have had to learn from the very beginning how to blend and mix their different communication styles. They've had to overcome such challenges as job instability and personality clashes, all while maintaining a loving relationship. Almost 40 years into marriage, have they "arrived" as a couple, or is there more left to uncover together?

A chance meeting at a movie theater while at college has turned into going on four decades of marriage. Now married for 38 years, Mike and Vauna will readily admit that things were not always easy for the two of them. 

With Mike an extrovert, and Vauna an introvert the two of them have had to learn from the very beginning how to blend and mix their different communication styles. They've had to overcome such challenges as job instability and personality clashes, all while maintaining a loving relationship. Almost 40 years into marriage, have they "arrived" as a couple, or is there more left to uncover together?

Anne and Patrick discuss how Brian and Farina use the relationship skill of Choosing Family to build their own family culture.  All of us come from a different culture than our partner. While some relationship differences are more obvious than others, even small ones can lead to relationship conflict. It's important for us to recognize the culture that our partner came from and learn to use pieces from both family cultures to build a new unique culture all of your own. For a more in-depth explanation of this skill and more suggestions of how to incorporate it into your relationship check out makinglovetoday.com or our course on listenable.io. 

Relationship Challenge of the Week: Identify an action by your partner and try to understand why your partner did this. Give them the benefit of the doubt, believing that they had good reasons behind what they did, and try and figure out what that reason might have been. If you can't figure it out, go ahead and ask them in a non-confrontational way. 

Follow us on Instagram at rekindle.love.today or on Facebook at fb.me/rekindle.love.today. 

Know a couple that you want to see featured on the podcast? Let us know at [email protected]. 

Anne and Patrick discuss how Brian and Farina use the relationship skill of Choosing Family to build their own family culture.  All of us come from a different culture than our partner. While some relationship differences are more obvious than others, even small ones can lead to relationship conflict. It's important for us to recognize the culture that our partner came from and learn to use pieces from both family cultures to build a new unique culture all of your own. For a more in-depth explanation of this skill and more suggestions of how to incorporate it into your relationship check out makinglovetoday.com or our course on listenable.io. 

Relationship Challenge of the Week: Identify an action by your partner and try to understand why your partner did this. Give them the benefit of the doubt, believing that they had good reasons behind what they did, and try and figure out what that reason might have been. If you can't figure it out, go ahead and ask them in a non-confrontational way. 

Follow us on Instagram at rekindle.love.today or on Facebook at fb.me/rekindle.love.today. 

Know a couple that you want to see featured on the podcast? Let us know at [email protected]. 

While Brian and Farina both grew up within 20 miles of each other in Maryland, in many ways they came from very different worlds.  Brian, the grandson of a congressman, comes from a traditional suburban background. Farina, a Native American and member of the Navajo Nation grew up witnessing extreme poverty.  

Despite coming from such diverse backgrounds, the two of them have learned to appreciate and embrace each other's cultures and heritage.  With Farina a university professor and Brian a stay-at-home dad they've learned to build a culture of their own which both embraces their pasts and provides them what they need as a couple.  

While Brian and Farina both grew up within 20 miles of each other in Maryland, in many ways they came from very different worlds.  Brian, the grandson of a congressman, comes from a traditional suburban background. Farina, a Native American and member of the Navajo Nation grew up witnessing extreme poverty.  

Despite coming from such diverse backgrounds, the two of them have learned to appreciate and embrace each other's cultures and heritage.  With Farina a university professor and Brian a stay-at-home dad they've learned to build a culture of their own which both embraces their pasts and provides them what they need as a couple.  

Anne and Patrick discuss how Andres and Phillip use the relationship skill of deepening to increase their intimacy. Increased relationship intimacy is not something that just "happens," but is developed through a process that we need to conscientiously decide to move through. As we move through the (often messy) steps of conflict, vulnerability, and repair, we can gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of our partner and a more intimate and fulfilling relationship. For a more in-depth explanation of this skill and more suggestions of how to incorporate it into your relationship check out makinglovetoday.com.

Relationship Challenge of the Week: Identify a positive or happy thing in your life and unpack a good thing. Go underneath the surface level feels and really unpack what makes this experience so fun, happy, peaceful, exciting, interesting, satisfying, etc.? Why is that underlying aspect important to you? How can you bring this same sort of underlying positive aspect to other areas of your life?
Bonus: Bring awareness to the repackaging process. Take what you discovered and integrate it into the story of what it means to be you.

Follow us on Instagram at rekindle.love.today or on Facebook at fb.me/rekindle.love.today. 

Know a couple that you want to see featured on the podcast? Let us know at [email protected]. 

Anne and Patrick discuss how Andres and Phillip use the relationship skill of deepening to increase their intimacy. Increased relationship intimacy is not something that just "happens," but is developed through a process that we need to conscientiously decide to move through. As we move through the (often messy) steps of conflict, vulnerability, and repair, we can gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of our partner and a more intimate and fulfilling relationship. For a more in-depth explanation of this skill and more suggestions of how to incorporate it into your relationship check out makinglovetoday.com.

Relationship Challenge of the Week: Identify a positive or happy thing in your life and unpack a good thing. Go underneath the surface level feels and really unpack what makes this experience so fun, happy, peaceful, exciting, interesting, satisfying, etc.? Why is that underlying aspect important to you? How can you bring this same sort of underlying positive aspect to other areas of your life?
Bonus: Bring awareness to the repackaging process. Take what you discovered and integrate it into the story of what it means to be you.

Follow us on Instagram at rekindle.love.today or on Facebook at fb.me/rekindle.love.today. 

Know a couple that you want to see featured on the podcast? Let us know at [email protected].