Live Your Best Marriage Podcast

When his mother says one thing and your wife says another, who wins? In this episode Pesa Shayo breaks down the loyalty order God built into marriage, why honoring your parents and obeying them are not the same thing, and how a couple decides together so family pressure has nowhere to land. You will learn why "leave and cleave" is not cruel, where your mother's honored place actually sits in the line, and the first move to make as a united front this week. Take the free United Front Quiz and see exactly where your marriage is exposed to family and cultural pressure: https://liveyourbestmarriage.com/quiz Pesa Shayo helps cross-cultural Christian couples build a united front through in-laws, loyalty conflicts, and culture clashes. Learn more at:https://liveyourbestmarriage.com Chapters (00:00:00) - 0:00 Introduction(00:00:33) - The Real Problem(00:04:26) - Honor vs. Obey(00:07:19) - The Right Question(00:10:12) - Lead With We

Over the course of thirteen years, we’ve encountered a few situations - related to race - that I would say were just completely unfair and wrong. In the early years of our relationship, relatives on both sides did NOT approve of us being together. We stood our ground and made it clear that we would be together no matter what. However, those situations were still very difficult and emotionally hard for us a couple. In this episode we will be offering advice for ways that you, as a couple can stand up to the injustice of being judged because you’re an interracial couple. https://liveyourbestmarriage.com/fom

What To Do When Inlaws Interfere If anyone knows how much it hurts when in-laws undermine and interfere, it’s me. There were times when I wished my husband would speak up and defend my status/authority as the wife, and especially, as the mom of our children. What do you do when a relative gives your child something that you never allow them to have? How do you react when your husband’s/wife’s side of the family behaves as though you don’t even exist? Unfortunately not all family members are respectful of boundaries, and even more unfortunate, not every spouse is adamant about keeping boundaries in place. We’ll be talking about ways to get the respect you deserve.

How To Better Communicate With Your Spouse When we exchange words with the person we love most, it can be challenging to know exactly how to react. Communication brings a whole new challenge: interpretation. How do you know the difference between verbal abuse and just being easily offended? In this episode we’ll share personal stories about challenges we face when communicating. Learn how you can benefit from reass

Invest In Your Marriage Have you ever thought about your marriage as an investment? The more you put in, the more you get out. If your relationship is falling short of your expectations, we recommend spending more time and energy on it. Suggested reading: “One Life Solution” by Dr. Henry Cloud - http://amzn.to/2xoxr5S

Is Resistance Keeping You From A Great Marriage? Have you ever wanted to accomplish something great, but it just never seems to happen? We definitely don’t think laziness is the problem...it’s resistance! Resistance holds back so many people from completing projects, and it also holds back a lot of couples from living the life they crave. In this episode, we’ll provide tips that we’ve learned on how to overcome resistance. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield http://amzn.to/2jKoDEc

What's Your Communication Style? Many husbands and wives have completely different ways of expressing their thoughts and ideas. And that’s okay! It would be boring if we all had the exact same style of talking. However, in this episode, we’ll share some of the personal struggles we’ve gone through with communication and the differences in our cultures.

The Grass Is Greener On The Other Side Here at Live Your Best Marriage, we usually talk about couples who go through the minor irritations of marriage, but what happens when one spouse has completely checked out? When the problem moves from contemplating divorce to actual divorce, we want you to know that there is hope for you, and there is help that you can get to navigate your way through the situation.

The term “work spouse” has become more common recently, and the idea is absolutely repulsive.

Episode 78 Get To The Promised Land, Together. Do you ever feel like the arguments never end? When my husband tells me that he wants us to stop being petty and put our energy together for something positive, I’m reminded of a story in the bible. When Moses was leading people to the promised land, they all ended up wandering through the wilderness for 40 years. In this episode, we’ll talk about ways that you and your spouse can reach the “promised land” together.

Ideas For Date night Honestly, date night deserves a lot of the credit for saving our marriage. When times were rough, it was nice to have this as an activity to look forward to. In this episode, we’ll talk about different ways to spice up your date night.

Episode 76 Leading Separate Lives One of the most devastating situations for a marriage to face, is when husband and wife live separate lives. When your attention is focused on something or someone outside the home, your marriage loses the precious energy it needs in order to thrive. Proximity, as well as intimate conversations with someone at work, divert your focus away from the one person who truly matters. In this episode, we’ll talk about ways to implement more shared activities with your spouse.

Episode 75 The Secret To Success [Audio] Ahh, the freedom which comes from realizing that the secret to success is, there’s no secret. We wait for the perfect solution, and it never comes. We search for the perfect spouse...and frankly they don’t exist. Also in this episode, we talk about how truly wonderful it is to feel grateful. Find out how awesome this can be for your marriage.

Working with your spouse can be very rewarding in some of the most amazing ways. Through the ups and downs and frustrations, any couple can achieve results you’ve never dreamed of. Pesa and Whitney were viewed as the couple who would never be able to stay together. Now, 13 years later, we’re here to encourage all couples to stay hopeful - greatness is ahead of you.

Encouraging Bible Verses For Marriage In this uplifting episode, we hope that you enjoy the bible verses we share and become inspired. Encouraging bible verses for marriage is our way to let those who may be struggling right now, that it will get better.

Signs You Need To Visit A Marriage Counselor If you feel as though your marriage is struggling, then it probably is. If you and your spouse are talking less, or even keeping secrets, it’s a good indication the two of you need help from a neutral third party. Whatever the problem may be, we hope that signs you need to visit a marriage counselor will encourage you to seek help.

6 Ways To Avoid Arguments In A Marriage As a sneak peek to our latest free ebook, “21 Ways to Stop an Argument Before it Starts”, we’ll go over 6 ways to avoid an argument in this episode.

Be Sold On Your Spouse Once Again Deciding no matter what to be sold on your spouse means that there isn’t anything they’ll do to make you file for divorce. In this episode we’ll talk about how easy life becomes when you eliminate the option to leave.

4 Action Steps To A Better Marriage What does date night, more sex, texting, and working on a project together have in common? Improving your marriage. 4 action steps to a better marriage will help you discover how simple it can be to have a better relationship.

What To Consider Before Having An Affair If you’re marriage is struggling and you feel as though you’ve reached the point of no return, we’d like to discourage looking to have needs met elsewhere. Things are not always what they seem, and the temptations we face are not as glamorous as they seem. In this episode, we’ll discuss what to consider before having an affair.

7 Ways To Affair-Proof Your Marriage, Stop an affair We have been together for 13 years, and by the grace of God, managed to avoid infidelity. In this episode, we’ll talk about seven things we put into practice in order to stay close to one another.

5 Communication Tools To Save Your Marriage In this episode, we’ll share five of the communication tips which have helped our marriage the most. We’ve known about these techniques for a while, but it has taken us a few years to mature enough to the point of being able to implement. #WednesdayWisdom

Top 5 Parenting Habits For Raising Happy Kids. As stay at home parents to four children, we love it when people share their parenting tips! So, in this episode, we share five of our favorites! We hope that some of the ideas will be helpful, and also inspire you to create your own favorite habits.

Love Is The Way. What do you do, when you feel as though you’ve tried everything? In this episode, we’ll explore one of the best options that we learned from experience.

How To Have A Positive Attitude In Marriage. If having a great attitude can make life more enjoyable, then what about keeping a great attitude towards your marriage? In this episode, we’ll talk about practical steps you can take, start and implement today - so that you can experience the joy of a long happy marriage.

#HowToKeepARelationshipNew As a hot trend on Twitter, we’ll discuss ways to keep your marriage new, and why it matters to make this such a priority. Why do break-ups happen? Usually it’s because the new wore off, and if “new” is the most desirable stage in a relationship, let’s make it happen!

To bless someone, simply means to show favor. Always find ways to show favor to the one person who means the most to you. The needs of your spouse should always be put ahead of the wants of relatives and friends. Even when your partner doesn’t reciprocate...just keep blessing

When we say ‘live your best marriage’, we cannot emphasize enough the fact that it is indeed yours. It’s best to avoid trying to keep up with someone else’s marriage. What works for others may not work well for your household.

Father’s Day was yesterday, and in this episode, Pesa is going to share some amazing advice with us on how to be a great dad. Raising strong kids starts with being a strong parent. #FathersDay

Whose side are you on? At all times, whatever the situation may be, let your spouse know that you will stand by them no matter what. It is easier to reach for the stars when you know that the one you love is in your corner supporting you.

When your marriage is in trouble and you’re desperate to save it, taking action is a must. In this episode, we’ll discuss three things you can do when you want to keep the precious bond you have.

Seeking freedom in all the wrong places only leads to bondage. Learn about the amazing freedom which comes from the beauty that commitment has to offer.

[Bonus] Episode Forgiveness by Pesa and Whitney Shayo

During the engagement, and when the marriage is still new, we usually don’t anticipate the frustrations which come from everyday life. No one is perfect, and disappointments will occur, so how do you react when reality sets in?

Whether you’re married, or not - doubt is something we all struggle with. In this episode, we’ll discuss different ideas for being able to overcome uncertainty.

Imagine what it will look like when you come out of the storm. When your relationship is restored, beauty comes from the bond which was strengthened.

When you reach the point of giving up, it looks as though there’s no hope. I’ve been there, and I’ll share what helped me continue building the relationship I have with my husband.

After so many years of resentment building up, the bitterness becomes overwhelming. Learn three of the tips you can practice in order to overcome resentment.

Many of us don’t question whether or not Facebook has a negative impact on our marriage. When our newsfeed is filled with images of opposite sex friends (shirtless gym pictures of guys, endless selfies of ladies in revealing clothing/bathing suits, etc.) it does NOT bring us closer to the person we married. Period.

Last weekend, Pesa and I fought, but we’ve moved forward. When a couple can disagree, or go through a tough situation, and come out of it without carrying a grudge, they make redemption a major part of their marriage.

We haven’t seen an overnight fix for marriage, yet. In this episode we’ll talk about three ways to connect and build a stronger bond one day at a time, so that you and your spouse will experience amazing results.

Questioning the intentions of your spouse creates a habit of assuming the worst. Learn the reasons why it is so vital to think positively about the things your spouse says and does - it could save your marriage.

People often ask us how they can know for sure, whether or not their marriage will last. In this episode we’ll discuss a few of the most helpful ways to ensure a long lasting, and happy marriage.

Pesa and I have enjoyed 13 happy years together and in this episode, we share three of the techniques we’ve used to keep our marriage strong.

Learn the 5 signs that an emotional affair is starting.

Many of the fights that couples have, are the same ones over and over. Situations may seem to be unique, but the underlying cause of the problem is not different.

Focusing on blame is the natural inclination when our spouse says or does the wrong thing. However, we can learn to view the problem as something separate from their character, and attack it as a couple.

When couples don’t show unity, it doesn’t take long for others to assume the marriage isn’t strong. Learn how to safeguard your relationship by setting clear boundaries.

Attitude, Affirmation, and Attunement. Learn how to make the most of these three things and improve your marriage exponentially.

One way to ensure a happy marriage is being generous towards one another. Learn the many ways to be emotionally generous and see how much it impacts you and your spouse.