In this week's episode we sit down with Jackson Dunn, the Director of Marriage and Family Formation at Focus on the Family. Jackson's goals with the Marriage Division at Focus on the Family are to provide resources for couples preparing for marriage, to enrich the lives of married couples and to help couples in crisis. He was formerly the Director of University Ministries at the Center for Relationship Enrichment on the campus of John Brown University. In this position, he taught relationships courses, oversaw a national student assessment, directed a national couples retreat program, and helped developed a community premarital and marriage program. He is an awesome dude who loves being married, loves his family, loves the work he does... and I think you'll love listening to him.
In this conversation, we discuss:
Raising the bar on love. The measure of a good marriage should not simply be that you don't get divorced.
As much as we like to make our problems about other people, the only thing you can control or take responsibility for is you. The quality of your relationship is up to you.
What's your definition of a thriving marriage?
Busyness is the enemy of amazing loving relationships.
The importance of intentional living every single day. Not just on important days/occasions.
What it means to judge the quality of a husband by the radiance of his wife.
Do you think the negative things associated with love and marriage are normal? Or are they just normal for your experience?