Join us as we talk to Chris & Natalie Stefanick about healing in marriage after experiencing childhood abuse. Their marriage witnesses to the power of God’s love and the grace of the sacrament. May their story fill you with hope.

Today, we welcome our first ever guest onto the show! Heather Khym joins us so that she and Jake can share the powerful story of how they found restoration in their marriage after Jake’s struggle with addiction came to light early in their marriage.

We all bring brokenness into marriage and by God’s grace, we also get to participate in our spouse's healing journey. In part three of the Healing in Marriage series based on Dr. Bob’s book, “Be Devoted,” Jake and Bob discuss how to restore trust in broken areas of a marriage.

When it comes to healing and forgiveness, getting to the good stuff often requires addressing things we’d rather ignore. In this episode, discover how to find healing as you learn to love your spouse (and yourself!) in your imperfections.

This week kicks off a new series on “Healing in Marriage.” If you’re struggling in marriage, you are not alone. How can you find healing in difficult situations with your spouse? This episode addresses the presence of conflict in marriage, and how to honor your spouse. Jake and Dr. Bob draw on stories from their marriages as well as experience from their practice in professional counseling to shed light on this reality in relationships.

Sexual intimacy is the final area covered in this series on unity in marriage, since this form of unity flows from all the others (Spiritual, Emotional, Companionship, Teamwork). In the episode, Jake and Dr. Bob share how sexual desire and self-gift are made to become integrated in marriage through the Holy Spirit, making a way for healing and deep intimacy.

Part four of the series on Unity in Marriage explores the joy of companionship and teamwork. Jake and Dr. Bob flesh out what it means to become one of mind and heart, and share personal examples of how they’ve had to tackle self-focus in order to move toward deeper connection through selflessness in their marriages. They also address the question, “How do we honor one another’s strengths and complement in a way that builds teamwork instead of moving in opposite directions?”

Jake & Dr. Bob discuss emotional intimacy in this next episode in their series on unity in marriage. Generally, this type of intimacy is more difficult for men, while it's one of the deepest desires of women. Our hosts share stories of how they have grown in emotional intimacy through their own marriages, and provide practical tips on how to develop deeper emotional intimacy in your own relationship.

Jake & Bob continue the series on unity in marriage by laying out the five pathways to marital communion. The first of these pillars is the spiritual connection to God and each other. This is the foundation for everything else in the marriage. You may have heard it suggested to pray together as a couple but didn’t try or gave up because it felt awkward. The hosts give practical tips on how to make the spiritual life a foundation without it being awkward. Be encouraged and challenged by this week’s episode.

This week kicks off a new series on finding unity in marriage. Jake and Bob will share what they’ve learned through their own marriages and their professional work with married couples. In this episode, they discuss how marriage is a union of two broken people, but by inviting in the love of God, growing together in unity is made possible. A couple can grow and heal together during the journey of their marriage. Our hosts set the stage for a great series and share tips that will help a marriage become stronger.

Jake and Bob finish up their series on the Healing of the Family by discussing sibling wounds. They frame the conversation around the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers. Whether sibling wounds were caused due to individual sins or inadvertently, the hosts share insight for finding healing. This episode is filled with practical tips for how to navigate the healing process in general and specifically for sibling wounds.

Jake and Bob continue their series on the Healing of the Family and dive into marriage/family wounds. The family is the primary way children learn how to give and receive love, treat other people, & find their identity. As adults, we can look back at our upbringing and see how we were formed in healthy ways and ways that caused us to struggle. Jake and Bob offer suggestions on how to find healing from our family/marriage trauma and how our families can create a loving culture where our children can thrive.

Jake and Bob continue their series on the Healing of the Family. Last week, they started with father wounds and this week they dive deep into the topic of mother wounds. The connection that children have with their mother is a powerful one that can lead to light and joy or it can lead to hurt. Both hosts not only share their expertise but also their personal stories about some mother wounds and how they have been healed. Be sure to tune in next time for the third episode in the series regarding marriage wounds.

Dr. Bob and Jake discuss the power of a father’s love and his capacity to wound. Fathers plant deep seeds in their children’s hearts with what they said or didn’t say and what they did or didn’t do. The restoration of wounds from our fathers is life-changing.

After recapping how Peter’s pride, shame, and false self have been stripped away, Dr. Bob and Jake discuss the amazing transformation in Peter after his healing encounter with Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The series concludes with reflections on how each of us can find ourselves in Peter’s story and experience a similar transformation.

After explaining the meaning and power of shame, Dr. Bob and Jake reflect on the restorative encounter between Jesus and Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. We can all resonate with Peter’s experience of denying Jesus and the resulting shame. Our hearts long to be healed and restored. Jesus comes to Peter, not to further shame him, but to heal him.

This week’s episode goes deeper into the life of St. Peter. Through personal stories and experiences, Bob and Jake help us appreciate the value of seeing ourselves as we truly are because in vulnerability, as we carry the cross, our hearts move deeper through the journey of healing. How we respond at these times brings us along the path of either Peter (hope) or Judas (despair).

Bob and Jake continue the series on healing as seen through the life of St. Peter. Identity is the core of who we are and something that God wants to assure and clarify in us. Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter signifying a deepening of his identity. God sees truly and clearly. He sees who we are meant to be. Our search for identity and validation is most perfectly rooted in our relationship with Him.