When Pastor Jimmy Witcher, CEO of XO Marriage, and his wife Kim hit their fifth year of marriage, they had drifted so far apart that Kim planned to leave. But on a 13-hour flight overseas, God met Jimmy with a hard truth – and everything changed. In this episode, the Witchers share how humility, ownership, and turning to God rebuilt their marriage, and the everyday habits that keep them thriving 42 years later: making daily "exclusive relational connection time," treating fun as fuel, and learning to play at marriage instead of just working at it. It's a powerful reminder that no matter how broken things feel, your marriage has a 100% chance of thriving when you do it God's way.
Listener question: My husband is a born-again Christian but refuses to pray with me. We pray at meals with our kids, but never as a couple. I've brought it up several times. We even took a Sunday school class on couples praying together, but nothing has changed. We're in a stressful home and a stressful financial season and working on communication. I grew up in a church family; he didn't. How do I respectfully encourage him to lead us in prayer?
Explore XO Marriage's free digital courses: https://www.xomarriage.com
The Four Laws of Love by Jimmy Evans: https://store.xomarriage.com/collections/books/products/the-four-laws-of-love
Watch Jimmy Evans' marriage teaching: https://www.youtube.com/@XOMarriage
Get the Vision Retreat Guidebook: https://store.xomarriage.com/collections/xo-1/products/vision-retreat-guidebook-establishing-a-yearly-vision-for-your-marriage-family
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We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com
Dave and Ashley Willis spent thirteen years in full-time church ministry before devoting their work entirely toward the global mission of building stronger, Christ-centered marriages. Their marriage-related books, blogs, podcast, speaking events and media resources have reached millions of couples around the world making Dave and Ashley one of the most recognized and trusted couples in marriage ministry.
Dave and Ashley partnered with XO Marriage in 2018. XO Marriage is the nation's largest marriage-focused ministry.
The Willis family includes four sons and a rescue dog named "Chi Chi." When Dave and Ashley aren't writing and speaking, they love hanging out with their family, watching movies and going on long walks which is also where they develop many of their marriage ministry content ideas.
Learn more about Dave & Ashley at daveandashley.com
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