Watermark Audio: Marriage Channel: Recent Episodes
Watermark Community Church, Dallas, TX
This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
Two people. Two different cultures. The same dark life. Markus and Mary Kay may have grown up on opposite sides of the world, but they were both living similarly broken lives. Only Jesus could take their mess and make it beautiful.
“Get help, or lose your family.” Hear how Jared and Leigh Anne learned to work through conflict and overcome addiction.
Paul was living unrepented sin and knew he needed to tell Kelly about his pornography addiction. Even after his confession and joining re|engage, Paul continued to live in a pattern of viewing pornography and not confessing. Kelly was upset and didn’t feel like Paul was being the leader he should be. It wasn’t until Paul looked to the Lord for help and not to his own will that he was able to flee from the sin that was entangling him. After his final confession, Kelly was now able to see Paul as God created him, not through the lens of his broken human sin.
Divorce Panel and Testimony with Brett Bruster, Bobby Johns, Alissa Mauldin, Elgin and Rachel Allen
Growing up in different cultures and with different lifestyles, Martin and Lenore were always on different pages and had very different expectations. The Gaos always thought that marriage was supposed to make them each happy; after re|engage, they learned that marriage was intended to make them both more holy.
Father wounds, the loss of loved ones, miscarriages, conflict, and poor financial planning. Hurt people hurt other people, and that is just what John and Debbie were doing to one another. Now Christ has taken their marriage mess and turned it into a message.
Alex lived in a repeating cycle of marriage and divorce. Jen was raised in an atheist home and wanted nothing to do with God, only chasing sex and worldly pleasures. When a family member suggested re|engage, the Leskos not only reconstructed their marriage but found new life in Christ.
Tim and Kalyn never had a honeymoon phase in their relationship; they went straight to name calling, yelling, and fighting. After separating, Kalyn turned to Christ, and Tim saw the difference in her life. Both learned that a better marriage is simply a byproduct of a better relationship with Jesus.
When Michelle walked into re|engage, she pictured her and her husband growing closer through intimate conversations and sweet shared memories. Instead, God used re|engage to reveal pride, selfishness, infidelity, and a secret addiction to pornography. By putting God at the center of their marriage, the Comeauxs were able to heal and transform brokenness into beauty.
Through difficult times when physical desires were out of sync, the Greens learned that physical intimacy is more about serving each other than meeting their own needs.
A pornography addiction. An emotional affair. Hear how LaDale and Cynthia overcame those hurts to build a stronger marriage.
Two people. Two different cultures. The same dark life. Markus and Mary Kay may have grown up on opposite sides of the world, but they were both living similarly broken lives. Only Jesus could take their mess and make it beautiful.
Billy stumbled upon pornography at the age of eight which then turned into a 30-year addiction. As a young child, Amanda was emotionally and physically abused by her father and felt broken. After meeting at a church youth group event, the two quickly fell in love and eventually married. Without a support system around them, they continued down a path of self-destruction. The Porches’ marriage was filled with addiction, infidelity, and a lack of communication and honesty. Their marriage had been built on a foundation of quicksand, and it was fading rapidly. After drawing the circle around themselves, both realized nothing would work unless they invited Jesus into their mess.
Both the products of broken families, Brett and Jan were stuck in the same cycles of arguments, anger, and depression that they grew up in. When they were willing to take the log out of their own eye first, the Brusters were able to fall more in love with Christ, and in turn, love each other well.
It didn’t take long for Greg and Emily to realize they were not good at the whole marriage thing. Self-righteousness, control, and anger caused them to become critical and argumentative. Re|engage helped them learn how to communicate, resolve conflict, and show grace to each other.
Four kids under three years old and Charles working well over ten hours a day is not what Karen signed up for when she said “I do”. She grew bitter, angry, and mentally checked out. Charles didn’t handle the family finances well, and they soon found themselves under lots of financial stress. After coming to the realization that only God could change their marriage, Karen and Charles were able to not only like each other but love each other again.
Their lives together were marked by guilt, passivity, and anger. Shari felt lonely and disconnected, even when in the same room with Bobby. Divorce was the most likely outcome. But when they each turned to God, their marriage took a 180-degree turn.
After countless emotional affairs, a pornography addiction, and eventually falling into infidelity, Ivan and Martha were headed straight for divorce. Hear how God restored and redeemed their marriage.
Simon got stuck in a place where his mouth was writing checks that his heart couldn’t cash. Neither of them loved each other, even as they drove away from their wedding reception. When manipulation finally failed, Simon and Katrina ran to community to point them to the Lord.
David and Denise have been married three times—to each other. Their first two marriages were marked by infidelity, hurt, and divorce. Learn how God can take the same two people and change both their lives and their marriage.
After living in apathy and hurt that would eventually lead to separation, all hope seemed lost. The Lord brought Alissa and Shane to their knees, realizing that through a relationship with Him, that lost hope could be restored.
Feeling isolated, disillusioned with life, and trapped, Tonya turned to a coworker to find a quick relief from life through an affair. After Tonya confessed, Greg turned to venting with anger, porn, alcohol, and lustful thoughts. Years later, Tonya disclosed all the details of her affair to Greg, and healing finally began. Even when they both felt like they were running at different speeds toward healing, they were committed to the process and to God.
Paul was living unrepented sin and knew he needed to tell Kelly about his pornography addiction. Even after his confession and joining re|engage, Paul continued to live in a pattern of viewing pornography and not confessing. Kelly was upset and didn’t feel like Paul was being the leader he should be. It wasn’t until Paul looked to the Lord for help and not to his own will that he was able to flee from the sin that was entangling him. After his final confession, Kelly was now able to see Paul as God created him, not through the lens of his broken human sin.
On the outside Nate was a “good kid” but it was all a façade – he felt abandoned by his father and struggled with a pornography addiction. Michelle’s parents had high expectations for her school, performance, and personal life, which led to her pride and the desire to chase perfection. After poor communication and unmet expectations early on in marriage, Michelle had a physical affair. When Nate found out, he felt physically inadequate, bitter, and angry. Nate’s job moved the two to Dallas, and both quickly turned inward to more of their own desires. After starting to pick up her Bible, Michelle knew that she desperately wanted to make amends with her husband. Her community pushed her confess sin to Nate and suggested they start re|engage. Both Nate and Michelle needed to forgive and confess sin to one another in order to retore their relationship.
Kevin and Kelli had a very hard time connecting on anything in their marriage. Hiding infidelity made Kevin physically sick, and after one phone call, Kevin’s secret was out. “Our story is one of redemption and healing and what God can do in your life if you just let Him.”
After countless health issues for both Brett and Chrisey, there were many times they almost lost hope in the goodness of the Lord. But, with the help of community, they both were encouraged and cared for in both living rooms and hospital rooms.
“We know we have to fight to keep our relationship close.” Despite family histories of escalation and avoidance, Todd and Alex decided at the beginning of their marriage that they would go to war against the foxes in their vineyards. Every day they fight against the selfishness that is innate in all of us with God’s truth.
Robert and Liz grew up expecting life to go their way. However, the Whites found themselves drowning in life’s responsibilities, and struggled with control, anger, and pride. Through faithful community, humility, and God’s grace, the Whites realized that the Lord is big enough to handle our fears, doubts, anger, and disappointment.
Kyle would withdraw and pretend his wife wasn’t around, leading to pornography and masturbation. Lucina’s secret sin of adultery quickly turned into bitterness and loathing her husband. Once sin was confessed and they both were willing to read the Word, the Thompsons learned that “It’s never too late to be faithful today.”
With divorce papers waiting to be filed, Rena was invited to church by a friend. After learning about God’s free gift of grace, Rena knew she needed to confess all her hidden sins to John Paul, knowing she would be loved by God through it all.
“I was counseled to forgive and keep quiet, to not talk about it.” Between passivity and an affair, there was no way this marriage could be saved except through the grace of God.
Nathan hosts Scott Kedersha and Sarah Fultz from Watermark’s marriage ministry to unpack the meaning of marriage, how to respond when marriage gets tough, and what all successful marriages have in common.
The Franks had a disastrous start to their marriage, including an addiction to pornography and masturbation, anger, insecurities, and emotional affairs. Through faithful community, the Franks were pointed to the One who could heal them, Jesus. They began to center their marriage on serving each other instead of serving themselves.
Kathy found our she was pregnant before she married Mark, and, as a result their marriage was off to a rocky start. Kathy was trying to draw closer to Christ, but Mark was running the opposite direction and allowed lust to take root in his heart. Mark admitted his secret past of sin, and Kathy met him with grace. Together, they began a journey of forgiveness and being made new through the love of Christ.
Eight weeks after having their first son, Peter admitted to not loving his wife. He wanted to end their relationship. But community helped Peter confess his hidden sin of infidelity, which put the Boyntons on the path to restoration and healing.
Family tensions, an emotional affair, and a secret addiction brought the Couchs to the end of themselves. When Catherine left Eric and took their children, Eric contemplated taking his own life. Instead, when they came to re|engage, they found a roadmap that would lead them back to Christ.
Decades into their marriage, Bill and Ann found themselves on different teams. Ann was keeping score against Bill and engaging in an affair with a married man, and Bill found his identity in work and having fun. Scripture came alive for the Dalys when they began fighting for their marriage and learned to trust God’s word, not man’s wisdom.
Shortly after they started dating, Kyle and Caty found themselves expecting a child and facing marriage. Unmet expectations and unconfessed sin left both feeling empty and unseen. However, God never let them go. Through confession and His grace, they are living in His joy and freedom today.
Michael sought affirmation and fulfillment from the world. Stefanie was looking for perfection. When control and manipulation left the Santiagos empty-handed, the redeeming work of Jesus opened their eyes to the selfish ways they were living. Now they fight for each other, not with each other.
Divorced parents, drugs and alcohol, sexual assault, anger, and abortion marked the young adult lives of Steve and Natalie. After getting married, Steve and Natalie realized there were lots of unmet expectations between the two of them, and neither of them knew how to fix the issue. After going through re|engage, the Hamms finally had conversations they never had before and loved each other the way God designed for them to love.
Chris and Charece both came from broken homes. Their own marriage was marked by pride, broken promises, alcohol abuse, anger, control, and abortion. Through loss, injury, and addiction, God was drawing them to Himself. No matter your background or what you’ve done, there is a glorious God who will forgive you and change your heart.
When Klein chased his career and Holly stumbled into infidelity, the Swannies looked lost and headed to an end. Only when community gathered around and helped them realize their need for Christ were the Swannies able to restore and rejoice in their marriage.
Dean and Tawney’s marriage is not a story of wreckage and reconciliation, but of small steps of faithfulness in an attempt to serve the Lord. Let their story encourage you along the way in your journey.
Looking for relief from their marriage, Mark and Nancy sought escape routes that led to darkness and despair. Years of infidelity, contempt, denial, betrayal, and separation had broken them both. Mark and Nancy learned to embrace the brokenness and let God’s mercy and grace guide them into a new way of life.
“Michele didn’t just want my presence; she wanted my attention.” Early on in Rick and Michele’s marriage, it was easy to spend time together. But when kids, grief, and life change came into the picture, quality time dwindled. Through abiding relationships with Christ, Rick and Michele moved from a kid-centered marriage to a Christ-centered marriage.
Scott struggled with people pleasing, control, and anger. Laura was striving for perfection and had a hard time seeing her faults. The Lord revealed Himself to the DeBows, and they started following Christ. They now realize that they don't have to earn their salvation, because Jesus already did all the work.
Each time Zech did something that upset Kim, she added a brick to the emotional wall between them. Pornography and infidelity finally drove them both to realize that they needed to work on their marriage. Through confession, community, and breaking down the wall, they both realized that their sins were just symptoms of deeper issues.
Scott has always struggled with eating, wellness, and body image. He would also lie to his community, refusing to admit when he’d failed. While this will be a lifelong battle for Scott, Kristen has learned how to confront her husband in his sin, and Scott is open and honest about his hardships weekly with community.
Early in their marriage, Kathy and Jon got together for meals, movies, and sex. They were living as roommates but not as a married couple. Both Jon and Kathy had secret relationships with coworkers. Instead of running to their spouse for help, they chose to run to others. Through accountability and community, Jon and Kathy were able to start to restore their marriage as they fixed their eyes on Jesus and learned how to love each other like our heavenly Father loves us.
Listen in as JP discusses the interruption of hope in our lives. Hope interrupts the lives of sinners. This hope, the anxious anticipation of what you most want, is available to all of us in light of Christmas and the birth of Christ.
Bryce and Elizabeth's story on going through medical issues, raising small young kids and learning how to be on the same team.