December 8, 2024 — Episode #49

Continuing their listener-submitted list on building a rewarding marriage, Jerry and Becky dig into how the words couples choose — and the timing of them — can make or break trust at home.

The couple cover several more listener-submitted principles: not joking about a spouse’s sensitive areas, not insulting a spouse in front of others, pausing before reacting in the heat of the moment, choosing words carefully, and never raising your voice in anger. They share stories from their conferences about spouses who publicly belittled each other and the lasting damage it caused, and discuss how children absorb the tone and words used at home even when parents think they aren’t listening. Becky also mentions that a longtime friend, a former state governor who wrote the foreword to her book, was recently named to a high-profile diplomatic post, prompting a discussion on the value of diplomacy in marriage as much as in public life.

Topics discussed:

• Avoiding jokes at a spouse’s expense
• Not insulting or correcting a spouse in front of others
• Pausing to think before responding in an argument
• The power of careful, deliberate word choice
• Never raising your voice in anger
• How children absorb the tone of their parents’ conflicts
• Diplomacy as a marriage skill
• Becky’s book, “The Bright Side of Blue”

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