Keeping Christ First

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Hello, and welcome back to the Naked Marriage podcast. We are Dave and Ashley Willis, and on this podcast, we undress the truth about sex, intimacy and lifelong love. And you guys, we have some dear friends of ours in studio today. This is one you may want to watch because there are some epic tennis shoes that we want to show you. So make sure you listen and watch till the end, but Dave's going to introduce them to you.

Yes. Rich and Patty Green have, have quickly become just wonderful friends. They really, really have and we've learned so much from them. They are, they are wonderful, awesome folks. Rich is the campus pastor of the Colleyville campus for Compass Christian Church here in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Richard, Rich and Patty together lead marriage ministries and all kinds of ministries at that wonderful church. And even beyond their church, they are impacting people everywhere they go. And we're so honored to have him with us today. Today is gonna be so much fun and we wanna thank you for listening or watching and for just committing this first part of the year where we're releasing a new episode every day for 14 days straight, which we've never done, just as a way for us to together start this year off dedicated to building a stronger marriage. And we hope this year's your best year of marriage yet. Today's conversation is going to help you get there. So let's dive into today's conversation with Rich and Patty Green. Well, like we said in the intro, we are thrilled to have our dear friends, Rich and Patty Green. They are amazing. Encouraging marriage ministry leaders, pastors and leaders at Compass Christian Church and in the DFW area where Rich is the campus pastor at the Colleyville campus where we have been and loved it. And we're actually gonna be going there to do a date night event later this spring. Can't wait. April 28th. Put it on your calendar, guys. It's gonna be fun. But just wanna welcome you guys. Welcome Rich and Patty. Thank you.

Yeah, we're thrilled to be here. I mean, we fall in love with you guys and your ministry and we've used a lot of your materials in our marriage ministry now and expanding on that. So we're just excited to be a part of this.

And you named your book so aptly to sign up all the time for Naked Man.

That's right.

It's a fun word.

It is fun and it gets the guys and hopefully the ladies too excited. But we're thrilled you guys are here and we said all this in the intro. But just want to say again, you guys are just an amazing life giving couple and you've been married for decades but you still are having as much fun as a couple of newlyweds and you're leading others in that as well. And so we just wanted to interview you, for you guys to share your wisdom because you're one of those couples we look up to and we want to be more like you guys when we grow up. And I think it's always good to have some couples who are a little further ahead than you are and to look forward.

Be careful what you ask for though.

Right? Right. But we just want to hear some of your stories. So rewind the clock for us and tell us about the origin story of this great love of yours. Like when you guys first got together, who noticed?

And I'll fill in gaps. Or do you want me to start?

I don't know which is safer. We met at Perdida University. He was the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He's actually only the second believer I dated, but he stalked me.

True statement.

That's just persistent.

No, I had classes that were near her classes and so I'd be outside waiting to go to my class when she came out of her sure, sure, sure, sure.

I kind of did the same thing. Really. The difference between a stalker and just a flattering persistent potential boyfriend is just one whether or not you're attracted to him. And it sounds like you.

Yeah, so. So we're at Purdue and we've become friends first. Which you know is always a good way to start that. And here's the rub. She's dating a non Christian and she had a Sunday night Bible study that got cancelled and I might have been sixth or 30th on her list, but she got to me and she came to my dorm room and I said, listen, you don't need to be dating a non Christian. And within about an hour we were a couple and she calls the dude up and cancels that. And then a month later I asked her to marry me and she said yes. And then we got married about 18 months after that. We've been married over 41 years now.

Amazing.

10 of the best years of Patty's life.

I was waiting for that. She always says it's a new audience.

Oh, my goodness.

So, yeah, that's kind of the deal. And it's just been a great ride ever since, so.

Man, beautiful.

It is beautiful. And I love. We're college sweethearts as well, and so it's really fun. You know, getting married young has its challenges, but you also, you grow up together. I mean, did you kind of feel that way like you were in essence like growing up together?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Just hitting life full bore together and not knowing what was coming or what.

Was happening and then looking back going.

How did we survive all the time? Right.

A lot. And. And talk about rewinding. Shortly after college, I started working for the Fellowship Christian Athletes and directed their National Conference center in West Central Indiana. And I was president of the FCA at Purdue. But maybe not mature in my spiritual leadership. And so Patty, I'm a. That's a softball for you to hit this one out of the park. Yeah.

So, you know, I, I grew up and I thought, he is so great and we're just gonna have. He's gonna be a great spiritual leader and we're gonna have devotions every night. Pray with me and all this stuff. And I was like, waiting.

Oops.

But the wisdom I did seek someone who's a little further down the road than I was. And I said, you know, how can I? And she goes, well, if he's not the spiritual leader, you have to look at yourself. That's the only one you can control. So what kind of follower are you? And I was like, wait a minute, we're talking about him. But it was, it was an eye opening statement.

And how God works. She never told me that story. She shared it multiple times over the years now. But just what. However the spirit moves and God works, I began to figure out how to be that spiritual leader that I now. I now talk to men about all the time and God ordains our steps. And we matured as the years went on and love what God's doing in our marriage and relationship. Beyond the calling to do marriage ministry and the great work we get to.

Be a part of, we still like each other.

Yeah. And that's so evident. And you guys make it fun and that's what you draw people into yourselves because they just want to hang out with you. And I think that's part of what makes you so effective in all the ministries you're doing. I know we connected with one of the marriage ministry classes you were leading via Zoom that was so, it was so fun. But we could just tell, like there was such a life giving, fun culture within that group and you guys had set the pace for that. But I want to ask you just a minute about, you know, what, what you're learning in marriage ministry, what you feel like, you know, the couples that you're helping are going through now and how you're leading them through that. But first, about your family, because you guys have so much fun with your kids, with your grandkids. And we hope, you know, a little bit down the road when we're in that season, we're having that kind of fun. And so I want to learn your advice. You got one of your kids here with you, dj, an active duty Marine. Semper Fi. Thank you for your service, sir.

Yes.

But your kids, your grandkids, you can tell just from the videos you post and all that you guys really enjoy each other. And so what were some of the things you did to kind of create that kind of culture, even when your kids were growing up, where they still wanted to hang out with you once they were grown?

Well, man, that's so many. You want to go. So many answers.

Coach so many of their teams, and that was a big plus. Jesse, my daughter, swam in the swim team, so everybody, they dyed their hair at the end. So that always happened at my house. We just always wanted everybody at our house.

Yes.

Yeah, we wanted to be the hub where life happened for our kids and their friends. And not that we didn't trust other parents, but we knew the influence we wanted to have on our children. And also we just learned to enjoy every season of life when they're babies, when they're toddlers, when they're in an elementary and junior high. Nobody likes them in junior high, but we got past that, you know, so now they're be want to be 38. Our oldest is a student pastor here in Indianapolis. And we're not Indianapolis, we're in Texas. 12 years, January 1st, we'll be down in Texas. It's still so weird, but he's a youth pastor in Indy and has one of our grandkids. D.J. is a graduate of the Naval Academy and he is been in the Marines for a long time now and influencing others. My daughter Jesse went to Purdue and married a Navy Rotza kid. So they're in the Navy, so two in the military, one in the ministry. But we just tried to lay that foundation that. And I've told my kids this, a couple things. One is life is all about relationships. You start with Jesus. And you work your way down. And that's a philosophy we tried to implement in our home. And the other thing was you will. Which it doesn't sound like it fits in this, but I think it really does, is that you'll never do anything to cause us stop loving you. That's how God loves us. But there'll be consequences. Sure. So there was a discipline, love that was. We felt was God honoring. But we always let them know we're never going to turn our backs on you, no matter what happens. And so those are a couple things that we tried to do to instill a foundation of Christ. And one of the best moments in my life as a father, and I know Patty as well, is when they own their own faith, it's no longer. And your kids are different ages, and some of them get this and some. Well, it's what mom and dad do. So that's what we're doing. But when they. And it may not be exactly what you want, you know, it's not quite like how you believe it, but when they own their own faith, it's just amazing in their heart and your spirit.

3 John 4, where it says, I have no greater joy than know my children are walking in the truth. I did stencil that on the top of their bathroom mirror for a few years.

Yes.

That's not a bad idea, because my.

Mom had that in our house, and I do that. I have a thing in our bathroom that every time they go to the bathroom, they attack at it. No. And your mom did that.

I remember.

It's smart, you know, when you got a captive audience. Plant those seeds of truth over the.

Door on the way out. Put on the armor of God on the way in.

Yes.

Be imitators of Christ when you come in my house.

So we try to be engaged in every season of their life and still as grandparents, you know, as Pops and Gigi and stuff, but also try to be vulnerable and open and. So what's. This is a non trick question. What's this podcast? What's the name of this podcast?

The Naked.

The Naked Marriage about intimacy. And so I'm gonna throw.

Oh, my gosh.

Our daughter.

You keep it.

No, you take this. What did Jesse say to you? A couple things. That this is how we want this online. This is how. We. Have you heard their podcast? This is how we. We know that. Hey, we've. We've hit the mark at some level in the fact that they still want to engage with us as their parents because they've seen it in our marriage and they see it and how we treat them. But after her, Jesse said, okay, I'm going to help you this. I know what you're doing. Well, the one, the one I want to share is Jesse said, her friends asked, you talk to your mom about sex?

And she said, well, she talks to everybody else about it. Why should she talk to me?

So just those kind of things in their marriages and stuff that they know they can come to us and we'll be there for them and that kind of thing. But it was so funny when Patty told me that, well, she talks to everybody else about it. She talked to her daughter about it, and I thought that was great. That's great for those two to be that connected.

Yeah.

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Wow.

Yeah, you know, it's important. I just, what I hear you saying is just kind of being that safe place, you know, for your kids and for your family, but setting high standards, you know, like, I think that that's so true and that's something we're learning, too. Cause, you know, right now we've got one getting ready to launch, you know, down to college. And so we're just constantly kind of where we are with him right now is just making sure, you know, he knows that it is going to. Our relationship is going to change a little bit with him being out on his own, but that we are always that safe place for him and he can still come and ask us stuff. We've always told our kids, like, literally, you can ask us anything. We'll try to do our best to answer it. If we don't know we'll go look for it. And, you know, sometimes over the years, it's been a little shocking some of the things, but I'm like, I'm glad they're asking us, you know, especially when it comes to things like sex. I mean, you want them to come to you and not just look it up online or go to a friend.

Listen to mom and dad's podcast.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. There's.

It's a little awkward for our kids.

What do you think of your podcast?

Our parents and our children are simultaneously proud and ashamed of what we did.

Let us interview you two.

Yes.

Oh, my gosh. No, they. I'll switch the subject in just a minute, but Cooper, actually, recently we were sharing the same Apple ID with him. And so a lot of times when we share our podcast episodes, we'll take a screenshot and it shows the title. And he said he was showing us, and the picture goes into all of our pictures. And so he said he was going through his pictures to show his friend, like, whatever he lifted that week or whatever. And he said, and all of a sudden it's like one of our, you know, things about orgasm or something. And he's like, can we stop? He goes, can we stop this? He goes, really embarrassing.

I really need you. I know. It's like he looks at us like we're 50 shades of middle age. It's just. It's just like it get you.

How long have your children been in counseling?

They're going to have a lot to unpack with their therapists. Oh, my goodness.

One of the things that surprised us, and I think we did okay during the dating years, but, you know, you move into these new roles, you know, first you become a wife, then you become a mother, and then all of a sudden you're a mother in law.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. I mean, so.

But total different thing.

While they were dating. While they were dating, we just decided that we are gonna love whoever they love.

Yeah.

Even if the jury's a little out in our mind, we're just gonna love them.

Yeah.

And that, I think, made a big difference in them wanting to be around.

That's huge.

It is.

I mean, that is huge. And, you know, for you guys, listening rewind's not a thing anymore. That's the era I'm from. But you might want to just skip back and listen to what Patty just said again, because those in law dynamics, you have such. When someone marries into your family, you have such power to either make life a blessing for that person or a burden for that person. All depending on whether you choose to love the way that Patty just said or whether you, you let them know in subtle or not so subtle ways that, you know, we don't approve of you or you're going to have to earn this. You're going to. And we see this over and over. So many of the heartbreaking messages we get are from people who are marrying into families and they did not experience the culture that you've created in your home.

Well, in a nugget in marriage ministry is one of the four things I say that will destroy a marriage is in laws and that could be siblings, that could be parents. I mean, I have seen unfortunately too many marriages that are destroyed by the in laws and it's just, it's so sad. Does not have to be that way.

Well, it's like you don't trust your kids. You know, I had a lecture from my oldest, like, mom, you raise good kids. We hang out with good people.

Right?

Relax.

And we are so blessed. They've all married well, they're all believers, they all have great careers, they're involved in local church. And you know, that's just by the grace of God. That is.

Yes.

Because in our, in our early 50s, late 40s, we had a lot of friends that did the same things we did to raise kids in the church and have a wholesome home life and all that. And their kids just went off the deep end. Now a lot of them come back, but it's just God's grace. But we're blessed in so many ways.

So tell us, who would you consider your favorite and least favorite child?

Oh, that always comes up.

The children have to answer that question.

Because they know my daughters.

Tax thread says the favorite kids.

Literally on my phone it says the favorite kids. But look, you got two boys and a baby girl who's. What am I supposed to do with that? That's on God. So.

But those babies do it. I'm telling you, those babies, I mean, not that they're your favorite, you know, favorites, but.

But you made all the mistakes early.

They get away with so much.

You made all the mistakes early.

I know you're a little bit chill about. You are.

You are.

Oh, she's eating dirt. She'll be fine.

Yeah, it's all good.

Now our 7 year old already smoked cigarettes and has a tattoo and we're just like, you know what, we're too hard on the older one. We're just going to let him do his own thing. He's in Vegas right now. On a bachelor party.

We're just praying that so comes back complete Sidebar. So Luke's our oldest, and like, we're saying, you know, he gets out of bed and you're just like, what's happening to the kids?

You know?

And Jesse, our baby is like, like, she said she'll be fine, but Patty's down. We're at the National Conference center for fca, and Patty's down somewhere at the office doing some work. And me and my brother are watching Luke. We have the only one kid right now, and there's a classroom across the street. So they're babysitting 11 year old from our house. And we got pizza, watching football or something. And there's a knock on the door. And one of the coaches comes across. He's our goes, hey, isn't this your child? And I'm like, hey, Luke, what are.

You doing out of bed across a dirt road?

But somehow they survived.

Mary and Joseph lost Jesus 12.

He wasn't one.

Yes, yes.

Tomato, tomahto. It's like, you know, it's not.

It's fine anyway. But yeah, we digress.

That's so good.

I love it.

Well, switching gears a little bit to the many couples you're helping now, because you know, you do, you have. You've created such a culture of building into other marriages, and what do you see in these couples you're helping are some of the big challenges that people are facing, and how are you advising them through those challenges? And I know that there's like a million ways you could answer that, because every couple's different and unique. But what are some of the trends you're seeing of the people who are coming to you and saying, hey, we need help with X, you know, what is that?

Well, if you come back to this question, I'm going to repeat this answer, but it's a spiritual challenge. And the bottom line is Christ is not the focus of their marri. Yeah, he might be the focus of their hearts, and most of the time he is. But they're not prioritizing their marriage and being centered on Christ and letting that be the motivation to parent and to do everything else they do. And then their marriage begins to get lost in the shuffle, and it's 20 years later, 15 years later, they're like, I don't know you. What has happened here? Why can't we communicate? It's because they have not been purposeful and intentional about making sure Christ is a focus of not only their hearts, but of their relationship. To me, that's and it's easy to get lost.

I mean, you know, in early marriage, you know, your kids become your whole world, and that's. It feels like it's gonna last forever. But as you guys know, they turn 18, they go to college, and they don't need you, and they don't. You know, they're gonna have laundry they're gonna bring.

He hasn't gone yet. Don't tell her that he hasn't gone yet.

So wait, so we have to help with his laundry, and we don't get to claim him on our taxes anymore? This is a.

And they come home, and they don't want to see you. They want to see all their friends, so they drop their laundry off and go, see you later.

Yeah, but.

And. And, you know, I. I also do the men's ministry, so I have no problems challenging men.

And.

And so, you know, when they're making excuses why they can't do one of our marriage classes or be a part of what we're trying to do to build marriages, I'm like, what really matters to you? Because what you're telling me is that your marriage, this covenant relationship before the Lord is not the most important thing in your life, and you cannot live that way and be healthy.

That's a good challenge.

And so, along with that same thing, we get a lot of couples in my office, and I'll bring Patty in, and we'll talk to him and things. And I say this all the time. You're not healthy, and you're not healthy, and you're wondering why your relationship isn't healthy. And so one of the challenges, one of the encouragements, is you got to take care of yourself. You've got to make sure that spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, that you're healthy, because then you can bring the best to your partner. And they want a magic wand. And first thing I tell them is, I don't have a magic wand. I'm so sorry.

And that's the thing. There's also that. That endurance factor. You know, we didn't get to 41 years. There was not 41 blissful years.

Right.

38. Pretty good.

Yeah.

Well. But you're committed.

Yeah.

You know, like, there's those days where you're like, I don't like you.

Right.

But I'm committed. I'll be here when you get home, you know, and then you take it to the Lord, you know? Cause that's your source, and that's the reason and all that kind of stuff. But you have to endure some things.

And I'm sorry, I can't remember the exact phrase, but the last class of the naked marriage class that we did this summer that you guys helped us and be a part of it was keep going. Or whatever the.

Don't give up. Keep going. That's right.

Keep going. I just told our. I said, guys, it's that hard, and it's that simple. Just keep going. You know, the first sign of trouble, you can't just bail. The world tells you you can. But God says, this is not a contractual relationship. This is a covenant relationship, and you're in this for the long haul. And Patty said to our kids for years, don't waste the trial. So even when there's a rough patch, let me minister to you, too.

I receive it.

There's a rough patch. What is God trying to teach me right here, right now? And as I engage with him, what does he tell me when it. When it comes to dealing with myself?

Because you sure don't want to go through it again.

No.

Learn the lesson.

No. Country song. Cheaper to keep her. I mean, come on. Oh, boy.

Cheaper to keep her.

Oh, I've not changed that.

Can we make that the title of this episode? Cheaper to Keep her with Patty Green.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

Remember, you asked me to be on this thing with. Yes, you should use a Patty. This is.

I love it.

This is. Oh, this is gold. Well, before we wrap up with you guys, though, we want. You've got so much wisdom. Want to give you a chance to just share one nugget apiece, One challenge a piece, maybe for those who are listening and for you guys who are listening right now or watching online, thank you for investing in your marriage. I just believe anytime we make it a priority to invest in your marriage, like, Rich just challenged us a minute ago. God always blesses that. He always honors that. And you're starting out the year. If you're listening to this in real time, you're starting out 2023, saying, I want to make this year strong. But even if you're listening to this episode and it's years down the road, wherever you are, you could be on Mars on an outpost in 2050 listening to this, and you're like, I want to make my marriage strong here, wherever you are. I believe that good marriage advice is timeless marriage advice. And so these are two wise leaders who are living it and doing it. And no marriage is perfect, but every marriage can be healthy. And so I want to give you guys a chance to just share some advice, because you have Done it right. And we want to honor you for that and also learn from you. And so the floor is yours. Give us a challenge or a nugget.

Okay, Before I do that. So when you said wise, did old start to come? These are old. These are old people.

You get wiser as you do.

We prefer to help you with other older couples. We prefer seasoned.

Yeah, Seasoned.

We are seasoned in marriage. Okay, so I got a 1A and 1B. Should have seen that.

Totally. I'll take it.

I just said this earlier. Christ has got to be the focal point your relationship. He can't just be the center of your hearts. He's got to be the center of your relationship. And that leads into every morning before you get out of bed. What is one thing I can do to be a blessing to you and to serve you today? Ask your spouse that.

That's good.

And that'll change the trajectory of that day and that week and that month and that year. Just that simple question. And, of course, the work is to follow up on that. Make sure you're true to your word. So those. That's my advice.

What is one thing I can do to bless you and serve you today? I mean, man, if every day, every couple. You would look at your spouse every day and say that and mean it.

I'm telling you, sometimes I just go, I need a kiss.

Yeah.

Yeah. Do you need more? No. No. Okay.

Patty, I'm here to serve.

My advice is just simply be nice to each other. I mean, you gotta treat each other like we wanna be treated. That's the golden rule. I mean, and sometimes people treat strangers nicer than they treat the love of their life.

It is so true.

Yes.

There's so many marriage problems.

Yeah. I mean, we just assume. Sorry to interrupt.

No, no, no. I think that is. It's. So like you said earlier, it's that simple and that difficult. But be kind to each other. So many times when couples get in this negative cycle, they don't even know where it started or how to get out of it. But somewhere along the way, they both just stopped being nice. They both started, you know, being rude and short.

And I think the tone, too. Cause I think sometimes they're like, well, we're not cussing each other out. We're not yelling, per se.

But.

But it's that tone and that biting tone. I think that sometimes I've heard people say that they did not realize really how that tone was. And their spouse may have told them, but they didn't believe them. You know, they're like, you're just too sensitive or whatever. But then they hear a recording of themselves and they're like, oh, my gosh. Like, you just. I think we're blind to that, you know, and so if you're watching and listening, guys, and your spouse comes to you and says, you're just not nice to me, or your tone is harsh. Believe them. Like, why would they make that up?

You know, their perceptive perceptions, their reality. So why.

Right, right. And then ask, like, you know, I think it'd be really powerful to ask, like, when, you know, how can I do this better? I mean, ask them like, like, say, how can I do this better? When do you feel like I'm. I'm speaking to you the way that you want me to speak to you? Like, what? You know, describe that moment. Because I think we get so far away from it. Like you said, we just get. We get lost in the busyness of life and we forget, like, this is our best friend. This is the love of our life. We need to be treating them kinder than anyone.

Like, you know, and it's so complex and there's so much more we can say about it. But it starts with the premise and the mindset. We're good willed people.

Yes.

We're not trying to hurt each other.

Yeah.

We just love each other. And now that we have, let's see what we can do to correct this, you know, course corrections and make sure that we can get to a healthier spot. But you guys, well, and even.

Even when you're pointing out that your spouse is maybe being rude to not do it in a rude way, like, you're just rude to me. Not matching fire with fire. I went through a season where, you know, through like, you know, health and serotonin and testosterone, all these stuff, things were off and my, My tone got short. My. I didn't even realize it. Like, I had just physically, I was off. Chemically, I was off. And Ashley so lovingly, she could have just thrown gasoline on the fire and just been like, you're acting like a jerk. I don't want to be around you. But she was so tender and saying, like, listen, I don't think you realize how you're coming across, but you just need to know that you're coming across in a way that I don't think you intend. She was believing the best in me and that really helped me to really try to get to the root of it. And I'm still not perfect. I feel like I was probably short this morning because I Was hot. When I get hot, I get grumpy. I had a jacket on I shouldn't have had on, and I was in a chick fil a line, and. And, you know, God bless you.

God made you a man. You don't have hot flashes.

Oh, my gosh.

I know.

And I was like. I was just. I could feel myself getting. Had nothing at all to do with Ashley, but I could feel myself just getting, like, hot and tense and. But she's so good at just being so kind, even when. Even in those moments when I'm not. And I just want to thank you.

Well, I haven't done that well, so.

You are amazing.

Your girly hair has taught me a lot.

I was in a Bible study this morning with a number of men, and we were talking about our work words and how they matter. And literally, the Bible says they breathe life or death into the person we're speaking those to. And so watching our words. But then we got into the demeanor and how we do that and the sensitivity and how we share those words. Say the same. You guys know this. You say the same thing to your spouse one way, and it sets them off the other way. They're like, wow, thank you for loving me.

Yeah, exactly.

I mean, it can't go both ways. Yeah.

Well, we do really good, I think, at not taking ourselves too seriously or reminding each other to take ourselves too seriously. Yes, humor does a lot.

It really, really does.

Very disarming.

Yeah, it really, really does. I know we're just a little bit past the Christmas season, but I want to point out, speak of humor. Rich is wearing the best shoes we've ever had on the podcast.

Pull your socks.

Pull your socks.

Merry Christmas. You built the animals.

Oh, that's so good.

That is so good, that.

Just so you gotta walk around that way, learn from Rich and Patty that, you know, just bring smiles to each other and to others wherever you go. And you guys are doing it right, and we just are so thankful for you before we close. And we don't always do this, but I just feel like this would be appropriate. Maybe people listen and they're like, yeah, we're in this negative cycle, and we don't know how to break out. And we want to do these things we don't know how. Maybe just end with prayer. So, Patty, would you pray for those who are listening? Even if you're not struggling, just receive this blessing, but for those specifically who are listening and you just feel like you're disconnected from your spouse right now. You want the things that we've talked about here today and you don't know where to start to just receive some encouragement and a blessing. So would you pray for us, Father?

God, we praise you because you are almighty and all present. We're so thankful that that we are never without you. Father, help us to remember your nearness in all our interactions. That you see us and you empower us and that we can honor you with our words and our thoughts and our actions. And we choose to do so to honor you in Jesus name, Amen.