Still Becoming One

When Your Spouse Starts to Change: Navigating Purpose, Identity, and Midlife in Marriage

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1983242/open_sms] Midlife often brings profound shifts in purpose and identity, posing unique challenges for married couples. Is it the seven-year itch or something else? We explore how individuals, influenced by societal roles and personal growth, naturally evolve, sometimes leading to divergent paths. This evolution can feel threatening when one partner finds new life outside the marriage, potentially straining the relationship. Learn how to navigate these changes with curiosity, establish healthy boundaries, and foster deeper connections as you both continue to grow. Still Becoming One [http://stillbecomingone.com/] https://aldrichministries.com/Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/stillbecomingone] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/stillbecomingone/] Aldrich Ministries [https://aldrichministries.com/]

Desire: How We Love Heal and Grow with Jay Stringer

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1983242/fan_mail/new] Are you struggling to understand the deep longings within you, feeling trapped in your marriage, or like the spark has gone dim? In this episode, we welcome back author and licensed therapist Jay Stringer to discuss his groundbreaking new book, Desire: The Longings Inside Us and the New Science of How We Love, Heal, and Grow [https://amzn.to/4u0Bdy2].  We talk with Jay and explore what motivated him to write this book, and his research on how understanding your desire dramatically impacts relationships.  Discover how to stop sabotaging your relationship, differentiate from your partner to create a stronger connection, and move from a "freedom from" mindset to a "freedom for" purpose. This conversation is a transformative call to confront your past, heal attachment wounds, and use the disruptive power of desire to build a life and marriage that truly make you come alive. Interested in exploring your story around unwanted desire? Brad is launching a new Unwanted Journey group with Jay's first book later this month. Find out more [https://aldrichministries.com/journey] Still Becoming One [http://stillbecomingone.com/] https://aldrichministries.com/Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/stillbecomingone] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/stillbecomingone/] Aldrich Ministries [https://aldrichministries.com/]

"Trying Harder" Is Sabotaging Your Marriage and Your Goals

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1983242/open_sms] Are you tired of the endless cycle of failed New Year's resolutions and frustrated by recurring conflicts in your marriage? In this episode, we explore why simply "white-knuckling" your way to change is destined to fail. Discover how persistent patterns, both in yourself and your spouse—from messy habits to communication breakdowns—are often survival mechanisms, not character flaws.  Learn how to shift from demanding change to cultivating curiosity, a practice that can transform your relationship. We'll show you how to "invite the issue onto the porch" to foster genuine understanding, leading to deeper connection, improved intimacy, and lasting growth. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by a long list of things to fix, find out how focusing on the "why" behind a single issue can bring healing and victory to your personal life and your marriage. Brad's Freedom Journey Substack [https://journeyoffreedom.substack.com/] Still Becoming One [http://stillbecomingone.com/] https://aldrichministries.com/Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/stillbecomingone] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/stillbecomingone/] Aldrich Ministries [https://aldrichministries.com/]

Exploring Desire and Sexuality with Jay Stringer (rebroadcast)

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1983242/open_sms] In this popular episode of SB1 Brad and Kate sit down with therapist, minister, and researcher Jay Stringer, author of Unwanted, to reframe sexuality through the broader lens of desire, intimacy, and healing. Moving beyond shame-based recovery and purity culture, the episode offers a faith-informed, research-backed roadmap for couples navigating betrayal trauma, porn, infidelity, and mismatched sexual desire. With practical guidance on crisis-to-revisioning stages, story work, differentiation, and honoring the low desire partner’s integrity, Jay shows how increasing sensuality, pleasure, and emotional connection restores trust and brings marriages back to life. This episode invites listeners to transform contempt into connection, reawaken desire, and become one with hope and courage. Still Becoming One [http://stillbecomingone.com/] https://aldrichministries.com/Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/stillbecomingone] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/stillbecomingone/] Aldrich Ministries [https://aldrichministries.com/]

The Fruit Was Sweet To My Taste: Let's Talk About Oral Sex (rebroadcast)

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1983242/open_sms] In this fan-favorite episode, we are counting down to the number two most-listened-to episode of Still Becoming One. Join us as we dive into a topic many Christian couples wonder about but are hesitant to discuss: oral sex. We tackle the frequent, questions we receive at marriage conferences about whether this act is biblically permissible, why a spouse might desire it, and how to navigate discrepancies in comfort levels. We explore how to build sexual intimacy through a foundation of safety, communication, and mutual honor, especially when addressing sensitive subjects. Drawing from Song of Solomon and our experience as a marriage counselor and relationship coaches, we discuss the importance of moving past cultural shame and misinformation. This episode addresses the power dynamics, vulnerability, and potential past trauma that can create fear or hesitation, particularly for women. Learn how to open a healthy dialogue, understand your partner’s perspective, and explore pleasure together in a way that is honoring, consensual, and strengthens your connection as you are still becoming one. Still Becoming One [http://stillbecomingone.com/] https://aldrichministries.com/Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/stillbecomingone] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/stillbecomingone/] Aldrich Ministries [https://aldrichministries.com/]