We continue the story of Seth & Ashley Slocumb as they deal with the loss of their 3-year-old daughter. They share the struggles they faced individually and the impact on their marriage. In the midst of it all. God met them where they were. It is a powerful testimony of trusting God in the middle of excruciating pain and loss.

I think every parent's nightmare is the death of one of their children. On today's No Regretz Marriage podcast, Seth and Ashley Slocumb share their powerful story of loss, grief, anger, and God's faithfulness in the midst of unspeakable pain. As someone who has suffered the death of my oldest son, I know that life goes on even as your pain and grief continue. Seth and Ashley share a story of hope and faith that will challenge and encourage you.

In part 1 of The Resilient Marriage, we looked at the first principles.

1. Pain is inevitable, but pain is temporary.
2. Our perspective steers our potential. Our joy comes from our outlook on life.
3. Preparation impacts the outcome.
4. Patience is not stagnant. Be active while we wait on God to move.
5. We need a purpose greater than ourselves.

In today's podcast, we will discuss the last five principles of a resilient marriage.

6. Perseverance and persistence are key to achieve the marriage you desire.

7. The pursuit is more important than perfection.

8. People are the fuel to get us where we want to be. God created us for community.

9. Pressure is a privilege.

10. Give praise before the breakthrough. "You can whine or you can worship."

Resilient describes the capacity to withstand, recover, or "bounce back" quickly from difficult situations, stress, or adversity. God promises us that we will experience tribulation and challenging times both as individuals and as married couples. In this podcast and next weeks, we will discuss some of the principles you need to consider building a resilient marriage, one that overcomes the hard times and flourishes. Remember Paul's encouragement, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”– Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)

In today's No Regretz Marriage Podcast, we take another look back on our story. What do you do when you know there is a problem, but it turns out to be much bigger than you thought. Our son Zach was going in for his second heart surgery. They told us it was going to be routine, just a little tune-up. It turned out to be more than they said.

Last week we talked about the first five of ten tips for marriage. The first five are:

1. Start early doing the rights things for your marriage.
2. You can't give away what you don't have. Grow first, then give.
3. Turn the essentials into a habit. What matters most should be automatic.
4. Question your assumptions. Unspoken expectations quietly sabotage relationships.
5. “OK” is the enemy of “great.” Don’t settle for average when excellence is possible.

Today we take a look at the remaining five tips for your marriage.

After 40+ years of marriage, we found ourselves sharing with some younger couples ten important tips for a healthy marriage and family. This week we look at the first 5 tips.

We always tell couples that we are working with in premarital preparation how important communication is in building and maintaining a healthy marriage. Carla and I often laugh about how many times we still fall short in our communication. Assumptions, unspoken expectations, and just poor communication will happen seemingly out of nowhere. What starts out as a benign interaction escalated to conflict because of poor communication. We can never grow slack in building our communication skills without consequences, even after years of marriage and being marriage coaches. How is your communication? Where can you get better at being a good communicator in your marriage and other relationships? Start today!