Latest / Marriage Life and More and Bible Study / Living Alone Together - Separate Lives Pt 1 (Marriage Reset Series) - 267
Transcript
- 0:06Michelle Moore: There are some women out there that are very critical in just telling their husbands pretty much you need to do it this way or you're not doing it good enough.
- 0:14Michelle Moore: I'll just do it, don't worry about it.
- 0:16Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 0:17Michelle Moore: Women, if your husband's trying, keep those comments to yourself, let him try.
- 0:23Michelle Moore: It may not be good enough for you, but he's trying.
- 0:27Michelle Moore: And I give him kudos for that.
- 0:29Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 0:30Michelle Moore: Because as long as they try, I think that they're they're trying for their marriage too at the same time.
- 0:37Daniel Moore: This week on Marriage Life and More, we continue our series on marriage reset, roommates to soulmates in your marriage.
- 0:44Daniel Moore: We're starting off episode six in this series.
- 0:46Daniel Moore: We'll be back to start that right after this.
- 0:49Daniel Moore: And sometimes we have people on here and we interview them if they have an inspiring story to share.
- 1:31Daniel Moore: I'm Daniel Moore, your host.
- 1:32Daniel Moore: Standing over next to me, of course, is my beautiful co-host, my wife Michelle.
- 1:36Michelle Moore: Hey, hey.
- 1:37Daniel Moore: And want to thank you guys for joining us this week.
- 1:39Daniel Moore: If you're not familiar with our show, check out our website at marriagelifeandmore.com for our platforms.
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- 2:06Daniel Moore: And we'd be grateful to you for doing that, helping our podcast and our ministry here to grow.
- 2:11Daniel Moore: Well, as we start this week out, we've been through five sessions so far, five episodes of our series on marriage reset.
- 2:19Daniel Moore: And I know Michelle and I, we've had some feedback from some people that have uh, you know, really enjoyed some of the episodes and I think taken away some things and applied it in their lives.
- 2:30Daniel Moore: And I hope that you guys have as well, all of you that are listening out there, we've got several more episodes to go as we finish up this series.
- 2:36Daniel Moore: But this week, as I mentioned here in the intro, we are starting episode six, and we're gonna go ahead and get started into that.
- 2:44Daniel Moore: This week it's titled Living Alone Together, Separate Lives.
- 2:49Daniel Moore: Dennis Rainey once said, Every marriage will naturally move toward a state of isolation.
- 3:04Daniel Moore: Unless you lovingly, energetically nurture and maintain intimacy in your marriage, you will drift apart from your spouse.
- 3:12Daniel Moore: Well, at first glance, Jeff and Lindsay seem like a normal couple.
- 3:17Daniel Moore: They are raising two teenagers and one chocolate labrador retriever.
- 3:21Daniel Moore: Their house is a fixer upper that they hope to flip someday for a tidy profit.
- 3:26Daniel Moore: They exercise in the morning, they see the kids off to school, they go to work, they eat meals, they work on the house, they watch their favorite TV shows, they attend church, they enjoy the outdoors and participate in hobbies, they also socialize with friends.
- 3:41Daniel Moore: The only problem is they do these things separately.
- 3:45Daniel Moore: Married for 15 years, Jeff and Lindsay have slowly grown independent from each other.
- 3:50Daniel Moore: Jeff is immersed in his career as a small business executive, taking the kids to practices and working on the house.
- 3:56Daniel Moore: Lindsay is absorbed in working as a nurse, raising their two children, managing household responsibilities, and socializing with friends.
- 4:05Daniel Moore: After a whirlwind romance and wedding, they quickly had their first child.
- 4:10Daniel Moore: They never really had an opportunity to learn how to be a connected couple.
- 4:14Daniel Moore: Now the majority of their time and energy goes into their jobs and their children.
- 4:19Daniel Moore: Their primary mission together is to raise happy, well adjusted kids who, of course, follow the Lord.
- 4:25Daniel Moore: They are great parents, but very lousy lovers.
- 4:30Daniel Moore: They are content sharing a home and bills, but not an interconnected relationship.
- 4:35Daniel Moore: The only time they are together is at child sporting events at church, or when they need to discuss finances, logistics, schedules, or to-do list.
- 4:43Daniel Moore: Their marriage feels cold and distant, like they are speeding down two parallel tracks instead of living life together.
- 4:51Daniel Moore: Both being fiercely independent, the priority isn't the marriage relationship.
- 4:57Daniel Moore: Jeff and Lindsay occasionally fantasize about finding someone else, but they stay married because loneliness isn't biblical grounds for divorce, as you can read in Matthew nineteen, verse nine, and they don't want to hurt their children.
- 5:10Daniel Moore: They both came from broken homes and can't stand the thought of their kids experiencing the pain of a divorce.
- 5:16Daniel Moore: They want to regain the close connection that was present in the early years of their courtship and marriage, but they feel like their relationship is like the continental divide, and that's a ridge of high ground that runs through the Rocky Mountains, sending some streams of water toward the Pacific Ocean and others toward the Atlantic.
- 5:33Daniel Moore: Jeff and Lindsay's marriage has divided into individual streams, and they're going in separate directions.
- 5:41Daniel Moore: They have lost their sense of togetherness and can't seem to find their way back to a connected marriage.
- 5:47Daniel Moore: But as we read this little story here introing our episode this week, we want you to know that Jeff and Lindsay are very far from unique.
- 5:56Daniel Moore: If you look at statistics, many married couples coexist as they lead parallel lives.
- 6:03Daniel Moore: Studies have shown that as high as 40% of married spouses complain of feeling lonely sometimes or often.
- 6:12Daniel Moore: In a study of older adults, more than 60% of people who reported being lonely were married and living with their spouse.
- 6:21Daniel Moore: So as we start off this week's episode, as we talk about this situation of being lonely, but yet having, you know, people around you, especially your spouse right there by your side, it just really seems odd that you could get yourself into a spot to be that way.
- 6:39Daniel Moore: Because after all, you know, Michelle, when I married you, uh part of my reason for that was I didn't want to be alone.
- 6:47Daniel Moore: I wanted to have someone there beside me.
- 6:50Daniel Moore: Uh, wanted to have someone to do things with because I'm not the type of person that there's some things that I don't mind doing by myself.
- 6:56Daniel Moore: But for the most part, if I do a lot of things, I want to have someone to do it with me.
- 7:00Michelle Moore: Companionship.
- 7:01Daniel Moore: And it's and somebody that's special.
- 7:03Daniel Moore: You know?
- 7:04Daniel Moore: And there's a lot of times, you know, I can I can spend time with my friends and I can go do things with my friends.
- 7:09Daniel Moore: But in all reality, in the long run, when I look back over my life and all the things that I've ever done, more often than not, the things that I've done with you stands out more so than even the things that I've done with my friends.
- 7:22Michelle Moore: I'd hope so.
- 7:23Daniel Moore: Well, that's because if I don't, she's gonna punch me in the face.
- 7:26Daniel Moore: I did not say that.
- 7:27Daniel Moore: She tells me that all the time.
- 7:29Michelle Moore: I did not say that one.
- 7:30Michelle Moore: Not this time.
- 7:31Daniel Moore: Uh-huh.
- 7:31Daniel Moore: I had to open the door for her.
- 7:32Daniel Moore: I beat you to it.
- 7:34Michelle Moore: That's right.
- 7:34Michelle Moore: You beat me to it.
- 7:36Daniel Moore: But no, and all in all seriousness, uh, there's there's just something about that connection.
- 7:41Daniel Moore: Yes, yeah.
- 7:41Daniel Moore: I think that when you do things with certain people, but if you go do those things again, but you do them with their spouse or the person that's closest to you, person that you love the most in your life, it just seems like there's a different nostalgic presence about it, and you enjoy it so much more and it actually sticks into your mind, you know, throughout your eternity, throughout the the rest of your life.
- 8:04Daniel Moore: But when you look at these statistics here showing that 40% of married couples complain about being lonely sometimes or often, and you look at the 60%.
- 8:14Michelle Moore: Yeah, that was kind of what do you think about that?
- 8:17Michelle Moore: I mean, but you know, I think sometimes older people just get upset in their ways, and as they get older, they just enjoy doing things by themselves.
- 8:30Michelle Moore: Um I mean, not that I think anything is wrong with this, but you know some couples as they're older have separate bedrooms, you know, and that could that could to me that wouldn't already put me in a lonely, you know, because at nighttime if I'm married, you know, I like to whether I touch my tip of my foot on your leg, I know you're there, you know, and I don't feel like I'm by myself.
- 8:57Michelle Moore: So I mean I could see where they feel lonely, but I also think older adults I mean, I'm not there yet, so it's kind of hard for me to say that.
- 9:07Michelle Moore: It is I'm I'm sitting here in my mind thinking, why is that?
- 9:10Michelle Moore: You know, I'm not older, so I say I'm not older.
- 9:14Michelle Moore: I am older, but I'm not like 60s, 70, 80s, you know.
- 9:19Michelle Moore: Um, so I I am curious to see what they actually went off on that study.
- 9:25Daniel Moore: Well, you know, I I do computer work as a small business on the side, and I do a lot of work for elderly people.
- 9:30Daniel Moore: And I've talked to you before, there's times that I've been to people's homes where they have separate bedrooms.
- 9:35Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 9:35Michelle Moore: But it wasn't that a thing back.
- 9:38Daniel Moore: It it was back in the day.
- 9:39Daniel Moore: Well, even and I don't know if part of it was because of the way TV displayed it, because you know in the original TV, the beginnings of it, even though people slept in the same room, they always separated them just because of the visual, you know, of it being on TV where everybody can see they didn't want to uh TV was TV was way less of a mind game back in those days.
- 10:00Daniel Moore: It was more about entertainment and some comedy and that, you know, family-oriented things.
- 10:05Daniel Moore: So they always kept them separated in the bedrooms.
- 10:08Daniel Moore: But, you know, as I've been to people's homes and I see that they have separate bedrooms, they'll usually give me an excuse.
- 10:15Daniel Moore: And, you know, sometimes it's like, well, you know, he just snores so bad, we just can't sleep together anymore.
- 10:19Daniel Moore: She snores so bad.
- 10:21Michelle Moore: I understand that.
- 10:22Daniel Moore: No, there's there's stuff like that, and I understand that can be a nuisance to uh another spouse.
- 10:27Daniel Moore: And I know as you get older, our bodies change and things happen where you know that might be an issue and it may be something you can't correct necessarily.
- 10:35Daniel Moore: Or it might be a night owl and one may be a morning person, so you don't want to keep the other one awake, and you know, so I understand that there's certain reasons that people, you know, do those kinds of things.
- 10:46Daniel Moore: I just I guess in my mind, I hope that me, I hope that you and I aren't like that when we get to that to that age.
- 10:52Daniel Moore: We only have this life to live together.
- 10:55Daniel Moore: And when we get to heaven, you know, the Bible's very specific that there's no marriage in heaven.
- 11:01Daniel Moore: And so it leaves it kind of out there in limbo.
- 11:04Daniel Moore: I think, you know, there's a part of me I believe that we'll know people.
- 11:08Daniel Moore: I think we'll know who they are.
- 11:09Daniel Moore: I don't know that we'll remember that we were married to this person or whatever that will be.
- 11:14Daniel Moore: The Bible doesn't really specifically explain all that part out.
- 11:17Daniel Moore: That's just a mystery to be known once until we get there.
- 11:20Daniel Moore: Um, but I want to know that if at this time in my life that I actually have here on earth and I have a marriage, I have a spouse, you know, I want to make sure that all the time that I have that I can spend with you while I'm here, I spend that with you.
- 11:34Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 11:34Daniel Moore: And so I hope within my own self and you know, between you and I, I hope we never end up in that position where we feel like we have to have a separate bedroom, you know.
- 11:43Michelle Moore: Well, it's weird to think how I mean, how do you get there?
- 11:46Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 11:47Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 11:48Daniel Moore: I mean, is I I I mean, I I don't know.
- 11:51Daniel Moore: It's got to do something with the relationship.
- 11:52Daniel Moore: It's got to do something to the relationship and the intimacy part of your marriage when that separation happens.
- 11:59Daniel Moore: And I don't think I know lots of older people that have very intimate, uh, they enjoy um each other tremendously later in life.
- 12:07Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 12:07Daniel Moore: You know, there it then the thoughts out there all the time that oh, you hit a certain age and it's just all gone.
- 12:14Daniel Moore: You know, you just exist with each other till you die.
- 12:16Daniel Moore: And it seems like a lot of older people kind of look at it that way.
- 12:20Daniel Moore: But you know, I don't think it should have to be that way because God created inside of each of one of us a level of intimacy, you know, that we can share with each other.
- 12:29Daniel Moore: And I think that even though it may evolve, you know, it might be completely different kind of an intimacy as what we had when we first got married.
- 12:37Daniel Moore: But I think that that intimacy should always stay there, yeah, you know, until the end, until we're done here on this earth.
- 12:45Michelle Moore: And so I I wouldn't have liked to have seen their survey of, you know, what is it that you how do you feel like lonely?
- 12:51Michelle Moore: Are you just saying lonely in life?
- 12:53Michelle Moore: Are you saying lonely because you don't have someone to go do something with?
- 12:57Michelle Moore: You're you know, your spouse doesn't want to go do, or your spouse is sick and you're caring for him and you're the one the only one.
- 13:05Michelle Moore: Is that cause that to be cause you to be feeling lonely?
- 13:10Michelle Moore: I I'm just curious as as to there's multiple things that you can put in there.
- 13:14Daniel Moore: Well, this is a spot where we can kind of throw it off on you guys that are listening.
- 13:17Daniel Moore: If you're on a uh device that you're listening on a platform that has comments or something, we're on YouTube and Rumble and uh a couple at Spotify I think has comments now.
- 13:26Daniel Moore: Or you can go to the Facebook page.
- 13:28Daniel Moore: I make a Facebook post on all of these, and maybe if you have some insight to put into that, we'd love to love to see that because I'm real curious as to why that happens.
- 13:38Michelle Moore: But I mean, again, we're not that age.
- 13:40Michelle Moore: Right.
- 13:41Daniel Moore: And it's you know we're halfway there.
- 13:44Michelle Moore: A little over half.
- 13:45Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 13:46Daniel Moore: Depending on how you look at it.
- 13:48Daniel Moore: Um, but you know, as we talk about this this issue and this idea of living alone together, I guess is how you put that.
- 13:56Daniel Moore: You know, all couples go through times when emotional closeness fluctuates, and the busyness of daily responsibilities often pulls focus away from our relationship.
- 14:05Daniel Moore: I mean, we all understand how that works.
- 14:07Daniel Moore: When schedules are hectic, it's natural for the marriage to take a backseat temporarily, and that makes it harder to feel connected.
- 14:14Daniel Moore: It can start to seem like you and your partner are more like a roommate at that point than you are a spouse.
- 14:18Daniel Moore: You know, for some, this feeling is linked to a temporary phase like a new job, a family illness, or raising small children.
- 14:25Daniel Moore: But once that phase passes, you know, that closeness usually will naturally return.
- 14:30Daniel Moore: It'll come back to you.
- 14:31Daniel Moore: So we're not talking about the little things that cause those moments of loneliness that we may feel.
- 14:38Daniel Moore: What we're really concerned about here as we go through this episode this week and next week, because this will be another two-parter, uh, we're really concerned with the one that begins when that emotional gap stretches on for months and years.
- 14:51Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 14:51Daniel Moore: You know, suddenly one or both partners realize they've been coexisting and they really have no connection to each other.
- 14:58Daniel Moore: And that's when you really know that there's an issue there that's going way beyond the distractions, way beyond the busyness of what's going on in your life.
- 15:08Daniel Moore: You know, the story that we shared here at the beginning, that's what unfolded for Jeff and Lindsay.
- 15:13Daniel Moore: You know, over time, their lack of connection turned into a way of life.
- 15:17Daniel Moore: Jeff's job required frequent travel, and even when he was home, his mind was elsewhere.
- 15:22Daniel Moore: He was fixing things around the house, attending kids' sports, focusing on personal interest.
- 15:26Daniel Moore: Meanwhile, Lindsay felt the strain of running the house alone because he was gone a lot.
- 15:31Daniel Moore: With Jeff emotionally and physically distant, she poured her energy into her nursing career, raising the kids and spending time with her group of friends.
- 15:38Daniel Moore: So it's almost like she was a single mom at that point.
- 15:41Daniel Moore: As time went on, they shared fewer moments as a couple.
- 15:44Daniel Moore: So even though they were still under the same roof, they rarely spent quality time together.
- 15:49Daniel Moore: They spent time, but it wasn't really quality intimacy type time that they really needed to keep that flame burning in their relationship.
- 15:58Daniel Moore: And Jeff and Lindsay's story shows how easily a couple can unknowingly become disconnected with both partners living separate emotional lives.
- 16:06Daniel Moore: So we have several signs here that you can be moving in that same direction.
- 16:10Daniel Moore: And Michelle, you want to share the first one there with us?
- 16:13Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 16:13Michelle Moore: You hardly see each other when at home.
- 16:16Michelle Moore: You rarely share meals together, or you spend most of your time in separate rooms of the house.
- 16:23Daniel Moore: Go ahead.
- 16:23Daniel Moore: Go ahead and give us the rest of them there, and then we'll come back and discuss them.
- 16:26Michelle Moore: Household chores get done independently.
- 16:28Michelle Moore: And notice it says household chores get done independently.
- 16:33Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 16:34Daniel Moore: We'll talk about that here in a minute.
- 16:36Michelle Moore: I know.
- 16:36Michelle Moore: I I'm I'm soaking that one in.
- 16:38Michelle Moore: Um, you spend most weekends, evenings, or time off invested in your children, your friends, church, hobbies, or personal interests.
- 16:45Michelle Moore: Your spouse isn't the first person you call to talk about your day or to share good news.
- 16:50Michelle Moore: If you're upset, you're more likely to confide in someone else.
- 16:54Michelle Moore: You don't check with your spouse when making decisions or discuss individual plans or activities.
- 17:00Michelle Moore: You go to bed at separate times and get out of bed at different times.
- 17:05Michelle Moore: You no longer sleep in the same bed or in the same room.
- 17:08Michelle Moore: You have separate bank accounts, his money or her money.
- 17:12Michelle Moore: You don't seem to argue anymore.
- 17:14Michelle Moore: My bother.
- 17:16Michelle Moore: Most of your conversations focus on everyday responsibilities and logistics rather than emotional and inner life issues.
- 17:23Michelle Moore: Besides the kids, you seem to have little in common.
- 17:27Michelle Moore: You have separate hobbies and interests.
- 17:30Michelle Moore: You exist in proximity to each other.
- 17:33Michelle Moore: You sit on opposite sides of the couch when you watch TV.
- 17:36Michelle Moore: When you're in bed, you sleep on your own side and never touch.
- 17:40Michelle Moore: Sex is rare or non-existent.
- 17:42Michelle Moore: You hang out with your own friends and have hardly any couple friends.
- 17:47Michelle Moore: You don't function like teammates.
- 17:49Michelle Moore: You stay together for the sake of your children.
- 17:53Daniel Moore: So that's a pretty extensive list there of some very serious problems.
- 17:58Michelle Moore: Very self-explanatory, too.
- 17:59Daniel Moore: I mean it's problems.
- 18:01Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 18:01Daniel Moore: So straight to the point on all that.
- 18:04Daniel Moore: You know, and several of these resonate so much with where you and I were at at one point, you know, in our relationship.
- 18:11Daniel Moore: Uh it got to the point where we did a lot of things separately.
- 18:14Daniel Moore: And I think, you know, as we go back up here to the top of this list, um I think probably one of the first ones that stands out is about the chores.
- 18:23Daniel Moore: Uh that one is a tough one because a lot of times one spouse feels like they're super busy, the other one's not as busy as they are, so that they're the ones that should be doing all the chores around the house.
- 18:35Daniel Moore: And, you know, I see so often where one spouse seems to get the brunt.
- 18:40Michelle Moore: It's just hard though, sometimes this is one that I am very like flexible with because sometimes people travel and it does sold their responsibility on the person that's home.
- 18:54Michelle Moore: Um it's one thing if you're married, you get married, and that job is already there.
- 18:59Michelle Moore: But if you get the job while you're married, that has to be a discussion that's made and a decision that's made both knowingly going into it.
- 19:10Michelle Moore: But there are also times that, you know, someone may work nights, someone works days, you know, it's just there's so many things that play factor in that.
- 19:18Michelle Moore: But I still think even though if you do a lot, you still, if you're coming home, take that responsibility for a day or two so that that person can take a break.
- 19:27Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 19:28Michelle Moore: I mean, it it is it is a we gum as one.
- 19:32Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 19:33Michelle Moore: It's not me or I, it's one.
- 19:37Daniel Moore: And it's not my home or your home, it's our home.
- 19:40Daniel Moore: And all of the things that are in the house is, you know, between the two of us.
- 19:45Daniel Moore: We both make the messes.
- 19:46Michelle Moore: We do have and this one, this one can become, and some people may agree or may disagree, but I'm gonna say it.
- 19:54Michelle Moore: There are some women out there that are very critical in discussing or not discussing, but telling their husbands pretty much you need to do it this way, or you're not doing it good enough.
- 20:05Michelle Moore: I'll just do it, don't worry about it.
- 20:06Michelle Moore: Women if your husband's trying, keep those comments to yourself, let him try.
- 20:14Michelle Moore: It may not be good enough for you, but he's trying.
- 20:18Michelle Moore: And I give him kudos for that.
- 20:20Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 20:21Michelle Moore: Because as long as they try, I think that they're they're trying for their marriage too at the same time.
- 20:27Michelle Moore: Would you agree or disagree with that?
- 20:29Daniel Moore: Yeah, no, I totally agree.
- 20:30Daniel Moore: And I just looking at it from let's say that this is well, like you're saying, you're kind of talking to the women.
- 20:35Daniel Moore: So I'll talk about from the guy's side of it.
- 20:38Daniel Moore: Um, if if I see that you want it done a certain way and you explain to me why and it makes good sense or whatever, uh, I will be the one that I will eventually try to get to the point where I load it like you said it should be should be loaded.
- 20:51Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 20:51Michelle Moore: You know, we're talking about the dishwasher people.
- 20:53Daniel Moore: Yeah, dishwasher.
- 20:54Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 20:55Michelle Moore: I know exactly where he's going with it.
- 20:57Daniel Moore: That or the laundry.
- 20:58Daniel Moore: The laundry is another one.
- 20:59Daniel Moore: I think you can just throw it in there except for so some people do that, but you got the calls, but you got the people that separate stuff, you know, and so you'll have those arguments.
- 21:09Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 21:09Daniel Moore: Because not everybody does laundry the same way either.
- 21:11Daniel Moore: I guess that's all right.
- 21:12Daniel Moore: But after a while, well, like me mowing the yard.
- 21:15Daniel Moore: I want the yard mowed a certain way.
- 21:17Daniel Moore: I want it weedy to weedy a certain way.
- 21:20Daniel Moore: And yes, I'll let you mow.
- 21:22Michelle Moore: I mow, yes.
- 21:24Daniel Moore: But if it's I'll let you do all your stuff, and then if I see something that I like to tweak, I'll go tweak it.
- 21:29Daniel Moore: But I don't say no, you're not gonna mow because you're not I'm not gonna, you I'm gonna have to redo that one spot.
- 21:34Michelle Moore: He only does that to our kids.
- 21:35Daniel Moore: You know, yeah, the kids.
- 21:36Daniel Moore: He won't let the sun well I don't want my equipment destroyed.
- 21:40Michelle Moore: But he'll let me destroy it.
- 21:43Michelle Moore: Let our son.
- 21:44Daniel Moore: Yeah, but no, I think that regardless if it's to the expectation of what each spouse thinks it should be, depending on the chore, I think that both spouses need to jump in and try to get it done, try to help each other.
- 21:57Daniel Moore: Uh again, that's good bonding time, even.
- 21:59Michelle Moore: You know, you just gotta watch that critical spirit.
- 22:02Michelle Moore: You have to watch it, you cannot constantly nag someone, whether it be the husband or the wife.
- 22:08Daniel Moore: Just think you've got a husband or a wife that's doing something, maybe not a hundred percent like you like it, but across town there's another spouse that's fighting theirs to get up off the couch and do anything.
- 22:16Michelle Moore: Right.
- 22:16Michelle Moore: Oh, that's good.
- 22:17Daniel Moore: So you have to make sure that you remember if you if your spouse is at least trying, yeah, you're probably in that upper percentage of those people that have that actually happened.
- 22:26Daniel Moore: Absolutely.
- 22:26Daniel Moore: Because I know a lot of homes and a lot of households, even within my realm of friends and the people that I know, I can think of several where one spouse does the majority of the home, you know, the home upkeep as far as the cleaning and all that kind of thing.
- 22:41Daniel Moore: And, you know, because the other spouse, well, I'm I work hard all the time.
- 22:45Daniel Moore: It's like, well, I understand that, but you both took the responsibility to have a home.
- 22:49Daniel Moore: You both have to upkeep it.
- 22:51Daniel Moore: And everybody needs to do their fair share.
- 22:54Daniel Moore: Sometimes it's even not a fair share, but you need to work together as a team.
- 22:57Daniel Moore: It's teamwork.
- 22:58Daniel Moore: Yep.
- 22:58Daniel Moore: You know, teamwork doesn't mean that everything's split 50-50 all the time.
- 23:02Daniel Moore: Sometimes teamwork is 70-30, 60-40.
- 23:05Daniel Moore: You know, you just there's different situations and you have to accommodate for that, but at least try.
- 23:09Michelle Moore: And teamwork fixed.
- 23:11Daniel Moore: The dream work.
- 23:12Daniel Moore: That's right.
- 23:30Michelle Moore: I want to go on this one.
- 23:32Michelle Moore: This one, this one I was like, I don't understand this one.
- 23:35Michelle Moore: So you go to bed at separate times and get out of bed at different times.
- 23:39Michelle Moore: Now, then the other sentence comes, you no longer sleep in the same bed or in the same room.
- 23:45Michelle Moore: Take that sentence out.
- 23:46Michelle Moore: We go bed at separate times and get up at different times.
- 23:50Daniel Moore: So I think what it's speaking into is sometimes people do that on purpose because they don't want to cross the path.
- 23:55Daniel Moore: They don't want to be awake in the same bed together.
- 23:57Daniel Moore: So one will try to beat the other one to bed to get to sleep so that there's no chance of having intimacy or any of that kind of thing because they just don't want it.
- 24:04Daniel Moore: That's in severe situations, severe cases.
- 24:06Daniel Moore: Well, they probably have said that together by that point.
- 24:12Michelle Moore: Okay.
- 24:12Daniel Moore: But yeah, that's kind of what that one's getting at there.
- 24:15Daniel Moore: Because it is true, you know, a lot of these things that are signs, these are just signs uh that that this might be happening, uh, but it doesn't necessarily mean that that's the actual reason.
- 24:25Daniel Moore: You know, there could be a legit reason for why some of this stuff takes place and it's fixable.
- 24:30Daniel Moore: But if this is something that, you know, there's a lot of times that we do go to bed at separate times, but there's a lot of times we go to bed at the same time too.
- 24:37Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 24:37Michelle Moore: You know, and I'm not a we we go to bed at the same time, then we read together.
- 24:41Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 24:41Michelle Moore: Like he'll read, he'll I call us old people.
- 24:44Michelle Moore: He'll turn his side lamp on, I turned mine on, and we'll read for a little bit, and we're like, okay, we're we're tired, let's go to bed.
- 24:50Michelle Moore: And then we go to sleep.
- 24:52Michelle Moore: But I mean, yeah, that's a good thing.
- 24:56Daniel Moore: So if I if I got to the point where I never ever wanted to go to bed at the same time you do, I always made it intentional that me or you go first and whatever, then you probably need to look into that.
- 25:05Daniel Moore: That might that could be an underlying issue there that's causing that because you know it's sometimes it's good just to go to bed at the same time.
- 25:13Daniel Moore: That's your pillow talk time.
- 25:14Michelle Moore: You know, I never would have thought of that.
- 25:15Michelle Moore: Like that's not something in my mind I would have ever thought.
- 25:19Michelle Moore: No.
- 25:19Daniel Moore: That's you know that means we don't have an issue with that, so that's good.
- 25:23Daniel Moore: So but it's there's uh several more there that you guys can kind of stew on and think about.
- 25:29Daniel Moore: You know, there of course the sex is a big one.
- 25:31Daniel Moore: Sex is rare and non-existent.
- 25:33Daniel Moore: Uh, that's a big one.
- 25:35Daniel Moore: If you're in a stage of life where that's still something that can be a bonding moment between the two of you, that's the most special thing that we can ever share between each other.
- 25:44Daniel Moore: Later on, we have an episode coming up about uh a sexless marriage.
- 25:49Daniel Moore: Uh, we'll be going over that uh section of this here in in a few weeks.
- 25:53Daniel Moore: So that's coming up, but that's another uh big hot topic there that always comes up when we start seeing marital problems and stuff.
- 26:01Daniel Moore: That's one of the first things that gets stopped is those intimate moments, and whether if it's just sex or cuddling or whatever it may be, a lot of that stuff kind of goes to the side.
- 26:11Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 26:11Daniel Moore: Um, because you know, that's just not on the radar of the couple at that time.
- 26:16Daniel Moore: Uh so there's a lot of things there that um are issues that you really have to be careful of.
- 26:25Daniel Moore: And you know, altogether these patterns can create a marriage that runs smoothly on the surface, but down deep inside, they're emotionally isolating.
- 26:34Daniel Moore: And at its heart, marriage is meant to reflect deep unity and closeness, a merging of two lives into one, as described in Genesis 2.24.
- 26:42Daniel Moore: No one dreams of being lonely while walking down the aisle or choosing a wedding venue.
- 26:48Daniel Moore: We're pretty sure, you know, you didn't say your vows thinking, I can't wait for us to go our separate ways emotionally.
- 26:54Daniel Moore: You know, that's just not on your radar on that wedding day.
- 26:57Daniel Moore: Still, isolation can quietly take root, even in the context of a long-term relationship and a partnership.
- 27:05Daniel Moore: So it may sound contradictory, but loneliness can't exist inside a shared life.
- 27:11Daniel Moore: You know, there's a common belief that marriage will fulfill our need or constant companionship, that finding a spouse means gaining a permanent confidant who will always be emotionally available.
- 27:21Daniel Moore: But the truth is simply sharing a home or routine doesn't ensure true connection.
- 27:26Daniel Moore: Having a spouse under the same roof doesn't automatically mean that you'll feel seen, heard, or known.
- 27:32Daniel Moore: There's a author that that wrote a uh a thing here, and why don't you read that to us?
- 27:38Michelle Moore: It says people tend to think of abandonment as something physical like neglect.
- 27:43Michelle Moore: A loss of physical closeness due to death, divorce, or illness can be felt as an emotional abandonment as well.
- 27:51Michelle Moore: But emotional abandonment has nothing to do with proximity.
- 27:55Michelle Moore: It can happen when uh the other person is lying right beside us when we can't connect or when our emotional needs are being met in our relationship.
- 28:06Daniel Moore: So you know, in many ways, this type of loneliness is much more painful.
- 28:10Daniel Moore: And why is that?
- 28:12Daniel Moore: It's because you're married.
- 28:13Daniel Moore: It's one thing to have that kind of a divide between friends, uh, siblings, you know, those kinds of things.
- 28:19Daniel Moore: Those are a different type of a relationship.
- 28:22Daniel Moore: But whenever you have this divide within the holy union that God has put together of a husband and a wife, uh, you both sit there and promise to hold each other, to cherish each other through, you know, sickness and health for better, for worse.
- 28:38Daniel Moore: You know, you've made all those vows, and then all of a sudden you find yourself someday lying there totally separated between each other and no emotional relationship going on.
- 28:49Daniel Moore: It's just evaporated.
- 28:51Daniel Moore: And that can be very painful, especially if one spouse doesn't want it to be that way, but the other one, you know, is okay with it.
- 28:58Daniel Moore: That can be very painful for that spouse that's really missing all of that.
- 29:03Daniel Moore: So although you're physically not alone, you feel extraordinarily lonely from the alienation.
- 29:10Daniel Moore: So another author kind of explained that.
- 29:13Daniel Moore: And can you read that one there to us?
- 29:16Michelle Moore: When isolation infects a marriage, a husband and a wife exclude each other.
- 29:21Michelle Moore: When you're excluded, you have a feeling of distance, a lack of closeness, and a little real intimacy.
- 29:28Michelle Moore: You can share a bed, eat at the same dinner table, watch the same TV, share the same checking account, and parent the same children and still be alone.
- 29:40Michelle Moore: You may have sex, but you don't have love.
- 29:43Michelle Moore: You may talk, but you don't communicate.
- 29:46Michelle Moore: You live together, but you don't share a lie.
- 29:51Daniel Moore: As you read that, you know, we weren't really meant to go through life alone.
- 29:55Daniel Moore: Our maker, you know, God, he designed us with a profound longing to connect.
- 29:59Daniel Moore: And to be truly known by someone else.
- 30:02Daniel Moore: At the core of who we are is a desire for intimacy.
- 30:05Daniel Moore: That's the way that we were created for someone to see the real us and still choose to be close.
- 30:10Daniel Moore: That's what the whole point of this relationship is I see you, I hear you, I know who you are, I know your heart.
- 30:16Daniel Moore: I want to be close to that.
- 30:18Daniel Moore: That's something that I long for.
- 30:19Daniel Moore: And, you know, you should be the same way towards me.
- 30:22Daniel Moore: That's how we're all created.
- 30:24Daniel Moore: We all crave to feel chosen, valued, and loved, not just generally, but personally and deeply.
- 30:30Daniel Moore: This longing is especially important in marriage.
- 30:33Daniel Moore: You know, in Genesis 2.18 and Genesis 2, verse 20, scripture affirms this, reminding us that the Lord recognized Adam's aloneness and provided a partner suited for him.
- 30:44Daniel Moore: As Adam observed and named the creatures around him, he would have noticed the pairs or the companionship that they shared, highlighting his own solitude, his own loneliness.
- 30:55Daniel Moore: That would have stirred the deep desire in his soul for a companion meant just for him.
- 31:00Daniel Moore: Similarly, when couples begin to lead separate lives emotionally, a profound sense of detachment can take root, bringing with it a quiet but powerful loneliness.
- 31:11Daniel Moore: The emotional distance, it can become overwhelming.
- 31:14Daniel Moore: The effort to bridge the gap becomes tiring, requests for more closeness, more presence, begin to feel like nagging or fall on deaf ears.
- 31:22Daniel Moore: Eventually people may stop trying altogether, and thoughts of emotional connection with someone else starts to creep in.
- 31:29Daniel Moore: In moments like those when people feel unseen and disconnected, a marriage reaches a breaking point, often without one or both partners even realizing how close they are to it.
- 31:39Daniel Moore: Loneliness in marriage is more than a passing feeling.
- 31:43Daniel Moore: It's something few are willing to endure long term.
- 31:46Daniel Moore: And we've witnessed this reality firsthand even in our own journey.
- 31:50Daniel Moore: And I see a lot of times, you know, where there is can be nagging.
- 31:55Daniel Moore: I can see how the relationship can get to that point, especially if you have one spouse that's irritated because things aren't going the way they think it should be, while the other one is continually distancing themselves further and further away.
- 32:10Daniel Moore: And, you know, usually that that triggers that fight or flight syndrome.
- 32:15Daniel Moore: And when that happens, usually the spouse that's wanting the relationship to work starts to fight for it.
- 32:21Daniel Moore: And so they'll start throwing comments and arrows and daggers, whatever you want to call them, whatever they may be, at the other spouse, trying to get their attention to say, hey, this is going bad, you know.
- 32:35Daniel Moore: Well, the other spouse is checking out and they're not so sure they want to be in there at all anyway, and they're gonna take all that as nagging or criticizing or whatever it may be, and they're gonna shut their heart off if it's not already shut off.
- 32:49Daniel Moore: And so all of that stuff that's being said is falling on deaf ears, they're not hearing any of it.
- 32:53Michelle Moore: Right.
- 32:54Daniel Moore: All they know is I this is all the more reason I don't want to be here.
- 32:57Daniel Moore: You know, that's what they're thinking in their mind, and so that's a very dangerous place to end up in.
- 33:03Daniel Moore: And a lot of times, you know, as we noted here, a lot of partners don't realize they're even that close to it until it's too late, you know, and it's just I I just think back to our relationship and how it deteriorated.
- 33:18Daniel Moore: And I'll be honest, I mean, it's we've had a few years, you know, in between then now and and to where we are at this point.
- 33:24Daniel Moore: So I've forgotten a lot of things probably.
- 33:26Daniel Moore: But even as I go back and I try to think about that whole progression of how all that happened and whatever, sometimes it's just kind of a blur.
- 33:35Daniel Moore: I just don't really know.
- 33:36Daniel Moore: I don't I'm just like, how did that happen?
- 33:38Daniel Moore: You know, it's just like it's just like all of a sudden it it kind of started where it was at, and then all of a sudden it was there, you know.
- 33:45Daniel Moore: And I think sometimes we're so blinded to things that are going on in our relationships because we're not being intentional.
- 33:52Michelle Moore: I I would agree with that.
- 33:53Daniel Moore: Yeah, 100%.
- 33:53Daniel Moore: I think that it can really creep up on us, yeah, you know, if we're not careful.
- 33:58Daniel Moore: So, you know, I think we can both look back and think of the time that we both, you know, you and I would have been prone to say that we feel alone.
- 34:06Daniel Moore: I mean, we both went through that.
- 34:08Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 34:08Daniel Moore: And I'll never forget when I had gone through a difficult work situation, had a very good paying job, that after two years of putting the job first before my family, I was laid off.
- 34:17Daniel Moore: And I think we talked about this a little bit in our testimony in episode 199.
- 34:22Daniel Moore: But, you know, hard times came on the business, and being one of the better paid employees there, I was the one of the first ones to be let go.
- 34:29Daniel Moore: And this time ushered in a dark and painful season for me.
- 34:32Daniel Moore: I felt rejected in many ways, and I became depressed.
- 34:35Daniel Moore: And sadly, I didn't handle my emotions very well.
- 34:38Daniel Moore: I was consumed with my own pain.
- 34:40Daniel Moore: I began to withdraw from you and the kids at the home.
- 34:43Daniel Moore: I isolated myself in my own little world, and you know, you had every right to feel lonely.
- 34:49Daniel Moore: We were both hurting, and it took an enormous toll on our marriage.
- 34:53Daniel Moore: So, you know, all of you listening out there for anything like us, you might be feeling exhausted by the same repeating cycle.
- 35:00Daniel Moore: You express your frustration about the lack of communication in your marriage, your spouse gets defensive, then makes an effort, maybe planning a date or initiating a heartfelt talk, but the effort fades quickly, and before long, you're left feeling even more discouraged and isolated.
- 35:16Daniel Moore: Eventually you stop bringing it up altogether, assuming this is simply your new normal.
- 35:20Daniel Moore: A sense of resignation creeps in and your heart starts to grow numb.
- 35:25Daniel Moore: You know, we all know that cycle so well.
- 35:27Daniel Moore: All of us that have been through that.
- 35:29Daniel Moore: Those of you that are heading that direction right now, that's what it's gonna be.
- 35:33Daniel Moore: That's what you have to look forward to if you're not careful, if you don't fix these issues, you need to stop what you're doing.
- 35:39Daniel Moore: You need to be more intentional with each other, see each other, hear each other, love on each other, be intimate with each other, and want to make sure that you make that intentional effort to for sure keep trying to know who your spouse is.
- 35:53Daniel Moore: Um please stay involved because you know Michelle and I live that also.
- 35:58Daniel Moore: But by God's mercy, we begin to learn some valuable truths along the way.
- 36:02Daniel Moore: And the encouraging part is that restoration is possible.
- 36:06Daniel Moore: Even after years of drifting apart, it can it's completely within reach to find your way back to each other.
- 36:11Daniel Moore: And that process doesn't require losing your sense of independence.
- 36:15Daniel Moore: In fact, the first key is realizing that reconnecting emotionally doesn't mean giving up what you are or who you are as an individual.
- 36:24Daniel Moore: And I can see where I think a lot of times we're gonna talk about that interdependence here in just a second.
- 36:30Daniel Moore: I'm gonna have you share with us on that, but I think I can see sometimes where when people get into this state where they're separating themselves and they're they're moving off into the distance from their their mate, that for them to come back, they do have to give up something.
- 36:46Daniel Moore: They they do have to give up uh the the the independence that they're feeling.
- 36:52Daniel Moore: Uh, you know, maybe they're trying to get to a point where they're just secluded by themselves, they feel more in control because it's just them.
- 36:59Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 36:59Daniel Moore: And it looks like chaos to have to move back into that situation where there's two of them again, to have to try to figure each other out and whatever that may be.
- 37:07Daniel Moore: But you know, uh, as we talked before, marriage takes work.
- 37:11Daniel Moore: Yeah, it doesn't just happen.
- 37:13Daniel Moore: You don't just snap your finger and it's done.
- 37:16Daniel Moore: It takes hard, hard work sometimes.
- 37:18Daniel Moore: And we do have to sacrifice.
- 37:20Daniel Moore: Yeah, we do have to give things up.
- 37:23Daniel Moore: And so as we talk about this interdependence thing, Michelle, why don't you share with us?
- 37:42Michelle Moore: Couples who find themselves living them parallel lives often become comfortable with their personal space and self-sufficiency.
- 37:49Michelle Moore: That doesn't mean that they have to choose between being independent or being connected in their relationship.
- 37:55Michelle Moore: These two ideals aren't meant to be opposites, but rather two parts of a healthy dynamic.
- 38:01Michelle Moore: The goal is to find a rhythm that allows space for individuality while still nurturing emotional closeness.
- 38:09Michelle Moore: One of the biggest misconceptions in marriage is thinking your partner should fulfill every role in your life, whether it may be best friend, spiritual advisor, an emotional rock, romantic partner, co-worker in parenting, planner, cook, cleaner, financial strategist, motivator, and comforter.
- 38:31Michelle Moore: That's an unrealistic expectation and a prescription for disappointment.
- 38:36Michelle Moore: God designed each one of us to be whole individuals grounded in Him with our identity and purpose rooted in Christ.
- 38:45Michelle Moore: As John 10 10 reminds us, Jesus came to offer us a full and meaningful life.
- 38:51Michelle Moore: He alone is meant to be our everything.
- 38:54Michelle Moore: A thriving marriage consists of two emotionally and spiritually healthy people who trust in Christ as their foundation.
- 39:02Michelle Moore: As you move away from disconnected living and back toward relational closeness, the key is developing interdependence, relying on one another while staying rooted in your own identity and faith.
- 39:15Michelle Moore: True transformation begins when the cost of staying disconnected becomes greater than the fear of change.
- 39:22Michelle Moore: This will require facing the real issues that divide you and choosing to engage in behaviors that bring you back together as a team.
- 39:31Michelle Moore: Let's look at a few root challenges that may be causing you to stay stuck.
- 39:38Daniel Moore: So as we talk about this interdependence situation here, the thing that I'm reminded of is how so many times when we talk about the unity candle, and Michelle and I use this analogy in our marriage 911 uh crisis marriage mentorship, but it's very fitting for right here.
- 39:58Daniel Moore: Uh the unity candle simulates two people coming together, becoming one, and they blow out the candle, and then they're one.
- 40:05Daniel Moore: But that really kind of gives you a bad look at what marriage really is because that's not really true.
- 40:12Daniel Moore: Because there's still two people in that relationship.
- 40:15Daniel Moore: Right there's still the man, there's still the woman.
- 40:18Daniel Moore: And then, of course, you've got God.
- 40:20Daniel Moore: So, in all reality, it should be one plus one equals three, is what it should be.
- 40:26Daniel Moore: So as we look at this interdependence thing, we feel like whenever we come back into the relationship from being separated and apart, and we have this distance and we've uh kind of this loneliness factor that's going on.
- 40:41Daniel Moore: And a lot of times we'll look back to as we come back, try to come back together and fix all of that.
- 40:46Daniel Moore: We look to one of our partners to be everything.
- 40:50Daniel Moore: Um, anything and everything that we could ever need, we look for that partner to fulfill every mode.
- 40:55Michelle Moore: And I messed up with that because I put you on a pencil.
- 40:59Michelle Moore: Yeah, it's you were my everything, and once you did that, yeah, it went crumbling.
- 41:04Michelle Moore: Yeah, and that and you So I learned first hand on that, and then I had to fix where my source was.
- 41:11Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 41:12Daniel Moore: So the healthy way to bring to fix the situation as we as for this week is concerned, is to come back together, but you both need to be in a healthy place individually.
- 41:24Michelle Moore: Right.
- 41:25Daniel Moore: As you come back together, so that when you do mesh your relationship again, you have some safe space there to be able to talk through things because you don't have one unhealthy individual and a healthy individual trying to come together, you clash.
- 41:40Daniel Moore: Right.
- 41:40Daniel Moore: Or if you have two unhealthy individuals, you clash.
- 41:43Michelle Moore: It's definitely going to clash.
- 41:44Daniel Moore: And what I mean by a healthy individual is someone that has become stable-minded in the way that they think towards their marriage, they're putting God first.
- 41:52Daniel Moore: They have reconciled within themselves that they did have problems, that they were part of the issue, and that they need to make some things right, they're taking responsibility, and they have asked God to forgive them for the things that they have done in that marriage and made it right with God so that they can come back together now and ask forgiveness from each other.
- 42:12Michelle Moore: Yep.
- 42:12Michelle Moore: Yep.
- 42:12Daniel Moore: And don't rem don't forget, too, there's a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation.
- 42:16Daniel Moore: You can forgive somebody and it still not be fixed.
- 42:20Daniel Moore: That is correct.
- 42:21Daniel Moore: If you forgive somebody and they don't give that back to you, at least it's off of you.
- 42:26Daniel Moore: That's right.
- 42:27Daniel Moore: You know, as they always say, forgiveness is more for the individual that forgave than for the other one that received it.
- 42:33Daniel Moore: That's good.
- 42:34Daniel Moore: And when you can reconcile, though, that that's where the actual bloom in the marriage starts to happen, where that reconstruction starts to take place.
- 42:42Daniel Moore: And at that moment, um, that's whenever God can start working in that situation and you can start working again towards having that healthy relationship that God intended you to have.
- 42:54Daniel Moore: And so don't just uh get out there and from all the nagging, make a quick U-turn, oh I'm just going back and fix this then if that's what they want, you know.
- 43:03Daniel Moore: Come back with that real bad attitude and then just jump right in the middle of it trying to fix stuff while both of you are still irritated and not gonna work and everything else is probably not gonna work if you try to do that.
- 43:14Daniel Moore: So you have to make sure you fix yourselves in in order for that interdependence to take place and expect that both of you are gonna have to take on the loads.
- 43:23Daniel Moore: It can't be all on one person's shoulders.
- 43:25Michelle Moore: And I also think if you're fixing yourself, seeking God's face of when the right time to connect with that spouse is very important, the discernment because you may be ready, but the spouse may not be.
- 43:43Daniel Moore: Right.
- 43:44Michelle Moore: So I think that's where the spiritually health healthy part of um making sure that yourself is healthy comes to play and factor because you're gonna have to have the discernment to go into their space when you know they're ready for that.
- 43:59Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 43:59Daniel Moore: It's a very good, very good point.
- 44:01Daniel Moore: Because what?
- 44:02Michelle Moore: I made a good point.
- 44:03Daniel Moore: You always do.
- 44:04Michelle Moore: Woohoo! You don't see it, but fireworks are going off.
- 44:09Daniel Moore: Uh I I married a very intelligent spouse and Michelle.
- 44:14Michelle Moore: LOL.
- 44:16Daniel Moore: Oh, no, you that I mean it's it shows even in our relationship because if if you or I came back in and tried to fix things after everything we went through, and one of us really just didn't want it.
- 44:30Daniel Moore: And it wouldn't have worked.
- 44:31Daniel Moore: Yeah, the other one did, it wouldn't have worked.
- 44:34Michelle Moore: No.
- 44:34Daniel Moore: You know, we both had to come to a point where we both had to decide is this for real or not for real.
- 44:39Michelle Moore: And I also think that the timing was right.
- 44:42Michelle Moore: It was God's timing for both of us at that time.
- 44:45Michelle Moore: I don't think that, you know, yes, you did fight for us.
- 44:49Michelle Moore: I wasn't ready.
- 44:50Michelle Moore: But it was when I became ready, God really opened that door for both of us to come in and meet and heal.
- 44:59Michelle Moore: And, you know, I I think that's very, very important.
- 45:03Michelle Moore: You can't just sit there and say, Well, I ask forgiveness and you know, I'm not gonna do this, but you're you know, that person also needs to heal.
- 45:11Michelle Moore: Yeah, you know, you can't just expect them just to turn around like that.
- 45:14Michelle Moore: Now, five years later, if you're still not there, there's there's something with that person, but that person may need some time.
- 45:21Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 45:21Michelle Moore: Um, and you know they're seeking it because if they're seeking God, they've got places to heal that they know that need to heal.
- 45:28Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 45:29Daniel Moore: So we're gonna go ahead and wrap it up here actually for this week, and we'll start in next week here where we've left off and we'll finish up this episode.
- 45:37Daniel Moore: But I think that, you know, this is such a timely message.
- 45:40Daniel Moore: I I just I know a lot of people that are really struggling, you know, with being married um but not feeling married.
- 45:47Daniel Moore: You know, it's like there are just a lot of things going on in their life right now where they just feel totally disconnected.
- 45:52Daniel Moore: And, you know, that's not something really when we first got married to our spouses, that's not really what we signed up for.
- 45:59Michelle Moore: But I also feel the enemy he is, he's I think people need to recognize in the marriage when the enemy's at work.
- 46:07Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 46:07Michelle Moore: And I think that's very important to see if you guys are seeking God and you're praying together and you know there's issues, you need to be knowing when the enemy's at work.
- 46:19Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 46:20Michelle Moore: Because he is, I mean, he's conniving, he knows what little things will set you off or trigger something.
- 46:26Michelle Moore: And so you have to recognize when it's the enemy.
- 46:29Daniel Moore: Yeah, you have to be able to discern what that is.
- 46:33Daniel Moore: And I guess this is kind of a good spot to throw this in here.
- 46:36Daniel Moore: I've uh here recently I've actually written a book and it's getting ready to be released here shortly.
- 46:43Michelle Moore: Very good.
- 46:44Daniel Moore: It's been kind of a secret up my sleeve.
- 46:46Michelle Moore: It has been.
- 46:47Daniel Moore: Uh, but it has been published at this point, it's through the review process right now.
- 46:51Daniel Moore: But there is a chapter in there on marriage and spiritual warfare.
- 46:55Daniel Moore: And it's a it's a really good chapter.
- 46:57Daniel Moore: And actually, one of the things it touches on is how do you know that it's the enemy attacking your marriage and it's not something else.
- 47:03Daniel Moore: And there's some things in there that kind of go through that process of how you can tell the difference.
- 47:09Daniel Moore: But for most of us, we can usually, if we're a good Christian person that's in the word, you know, praying in our uh on a regular basis, we go to church on a regular basis and we just try to keep God central in our life, we can usually tell when that demonic work is going on when it's actually Satan attacking us or it's just a uh result of the moment.
- 47:30Daniel Moore: Yeah.
- 47:30Daniel Moore: There's a different there's a difference.
- 47:33Daniel Moore: And we have to get to that point where we can understand and discern between the two because you may be fighting your spouse, but what if you're actually spighting your spouse and your spouse and Satan at the same time?
- 47:44Daniel Moore: You're gonna have to approach that just a little bit differently.
- 47:47Daniel Moore: Absolutely.
- 47:47Daniel Moore: You know, you you can't use the same weapons and do it the same way because sometimes the spouse may not even think they're the problem, and it may be Satan that's causing all of that.
- 47:59Daniel Moore: And so that's why it's so important to keep God in the middle of your relationships, in the middle of your marriage, and try to create that spot that Satan cannot penetrate.
- 48:08Daniel Moore: Build those barriers, you know, ask God to erect those walls of safety around you and to resist Satan and to keep him away from you because the Bible tells us that you know, at the at the mention of Christ's name, Satan flees.
- 48:24Michelle Moore: Yeah.
- 48:25Daniel Moore: And so we have to remember that if we can keep him in the center of our relationship and it's a godly marriage, Satan can't be there.
- 48:31Daniel Moore: He has to go.
- 48:32Daniel Moore: Um but we have to take that authority in the name of Jesus and make sure that that takes place.
- 48:38Daniel Moore: So next week we'll come back.
- 48:41Daniel Moore: We'll go ahead and pick up here where we've left off.
- 48:43Daniel Moore: We're gonna be talking about a monkey trap.
- 48:45Daniel Moore: I don't know if y'all know what one of those are.
- 48:46Daniel Moore: If you don't, I do not.
- 48:48Daniel Moore: If you don't, that gives you something to look forward to next week to see what that is and how that has anything to do with our marriages.
- 48:54Daniel Moore: So that's a very interesting uh episode that we'll have next week as we finish up this episode here on being married but feeling lonely, feeling like that we're by ourselves.
- 49:06Michelle Moore: So have anything else to add to this week's or I just want to tell anyone in that that's listening, you you know, if you ever feel lonely and you can't get away from feeling that reach out to us because you're not you are not alone.
- 49:21Michelle Moore: Um, it states that in the Bible.
- 49:23Michelle Moore: God is there, you know, wants to love you.
- 49:26Michelle Moore: I just any marriage person that feels that way, please reach out to us.
- 49:31Michelle Moore: We'll be praying.
- 49:32Daniel Moore: We'd love to say prayer over.
- 49:33Michelle Moore: Yes, absolutely.
- 49:35Daniel Moore: Yes.
- 49:36Daniel Moore: Well, that's gonna go ahead and wrap it up this week, then.
- 49:39Daniel Moore: And we pray that as we've been through this episode, that your marriage is stronger and your walk with God is closer.
- 49:45Daniel Moore: And we hope that you have a good week.
- 49:47Daniel Moore: This is an extension of Connecting the Gap Ministries, and we pray over each and every one of you that you have a blessed week.