Mess Ups

“Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long ...

Parenting in Your Mixed Faith Marriage

I talk to my clients a lot about their kids. I am a marriage coach, but kids are often the result ...

Tug of War Over the Kids

In my own home and with my clients) a sort of tug of war to win the hearts and minds of ...

When Your Spouse is Disappointed

I used to be uncomfortable with my spouse’s disappointment or anger or sadness.  I used to think things like: -I can’t ...

3 Tips for a Mixed Faith Marriage (Mormon or NOT)

I recently talked to a protestant (never mormon) friend and she was telling me about her daughter who was dating a ...

How to STOP Fighting – Video

5 Common Questions

To Resign or Not Resign

Sometimes when a spouse steps away from the church this can take many forms. There is no one way. Here a ...

Parent’s Worst Fear

The worst fear of many parents is that their kids leave the church. It is sometimes the case in a mixed ...

Home Study Course

Maybe you have been in a mixed faith marriage for a while, maybe it is brand new territory, in either case ...

Fear Based Decisions

I am so afraid so often. I am afraid of my husband being done with me and my faith transition. I ...

How to deal with your spouse teaching or talking about things that you do not agree with?

This usually comes up in the context of teaching about gospel topic such as the law of chastity, modesty, priesthood, leadership, ...

Afraid of what others will think?

My ancestors are pioneers. We are talking about covered wagons traveling from Far West to Salt Lake City. My extended family ...

What to do if your marriage has been neglected?

There was a time when we were so busy strengthening our family we forget to strengthen our marriage. The two are ...

How to influence you spouse  (It’s not what  you think)

In your marriages you may find you want to be able to influence your spouse. To be a someone they listen ...

Connection after Disconnection

Here is what happened. We were disconnected all week. Something was off. I was pretty sure he hated me and I ...

Hierarchy v Partnership

Many marriages are built on a hierarchical model. It works for some people to a certain extent. It provides clear roles ...

Communication Tip

I want to give you a little tip on communication. One way to improve communication is to remove the obstacles to ...

It Takes Practice

The other day a YW leader came by to drop something off my my kids (as all YW leaders will do). ...

Mormon? Unitarian? Agnostic? Atheist? 

A faith transition can mean many things for your marriage. Sometimes the transitioning  spouse will keep attending church but just not ...

Selfish

I think one of the single biggest fears we bring into our mixed faith marriage is that we are being SELFISH. ...

Change and Progression

Are you someone who freezes when faced with change in your marriage. Often the response to change is  – this can’t ...

Marriage Remodel

 We are in the middle of a huge and extensive remodel project of our house. We have a mid century modern ...

Painful Conversations

 Do you keep on having the same painful conversations over and over about tithing or church history or cultural norms versus ...

CHANGE: A faith transition means change

Change can be disorienting for both spouses. Here I want to talk about how to handle change whether you are the ...

Blame and Responsibility 

It is not uncommon you and me to blame our partners for our emotions and and not take responsibility for them. ...

This is so hard!

I don’t even know how many times I have told myself this about my mixed faith marriage. It is so hard ...

Not an ideal marriage 

Do you believe that a mixed faith marriage is not an ideal marriage? If you do, you are not alone. I ...

How to communicate without fighting

Does it seem like every time you talk about church it ends up in a fight? I had a client come ...

Walking on Eggshells

I have heard from my clients that if feels like they are walking on eggshells when it comes to talking about ...

How to stay together when you don’t go to church together

I was raised being taught that it is better to marry someone in your religion. It is better to go to ...

COST of Doing Nothing

For so many of us – Nothing is more important than our family and the core of that family is our  ...

Fear

Fear This is such a powerful emotion. It arises a lot in my life and mostly about my future.  -Will this mixed faith ...

Decision Making

Two things are commonly agreed to challenge a marriage: mixed faith and remodeling. We are doing both. Decision making is paramount ...

People Pleasing

People don’t always associate people pleasing with a mixed faith marriage. People pleasing can run rampant in these types of marriages. ...

Will this ever get better? 

There was a point in my mixed faith marriage when I was sure that it was never going to get better. ...

I am ruining everything. 

I am ruining everything. This can be a common refrain for those who have It may prompt the following: I don’t ...

I am right and they are wrong

There is a problem that many people have that causes them to be miserable, especially in their marriage. They think they ...

I loved you more when you were active

A faith transition can change the balance in a marriage. It can “mess up” roles and expectations and schedules and traditions. ...

Family Photos

We just has our family photos taken. Four kids, two adults and one  dog. It was quite the event. I (who ...

Hard Conversations

This past week my husband and I both read the Elder Holland talk that was given to BYU faculty. He is ...

What is it like to have a Life Coach Help your Mixed Faith Marriage – video

Decision Making- Video

Negotiation and Compromise- Video

Tithing- Video

Mirror Effect

Our spouses play many important roles in our lives. They can be our best friend or biggest advocate, our most painful ...

Emotion v Logic

Many couples claim that one partner is logical and the other is emotional (and that this is a problem). Usually the ...

Emotional Responsibility

A good wife makes her husband happy I want to help my husband feel better. Happy wife, happy life. Those sound ...

Love Feel Amazing (NOT Terrible)

Love feel amazing. When we are feeing love we act lovingly.  Often we get loved mixed up with other emotions. We ...

How Can I accept them? I don’t respect what they believe or think.

Many clients come to me and ask, “How Can I accept them? I don’t respect what they believe or think. I ...

Boundaries

I have heard their is a need to establish boundaries in a Mormon mixed faith marriage. This may be true and ...

How to Feel Better About Your Mixed Faith Marriage

Our relationship we have with others is just the accumulation of thoughts we have about them. Our thoughts about what they ...

Consequences

You are probably aware of long and short term consequences. When you eat a cupcake in the short term you get ...

Selfish – Video

Progression, Change & Perfectionism – Video

Us versus Them Mentality

There is a way our brains process and categorize people and events in our lives that I call the  ‘us versus ...

Courage

If I could name one ESSENTIAL emotion to make a mixed faith marriage work I would name: Courage. It takes courage ...

Baby Blessings, Baptism, Ordination, Temple Weddings

What to do when your kids hit on of the many rites of passage in LDS culture? Do you let them ...

Inner Work for Outer Success

Most (okay, really all) the really effective work we do in our marriage is inner work. We think it is work ...

Common Worries For Active Spouses Around Parenting 

I am sure there are tons of worries out there. Here I will highlight two I have seen personally and professionally.  ...

Parenting Series # 4- Worry

I have covered so far: #1- basic parenting resources – fully vetted #2- How to deal with a spouse teaching things ...

Unconditional Love  and Respect

My husband and I have an ongoing discussion about unconditional love and respect. Suffice it to say we would like more ...

I can’t believe this is happening to me (and other unhelpful thoughts)

Have you found yourself thinking these thoughts about your faith transition or your spouse’s faith transition (and marriage transition)? I can’t ...

It Only Takes ONE

I can’t improve my marriage because my spouse is not interesting in seeking help. I hear this a lot. Here is ...

Divorce in NOT an option

This used to be how my husband and I approached our marriage. We were taught this and it sounded good, right? ...

It takes SKILLS to Make Mixed Faith Marriage Work

Adult Development and your Mixed Faith Marriage- VIDEO

5 Things to Say to Your Believing Spouse- VIDEO

Approval, Sacrifice and Inequality- VIDEO

How to Stop Fighting (VIDEO)

Parenting Series #3: What To Do With The Kids Post COVID

Church has been a pretty low key affair for the past 13 months in our house. We still do not have ...

Parenting Series #1: Parenting in a Mixed Faith Marriage – Some Basic Resources

We have had a request for a list of resources to help teach kids values and character from a more secular ...

Parenting Series #2: How to Deal With Your Spouse Teaching Things That You Do Not Agree With

In my work as a coach for Mormons in mixed faith marriages I am doing a multi part series on teaching ...

Mixed Faith Marriage and Alcohol 

There are many charged emotions and strong reactions with alcohol. People feel very strongly about substances like this. That is OK,  ...

Marriage Challenges

What is the impact of feeling stuck and disempowered in your mixed faith marriage? Do you think of the challenges in ...

Intimacy and Validation

We sometimes get intimacy confused with something else. That something else is called many things. Maybe you know it as: validation, ...

Marriage Roles and Intimacy

Marriages often become a way for us to live out prescribed roles. It  can be an easy and simple way of ...

It Only Takes One

I can’t improve my marriage because my spouse is not interesting in seeking help. I hear this a lot. Here is ...

Divorce in NOT an option

This used to be how my husband and I approached our marriage. We were taught this and it sounded good, right? ...

AND not BUT 

Many people new to a mixed faith marriage  have been told that it is HARD and CHALLENGING and probably won’t work. ...

Jealousy 

A mixed faith marriage provides all sorts of new experiences. Jealousy might be one of them. Jealousy is a feeling. It ...

How to Process Emotions in a Conversation

Have you ever been flooded with emotions in a conversation? It can cause you to loose focus and become very ineffective at ...

When Others Are Concerned About Us

It is not the cruel criticism of people who hate us that shakes us from our knowing, it is the quiet ...

How to Handle the Holidays in a Mixed Faith Marriage

Christmas is coming! Christmas is a religious holiday and that can be challenging for some in a mixed faith marriage. Does ...

Mixed Faith Marriage Investments – VIDEO

Talking to Kids About a Faith Transition – VIDEO

Right or Happy – VIDEO

Its time to get help. CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE A FREE CALL WITH BROOKE. 

Mixed Faith Marriage Scapegoat – VIDEO

If it is time to talk to me about your mixed faith marriage – CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE CALL!

Fear and Courage – VIDEO

Click HERE to schedule a call with Brooke. Its time to do something about your mixed faith Marriage!

How to Teach Kids (Part 4) VIDEO

Ready to learn more? CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE A FREE CALL TO TALK ABOUT YOUR MIXED FAITH MARRIAGE.   

Intimacy Part II

Marriages often become a way for us to live out prescribed roles. It  can be an easy and simple way of ...

Intimacy

Intimacy Part 1 of 2 We sometimes get intimacy confused with something else. That something else is called many things. Maybe ...

Anxiety

Pretty common emotion these days. It seems to be a pandemic equal to the Corona virus, or worse. it is also ...

Perspective

My husband and I walk the dog in the neighborhood. Just around the block is a pretty good sized pine tree. ...

Processing Emotions

Have you every been in a conversation with you spouse and you pretty much just say all the wrong things in ...

Shoulds

There is a Brene Brown quote I love – “Let go of who you think you are supposed to be and ...

What Ifs

A faith transition can change our close relationships dramatically. So often our relationships are intertwined in our religious practices and when ...

Stress

Stress – what you feel when you think you cannot have what you want or need. Lot’s of people in a ...

Loneliness

Its sadly ironic that loneliness can be a chronic problem in a mixed faith marriage. A believing spouse may be lonely ...

Ups and Downs of a Mixed Faith Marriage

I live in Michigan. The weather is a permanent topic of conversation. The weather can be such an emotional roller coaster. ...

What is the impact of feeling stuck and disempowered in your mixed faith marriage? 

What is the impact of feeling stuck and disempowered in your mixed faith marriage? Do you think of the challenges in ...

My story – Part 1 or 2

My story – Part 1 or 2 Like so many of you, I was born and raised LDS and my family ...

My Story: Part 2 of 2

In this part I will tell you about the mixed faith marriage and how it unfolded for us. As I mentioned ...

Quiz

How emotionally resilient are you in your Mormon Mixed faith Marriage?   Take the QUIZ to find out.  5- I believe; ...

Strengthening Your Mixed Faith Marriage – Mini Course

WELCOME! In this course you are going to start on the MOST IMPORTANT part. DO NOT underestimate these tools. I have ...

A Great Mixed Faith Marriage is Possible

I was talking to a client this week and she told me she used to believe that all mixed faith marriages ...

Rituals

As humans we engage in rituals and our relationships are full of rituals. The rituals may be simple like kissing goodbye or ...

WHAT WE CAN CONTROL AND WHAT WE CANNOT CONTROL

Sometimes when things get intense in my mixed faith marriage it is helpful to remember what it is I can control ...

GUILT

When my family is at a church event and I choose to stay home I sometimes I have company for these ...

How Do You Handle Change?

A faith transition means change. You are questioning everything. This is actually a good thing. Often we get stuck in thought ...

Patriarchy

Patriarchy My husband just doesn’t see it. if he does, he does he doesn’t think it is a problem. What am ...

Emotional Adulthood

I was driving with my 13 year old daughter and she was asking about what it means to be an adult. ...

I Can’t Handle This!

“I can’t handle this.” “This is too much.” These were common thoughts in my mind when I was going thought the ...