482: Marriage First — Why Your Spouse Comes Before the Kids

Wire Talk with Karen Stubbs

Karen Stubbs

Christianity, Motherhood, Parenting, Parenting Advice, Religion & Spirituality, Kids & Family, Christian Parent, Faith

4.9 • 936 Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Moms, you don’t want to miss this conversation! Karen and Greg pull back the curtain on nearly four decades of marriage—the good, the hard, the early years, and the season they’re in now. Their honesty will inspire you to invest in your own marriage now so you can reap the rewards later. This heartfelt episode will make you smile, and maybe even tear up, as they remind us that we serve a good and faithful God who wants the best for us and our marriages.

Episode Recap:

How Karen and Greg back met in 1984 (4:00)
What Greg thought marriage was going to be like (6:40)
What were some of your biggest differences as newlyweds? (7:50)
How did you stay connected during the early years of raising kids? (10:09)
We always prioritized us over the kids. (13:22)
How did serving in the military impact your marriage and family? (14:45)
What has been the hardest season of your marriage? (18:48)
How did your faith carry you through that season? (22:54)
What have you come to love or appreciate about one another more recently? (29:10)
How has your relationship changed now that your kids are grown and gone? (31:35)
What’s one way that you protect your marriage even now? (35:55)
What has surprised you about becoming grandparents? (37:19)
Lightening round questions (40:12)

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Discussion Questions:

Karen and Greg talked about prioritizing their marriage even while raising young kids. How do you currently make space for your spouse in a busy season of parenting?
Greg shared the advice he received from his dad: “Your family is your hobby.” What might it look like for you to protect your margin for your family?
Karen described her “needy gal” season where she learned to depend on God to meet her needs. How have you experienced God providing for you in a hard marriage or parenting season?
What small rhythms (like a daily debrief, date nights, or intentional quiet time) could you adopt to strengthen your connection with your spouse?
Looking ahead, what do you hope your marriage will look like when you reach the “high five” finish line of raising kids together?

Resources:

Get the Parenting Together curriculum videos FREE in the BOAW Moms app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/birds-on-a-wire-moms/id1419899927
Grab the discussion guide in our store: https://store.birdsonawiremoms.com/collections/mom-studies/products/parenting-together-free-in-the-app-copy
Reach out to https://birdsonawiremoms.com/book-karen-to-speak to have Karen come speak in your community!
Join our private FB group, BOAW Moms: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BOAWmoms

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We prioritized each other, even over the kids. And there were many times that y'all would say, y'all are going on a date again. Yeah, we would. And that's, I think if you can get to the point, if you can get to the point where your kids are like, you're going out on a date again, then you're probably doing it about the right amount of time. Welcome to Wire Talk, where we encourage and equip moms by answering practical
0:21.8	questions about motherhood. We want to help instill God's truth in your heart so you can
0:26.2	experience more joy and peace on your journey of motherhood. Are you ready for some truth?
0:31.2	Let's dive in.
0:34.8	Hey everybody, welcome to Wire Talk and welcome September. We are in the first week of an exciting
0:40.6	series in September and we're going to be talking about marriage all month long. Mom, are you so
0:46.0	excited? I am so excited, guys. This has been an amazing month. It's going to be an amazing month.
0:51.5	Yes. And I love marriage. I love talking about it. I think
0:56.6	it's super hard. Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not looking at you any weird.
1:00.4	She's looking at me like this. I'm not. It's just normally when I'm this close. We're sitting so
1:04.0	close. I'm going to turn sideways here. Okay. Sounds good. Yeah. But you know what I'm saying?
1:08.3	We've already batched recorded all this. Today is actually our last one.
1:12.1	Yay.
1:12.6	That we are recording.
1:14.4	So Emily and I get the benefit of already knowing what's coming up.
1:18.4	And the interviews have been so rich.
1:20.5	The questions have been so good that the moms have written in.
1:24.4	And I've just loved it.
1:25.7	It's just been amazing.
1:27.3	It's been amazing. And everything that you are going to hear this month is practical,
1:31.3	it's helpful, but also it's not that hard.
1:33.3	It's not difficult.
	...

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