Still Becoming One
Still Becoming One
Navigating Empty Nest: Our Unexpected Journey
Life has a way of surprising us with transitions we weren't quite expecting. This week, Brad and Kate share the sudden shift into empty-nest parenthood that has happened, which they had not anticipated. As their four children all simultaneously launched into new adventures, Brad and Kate found themselves abruptly facing a quiet house filled with possibility and questions.
Throughout their discussion emerges a beautiful picture of what intentional marriage looks like in transition: honest communication about fears, shared dreams for the future, and the gentle ribbing that comes from knowing each other well (including an ongoing debate about a particularly aggressive holly bush in their yard). For couples facing their own transitions, this episode offers both practical wisdom and the comforting reminder that even relationship experts navigate change one conversation at a time.
Ready to invest in your marriage during life's transitions? Learn more about our fall groups and resources at aldrichministries.com and join us as we continue the journey of still becoming one for another season!
Welcome to the Still Becoming One podcast. We are Brad and Kate.
Speaker 2:In our more than 20 years of marriage, we've survived both dark times and experienced restoration.
Speaker 1:Now as a licensed marriage counselor and relationship coaches. We help couples to regain hope and joy.
Speaker 2:We invite you to journey with us, as we are still becoming one.
Speaker 1:Let's start the conversation.
Speaker 3:Hello everyone, Welcome back to Still Becoming One.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:We are excited to be back. I know many of our regular listeners have recognized that we took part of the summer off and at least took several weeks off here.
Speaker 2:I think most of the summer.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Didn't we.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's been a little bit of a crazy summer and a lot's been going on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe they thought we were just doing like the silent practice for several weeks. Yeah, everybody sits in silence.
Speaker 3:Everybody sits in silence, just sit in silence. So we are super excited, now that fall is quickly approaching, to come back and pick up with Still Becoming One and lots of really exciting topics. We have some good guests scheduled and other things. So I'm really excited as we're moving along here. We have some good guests scheduled and other things, so I'm really excited as we're moving along here, but wanted to honestly just share a little bit of some of the interesting, different challenges and things that we've been going through.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been a summer. Well, let's be honest, I feel like life in general is a mixture of holding really exciting things in life, really good things that are happening, and then some of those really hard things that bring a lot of grief, a lot of pain. I feel like isn't that most of life, yeah, yeah, but seasons of more of one or the other sometimes, and I feel like we've been in a season of holding both really.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Really exciting things happened this summer and some really hard things happened this summer. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that's exactly kind of how I've been feeling and just kind of going through this say, and we'll kind of start off that I'm excited for this next season of our life that's starting. I think you know we weren't exactly anticipating it yet, but I'm excited about it.
Speaker 2:What? Yes, what is this?
Speaker 3:next that we are kind of being plunged, jumping into emptiness sooner than we anticipated. Yes, and so all of our kids are launching in one way or another, our oldest, who graduated from Moody Bible Institute last year.
Speaker 2:In May actually, yeah, same this year. Well, yes, December.
Speaker 3:He graduated in December, walked in May and then he has let us know that he is currently fundraising to become a missionary in the UK Yep and he is going with an organization called AT3 and will be stationed near Liverpool and working with a church out there. So he is planning to launch in that direction in December or January of this coming year. So he is way launching and we're super excited for him.
Speaker 2:And he's moved to Chicago and then has not. He comes home for holidays and stuff, but he's kind of base camp there. He loves Chicago.
Speaker 3:So he is, yeah, been out and heading further out, and our next son is in his junior year in university, also in Illinois. Yep, the boys like Illinois yeah they do, so he is heading back there very shortly.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 3:Or will be there by the time this comes out. So and then our next our daughter is starting her freshman year at Eastern university.
Speaker 2:Yep Eastern.
Speaker 3:Kate's alma mater.
Speaker 2:That's not why she went there.
Speaker 3:Kate won that.
Speaker 2:I did not.
Speaker 3:Arm wrestle.
Speaker 2:But I can't say I'm not excited.
Speaker 3:So that's you know. I'm recognizing, as we're in the process, that dropping boy children off at college and girl children off at college is two very different things.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, some is personality too, some is personality too, some is personality.
Speaker 3:Some is amount of stuff.
Speaker 2:I mean, you're not wrong, but probably your. Well, I don't know. Do you remember when your sister went? Yes, Probably. It's just true in general. Oh my gosh, yes.
Speaker 3:It was so much stuff. And then I remember my, like my parents going is that all you're bringing? I'm like what else do I need, what else do I own? I don't have things.
Speaker 2:That's true, and that's how the boys were too. I mean like I remember being like. We need sheets, you need a comfort.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Like they were just like. Oh yeah, I guess I do need to take that. I mean, they basically thought packing their clothes was all they really needed to bring yeah.
Speaker 3:So it's just you know, and like she's out doing decorations for her room and she's painting.
Speaker 2:She painted a bunch of old vinyls that we found at the Goodwill bins and she's painting flowers on them. Hilarious it's adorable.
Speaker 3:It's just who she is, so she's launching out and really excited for her.
Speaker 2:It's going to be a huge transition, but she's such a smart kid she's going to do just fine yeah, yeah yeah and then our youngest has kind of uh, launched into her senior year, into an alternative school that really will focus on her mental health for this year. So um which we we hadn't necessarily anticipated, but we all think it's probably a really good opportunity for her. But that involves she lives at that facility, and so we are all of a sudden without anyone at home.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a year, at least a year in anticipation, and we weren't even sure if it was going to be a year right like. So we were like oh, it's going to be several years before we hit empty nest. And now, actually, as we're recording this this week, it will be like just us yeah, after sunday, like today's monday sunday everyone will be back so those of you listening to this whenever it out can ask us how it's going.
Speaker 2:We still have dogs, so it's not completely silent in the home.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and honestly I'm really looking forward to it. You know, it's been now a couple of weeks that we knew this was coming and I think it's going to be a really good shift for us, for our stress level, for our self-care routines for our, you know, just things that we've been trying to be healthier at for the last several years.
Speaker 2:in that and I think we've been very intentional. But, as you all know, there are some aspects of some of our kiddos' lives that we can't control, and I mean most of our kids lives. That's true as well.
Speaker 2:But, like some of the things they bring, yeah and so, um, and some of the stuff we bring, guys, we're, we are not, you know, uh, we don't. It's not that we don't have that aspect as well. Um, so, yeah, I I'm excited too, but I think I'm the type of person that when I know it's coming, then I get super excited because I we've had well, we've had yeah, we've had this leaning leading up to it. The fact that it just kind of was dropped in our laps pretty fast, believe it or not, has kind of sent me into a mental tailspin of like oh my gosh, I don't have any problem being home with you.
Speaker 2:It's not that, and I've expressed this to both you and our friends I'm more and more worried that I will overwhelm you.
Speaker 3:Which I think is hilarious, that you think you're going to overwhelm me.
Speaker 2:Well, wait a sec, let's do story work here. Why would I think that? Because your, your family, never really saw your needs and so you had to take care of yourself right, and so one of the biggest things for me is like I'm too much for people, but then I'm also super high responsibility, Correct. So I'm like you know I've these. How many years I've had kids to.
Speaker 3:To do, to work with and.
Speaker 2:And take, you know, and we've been Take places.
Speaker 3:You know, we always say we've.
Speaker 2:That's been a huge part of my job.
Speaker 3:As we've gone through life, we got literally done every combination of male, female working, staying at home kind of thing, because you worked full-time while I went to school. Yes, um, and then there was times where we both were working full-time yes um, there were times that, and when we had our first son, we were both working full time. Then there were times where I worked full time and you stayed home full time. Then there were places you know we've done it all.
Speaker 2:We've done it all except you, as a stay at home, dad.
Speaker 3:True, true.
Speaker 2:That's the only thing we haven't done.
Speaker 3:So this is a season and we've kind of been talking about for the last. I don't know. Seven years or eight years I've been full-time or full-time plus, depending on how many jobs I have and you've been part-time. And now even for the last two, three years you've been part-time and now, even for the last two, three years you've been part-time with Aldrich Ministries and doing coaching part-time, but we've been pretty intentional at trying to keep you part-time.
Speaker 2:At home.
Speaker 3:So that other part-time was running the kids around and doing all the things that moms do.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So how much are you kind of going? I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing with that time.
Speaker 2:I don't know that that bothers me or worries me. We had got, I mean, and this is just a natural stage of life, we have gotten to the point where mainly what I was doing with our kiddos sure, sewing into them when they were home, having conversations, checking in with them, that kind of stuff, but mainly the stuff I was doing was being a taxi, right A lot.
Speaker 2:Not that those moments, you don't have moments in there too, but I wasn't involved in what I was dropping them off to a lot of times, and so I can't say that I will necessarily miss being a mom Uber. But right, so that I don't worry about that as much, I do like I was thinking this morning like it is our job as parents to pursue our children. It's not our children's job to pursue us, which is something a lot of people I think at this stage get turned around a little bit Like hey, you never call me, why don't you check in with me? It's actually, as parents, it's our job to check in with them. So I was reminding myself this morning well, I'm going to have a lot of check-ins I need to do right. So we have four kiddos, different ways to reach out to all of them, different preferences that each one likes For sure.
Speaker 2:We have one kiddo who loves Marco Polo, one kiddo who doesn't really like any way of contact, like he just doesn't. It's not, he doesn't really like it with anybody else either. So like figuring that out. So yeah, I don't worry so much about the free time.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:Is that fair?
Speaker 3:No, I think it's very fair. I think you've said a couple of times that you're scared, you're going to overwhelm me or bug me or something like that.
Speaker 2:Well, I like you.
Speaker 3:I, like you too. I really don't mind hanging out with you. I think some of what you're referring to is as I've gotten healthier. One of the things that I've learned how to do I think, in a healthy amount is have some alone time, which is not something I did when we were first married, or I should say, if I did it when we were first married it was with the TV.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or you just go off by yourself. I feel like you did kind of do that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I wasn't very good at it and I think I've gotten healthier with it. Of like that. You do see me go. I'm going to go read a book, or I'm going to go lay in my hammock, or something that is alone time, but I think it's a healthy self-care for me.
Speaker 2:Oh, it definitely is, and you've always been good and we for years, when we were doing our healing process. We don't mind being in each other's space and space doing, and doing some of that right doing our own, like alone time, even though we're in the same space.
Speaker 2:But I do know and I've worked really hard on it this last year because I did struggle with it I do know, like when we're sitting in each other's space and having alone time, if I'm reading something that's funny, or I'm seeing something, or I always want to share it with you. Yeah, and sometimes brad's not up for that all well, I?
Speaker 3:that's where my add comes in, because if I'm like reading a book and she, every five minutes, want to share something with me I can't.
Speaker 2:Five minutes, that sounds horrible. It was probably even less than that sometimes, but anyways I can't read my book, like it's just not possible for me to like get back in it's.
Speaker 3:you know that kind of stuff, so that that's where it's like not possible for me to like get back in it's, you know that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:So that that's where it's like okay, and see, my brain does that. It's probably not good, but it does do that. And so, like, if we're doing work, I'd love to sit next to him and then be like hey, so I heard this the other day and he's like what, I cannot focus if we're going to. So I've learned this year to not come into the office and sit and do work next to you. I do it out in the living room or in the kitchen because I can't. I struggle to not chat with you, but I've learned my own way of like okay, if that's hard for me, then what do I need to do so that Brad can continue to be focused and I can continue to be focused? Okay, so what are you like? You say you're not worried.
Speaker 3:I'm not.
Speaker 2:At all.
Speaker 3:No, I'm really not, because we've anticipated spending more time together for years. Right, and just the kind of casual dreaming of oh, get to you know, do xyz.
Speaker 3:Or you know we we can you know and we enjoy spending time together. So I think we've worked on our relationship for a long time that I'm really not worried the the pitfall that we see couples go through in this season for a long time is that so much of either both or one person in the couple's energy has gone to parenting the kids that the marriage hasn't had a whole lot of energy. So then those kids launch yeah and the person is left going. I don't know what to do. I don't think we're going to run into that.
Speaker 2:I don't think so either.
Speaker 3:I think we both have things we enjoy doing. I think we both enjoy spending time together. I think we do all of that stuff pretty well because we've been intentional in growing some of that. So that's where I'm not worried about it. I think probably and this is always a worry that we do talk about regularly is it's easy for me to kind of just work more.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Especially, you know, having our own business work. You know it doesn't have set hours, right Like so it's and we do work a lot and it's. So I think it's like oh, okay, I don't have to help with transporting somebody right now, or like, so it's just almost makes it easier, and I can kind of already feel this. It almost makes it easier of like well, yeah, sure I could put in a session then.
Speaker 2:or yeah, I can do that right, where I need to be cautious, of right, not doing that too much well, we were talking about this the other day, I think I brought it up is like we work nine to nine most days, with the exception of friday.
Speaker 3:We end early, but there's space in the middle.
Speaker 2:Right, and that is a counselor, coach life many times. Unfortunately, people want morning and evening appointments. So our free time, our time for self-care, our time for well for me, like doing family things.
Speaker 3:Or exercise is often middle of the day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Like well, that's self-care. But, like all that has to be done in the middle of the day and I said I am worried, we're just going to get up, get going to work, we both do our own self-care and then we both fall into bed at 10 o'clock.
Speaker 3:And not really have that forced interaction and just keep doing it day after day after day.
Speaker 2:So we're talking about, like, what does it look like to not, and how do we?
Speaker 3:and yeah, I, mean, this is where we need a, you know, a session of people who've been empty nesters for a while to talk back to us and say, okay, here's the stuff you're missing, you know, because I think, um, we're thinking about it. We've certainly worked with so many couples who've gone through this either well or not well, um, so I think we're probably pretty prepared for it, but I know there's probably things that we aren't thinking about.
Speaker 2:Well, and I really do think we could talk to empty nesters, but the reality is we need someone. I hate to sound like this, but it is really unique, Because if we worked nine to five, and we're talking about five to 10 every night that we have that's dedicated time Right. So you and I are even going to have to like flesh out? Do we have certain hours in the middle of the day that we don't take clients Both of us and that's tough.
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 2:Because I work with women a lot of times who aren't working.
Speaker 1:They are at home Right.
Speaker 2:And so sometimes those hours are, you know. So it's just like we just have a lot to sort of figure out, but we also, I also know, like we have a little bit of time, it's not like we have to figure it out next week, no exactly, we're just aware.
Speaker 3:So it's, you know, transition, life throws transitions and sometimes we plan on them, yeah, and sometimes we plan on them? Yeah, and sometimes you know we don't, and this is one that we really weren't necessarily planning on, right now. Right now. Right, we've been thinking about it for a long time but we haven't really didn't know it was going to be happening right now. So, yeah, it'll be interesting.
Speaker 2:we'll keep you guys in the loop of like how we're doing and and what, what that looks like and how it's our conflicts to the podcast, sure y'all?
Speaker 3:like that yeah, um you sick people it is true, we always get feedback when we uh disagree on something.
Speaker 2:So yeah, but I'm I'm looking forward to being able to focus a little bit more on us on the weekends, like focus a little bit more on just bringing ourselves to a better space. Um, the last four or five years have been really hard on everyone in our family.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Um, nobody wanted it to be that way, but. But just to bring a little bit more balance and hoping to get a little bit more bandwidth capacity in my own life to do some things that I would like to do.
Speaker 3:I think that's a really nice way of saying it. I can feel that as well. There've been projects and things that we've kind of gone no, we don't really have the capacity for right now. That I'm kind of excited for in that. So we're both diving into the next level of Allender training this fall and we'll have some more capacity for that. That's one of those, Um, but we also, you know, have other things that we're we're looking at growing and doing more of.
Speaker 2:Well, and it's funny when you just said that, I'm like are you talking about all, just ministries only?
Speaker 3:Okay. Well, this is one of those things that we fall into all the times that when you dream and kind of go, okay, where do we want to grow, where do we want to do, I tend like I tend to immediately think about career, and I think most men do. I think most men think about what they do and how they want to do more of that or grow more of that.
Speaker 3:And so, yes, that is my first thoughts of where that goes, and there's been things that we've been talking about doing in ministry and in life, in that form of life, for a long time that we keep putting off. So, I do think of that you were thinking more than just that.
Speaker 2:I already started a list.
Speaker 3:Really.
Speaker 2:On a Google Doc. It includes painting the boys' room, painting the hallway, organizing the basement. It's all the things I've thought like I've wanted to do forever. I wish you could see his face right now. I'm not, those were not on my forever. Oh, she could see his face.
Speaker 3:Those were not on my list.
Speaker 2:But they've been on our list. Well, the hallway was on our list, but we moved in.
Speaker 2:And our boys like painted their room camo colors but when they were like I want to say like eight and ten, yeah, and you know they're just done with it and eventually it needs to be kind of a more neutral color for just future and whatever we do with our space and whatever. So those are the things that came to my mind and absolutely stuff we've dreamed about doing here too. But I think that also speaks of where both of our minds kind of go. You know, I think about all the home things I haven't been able to achieve that I've wanted to and think, oh, this is kind of maybe the perfect opportunity. And I, like you know, hearing your dreams for our business. I have some too, but I like hearing your dreams because I think I think you have very good insight. I think the Lord has gifted you that way. So I'm not saying I never have things and want, because you know I do. I've listed different groups I want to do and different things.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I'm super excited by some of those. I really want to see some space to get some of those to fruition, because I think there's some really valuable things that we've talked about and just haven't had the time to do. I also, you know, I'm always this one who kind of has this long-term vision of where I want to see us grow and do and you know expanding, you know coaching, but also being able to do like intensives or do in-person groups or those kind of things. Um, I would love to have the capacity to do which we just really haven't yet.
Speaker 2:So does anybody want to give us a big property? Yeah, seriously that we could do intensives, so and or groups. Um, I'm just kidding. No one needs to give us a property, but that's like, that's probably one of our biggest dreams is to have a property.
Speaker 3:Where people could come and stay and process in the downtime. But then you know, have an intensive space or you know an intensive weekend with a group or that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we could also do weekly groups in our area, like we have such dreams about that, and our current home has been such an incredible blessing.
Speaker 3:It's so perfect. I love our home, but it's not perfect for that.
Speaker 2:But our living room, sometimes with the six of us we're kind of maxing it out at times and when their friends come over, we're absolutely people sitting on top of each other and moving things to sit on the floor. But the Lord has been faithful and we love our home. But we do dream of a time and a space that we could live on a property, but also be, able to provide these things to other people, and if we owned it, then there's the ability to.
Speaker 2:Of course, we have to charge. This is our business. This is how we pay for a home. This is how we pay our team, who?
Speaker 3:works with us.
Speaker 2:But it would also give us the ability to, you know, at times be able to offer it to different people whose financial needs are different. We work with a lot of missionaries.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Our heart is to help people. That is the goal, yep. And so, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3:No, I think that's great, and so those are some of the passions I think about, as you know, as you're talking about what's next and where we are going, and I think that's always been my wiring a little bit. Of course, I also do think personally of things, but I yeah, what do you want to do with that?
Speaker 2:You want to finish the woodpile. I was like tell me something personal. What do you want to do? Yeah, I need to finish the woodpile.
Speaker 3:You were saying that on my list is there's a bunch of outdoor things that do need taking care of right now, so there are some things that I have.
Speaker 2:Please tell me the holly bush is on your list.
Speaker 3:No, but the other dead tree is Guys, but the holly bush isn't dead.
Speaker 2:Guys, you want to have one of our conflicts right here.
Speaker 1:This has been it, no you want to have one of our?
Speaker 2:conflicts right here. This has been it. No, the holly bush right outside of our front door has been a source of contention since we moved in, and now it is no longer a bush it is a holly tree um that thing like the stump to that thing is 30 feet tall now yep, but when I mow, it attacks me every time yes guys, I shouldn, guys, I shouldn't have to live with an attacking holly tree. So okay, so that's not one of them. Great, no what.
Speaker 3:No, there's just other things that need done. And, yes, finishing the wood pile that didn't get finished before it turned super hot, you know, is on there, but like, so there's those kind of things. Super hot, um, you know, is on there, but like so the there's those kind of things. But I think more than that, it's um, I, I, you know, I have been thinking like, are there other hobbies that I want to bring back in my life? That, um, that I just have pushed off I'm very curious.
Speaker 3:Now, you know I it's interesting. I'm not sure I we still have the space for this, but um, I was thinking the other day of the figurines I used to paint when I, when we were yeah, pre pre-kids and had space and time yeah, and I'm like that was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed doing that but, um, I don't know if that will ever come back, but you know it was.
Speaker 3:I know you enjoyed that a lot, for sure, um so, but I do think, like I was actually processing that was in one of my things of like you know, I probably need some other healthy hobbies as I really worked on my healing I think a lot that I did was has become shorter term or short, shorter length, self-care things like you you know, reading a book or listening to a podcast, or laying in my hammock or taking a nap, like any of those kinds of things that you know sometimes 20, 25 minutes kind of thing.
Speaker 3:So maybe there's some hobbies that I need to get focused on that are a little bit longer. I don't know.
Speaker 2:I haven't figured that out yet. Yeah, yeah, that's interesting, cool. Well, we will keep exploring and sharing if you want to know, but we have been dreaming up and are implementing quite a few things yeah. The end of the summer this fall, at Aldrich Ministries.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm really excited because we are launching what four groups this fall is the goal at least, if not more, we have. Actually, it is more than that we have. I'm working on launching another unwanted journey for men with unwanted sexual behaviors, so that's going to be coming up in the fall You're launching.
Speaker 2:I am. I'm launching my story work group. Best Version of Me. And we're actually going to do two of those A really good friend, barb Case, and my colleague is going to lead the second group, so we're super excited for that. I just ended one in July Great group of brave women who explored their stories.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I'm excited to continue doing that.
Speaker 3:So, and then I'm going to be doing a men's version of that Yay finally. A men's just story work group that we're going to kind of use the framework of Adam Young's book Make Sense of your Story as a group for guys, and I'm hoping this is sending this out to the masses. I'm really, really hoping that we can actually do two versions of that group, ones that's just a guys group that any guy can join and just continue to grow.
Speaker 3:But I would really love to do like a pastor's ministry leaders, missionaries version of that. Because I think there's some really strong messages about what does it mean to be a male leader, what does it mean to be leading a flock, you know?
Speaker 3:all of those kinds of things that I would love to explore with other pastors or leaders. So that's my hope is that I can get several guys who would join that one. Actually, I already have a few that are really excited about joining that one, so hopefully we can launch that. We're actually launching a young men's version of Unwanted Journey that our other colleague. Sam is going to be leading a group of young men through the Unwanted Journey, so that's going to be exciting to see.
Speaker 2:So, there's a lot going on. I don't know when, but I hope to launch a group that really focuses on women and body, body shame, weight culture, diet, all of the like stuff that if you grew up in America especially, you've been inundated with since you were born, because I find that every woman I work with, we get there and we have to talk about it. So I'd really like to do a group that's focused on that. I just haven't, that's in the dreaming stages. How do I structure that? How do I work that out? But that's something I hope to do that, even if you've already done story work, you could still do it.
Speaker 3:Could still do it. And that's kind of what I was thinking for. My men's group is maybe guys who've gone through Unwanted Journey, which does some quite a bit of story work in it, might want to, you know, do that, to go a little deeper and do some different stories, but I think a story group around the body image and those kind of things would be really powerful. You keep surprising me of talking as we-.
Speaker 2:That's my goal, guys.
Speaker 3:Talking through clients and those kind of things, of how many women are just deeply affected by those issues.
Speaker 2:I don't think you can be a woman in the United States and not be, and I don't say that other cultures don't deal with it, but I think we have to culturally look at when you're born here, how you're already inundated with it. And then your parents' wounds from it, grandparents' wounds from it, and then how, how it's talked about with you peers. This is a big one where peers impact, and so it's just. It's just something we have to talk about.
Speaker 3:So if you're interested in any of those groups or you know any of that sounds interesting, you can find out more about them on our page aldrichministriescom slash groups. One of the other things that is new and exciting is Paul and Laurie Byerly, who are also our team members. They are going to be offering a marriage checkup that we're doing specifically for healthy couples, couples who are doing great but want that time to kind of maybe an annual checkup of just hey, what are our goals? How are we doing in this area? What are the things that we can grow on?
Speaker 3:Where are the places that we want to keep going and so they've developed a survey that they'll be giving and then have one session with the two of them together to just help set like annual goals, just like you would do an annual checkup with your doctor. So I'm really excited for that to roll out. We are just launching that. You can find more about that on aldrichministriescom slash resources and sign up to get some information about that. We're actually offering that as a pretty steep discount right now, that you can do the survey and a session with them for $100. So it's something that we hope that some couples will take advantage of is just this opportunity to have a one-off session and keep growing.
Speaker 1:For sure Sounds like a great opportunity. Advantage of is just this opportunity to have a one-off session and keep growing, so I think that would be really neat yeah.
Speaker 3:So there's a lot going on already. So, as we're launching into a new season, I really hope that you guys are also thinking about okay, what can we do to grow together? How do we continue to work together, how do we continue to grow and how do we just really come together as a married couple and working on still becoming one together?
Speaker 3:That's always our mission and always our heart, and we just really encourage you to use this time to think about what's next as you know, it seems like I don't know, maybe it's just the season here in the US with school starting and everything that I think this is a season of renewal, even more than I think people try to push new years as that time, and there's certainly some of that, but I think honestly, the September time is this like okay, let's go, let's figure this stuff out that I see a lot of that and I'm really excited for diving into this new fall season, one of my favorite seasons.
Speaker 2:The season of death.
Speaker 3:No, she does not like fall trees I don't understand. We have some of the most beautiful foliage that people drive to to see.
Speaker 2:Oh, my word you are getting really salty about this.
Speaker 1:And you are like oh yeah.
Speaker 2:I like the yellow and the red. I just don't like the brown conglomerate.
Speaker 3:I love the woods. In the fall it is one of my happy places.
Speaker 2:I have less love for it.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll have to work on that.
Speaker 2:I like spring, when everything gets green and pretty Okay.
Speaker 3:Well, it is great to be back and super glad to be starting a next season of Still Becoming One. We will be back next week. Until then, I'm Brad Aldrich.
Speaker 2:I'm Kate Aldrich. Be kind and take care of each other.
Speaker 1:Still Becoming One is a production of Aldrich Ministries. For more information about Brad and Kate's coaching ministry courses and speaking opportunities, you can find us at aldrichministriescom For podcasts, show notes, notes and links to resources in all of our social media. Be sure to visit us at stillbecomingonecom and don't forget to like this episode wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to follow us to continue your journey on Still Becoming One.