Chris and Jenni Graebe from The Rhythm of Us on The Thriving Marriage You Long For

We have Chris and Jenni Graebe on the podcast today. Chris and Jenni are the cohosts of the Rhythm of Us  podcast, where they interview guests about living a life of faith and keys to marriage, with guests like Lisa Bevere, Max Lucado, and Jeremy and Adi Camp to name a few!

They are authors of the new book The Rhythm of Us: Create the Thriving Marriage You Long For. 

In their book, Chris and Jenni share some of the core rhythms that are key for every healthy marriage. They use practical guidance with Biblical wisdom and share personal anecdotes from different stages of their marriage. Their desire is for every couple to experience a thriving relationship with their spouse no matter the season of life!

Married for 17 years, they live deep in the trees of Franklin, TN, with their five children.

In episode 35, they share with listeners what it was like writing a book together; 5 of the core rhythms that they live by; the importance of having mentor couples in a married couple’s life; being aware of the habits/rhythms that shape us and our lives; and the importance of growing in humility and keeping Christ at the center of parenting and marriage.

how they met

Chris shares, “We were both on our own personal journey towards Jesus. We'd really both had our minds were blown by Him, His love, and were encountering him in such a big way. We both had sworn off dating but then one day at church there was the whole ‘turn around and greet your neighbor’ thing and there she was sitting right behind me with the light shining on her. I don't know the production team knew what they needed to do but it was like the halo the light on her.”

the 5 rhythms

Chris and Jenni give a sneak peek into the premise of their book - the five rhythms they practice in their marriage. These 5 rhythms are: speaking life, serving each other, slowing down, seeking adventure, and staying in awe.

“if I could tell anyone to start anywhere, it would be right here. Speaking life. There is something about this rhythm that shapes the whole tone and culture of our marriage and of our family. You know when we choose to speak words of life over each other it literally changes everything. That was something that we learned super early on in our marriage from our very first mentor couple that ended up doing our premarital counseling and then they were the ones who married us and they've stayed in our lives throughout the seventeen years, but that was the first piece of advice they gave us.

It was the first thing that we really noticed about them and something that was true of their marriage that made it so strong was this base level respect that they had for each other and it came across in the way that they talked about each other and towards each other.

They really taught us this idea of every day you have the choice to either see the good and speak it out loud and make much of it or there's always bad that you can you can notice as well and you can point that out. When you're always noticing those critical negative things it’s so different than the culture we create when we are actively seeking to notice and name out loud the positive things that we see in each other and it's just a game-changer.”

“We want to grow in our love for each other but we want to grow in our love for God first because that directly impacts our love for each other”. — Jenni 

“Learn how to speak life to your bride. She will come alive when you say that. Learn how to slow down and spend time together” — Chris 

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Connect with them and get yourself a copy of their book at their website, The Rhythm of Us, and on Instagram