Sinners Married to Sinners Cheryl Scruggs Jae Carpenter Ep 195

It’s not all sunshine and roses in marriage, even when both you and your husband follow Jesus. My guests today share about one of the most painful possibilities in a marriage —infidelity.

My friend Jae tells her story of learning her husband had an affair and the work God did in both of their lives to restore their marriage. Licensed professional counselor Cheryl Scruggs shares about her infidelity, divorce, and eventual re-marriage, along with a lot of practical advice and scriptures she learned in the seven years she was separated from her husband.

The main takeaway? HOPE. There is hope for your marriage. It’s not easy, because we’re all sinners, but God can heal and restore us when we surrender it all to him.

For all of us in marriage, I think it’s important that we are paying attention. In John 10:10 it says that the thief comes kill, steal and destroy, but I have come to give you life and life abundantly. God wants us to have a great marriage, not easy, not perfect. But it’s really understanding we’re both sinners and how are we going to walk this walk together in this relationship as a sinner married to a sinner. 

**If you are in a relationship where you or your children have been physically abused, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or http://www.thehotline.org.

What we chat about:

• Cheryl Scruggs and Jae share their marriage stories.
• Discovering God’s plans for marriage.
• Hope for restoration in marriage even after an affair.
• How do you know if God is asking you to stay in a marriage?
• Trusting God with your spouse and being open to what he wants to teach you and show you.
• Understanding our role as a wife God has called you to be.
• Recognizing the situations where it’s necessary to leave a marriage (physical safety, lifestyle of infidelity).
• It takes time for healing in marriage.
• Physical intimacy throughout marriage conflicts.
• Balancing advice from friends and family with what God wants for your marriage.
• Biblical roles in marriage.

Scriptures Mentioned:

• • Eph. 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
  • Matthew 19:26 – Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
  • Deuteronomy 8:1-10 – Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands… For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. [read full passage]
  • John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Links Mentioned:

• Hope Matters Marriage Ministry
• Thriving Beyond Belief Podcast
• Cheryl and Jeff’s Book, “I Do Again: How We Found a Second Chance at Our Marriage–and You Can Too”**
• Song of Solomon: God’s Best for Love, Marriage, Sex and Romance DVD** 
• The Power of a Praying® Wife**
• The Ripple Effect of Healthy Sexual Connection Francie Winslow Ep 138
• Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?**
• How to Save Your Marriage Alone**