05/30/2026
OUCH Trigger Alert 😣
We often ask this question…
What is one attitude, habit, or reaction YOU are personally willing to change to strengthen your marriage?
Folks don’t like this question.
One major reason for folks being resistant to personal ownership is self-protection.
Let’s Get This….
Once I enter self-protect mode, my primary goal is no longer connection or understanding.
My primary goal becomes self-preservation. I go from Synergy thinking to Survival thinking. It’s a mechanism of the brain that operates on safety. I’m not feeling safe.
If I admit “this is on me,” I also have to face the possibility that I’ve contributed to pain, tension, or distance. It’s easier to shift blame outward than to sit in that discomfort. Remember I’m in self-preservation mode.
Jesus resisted all self preservation mode and died for the church, while we were yet sinners. This is God’s M.O for NT discipleship community - Submission (read Ephesians 5).
Pic of us - Oh yeah
We had the ability of being stubborn, mad and experts at debates & spats. We were “good” at being bad.
Then we realized we are on the same team - 1 Flesh.
Tony Palow Susan Fehr-Palow