Are you ready to have your mind blown and bubbles busted on everything you thought you knew about Love? Get ready to discover the truth about “L” for Love, how to nurture it in your love relationships, and avoid those toxic patterns that leave us busted and disgusted!

In Episode 4, Jason and Ros zero in on Love— what it is, what it's not, and how to appropriately put it to work in all of your relationships! The goal is for you to gain a sober awareness of love in its purest form, while also understanding why it is THE single most essential ingredient for making any relationship work! So, grab a seat, tune in, and prepare to experience transformation in your mind and in your relationships as we explore why 'Love Has Everything To Do With It!'

Chapters:

• 0:00 - Welcome to Love Letters with Jason & Ros
• 1:17 - “What IS Love?”: Debunking Myths/Busting Bubbles
• 4:30 - 4 Primary Types of Love
• 11:04 - “When Did You Know You Loved Me?”- Our Story
• 22:25 - When Love Can HURT: Exploring Love Challenges
• 32:34 - Winning & Overcoming in Love Relationships
• 33:11 - Love A.D.— Power Takeaways
• 39:34 - Bible Truths: 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8, John 13: 34-35
• 40:42 - Love Letter Challenge & Closing Prayer

4 Primary Types of Love:

1. Eros – Expressing sensual love and intimacy between a husband and a wife. Focused on pleasing each other. (Marriage covenant)
2. Philia – Brotherly and friendship love through sharing values, supporting one another via trust and loyalty. A deep bond between friends. (Friendship covenant)
3. Storge – Family love. Natural affection between parents and children or among family members. (Family covenant)
4. Agape – God's unconditional love for humanity. And humanity's love for one another, giving love without conditions (Blood covenant through Jesus Christ).

When Can Love Hurt In Relationships?
Know the signs of unrequited love and be prepared to face challenges head-on, knowing that God is with and already loves us unconditionally!

• Forms of love— Eros, Philia, Storge, or Agape are used for manipulation, oppression, and selfish gain.
• Abuse, chaos, and neglect become the norm in the relationship.
• One or both parties have deep misconceptions about love.
• There is 'unforgiveness' in the relationship.
• When someone makes it HARD to love/serve them.
• When someone "stops loving"—Service ends because one or both parties gave up, or one wouldn’t allow love to grow and flow.
• Service of love never began = One or both parties didn't love each other in the first place.

Biblical Truths:

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a - “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…”

John 13: 34-35 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

Live Out Your Love Letter Challenge:

• Review 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a and identify where you personally may be struggling with loving others. Then, commit to talking with someone about the struggle.

Everything in one place: https://linktr.ee/loveletterswithjasonandros

Live out your Love Letter. 💌

It’s time to talk and join the conversation with Episode 3: “C”- Communication. Overcoming communication challenges in love relationships is possible! It took us 30 years to hold effective conversations, and we’re still working on it!

In this Love Letter episode, we explore ways you can develop your unique “Rules of Engagement” plan for effective communication between you and your loved ones. Could communication gaps and barriers in your relationship be the culprits of strife and discontentment? Or are you being slightly vulnerable and avoiding opening up with others? Tune in to discover the answers and more right now!

Chapters:

• 0:00 - Welcome to Love Letters with Jason & Ros
• 1:14 - Our Story: “The 30-Year Communication Gap!”
• 4:42 - Navigating— Factors Having the Greatest Impact on How We Communicate
• 8:55 - Top 7 Challenges in Communication
• 21:00 - Overcoming Communication Challenges
• 22:08 - Establish Your “Rules of Engagement,” Have Pillow Talk
• 29:00 - Bible Truths
• 30:05 - Communication Power Takeaways
• 37:05 - Love Letter Challenge & Closing Prayer

Additional Content & Notes:

Communication "Rules of Engagement"
Establish a list based on your unique relationship, decide and agree on conversation styles, and determine how you’ll entreat one another in conversation.

Our 12 Rules Include:

1. Stay truthful and transparent.
2. Maintain eye contact.
3. Apply active and respectful listening- listen twice as much as speaking.
4. Incorporate “Having the floor” for an equal period of time.
5. Make your “why stance” or points clear during disagreements.
6. Focus on gaining understanding, growing closer, and reaching a resolution.
7. Know and strive to understand your partner’s communication style and journey without judgement.
8. Drop pride and righteous attitudes, gaining should be the by-product of communication, not WINNING or LOSING.
9. Incorporate breaks when conversations become heated; agree to “pin” them for a short period and return to them later.
10. Set agreeable times to hold hard conversations, and be willing to talk things through.
11. Create a “safe space” for communication with gentle answers and engaged body language to avoid dominance in the conversation.
12. Be willing to compromise when disagreeing- let God’s word be the final authority.

Top 7 Communication Challenges:

1. Sometimes we don’t know what will and will not hurt.
2. We use communication, or lack thereof, as a weapon
3. Put up barriers and avoid having “real talk” or “hard conversations.”
4. Turns into a “battle of wills” and you want to be “right” or “win” in the conversation
5. Trauma
6. Shutting down and internalizing issues/concerns to deal with issues alone.
7. The “Unholy Trinity” of Communication: Fear, Guilt, Pride/Ego

Bile Truths:

• James 1: 19 - “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”
• Proverbs 15: 1 - “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Live Out Your Love Letter Challenge:

1. Share something with your spouse or loved one that you’ve never shared before.

Everything in one place: https://linktr.ee/loveletterswithjasonandros

Live out your Love Letter. 💌

Are you curious about getting to know someone God’s way, or what it means to “study” your spouse? Join the conversation as we discuss, “D”— Dating with Purpose & Discernment!

This episode is chock-full of creative content, based on our 31 years of marriage and 6 years of dating/courting, curated to help you WIN when it comes to dating, courting, and taking that next big step in getting to know someone beyond the initial physical attraction!

Chapters:

• 0:00 Welcome to Love Letters with Jason & Ros
• 1:37 Our Story: “6 Years of Dating— How We Got It All WRONG!”
• 9:20 What’s the Difference Between DATING & COURTING?
• 11:36 Know and Understand Your “INTENT”
• 13:22 The “A.C.T.s” of Dating and Courting
• 17:20 Facing the Challenges of Dating w/Discernment
• 27:12 Be Sober: Recognize “RED FLAGS!”
• 30:43 Overcoming & Winning The Dating Game
• 32:26 Biblical Truth: Philippians 2: 3-5
• 35:11 Dating Power Takeaways & Love Letter Challenge
• 43:52 Closing Prayer

Additional Content & Notes:

1. ACT of Dating— Getting to know someone initially to see if they’re worth pursuing more.
   1. Alignment
   2. Connectivity
   3. Togetherness
2. ACT of Courting— For the purpose of exclusivity, engagement, and eventual marriage.
   1. Amiability
   2. Character Compatibility
   3. Transparency

Top 7 “Red Flags” of Dating Every Adult, Teen, and Parent Should Know!

1. Only Seeks Personal Gain: Sex, Money, Affiliation/Association, Intellect
2. Displays Abusive Behaviors- Starts verbally, moves to rough physical handling
3. Manipulative, Possessive, Highly Critical
4. Extremely Self-centered and Inconsiderate of Others
5. Lacks Integrity, Reliability, and Stability
6. Exhibits Irresponsible and Reckless Behaviors— Use of illicit drugs, etc.
7. Their Personal Values Greatly Differ

If you ever feel unsafe or are experiencing any type of unwanted behavior, please contact one of the following resources.

• National Sexual Assault Hotline: https://rainn.org/
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/

Biblical Truth:

• Philippians 2: 3-5 - “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:”

Live Out Your Love Letter Challenge:

• Establish your CORE VALUES when it comes to dating and entering into a love relationship God’s way.
• Know your intent, set internal boundaries, and be sober-minded about your decisions.

Everything in one place: https://linktr.ee/loveletterswithjasonandros

Live out your Love Letter. 💌