FamilyLife Today®

You love Jesus—but marriage still feels complicated. Ministry pressure. In-law tension. Career moves you didn’t plan. What does a strong Christian marriage actually look like after 25 years? If you're wondering How can I make a relationship last? Stephanie Carter and her husband Bryan--author of Made to Last: 8 Principles to Build Long Lasting Relationships--get you started in the right direction. They chat about conflict, calling, compromise—and the quiet resilience that keeps love standing. If you’re tired of clichés and want faith that works at home, this one’s for you. Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Bryan Carter's and his book Made to Last: Eight Principles to Build Long-Lasting Relationships at bryancarter.org. Attend a Weekend to Remember marriage getaway, our faith-based retreat with biblical teaching, practical tools, and focused time for couples: Register now at WeekendToRemember.com Sign up for the free Blended and Blessed livestream: a one-day event focused on building unity in blended families: Happening April 18, 2026 — register at blendedandblessed.com Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom.  Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Dennis and Barbara Rainey know marriage is hard, messy, and tested daily. On FamilyLife Today, they share marriage lessons from decades of insight—faith-based, practical, and no sugarcoating—to survive the everyday mess. Show Notes and Resources Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network   See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Your world can flip in an instant. One call, one loss, and suddenly your marriage, your faith, your family—all feel torn-open and unsteady. On Family Life Today, Chris Brooks and Yodit Brooks share honestly what it’s like to walk through the dark night of the soul...in marriage. They extend the quiet hope that arrives when you refuse to just survive. Show Notes and Resources Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network   See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

When it comes to setting goals in marriage, most couples wing it—or copy whatever sounds spiritual. FamilyLife President Luke Middendorf talks about upheaval, faith, and the quiet drift that happens when you’re busy but not aligned. If you want more than vague marriage resolutions, this conversation will steady your aim without piling on guilt. Show Notes and Resources Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network   See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

You said it nicely. Then louder. Now you’re just tired. This live panel of marriage experts from FamilyLife's Love Like You Mean It Cruise gets real about resentment in marriage, like small frustrations that turn into silent scorekeeping. Why he withdraws. Why you push. And how couples stop fighting each other and start fighting for each other—without pretending everything’s fine. Show Notes and Resources Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network   See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

You’re busy. Faithful. Grinding. But if you’re honest? Something at home feels off. Music artists and authors Montell and Kristin Jordan get real about success, sickness, marriage strain—and the quiet drift that almost costs you what matters most. If work, church, kids, or “good things” are crowding your covenant, this conversation will recalibrate you without shaming you. Show Notes and Resources Check out Montell and Kristin's website at  montellandkristin.com You can follow them on Instagram Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

What does God’s love look like when your earthly father failed you? He Calls Me Daughter, a new Christian movie by Rick Altizer, follows real stories of father wounds, faith, and redemption. Rachelle Starr’s Scarlet Hope ministry brings hope to women in strip clubs, showing how obedience, prayer, and God’s grace transform broken lives. Watch, reflect, and discover how healing from father wounds can restore identity, trust, and purpose. Show Notes and Resources Watch the film He Calls Me Daughter in theaters for two days only: March 17–18 (get tickets and find theater locations now). visit HeCallsMeDaughter.org. Learn more about Scarlet Hope ministry: Visit scarlethope.org for stories, donation options, team info, and ways to get involved. Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

How does a missing, distant, or imperfect dad shape a life? In the movie He Calls Me Daughter, director Rick Altizer and Rachelle Starr explore father wounds and their ripple effect on faith, identity, and trust. Through Scarlet Hope’s bold ministry in the sex industry, real stories of redemption, obedience, and God’s transformative love reveal how compassionate faith can heal deep hurts and restore hope in families and hearts. Show Notes and Resources Watch the film He Calls Me Daughter in theaters for two days only: March 17–18 (get tickets and find theater locations now). visit HeCallsMeDaughter.org. Learn more about Scarlet Hope ministry: Visit scarlethope.org for stories, donation options, team info, and ways to get involved. Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

If your father’s absence, distance, or flaws left a mark, it can echo in your trust, faith, and sense of worth. In He Calls Me Daughter, Rick Altizer explores father wounds and the gospel hope of a perfect Heavenly Father. Through transparent stories, Christ-centered healing, and practical insights, this film offers women—and men—a path to freedom, identity, and relational restoration with God and others. Show Notes and Resources Watch the film He Calls Me Daughter in theaters for two days only: March 17–18 (get tickets and find theater locations now). visit HeCallsMeDaughter.org. Learn more about Scarlet Hope ministry: Visit scarlethope.org for stories, donation options, team info, and ways to get involved. Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network   See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

When grief, hidden pain, and addiction collide, even strong marriages can crack. Ron and Nan Deal share their searing journey through loss, an alcoholic spouse, and buried marriage secrets that nearly destroyed them. From Nan’s yoga-mat surrender to God’s radical grace, they reveal how confession, trust-building, and God’s mercy restored hope, intimacy, and passion after decades of struggle. Courage, honesty, and faith show the path to true redemption. Show Notes and Resources Get Ron and Nan Deal's book The Mindful Marriage: Create Your Best Relationship Through Understanding and Managing Yourself, find it now in our shop. Register for the Blended and Blessed conference (live at Crossings Church Mayfair, Oklahoma City, or free livestream) on April 18, 2026 at blendedandblessed.com. Connect with Ron on Instagram or X Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Ron and Nan Deal share the raw story behind a marriage almost destroyed: pride, grief, abandonment, and the death of their son. Nan’s struggle with addiction spiraled for over a decade, while Ron wrestled with guilt, ministry pressures, and heartbreak. This isn’t a polished story—it’s real, messy, and full of hope for couples facing hidden hurts, broken patterns, addiction in marriage, and the long road to grace. Show Notes and Resources Get Ron and Nan Deal's book The Mindful Marriage: Create Your Best Relationship Through Understanding and Managing Yourself, find it now in our shop. Register for the Blended and Blessed conference (live at Crossings Church Mayfair, Oklahoma City, or free livestream) on April 18, 2026 at blendedandblessed.com. Connect with Ron on Instagram or X Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

What if all the grades, trophies, and accolades your kids chase aren’t enough to make them feel secure? On the final day of the heart-centered parenting series, Start with the Heart author Dr. Kathy Koch shows parents how to root identity in God, affirm kids’ unique gifts, and nurture purpose-driven competence. Through practical examples—dice games, car rides, and coffee-making five-year-olds—you’ll discover how to connect deeply, raise kids who thrive, and feel like you finally “get” what parenting really demands. Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Kathy Koch and her book "Start with the Heart" at celebratekids.com Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Your kid rolls their eyes before you finish a sentence. Screens compete with your voice. Homework feels like a performance review. Dr. Kathy Koch shows how to get past the noise and actually connect. Learn simple, practical ways to be seen as more than a nag, to help your kids feel known, loved, and brave, and to raise relationally strong kids who can thrive—inside and outside the digital world. Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Kathy Koch and her book "Start with the Heart" at celebratekids.com Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Middle schoolers who grunt. Teens glued to screens. You love your kid—but do they feel liked? On Family Life Today, Kathy Koch sits down with Dave Wilson and Ann Wilson to expose performance-driven parenting and show a better way. If you’re tired of comparing, correcting, and panicking about faith, tech, or rebellion—this conversation meets you in the mess and points you toward your child’s heart. Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Kathy Koch and her book "Start with the Heart" at celebratekids.com Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

On what should have been his son’s wedding day, Tim & Challies stood at a graveside and read the wedding speech he never got to give. Months earlier, 20-year-old Nick had collapsed and died without warning. If God is good, why is the future we imagine buried? When the life we plan is gone and peace feels like a promise meant for someone else, is faith strong enough for the life we'd never choose? Show Notes and Resources Order your copy of "Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God" in our shop Visit Tim's blog at challies.com Follow Tim on facebook: @challies Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

On a peaceful fall day, Tim & Aileen Challies' son, a seminary student engaged to be married, suddenly collapsed during a pickup game on campus. He would never come home. In this candid conversation, Tim & Aileen share what followed: shock, isolation, a marriage grieving in different languages, and the search for God in the silence. When the unthinkable happens, you may find yourself asking, “Why does God let bad things happen?”—and wonder if your faith is strong enough to hold you. Or maybe, you'll discover it’s holding you. Show Notes and Resources Order your copy of "Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God" in our shop Visit Tim's blog at challies.com Follow Tim on facebook: @challies Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Loss lingers in blended families—resurfacing during weddings, graduations, birthdays—stirring developmental grief no one sees. Couples grieve unevenly, risking distance; church often silences sorrow instead of shepherding it. If you're overwhelmed by grief, exhausted by "move on" pressure, and craving space for honest pain, listen in. Ron and Nan Deal unpack why lament is biblical, not weakness, offering a faithful path through unresolved sorrow that keeps you connected to God and each other. Show Notes and Resources Get your copy of Mindful Marriage in our shop Sign up for Blended and Blessed at blendedandblessed.com Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network   See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

You’ve heard “What does this verse mean to you?” and felt uneasy, or watched Scripture twisted in ways that hurt. Busy life buries Bible study; guilt piles up over adult kids who’ve walked away. If you’re intimidated by “correct” interpretation or weary of shallow approaches, this episode delivers clarity. YouTube "Bible Nerd" Faith Womack equips everyday believers to read contextually, reframe misused verses, and anchor identity and family in God’s unchanging Word—not performance or outcomes. Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Faith and where to get your copy of No More Boring Bible Study at biblenerdministries.com Begin the Easter story early with Resurrection Eggs. Start your family tradition now!  Follow Faith on Instagram @biblenerdministries Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

You've feel like a failure for not studying enough--or you've even been hurt by twisted Scripture. In family chaos, the Bible gathers dust while guilt builds. If you're hungry for truth without the baggage, tune in. Faith Womack, YouTube's Bible Nerd, shares her rough, raw origins—from spiritual abuse and miscarriage to building a ministry—and reframes Bible engagement as joyful, everyday discipleship. No more boring; just God's Word as the anchor you need. Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Faith and where to get your copy of No More Boring Bible Study at biblenerdministries.com Begin the Easter story early with Resurrection Eggs. Start your family tradition now!  Follow Faith on Instagram @biblenerdministries Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Fear. Worry. Pain: They can feel all-consuming. Author and speaker Amberley Neese believes that in the questions Jesus asks in the Gospels, there are answers big enough for all three--and a highway to stronger faith. Show Notes and Resources Untangling Faith: Reclaiming Hope in the Questions Jesus Asked Participant Workbookby Amberly Neese. Begin the Easter story early with Resurrection Eggs. Start your family tradition now!  Learn more about Amberly Neese on her website amberlyneese.com Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy