FamilyLife Today®

This was not the plan. Not the diagnosis, not the heartbreak, not the prayer apparently sitting in God’s inbox. So what does trusting God in suffering actually look like? Grammy-winning artist Laura Story, author of Stand in Awe, joins FamilyLife Today guest host Cheryl Shumake to talk honestly about unwanted stories, unanswered prayers, and believing God is good when you’d really prefer some supporting evidence. Show Notes and Resources Laura Story’s book , Stand in Awe: How Reverence Transforms Our Worship and Our Lives. 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 Bible’s under yesterday’s mail. Your coffee’s cold. Your thumb somehow opened Instagram again. How do you grow closer to God when your attention is being mugged by notifications, deadlines, kids, and plain old exhaustion? Grammy-winning artist Laura Story, author of Stand in Awe, joins FamilyLife Today guest host Cheryl Shumake to chat about moving beyond a shallow faith—and building one sturdy enough for ordinary Tuesdays when life hits hard and tries to elbow God out of the way. Show Notes and Resources Laura Story’s book , Stand in Awe: How Reverence Transforms Our Worship and Our Lives. 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

Three songs. Maybe raised hands. Done worshiping for the week? Not so fast. How do you worship God when Monday hits—and life looks nothing like you ordered? Grammy-winning artist Laura Story, author of Stand in Awe, joins FamilyLife Today guest host Cheryl Shumake to talk about worship when God doesn’t follow our script, faith gets a little too me-focused, and “reverence” sounds suspiciously like a word your grandmother used. Show Notes and Resources Laura Story’s book , Stand in Awe: How Reverence Transforms Our Worship and Our Lives. 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

Dirty diapers. Full trash cans. That argument neither of you is quite over. Turns out you said “I do,” not “I’ll never get on your nerves again.” So how do you love your spouse when it’s hard—when you’re hurt, misunderstood, halfway into your emotional turtle shell—and neither of you feels all that lovable? Quina Aragon, author of Love Has a Story, and her husband Jon unpack what God’s enduring love has to do with ordinary marriage when the warm fuzzies have left the building. Show Notes and Resources Quina Aragon’s book , Love Has a Story: 100 Meditations on the Enduring Love of God. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s book , Brokenness: The Heart God Revives. 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

Yeah, the Bible says God loves you. But maybe you wonder, Does God love me—here, in the plot twist I definitely didn't order? Jon and Quina Aragon, authors of Love Has a Story, get candid about suffering, doubt, old wounds, and learning to trust God’s love when life makes a credible argument otherwise. When you're tired of easy answers to hard questions, listen in here. Show Notes and Resources Quina Aragon’s book , Love Has a Story: 100 Meditations on the Enduring Love of God. 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 joined a family hoping to love your stepkids well. But what if they don’t exactly love you back? Cheryl Shumake, author of Waiting to Be Wanted, gets painfully practical about how to be a good stepparent without auditioning for acceptance—and maybe when those kids don't love you back. How do you stop competing for your place, love without keeping score, and know what’s actually yours to do when the blended-family dream gets decidedly less dreamy? Show Notes and Resources Weekend to Remember marriage getaway . Get Cheryl Shumake’s book, Waiting to Be Wanted: A Stepmom’s Guide to Loving Before Being Loved. Find resources and audio from this podcast episode at familylifetoday.com Learn more about Cheryl Shumake and Stepmom Sanity . Leave FamilyLife Today a voice message FamilyLife Today . 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 marriage ended. But your anger, betrayal, and hurt didn’t get the memo. Cheryl Shumake joins Dave and Ann Wilson to talk honestly about forgiveness after divorce—what it means, what it doesn’t, and why refusing to release the debt can keep old wounds alive. Is forgiveness possible when what happened was genuinely wrong? And how do you move forward without pretending the wreckage never happened? Show Notes and Resources Weekend to Remember marriage getaway . Get Cheryl Shumake’s book, Waiting to Be Wanted: A Stepmom’s Guide to Loving Before Being Loved. Find resources and audio from this podcast episode at familylifetoday.com Learn more about Cheryl Shumake and Stepmom Sanity . Leave FamilyLife Today a voice message FamilyLife Today . 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

Got questions about Christianity you’re almost afraid to say out loud? Doubting your faith can feel especially lonely when everyone at church seems so stinkin' certain. Brant Hansen, author of Blessed Are the Misfits, joins Dave and Ann Wilson for an unpolished conversation about skepticism, introverts, uncomfortable questions, and belonging when you don’t fit the Christian mold. Because stuffing your doubts isn’t exactly making them disappear. Show Notes and Resources Connect with Brant on Instagram . Connect with Brant on Facebook . Learn more about Brant on his website . Listen to Brant and Sherri’s podcast, The Brant and Sherri Oddcast . Get Brant’s book, Blessed Are the Misfits . 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 ! See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

You pray. Read your Bible. Show up at church. And God still seems … crickets. When God feels far away, does that mean your faith is broken—or that you are? Brant Hansen, author of Blessed Are the Misfits, gets candid about skepticism, emotional wiring, and our all-too-human pressure to manufacture spiritual experiences. What holds your faith together when your feelings have approximately nothing useful to report? Show Notes and Resources Connect with Brant on Instagram . Connect with Brant on Facebook . Learn more about Brant on his website . Listen to Brant and Sherri’s podcast, The Brant and Sherri Oddcast . Get Brant’s book, Blessed Are the Misfits . 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 ! See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Everyone else seems to feel God. Worship moves them. Prayer lights them up. Meanwhile, your faith feels flatter than a three-day-old Coke. If you're wondering, “Why don’t I feel close to God?” Brant Hansen, author of Blessed Are the Misfits, gets refreshingly honest about faith for people who don’t fit the emotional Christian mold. Are you spiritually defective—or have we confused certain personalities and feelings with what genuine faith is supposed to look like? Show Notes and Resources Connect with Brant on Instagram . Connect with Brant on Facebook . Learn more about Brant on his website . Listen to Brant and Sherri’s podcast, The Brant and Sherri Oddcast . Get Brant’s book, Blessed Are the Misfits . 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

Grades. Sports. Friends. Faith. Future. It’s ridiculously easy to turn your teenager’s life into your personal report card. Melissa Kruger, author of Parenting with Hope, gets honest about Christian parenting of teens when, perhaps despite the evidence, you want desperately to get it right. What if our good intentions are quietly piling pressure on our kids? And how do we stay close when their choices—and their future—aren’t ours to control? Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Melissa Kruger on her website . Get Melissa's book , Parenting with Hope, and her other book on our shop. Read and watch Josh McDowell speak about "rules without relationships" . Find more resources on parenting teens . 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 sweet kid turned into a teenager—and apparently you’re embarrassing now. How do you stay close without clinging, set limits without making every conversation a lecture, and keep fear from running the show? Melissa Kruger, author of Parenting with Hope, gets real about how to parent a teenager when the stakes feel higher, the eye rolls get stronger, and you desperately want to get this right. Show Notes and Resources Learn more about Melissa Kruger on her website. Get Melissa's book, Parenting with Hope , and her other book on our shop. Read and watch Josh McDowell speak about "rules without relationships". Find more resources on parenting teens. 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 got a dream. You’ve also got bills, responsibilities, loved ones eager to offer opinions, and that nagging question: Is this big idea for my future actually from God … or am I nuts? Saxophonist Emmanuel Garilus and his wife, Loreen, get real about finding your God-given purpose when the sensible path doesn’t feel like the faithful one. How do you weigh calling, risk, hard work, and marriage—and know when a dream is worth chasing? Show Notes and Resources Emmanuel Garilus’s Apollo Theater performance. Find the video on Emmanuel Garilus’s Instagram . Visit FamilyLife Today . Become a FamilyLife Partner. Scriptures referenced: Proverbs 4:18 and Colossians 3:23. 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 love each other. You love Jesus. So why is communication already this hard? Newlyweds Loreen and Emmanuel Garilus get refreshingly real about communication for newlyweds—mismatched expectations, conflict, family backgrounds, and those “Couldn’t you just text me?” moments. How do you learn to understand your spouse without making your way the right way—or letting little frustrations quietly become big ones? Show Notes and Resources 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 know you should listen. Instead, you get louder. Or colder. Or suddenly walking away sounds very reasonable. So how do you control your emotions when your brain and body have already hit DEFCON 1? Ron and Nan Deal, authors of The Mindful Marriage, join Dave and Ann Wilson on FamilyLife Today to unpack what’s beneath those knee-jerk reactions—and how real change manages when your spouse says that thing again and your better judgment has fled the building. Show Notes and Resources Find The Mindful Marriage by Ron and Nan Deal on our shop. Also get Vertical Marriage by Dave and Ann Wilson Find information on The Worship Initiative at theworshipinitiative.com Come to a Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaways by visiting weekendtoremember.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

When life doesn't go as planned, most of us don't stop living—we just stop expecting much. And maybe we keep waiting for real life to start. Elizabeth Woodson, author of Embrace Your Life, joins Dave and Ann Wilson for a candid conversation about disappointment, comparison, and the exhaustion of postponing happiness until life cooperates. This conversation is for anyone tired of waiting for a different story or pretending the losses don't sting. See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Sometimes the hardest thing to grieve is the life you thought you'd have. Elizabeth Woodson, author of Embrace Your Life, joins Dave and Ann Wilson for real talk about how to deal with disappointment, why unmet expectations can keep you stuck, and how to move forward without just looking the other way. See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

You know exactly what your spouse needs to work on. But what if you're missing the bigger narrative? Based on his books When Sinners Say I Do and I Still Do, author and pastor Dave Harvey joins Dave and Ann Wilson for an honest conversation about marriage blind spots, self-awareness, and the hidden habits keeping you stuck. See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Is your life's loudest critic living inside your own head? Based on her book Finding Quiet, singer/songwriter Jamie Grace joins Dave and Ann Wilson to unpack negative self-talk, anxiety, and the exhausting pressure to always be enough. This episode is for anyone for whom some of the hardest conversations are the ones they have with themselves. See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Living with anxiety can make you wonder if you're doing something wrong—or if your faith isn't strong enough. But living with anxiety doesn't mean you've failed at faith. Based on her book Finding Quiet: My Journey to Peace in an Anxious World, singer/songwriter Jamie Grace joins Dave and Ann Wilson to share a candid look at what it means to trust God when your mind won't slow down. See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy