All episodes

How do you write a family mission statement? Aaron and Jennifer Smith had never created one, so they made theirs live and unscripted while you listen, prompted by interview guests who said the practice transformed their families. A mission statement isn't required, but it can help create and maintain the culture of your home. They brainstorm core values like generosity, adventure ('we find the fun in things'), community, transparency, faithfulness, stewardship, learning, and wisdom, along with phrases their family already repeats, like 'we do hard things' and 'self-control.' They anchor it in Scripture, including 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, the Great Commission,...

Can you fall out of love in your marriage? Aaron and Jennifer Smith, drawing heavily on Gary Thomas's book Sacred Marriage, argue that 'falling in and out of love' is a deceptive phrase that strips love of choice and responsibility and reduces it to feelings we can't control. They walk through common reasons people feel they've fallen out of love, including tough times, unmet needs, unmet expectations, the desire for happiness and comfort, and discontentment. Then they reframe love as a chosen, aggressive commitment modeled on Christ in Gethsemane, and share practical ways to fight apathy: pursuing intimacy, keeping an...

What happens when a marriage says yes to God? Marking the release of their book Marriage After God, Aaron and Jennifer Smith share how the book grew out of repeated yeses to God, and why every Christian marriage has a unique role in God's kingdom that no one else can fill. They read Exodus 35, where God's people brought freewill offerings of materials and skills to build the Tabernacle, and 1 Peter 2:4-5, which describes believers as living stones being built together into one spiritual house. Each of us contributes different gifts and resources that God has given, so they...

Join the Marriage After God movement. In this short bonus update from the middle of their Marriage After God interview series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith share that they are about seven interviews in and will return to normal programming after the June 4th launch of their book, Marriage After God. They share the pre-order gifts, a live webcast and 52 date night conversation starters, and read endorsements of the book from Jeremy and Audrey Roloff, Jefferson and Elizabeth Bethke, and Dr. Juli Slattery. They also invite listeners to a forthcoming Movement Starters page, ask you to share your favorite episodes...

Why should couples do a devotional together? Aaron and Jennifer Smith make the case for a marriage devotional habit, sharing how reading God's Word side by side cultivates oneness and intimacy, gets you on the same page, stimulates conversation, builds accountability, prepares you to give an answer for the hope you have, and sets an example your children can carry on. They walk through their two 30-day devotionals, Husband After God and Wife After God, each with a story, prayer, challenge, status update, Scripture references, and journal questions, answer common questions about reading them together or in a small group,...

Women struggle with pornography too. In this vulnerable episode, Jennifer Smith shares her personal struggle with pornography, lust, and fantasy and romance novels, from her first exposure around age 10 or 11 and growing up without teaching on sexual purity or marriage, to using these as an escape and a way to cope during the sexless early years of her marriage to Aaron. She shares what it was like to confess everything to Aaron and, later, to go forward at a church service where the pastor addressed pornography as a women's issue too. Together they define pornography broadly, including immodest...

Freedom from pornography is possible for Christian husbands. In this candid episode of the Marriage After God podcast, Aaron Smith shares his history with a pornography addiction that began around age 7 or 8 and followed him into marriage, including the lie that getting married would fix his lust. Aaron and Jennifer talk honestly about how porn affected her and every aspect of their marriage, and Aaron reads a letter to pornography he wrote in 2014. They describe two turning points: Jennifer lovingly telling Aaron he was committing adultery, and a mentor telling him he was not a slave to...

Money questions every Christian couple asks, answered. In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith take on 19 listener questions about finances in marriage, drawing on their own journey of paying off debt through a side photography business and living debt-free for about ten years. They talk about treating debt a spouse brought into the marriage as ours, building multiple streams of income, counting the cost before a financial risk (Luke 14:28), tithing while struggling, why they believe in one shared bank account, budgeting with kids on one income, and whether staying home as a mom is...

How to encourage your married friends in the body of Christ. In their first episode of 2019, Aaron and Jennifer Smith share seven practical ways to remind the couples around you that their marriage is valuable and worth fighting for: preach the gospel to each other, share God's Word, be friendly, be hospitable, be sacrificial, pray for and with them, and serve them. They talk about knowing where your brothers and sisters are spiritually, asking loving accountability questions like whether a wife is the most cherished woman she knows, and why hospitality is sharing what you do have, not what...

What is the difference between joy and happiness, and why does it matter for your home? In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain that happiness is a temporary, earthly feeling while joy is eternal, rooted in hope and the fruit of the Spirit, and that the joy of the Lord is the strength of a home (Nehemiah 8:10). They share stories of joy with their young kids and practical ways to cultivate a habit of joy: building forts, a "one minute of crazy" dance and scream session, pretending to be asleep, hiding under the covers,...