All episodes

Being faithful in the little things prepares you for the big things. In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith use Aaron's CrossFit progression toward a legless rope climb, and the way he scales workouts, as a picture of spiritual maturity built incrementally. Rooted in Luke 16:10 and Matthew 25:23, they introduce "coupling," a habit-building technique of attaching a new habit to an existing routine, like reading your Bible with your morning coffee or doing piano practice right after family Bible time. They share how their family Bible time grew from a single verse to two chapters,...

What happens when you ask God to search your heart? In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith share how relational messiness in their home church led to a late-night couch conversation where God convicted them both about harshness, impatience, and short tempers with their children. They describe trials as a crucible (Proverbs 17:3) that God allows in our lives to bring the dross of our character to the surface, and walk through Psalm 139, where David asks the all-knowing God to search him and know his heart. They reject the self-justification of "I'm not that bad,"...

What is spiritual stamina, and how do you grow it? In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain that, like physical exercise or parenting more children, our capacity for prayer and God's Word grows with practice and devotion. Prompted by a women's retreat "hot seat" prayer time and Francis Chan's book Letters to the Church, they confess expecting a spiritual high in daily life without devoting dedicated time, and resolve to pray more and read more, including stretching family Bible time to a full chapter. They study Jesus praying in Gethsemane in Luke 22, where He...

A short Thanksgiving update from the Marriage After God podcast. Aaron and Jennifer Smith share that they are changing up the format a bit, pausing the YouTube video version of the podcast to focus on audio, which frees them to be looser, more conversational, and slower-paced after hearing that they talked too fast. They talk about new equipment, where the podcast is now, and where it is going. They celebrate reaching 40 weekly episodes without missing a week, even pre-recording around the birth of their fourth child, and reflect that they are not coming as marriage experts but as a...

Is a stress-free holiday season possible? Aaron and Jennifer Smith believe it is. In this Marriage After God podcast episode, they open with tongue-in-cheek bad tips, like attempting an impossible ten-course meal, keeping sky-high expectations, braving in-store crowds, and buying everyone everything on credit, before giving real ones: check your heart, communicate your feelings, plans, values, and expectations with humility, hold light rather than lofty expectations, and keep a sober mind. They warn against expectations rooted in insecurity or outside pressure, urge couples to avoid credit card debt, and reframe the season as a ministry opportunity through Operation Christmas Child,...

Why does thankfulness matter in marriage? In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain that thankfulness is necessary for a strong marriage and that unthankfulness is destructive, rooted in pride that says we deserve more. Aaron shares a childhood Christmas when he hoped for a red bike and got red cowboy boots, and a convicting moment when a friend joked that he should be a restaurant critic. Walking through Ephesians 5:15-21, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 69:30, and Psalm 50:23, they show how giving thanks for everything glorifies God and strengthens your witness. They close with five...

How do you make time count in your marriage? In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith point out that we can't actually make time; we can only sacrifice one thing to capture time for another, because we are finite people with 24 hours in a day. They confront wasting time on social media and the comparison trap of building an impossible "perfect person" from many people's feeds. Looking at Jesus withdrawing to desolate places to pray in Luke 5 and the call in Ephesians 5:15-16 to make the best use of the time, they give practical...

Money is one of the most important conversations in marriage. In this Marriage After God podcast episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith ask each other random questions about finances and give candid, on-the-spot answers about how they were raised with money, what they were taught, and the fears that surround it. They share stories of being broke missionaries in Florida, why Aaron is adamantly against credit cards after a year-long Amazon card threw their spending out of whack, and the paintball gun Aaron regrets buying to chase a sense of success. They talk about generosity beyond money, giving out of poverty...

Social media and marriage: Aaron and Jennifer Smith get honest about their own unhealthy, addictive scrolling habits and how phones were quietly competing with their marriage and kids. They share the convicting moments that woke them up, including a friend asking "am I talking to myself?" while they scrolled and their five-year-old son asking if they loved their phones more than him. Anchored in 1 Corinthians 6:12, "I will not be dominated by anything," they walk through practical boundaries: shared passwords and full access, giving your spouse permission to ask why you follow someone, cutting unnecessary online relationships, no private...

Spiritual leadership in marriage is not about male demand; it comes from God's design and derives its authority from His Word. In this episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith unpack Ephesians 5:23 headship and walk through seven traits of a spiritual leader: being generous and others-focused, encouraging (a 90 percent affirmation to 10 percent correction ratio), leading by example, knowing the Word and teaching it to your children, keeping an even temperament (be a thermostat, not a thermometer), controlling the tongue, and seeking God's kingdom first. Jennifer also shares how a wife can encourage a passive husband toward leadership by coming...