All episodes

How do you have a healthy biblical relationship with your in-laws? In this episode of the Marriage After God podcast, Aaron and Jennifer Smith answer one of the questions they're asked most, looking at how a husband and wife from different backgrounds become one and build their own family while still respecting both sets of parents. Starting with Genesis 2:24, they walk through three areas: setting boundaries together and communicating them to your parents with love and respect, being Christlike toward your in-laws whether or not they know the Lord, and your responsibility to pray for them, provide for relatives...

Does your marriage need more romance? In this episode of the Marriage After God podcast, Aaron and Jennifer Smith describe romance as breaking up the mundane of the day to remind your spouse that you desire them and are thinking of them, and explain why both husbands and wives need both physical and emotional romance, not one or the other. They walk through 1 Corinthians 7, where your body is not your own and spouses are not to deprive one another except by mutual agreement for prayer, and Ephesians 5 on nourishing and cherishing. They share everyday romance ideas like...

Christian marriage and media: how do you decide which movies, TV shows, and music to let into your marriage and home? Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain why they treat entertainment as a conversation of discernment rather than a list of hard rules. They share how Aaron's walk in purity from pornography made them careful about sexual content, nudity, horror and demonic themes, and constant foul language, even if it means walking out of a movie or dropping a show mid-season. Drawing on Proverbs 14:8 and 14:16, they talk about researching films ahead of time with the Plugged In review site,...

How do you confess sin to your spouse, especially private sin like pornography? Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain why, in a one-flesh marriage, your spouse is the one most affected by your sin, and why confession brings darkness into the light (1 John 1) and helps put the flesh to death (Romans 8). Aaron contrasts confessing wrongly, by minimizing, telling half-truths, or confessing just to relieve shame, with confessing well: full honesty, a repentant heart, choosing a good time, and trusting God with your spouse's response instead of controlling it. They also talk about how to receive a confession: creating...

Looking for fun and creative date night ideas for your marriage? Aaron and Jennifer Smith share why intentional, calendared date nights matter (they made Tuesday their date night) and how they keep couples from drifting apart when life just keeps going. Then they walk through nine date ideas: coffee and a slow card game like rummy, a picnic in the park, childlike fun such as a trampoline park or roller skating, playing house at open homes and model homes, hiking a new trail, volunteering together, a bake and take to bless your neighbors, a progressive dinner (or progressive dessert night),...

How do you start family Bible time with young kids? Aaron and Jennifer Smith share the practical rhythm behind their family devotions, anchored in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: God's Word talked about when you sit, walk, lie down, and rise, not saved for one day a week. They explain why parents need to be in the Word themselves, and visibly so, then walk through their approach: reading about a chapter a day chronologically with the kids in camping chairs, asking simple recall questions, reading with expression (an idea from Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life), and skipping adult content or genealogies that...

Why does your marriage need Christian community? Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain why fellowship is not optional for a thriving Christian marriage, drawing on Romans 12, Hebrews 10:24-25, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, and Proverbs 18:1. They share how a round-table marriage ministry, where couples were honest with each other, broke the isolation that had kept their own marriage stuck, and how their community carried them through hard seasons like postpartum. They talk about what believers owe one another as members of one body: serving, exhorting, speaking the truth in love to a brother or sister walking in sin, and not neglecting to...

Married to your opposite? Jennifer Smith is an introvert who recharges in solitude, and Aaron is an extrovert who recharges around people. In this episode they talk about how an introvert and extrovert marriage can bring balance, and why personality should never become a self-justifying identity that lets us off the hook from hospitality, community, or dying to self. Using Philippians 2:3 and Luke 6:31, Aaron describes saying no to his flesh to give Jennifer downtime, and how that actually refreshes him to bless her, while Jennifer shares how she has stretched toward hospitality and spontaneity. They remind couples that...

Goal setting in marriage is one of the best ways to build hope, unity, and togetherness. Drawing on 11 years of setting goals together every year, Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain why shared goals create security, force good communication, and invite self-sacrifice. They share how they use date nights to set and check in on goals, write them down and post them somewhere visible like a whiteboard or mirror, break big goals into weekly and monthly steps, and celebrate the wins. They suggest categories to start with, including individual passions, business, spiritual life, marriage and intimacy, and finances, and ground...

Some games are fun to play with your spouse, and some can destroy a marriage. After a lighthearted look at the family board games they love, Aaron and Jennifer Smith name three dangerous emotional and manipulative games that are all too common in marriage: the silent treatment, retaliation or revenge, and word games. They admit they used to be very good at playing all three with each other until God got hold of their hearts, and they explain why there is no place for these patterns in a Christian marriage and how they can cost a couple a healthy marriage...