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Chelsea Smith: ‘I Do’ Today: A 52-Week Guide to the Marriage You’ve Been Waiting For

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Join me today as I chat with the beautiful lady and best-selling author Chelsea Smith who gives us a lifeline to ‘I Do’ Today: A 52-Week Guide to the Marriage You’ve Been Waiting For

Do you dream of having one of “those” marriages–a marriage full of connection, trust, and laughter? A marriage that gets better year by year? Whether you’ve been married a few months or a few decades, the challenges of marriage–like finances, kids, grief, sex, and even everyday annoyances–might make that dream feel far away. But it doesn’t have to feel that way.

After twenty-five years of marriage, Chelsea Smith knows that the best way for a marriage to thrive is by taking it one day, one decision, one conversation at a time. In “I Do” Today, she gets you and your spouse talking and growing together in life-changing ways. Each week, you’ll explore a new topic through:

  • Short readings with real-life stories that offer validation, hope, and motivation
  • Reflection prompts and conversation starters that go deep without being daunting
  • Activity ideas to bring you closer together (and have fun along the way!)
  • Simple, easy-to-follow steps for strengthening your emotional and physical connection

“I Do” Today helps you and your spouse actively choose each other again and again as together, day by day, you create the marriage you’ve always wanted.

 

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J.R. Briggs: The Art of Asking Better Questions: Pursuing Stronger Relationships, Healthier Leadership, and Deeper Faith

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Join me today as I chat with and best-selling author JR Briggs who gives us a lifeline to The Art of Asking Better Questions!

What he teaches us: There are few things in life he’s more passionate about than asking great questions—and that is teaching others to ask better questions.

J.R.’s Wisdom:
1. The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask God, yourself, and others.
2. There’s not a single area of your life—not one—where improving the quality of the questions you ask won’t improve the quality of your life and the lives of those around you.
3. We don’t have a shortage of information; we have a shortage of wisdom, curiosity, and wonder. What’s needed is the kindling of a desire for and ability to ask the right questions at the right time in the right situation for the right
reason.
4. If we want information, Google it. But if what we’re after is wisdom and connection, we need questions.
5. Jesus was a brilliant question-asker. In the Gospels, Jesus asked over 300 questions. He was asked over 180 questions—and yet he only directly answered five of them. There’s much to be learned about what, when, where,
and how he asked questions.

Here’s what we explore in the interview:

1.) Why questions are so important (but why we don’t ask them very much)

2.) How questions impact our faith

3.) Leadership and the art of asking better
questions

4.) Ridiculously practical ways to ask better questions.

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Hannah Keeley

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On this episode of Thriving Beyond Belief, Cheryl Scruggs welcomes Hannah Keeley

Hey there! I’m Hannah … a mom of seven, a wife of one, and a lover of Jesus. I believe there is God-given greatness in everyone. And I have an insatiable desire to help them discover this and let the world see who they really are. Oh, and I’m crazy about helping moms.

“Because I know what it’s like.”

After a few kids, I found myself out of shape, overwhelmed, deep in debt, and surrounded by clutter. I knew something had to change when I found myself sobbing uncontrollably in the laundry pile (at least it was clean laundry).

“When I realized no one was going to come in and rescue me, I decided to rescue myself.”

With God’s Word and bull-headed determination, I was able to create a better life for myself. In fact, better than I ever imagined. Now I help moms everywhere do the same.

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Robert Morgan

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Robert J. Morgan recently transitioned to serve full time as leader of Robert J. Morgan Ministries, a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose goal is to energize God’s people with a greater understanding and appreciation of the Bible and Christian heritage. Preceding this transition, Rob was involved in pastoral ministry for over 40 years in Nashville Tennessee. He is a best-selling, gold-Illuminations, and gold-medallion winning writer with more than 35 books in print and approximately 5 million copies in circulation in multiple languages. Rob has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. He speaks widely at churches, conferences, schools, and corporate events.

Rob was also a homemaker and a caregiver for his late wife of 43 years, Katrina, who battled multiple sclerosis and passed away in November of 2019. He and Katrina have three daughters and sixteen grandchildren.

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CHERYL SCRUGGS is the host of the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast. She and her husband, Jeff, are doing life together and thriving in Dallas, Texas.

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Laura Smith

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Laura L. Smith is a popular speaker and best-selling author, Smith speaks around the country sharing the love of Christ with women at conferences and events. She shares her own brokenness to write ‘Restore My Soul: The Power and Promise of 30 Psalms’, offering much-needed comfort and hope for others who are feeling broken and scared in a strife-torn world. She has selected 30 of the Bible’s best-known psalms, including

  • Psalm 1
  • Psalm 23
  • Psalm 51
  • Psalm 119
  • Psalm 150

Through her transparent, thoughtful reflections and a careful study of Scripture, Laura shares how experiencing these psalms allows her to open up to God about everything and turn her troubles into a time of worship. With an interactive Restore segment at the end of each chapter and a Spotify playlist at the back of the book to go along with each psalm, she invites readers to let the Psalms have a similar effect in their lives. For Smith, Restore My Soul comes from a very personal and broken place. “I’ve been searching my whole life for beauty,” she says. “Not in the world—the world is filled with beauty. But beauty in me? Well, that was another story.”

Growing up, Laura’s father repeatedly told her how ugly and awkward she was. How clumsy and gangly she was. How her voice was too high and too loud. He left her family numerous times over the years. Laura reflects now: “As a little girl I couldn’t understand that my dad was the one struggling. I felt when he left, he was leaving me—that I wasn’t good enough . . . and that I would never be good enough.” Through high school and college and beyond, Laura jumped on the performance treadmill in desperation to find approval, love, acceptance. She also gave her heart away over and over again to various guys, hoping they would love her. “Each time there was a breakup,” she says, “it just reminded me how unlovable I was. I felt even more ugly, more clumsy, and more desperate.” At an extremely low point after college, God bent down and picked her up, reminding Laura that she was beautiful because He’d made her. He showed her that not only was she lovable—but fully loved. Always had been. Always would be. Despite what she’d done. Despite what she’d believed. “He restored my soul,” she says. “And it was in this soul restoration, this discovering of my true beauty, that I realized my voice had been muffled for too long. And now I use my voice to share what I learned: That each of is marvelously made by the Creator of the universe to inspire awe.

No matter what the world tells you, no matter what you tell yourself, no one can rob you of the incredible true identity God has instilled in you. No one can cancel His great love for you.” The Psalms help her remember these truths. “No matter what the psalmists experienced or felt,” she says, “God was with them. He was faithful. He hemmed them in, picked them up, reminded them that they were fearfully and wonderfully made, stood over them like a watchman, led them to green pastures, and yes, restored their souls. He does the same for you and me.” Restore My Soul: The Power and Promise of 30 Psalms is available July 5, 2022 everywhere books are sold.

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Jenny Albers

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Using Scripture and personal narrative, Courageously Expecting empathizes with and empowers women to face a pregnancy after loss with faith and courage, despite inevitable feelings of grief and fear that accompany life after losing a baby.

Pregnancy is widely regarded as the most joyful time in a woman’s life, but for the mother who has experienced pregnancy loss, a subsequent pregnancy can feel like she’s holding her breath and hoping for what she can’t control. In Courageously Expecting, Jenny Albers meets women in this difficult season as someone who has also experienced the worst and cautiously hoped for the best. Through the telling of her own story, Scripture, and heartfelt prayer, she encourages readers to cling to faith in the face of fear and guides them to:

  • cultivate hope when doubt weighs heavy;
  • realize that the past does not dictate the present or the future and that God creates a way in the wilderness of grief and loss;
  • flip the script on the what-if, worst-case-scenario narrative in their minds and learn to take their thoughts captive; and
  • find the courage to humble themselves and ask for and accept help from others.

Regardless of where readers are on their pregnancy after loss journey, Courageously Expecting is a companion to help them through the days when fear overshadows hope.

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Nicole Zasowski

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What If It’s Wonderful?

Author and marriage and family therapist Nicole Zasowski knows that it’s difficult to trust joy and find the courage to celebrate when you have endured seasons of disappointment and despair. When God has been your faithful anchor in the storm, does joy then leave you unmoored? Nicole reminds us that we can stay tethered to the hope of Christ in seasons of celebration, because even joyful days hold the learning, growth, and intimate encounters with Jesus that our hearts crave.

What If It’s Wonderful? offers a new perspective. With a compelling psychological and spiritual case for the importance of embracing joy and celebration, even when it feels scary.

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REPLAY: Nancy Houston

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I am so excited to have Nancy Houston with me today on Thriving Beyond Belief! We talk about a topic that is necessary in our culture today and one that is good for our hearts. We discuss intimacy within marriage!

Nancy shares her story with us and how she has gotten to where she is today. Nancy’s book Love and Sex was released in February, which is the Christian guide to healthy intimacy. She wrote the book for those 18 and older to try and help others find their pathway to healthy intimacy. She is also a certified sex therapist who devotes her time to helping couples restore their relationships, seek healing and help, and to fully enjoy marriage the way God intended it to be.

Nancy had some beautiful things to say regarding her past and dealing with abuse. She reminds us that in Scripture, God shares that He is not ashamed of us or what has happened to us, but He wants to meet us and reconstruct from the ruins of our past. She also shares that we must recognize the need for healing. She discusses coming from a place to self-hatred to seeking outside help that helped reinforce that her past was not her fault and that your past is not your fault. We see that through His Word, the Lord wants to meet us in the midst of our hurt and be our great Healer.

Nancy’s definition of thriving is facing our negative realities and walk through them to experience the LIFE on the other side. We have to leave our Egypt to reach our promised land. It doesn’t mean it is an easy journey, but it is a worthy one. Our God wants us to thrive in this way in all areas of our life- including our sex life with our spouse!

Nancy reminds us that God specifically designed us with a purpose. He is not ashamed of sexuality because He designed us to be sexual beings that gain attachment and closeness within the bond of marriage through intimacy. He desires that your intimate life is enjoyable and strengthens the marriage! We as a Christian culture need to remember to connect our spirituality with our sexuality. Often we don’t believe they are connected. But, in fact, they are stronger when they are connected.

We discuss at length those that are currently dealing with a disconnect in their marriage. Nancy discusses the scientific reasoning behind our need for attachment within marriage, what leads to breaks in the attachment, and how we can work through better communication to repair the disconnect. She encourages couples to learn to tell your spouse what you need instead of keeping score against them. Rather than blame your spouse, ask for what you feel you are lacking. She also encourages those that have tried everything and their spouse is unwilling to change to keep seeking help. Continue to pray over your marriage and tap into resources to find that intimacy again.

We end with talking about how sex in marriage was not created to be an obligation to either party, but to be a beautiful and pleasurable experience. Nancy talks through Scripture that beautifully portrays what intimacy in marriage looks like for both people, male and female.

Join me today as we gain wisdom in being healthy in every way in our marriages.

 

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170: Gary Thomas

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Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Gary Thomas!

Gary’s publisher is updating three of his marriage and dating bestsellers – A Lifelong Love: Discovering How Intimacy with God Breathes Passion Into Your Marriage, Sacred Search: What if It’s Not about Who You Marry, but Why? and 9 Essential Conversations Before You Say I Do – all releasing April 1.

Topics include:

  • I’ve been quarantined in this house with my spouse for the past year and the spark is GONE. How do we get it back?
  • How to have a marriage worthy of your calling in Christ (not just a “happy” marriage)
  • Slow and steady – the key to making lasting change and have a lifelong love
  • I’m sick of dating, but can’t find “the one.” What am I doing wrong?
  • I’m not sure my son/daughter/cousin/mailman is marrying the right person. What should I do?

More info on the books here.

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156: Arden Bevere

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Millennials might endure negative labels from older generations–lazy, broken, entitled, lost–but the most damaging labels are the ones we use on ourselves. Words are powerful. Even when they aren’t true, they can begin to shape our perceptions of ourselves and the decisions we make. Yet the only labels that really matter to this, the largest and most diverse generation yet, are the ones with which God originally designated us. What does he call our generation? Sons and daughters.

We are called to change the world and make a huge impact for the kingdom, but we can’t do that if we allow ourselves to believe the limiting labels we hear every day. Instead, Arden Bevere calls you to:

  • know what it means to be a son or daughter of God
  • see how God uses the seemingly negative things in our lives for good
  • take control of our thoughts and words and replace them with God’s thoughts and words
  • find freedom from addiction, fear, doubts, regrets, and more

Your life is not an accident, a disappointment, or an inconvenience to God. It’s time to redefine, embrace, and walk in your true identity as his beloved child who will do great things in his name. Let Arden Bevere, a positive voice in this generation, show you the way.

 

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