In this episode, Brad and Kent get brutally honest about a tension every parent wrestles with: How do you balance grace and truth?
Kent shares a powerful framework on why Jesus didn’t stand in the same place with everyone. He stood wherever the person in front of Him needed Him most. And as parents, that’s exactly what we’re called to do.

Brad opens up about his own journey with grace, including how regular confession, forgiveness, and delight radically reshaped his relationship with his daughter.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Manhood Journey – https://manhoodjourney.org/


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Balancing grace and truth in parenting
• Why kids stop wanting time with their parents
• The danger of a performance-based Christian home
• How delight builds long-term influence
• Marriage conflict and ‘unseen capital
• How grace multiplies when you give it away
• How to discipline without shaming your kids
• Why Jesus didn’t use one-size-fits-all grace


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Blended families often step into marriage thinking the hardest part is behind them...then reality hits. In this powerful conversation, Brad sits down with Ron Deal, one of the leading voices in stepfamily ministry, to unpack why blended family life feels so complex and why those challenges are actually normal.

Ron explains why a blended marriage begins in the middle of a story, not the beginning, and how layers of loss, shifting traditions, co-parenting dynamics, and differing expectations create a level of complexity most couples never see coming. He also shares practical steps couples can take to reduce discouragement, build unity, and approach their home with grace instead of guilt.

Whether you’re part of a blended family, know someone who is, or serve in a church trying to support stepfamilies well, this episode brings clarity, compassion, and actionable hope.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Blended & Blessed – https://blendedandblessed.com
• Ron Deal’s Resources – https://rondeal.org
• Grace Marriage – https://gracemarriage.com


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why blended families experience unique stress that feels “unexpected”
• The difference between coupleness and familyness — and why both matter
• How past loss, co-parenting, and household transitions impact stepfamily dynamics
• Why mixed traditions (holidays, rules, routines) cause conflict no one anticipates
• Why flexibility, patience, and learning are essential in stepfamily life
• How churches can better support blended families and why most don’t
• The importance of intentionality and ongoing marriage ministry in every church


LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

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In this episode, Brad sits down with pastor and author Kyle Idleman to talk about the unseen thought patterns that quietly shape our marriages. Kyle shares the heart behind his new book Every Thought Captive and why so much of the transformation we hope for in marriage never sticks, because we try to change our behavior without ever changing our thinking.

He unpacks how strongholds form, why simply trying to “stop thinking something” rarely works, how to replace lies with biblical truth, and why the gospel itself begins with admitting weakness and asking for help. Kyle also explains how Romans 12 and neuroplasticity surprisingly say the same thing about renewing the mind.

If you’ve ever felt stuck repeating the same patterns in your marriage, this conversation offers a hopeful first step: before you try to fix your marriage… fix your thoughts.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why unseen thought patterns quietly shape your marriage
• How strongholds form (and how to break them with Scripture)
• The lie: “Asking for help means failure” (Kyle’s personal example)
• Romans 12 and neuroplasticity: what science and Scripture agree on
• How gratitude and intentional thinking reshape your brain
• Using Philippians 4 as a filter for your thoughts about your spouse
• Why lasting change starts in your thoughts, not your behavior

📚 KEY VERSES
📖 Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
📖 Philippians 4:8 -- “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
📖 2 Corinthians 10:5 – “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
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Most parents say their kids are their top priority. But what if putting your children first is actually damaging your marriage?

In this episode, Brad talks with Kent Evans (Founder of Manhood Journey) about why a strong marriage is the foundation of great parenting, how our culture has become child-centered, and why the gospel calls husbands and wives to love one another first.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Manhood Journey – https://manhoodjourney.org/


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why being a “better dad than husband” is actually a red flag
• How to raise children who want healthy marriage because they’ve seen one
• Why delight, not pressure, transforms parenting
• Practical, freeing mindset shifts that lower stress and increase joy at home
• A healthy marriage creates healthy parenting
• The purpose of marriage is to glorify God — not just to meet needs
• Kids thrive when they see their parents love each other
• Delight is more powerful than pressure in parenting
• You are not the hero of your child’s story — Jesus is
• Time and presence matter more than measurable progress


LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
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We’re getting a lot of things wrong in marriage—and it’s not because we don’t care. It’s because we often fight the wrong battles.

In this episode, Brad Rhoads talks with Dr. Chris Thurman, author of Real Marriage Made Simple: Proven Principles for Thriving in Marriage. Together they unpack why so many couples end up frustrated, distant, and emotionally drained (and some simple biblical principles that can change that).

From learning to "stay in your own backyard" to becoming a true giver instead of a taker, Dr. Thurman shares decades of wisdom from counseling couples who’ve found real freedom in letting God do the convicting and focusing on what they can actually control.

If your marriage feels stuck or one-sided, this conversation will help you rediscover grace, humility, and peace right where you are.

Listen now—and start working on the one person you can actually change.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

** Real Marriage Made Simple: Proven Principles for Thriving in Marriage –https://a.co/d/izefU1K

🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why trying to “fix” your spouse never works (and what does)
• The difference between triggering emotions and causing them
• How to find freedom by staying in your own backyard
• Why giving more than you take leads to real joy in marriage
• How guilt and pressure fail—but grace transforms
• The subtle difference between desire and need in healthy relationships

📚 KEY VERSES
📖 Matthew 7:3 – “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
📖 Galatians 5:1 – “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
📖 Acts 20:35 – “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
📖 Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
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Why do women say they feel unseen and unheard while men quietly wonder why sex feels distant and disconnected? In this episode, Brad Rhoads sits down with researchers and authors Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn to unpack the two most common complaints in marriage: “We don’t communicate” and “We’re not intimate enough.”

They reveal surprising research about how women are constantly asking, “Do you still love me?,” and how men are silently wondering, “Do you still want me?” You’ll hear real stories, from skipped conversations after important meetings to choosing connection over a $2,500 roofing mistake, plus the science behind desire and why most couples misunderstand each other.

This conversation is honest, practical, and might just change the way you pursue the person you married (emotionally and physically).

Stay to the end for simple next steps you can try this week.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

Jeff & Shaunti Feldhahn – Research, books, blog, and podcast: https://shaunti.com

🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why women crave connection through conversation and men crave connection through sex
• The hidden question most wives ask daily: “Do you still love me?”
• The silent fear many husbands carry: “Am I still desirable to you?”
• How communication and intimacy fuel each other instead of competing
• Initiating vs. receptive desire — and why most couples don’t understand this difference
• Why couples drift into sexless patterns and how to reverse it
• How pursuit often comes before desire but leads to deeper intimacy

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
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What if the one skill that could transform your marriage, your friendships, and even your politics isn’t communication—it’s curiosity?

In this episode, Brad Rhoads sits down with author Drew Worsham, whose new book The Magic of Curiosity explores how asking better questions can heal division and deepen connection. Together, they unpack how curiosity builds bridges in a polarized world and restores understanding between spouses who feel miles apart.

From real-life stories about beauty vs. budget, parenting styles, and a $2,500 roof decision, this conversation shows how curiosity fuels wisdom and wisdom fuels grace. Whether you’re fighting about finances or frustrated by your spouse’s perspective, this episode will help you stop arguing and start understanding.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• The Magic of Curiosity by Drew – https://a.co/d/cYFCw80
• Grace Marriage – https://gracemarriage.com

🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• How curiosity can stop conflict before it starts
• The $2,500 “roof story” that transformed frustration into unity
• Why curiosity—not compromise—is the secret to deeper connection
• How curiosity changes parenting, politics, and partnership
• The 15-Minute Curiosity Session that can instantly improve communication
• How understanding your spouse’s why fuels grace in marriage

KEY VERSES:
📖 1 Peter 3:7 – “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”
📖 John 10:10 – Proverbs 18:2 – “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.”



LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
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What if the biggest danger to your marriage isn’t conflict—but distraction?
In this powerful conversation, Brad Rhoads sits down with longtime ministry leader Rick Howerton to uncover the real reasons so many marriages drift apart—and how both couples and churches can reverse the trend.

Rick draws from 50 years in ministry to share why marriage doesn’t come naturally, how busyness and misplaced priorities destroy connection, and why the word divorce should never leave your lips. They also tackle a hard truth: the modern church often builds entire ministries around children and youth while neglecting the foundation that holds it all together—marriage.

If you’ve ever struggled to balance faith, family, and calling, this episode will challenge your assumptions and give you a fresh, hopeful vision for your home and your church.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why marriage doesn’t come naturally—and how to fight for it intentionally
• The danger of letting “good” things like ministry or work replace your spouse
• How to establish a “no divorce” mindset that strengthens your covenant
• Why churches must make marriage central—not secondary—to their mission
• How misplaced priorities in church life mirror misplaced priorities at home
• Practical steps for pastors and couples to build a marriage-centered culture

KEY VERSES:
📖 Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
📖 John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage