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What if the "freedom" you're chasing is actually a trap — and the boundaries you're resisting are actually your protection? In this episode of Bringing Hope Home, pastors Bryce and Colette Schaffer unpack the difference between true freedom in Christ and the false freedom the world (and the enemy) keeps selling us — and how that lie quietly shows up in marriage, parenting, and everyday life.

Tracing the pattern from the Garden of Eden to the prodigal son, Bryce and Colette show how false freedom always promises more but delivers less. They dig into Romans 6 (slave to sin or slave to righteousness), Galatians 5 (standing fast in liberty), and John 10:10 — and offer practical ways to identify the "yokes" quietly stealing your peace, your joy, and your marriage.

In this episode:

• Why the enemy's oldest trick is convincing us God's boundaries are a cage
• The prodigal son and the real cost of freedom apart from God
• Why boundaries are protection, not punishment
• Three freedoms found in Christ — and what they mean for your marriage
• How to recognize what you're "yoked" to and reclaim true liberty

Whether you're newly married, raising a family, or fighting to save a marriage on the brink, this conversation will challenge what you believe about freedom — and point you back to the peace, joy, and liberty God intended for your home all along.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if this episode encourages you, please rate, review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

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Is your family struggling? You're not alone. Research shows 70-80% of Americans consider their family dysfunctional — but what does "normal" even look like? In this episode, Bryce and Colette Schaffer explore what causes families to fall apart, from anger and pride to compartmentalized faith, and trace it all the way back to the very first family — Adam and Eve — and one of the Bible's most heartbreaking examples, King David.

You'll walk away with practical, biblical steps for healing: how to recognize the enemy's footholds before they take root, why forgiveness and truth have to come before restoration, and how weaving God into your marriage like a three-strand cord (Ecclesiastes 4:9-13) changes everything. Bryce and Colette also share how to find godly counsel that actually moves you forward, and a simple rhythm — using "the firsts" of your year, month, and week — to keep your family aligned and growing instead of drifting.

Whatever season your family is in, this episode offers hope, truth, and a clear next step.

Bring hope home to your life today.

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What's the "right" age to get married? To have kids? Research says 27, with three-plus years of dating — but pastors Bryce and Colette Schaffer aren't so sure a number tells the whole story.

In this episode of Bringing Hope Home, Bryce and Colette (married 31 years, pastors for 20) tackle one of the most common questions couples bring to them: when is the right time for marriage, kids, or a major life step? They walk through six practical questions — emotional readiness, capacity for change, desire for growth, shifting responsibilities, and counting the cost — plus the one factor that matters more than any of them: God's timing.

Pulling from their own story of marrying young and weathering plenty of critics along the way, Bryce and Colette share how leaning on Colossians 3:15 — being led by peace, not feelings or circumstances — has carried their marriage for three decades. Whether you're dating, engaged, newly married, or wondering if it's time to grow your family, this episode will help you trade the pressure of a timeline for the peace of God's plan.

If this episode speaks to you, subscribe to Bringing Hope Home, share it with a friend, and take our free "How Healthy Is Your Marriage?" quiz to see where your marriage stands today. Ready to go deeper? Check out our Marriage Builders course, built to help you build your marriage on a firm foundation from the ground up.

Bring hope home to your life today.

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Schafferministries.com

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How do you know if what you're hearing is the Holy Spirit, your own thoughts, or something else entirely? In this episode, Pastors Bryce and Colette Schaffer unpack how to recognize and grow in your ability to hear the Holy Spirit's voice — a skill every believer can develop with practice.

You'll learn who the Holy Spirit is (John 14, John 16, Ephesians 1:13), why He never contradicts Scripture, and how to test the spirits according to 1 John 4:1-3. Bryce and Colette walk through the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23), why peace acts as your "umpire" in decision-making (Colossians 3:15), and why guarding your heart — not just following it — is the biblical path forward (Proverbs 4:23).

Whether you're new to your faith or have walked with God for decades, this episode offers practical, biblical tools for discernment in everyday life, marriage, and parenting.

Bring hope home to your life today.

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Marriages don't drift apart overnight — they drift one disconnected day at a time. In this episode, Bryce and Colette Schaffer explore a 2024 Wheatley Institute study comparing high-connecting couples to low-connecting couples, revealing the specific habits and virtues that make the biggest difference in a marriage.

Discover the four relationship habits — time together, acts of kindness, forgiveness, and relationship maintenance — along with the three marital virtues of commitment, other-centeredness, and compassion that set thriving marriages apart. Bryce and Colette get personal, sharing real stories from over 30 years of marriage, including lessons learned about sarcasm and communication, navigating seasons of low intimacy, sharing the load as a team, and why serving together in ministry deepened their own connection.

If you're ready to deepen your roots as a couple — whether you're newly married or feeling distant after years together — this episode offers practical, Scripture-centered steps to help your marriage flourish through every season of life.

Bryce and Colette Schaffer are pastors of New Hope Church in Timber Lake, SD, with over 20 years in ministry together. They are the creators of the Marriage Builders course and authors of several books on marriage and navigating life's hardest seasons through faith.

Bring hope home to your life today.

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What does the Bible really say about being a godly man or a godly woman? In this episode, Pastors Bryce and Colette Schaffer take on one of the most talked-about topics in marriage and culture today: biblical masculinity and femininity.

Using Galatians 3:28 as their starting point, they show why God's design for men and women was never about a hierarchy of worth, but about complementary roles rooted in love and purpose. They explore the Proverbs 31 woman and Lydia from Acts 16 as examples of biblical femininity — women who were wise, capable, business-minded, and deeply devoted to bringing Christ into their homes. Then Bryce shares what biblical masculinity looks like in light of Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter: sacrificial love, servant leadership, covering, and being a watchman for the family.

Bryce and Colette also dig into what "submission" really means (hint: it's not what you think), and close with a powerful reminder of everything Jesus wasn't — weak, prideful, passive, emotionless, or isolated — as the model for how both men and women are called to live.

If you've ever felt confused, frustrated, or even a little defensive about "gender roles" in marriage, this episode offers clarity, grace, and hope for your home.

🏠 Bring hope home to your life today.

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You don't need the perfect words to pray for your kids — you just need to start. In this episode, Bryce and Colette Schaffer walk through 10 practical, Scripture-rooted ways to pray over your children, building on last week's episode about praying for your spouse.

From praying for your child's heart and mind, to protection, faith, giftings, future spouse, friendships, wisdom for you as a parent, the fruit of the Spirit, godly courage, and their needs in the moment — this episode gives you a real, usable framework you can pray through this week and come back to for years.

You'll also hear key Scriptures to anchor your prayers: Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Peter 5:7, and Matthew 6:33.

Whether your kids are toddlers or adults, whether they're yours by birth or the kids in your church, neighborhood, or classroom — every child needs someone praying for them. Let this be your starting point.

Bryce and Colette are pastors of New Hope Church in Timber Lake, SD with over 20 years in ministry. Have a topic you'd like covered? Email [email protected].

Bring hope home to your life today.

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Do you know what to actually pray for your spouse — beyond "bless them, Lord"? In Part 1 of our Prayer series, Bryce and Colette Schaffer walk through five specific ways to cover your husband or wife in prayer: their heart, their mind, their health and safety, their concerns, and their God-given purpose.

They also unpack the difference between a wishful "I hope" and biblical hope — a confident, earnest expectation rooted in scripture like Jeremiah 29:11 — and why praying from fear short-circuits faith. You'll hear how to pray scripture over your spouse (Ephesians 1 & 3, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Psalm 91, Romans 8), why keeping a prayer journal matters, and how praying in the Holy Spirit helps when you simply don't know what to say.

If you're ready to move your marriage from surviving to thriving, start here — with prayer. Grab a pen, take notes, and bring hope home to your life today.

Next week: How to Pray for Your Children (Prayer Series, Part 2).

Resources:

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After a month of learning how to fight fair, Bryce and Colette Schaffer pivot to a lighter — but just as important — topic: fun. In this episode of Bringing Hope Home, they explore why joy is a biblical mandate, not an afterthought, pointing to Nehemiah 8:10 ("the joy of the Lord is your strength") and Philippians 4:4 ("rejoice in the Lord always").

Drawing from 30 years of marriage and two decades of pastoring couples at every stage of life, Bryce and Colette share honest, funny stories about learning to loosen up, plus practical ideas for bringing more joy into your Christian home: family date nights, pizza and movie traditions, game nights, road trips, bonfires, and praying together as a family. They talk candidly about the temptation to stay in "survival mode" as parents, and how inviting God into the fun — not just the hard moments — shapes how kids see their faith.

This episode is for any couple or family who wants their home to feel less like a to-do list and more like a peaceful, joy-filled sanctuary.

Bringing Hope Home is hosted by Bryce and Colette Schaffer, pastors of New Hope Church in Timber Lake, SD, and creators of the Marriage Builders marriage course. New episodes weekly.

Bring hope home to your life today.

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They graduated. They moved out. They got married. And somewhere in there, your role as a parent completely changed — whether you were ready or not.

In this heart-to-heart final episode of their Picking Your Battles series, Bryce and Colette Schaffer get honest about the hardest parenting season of all: letting go of your adult and married children. With three married kids and three grandkids of their own, they speak from real experience — including the tender moment Colette had to cut the "apron strings" with her son. It was the right call. And it still made her cry.

In this episode, you'll hear practical, scripture-backed wisdom on:

• How to transition from authority figure to trusted friend and encourager
• Why unsolicited advice damages your relationship (and what to do instead)
• The traps to avoid: control, guilt, money manipulation, and criticizing their spouse
• How to "re-dedicate" your adult children to God and release them with faith
• What it looks like to pray more and panic less — even when you don't like their choices
• Why "leave and cleave" (Genesis 2:24) is a command for parents, too

Whether your kids are heading to college, navigating early adulthood, or starting families of their own — this episode will anchor you in faith, give you practical tools, and remind you: you trained them up. Now trust the God who holds them.

"Bring hope home to your life today."

Resources:

Schafferministries.com

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