What is the big thing you are living for right now—and who is receiving the glory from the life you are building?

In this episode of Cup of Soul, Theresa and Candis discuss Chapter 1 of Paul David Tripp's A Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger Than You. Through honest conversation, biblical truth, personal reflection, and a little laughter, they explore transcendence—the God-given desire to live beyond ourselves and participate in something greater.

They examine the difference between success and significance, ownership and stewardship, and building a name for ourselves versus living for the glory of God. They also discuss how good things—including family, career, influence, comfort, and ministry—can become "little kingdoms" when they occupy the place that belongs to God.

This conversation reminds us that Kingdom living is not limited to platforms, ministries, or spectacular assignments. It happens through parenting, working, serving, forgiving, keeping our promises, and faithfully honoring God in ordinary life.

You may not need a bigger assignment. Sometimes you need a bigger reason for the assignment already in your hands.

SCRIPTURES: Ecclesiastes 3:11; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Isaiah 43:7; Romans 11:36; Genesis 1:26–28; 1 Peter 4:10; Genesis 2:18; John 17:17; Psalm 119:105; Genesis 11–12.

REFLECTION QUESTION: If someone watched how you spent your time, energy, attention, and resources this week, what would they say you are living for?

This week on Cup of Soul, we begin a brand-new book journey through A Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger Than You by Paul David Tripp.

In Episode 1, "Whose Kingdom Am I Building?", Candis and Theresa unpack the Preface and Introduction and begin asking some uncomfortable but necessary questions: Are we truly seeking God's Kingdom, or are we asking God to bless the little kingdoms we have already built?

We talk about success, ministry, family, recognition, obedience, surrender, conviction, purpose, and what it really means to seek first the Kingdom of God.

This is not just another book we want to finish. We are asking God to use this journey to examine us, challenge us, and change us.

This week's question: What area of your life are you willing to allow God to examine?

We made it, SisterFriends! ☕❤️

This is the season finale of our A New Way to Love Your Neighbor series based on the book by Jada Edwards, and we're ending by looking back at what God has taught us about love — and what we're going to do with it now.

In this final conversation, Theresa and Candis reflect together on the chapters that challenged them, made them uncomfortable, revealed blind spots, and even called for repentance. We're also returning to three powerful reminders from this journey: Love is Curious. Love is Free. Love is Brave.

What does that look like in real life? Listening before assuming. Releasing offense. Letting go of labels. Having hard conversations. Choosing forgiveness. Loving without controlling. And remembering that every person we meet has a story we may not know.

But this finale brings us back to the most important truth of all: we love because God first loved us.

We finished the book, but the work of love is not finished.

So grab your mug, pull up a chair, and join us for one final conversation as we ask:

Did this book simply teach us about love…or has it actually changed the way we love?

Can we be honest, sisterfriend?

Sometimes loving people is difficult—not only because of what they have done, but because of what is happening inside our own hearts.

In this week's episode, Theresa and Candis discuss Chapter 9, "Be Real: Love Is Honest," from Jada Edwards' book, A New Way to Love Your Neighbor.

Together, we examine the deeper honesty that admits our hidden motives, our desire to control outcomes, our need to be recognized, and the places where we would rather have power over someone than truly love them.

Using Genesis 3:5–13, we look at the first power struggle and how Adam and Eve responded to sin with hiding, defensiveness, and blame. Then, through Philippians 2:1–11, we see the completely different example of Jesus—who did not grasp for power but humbled Himself and chose to serve.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why pride keeps us defensive while humility makes us teachable • How hidden expectations can turn love into a scoreboard • Why people cannot fill the places that belong to God • The difference between honesty and cruelty • How confession leads us toward grace instead of shame • Why we cannot love well without God's help • How to recognize when we desire control more than connection

Sometimes love does not arrive whole or polished. Sometimes it arrives cracked, honest, and brave enough to be offered anyway.

God is not asking for perfection. He is asking for a willing heart.

This week, ask yourself:

What do I want more—power over this person and control over the outcome, or the ability to truly love them?

Grab your Bible, journal, and favorite mug, and join us at the table for an honest, challenging, and grace-filled conversation.

Love is honest. Love does not lie. Love always wins.

We've reached the final episode in our "How to Love the Five Hardest Relationships" series, and we're ending with a conversation that just might surprise you.

This week, Candis and I are talking about The Exaggerator—the person whose emotions often become bigger than the facts. They may use words like "always," "never," "everyone," or "no one," leaving others confused, emotionally drained, and unsure of what is actually true.

But before we point fingers, we invite you to pick up a mirror.

What if, at some point in our own lives, we've all exaggerated our pain, our fears, or our disappointments?

Together, we open God's Word and explore biblical examples like Martha, and Elijah,discovering how Jesus responded to overwhelmed hearts with both truth and compassion. We also discuss healthy boundaries, why trust matters, how to listen for the heart behind the words, and what it truly means to speak the truth in love.

Throughout the episode, we share personal stories, practical wisdom, and lessons we've learned from faithful Bible teachers who have shaped our own walk with Christ, always pointing us back to Scripture as our foundation.

As we close this five-part series, we're reminded that the goal was never to become experts on difficult people—it was to become more like Jesus.

☕ Grab your favorite mug, open your Bible, and join us for this heartfelt conversation. We pray you'll leave encouraged, challenged, and equipped to love others with greater wisdom, grace, and compassion.

🎧 Listen, subscribe, and share with someone who needs this encouragement today. We'd love to hear what spoke to your heart!

Episode 9: Be Resilient – Love Is Unrelenting

How do you keep loving when relationships remain difficult? How do you continue showing grace when you're tired, hurt, or wondering if your efforts even matter?

In this episode of Cup of Soul, Theresa and Candis explore what it means to love with resilience—not just once, but over a lifetime. Through 1 Corinthians 13:7–8, Hebrews 11:1, Romans 15:13, Galatians 6:9, and the example of Joseph in Matthew 1, they discuss how confidence in God's character and patience rooted in hope give us the strength to love as Christ loves.

You'll discover:

• What "unrelenting love" really means.
• Why faith is confidence in God's character, not people's behavior.
• The difference between hope and wishful thinking.
• How to surrender outcomes while remaining faithful.
• Why obedience is our responsibility and the results belong to God.

If you're weary from loving difficult people, this conversation will remind you that God never asks you to love from your own strength—He invites you to love from His.

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 13:7–8 | Hebrews 11:1 | Matthew 1:18–25 | Romans 15:13 | Galatians 6:9 | Lamentations 3:22–23

Chapter 8: Be Brave – Love Is Uncomfortable

What if the boundaries you've built weren't created from God's wisdom—but from your wounds?

In this week's episode of Cup of Soul, Theresa and Candis continue their conversation through A New Way to Love Your Neighbor by Jada Edwards, diving into one of the most challenging aspects of loving others: healthy, God-honoring boundaries.

Together, they explore the difference between worldly boundaries and biblical boundaries, why guarding your heart is an act of stewardship, and how Jesus modeled both compassion and wisdom in every relationship.

Theresa also puts on her "therapist hat" to unpack how past pain can quietly shape our relationships, while Candis reminds us that healing begins when we surrender our hearts to God.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why love and boundaries are not opposites.
• The difference between walls and gates.
• How fear and wisdom produce very different boundaries.
• What it means to guard your heart without hardening it.
• How to rebuild relationships with God's wisdom instead of your wounds.

Soul Food Takeaway: "God never intended for your past pain to become the architect of your future relationships."

Join us as we invite the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and teach us to love with courage, wisdom, and the heart of Jesus.

Have you ever walked away from a conversation thinking, Why did that become such a battle? Or maybe you've found yourself trying to fix, lead, or control a situation because you genuinely cared—but somehow it only created more tension.

This week on Cup of Soul, we're unpacking the fourth hardest relationship: The Bulldozer.

The Bulldozer is the person who dominates conversations, pushes their agenda, and often leaves others feeling unheard. But what if the real issue isn't what's happening on the outside? What if controlling behavior is actually protecting something deeper?

In this honest and grace-filled conversation, Theresa and Candis explore the fears, insecurities, and wounds that can fuel controlling behavior—and the surprising ways we can become bulldozers ourselves without even realizing it.

Together, you'll discover:

• Why control often disguises itself as love.
• What Scripture teaches about gentleness, wisdom, and true strength.
• How anxiety can quietly convince us that everything depends on us.
• Why healthy relationships create space for God to work instead of trying to manage every outcome.
• Practical, biblical ways to respond to difficult personalities without losing your own peace.

With biblical truth, real-life stories, and therapeutic insight, this episode will challenge you to stop asking, "Who is the bulldozer in my life?" and begin asking, "Lord, where have I become one?"

If you've ever struggled with control, conflict, difficult relationships, or simply learning to trust God more deeply, this conversation is for you.

Because sometimes the greatest act of love isn't winning the argument...

It's surrendering the outcome to God.

Grab your favorite mug, settle in, and join us around the table. We believe the Holy Spirit has something to say to your heart today.

Cup of Soul Podcast | Chapter 6: Be Free – Love Is Forgiving

What if forgiveness isn't really about the person who hurt you?

In this powerful episode of Cup of Soul, Theresa and Candis dive into Chapter 6, Be Free: Love Is Forgiving, and discover that forgiveness is ultimately about freedom. Together, they explore what happens when we stop carrying what God never intended us to carry.

Join us as we discuss: • Why forgiveness is not the absence of pain or consequences • The difference between forgiveness and reconciliation • How disappointment, resentment, and unanswered questions toward God can impact our ability to forgive others • The three sources of pain we all experience: pain allowed by God, pain caused by others, and pain caused by ourselves • Why self-forgiveness may be one of the hardest journeys of all • The biblical cycle of forgiveness: Release. Bestow. Bless.

Drawing from the stories of Job, the teachings of Jesus, and the promises of Scripture, we unpack what it means to experience true freedom from bitterness, shame, resentment, and self-condemnation.

If you've ever experienced betrayal, divorce, abandonment, rejection, disappointment, or grief, this conversation is for you.

Because healing doesn't erase history. The scar may remain. The story may remain. But by God's grace, the pain no longer has to own you.

Featured Scriptures: Ephesians 4:32 | Psalm 10:1 | Job 42:5 | Proverbs 3:5-6 | Romans 8:1 | Luke 23:34 | Romans 12:21

Grab your favorite mug and join us for a conversation about healing, freedom, and the God who still restores broken hearts.

☕ CUP OF SOUL PODCAST

Episode Title: Everybody Has a Story: The Forgotten Art of Learning People

Have you ever found yourself frustrated with someone, hurt by someone's actions, or making assumptions about a person before you really knew their story?

What if one simple shift could transform your relationships, deepen your walk with God, and soften your heart toward the people around you?

This week on Cup of Soul, Theresa and Candis dive into one of the most powerful chapters yet from A New Way to Love Your Neighbor by Jada Edwards.

Together, they explore why curiosity is more than asking questions—it's one of the purest expressions of love.

You'll discover:

• Why knowing about God is different than truly knowing Him • How curiosity can deepen your relationship with Jesus • The surprising connection between self-awareness and spiritual growth • Why Jesus asked so many questions • How "curiosity before correction" can change marriages, friendships, family relationships, and church communities • What happens when we stop judging behavior and start learning people's stories

Along the way, Theresa brings both biblical wisdom and therapist insight, while Candis keeps the conversation honest, practical, and full of the laughter we all need.

Because the truth is...

The difficult person. The distant person. The person who hurt you. The person you don't understand.

Everybody has a story.

And love takes time to learn it.

So grab your favorite mug, pull up a chair, and join us for a conversation that may change the way you see God, yourself, and the people around you.

Because before we assume... we can ask.

Before we judge... we can listen.

Before we correct... we can learn.

☕ Sisterfriend, this episode just might be the conversation your heart needs this week.