Your sweet kid turned into a teenager—and apparently you’re embarrassing now. How do you stay close without clinging, set limits without making every conversation a lecture, and keep fear from running the show? Melissa Kruger, author of Parenting with Hope, gets real about how to parent a teenager when the stakes feel higher, the eye rolls get stronger, and you desperately want to get this right.

Show Notes and Resources

• Learn more about Melissa Kruger on her website.

• Get Melissa's book, Parenting with Hope, and her other book on our shop.
• Read and watch Josh McDowell speak about "rules without relationships".
• Find more resources on parenting teens.

• Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
• Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
• Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
• Download FamilyLife's app!
• Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
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You’ve got a dream. You’ve also got bills, responsibilities, loved ones eager to offer opinions, and that nagging question: Is this big idea for my future actually from God … or am I nuts? Saxophonist Emmanuel Garilus and his wife, Loreen, get real about finding your God-given purpose when the sensible path doesn’t feel like the faithful one. How do you weigh calling, risk, hard work, and marriage—and know when a dream is worth chasing?

Show Notes and Resources

• Emmanuel Garilus’s Apollo Theater performance. Find the video on Emmanuel Garilus’s Instagram.

• Visit FamilyLife Today.
• Become a FamilyLife Partner.
• Scriptures referenced: Proverbs 4:18 and Colossians 3:23.

• Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
• Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
• Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
• Download FamilyLife's app!
• Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
• Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

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You love each other. You love Jesus. So why is communication already this hard? Newlyweds Loreen and Emmanuel Garilus get refreshingly real about communication for newlyweds—mismatched expectations, conflict, family backgrounds, and those “Couldn’t you just text me?” moments. How do you learn to understand your spouse without making your way the right way—or letting little frustrations quietly become big ones?

Show Notes and Resources

• Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
• Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
• Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
• Download FamilyLife's app!
• Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
• Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

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You know you should listen. Instead, you get louder. Or colder. Or suddenly walking away sounds very reasonable. So how do you control your emotions when your brain and body have already hit DEFCON 1? Ron and Nan Deal, authors of The Mindful Marriage, join Dave and Ann Wilson on FamilyLife Today to unpack what’s beneath those knee-jerk reactions—and how real change manages when your spouse says that thing again and your better judgment has fled the building.

Show Notes and Resources

• Find The Mindful Marriage by Ron and Nan Deal on our shop.

• Also get Vertical Marriage by Dave and Ann Wilson

• Find information on The Worship Initiative at  theworshipinitiative.com

• Come to a Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaways by visiting weekendtoremember.com

• Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
• Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
• Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
• Download FamilyLife's app!
• Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
• Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

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When life doesn't go as planned, most of us don't stop living—we just stop expecting much. And maybe we keep waiting for real life to start. Elizabeth Woodson, author of Embrace Your Life, joins Dave and Ann Wilson for a candid conversation about disappointment, comparison, and the exhaustion of postponing happiness until life cooperates. This conversation is for anyone tired of waiting for a different story or pretending the losses don't sting.

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Sometimes the hardest thing to grieve is the life you thought you'd have. Elizabeth Woodson, author of Embrace Your Life, joins Dave and Ann Wilson for real talk about how to deal with disappointment, why unmet expectations can keep you stuck, and how to move forward without just looking the other way.

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You know exactly what your spouse needs to work on. But what if you're missing the bigger narrative? Based on his books When Sinners Say I Do and I Still Do, author and pastor Dave Harvey joins Dave and Ann Wilson for an honest conversation about marriage blind spots, self-awareness, and the hidden habits keeping you stuck.

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Is your life's loudest critic living inside your own head? Based on her book Finding Quiet, singer/songwriter Jamie Grace joins Dave and Ann Wilson to unpack negative self-talk, anxiety, and the exhausting pressure to always be enough. This episode is for anyone for whom some of the hardest conversations are the ones they have with themselves.

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Living with anxiety can make you wonder if you're doing something wrong—or if your faith isn't strong enough. But living with anxiety doesn't mean you've failed at faith. Based on her book Finding Quiet: My Journey to Peace in an Anxious World, singer/songwriter Jamie Grace joins Dave and Ann Wilson to share a candid look at what it means to trust God when your mind won't slow down.

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Kids and smartphones can turn every parent into a referee. But these conversations aren't really about phones. They're about influence, attention, and who's shaping your child's heart. Alistair Begg joins Dave and Ann Wilson for a conversation about raising children whose hearts belong to Christ in a world competing for their attention.

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