## Episode Notes

Are you tired of chasing happiness, only to find that joy still feels just out of reach?

In this episode, I share my own search for peace and joy through self-help, personal growth, and New Age spirituality—and why none of it gave me the lasting fullness I was looking for. I explore the difference between happiness, which can change with our circumstances, and true joy, which grows when we remain connected to Jesus.

We will look at what Scripture says about joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, why abiding in Christ matters, and how belief, repentance, and obedience can transform not only our hearts but also our marriages.

I also share a personal conviction I experienced after reading Ephesians 5:33 and realizing that my disapproving, critical thoughts toward my husband were keeping me stuck in an ungrateful and joyless mindset. Through prayer, taking thoughts captive, and asking God to help me honour my husband, I began to experience a renewed sense of peace, gentleness, and joy.

This episode is for the woman who feels restless, emotionally drained, or like she has been searching everywhere for something only God can provide.

In this episode, we discuss:

- The difference between temporary happiness and lasting joy

- Why self-focused searching can leave us spiritually empty

- Joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit

- Taking critical thoughts captive in marriage

- Serving your husband from love rather than fear

- Finding peace and joy through repentance, humility, and trust in God

Scriptures referenced:

Galatians 5:22–23, John 15:4–5, John 15:10, John 14:15, Romans 15:13, and Ephesians 5:33.

If you would like practical encouragement for battling negative thoughts, also listen to the previous episode: “The Smile I Lost.”

Where's Your Beautiful Smile? Choosing Joy and Humility to Restore Your Marriage

I lost my genuine smile somewhere between wedding vows and here today, trading playful joy for a critical, anxious spirit that quietly pushed my husband away. In this episode, I get real about how pride and control drained the life out of my marriage, and how choosing humility and a merry heart with God brought that smile.

I share how I slowly shifted from being my husband's fun-loving buddy to an anxious, critical wife, and how that shift, didn't make him better or make me happier. It just fed a cycle of anger, bitterness, sadness, and fear. I talk honestly about what changed when I stopped focusing on his flaws and started choosing love, humility, and obedience to God, regardless of how my husband was behaving.

You'll also hear the research behind why this matters for your health and his: studies on smiling, stress recovery, and cortisol levels that show how a merry heart really can "do good like a medicine" (Proverbs 17:22). I walk through key scripture on humility, pride, and trusting God rather than our own hearts, including 1 Peter 5:5, Isaiah 57:15, Proverbs 28:26, and Matthew 10:29–31.

This episode is for any wife who has felt herself become more critical, anxious, or distant in her marriage and wants to understand what's really underneath it, and how surrendering pride can restore joy, connection, and that beautiful smile.

Topics covered: marriage, humility, pride, self-control, anxiety, critical spirit, biblical womanhood, Christian marriage, fruit of the Spirit, emotional health.

In this episode, I share how I slowly drifted away from God, how that affected my marriage, and how surrendering to His will as a wife changed everything. From growing up in rural Saskatchewan to walking through rebellion, repentance, and healing, this conversation follows my journey from self-focus back to faith.

I also talk more about the calling of a wife — what it means to be a help meet, a supporter, and someone who trusts God with her marriage even when her husband is imperfect. This section explores how surrendering that role brought me unexpected joy, contentment, peace, and a deeper understanding of God’s design for marriage.

In this episode, I share what happened when the honeymoon phase in my marriage faded and anger, hurt, and miscommunication started to surface again. After turning back toward God and focusing on being a better wife, we had a beautiful season of growth, but then real conflict exposed how much old emotions and unprocessed hurts were still underneath.

I talk about the ways pride, blame, fear, and emotional shutdown can damage marriage, and how easy it is to fight each other instead of facing the problem together. This episode also covers practical, biblical steps for handling anger God’s way: taking responsibility, praying for self-control, processing past hurts, and communicating feelings in a respectful way.

If you’ve ever felt angry, misunderstood, or stuck in conflict in your marriage, this episode is for you. My hope is that it will be eye-opening, convicting, and freeing as you learn how to respond with more peace, honesty, and self-control.

Topics covered

• Honeymoon phase in marriage
• Anger and hurt in relationships
• Pride and blame
• Self-control through the Holy Spirit
• Processing past hurts
• Respectful communication
• Biblical marriage

Scripture referenced

Romans 3:10, Matthew 7:5, Galatians 5:22–26, Proverbs 29:22, Romans 12:19, Ephesians 4:31, Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 15:1, Proverbs 15:28, James 1:19

In this episode, I share how God delivered me out of New Age spirituality and began to rescue and reshape my marriage. I talk about early spiritual experiences—a vivid dream of breaking glass followed by a real car accident, and a powerful vision of standing in front of Jesus and feeling an overwhelming, indescribable love—and how those moments opened my eyes to the spiritual realm but slowly led me to chase the experience instead of the Source.

I walk through how that desire to “feel that way again” pulled me deeper into New Age practices: card pulls, readings, talking to other people’s deceased loved ones, following special numbers, and looking for guidance everywhere except in God’s Word. At the same time, fear, anxious attachment, and a lack of trust were quietly damaging our marriage.

You’ll hear how, years later, I ended up in my living room crying out to God to save me and our relationship—and how He began turning on the lights in areas of my life I didn’t even know were dark. I share the moment I chose to lay down every New Age practice at His feet, the healthy fear of God that grew in me, and the freedom, clarity, and lightness that came as He delivered me.

This episode is for wives and women who feel torn between “spiritual seeking” and biblical faith, who wrestle with fear, trust, and confusion, and who long to move from chasing experiences to truly following Jesus in their marriage and everyday life.

On our wedding day, the whole church burst into laughter when I botched my vows and the preacher warned my husband he’d “have his hands full with this one.” Years later, that offhand comment proved truer than anyone knew. In this first episode, I share how anxious attachment, irrational fear of “someone better,” and a desperate living‑room prayer brought me to a breaking point in my marriage—and how God used my husband’s strength, honesty, and forgiveness to start transforming me into a very different kind of wife.

If there’s a voice inside you whispering, “Things could be better in my marriage,” or “I could be a better wife,” this episode is for you. I’ll talk about my journey from generic “spiritual growth” to discovering God’s design for marriage, the hard conversations that forced me to face my lack of trust, and the practical, faith‑rooted steps I began taking to become the wife I was meant to be. This is the beginning of an honest, hope‑filled conversation for women who just want to do what is right—especially when fear and insecurity say otherwise.

To read this podcast instead of listen and to access Christian counsellors in Saskatchewan click here: https://thykingdomcounselling.ca