He embarrassed her the first time they met. She was about to ask him to be a groomsman in her wedding. Instead, he asked her to marry him.

Ryan and Karina come from two completely different backgrounds. Different upbringings. Different lifestyles. Different everything. They met working together when Ryan was 18 and Karina was 16. And Ryan’s first impression? He told her a dirty joke that completely embarrassed her in front of everyone.

Not exactly a love story opening.

But over time, something shifted. Ryan was curious about Karina’s faith. He didn’t understand it, but he couldn’t ignore it either. And over the next three years, Karina would witness to Ryan as they slowly became friends. She wasn’t trying to change him. She was just living her life for God, and he noticed.

But it wasn’t a clean road for either of them. Ryan would pull away at times because his own conviction about his lifestyle was too heavy to sit with next to someone like her. Karina invited him to church camp in the first six months of their friendship. Ryan had a meaningful experience there, but then went right back to struggling with sin for the next three years.
Meanwhile Karina was in a long-distance relationship that had been going on for about four years. It was toxic. But she stayed because she didn’t know anything different. Eventually she was ready to get married to someone else.

Then the turn nobody saw coming…
Ryan got saved. Actually gave his life to Christ. And in his prayer time, he felt God showing him something he never expected…that Karina was his match. They reconnected as friends after Ryan told her he was saved. And Karina was so happy for him that she planned to ask him to be a groomsman in her upcoming wedding.

But before she could ask, Ryan said something that stopped the whole conversation.

What if we got married?

Karina didn’t say yes on the spot. She fasted. She prayed. And God revealed that He was asking her to marry Ryan. Not the man she had been with for four years. The man who embarrassed her on day one and spent three years running from the God she served.

You can’t make this up. Only God writes a love story like this.
Episode 3 is now live on YouTube.




🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: @livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate
🔗For podcast appearances, speaking engagements, or collaboration inquiries, please email us at [email protected]

Her dad walked out... Then she lost her mom and brother in the same accident. Then she walked away from God. He never stopped chasing her. Episode 2 is here.

Karina’s story is one of the most layered testimonies you’ll hear. She grew up in a predominantly Catholic household with a father she was deeply close to. And then he walked out. Her parents separated. The man who was supposed to be her foundation became one of her first lessons in loss.

But God started drawing her closer. She began to understand something her religion alone hadn’t taught her — that it wasn’t about working her way into heaven or earning God’s love. It was about laying her life down. 
Reviving in the love and sacrifice of Christ. Proclaiming Him as Lord. That shift changed everything for her.
And then tragedy struck again.

Her older brother — the one who had stepped into the role of father figure and protector — died in a car accident. And her mother died in that same accident. Two of the most important people in her world. Gone in a single moment. Her refuge collapsed. The people who held her family together were suddenly not there anymore. And Karina had to face the question every grieving person eventually asks. Where is God in this?
The answer she got wasn’t a fix. It was a presence. God promised her that He would be her refuge. Her world. Her constant. He wasn’t going anywhere.
But Karina didn’t always walk that out perfectly. As she got older, she stepped away. College came and she chose to rebel. She put distance between herself and the God who had carried her through the worst losses of her life.

And here’s the part that makes this testimony hit so hard — God never stopped chasing her.

He answered prayers she barely whispered. He waited patiently for her to come back. He never held a single thing against her. Every time she ran, He was already where she was running to. That’s the kind of love most people don’t believe is real until they’ve lived it.

This is Karina’s full testimony. Episode 2 is now live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Uk08h_FDM



🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: @livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate

In the first episode of Life Upside Down, Ryan Martinez shares his full story…from a broken childhood and addiction, to the moment everything changed.
This isn’t a highlight reel. This is the real, unfiltered journey. The pain, the mistakes, the years of searching for something that never satisfied. And the moment God stepped in and flipped everything upside down.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your past disqualifies you from purpose... Listen to this.

P.S.  This episode is part of our relaunch and includes new stories and reflections added to the original episode we shared.

🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Watch The Full Video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqAKdHaAp40
🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate

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 In this episode of Life Upside Down, we sit down with Shawn Riddle, founder of Priority Family Services, to hear his powerful story of redemption and hope. Raised in the church, Shawn walked away from his faith at just 13 years old, beginning a long journey marked by alcohol, drug use, and searching for meaning in all the wrong places. For two decades, he chased fulfillment apart from God, only to find himself broken and empty. But at age 33, everything changed when Shawn encountered the grace of Jesus in a deeply personal way. His story is one of transformation—from rebellion and addiction to restoration and purpose. Today, Shawn uses his testimony to help families overcome their own battles and discover lasting hope through Christ. Join us as we talk about what it means to come home to the Father and how God can redeem even the most unlikely stories. 

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What does a dream from months ago have to do with the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk? In this episode of Life Upside Down, Karina and Ryan unpack a surprising connection and share how the whole situation has impacted them. More than that, they reflect on the ways God may be moving, even in the midst of chaos and darkness.

Featured Song: Mask Off- Ryan Martinez 

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Ryan and Karina talk some major changes in their life and the way's God confirms the path that he has for them as seasons change in their lives.

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The two discuss a recent encounter with God that left them in awe of the powerful ways God can encounter us when we least expect it.

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Ryan and Karina dive into some of the ways they have struggled with mental health throughout their lives. They also share some ways they have found peace in the midst of chaos in our world.

Song: Up and Down- Ryan Martinez

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Fear of failure is a common hindrance that can prevent people from striving for more. In this episode Ryan and Karina discuss their experiences with failure and how it can actually propel us to sucess if we allow it.

Song: Hero- Gee Smiff and INNXCENT

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Ryan and Karina have some news.

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