Marriage After God

By Aaron Smith & Jennifer Smith

Marriage After God Podcast | Christian Marriage, Relationship & Parenting Encouragement

Welcome to the Marriage After God Podcast with Aaron and Jennifer Smith — a top-rated Christian marriage po... more

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Number 1: 30 Marriage Devotional: How to Have a Marriage After God
30 Marriage Devotional: How to Have a Marriage After GodAbout This EpisodeWhat does it actually mean to have a marriage after God? In our final episode of this podcast series, we share a pivotal moment that transformed our marriage and discuss what it actually means to have a Marriage After God.In This EpisodeJesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: what Aaron heard God ask him through Matthew 26, and how it broke himWhy Christ's "not my will, but yours" is the template for every marriageHow Unveiled Wife and Husband Revolution were born out of sharing the journey, not having it figured outWhy confession and transparency in community dissolves the power that darkness has over a marriageThe difference between pretending to have a perfect marriage and proclaiming the actual message of the gospelWhat a marriage after God looks like — not perfection, but perseverance, reconciliation, and hopefulnessWhy sanctification is not a one-time transformation but a lifelong pursuitThis Week's Call to ActionWrite a love letter to your spouse. Not a quick note — a real one. Name what you've endured together. Name what you see in them. Share where you believe God is taking your marriage. If you're not sure where to start, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what your spouse needs to hear from you.Resources from This EpisodeWatch this devotional series from the beginning and get your copies of Husband After God and Wife After GodMarriage After God Like and subscribe to catch other episodes!If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen. Follow us on Instagram: Marriage After God · Unveiled Wife · Husband Revolution Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together. Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
July 29, 202637min
Number 2: The Atmosphere Your Marriage Is Building
What Your Kids Are Actually Learning About This Episode Jennifer Pepito's daughter told her the thing that actually hurt growing up wasn't the hard years in Mexico, the off-grid living, or any of their circumstances. It was watching her parents. That answer forced Jennifer to look honestly at what her fear, her complaining, and her disconnection from her husband were really building inside her home. In this episode, Jennifer — married 36 years, homeschooling mom of seven, and author of The Inspired Homeschool — walks through what changed, what she wished she'd done differently, and why the atmosphere of a marriage is the single most powerful curriculum a home can offer. About Jennifer Pepito Jennifer Pepito is a homeschooling mother of seven, now 30 years into educating her children at home, and the author of The Inspired Homeschool. She creates life-giving curriculum through The Peaceful Press and hosts the Restoration Home Podcast, where she encourages mothers toward joy-filled, virtue-centered homes. Jennifer and her husband have been married 36 years and are now grandparents. Her work draws on neuroscience, Scripture, and personal experience to help mothers build homes rooted in peace rather than fear. The Inspired Homeschool The Peaceful Press Podcast: Restoration Home Podcast In This Episode 00:52 — Jennifer's story — Married 36 years, homeschooling for 30, seven children — Jennifer gives a quick snapshot of who she is and what drives her work encouraging mothers. 04:14 — The marriage conference that changed everything — Jennifer shares how Love After Marriage was the first time she recognized she was drawing emotional fulfillment from her children instead of God, and the first time she saw how her childhood wounds were shaping her behavior as a wife. 06:02 — When a loving home can still feel unsafe — Even when Jennifer poured herself into her kids, unresolved fear and marital conflict were creating an atmosphere that made her children feel like the problem. Her oldest daughter's honest words years later confirmed it. 07:37 — Why community changes people — Aaron and Jennifer talk about the science behind co-regulation, why talking with empathetic people accelerates healing, and what that means for the conference Aaron and Jennifer are praying about. 09:01 — When science points back to God — A conversation about why honest science and Scripture keep landing in the same place — and what that means for the way we're designed to do life together. 11:37 — What the public school system was actually built to do — Jennifer breaks down the origins of American public education, why conformity was the goal, and why Christian homeschool families keep measuring their children against a failed and counter-biblical standard. 14:13 — You don't have to have it all figured out — The encouragement homeschool moms who feel unqualified need to hear: you become a learner with your child, and curiosity is more powerful than any curriculum. 17:41 — Reading, writing, and arithmetic as the real foundation — Aaron and Jennifer agree: if children master the basics and learn how to learn, they can teach themselves anything. The educated men and women of history prove it. 18:18 — Why reading great books builds character — The imagination to sacrifice, to lead, to love others well — it has to be cultivated. Jennifer explains why the books children read either build or starve that vision. 23:03 — The missionary season that stressed everything — Moving to Mexico near Tijuana, building a house off-grid, five kids, no cell service, no community. Jennifer walks through how the circumstances didn't break her kids — but her response to the circumstances did. 25:55 — What complaining actually does to a husband — One of the most direct and practical moments in the episode. Jennifer explains the cycle she got stuck in and what she would tell a young mom today. 29:09 — The husband's side of the complaint cycle — Aaron shares how hard it is to hear a wife's struggle without internalizing it as failure, and what it takes to find security in Christ before you can respond well. 32:14 — What changed and what bore fruit — Jennifer walks through the practical shifts — less fighting in front of the kids, learning to take negative thoughts captive, cultivating thankfulness in the hardest seasons. 35:22 — Philippians 4:6–7 and the power of thanksgiving — Aaron unpacks why coming to God with thanksgiving isn't just a nice idea — it's the mechanism by which the peace of God guards the heart and mind. 41:07 — Recognizing the enemy's voice — Jennifer ties together the whole episode: the lies that come to us are the same pattern from Genesis forward. The question is always whether we'll agree with them or take them captive. 41:40 — Encouragement for anyone considering homeschool — Jennifer closes with a direct word for families on the fence: it's not as hard as you think, history backs you up, and if God is calling you to it, He will equip you. Episode Resources The Inspired Homeschool by Jennifer Pepito The Peaceful Press — Jennifer's homeschool curriculum Restoration Home Podcast — hosted by Jennifer Pepito Mothering by the Book by Jennifer Pepito If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen. Follow us on Instagram: Marriage After God · Unveiled Wife · Husband Revolution Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together. Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
August 25, 202649min
Number 3: The Real Problem Isn't Communication with Genee Francis
A licensed therapist on the real reason couples drift — and what to do about it What if the disconnection you feel in your marriage isn't really a communication problem — but an intimacy problem? That's the reframe Dr. Genee Francis brought to this conversation, and it's one every couple needs to hear. Genee is a licensed therapist, holds a doctorate, and serves as Assistant Director of Content and Programming for Winshape Marriage. She's been married 18 years and has walked her own marriage through grief, legal battles, health crises, and the slow work of building real community — and she shares all of it here. About Dr. Genee Francis Dr. Genee Francis is a licensed therapist and the Assistant Director of Content and Programming for Winshape Marriage, a ministry of the Winshape Foundation. She has been working with couples, individuals, and families since 2008 and holds a doctorate degree completed during her marriage while raising two boys. Married 18 years to her husband Rashad, the two also lead their own marriage events and retreats to create community for couples in their area. Winshape Marriage In This Episode 3:32 — A grandmother's words that stuck — A seed that shaped an entire career in counseling 5:28 — Growing up between two pictures of marriage — With divorced parents and grandparents married over 70 years, Genee developed a deep curiosity about what makes marriages survive — and it never left her 7:59 — Covenant as the deciding factor — Why the marriages that make it aren't the ones with fewer problems, but the ones committed first to God and then to doing the work together 11:02 — Navigating grief, legal battles, and a new baby at the same time — Within their first five years, Genee and Rashad walked through her father-in-law's terminal illness, a two-year estate battle, and the birth of their first child — and what carried them through 16:30 — Prayer as a window into your spouse — When her husband couldn't find words for his grief, their shared prayer life gave Genee eyes into what he was actually feeling and thinking 19:01 — A second unexpected crisis — After two pregnancies, Genee learned she needed a full hip replacement — a blindside for someone who had jogged five days a week for her entire adult life 22:10 — Nine years of couples' Bible study — Why being embedded in a community of couples for nearly a decade was one of the most formative things for their marriage, and what they lost when they relocated 28:27 — Why infertility is a rising theme — One of the most common struggles Genee sees at Winshape retreats, and what she believes is driving it 38:03 — It's not a communication problem — it's an intimacy problem — The reframe Genee offers couples who say they "can't talk": spiritual, emotional, and recreational intimacy are all lacking, and naming that honestly is the first step forward 40:42 — The power of naming things out loud — Why confession — saying "I feel disconnected from you" — is the most underused first step couples have available to them 43:25 — What actually feeds your marriage in community — Why Genee stayed committed to a Bible study that wasn't always speaking directly to her, and what it gave her husband that came back into their marriage 46:05 — A reason for hope — Divorce rates are slowly declining, and marriage is trending — what Genee sees as genuinely encouraging about where couples are headed Resources from This Episode Winshape Foundation Winshape Marriage retreats — North Georgia, 27,000-acre retreat location, all-inclusive, all stages of marriage If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen. Follow us on Instagram: Marriage After God · Unveiled Wife · Husband Revolution Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together. Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
August 11, 202651min
Number 4: Faithful in the Mundane with Emma Waters
What if you've been believing a lie about children without ever knowing it? In today's conversation on the Marriage After God podcast. Aaron sits down with Emma Waters — wife, mom, policy analyst, and author of Lead Like Jael: Seven Timeless Principles for Today's Women of Faith — to talk about the fear of motherhood that nearly cost her her marriage, why the trad wife movement and girl boss feminism are more alike than they seem, what a 3,000-year-old tent peg reveals about a woman's role in marriage, and how to stop treating your home like a waiting room for your real life. About Emma Waters Emma Waters is a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, where she focuses on infertility, reproductive technology, and family structure from a life-affirming perspective. She writes for First Things and World magazine on issues of family, femininity, and what it means to be human in an age of rapid technological change. Emma is married to Jack Waters, who is pursuing ordination in the Anglican Church of North America, and together they have two daughters with a third on the way. She is also the author of Lead Like Jael: Seven Timeless Principles for Today's Women of Faith. Website & Podcast: rethinkingfertility.com Book: Lead Like Jael — available wherever books are sold In This Episode The fear that almost ended her relationship — She broke up with her now-husband over one question: do you want kids? "Either you're right, or the Bible's right" — The mentor's challenge that changed everything Every negative thing about children in the Bible belongs to the villains Trad wife and girl boss: more alike than they look Jael's tent peg — She could only do what she did because she'd been faithful in the mundane The myth of the morally neutral public square Adam and Eve's names as a marriage blueprint The enemy has always targeted the home — The first attack didn't happen on a battlefield. It happened in the Garden. Seasons of faithfulness — Why both "my life is over" and "it's only a few years" get it wrong Resources from This Episode Book: Lead Like Jael: Seven Timeless Principles for Today's Women of Faith by Emma Waters — available wherever books are sold Website, Podcast & Substack: rethinkingfertility.com Book referenced: The Glory of Man by Peter Leithart Book referenced: The Three Worlds Framework by Aaron Renn (Zondervan) If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen. Follow us on Instagram: Marriage After God · Unveiled Wife · Husband Revolution Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together. Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
August 04, 202655min
Number 5: Stop Performing In Your Marriage with Brad Rhoads
How the same grace God gives us has to become the foundation we build our marriages on. About This Episode Most of us walked into marriage believing love was enough — that if you meant your vows, everything would just work. Brad Rhoads lived that lie for the first year of his marriage and nearly lost the best thing God had given him. What turned it around wasn't a marriage strategy or a communication framework. It was grace — the same grace God extends to us — applied to the person who knows the worst things about you. In this episode, Brad shares what a grace-based marriage actually looks like versus a performance-based one, why the church has largely left marriages to fend for themselves, and how resting in the gospel changes everything about the way you love your spouse. Brad Rhoads is an attorney-turned-pastor who left a 22-year law career to launch Grace Marriage, a ministry that equips churches with ongoing marriage discipleship. About Brad Rhoads Brad Rhoads is a civil litigation attorney who left his law practice in 2015 to found Grace Marriage, a ministry dedicated to equipping churches with ongoing marriage discipleship platforms. He and his wife Marilyn have been married 30 years and have five children. Brad serves as a pastor of marriage at his church and is the author of The Grace Marriage, published by Moody Publishers. In This Episode [00:52] — Who is Brad Rhoads? — Brad shares his background as a civil litigation attorney, how he and Marilyn built a two-year waiting list just by having a great marriage, and what prompted him to leave law and launch Grace Marriage full time. [03:21] — "We want what you have" — The moment a young couple asked Brad and Marilyn to do their premarital counseling because their marriage looked fun — and what that kind of testimony actually requires. [04:03] — The church's missing strategy for marriage — Brad breaks down why he thinks the church's default approach — premarital prep, then nothing until crisis — is one of the dumbest strategies he's ever seen, and what a real marriage discipleship model looks like. [06:15] — The first year: neglected and miserable — Brad recounts how pouring everything into his law practice while Marilyn cried two or three times a week led him to the wrong conclusion: that her "hypersensitivity" was the problem. [08:39] — "I'm off your roller coaster" — How Marilyn's encounter with Christ's sufficiency changed everything — and why Brad had to be forced to a marriage conference before he finally saw what he was doing. [10:55] — The sowing-and-reaping rule Brad forgot — The moment Brad realized marriage was the one area of his life where he thought he could sow nothing and still reap everything — and what it looks like to actually turn that around. [13:20] — Why marriage thrives on intentionality — Brad explains why "we love each other, we're fine" is a dangerous myth — and how neglect quietly destroys the one thing that matters most. [14:44] — Why the church is responsible — Brad makes the case that when the church leaves the marriage space wide open, the world fills it — and couples drift toward either a norm they can tolerate or a crisis, with nothing in between. [18:52] — Redefining success — Why the people Brad most wanted to impress were telling him he was succeeding, while the people who loved him most knew he was failing — and what a real redefinition of success looks like for a Christian man. [25:53] — Why younger couples aren't looking to older ones — Brad addresses why older couples have stepped back from modeling marriage to younger generations, and what changes when they pursue a marriage worth observing. [31:15] — Performance-based vs. grace-based marriage — The core framework from Brad's book: how performance-based marriages give and withdraw love based on how you're being treated, and how a grace-based marriage responds the way Christ does — by moving toward, not away. [34:53] — Grace looks like this — Brad shares how a hard three weeks with his dad's illness and emotional absence from Marilyn was met not with distance or resentment, but with prayer, pursuit, and peace — because their marriage is built on Jesus, not performance. [40:04] — "You're not okay, and it's okay" — The moment God spoke to Brad in his den and, for the first time, he could finally breathe — and how releasing performance-based faith changed the way he loved people, including his wife. [45:12] — New creation theology and what God sees — Brad and Aaron unpack what it means to believe the old is gone and the new has come — that God isn't looking through your sin, he's seeing a cleansed, beloved son or daughter — and how that shifts everything. Resources from This Episode The Grace Marriage by Brad Rhoads Grace Marriage Ministry — Equipping churches with ongoing marriage discipleship platforms If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen. Follow us on Instagram: Marriage After God · Unveiled Wife · Husband Revolution Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together. Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
September 01, 202651min