Marriage After God

By Aaron Smith & Jennifer SmithSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity Relationships

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Marriage After God episodes

October 08, 2025 God's Purpose for Your Marriage | Marriage Devotional Week 1
Why purpose is written into every person, and how your marriage can reflect God's love story to the world
About This Episode
This is week one of our 30-week devotional series through Husband After God and Wife After God. We start with purpose, something every human longs for and something no other creature considers. Because we are made in God's image, we carry purpose, and so does our marriage. We talk about honoring your spouse as someone God made in His image, becoming one flesh, and why Ephesians 5 calls marriage a profound mystery that points to Christ and the church. Jennifer shares how, when we went to Zambia just four months after our wedding, we saw our marriage and our ministry as separate things. It was kind of like our marriage was serving us while we served God. Now we see our marriage as part of how we serve Him, as ambassadors of reconciliation. We close with encouragement for parents and a challenge for couples.
About Aaron & Jennifer Smith
Aaron and Jennifer Smith are the founders of Marriage After God and authors of Husband After God, Wife After God, and Marriage After God. Married since 2007 and raising six children in Bend, Oregon, they started Husband Revolution and Unveiled Wife to share what God was teaching them, not from a place of having it figured out, but as fellow travelers pointing couples back to Jesus.
In This Episode
A longing for purpose — Why humans, unlike every other creature, ask what they were made for.
Made in God's image — How Genesis 1:26-27 grounds the value and purpose of every person, including your spouse.
One flesh — How individual purposes come together in marriage (Mark 10:6-9).
The profound mystery — Ephesians 5:25-33 and marriage as a reflection of Christ and the church.
A love story — True love, reconciliation, and forgiveness as the marks of a gospel-shaped marriage.
Ambassadors for Christ — What 2 Corinthians 5:20 means for how you treat each other.
Marriage and ministry — Our story of learning that our marriage itself serves God.
Speaking purpose over your kids — Encouragement for parents to remind children they have purpose.
This week's challenge — Talk with your spouse about how you reflect God's image and the purpose of marriage.
Scripture Referenced
Genesis 1:26-27
Mark 10:6-9
Ephesians 5:25-33
2 Corinthians 5:20
Resources from This Episode
Get Husband After God and Wife After God at shop.marriageaftergod.com
Husband After God by Aaron Smith (also in our shop)
Wife After God by Jennifer Smith (also in our shop)
Marriage After God by Aaron & Jennifer Smith (also in our shop)
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
40 min
October 02, 2025 Healing & Transformation In Marriage w/ Roy Wooten
The invisible backpack men carry, how to get un-triggered in conflict, and why confession brings healing
About This Episode
Aaron talks with Roy Wooten of The Crucible Project about vulnerability, confession, and the healing God brings into marriage. Roy describes a 2009 retreat where grace moved from his head into every cell of his body as God met him in a wound from when he was five years old and the lie that he was unlovable. He gets practical about conflict: how to get un-triggered by burning off cortisol somewhere else, how to see the hurting little girl in a triggered wife, and how to take responsibility for your own part. Roy explains why so many men carry an invisible backpack of secrets and live isolated, and why confession breaks sin's stronghold. As he puts it, it's hard to believe somebody really loves you if they don't know the truth about you.
About Roy Wooten
Roy Wooten is a licensed counselor, the author of Unstuck, and the executive director of The Crucible Project, a ministry helping men heal, grow, and build meaningful community. He has been married to his wife, Deborah, for 37 years and is a grandfather, and he teaches men how to handle marital conflict, break out of isolation, and find freedom through confession and grace.
In This Episode
Grace that goes deep — How a 2009 retreat moved grace from Roy's head into every part of him.
Healing old wounds — Confronting the childhood lie that he was unlovable.
Getting un-triggered — Burning off cortisol before you try to resolve conflict.
Emotional minefields — Learning the wounds each spouse brings into marriage, and doing your own work on them.
Seeing your wife's hurt — Recognizing the hurting little girl behind a triggered reaction.
Owning your part — Taking responsibility in marital conflict.
The invisible backpack — The secrets men carry and the isolation they create.
Confession and healing — How James 5:16 breaks sin's stronghold.
Safe community — Why men need safe spaces like The Crucible Project to grow.
Scripture Referenced
James 5:16
John 1:14
Romans 7:15
Genesis 3
Resources from This Episode
The Crucible Project
Unstuck by Roy Wooten (Roy also mentions a free ebook at thecrucibleproject.org)
Marriage After God shop
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
1 hr 2 min
October 01, 2025 A 30-Week Marriage Devotional for Couples | Series Introduction
Launching our 30-week midweek marriage Bible study through Husband After God and Wife After God
About This Episode
We are so excited to launch something new on the podcast: a 30-week devotional series walking through our very first books, Husband After God and Wife After God. In this introduction we share the story behind the devotionals, which we wrote in 2013, and how God has used them, with more than 270,000 copies sold. We explain what to expect each week, including a topic from each book, discussion questions, and a challenge, and we share our dream of helping churches start weekly marriage studies like the group that transformed our own marriage. We also read from the devotional's introduction and talk about why it matters for husbands and wives to study God's Word together and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Episodes release every Wednesday morning, so think of this as your midweek marriage Bible study.
About Aaron & Jennifer Smith
Aaron and Jennifer Smith are the founders of Marriage After God and authors of Husband After God, Wife After God, and Marriage After God. Married since 2007 and raising six children in Bend, Oregon, they started Husband Revolution and Unveiled Wife to share what God was teaching them, not from a place of having it figured out, but as fellow travelers pointing couples back to Jesus.
In This Episode
What to expect — A 30-week journey through Husband After God and Wife After God, released every Wednesday morning.
The story behind the books — Why we wrote these devotionals in 2013 and how God has used them.
Do it together — Inviting your spouse and another couple to commit to the series with you.
A vision for churches — Our prayer to help churches launch weekly marriage studies.
A listener's testimony — How prayer and the devotionals helped restore one man's marriage.
Reading the introduction — Drawing near to God in your first and most important ministry role.
Why study the Word together — Being transformed by the renewing of your mind and washed by the Word.
Scripture Referenced
James 4:8
Hebrews 10:22
Colossians 2:2-3
Romans 12:2
Ephesians 5:26
Resources from This Episode
Get Husband After God and Wife After God at shop.marriageaftergod.com
Husband After God by Aaron Smith (also in our shop)
Wife After God by Jennifer Smith (also in our shop)
The Marriage Gift: 365 Prayers for Our Marriage by Aaron & Jennifer Smith (also in our shop)
Marriage After God by Aaron & Jennifer Smith (also in our shop)
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
40 min
September 25, 2025 Redefining Manhood: Faith, Family, and the Power of Community w/ Joby Martin
Your strength is not for you: Joby Martin on biblical manhood, mentoring, and raising kids toward faith
About This Episode
Aaron sits down with Joby Martin to talk about marriage, parenting, and what it means to be a man in today's culture. Joby unpacks Paul's charge in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 to be watchful, stand firm, act like men, be strong, and let everything be done in love. He argues that biblical strength is not for yourself but for serving others, and he pushes back on both the man who abdicates and the over-corrected alpha male. They talk about faith as the foundation of a strong marriage, mutual submission to Christ, parenting that moves from rules toward relationship, and why young men need rites of passage and older mentors. Joby shares about his son leaving college for fire school and closes by pointing to the blood of Jesus, which offers redemption and a fresh start to anyone.
About Joby Martin
Joby Martin is the founding pastor of The Church of Eleven22 in Jacksonville, Florida, and the author of Stand Firm and Act Like Men. Married 25 years to Gretchen, with two children, he teaches biblical manhood as stewarding strength to serve others and is passionate about mentoring and rites of passage for the next generation.
In This Episode
Act like men — What Paul means in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.
Strength with a purpose — Why your strength is not for you but for serving others.
Two ditches — The passive boy-man and the chest-beating alpha caricature.
Love as strength — The patient, kind love of 1 Corinthians 13 and bending the knee to Jesus.
A faith-centered marriage — Mutual submission to Christ as the foundation.
Parenting toward relationship — Giving freedom and guidance instead of mere rule-following.
Rites of passage and mentoring — Why older men need to invest in younger men.
A fresh start — The redeeming power of the blood of Jesus.
Scripture Referenced
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
1 Corinthians 13
Ephesians 5:21
Philippians 1:6
Luke 2:52
Matthew 20
1 Peter 5
Ephesians 6
2 Peter 1:3
Resources from This Episode
Stand Firm and Act Like Men by Joby Martin with Charles Martin
jobymartin.com
Joby Martin on Instagram
Joby Martin's church website
Marriage After God shop
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
1 hr 1 min
September 18, 2025 The Heart of Discipleship in Homeschooling with David & Leslie Nunnery
Why homeschooling is a tool for discipleship, not the goal, and how God answers the 'am I enough' fear
About This Episode
Aaron talks with David and Leslie Nunnery about their journey into homeschooling and what they have learned along the way. They explain why they pulled their kids out of a good private school, not for academics, but to have more time to disciple them. For the Nunnerys, homeschooling is a tool for the real mission of bringing children to Christ, and they are honest that it is not a guarantee. They share simple daily practices, like reading a Psalm, singing songs, and doing morning devotions, and talk about building a strong family culture and aligning priorities as a couple. They also address the 'enough question' that holds so many parents back, whether they are smart enough or patient enough, and remind listeners that God equips those He calls and that children ultimately want your time and relationship more than perfection.
About David & Leslie Nunnery
David and Leslie Nunnery are the founders of Teach Them Diligently, a homeschool conference that frames homeschooling as a tool for discipleship and for bringing children to Christ rather than an academic end in itself. Married 27 years, with four grown children and two grandchildren, they started Teach Them Diligently in 2011, one year after they began homeschooling. Leslie is the author of Heart School. They encourage parents to see themselves as the primary disciplers of their children.
In This Episode
Why they started homeschooling — Leaving a good private school to maximize discipleship time.
You reproduce who you are — Why your life shapes your kids as much as your lessons do.
A tool, not the goal — Homeschooling serves the mission of bringing children to Christ.
Simple daily rhythms — Reading a Psalm, singing songs, and morning devotions.
Family culture — Aligning goals and priorities as a couple.
The enough question — Answering the fear of not being smart enough or patient enough.
Time over perfection — What kids really want from their parents.
Scripture Referenced
Deuteronomy 6
2 Timothy 3:15
Resources from This Episode
Teach Them Diligently
Teach Them Diligently 365
Heart School by Leslie Nunnery
Instagram: @teachdiligently
The Marriage Gift: 365 Prayers for Our Marriage by Aaron & Jennifer Smith (also in our shop)
Marriage After God shop
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
1 hr 4 min
September 15, 2025 An encouragement in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk
Processing a heavy week as a couple, discipling kids through tragedy, and trusting God to bring good from evil
About This Episode
In this special, unscripted episode, we sit down to process the week of Charlie Kirk's public assassination and why it hit so many people so hard. We believe it struck deeply because his convictions were rooted in God's Word, and the darkness hates the light. We talk about how couples can care for each other through heavy news: asking how your spouse is really doing, limiting social media, and praying together. We also talk about discipling our children through tragedy and reminding them to let their light shine. Looking at Stephen's martyrdom in Acts and Joseph's story, we remember that what was meant for evil, God is using for good. They tried to stop the movement of Jesus by stopping His mouth, and it didn't work. We share our hope for revival and a call to repent of lukewarmness and take up the sword of the Spirit.
About Aaron & Jennifer Smith
Aaron and Jennifer Smith are the founders of Marriage After God and authors of Husband After God, Wife After God, and Marriage After God. Married since 2007 and raising six children in Bend, Oregon, they started Husband Revolution and Unveiled Wife to share what God was teaching them, not from a place of having it figured out, but as fellow travelers pointing couples back to Jesus.
In This Episode
Why this week hit so hard — Convictions rooted in God's Word and a darkness that hates the light.
Caring for each other — Checking in with your spouse, limiting social media, and praying together.
Discipling kids through tragedy — Helping children process hard news with Matthew 5:14-16.
The story of Stephen — Remembering Stephen's martyrdom in Acts and its call to boldness.
Meant for evil, used for good — Joseph's story and God's sovereignty over what the enemy intends.
Stopping the mouth, not the movement — Why silencing truth has never stopped the movement of Jesus.
A call to boldness — Repenting of lukewarmness and taking up the sword of the Spirit.
Hope for revival — Why we believe God may bring revival, and even a baby boom, out of this moment.
Scripture Referenced
Matthew 5:14-16
Acts 6:8-12, Acts 7:54-58, and Acts 8:4 (the martyrdom of Stephen)
Genesis 50:20 (Joseph's words to his brothers)
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
26 min
September 11, 2025 When Challenges Lead to Growth
A trial-filled trip to Yellowstone and Glacier, a mid-trip fight, and the 'gap vs. gain' way to measure growth
About This Episode
We just got back from a two-week family road trip to Yellowstone and Glacier, and getting there was not easy. A string of trials hit right before we left, and in the middle of the trip we had a fight. In this episode we talk honestly about moving forward after failure. We share the gap versus gain idea, measuring your growth against where you have been instead of an ideal that keeps moving, and how it applies to our marriage, our parenting, and our walk with God. We talk about how music, creativity, and prayer encouraged us along the way, why recovery days matter, and the 30-day reset we are starting with Scripture, journaling, three daily goals, and some diet changes. We don't move forward because we are always victorious. We move toward victory because Christ is our victory, and He already won it for us.
About Aaron & Jennifer Smith
Aaron and Jennifer Smith are the founders of Marriage After God and authors of Husband After God, Wife After God, and Marriage After God. Married since 2007 and raising six children in Bend, Oregon, they started Husband Revolution and Unveiled Wife to share what God was teaching them, not from a place of having it figured out, but as fellow travelers pointing couples back to Jesus.
In This Episode
The road trip — Two weeks at Yellowstone and Glacier after a cascade of trials.
A mid-trip fight — What we learned about moving forward after failure.
Gap versus gain — Measuring growth against your past instead of an ever-shifting ideal.
Growth in marriage and parenting — Applying the gap versus gain mindset at home and in sanctification.
Music, creativity, and prayer — What encouraged and connected us along the way.
Recovery days — Why rest and reflection keep life in balance.
A 30-day reset — Scripture, journaling, three daily goals, and diet changes.
Christ is our victory — Why we move toward victory because He already won it.
Scripture Referenced
Proverbs 24:16
2 Corinthians 1:8-10
The story of Tabitha (Dorcas) in Acts
Resources from This Episode
Our books at shop.marriageaftergod.com
Husband After God by Aaron Smith (also in our shop)
Wife After God by Jennifer Smith (also in our shop)
The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Now That We're a Family — the fall magazine featuring an article by Jennifer
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
56 min
September 04, 2025 Grace and Gratitude w/ Gary Thomas
Gary Thomas exposes the lies that rob your intimacy with God and why gratitude beats entitlement
About This Episode
Aaron Smith sits down with Gary Thomas, bestselling author of Sacred Marriage and a teaching pastor, to talk about his journey into marriage ministry and his new book, The Life You Were Reborn to Live: Dismantling 12 Lies That Rob Your Intimacy with God. Gary unpacks three of those lies in depth. Apathy toward the church keeps us from the community and growth God designed, and a WWII Czech-resistance story reframes why we give our all to Christ's bride. Demanding a sin-free life now ignores that every biblical character except Jesus fell, and struggle keeps us humble and dependent. And entitlement steals our joy, a truth Gary illustrates with Dostoevsky's gratitude in a Siberian labor camp. It's a rich conversation about grace, gratitude, and the joy that follows.
About Gary Thomas
Gary Thomas is a bestselling author and teaching pastor at Cherry Hills Community Church in Colorado whose books include Sacred Marriage and The Life You Were Reborn to Live: Dismantling 12 Lies That Rob Your Intimacy with God. Married 41 years, he is a leading Christian voice on marriage, intimacy with God, and dismantling the spiritual lies that rob believers of joy.
In This Episode
Into marriage ministry — Gary shares the journey that led him to write and teach about marriage.
The local church — Why apathy toward the church is a lie, and why it is essential for community and growth.
Our job isn't to get away safely — A WWII Czech-resistance story about giving our all to Christ's bride.
Struggling with sin — Every biblical character except Jesus fell, and struggle keeps us humble and dependent.
Entitlement — Dostoevsky's gratitude in a Siberian labor camp versus the assumption that God owes us comfort.
Compassion — How recognizing our own sin makes us gentler toward others.
Spiritual adventure — Why a sense of adventure keeps faith vibrant, and the value of multi-generational ministry.
Grace and joy — Gratitude for God's grace leads to a joyful life.
Scripture Referenced
Romans 12:2
Matthew 6:33
2 Corinthians 12:9
1 Timothy 6:8
Isaiah 59:2
Romans 1:18
Genesis 3:16
Romans 7:15
John 15:18
1 Corinthians 15:42-44
John 16:33
Resources from This Episode
Gary Thomas website: garythomas.com
Gary Thomas books: garythomas.com/books
Instagram: @garythomasbooks
The Life You Were Reborn to Live: Dismantling 12 Lies That Rob Your Intimacy with God by Gary Thomas
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Thomas Brooks
Shop Marriage After God books and devotionals
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
1 hr 10 min
August 28, 2025 Parenting, Cultural Shifts, and God’s Design for Sexuality w/ Dr. Juli Slattery
Dr. Juli Slattery on why feelings don't define truth and how to disciple your kids about sexuality
About This Episode
Aaron Smith sits down with Dr. Juli Slattery, clinical psychologist and founder of Authentic Intimacy, to explore sexuality from a Christian perspective and the ideas in her book Surrendered Sexuality. They talk about how cultural shifts have moved sex away from God's covenantal design toward self-fulfillment and self-expression, fueled by porn, social media, and AI, and about the tension many Christians feel between psychology and faith. Juli explains why purity culture often gave rules without discipleship, and why parents need open, honest conversations that teach kids how we know what is true. She recommends delaying smartphones until high school and social media until 16, with driver's-permit-style training, and shows how surrendering shame and brokenness to Jesus leads to real healing.
About Dr. Juli Slattery
Dr. Juli Slattery is a clinical psychologist, the founder of Authentic Intimacy, and the author of Surrendered Sexuality. Married 31 years, she is a trusted voice on God's design for sexuality, a thoughtful critic of purity culture, and a guide for parents discipling their kids about truth in a confusing culture.
In This Episode
The cultural shift — How sex moved from a covenantal, family gift to a tool for self-fulfillment.
Porn, social media, and AI — The forces accelerating confusion about sexuality.
Psychology and faith — Why many Christians wrestle with how the two fit together.
Purity culture — Where rules without discipleship fell short.
Teaching kids truth — Helping children learn how we know what is true, beyond feelings.
Phones and social media — Delaying smartphones until high school and social media until 16, with driver's-permit-style training.
Shame and strongholds — Seeing shame, confusion, and trauma as walls that surrender to Jesus tears down.
Truth is a person — Why healing requires a relationship with Jesus, not just concepts.
Scripture Referenced
Hebrews 11:6
1 Corinthians 10:13
Psalm 139
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
John 14:6
John 1:14
Resources from This Episode
Surrendered Sexuality: How Knowing Jesus Changes Everything by Dr. Juli Slattery
Dr. Juli Slattery's books: Juli Slattery on Amazon
Authentic Intimacy: authenticintimacy.com
Podcast: Java with Juli
Instagram: @authenticintimacy
Shop Marriage After God books and devotionals
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
As an Amazon Associate, Marriage After God earns from qualifying purchases.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
1 hr 14 min
August 21, 2025 Faith and Marriage Through Terminal Cancer with Jackie Avilés
Diagnosed with terminal cancer at 26, Jackie Avilés shares how she and her husband learned to lament well
About This Episode
Aaron Smith sits down with author Jackie Avilés, a pastor's wife in Homestead, Florida, to hear her story of walking through a terminal cancer diagnosis. At 26, Jackie was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and given a 6% chance of survival; she chose her casket and took funeral photos. Today she is nearly 10 years cancer-free. Jackie shares how faith and prayer carried her, how she and her husband Amilio struggled to communicate when he clung to hope in the treatment while she needed him to meet her in her grief, and how 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 became their anchor. She explains what it means to lament well and rest in God's sufficient grace, reminding us that even when we are pressed, we are not crushed.
About Jackie Avilés
Jackie Avilés is an author and pastor's wife widely known as the “Internet's Hope Coach,” offering Scripture-based encouragement and practical strategies to help people move from despair into hope-filled living. A stage 4 cancer survivor now nearly 10 years cancer-free, she founded the Pressed But Not Crushed ministry to help couples in crisis.
In This Episode
The diagnosis — Stage 4 terminal metastatic breast cancer at 26, with a 6% chance of survival.
Preparing to die — Choosing a casket and taking funeral photos while still holding on to hope.
Communication in crisis — How Jackie and Amilio learned to meet each other in grief.
Pressed but not crushed — How their marriage verse anchored them through suffering.
Lamenting well — Bringing honest grief to God while trusting His promises.
Faith and prayer — What sustained Jackie through the toughest season of her life.
Strength in weakness — Resting in God's sufficient grace.
Through the storm — Jesus never promised there would be no storm, but He promised to get us to the other side.
Scripture Referenced
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 — Pressed but not crushed
2 Corinthians 12:9 — My grace is sufficient for you
James 1:2-3 — Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds
1 Peter 3:7 — Live with your wife in an understanding way
Mark 4:35-41 — Jesus and the disciples in the storm
Resources from This Episode
Jackie Avilés: jackieaviles.com
Instagram: @jackie_aviles
Shop Marriage After God books and devotionals
Full show notes and blog post
Connect with Marriage After God
Website: marriageaftergod.com
Shop books, devotionals, and prayer journals: shop.marriageaftergod.com
Follow Marriage After God: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · TikTok
Follow Aaron and Jennifer: Husband Revolution · Unveiled Wife
Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together.
If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen.
Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026
1 hr