“I’ve been seeing someone. It started a while ago. I tried to stop it, but…I didn’t.”
“Do you love her?”
“I don’t know. I think I might.”

The words above will resonate with many who have walked through betrayal and its aftermath.

If you’ve been part of our community for a while, then you’ll know that Mark and I have written many books about our experience healing from infidelity.

My guest for this episode is an author who has walked through a similar hard season in her own life. But rather than writing about her real-life story, she chose to channel her experience into fiction. Through her writing, she explores the emotions, challenges, and pain of betrayal in a way that she hopes will encourage others.

Danna Demetre is a Christian author, speaker, and wellness educator. She has a deep and enduring faith that has shaped her life and writing. For decades, she has encouraged women to pursue emotional, physical, and spiritual wholeness through biblical truth, personal growth, and resilient hope.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why forgiveness doesn’t immediately fix every hurt
• Practical tips for navigating betrayal
• Helpful tools to work through the aftermath
• And more!

Danna’s journey includes so many similar details to our own. I hope you are just as encouraged as I was through this conversation.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/danna-demetre-310

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Looking for Empty Nest resources after launching your kids? Grab the Empty Nest, Full Life book, and check out the companion Empty Nest Full Life Course.

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

When we’re trying to help others, it’s natural to offer advice, share practical strategies, or point people toward helpful resources. Those things are valuable and often necessary—but they’re also one step removed from your own experience.

Sometimes, the most impactful thing you can offer is your story.

It’s not easy to share your journey, with all its imperfections, hardships, and lessons learned along the way. It takes courage and vulnerability. But in exchange for this vulnerability, you can give the gift of real connection and hope that healing is possible.

In the years following our own marriage crisis, we began sharing our story more openly and honestly, and something incredible happened.

Couple after couple told us how much our story encouraged them, gave them hope, and helped them navigate challenges in their own marriages. We realized that our greatest qualification wasn’t having a perfect marriage. It was being willing to honestly share what God had done through our imperfect one.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How even stories with “bad” endings can offer others hope
• Some of the benefits of sharing your story
• The byproduct of sharing honestly and vulnerably with others
• And more!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/your-story-309

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Looking for Empty Nest resources after launching your kids? Grab the Empty Nest, Full Life book, and check out the companion Empty Nest Full Life Course.

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

It’s time for even more God stories! When we started recording part one of this series, we quickly realized we would need more time to share our favorite God stories with you! If you haven’t done so yet, we strongly recommend going back and listening to part one here.

A God story is one in which only he could connect the dots in surprising and even miraculous ways to provide answers to prayers and unexpected blessings. These are stories that inspire us and build up our faith as we look back and remember all that God has done.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why we need to learn how to both give and receive
• Four more amazing God stories
• The importance of bringing your wants and needs to God in prayer
• And more!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/more-god-stories-308

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Looking for Empty Nest resources after launching your kids? Grab the Empty Nest, Full Life book, and check out the companion Empty Nest Full Life Course.

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

Trigger / Content Warning: I want to be sure my listeners are aware that in this episode we will be talking about the loss of a child and brief mentions of suicidal ideation. If these kinds of topics are hard for you to hear about, we recommend skipping this conversation.

Dealing with grief can feel like being plunged into a terrible darkness and not knowing if or when you will get out. It’s a heavy burden to carry, no matter the circumstances surrounding your loss. In the midst of that pain, you may find yourself wondering if you’ll ever feel whole again, whether God truly sees and cares about your sorrow, or how you’re supposed to move forward with the ache now living in your heart.

My guests for this episode know all about the process of grappling with grief.

Dennis and Debbie Jordan walked through the death of their six-year-old son, Ryan, who lost his fight with leukemia. While it wasn’t easy, they wrestled with hard questions, clung to their faith, and today use their experience to help others walking through grief.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How grief impacts marriages
• The importance of sharing our hurts
• How to comfort those walking through grief today
• And more!

We have been so encouraged by Dennis and Debbie’s story. We hope that anyone experiencing grief today would find hope and a path to healing.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/dennis-debbie-jordan-307

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Looking for Empty Nest resources after launching your kids? Grab the Empty Nest, Full Life book, and check out the companion Empty Nest Full Life Course.

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

There are several instances in the Old Testament that reference setting up stones as a remembrance to God’s people of what He accomplished in that location. While we don’t often mark God’s work with piles of stone today, He is still at work all around us, in ways both big and small. Want to see His goodness? Look at the lives He is touching.

When we catch glimpses of ways that He is working, usually how we least expect it, we like to refer to those as “God stories.” These moments might be when prayers are answered, when the Lord gives direction, or when He orchestrates details in a surprising way!

God stories help us encourage one another, build our faith, and see the miraculous ways that He is working to meet our needs. We’re excited to share some of our most powerful God stories, and we hope you’ll share yours with us in return.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How to use a “God box”
• How God orchestrated details to get us simple things like bread and milk
• The value in sharing our God stories
• And more!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/god-stories-306

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

As you walk through life, are you feeling stuck in relationships or frozen by fear? Perhaps you even feel unsure of how to draw closer to God. We certainly felt that way in the past, which is why Mark and I faced our fears, mustered up some courage, and did the hard work to move from the 1.0 versions of ourselves to the 2.0 life and 2.0 relationship we enjoy now.

I know my guest for today’s conversation not only has a passion for helping people journey through fear to freedom, but she also understands what it takes to face your life with courage.

Ann White is an author, speaker, and passionate Bible teacher. She is the founder of Courage For Life, a ministry dedicated to helping people find restoration, hope, and healing as they learn how to walk with God-given courage in the face of fear.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How to move away from fear-based decision-making
• Ann’s personal story of turning to courage
• Practical tips to courageously take the next step in the face of fear
• And more!

When I read Ann’s book, I knew she would be the perfect guest to give a fresh perspective on living a 2.0 life!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/ann-white-305

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

Everything in life requires repair: homes, cars, computers, and most importantly, relationships. When we don’t appropriately repair our relationships from a rupture, big or small, then those hurts begin to pile up and create resentment.

At our marriage intensives, we often help couples clean up accumulated hurt that never got repaired simply because they didn’t have the tools to do so.

This is an important skill not only for relationships with a romantic partner, but also with our children and in friendships.

True repair goes beyond saying “I’m sorry,” and in this conversation, we share practical ways to approach conflict and hurts. 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What happens when you allow hurts to accumulate
• How justifying actions minimizes the other person’s feelings
• The steps to take in order to fully clean up hurts
• And more!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/repair-relationships-304

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

Are you chronically stressed? Do you often scroll on your phone to “numb out?” At the end of each day, do you feel wired and tired, just barely getting by?

In a survey of over 2,000 Christian women, 91% admitted that they were tired of pushing through every day. 87% said they regularly felt overwhelmed, but only 11% reported having any way to reset in real time.

My latest guest says that the data she gathered in that survey confirmed the nightmare she was already living. Alli Worthington is the author of five books, including The Year of Living Happy and Breaking Busy. She is also a speaker, author, podcaster, and business coach who helps women thrive.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What happens to our bodies when we scroll to relax
• Strategies to close the “stress cycle”
• Simple ways you can restore peace in your life
• And more!

I loved Alli’s fresh perspective on why we experience burnout and her helpful tips to find peace!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/alli-worthington-303/

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

When we adopted our fifth child, Nicolai, at the age of nine, we never imagined we would end up battling circumstances that would lead to over 100 hospital visits.

Today, as an adult, Nicolai has several issues that prevent him from having a normal life. Before we go any further, we do want to let you know that Nicolai gave his permission to share his story. He struggles to manage money and lives primarily in homeless camps. When we do get to see him, our visits are short and typically away from the rest of our adult children.

As parents, we’ve struggled to know how to help him and have learned the hard way that we shouldn’t always rescue him from his circumstances. If you or a loved one has an adult child with life-controlling problems like mental illness, addiction, homelessness, or another similar struggle, we hope this deeply honest and vulnerable conversation can be a helpful resource.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why you can’t make your child’s problems go away
• How to lovingly detach
• How your child’s struggles impact everyone in your family
• And more!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/life-controlling-issues-302

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Looking for Empty Nest resources after launching your kids? Grab the Empty Nest, Full Life book, and check out the companion Empty Nest Full Life Course.

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms

I don’t have time for rest! My schedule is too full. I’m too stressed out. I will fall too far behind if I take a break.

Do any of these sound familiar to you? Rest is essential for our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. It’s so important that God gave us an example of rest in the creation story at the beginning of the Bible. Yet, it’s so easy to let this basic human need fall by the wayside when life gets busy.

We’ve been wanting to touch on the topic of rest for a while, and we can’t think of a more fitting pair of guests for this conversation than our good friends, Scott and Myndee Anderson. Scott’s father, James, was the author of a book called For God’s Sake, Rest!, and growing up, Scott’s household tried to prioritize those very concepts his father wrote about.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why we find it difficult to rest
• The #1 sign that you are actually experiencing rest
• Scott and Myndee’s reflections on visiting Uganda with us
• And more!

We are delighted to have such dear friends on the show to talk about such an important topic!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: jillsavage.org/scott-myndee-anderson-301

Text us or leave a voicemail!

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
• Marriage 2.0 Intensives
• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
• Online Courses
• Books

 Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
• For Happy Marriages
• For Hurting Marriages
• For Marriages Where You’re the Only One Wanting to Get Help

 Mom Resources:

• New/Preschool Moms
• Moms with Gradeschoolers
• Moms with Teens and Tweens
• Moms with Kids Who Are Launching
• Empty Nest Moms