God is known as “the comforter,” but in times of pain, it can be hard to feel like He is near to us. Those who experience ongoing pain know all too well that it reaches far beyond the physical body. Pain is felt emotionally; it’s felt spiritually, relationally, and even financially for many people. Even when healing seems very far away, the tenderness of God’s love is near to us.

Having personally experienced the trials and hardships of pain, my guest, Dr. Michelle Bengtson, gives hope and help through her podcast,  social media channels, and new book, The Hem of His Garment: Reaching out to God When Pain Overwhelms.

As a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, Michelle offers a unique expertise that combines years of clinical study with deep biblical application to give readers a more holistic understanding of their pain and their place in God’s family.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Michelle’s journey through pain
• The things we can learn from experiencing pain
• What to do when we are in the depths of pain
• And so much more!

I hope you benefit from this fresh take on pain and God's faithfulness in times of trouble!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/michelle-bengtson-172/

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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We cannot heal what we don’t admit is broken. Yet too many of us pretend, perform, and try to appear perfect which keeps us striving instead of thriving.

That’s a journey that I used to be on myself! I often say that my books are a result of my mistakes and personal growth. That’s why so many of them (and even this podcast!) have “No More Perfect” in the title. Authenticity is freeing and I have come to experience that freedom and so has my guest today.

Justin Davis is the author of a new book titled Being Real > Being Perfect. He’s an author, speaker, and pastor. Justin has dedicated his life to helping people experience life change through the power of authenticity. Along with his wife, Trisha, he founded RefineUs Ministries where he shares his personal story with honesty and transparency. They live in our hometown of Indianapolis, IN.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How to stop turning to our performance to see our worth
• Why we create “false selves”
• The first step to embracing your authentic self
• And so much more!

This is a very personal topic that I've had to tackle in my own life and I hope it helps you in yours!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/justin-davis-171/

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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
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Welcome to another bonus episode of the podcast! Mark and I like to share these bonus episodes every once in a while, and their purpose is to give you some quick encouragement and support that you can apply to your life.

In this episode, we want to share something with you called “Impact Over Intent.” This is a huge issue for relationships that can cause us to communicate defensively instead of empathetically in how we are communicating with our spouse, family member, or anyone in our life.

Whether you have a misunderstanding in your relationship or when communicating with someone is hurting, we often unintentionally focus on our intent, trying to explain why we said what we did. All the while, we miss how those comments landed on that other person’s heart, and we miss the opportunity to be understanding to the hurt they are experiencing as a result of how what we said was received.

Thank you for being part of the No More Perfect community. We hope this episode is helpful!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/intent-impact-170/

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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
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We often talk about restored marriages on this show because that is a core part of Mark and I’s story. However, we recognize this is not the case for every couple. Restoring a marriage takes two willing people, and if there is only one, the marriage may end in an unwanted divorce. My guest, Brandi Wilson, understands this reality all too well.

In 2016, her husband, who pastored a megachurch, walked away from the church and their family. As Brandi’s 20-year marriage dissolved, she also lost her church community, her dreams for the future, and a huge part of her identity. She and her three boys began a new journey marked with deep grief and suffering but also with hope, freedom, and peace.

Today, Brandi thanks God for the redemptive healing in her life and reassures other newly single women that they are not alone and that divorce is not the end of their story.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Encouragement for life after divorce
• How to support people going through difficult situations
• The importance of learning who you are
• And much more!

Whether your marriage is going through a tough season, you want to support someone who has gone through divorce, or your own marriage has ended, I hope today's episode will encourage you!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/brandi-wilson-169

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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
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• Infidelity Recovery
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Are you feeling disconnected? Struggling to know the next steps to find your tribe of people? I was what you might consider a “late bloomer” when it comes to female relationships. I never seemed to click with the whole girlfriend thing and it wasn’t until I became a mom that I had a strong desire to spend time with other women that knew that knew what I was going through.

Now I’m so personally passionate about the topic of friendships and belonging that I spent an entire year writing a book on it! The result was my Better Together book.

My friend, Katy McCown, is joining me today to talk about all things belonging, friendship, and community! Katy recently released her own book about belonging titled She Belongs: Finding Your Place in the Body of Christ. She is an author, speaker, podcaster, mom, and wife to former NFL quarterback Luke McCown.In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• What it means to belong
• The importance of intentionally investing in one another
• The biblical benefits of belonging
• And much more!

This is a topic that is near and dear to me, and I hope you benefit from this conversation!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/katy-mccown-168/

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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

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• Infidelity Recovery
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I am a girl who had a daddy who loved her like Jesus loves us. My dad passed away almost four years ago, and although he wasn’t perfect, he exuded Christ in his daily life and it showed in the way he expressed his love for me.

Not everyone has a good relationship or fond memories of their fathers. Mark’s experience of his father was just the opposite of mine. He carried the pain and impact of his father wounds into adulthood. As a result, he’s had a lot of healing to do.

Today, we are talking about father wounds, and it’s a topic that my guest understands well. Kia Stephens is the founder of Entrusted Women, and a contributing author for iBelieve.com and Proverbs 31 Ministries. She’s also the author of a book titled Overcoming Father Wounds: Exchanging Your Pain for God’s Perfect Love.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• What a father wound looks like
• The different types of father wounds we may carry
• How God the Father is different from our earthly fathers
• And much more!

Whatever kind of relationship you had with your dad, I hope this will be an encouragement to you!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/kia-stephens-167/

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
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• Speaking Schedule
• Book Mark and Jill to Speak
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• Books

Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
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Prayer is the work of a parent from the moment your child is first placed into your arms all the way through their adult years. In fact, the best thing you can do for your child is to pray for them consistently. If you don’t have any children, we can still have an impact on our friends’ children, neighborhood kids, nieces, and nephews by intentionally praying for them.

My friend, Sharon Jaynes, likes to say that we can’t be perfect parents, but we can be praying parents. For 10 years, Sharon served as Vice President of Proverbs 31 Ministries and co-host for their daily radio feature. She is the author of 25 books, including her newest release Praying for Your Child from Head to Toe. Sharon currently writes for Proverbs 31 Ministries and teaches at their She Speaks Conference.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How prayer is linked to control
• The importance of praying for your child’s thoughts
• 16 landmarks you can use to pray for your child
• And much more!

I hope these landmarks inspire you to pray more intentionally for your child in whatever season of life they are in!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/sharon-jaynes-166

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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
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Marriage Resources:

• Infidelity Recovery
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When it comes to conflict in relationships, things can get messy. It doesn’t matter if it’s a marriage relationship, a parent-child relationship, or even a friendship. Conflict has a way of dividing and destroying if we don’t have the necessary skills to repair it.

This week we met with a couple that is working through conflict with their adult daughter. As we were discussing the importance of listening skills and how to clean up conflict in a relationship, we realized just how important the information was and decided to share it with you here on the podcast.

Regardless of the conflict or who it is with, we all need to learn both how to handle other people’s hurt and how to respond in a loving way that can help heal it.

Join Mark and I as we share:

• Why we need to focus on impact over intent
• Important principles for handling conflict
• What we can say to communicate empathy and validation
• And more!

We pray this episode is helpful to you today!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/conflict-165

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

Check out our other resources:

• Mark and Jill’s Marriage Story
• Marriage Coaching
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• Infidelity Recovery
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I would be what some people call “fashion-challenged.” I seriously need something like Garanimals for adults. For those that aren’t familiar with Garanimals, it is a mix-and-match clothing brand for children where every piece of clothing matches using animal icons. Finding the right outfit is as easy as matching the animal! Well, my friend Shari Braendel has made it easier than ever for women to dress in a way that complements their God-given features.

Shari started Fashion Meets Faith many years ago and served as a speaker for us multiple times at the Hearts at Home conferences I used to host. Fashion Meets Faith is now known as Style by Color, and it’s been a lifesaver for me! The heart of Style by Color is to help you delight in the way that God designed you.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How your inner beauty can meet your outer beauty
• Why colors matter
• Quick tips for accessorizing
• And much more!

Shari has helped me so much with my fashion sense over the years, and I know hearing this conversation will benefit you too!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/shari-braendel-164

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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

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You have heard me say it before and I’m going to say it again—words matter, a lot! If there is anything Mark and I hear in our marriage coaching time and time again, it’s individual couples misusing their words with each other. It isn’t only couples, though. We all need to learn how to measure our words and experience self-control with our emotions.

Sarah Molitor is joining me this week as we explore the power of our words. She’s a wife and mom to seven kids (you read that right!) and the author of a new book titled Well Said: Choosing Words that Speak Life, Give Grace, and Strengthen Your Faith and Family.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• What our words reveal about our hearts
• Practical ways to be more intentional about your words
• Why taking a break may be the best thing for your communication
• And much more!

Everyone can benefit from this conversation on how to use our words well. Listen in!

Show Notes: https://jillsavage.org/sarah-molitor-163

You're invited to our Transform Weekend October 24-26, 2025. Learn more and register here.

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...