FamilyLife Today® on Oneplace.com

Isn't friendship kind of…optional? Author Drew Hunter proposes a solution to the nationwide epidemic of loneliness. He digs into the scriptural plea for authentic friendship, and how, exactly, to make friendships you can't live without. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Beth Runkle--author of Another Move, God? 30 Encouragements to Embrace Your Life as a Military Wife--knows being married in the military can feel like losing time, control, even your voice. When duty wins (again), what keeps your marriage from drifting? This episode steps into the tension: respect when it's hard, staying connected when you're apart, and quieting the mental spiral. It's honest about the strain—and speaks to the part of you asking, “How do we not just survive this?” To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You didn't sign up for this version of a military marriage: the moves, the silence, the stalled dreams. But what if the chaos isn't wrecking your life, but reshaping it? This episode gets the grind—deployments, resentment, starting over—and speaks straight to the questions you're too tired to ask. Beth Runkle, author of Another Move, God? 30 Encouragements to Embrace Your Life as a Military Wife, offers hard-won perspective that meets you where you live. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You're hustling to keep the lights on, the kids alive, and your faith from feeling like a Sunday-only hobby. In this episode of FamilyLife Today, Dave and Ann Wilson talk with Jordan Raynor—host of the Word Before Work podcast and author of the new Word Before Work devotional—about why your job, your chores, and your unseen grind might be doing more for God's kingdom than you think. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Faith and work collide in the places you actually live: locker rooms, Zoom calls, minivans, and fluorescent-lit offices where calling can feel like drudgery. Jordan Raynor joins Dave and Ann Wilson to blow up the sacred/secular divide, trace God's first commission from Genesis 1 into your Monday grind, and show why changing diapers, running routes, closing deals, or pulling espresso shots can all be strategic, eternal work—without changing your job title. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Blended families face unique battles: guilt-paralyzed bio parents, stepparents feeling threatened, ex-spouses overstepping. Ron Deal and Gayla Grace unpack traps that sabotage marriage and parenting—erase/replace mindsets, unilateral fixes, defensiveness—and show how co-parents can lean in, communicate intent, and send “no-threat” messages. When couples unite around kids, check in before ex-decisions, and prioritize long-term child good, hope, stability, and even transformation become possible. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Grandparents and parents face heartbreak when kids walk away from faith—or when rules block spiritual talks. Dr. Crawford Loritts and Larry Fowler (Legacy Coalition) show how leaning in with persistent love, humility, gratitude, and creative prayer keeps relational doors open. Through stories, apologies, and benchmarked traditions, they reveal how small, consistent faith-filled actions can shape family legacies—even amid fractures, resistance, and messiness. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Grandparents aren't spectators—they're hope-givers with the power to shape eternity. Dr. Crawford Loritts and Larry Fowler show how intentional grandparenting changes family legacies: sharing faith stories, praying boldly, modeling surrendered lives, and passing God's truth across generations. Walk alongside them as they turn hard pasts into godly futures and show how every moment with grandchildren can echo through eternity. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

When life tips over, how do you keep trusting God? Pastor Erik Reed, author of Uncommon Trust: Learning to Trust God When Life Doesn't Make Sense, shares his family's journey through unimaginable loss—his son's medical tragedy, kidney transplant, and death at 15—and the daily, vulnerable faith that carried them. This episode doesn't offer easy answers, but it shows how Scripture, surrender, and community beat a path toward wholeness. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Bitterness eats the soul like poison. Anxiety paralyzes even the strongest. Pastor Erik Reed takes listeners inside the unfiltered journey of forgiving the surgeon who ruined his son's kidneys—including panic attacks and, in his bones, trusting God in difficult times. Walk with Erik through the Valley of the Shadow—from anger and fear to freedom and uncommon trust. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

When prayers feel like they're bouncing off the ceiling and life goes sideways—what then? Pastor Erik Reed shares the gut-punch story behind his book, Uncommon Trust—a 15-year fight for his son's life after a devastating medical mistake. This isn't tidy faith talk about trusting God. It's the gritty road from “God will fix it” to “but if not.” If your faith feels white-knuckled and shaky in suffering, this conversation meets you there. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Think AI is harmless? Think again. Today's chatbots don't just answer questions—they offer friendship, romance, even “love.” And the AI dangers aren't loud… they're subtle. Easy affirmation. Zero challenge. Total secrecy.On FamilyLife Today, Dave and Ann Wilson talk with Ron Deal about how AI dangers threaten marriages, kids, and faith. Before “Google God” replaces real connection, learn what's at stake in your home. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Lonely? There's an app for that. AI companions promise instant connection, zero conflict, and someone who always says the right thing. No eye rolls. No baggage. No growth either.On FamilyLife Today, Dave and Ann Wilson talk with Ron Deal about how AI companions are reshaping marriages, parenting, and emotional intimacy. Before a chatbot becomes your safest relationship, find out what's really at stake. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Can seasons of darkness help us see more clearly than ever? Singer author Andrew Peterson describes his path through depression to resurrection. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You can love God, serve people, hit your goals—and still feel strangely empty at home. So what gives? Why does “successful” sometimes feel like “running on fumes”? Stephanie Carter and her husband Bryan, author of Made to Last: 8 Principles to Build Long-Lasting Relationships, get blunt about burnout, counseling at 37, and the wake-up call that reshaped their marriage. If your family gets the leftovers of your ambition, this episode will hit close to home. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You're checking the boxes—career, church, kids—but something still feels off. Why doesn't success feel significant? And why does marriage take the hit when life gets busy? Stephanie Carter and her husband Bryan, author of Made to Last: 8 Principles to Build Long-Lasting Relationships, share how burnout, counseling, and hard recalibration reshaped their marriage and family rhythms. If you crave balancing work and family in practical ways that put God first without quitting your calling, this conversation meets you where you live. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You love Jesus—but marriage still feels complicated. Ministry pressure. In-law tension. Career moves you didn't plan. What does a strong Christian marriage actually look like after 25 years? If you're wondering How can I make a relationship last? Stephanie Carter and her husband Bryan--author of Made to Last: 8 Principles to Build Long Lasting Relationships--get you started in the right direction. They chat about conflict, calling, compromise—and the quiet resilience that keeps love standing. If you're tired of clichés and want faith that works at home, this one's for you. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Dennis and Barbara Rainey know marriage is hard, messy, and tested daily. On FamilyLife Today, they share marriage lessons from decades of insight—faith-based, practical, and no sugarcoating—to survive the everyday mess. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Your world can flip in an instant. One call, one loss, and suddenly your marriage, your faith, your family—all feel torn-open and unsteady.On Family Life Today, Chris Brooks and Yodit Brooks share honestly what it's like to walk through the dark night of the soul...in marriage. They extend the quiet hope that arrives when you refuse to just survive. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

When it comes to setting goals in marriage, most couples wing it—or copy whatever sounds spiritual. FamilyLife President Luke Middendorf talks about upheaval, faith, and the quiet drift that happens when you're busy but not aligned. If you want more than vague marriage resolutions, this conversation will steady your aim without piling on guilt. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You said it nicely. Then louder. Now you're just tired.This live panel of marriage experts from FamilyLife's Love Like You Mean It Cruise gets real about resentment in marriage, like small frustrations that turn into silent scorekeeping. Why he withdraws. Why you push. And how couples stop fighting each other and start fighting for each other—without pretending everything's fine. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You're busy. Faithful. Grinding. But if you're honest? Something at home feels off. Music artists and authors Montell and Kristin Jordan get real about success, sickness, marriage strain—and the quiet drift that almost costs you what matters most. If work, church, kids, or “good things” are crowding your covenant, this conversation will recalibrate you without shaming you. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

What does God's love look like when your earthly father failed you? He Calls Me Daughter, a new Christian movie by Rick Altizer, follows real stories of father wounds, faith, and redemption. Rachelle Starr's Scarlet Hope ministry brings hope to women in strip clubs, showing how obedience, prayer, and God's grace transform broken lives. Watch, reflect, and discover how healing from father wounds can restore identity, trust, and purpose. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

How does a missing, distant, or imperfect dad shape a life? In the movie He Calls Me Daughter, director Rick Altizer and Rachelle Starr explore father wounds and their ripple effect on faith, identity, and trust. Through Scarlet Hope's bold ministry in the sex industry, real stories of redemption, obedience, and God's transformative love reveal how compassionate faith can heal deep hurts and restore hope in families and hearts. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

If your father's absence, distance, or flaws left a mark, it can echo in your trust, faith, and sense of worth. In He Calls Me Daughter, Rick Altizer explores father wounds and the gospel hope of a perfect Heavenly Father. Through transparent stories, Christ-centered healing, and practical insights, this film offers women—and men—a path to freedom, identity, and relational restoration with God and others. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

When grief, hidden pain, and addiction collide, even strong marriages can crack. Ron and Nan Deal share their searing journey through loss, an alcoholic spouse, and buried marriage secrets that nearly destroyed them. From Nan's yoga-mat surrender to God's radical grace, they reveal how confession, trust-building, and God's mercy restored hope, intimacy, and passion after decades of struggle. Courage, honesty, and faith show the path to true redemption. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Ron and Nan Deal share the raw story behind a marriage almost destroyed: pride, grief, abandonment, and the death of their son. Nan's struggle with addiction spiraled for over a decade, while Ron wrestled with guilt, ministry pressures, and heartbreak. This isn't a polished story—it's real, messy, and full of hope for couples facing hidden hurts, broken patterns, addiction in marriage, and the long road to grace. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

What if all the grades, trophies, and accolades your kids chase aren't enough to make them feel secure? On the final day of the heart-centered parenting series, Start with the Heart author Dr. Kathy Koch shows parents how to root identity in God, affirm kids' unique gifts, and nurture purpose-driven competence. Through practical examples—dice games, car rides, and coffee-making five-year-olds—you'll discover how to connect deeply, raise kids who thrive, and feel like you finally “get” what parenting really demands. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Your kid rolls their eyes before you finish a sentence. Screens compete with your voice. Homework feels like a performance review. Dr. Kathy Koch shows how to get past the noise and actually connect. Learn simple, practical ways to be seen as more than a nag, to help your kids feel known, loved, and brave, and to raise relationally strong kids who can thrive—inside and outside the digital world. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Middle schoolers who grunt. Teens glued to screens. You love your kid—but do they feel liked? On Family Life Today, Kathy Koch sits down with Dave Wilson and Ann Wilson to expose performance-driven parenting and show a better way. If you're tired of comparing, correcting, and panicking about faith, tech, or rebellion—this conversation meets you in the mess and points you toward your child's heart. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

On what should have been his son's wedding day, Tim Challies stood at a graveside and read the wedding speech he never got to give. Months earlier, 20-year-old Nick had collapsed and died without warning. If God is good, why is the future we imagine buried? When the life we plan is gone and peace feels like a promise meant for someone else, is faith strong enough for the life we'd never choose? To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

On a peaceful fall day, Tim Aileen Challies' son, a seminary student engaged to be married, suddenly collapsed during a pickup game on campus. He would never come home. In this candid conversation, Tim Aileen share what followed: shock, isolation, a marriage grieving in different languages, and the search for God in the silence. When the unthinkable happens, you may find yourself asking, “Why does God let bad things happen?”—and wonder if your faith is strong enough to hold you. Or maybe, you'll discover it's holding you. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Loss lingers in blended families — resurfacing during weddings, graduations, birthdays — stirring developmental grief no one sees. Couples grieve unevenly, risking distance; church often silences sorrow instead of shepherding it. If you're overwhelmed by grief, exhausted by "move on" pressure, and craving space for honest pain, listen in. Ron and Nan Deal unpack why lament is biblical, not weakness, offering a faithful path through unresolved sorrow that keeps you connected to God and each other. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You've heard “What does this verse mean to you?” and felt uneasy, or watched Scripture twisted in ways that hurt. Busy life buries Bible study; guilt piles up over adult kids who've walked away. If you're intimidated by “correct” interpretation or weary of shallow approaches, this episode delivers clarity. YouTube "Bible Nerd" Faith Womack equips everyday believers to read contextually, reframe misused verses, and anchor identity and family in God's unchanging Word — not performance or outcomes. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

You've felt like a failure for not studying enough — or you've even been hurt by twisted Scripture. In family chaos, the Bible gathers dust while guilt builds. If you're hungry for truth without the baggage, tune in. Faith Womack, YouTube's Bible Nerd, shares her rough, raw origins — from spiritual abuse and miscarriage to building a ministry — and reframes Bible engagement as joyful, everyday discipleship. No more boring, just God's Word as the anchor you need. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Fear. Worry. Pain: They can feel all-consuming. Author and speaker Amberley Neese believes there are answers big enough for all three found in the questions Jesus asks in the gospels. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

What if your doubts made your faith stronger? Author, speaker, and humorist Amberly Neese explores Jesus' questions — ones He Himself asked — as a way to reclaim your trust all over again. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

If only they knew. You've been burned by church — gossip, hypocrisy, wounds that make isolation feel way safer than community. Meanwhile, parenting teens feels impossible: anxiety, porn, loneliness, and digital overload threaten to derail their faith. Turns out self-sufficiency sounds empowering but crumbles under real pressure. If you're tempted to quit on people or give up on the long game, Shelby Abbott, author of "Why We're Feeling Lonely and What We Can Do About It," calls you back. He explains why going it alone doesn't work ... and how messy relationships just might be worth it. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

"If they really knew me, would they still love me?" That fear of vulnerability fuels loneliness, curated online masks, people-pleasing, and walls that block deep friendships, marital closeness, or authenticity in ministry. And suffering eventually deepens that fear instead of healing it. If you're weary of performing, tired of fake friendships, and craving courage for real connection, listen in. Shelby Abbott, author of "Why We're Feeling Lonely and What We Can Do About It," exposes the roots of our universal dread — and points the way to freedom from approval-seeking and isolation. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Got packed days and full news feeds — but still that nagging emptiness? The loneliness we hide is real, fueled by tech that mimics friendship but starves the soul. It's not just you. Authenticity feels rare and intentional relationships hard to build. Shelby Abbott, author of "Why We're Feeling Lonely and What We Can Do About It," cuts through the noise with lived experience and faith-rooted truth. If you've been wondering, "Why am I so lonely?", he'll help you stop living at surface-level — and start pursuing what truly satisfies. Your practical hope for deeper belonging starts here. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Need time management just for moms? Crystal Paine of "The Time-Saving Mom" explains an easy-to-implement four-step system to organize and simplify your life. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Too much to do, not enough time to do it? You don't just have to hustle harder. You can simplify and (yes) enjoy your life. Crystal Paine — mom of six, bestselling author of "The Money-Saving Mom," and entrepreneur — delivers real-world, no-nonsense time management advice for moms from her latest book, "The Time-Saving Mom." Her ideas will keep you sane and enjoying the things you love most. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Is your marriage fraying under trauma's weight? Grief looks different for each of you, perhaps as one withdraws, the other controls, and resentment builds. You misread coping as rejection. But understanding trauma responses changes everything. Sarah and Matt Hammitt of Sanctus Real share raw lessons from their critically-ill child's fight. These two know faithfulness isn't a feeling; it's the hard step that redeems connection when hope feels thin. They'll help you stay connected and redeem the wounds. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Know what it's like when anger keeps flying, but nothing changes — because the real hurt stays hidden? Sarah and Matt Hammitt of Sanctus Real share the raw turning point of their own story, from conflict and defensiveness to expressing mutual need. Discover the unexpected secret that replaces weapons, opens ears, and invites real healing and presence in marriage. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Feel like your spouse is physically present but emotionally checked out — especially after long days, travel, or career demands? Matt and Sarah Hammitt of Sanctus Real get brutally honest about emotional absence and the tension that builds when one partner carries the load alone. Matt and Sarah offer practical ideas to help true love survive conflict, defensiveness, and absence — for a love that goes the distance. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Tired of Jedi mind tricks, cold shoulders, and "we need to talk" anxiety ruining your marriage? Every couple brings unhealthy patterns into conflict — avoidance, passive aggression, mismatched timing — but unresolved issues build resentment fast. Pastor-therapist duo Dave and Ashley Willis know how to help you fight better. They deliver real stories, biblical wisdom, and practical tools for your next blowup. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Are there ways you're shooting your own marriage in the foot? Author Ted Lowe knows five bad habits that could stealthily undercut all the closeness you crave — and five ways to stop them. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Dreading the car ride home after your child's rough game? Research shows those tense, critical moments drive 70% of kids to quit sports by age 13 — and they remember the emotional peak and ending more than the score. Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski, authors of "Away Game: A Christian Parent's Guide to Navigating Youth Sports," show how to turn pressure and disappointment in youth sports into gospel grace by choosing connection over correction, preparing words of unconditional pride, and rebuilding trust when you miss it. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Do you feel like youth sports have discipled your heart more than church has? Fear, control, and post-game critiques turn you into the "older brother," judging performance rather than being the welcoming father who extends grace. Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski, authors of "Away Game: A Christian Parent's Guide to Navigating Youth Sports," call parents to self-examination, the radical discipline of silence, and redefining wins by the fruit of the Spirit — not stats. Reclaim sports as a true discipleship ground. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Tired of pouring thousands into travel teams, private coaches, and endless weekends — only to watch your child's joy disappear? Research shows that the more money and pressure parents invest, the less kids actually enjoy sports. Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski, authors of "Away Game: A Christian Parent's Guide to Navigating Youth Sports," expose the $50B+ industrial complex fueling fear and youth sports burnout. Discover how to break free, reclaim fun, and turn games into real character-building moments — without chasing scholarships or status. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111

Feeling lonely in marriage? Your relationship starts with fireworks, then reality hits: unmet expectations, silent scorekeeping, and that quiet pull toward isolation. Dave and Ann Wilson get it because they've lived it. Discover the three biggest threats dragging couples apart and how to fight back with action, not just feelings. Stop drifting. Start building real oneness — before it's too late. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/84/29?v=20251111