Podcasts about Better Together

Why does change feel so hard—especially for military spouses? If you've ever told yourself you just need more willpower, motivation, or discipline, this episode challenges that belief. In this episode of More Than a Milspouse, we unpack why habit change often fails in military life and why stress, PCS moves, deployments, and constant unpredictability make traditional approaches to change ineffective. You'll learn the three biggest myths about change, why willpower and motivation don't work long-term, and how shame keeps military spouses stuck in cycles of starting over. We'll also introduce a more compassionate, sustainable approach to habit change—one that works with real military life, not against it. Better Together, Christine 00:00 – Why habit change feels so hard 04:00 – How beliefs about change keep us stuck 05:00 – Myths about change 12:30 – What actually happens when change fails 13:30 – Why this hits military spouses harder 16:45 – What if the problem isn't you?   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Book: Tiny Habits — BJ Fogg (Referenced in comparison) Atomic Habits and The Power of Habit   RESOURCES Work With Me Join The Free Community Free Clarity Workshop What Matters Most Worksheet Clarity Course Leave a Show Review. Pretty Please!  

What happens when a border becomes more than just a line on a map? We feature Episode 2 of STLPR's podcast, “Meet Me,” exploring life along the St. Louis city-county border. It's the second half of our deep dive into the Great Divorce, the decision 150 years ago that split the region into city and county. We also revisit the ambitious Better Together proposal from 2019 that sought to merge the two — why it failed and what its collapse reveals about power, trust, race and regional identity. Later, “Meet Me” host and lead producer Luis Antonio Perez and engagement producer Paola Rodriguez join the show.

Today I'm joined by Michelle, who has been on a journey of saying no to passivity. Being the oldest child in the family, she has had a tendency to become more accommodating than she should. This pattern has followed her into her adulthood and developed into passivity. We talk about 3 important mindset shifts that have to happen in order to see assertiveness as the best way to take care of yourself and others. In order for relationships to be healthy, they have to be balanced! Assertiveness is an important people skill, and we talk through it on this episode of Talk To Me! Dig deeper by ordering my new book People Skills anywhere books are sold.  The Debra Fileta Counselors Network: Book a counseling session at the Debra Fileta Counselors Network and get started on your healing journey from the inside out TODAY! DEBRA FILETA is a Licensed Professional Counselor, national speaker, and founder of the Debra Fileta Counselors Network. She is the bestselling author of eight books including Choosing Marriage, Are You Really OK?, RESET, and Soul Care. Debra is the host of the popular podcast and nationally syndicated radio show Talk To Me where she facilitates on-air authentic counseling-style sessions with notable pastors and leaders. You may also recognize her voice from her appearances on national television and radio, including Better Together, The Kirk Cameron Show, Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, and many others. She reaches millions of people each year with the message of mental, emotional, and relational health. Connect with her on Instagram or at DebraFileta.com.

Join Kosta and his guest: Tessa Davis, Sales and Marketing Director and Assistant Tourism Director at Cookeville-Putnam County Visitors Bureau. In this episode: In 2024, Tennessee set a new record for tourism after generating $31.7 billion in direct visitor spending and welcoming over 147 million travelers. Most of us probably never think about it, but the Upper Cumberland is a tourist destination. How does increased tourism locally and statewide benefit Putnam County? Let's pretend our cousin is coming into town and they've never been to Cookeville or even Tennessee. We call you, because we know exactly who can plan out the perfect day for a visitor to the Upper Cumberland. What's the agenda? The new Putnam County Convention Center is outstanding. It was long overdue and we're not done. In addition to the convention center, we're getting a 64,000-square-foot Expo Center. Will you tell us about both these projects and what it means for tourism? Find out more about Cookeville-Putnam County Visitors Bureau: https://www.visitcookevilletn.com/Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a product of Morgan Franklin Media and recorded in Cookeville, TN.This episode of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is made possible by our partners at Aspire Barber and Beauty Academy.Find out more about Aspire Barber and Beauty Academy:https://aspirebarberandbeauty.com

First time with us? Let us know by clicking this link: https://radiate.churchcenter.com/people/forms/39745   Accepted Jesus? Let us follow up with you + resource you! Text “SALVATION” to (803) 205-2487   Learn more about Radiate + get connected: www.radiatechurch.net  

Jesus was a revolutionary! He invited the world of His day to see women in a different way. His example reminds us that every woman is uniquely created by God to reflect His glory on earth! As a daughter of the King of Kings, you are seen, valued, and greatly loved. Join Laurie Crouch, Sheila Walsh, Lisa Bevere, Janice Gaines, and Dr. Donna Pisani to discuss how we can see ourselves as God sees us and walk boldly in our God-given purpose. ---- If you want to go deeper, we encourage you to check out this blog, How Jesus Empowers Women! ------- If you missed last week's conversation, we encourage you to go back and listen to “A Marriage Built on Prayer.” ------- Do you want more Better Together? We have 1100+ conversations available! Start watching now for free on the TBN+ app! -------- If you need prayer, join our community on Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // TikTok  and let us know how we can pray for you! --------- Better Together is TBN's first daily original program made by women for women! We discuss faith, family, friends, and so much more—no topic is off-limits. Find out what happens when real friends get together for real conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks for listening to the Celebration Church Podcast. You can partner with us or find out more at www.thecelebration.church

Better Together is a house music podcast. Please check out and enjoy this great selection of music. Artist names and song titles are in order of play... MARK KNIGHT-EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT, SIEGE-REACH OUT, KIDEKO & WHO-SOUL SEARCHER, FRIEND WITHIN-KNOW EACH OTHER, ILLYUS & BARRIENTOS-DISCO HEARTS, ALEX PRESTON-LOVE YOU BETTER, FEDERICO SCAVO-WATCHIN' OUT, EKOBOY-GIVE ME 4 EVER, DOMBRESKY-DO YOU REMEMBER, ESSEL-LOVE VIBRATION, QUBIKO-CONFUSED, SLLASH & DOPPE-OFF MY MIND, TCTS & BOSTON BUN-WITHOUT YOU, MARTIN IKIN-YOU, KC LIGHTS-COLD NIGHT. End. Thanks for listening to Ken Steele Music.

Proverbs 5:15-23, Exodus 29:1-30:38, Mark 6:6-29. (I did try to use this illustration once but, for reasons I cannot remember, it went horribly wrong!)The point that he makes so well, and that comes out of the passage in Ecclesiastes, is that while friendships and marriages are wonderful gifts, having God at the centre of a friendship or marriage provides an invisible thread of enormous strength In today's passages, we see how two are stronger than one in marriage, mission and ministry

Proverbs 5:15-21, Exodus 29:38-46, Mark 6:6-19. (I did try to use this illustration once but, for reasons I cannot remember, it went horribly wrong!)The point that he makes so well, and that comes out of the passage in Ecclesiastes, is that while friendships and marriages are wonderful gifts, having God at the centre of a friendship or marriage provides an invisible thread of enormous strength In today's passages, we see how two are stronger than one in marriage, mission and ministry

Proverbs 5:15-23, Exodus 29:38-46, Mark 6:6-19. (I did try to use this illustration once but, for reasons I cannot remember, it went horribly wrong!)The point that he makes so well, and that comes out of the passage in Ecclesiastes, is that while friendships and marriages are wonderful gifts, having God at the centre of a friendship or marriage provides an invisible thread of enormous strength In today's passages, we see how two are stronger than one in marriage, mission and ministry

This week we’re revisiting our conversation with financial coach and founder of “Tea Talk”, Teana Sykes. Teana joins us to talk about destigmatizing money conversations, building financial confidence, and breaking bad money habits. Teana shares why financial wellness is foundational to overall well-being and why it’s never too early (or too late) to get a handle on your money. We talk about budgeting, saving, and the emotional side of finances, and Teana gives practical tips for how to start where you are with what you have. If you're new here, this is a place for everyone to laugh, learn, heal and build. Not alone. Not perfectly. But arm in arm, heart to heart. Because we were never meant to do this alone. We are always Better Together. Let's Connect! If this podcast feels like something you’ve been craving, hit subscribe, leave a review, and send it to a friend. The more voices we have in this village, the stronger we become. Email Us: bettertogether@richlandsource.com Subscribe to Maddie’s Blog Listen to more of Sarah Goff's Music Join the Tea Talk Facebook group Teana's finance books for kids Support the show: https://richlandsource.com/membersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are so excited to celebrate the official launch of my new book People Skills today! People Skills offers 31 transformational social skills that will strengthen your interpersonal relationships, increase your influence, and help you create meaningful interactions. Rooted in Scripture and informed by science and psychology, this roadmap offers practical lessons on empathy, clear communication, listening, body language, conflict resolution, attachment styles, and more.  As we continue this People Skills series on the show, I'm joined today by Anthony, who called in to Talk To Me About how to move past the hurt he experienced at his past church. Anthony talks through the church hurt he experienced after serving relentlessly at his last church, and after giving so much yet getting so little in return.  This episode takes an interesting turn when I start to notice this pattern of “giving too much” in Anthony's life and history…and we start to make some really significant connections. Learning to own your role in a relationship is a really important people skill, and it's one that we discuss in depth in this important episode of Talk To Me. If you've been hurt in relationships, again and again, it's time to start looking for patterns. This episode will help you learn how. Dig deeper by ordering my new book People Skills anywhere books are sold.  The Debra Fileta Counselors Network: Book a counseling session at the Debra Fileta Counselors Network and get started on your healing journey from the inside out TODAY! DEBRA FILETA is a Licensed Professional Counselor, national speaker, and founder of the Debra Fileta Counselors Network. She is the bestselling author of eight books including Choosing Marriage, Are You Really OK?, RESET, and Soul Care. Debra is the host of the popular podcast and nationally syndicated radio show Talk To Me where she facilitates on-air authentic counseling-style sessions with notable pastors and leaders. You may also recognize her voice from her appearances on national television and radio, including Better Together, The Kirk Cameron Show, Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, and many others. She reaches millions of people each year with the message of mental, emotional, and relational health. Connect with her on Instagram or at DebraFileta.com.

Many of us grew up in church learning what not to do when it came to sex, but never learning what it was actually for. In this message, we explore how silence and shame have shaped our understanding of desire, and why that silence hasn't protected us, but it's hurt us. Walking through Song of Songs 1, we discover that God isn't embarrassed by desire and doesn't treat our bodies as problems to fix. Instead, He speaks honestly about love, attraction, and covenant. The gospel frees us from both shame and distortion, reshaping our desires into something good, sacred, and life-giving within marriage.

First time with us? Let us know by clicking this link: https://radiate.churchcenter.com/people/forms/39745   Accepted Jesus? Let us follow up with you + resource you! Text “SALVATION” to (803) 205-2487   Learn more about Radiate + get connected: www.radiatechurch.net  

Join Kosta and his guest: Virginia Fillers, Director of SoulSong at First Presbyterian Church of Cookeville, Board President of Restoring Childhood Initiative and Candidate for Putnam County Commission District 12. In this episode: Being a parent in 2026 isn't easy. To be clear, it's never been easy, but now we get to post it on social media. As someone that's a parent, the Director of a Montessori Program and serves as the Board President for our Restoring Childhood Initiative, why do you think parenting today is so difficult? What is Montessori? What makes SoulSong different from other pre-kindergarden options here in the Upper Cumberland? Kids need the opportunity to mess up. That's something we learned from the Restoring Childhood Initiative that's really hard for modern day parents. How do we let our kids mess up and have real independence without compromising their safety or wellbeing? As we mentioned in the introduction, you're running for Putnam County Commission in District 12 (Algood). If elected, how will you use your experience as an educator and child advocate to serve your district and Putnam County?Find out more about SoulSong: https://www.firstprescookeville.org/soulsongFind out more about Restoring Childhood Initiative: https://www.restoringchildhoodputnamcounty.com/Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a product of Morgan Franklin Media and recorded in Cookeville, TN.This episode of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is made possible by our partners at Miss Sallie's Market.Find out more about Miss Sallie's Market:https://www.misssallies.com

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Do you pray for your spouse (or future spouse)? Making prayer a priority is a powerful tool that builds our relationship with our Heavenly Father and transforms our relationships with others—beginning with our closest loved ones. In this conversation, Laurie Crouch, Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell, Dr. DeeDee Freeman, and Holly Wagner talk about the power of prayer in transforming relationships and families. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, we encourage you to go back and listen to the previous conversations in this series: 1. Our Love Stories 2. The Language of Love 3. Priorities for a Healthy Marriage 4. How to Keep the Romance Alive ------- When we grasp the depths of God's unconditional love for us, we can love others well! Here are 10 Bible Verses to remind you of God's unconditional love for YOU! ------- Do you want more Better Together? We have 1100+ conversations available! Start watching now for free on the TBN+ app!   --------  If you need prayer, join our community on Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // TikTok  and let us know how we can pray for you! ---------  Better Together is TBN's first daily original program made by women for women! We discuss faith, family, friends, and so much more—no topic is off-limits. Find out what happens when real friends get together for real conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks for listening to the Celebration Church Podcast. You can partner with us or find out more at www.thecelebration.church

As adults we often forget how challenging a first big trip away from parents can be. In this story from our February 2025 “Better Together” show, Taylor shares the story of traveling from her home in southern Minnesota to New Orleans with her youth group and how embracing new things helped her grow with the help of friends.

When the story feels like it's reaching an end, remember: God's story didn't end in distance but in dwelling. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14) Jesus chose to step into our world—to be with us, not apart from us. In His presence, endings become beginnings, despair meets grace, and truth brings us home again. Maybe this isn't the end after all. Maybe this is where God begins something new... together. If you are new to Community Church, WELCOME! We would love to get to know you. Please fill in the following form and we look forward to connecting with you: https://bit.ly/cc-new-connect You can find all timely and relevant links from this service on https://bit.ly/cc-links You can also find out more about us at https://communitychurch.hk/ ================ This Week's Scripture: // Nehemiah 13:6-9, 14-15, 25 (NIV) // But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services. In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.”

We're back with Season 8 of The Story Show Podcast. This season's stories all share the theme of "Better Together" and were recorded live at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center in Albert lea, MN on February 8, 2025. Our first story features Apryl Gorton. After getting a really difficult medical diagnosis, Apryl reflects on the necessity of adapting, relying on loved ones, and choosing to move forward together.

In this episode of Better Together, it’s just Brittany and Maddie in the studio for an honest check-in about big transitions, closing chapters, and what comes next for the podcast. They reflect on the “snake year” and “nine year” energy of 2025, and talk through what they’re actively releasing as they step into a new cycle.Along the way, they get specific: Maddie shares what it’s like moving from “mom of babies” into the season of raising humans, and Brittany opens up about the clarity behind a major move to Delaware for a new leadership role as Source Media expands. They also explain what this shift means for Better Together. And, as always, they leave you with a question to carry into your own life: what are you shedding, and what are you ready to nurture next? Let's Connect! If this podcast feels like something you’ve been craving, hit subscribe, leave a review, and send it to a friend. The more voices we have in this village, the stronger we become. Email Us: bettertogether@richlandsource.com Subscribe to Maddie’s Blog Listen to more of Sarah Goff's MusicSupport the show: https://richlandsource.com/membersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://teachhoops.com/ Adversity is not an obstacle to your season; it is a required ingredient for building a championship culture. Whether it is a key injury, a heart-breaking loss on a buzzer-beater, or the "January Lull" where the grind starts to wear on your players, these moments are "Character Audits." As a coach, your reaction to adversity sets the ceiling for your team's resilience. If you remain poised and "solution-oriented," your players will mirror that stability. The goal is to shift the narrative from "Why is this happening to us?" to "What is this teaching us?" By reframing a mid-season slump as a necessary test, you prepare your team for the inevitable pressure of the postseason, where mental toughness is the ultimate tie-breaker. To navigate adversity effectively, you must lean into your "Core Values" and "Non-Negotiables." When things go wrong, the natural instinct of a team is to fragment and play "hero ball." This is when you must "double down" on your system. Use film sessions not to point fingers, but to show where the standards slipped. Remind your players that they are "Better Together" and that the "Power of the Unit" is what will carry them through the storm. In your mid-season mentoring calls, focus on "Emotional Consistency"—maintaining the same intensity and belief whether you are on a five-game winning streak or a three-game skid. This consistency builds "Trust Equity," ensuring that your athletes don't panic when they face a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter. Finally, remember that the most enduring legacies are built in the "Valleys," not just the "Peaks." A team that learns how to fight back from a deficit or handle a difficult coaching decision develops a "competitive scar tissue" that makes them nearly impossible to break. Celebrate the small wins during these tough stretches—a player's bench energy, a teammate's defensive rotation, or a successful execution of a sideline out-of-bounds play. By focusing on "The Process" rather than the "Result," you keep the team's eyes on the horizon. When you eventually emerge from the adversity, you won't just have a better basketball team; you'll have a group of resilient young leaders who understand that true success is found in the persistence of the climb. Basketball adversity, mental toughness, team resilience, coaching leadership, basketball culture, coaching philosophy, high school basketball, youth basketball, basketball IQ, mid-season grind, team chemistry, sports psychology, coaching tips, basketball success, athletic leadership, character development, locker room dynamics, coach unplugged, teach hoops, basketball mentorship, overcoming failure, competitive edge, basketball strategy, leadership resilience, program building. SEO Keywords Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will called in to Talk To Me about his journey through deep betrayal by his best friend – someone he never imagined would hurt him. How do you walk through this kind of betrayal, when you've been completely blindsided? Today, we talk through his story of pain and friendship betrayal, and the number one thing that helped him move into healing: forgiveness. Forgiveness is an important people skill, because it untethers you from the pain that others have caused you – so that you can be free to move forward and not stay stuck. We talk through how to do that, and why it's necessary in this important episode of Talk To Me! Dig deeper by preordering my new book People Skills anywhere books are sold.  The Debra Fileta Counselors Network: Book a counseling session at the Debra Fileta Counselors Network and get started on your healing journey from the inside out TODAY! DEBRA FILETA is a Licensed Professional Counselor, national speaker, and founder of the Debra Fileta Counselors Network. She is the bestselling author of eight books including Choosing Marriage, Are You Really OK?, RESET, and Soul Care. Debra is the host of the popular podcast and nationally syndicated radio show Talk To Me where she facilitates on-air authentic counseling-style sessions with notable pastors and leaders. You may also recognize her voice from her appearances on national television and radio, including Better Together, The Kirk Cameron Show, Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, and many others. She reaches millions of people each year with the message of mental, emotional, and relational health. Connect with her on Instagram or at DebraFileta.com.

First time with us? Let us know by clicking this link: https://radiate.churchcenter.com/people/forms/39745   Accepted Jesus? Let us follow up with you + resource you! Text “SALVATION” to (803) 205-2487   Learn more about Radiate + get connected: www.radiatechurch.net  

 It's Time to Build: Better Together by Bobby Wallace, Preaching Minister 2/1/26 We continue our series this week with another online only service due to snowy conditions. But we take a look at how we flourish as the church, it has to be together. The very definitions and descriptions of the church in scripture imply togetherness and we must fight to maintain that and we will be amazed at what God will do!

Message Scriptures - Phillipians 2 : 3 - 8Psalm 133

Nothing is more romantic than being intentional in caring for your spouse. True romance reaches far beyond physical intimacy. Building love and trust that can weather any storm requires mutual commitment and dedication. Join Laurie Crouch, Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell, Dr. DeeDee Freeman, and Holly Wagner for an honest conversation on how to keep intimacy and love alive through all seasons of married life. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, we encourage you to go back and listen to the previous conversations in this series: 1. Our Love Stories 2. The Language of Love 3. Priorities for a Healthy Marriage   ------- When we grasp the depths of God's unconditional love for us, we can love others well! Here are 10 Bible Verses to remind you of God's unconditional love for YOU! ------- Do you want more Better Together? We have 1100+ conversations available! Start watching now for free on the TBN+ app!   --------  If you need prayer, join our community on Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // TikTok  and let us know how we can pray for you! ---------  Better Together is TBN's first daily original program made by women for women! We discuss faith, family, friends, and so much more—no topic is off-limits. Find out what happens when real friends get together for real conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks for listening to the Celebration Church Podcast. You can partner with us or find out more at www.thecelebration.church

In this episode, we sit down with Cara Warner, a mom, music teacher, and performer, to share the story of her daughter Lily. Born in 2017 with multiple congenital heart defects, Lily’s thirty-day hospital journey was full of hard turns, fierce love, and courage. Clara reflects on what grief looks like in the days and years that follow, and how community support has shaped her path forward. We’re also airing this conversation just ahead of Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week (February 7–14), a time to honor heart families and help more people understand CHD. https://www.childrensheartfoundation.org/about-chds/chd-facts-information.html https://ronaldmcdonaldhouse.org/donate Let's Connect! If this podcast feels like something you’ve been craving, hit subscribe, leave a review, and send it to a friend. The more voices we have in this village, the stronger we become. Email Us: bettertogether@richlandsource.com Subscribe to Maddie’s Blog Listen to more of Sarah Goff's MusicSupport the show: https://richlandsource.com/membersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine standing between your parents with a baseball bat at just six years old, desperate to protect your mother—that was the terrified reality that forged the unstoppable spirit of today's guest, Megan.  In this episode of Spotlight on Good People, we explore how Megan turned personal childhood trauma into a revolution, founding Better Together to save families from a broken, reactive government foster care system  We discuss how her organization acts as the "Uber of doing good," connecting isolated families in crisis with volunteer neighbors who offer temporary homes, mentorship, and jobs—keeping nearly 100,000 people together and out of the system From Naples to the Governor's office, learn how this proactive, voluntary model is proving that the power of a caring community is far more effective than government intervention  .In this episode, you will learn:Why the government foster care system is often reactive and costly ($45,000 per child) compared to proactive community support 5.How Better Together uses a volunteer-driven model to host children and help parents find work through church partnershipsThe incredible story of how Megan and her husband have hosted 25 children in their own home 11.How you can support families in Southwest Florida right now—whether by hosting, mentoring, or donating supplies https://bettertogetherus.org/ #naplesfl #sogp #ropsalons #meganrose #bettertogetherGot someone in mind who deserves the spotlight? Shoot us a text and let us know! We'd love to hear from you!

AI agents create the most value in revenue cycle workflows when they operate as a coordinated system rather than isolated tools. This episode explores how multi-agent orchestration combined with a tech-enabled human layer delivers reliability, accountability, and real operational outcomes in RCM.

In one of the most vulnerable conversations of the year, I sat down with Pastor Shawn Johnson and processed the moment that literally almost took his life -- the moment he broke mentally and emotionally. After suffering from intense and continuous panic attacks behind the scenes for many years, one day he could take it no more. Thank God he chose vulnerability in that dark and desperate moment, and reached out for help, because it was vulnerability: letting people in on his darkest moments, that ultimately saved his life. We spend some time talking about the series of events leading up to this dark season in his life, what kept him from opening up before this moment, and how he's keeping track of his mental health and well being today. If you suffer from mental illness, panic attacks, depression or anxiety -- his journey will truly challenge and inspire you to continue moving toward healing, and to learn to let people in. The Debra Fileta Counselors Network: Book a counseling session at the Debra Fileta Counselors Network and get started on your healing journey from the inside out TODAY! DEBRA FILETA is a Licensed Professional Counselor, national speaker, and founder of the Debra Fileta Counselors Network. She is the bestselling author of eight books including Choosing Marriage, Are You Really OK?, RESET, and Soul Care. Debra is the host of the popular podcast and nationally syndicated radio show Talk To Me where she facilitates on-air authentic counseling-style sessions with notable pastors and leaders. You may also recognize her voice from her appearances on national television and radio, including Better Together, The Kirk Cameron Show, Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, and many others. She reaches millions of people each year with the message of mental, emotional, and relational health. Connect with her on Instagram or at DebraFileta.com.

Burnout isn't a personal failure; it's a physiological response to prolonged stress. Unfortunately, it often appears in military spouse life more frequently than we realize. In this episode, we delve deeper into what burnout actually is, why military spouses are particularly vulnerable to it, and how it often disguises itself as “just being tired,” staying busy, or pushing through another season. We talk about the stress cycle, early warning signs of burnout, and why self-care doesn't work when we don't first understand what our bodies are asking for. You'll also hear practical, accessible ways to start interrupting burnout — not through expensive routines or doing more, but by creating margin, completing the stress cycle, setting better boundaries, and building supportive relationships that make military life more sustainable. If you've been functioning but feel disconnected, depleted, or like you're losing yourself in the process, this conversation will help you name what's happening and take the first steps toward feeling like yourself again. Better Together, Christine   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle – Emily & Amelia Nagoski https://www.amazon.com/Burnout-Secret-Unlocking-Stress-Cycle/dp/198481706X TED Talk on Stress – Kelly McGonigal How to Make Stress Your Friend https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend Simon Sinek – The Power of an 8-Minute Conversation (Stress & Connection) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReRcHdeUG9Y The Lazy Genius (Book & Podcast) – Kendra Adachi Website: https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/Lazy-Genius-Way-Overwhelmed/dp/0525542877 Podcast: https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/podcast Connect with Vimbo: Vimbowatson.com IG: Vimbowatson   RESOURCES Work With Me Join The Free Community Free Clarity Workshop What Matters Most Worksheet Clarity Course Leave a Show Review. Pretty Please!

First time with us? Let us know by clicking this link: https://radiate.churchcenter.com/people/forms/39745   Accepted Jesus? Let us follow up with you + resource you! Text “SALVATION” to (803) 205-2487   Learn more about Radiate + get connected: www.radiatechurch.net  

This week on Beyond the Letter, Sammy hosts a conversation on teamwork—what it really takes to build healthy teams, healthy culture, and healthy leadership in everyday life. Joined by his wife Chandler and their friend Haron, they unpack why collaboration matters more than ever, how unity can exist without everyone thinking the same, and why “going far” requires learning to stay connected even through disagreements. From leadership circles to friendships and family rhythms, the thread is simple: you don't have to carry everything alone.They also go practical with holistic health—body, mind, relationships, and spirituality—sharing a framework Chandler uses in her counseling work (biopsychosocial + spiritual) and how healthy habits shape strong teams over time. The episode closes with a powerful culture takeaway: culture isn't just what we do—it's why we do it… and the language we repeat is what we end up defending. Plus, Andy jumps in with a Gen Z perspective on building “teams” even when you're introverted or your circle is small.--Connect with:Samuel Rodriguez https://www.instagram.com/samuelmrod/Haron Kaisa https://www.instagram.com/kaisaclan/Chandler Rodriguez https://www.instagram.com/chandlerbrod/--Check out Adam's website!https://www.adammesa.org/--Don't forget to stay connected with us:Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4OvpFp9OB9_DgVdVVbXhFgInstagram https://www.instagram.com/beyond.theletter/Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/discover/beyond-the-letter--Have a question? Submit it TODAY, by clicking the link below! ***SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION HERE: https://patria.church.ai/form/BeyondtheLetterQA--Get to know the team:@amesa https://www.instagram.com/amesa/@verlonbakerofficial https://www.instagram.com/verlonbakerofficial/@nancysnavas https://www.instagram.com/nancysnavas/@alizee.kayy https://www.instagram.com/alizee.kayy/@andytakesl https://www.instagram.com/andytakesl/

Join Morgan and her guests: Tracey Franklin, Owner of Aspire Barber and Beauty Academy and Kosta Yepifantsev, Owner of Home Caregivers. For those of you who don't know me, I'm the Producer of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev, and I run the behind the scenes of this podcast.In 2025, Tracey and Kosta became the Putnam County Representatives for a dance competition hosted by WCTE called Let's Dance. In honor of their upcoming performance and the continued success and longevity of our local PBS: WCTE we hope you enjoy this special episode. In this episode: Will you tell us about Let's Dance? What is it? How did you get involved? On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it for you to both be on next season's Dancing with the Stars? Other than winning, what do you hope to accomplish by competing on Let's Dance? What's been the challenging part of training? Has it been easier or harder than you thought? Find out more about WCTE Let's Dance: https://www.wcte.org/events/lets-dance/Buy tickets for Let's Dance: https://e.givesmart.com/events/IzN/Thursday, February 12, 2026Location: Putnam County Convention Center2121 Event Ctr Dr, Cookeville, TN 38501Doors Open at 5:30 PM Dinner at 6:15 PMComedy Show at 6:30 PM | Dancing at 7:00 PMMake a donation to WCTE PBS with the Yepifantsev/Franklin Team: https://e.givesmart.com/events/IzN/c/:b9ugCjYbzuH/Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a product of Morgan Franklin Media and recorded in Cookeville, TN.This episode of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is made possible by our partners at Miss Sallie's Market.Find out more about Miss Sallie's Market:https://www.misssallies.com

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How are you helping each other grow? Do you and your spouse unite when tough seasons arise? Married life calls upon us to serve one another well. But bringing our best selves to our marriage starts with prioritizing spiritual growth. It's time to talk about PRIORITIES! In this conversation, Laurie Crouch, Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell, Dr. DeeDee Freeman, and Holly Wagner discuss the benefits of prioritizing spiritual and personal growth in married life. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, we encourage you to go back and listen to the previous conversations in this series: 1. Our Love Stories 2. The Language of Love ------- When we grasp the depths of God's unconditional love for us, we can love others well! Here are 10 Bible Verses to remind you of God's unconditional love for YOU! ------- Do you want more Better Together? We have 1100+ conversations available! Start watching now for free on the TBN+ app!   --------  If you need prayer, join our community on Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // TikTok  and let us know how we can pray for you! ---------  Better Together is TBN's first daily original program made by women for women! We discuss faith, family, friends, and so much more—no topic is off-limits. Find out what happens when real friends get together for real conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Stress and overwhelm are things most of us have learned to push through—especially in military life. But in this episode of More Than a Milspouse, I'm sharing why stress has such a powerful impact on our ability to change, grow, and even enjoy our lives and what we can do about it. This episode is about learning to listen to your body, create safety first, and build a life that moves you out of survival mode—even when military life remains unpredictable. In this episode, I cover: Why stress makes change feel so difficult How military life keeps many spouses stuck in fight-or-flight What nervous system regulation actually means (and what it doesn't) The difference between reacting and responding under stress Small daily practices that support long-term regulation Your body is not the problem—it's your secret weapon. And when you learn to listen instead of push through, real change becomes possible. Better Together, Christine RESOURCES Work With Me Join The Free Community Free Clarity Workshop What Matters Most Worksheet Clarity Course Leave a Show Review. Pretty Please!

What do you do when your people pleasing tendencies continue to come up again and again? How do you navigate the desire to please people, but ultimately continue to strive to please God? Today, I talk to Judah Smith about his tendencies to care too much about what people think, and the self-serving, self-protecting, selfish nature behind being a person who cares too much about what people think. We unpack the idea that ultimately, the root of people-pleasing is actually selfish -- because it's the desire to be wanted, loved, accepted, and validated -- is actually a desire to meet a deep, unquenchable need in us. If you struggle with people-pleasing, you need to tune in to this one. The Debra Fileta Counselors Network: Book a counseling session at the Debra Fileta Counselors Network and get started on your healing journey from the inside out TODAY! DEBRA FILETA is a Licensed Professional Counselor, national speaker, and founder of the Debra Fileta Counselors Network. She is the bestselling author of eight books including Choosing Marriage, Are You Really OK?, RESET, and Soul Care. Debra is the host of the popular podcast and nationally syndicated radio show Talk To Me where she facilitates on-air authentic counseling-style sessions with notable pastors and leaders. You may also recognize her voice from her appearances on national television and radio, including Better Together, The Kirk Cameron Show, Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, and many others. She reaches millions of people each year with the message of mental, emotional, and relational health. Connect with her on Instagram or at DebraFileta.com.

Special Patreon Release: Better Together with Jon and Jolene Rocke   "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Mark 10:9 (KJV)   *Transcription Below*   Questions and Topics We Discuss: What are you so thankful you did in every season of marriage, from newlyweds to empty nesters that you see the pay off now in the present? How has grace and forgiveness benefited your relationship? What advice do you have for all of us married couples as we seek to grow as one, rather than grow parallel or even grow apart from one another?   Jon and Jolene Rocke are my local friends and my guests for today. They work side by side at Peoria Rescue ministries, and they have so many lovely gifts of leadership and hospitality and teaching, but the topic we are going to focus on today is marriage. From the first time we met, Mark and I adored them and appreciated their sweet bond with one another, and I'm so thrilled to introduce you to them today. Here's our chat:   Jon and Jolene both grew up in Christian homes and accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord at the age of 15.  Jon is from Morton and Jolene from Elgin, IL. They met on a bus ride to a Youth Gathering in Minnesota.  They sat together and talked the whole way home about life, the Bible and God.  Jon played his guitar and sang John Denver songs and their match was made with “Sunshine on my Shoulders”.   They married at the age of 18 and had their first child, Janelle, at 19.  They left for Grace college in Winona Lake, Indiana with an 18 month old toddler in tow and had another baby girl born while in college named Jaime.  At graduation in 1984, they were accepted to Trinity Seminary to follow Jon's desire to be a Professor of Theology, but became pregnant with their son, Jordan, which changed every plan and sent them back home to build up their finances.   They came back to Morton and worked in the Family Business and felt called to stay.  They raised their 3 children in Morton working in the business until God loosened their tent pegs and called them to Peoria Rescue Ministries in 2017. Jon is the Executive Director and Jolene is the Ministry Ambassador.  They are thankful to be working side-by-side in this new season of their marriage.   Jon and Jolene will celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary and have 3 married children and have 10 grandchildren. Their son Jordan and his wife Jessica live in Sandpoint, Idaho with their 3 Kids.  Their daughter Janelle and husband Ryan live in Kennesaw, Georgia with their 3 children.  And their daughter Jaime and her husband Jonathan live here in Morton with their 4 children.   Related Episodes from The Savvy Sauce: 5 Love Languages with Dr. Gary Chapman Traveling with Your Family with Katie Mueller   At The Savvy Sauce, we will only recommend resources we believe in! We also want you to be aware: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.   Five Love Languages The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers A Teen's Guide to the 5 Love Languages   Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and The Savvy Sauce Charities (and donate online here)   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook, Instagram or Our Website.   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”   Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”   Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”   John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:10 - 2:05) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. I want to say a huge thank you to today's sponsors for this episode, Chick-fil-A East Peoria and Savvy Sauce Charities.   Are you interested in a free college education for you or someone you know? Stay tuned for details coming later in this episode from today's sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria. You can also visit their website today at https://www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/il/east-peoria.   If you've been with us long, you know this podcast is only one piece of our nonprofit, which is the Savvy Sauce Charities. Don't miss out on our other resources. We have questions and content to inspire you to have your own practical chats for intentional living.   And I also hope you don't miss out on the opportunity to financially support us through your tax-deductible donations. All this information can be found on our recently updated website, thesavvysauce.com.   Jon and Jolene Rocke are my local friends and my guests for today. They work side by side at Peoria Rescue Ministries, and they have so many lovely gifts of leadership and hospitality and teaching. But the topic we're going to focus on today is marriage. From the first time we met, Mark and I adored them so much and really appreciated their sweet bond with one another. And I'm so thrilled to get to introduce you to them today.   Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Jon and Jolene.   Jon Rocke: (2:05 - 2:06) We're so happy to be here, Laura. Thanks so much for having us.   Laura Dugger: (2:07 - 2:43) Well, it's truly my pleasure. And will the two of you just start by giving us a little background on how you came to know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?   Jolene Rocke: (2:07 - 2:43) Yeah, I grew up in the Chicago area in a suburb and in a Christian home. So, I was very thankful to know about God. And I came to know Him as my personal Savior at 15. And so, then I really had a complete change. And from then on, I have just followed Him as close as I can. So very thankful for Jesus.   Jon Rocke: (2:44 - 2:59) Yeah, and I was actually 15 as well. Became overwhelmed with my sin at 15 and knew that I did not know Christ. And so, since then, a very imperfect following, but glad to be part of the family.   Laura Dugger: (3:00 - 3:15) Well, and that's awesome that both of you were 15 and never knew that piece of your story. But I'm assuming you were living in different places. So then how did the two of you meet and fall in love?   Jolene Rocke: (3:15 - 4:40) That is such a funny story. Because I, along with a friend of mine from Elgin, jumped on a Morton bus going to Morris, Minnesota. And they picked us up in Rockford. And we got on the bus, went to the same youth gathering for our church denomination. And on the way home from that weekend, we sat on the bus the whole way home and talked.   And Jon had what was so interesting to me, a study Bible. And I had never seen a study Bible in my life. And so, he showed me what an open Bible was with notes at the bottom. And because I came to Christ at 15 and started Bible study on my own with just a spiral notebook, a pen, and my Bible, I was fascinated by this Bible.   And I heard from Morton girls that he carried his Bible everywhere. So, he was kind of different than the rest of the guys. And I told them that's the kind of guy I was looking for. And then to top it all off, he had a guitar. And he sang John Denver songs to me. So, Sunshine on My Shoulders, I think, really made me happy.   Laura Dugger: (4:40 - 4:45) Just knowing your family music is such a big part of worship. Yeah. That's part of what wooed you, too.   Jon Rocke: (4:40 - 5:35) Yeah. Part of the crazy story is that it's a long trip. It's like a 12-hour trip. And so, we left Morton at like 5 in the morning. And so, I'm sleeping on the floor. And we picked these girls up. And I wake up, and I'm like, “Oh, an angel just got on the bus.” That's what I thought. And she was like, she didn't really have anything to do with me the whole weekend till the way home.   But we have a lot of fun with that story. And so that was the beginning. I think I sent flowers the next day. And we began, actually, a very long-distance, over-the-phone relationship, getting to know each other. And we actually went through, I think, the Book of Romans together over the course of, I guess, a year. And then got married. And we were pretty young.   Jolene Rocke: (5:36 - 6:47) Yeah. We met when Jon was just 16. And then two weeks after his 18th birthday, we got married. And I'm a year older. So, it was very young. But we are so thankful because we're going to celebrate 44 years of marriage here.   So, God knit us together, I think, through the fact that we were both really pursuing the Lord individually. And then we were so happy to find somebody like that. I thought I was headed to be a missionary in Africa at the time I met him. And he was, like, searching, too. But both all out pursuit of Christ. And so, I think that's what knit our hearts together. And it didn't hurt that he sent flowers the next day.   Laura Dugger: (6:47 - 7:15) It was a wise move. But I love it because the two of you have really grown up together. Totally. You've been meeting as teens. When you reflect back, what are you so thankful that you did in every season of marriage, from newlyweds to now empty nesters, that you're getting to see the payoff now in the present?   Jon Rocke: (6:49 - 8:10) Yeah, I think sometimes you are intentional. And we've tried to be intentional. But I think sometimes God brings circumstances into your life that sort of force something. So not only were we young when we got married, but nine months after we got married, yeah, we had Janelle, our oldest daughter.   And so, we had to realize we still needed time together. And we had a little baby. It began, I think, an intentional course for us to carve out time. So, you know, we put our kids to bed early. It was a big deal for us as parents that we had our time after they went to bed because we didn't get a whole lot of time.   And other little silly things, the kids didn't get to sit in between us at church. That was the rule. You can sit on either side of mom and dad, but you can't sit in between us. And so that was just, you know, again, a little thing that we did. And some things we had to learn. I'm more of a night person. Jolene's more of a morning person. Part of that, we had to learn at one point, you know, let's make sure we prioritize going to bed together. Just so, again, we had that time. So, there's been all sorts of different steps along the way that we've tried to prioritize each other.   Jolene Rocke: (8:10 - 9:01) So the two words that come to my mind with regard to that are compromise. You're two different people, and you're suddenly thrust together into a home situation. Well, that took compromise on both of our parts. So that's kind of sacrifice, too. That means he doesn't get to stay up until midnight if we want to go to bed together, and I'm going to have to push myself to stay up later just so that we can make a common bedtime.   So, compromise, and then I think the other major thing to me would be communication, because we didn't have a relationship before marriage where we were in the same town and could see each other all the time or go on dates. We didn't have that. So, we had letter writing. This is 43 years ago. So, we had letter writing daily.   Jon Rocke: (9:02 - 9:04) Some of us were daily. He was daily.   Jolene Rocke: (9:05 - 9:11) I wasn't quite as good at letter writing every day, but I was in college by now.   Jon Rocke: (9:11 - 9:13) You were still in high school. Now we know.   Jolene Rocke: (9:14 - 10:15) But I think the communication factor, that actually helped us because, yes, I realize face-to-face dating is a great thing, but to not be able to do that and have nothing but be able to write your day out, what happened during your day, you're learning to tell the other person what happened in your day, how you felt about that, what your dreams, your goals are. So, it started, to me and us, I think a great foundation of communication.   Laura Dugger: (10:15 - 10:30) And is it Song of Songs, I believe, 5:16, where part of it says, “This is my lover, this is my friend,” and that's what I'm hearing, is that you were really deepening your friendship in those early years and that from witnessing your lives, it seems that has only continued.   Jolene Rocke: (10:30 - 10:35) Yeah, exactly. We are so thankful. It's a very different story than most people, but we're so thankful.   Jon Rocke: (10:16 - 10:39) I think also, for us, it was Genesis 2 in the sense that you need to leave everything else and cleave together. We were young. It's hard to believe. When we look back, we think about our kids and our grandkids and would we want that for them, and yet I don't think we'd trade it for the world.   Laura Dugger: (10:40 - 10:52) I love that. And what encouragement do you have for others then who are also wanting to build a foundation of remaining connected and intimate in all the aspects of their own marriage?   Jon Rocke: (10:53 - 12:07) That's one of those things about being intentional. Matthew 19:6, where Christ repeats that adage from Genesis 2, that God created them male and female, they need to leave mother and father and cleave together, but then he adds this, “and no one should tear that apart.” And we often think about that, I think, as other people tearing that apart, and that's true.   But the same goes, we can tear ourselves apart if we're not going to make sure everything else, all other distractions, because they're going to continually come, right? And again, we had kids so early that I think we knew we had to carve that time out, because if we wouldn't have, I'm not sure how that would have worked. We would have been so consumed early. But career, we've just known that we've had to say, if we don't make sure that we're the priority, it's so easy to get lost in all the other things of life that are not bad. Kids are not bad, they're great. And your careers and your work, that's all good. But it can be the enemy of great in a marriage.   Jolene Rocke: (12:07 - 12:32) Yeah, we talked about the fact that this is how we started all those years ago. But a pursuit of God individually actually enhances a pursuit of God together. I'm still in the Word individually. Jon's still in the Word individually. But we also then read and pray together every night. So just this pursuit of God.   Jon Rocke: (12:32 - 13:06) But that wasn't something we did from day one either. I mean, that was a learned scenario where one time we were just kind of convicted of the fact that together we're not taking time to pray and read together. And so, then we just made that part of routine at night. So then again, that made us say we're going to go to bed together. Because if we didn't, then we didn't have that time. That opportunity to pray together and read together has just become a connection point that we wouldn't want to trade.   Laura Dugger: (13:07 - 13:55) I think that's encouraging in so many ways because you've grown into this. And I think for anyone just starting out, it's so helpful to see you didn't let excuses get in the way. It reminds me of a supervisor in college who said, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” And I think in a unique way with you two being launched into parenthood nine months after you were married, you didn't have the luxury of being frivolous with your time. And you chose intentionality. And it seems like God really has blessed that and honored it.   Jolene Rocke: (13:55 - 14:05) Yeah and continued it to this day. You're very right. We continue to be busy. And that's still the struggle to combat that with intentional time together. So definitely.   Jon Rocke: (13:55 - 14:31) You talk about seasons in our lives. So, I had to have a hip replacement. So, from like 23 till I had that at 50, I couldn't take long walks. But now we get to walk together, which is a huge privilege. And so, I always think about it. I'm not into exercise to exercise, but I'm into being together. And exercise is a thing we can do together. The other thing we did in our, I guess it was on our 25th. We got a tandem bike. And we love doing our tandem bike.   Jolene Rocke: (14:31 - 16:21) But he wanted a tandem bike right when we got married. And I kept saying, no, I didn't really want to sit on the back and have no control. And not be able to see when I thought I should break or when I wanted to turn.   So, this is something that I often encourage women that are moving into the emptiness season of life. I was driving to church alone. And the Lord really impressed on me that the extreme lavish amount of love that as a homemaker I gave to my children who were now gone, I needed to transfer that to my husband.   I've always loved Jon first and best. But I needed to take even the time commitment. What could I do to show Jon I loved him lavishly the way I tried to my children? So that was a time thing for me. And it was like get a tandem bike. So, I was willing then to get the tandem and sit in the back. And you really do; you're called the stoker. You really do work in the back. You don't just sit there. You work. But I no longer had the control of that. And I am learning to see butterflies land on corn stalks. And I actually love our tandem bike. But God had to grow me. And that was part of my several gifts to him in emptiness period that has helped us keep a strong marriage, I think.   Laura Dugger: (16:21 - 16:30) And isn't that interesting how there's a gift in it for you? Like you offer this sacrifice and yet he's teaching you new things.   Jon Rocke: (16:21 - 16:22) I love it, yeah.   Laura Dugger: (16:23 - 16:45) What would you two say is the biggest personality difference that you've recognized in your own marriage?   Jolene Rocke: (16:45 - 17:22) We just had a personality test yesterday. We have an executive team leadership at Peoria Rescue Ministries, and we had to do personality tests again. And that always is quite glaring to see how different we are. So, we're on two ends of the spectrum. But we can encourage any marriage that that can work and actually maybe be in your favor as long as you work hard at it. So, it just takes work and communication to say, you're very logical thinking, I'm very emotional, so how do we come together then in situations where I'm flustered and he's calm because he at times looks as if you don't care.   Jon Rocke: (17:22 - 17:53) Right, yeah, it can be that. You're highly relational. I'm definitely more process. And I think you're going to learn quickly, especially if you have kids, that all your kids are going to have different personalities. That's the weirdest thing, right? They all grew up in the same home and they're all just completely different. And so being able to help them understand kind of a little bit who they are and how that works has been a good thing that we're not the same.   Jolene Rocke: (17:53 - 20:01) God didn't make one good and one bad. He made all of us different, all in His image, to His glory. We all bring value to the family, and we both bring value to one another as helpmates because I'm able to sharpen Jon in areas that are blind spots for him. He's able to totally sharpen me and calm me in blind spots that are mine. So, I think in a marriage, it's just actually, it's been helpful. Differences are good.   Laura Dugger: (20:01 - 20:25) Oh, I love that. Differences are good. It sounds like God sanctified even your views of that. And so, getting really practical, when was a time when your differences were working against each other or caused conflict? And then how, through maturing and more time together, how do you celebrate and even lean into and appreciate those differences?   Jolene Rocke: (20:25 - 21:00) Well, one thing for sure is we had what we call our valley, where we learned that Psalm 23 wasn't just a funeral psalm, but it's a life psalm, and it's a way of life psalm. So, at that time, I had three family members pass away, and Jon had his family business go down. So, we watched our personalities within that in handling loss and grief. So, here's the optimist really down, and here's realist trying to be cheerleader and be up.   And so actually God did it, and we know without a doubt that God can work beyond personalities and bring you to a point where you can actually support one another well. But there again, it's got to be intentional. It's got to be me saying, we need to sit down now and have a meeting, talk about how you're feeling, whether you want to talk about feelings or not, because I need to know where you're at so that I can help you best.   Jon Rocke: (20:01 - 21:20) Yeah, and on a practical level during that time, I found myself not communicating some of what I thought was either scary or just the long drag of it. And so that was a potential way for us to disconnect because all of this is swirling from at least our livelihood standpoint, swirling in my head, and I'm not going to want to share that. And yet we realized we had to, but then those are not always easy things because Jolene, like most ladies, likes security as an important thing, right? Of just knowing what's going to happen.   In the end, it did make us really, again, Joe mentioned Psalm 23, and if he is our shepherd, what else could we want? We both had to end up clinging to that because our security was gone. Part of our sense of who we were, and particularly me in a family business for three generations, was gone. And so, we certainly had to make sure that our tendencies, like in communication, those kinds of things, we had to work through those during that time.   Laura Dugger: (21:21 - 21:30) Thank you for sharing that. I think that's very relatable to hear about the ups and the downs. And so, do you have any specific stories of a time when you were both in your strengths, and even though they were very different, they worked well together?   Jolene Rocke: (21:30 - 23:12) Yeah, I think that it's the learning what your strengths are that you may not know that God gives you at the time, and that's his grace. So, at the time, for all those years previous to the valley, Jon was the one that pushed me to communicate, and shutting down was not an option, which is what I wanted to do. So, I'd rather just not talk about it and go to bed. And he would push, push, push me to keep communicating, and that we would work through everything before the sun went down, as the Bible says.   Well, in the valley, it was Jon that was shutting down. And suddenly, you know, I had to be the one to push communication. So, this is something I heard on a sermon. A personality is not an excuse for sin. So that just means that I can't say, well, I'm not comfortable in conflict, so I'm not going to communicate and I'm going to shut down. No, you need to push yourself, ask the Lord for help, and go as his helpmate and say, you have to talk about it, you have to tell me, how are you doing? How are you feeling? So, I feel like it's just, it was such a beautiful valley when we look back now.   Laura Dugger: (23:12 - 23:25) Another previous guest had said she noticed when she was in the valley, that's when you're closest to the living water.   Jon Rocke: (23:13 - 24:41) Oh, absolutely. For sure. That's how creeks run, through valleys. Yeah. And I think our parenting, it was helpful for us to have both sides of our personality in parenting because I think we could address situations with our kids from different viewpoints and different ways to think about things, and those were helpful things as well.   But we also, during all sorts of the periods of time in our marriage, we had some little things that just reminded us. We had little words. So one was, you know, “we need to swim back.” So, you can often find yourself, because of a season of time or a season with your kids or whatever on the different islands, and we would just say, we got to swim back. And so that was one of our things that we did. And then we also had a, if we went too long, we just realized we weren't intentional about our intimacy of any kind. It was just basically, “Hey, you didn't kiss me today.” And we used to make that, “No, you didn't kiss me today.” And it was just a thing we tried to do to make sure that we had these little things that just kept us reminded. And so, they were really, they were kind of practical, just little code words for us that made a difference and got our minds back to where it needed to be.   Jolene Rocke: (24:41 - 24:50) Yeah, and in the busyness, that's easy to remember those little swing thoughts.   Laura Dugger: (24:50 - 30:17) Swim back. And now a brief message from our sponsor.   Did you know you can go to college tuition free just by being a team member at Chick-fil-A East Peoria? Yes, you heard that right. Free college education. All Chick-fil-A East Peoria team members in good standing are immediately eligible for a free college education through Point University. Point University is a fully accredited private Christian college located in West Point, Georgia. 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We ask that you also will share by sharing financially, sharing the Savvy Sauce podcast episodes, and sharing a five-star rating and review. You can also share any of our social media posts on Instagram or Facebook. We are grateful for all of it and we just love partnering together with you.   Now, back to the show. What encouragement do you have for healthy communication and healthy conflict resolution in marriage?   Jon Rocke: (30:19 - 31:31) God's grace. It's going to have to take time. You have to find that time together. So, I think it's all about prioritizing that time. I don't necessarily like conflict, but I know in our marriage you can't avoid it. And so, we just had to work through it right away. And so, I would say don't let time simmer conflict because that usually never makes it better.   Certainly, there's a sense of if there's something that's really emotional and maybe you need some space. My problem is I often don't give Jolene that space and that's hard on her, it really is, and sometimes not fair. But in the same vein, for me it felt like I didn't care if I just said, “Well, go ahead and be angry or be whatever or be upset about this or just let's not deal with it.” And she was gracious in pressing in and doing that. But I think don't let time go, just deal with it.   Jolene Rocke: (31:32 - 33:26) And two, the encouragement I think of is that Jon and I tell each other everything, every little thing. And we are very aware of couples that don't. And when Jon was holding back for me in that valley time, I really noticed it and I felt pretty alone. So, if you're always telling each other everything, there should be no secrets. So that just means there might be conflict then. If you're going to tell each other everything, then there might be conflict and you need to be prepared for that.   But that's better than me not saying anything. I sometimes say it's like a teapot, you're simmering or you're spouting. What's the perfect in the middle balance? It's really important to not simmer because you will spout eventually and then that's a harder conflict than if you just kept talking, kept telling every little thing. And so, we do tell each other every little thing.   Laura Dugger: (33:26 - 33:40) Well, and to go with that metaphor, if you have a release valve where that hot air can escape, it sounds like your communication has been that where you can get the water temperature back to a healthy place in the relationship.   Jolene Rocke: (33:40 - 33:55) Yeah, yes. And that takes work. So, I mean, honestly, what encouragement? Don't give up. Just keep going because it's worth it.   Laura Dugger: (33:55 - 34:10) Well, and I'm thinking back. Okay, so you had three kids. They're somewhat close together and you were young. So those years when all of your children were in the home, even elementary school age, that timeframe, what did that look like for communication? How did you still make sure you connected every day?   Jon Rocke: (33:26 - 34:31) Well, then throw in, we went to college after we had kids, which was actually, again, just God's grace and gift to us that we were able to leave town, leave the family business for a while, didn't think we were going to be involved in family business, went out to Indiana, went to school, and we didn't have anybody else but ourselves. And so that, again, was just his gift to us as young. We went in 1980, so that was two years after we were married. So, we already had Janelle at that point, and then Jamie came along soon after. And so, I had school but had to work to support. Jolene had to work and she was mom to two little ones. And so, again, I think it was just those times of making sure that we said nothing else can get in the way of us. Again, another phrase that we just had was, you know, we can get through anything together and nothing apart.   Jolene Rocke: (34:32 - 35:21) And that's not a flippant statement for us. That means we're trying and we're going to find the intentional time, put them to bed early, and make sure on weekends we're connecting well. And that meant sometimes driving with our kids. We'd go on drives. But that's Jon and I being able to talk. And then if they're goofing off in the back seat, it's okay. It's just fine because we actually are having talk time. Drive time has always been great communication time for us.   Laura Dugger: (35:21 - 35:35) That's really helpful, I think, for parents in any season. And you're talking about God's grace. So how has grace, and even forgiveness, benefited your relationship?   Jolene Rocke: (35:35 - 35:40) It's everything to our relationship.   Jon Rocke: (35:22 - 37:12) It's the only thing in everything. The parable of the unjust steward in Matthew 18 and just this idea that if you catch the enormity of your sin, then you can forgive others. And so that has been, I think, an important part of what we do because I love that whole story. Peter is asking that question, “How many times do I have to forgive somebody?” And if you think about a marriage context, well, that's a great question because my guess is it's going to be thousands upon thousands of times for whatever little or big things they are. And he's kind of like loading up. I feel that he's getting ready to say, “I've already forgiven this person six times. So, is it seven? And then after that, there's no more?” And the whole point of that is, oh, you really want to keep numbers, Peter? Here's the numbers. You've been forgiven zillions. And so, what's the little trifle amount that you're not going to forgive? And so, I'm thankful that Jolene is gracious because she's had to forgive me and continues to. We're still learning in a new season of life where now we get to work together, which to me is a really great joy. But it's also a different reality where we have a lot of work talk. Well, that's great. And we love that. But that can't dominate everything either. And so that's another one of those things that we have to figure out how to carve out our time away from work. Even though we enjoy working together and it's really fun, it's a new thing. That can't get in the way of us either.   Jolene Rocke: (37:13 - 40:14) There's got to be grace on both parts that now as I look at him as a boss also. And my husband, you know, I need to give a lot of grace to realize he's working within a momentum around a team and a leadership. But then as he comes home, and I'm very fully aware now of what a hat change that means for a man. That means that he's taking off his hat now and becoming my husband at home. And so, it's grace on both sides as he sees me working even under him or with him as a team. But it's a lot of grace and forgiveness over the years because in the early years as you're raising children, there might be unmet expectations is something I wrote down because I feel like as I think back to this pursuer of God and who I married and I remember those early years thinking, well, wow, he's not leading in devotions in the family. And I'm kind of struggling to find, I need to, as the mom then, pick that up and make sure we're doing with the children some family devotions. Well, that can create controversy. It can be that I would be upset, but I needed to forgive him for the fact that he didn't mean to do that and abdicate that responsibility. He just didn't know. And so, there's so much about being graceful as a wife to say, okay, I understand. That wasn't maybe how you were raised, or you didn't see that modeled in the home. But this is what I would desire for our family. And so, you just keep working and you keep forgiving because we've been forgiven so much, as Jon said. So, we know that. And I think the other key thing then with forgiveness becomes no record keeping, just as love is in 1 Corinthians 13. It doesn't keep the record of wrongs. I don't need to sit around with my time and in my brain and think about how much I've forgiven Jon. I need to think about the fact that God's forgiven so much in me, and he has to forgive me all the time. So, you're on this equal footing with forgiveness rather than trying to harbor a record of wrongs.   Laura Dugger: (40:14 - 40:40) Well, and I think you bring up examples for how it works in our families as well with children. And so, it's clear you two have such a solid marriage and you also have a thriving relationship with your adult children and your grandchildren and all their families. So, I think you just have a lot that you could teach us about raising a family as well. What are you so thankful that you did when your kids were living at home that you're now getting to see the payoff as they're adults?   Jon Rocke: (40:16 - 41:43) We literally grew up with our kids. So sorry for our kids that they had to, you know, grow up with their mom and dad. But that's been a lot of fun too because we did a lot of play. Again, these are just little things for us, these little words. So, as the kids were young, we used to, something that bothered them is I would tell them pretty plainly that I love mom most. And so, kids will always try to drive a wedge between mom and dad. That's just part of the fallen nature of kids. And so, we really communicated early. Our kids will tell you that was a hard lesson for them to learn that they didn't quite understand at that age, right? But they've really come to appreciate that in their own marriages. And then the other thing that we said was we choose you second. So, they knew we choose each other first because you're going to be gone someday and mom's not. And so, but we will always choose you second. So, friends were not a higher priority or social or hobby or anything. You know, the kids were always knew they were second. And so our kids are scattered all across, although we have Jamie and Jonathan here, one family here in Morton that we love to live life with. The others are gone, but I think we're still close in a lot of ways from that.   Jolene Rocke: (41:45 - 45:27) Yeah, I think we're a close family because we have stuck together through not just the ups, but the downs, but we're fun loving. Jon and I like games. We like to do stuff, and we like to go places. We prioritized vacation when they were little so that we were all together in an intentional environment that was away from home. And so, we were together, they enjoyed going to Florida every year and it was always what we called just happenstances that were so adverse. It wasn't your ideal. And so, we did not have ideal things happen on any trip, actually, that we go on. So, what we decided to call them is adventures. So, we intentionally took adverse situations, whether that's a flat tire, going to Florida with all the kids and it's the middle of the night and we're all sitting at a gas station on the curb waiting for the next tire to get fixed. It's just, we just always called them adventures and I'm not sorry for that. That's something our kids are passing on to their kids when things happen. Our son in particular, Jordan, his family seems to have a lot of adventures, like Jon and I have had. And that's what they call them to their children. So, I'm not sorry for the word adventure. Jon taught me a saying that he used to say, you love your children, even if you don't like them or you will lose them. And that was really important in the teenage years. When one of our children was struggling in junior high, I knew even if I didn't like the way this one was acting, I needed to just keep loving them as scripture says, right? Not if they're perfect, but all the time. And so, we didn't lose her through that time, I think because there was so much intentional loving beyond the liking. The other thing that I would just mention with that to encourage any, any mom or dad, I picked up the book, The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman and had this daughter read it with me so that we can learn, how do we love each other? Well, through this time when it feels like we don't really like each other that well. So, well, wow. I had no idea. It was physical touch for you. And I, I thought it was the acts of service. And you would notice that I picked up your room because I knew you had a hard day in a test at school. Well, there was never any knowledge or awareness that I did that for her. But whenever I put my arms around her and gave her a giant hug and wouldn't let her go until she melted in my arms, I realized, yes, that's what she, that's how I can love her best.   Laura Dugger: (45:27 - 45:50) That is awesome to hear that story. It is helpful to have actionable things that we can replicate. And so, I am going to link in the show notes to a few of our episodes that may be beneficial. If people want to take that concept a step further, Dr. Gary Chapman has been a previous guest. I'll link to those. And then also Katie Mueller talked about traveling with your family and the lessons that the Lord teaches his children about traveling in the Bible and how that applies to us. That's great. So, if you're willing, will you share anything more about the honeymoon? I'm so curious now.   Jon Rocke: (45:27 - 46:35) We will. I feel like we're taking too much time here.   Jolene Rocke: (46:35 - 46:36) I don't know, but well, we knew that this was setting the tone for marriage as far as adventures.   Jon Rocke: (46:36 - 46:37) But well, the very first off we, we got on a plane. So, we got married on a Sunday and we were flying out down to Florida on Sunday night. We got to Atlanta where we were supposed to connect to another plane. We were supposed to go to Fort Myers, Florida and there had been a storm and, and they were rushing to get us on the right flights or to get us to the next flight. And they put us on the wrong plane. You know, this was back in the day where that could happen. Couldn't happen today, but put us on the wrong plane. We ended up in Melbourne, Florida at midnight last flight of the night. You know, we're newlyweds. We're supposed to be, you know, on our honeymoon. They put us up at a Holiday Inn Express with the crew and said, you know, we'll get you out a flight. You have to be up at 4 a.m. And so, you know, I was, our first night was not necessarily what you would, you know, call the most romantic night that we could have. And then do you want to tell the second story of our honeymoon?   Jolene Rocke: (46:36 - 46:37) The canoe trip.   Jon Rocke: (46:37 - 46:37) Yeah.   Jolene Rocke: (46:37 - 47:28) The canoe trip is, I have such bad allergies to many things. And so, Jon knew that because we tried to go horseback riding and I thought I'd be okay because it was outdoors, but the dander on the horse made me just blow up into a big ball on my face. And so, he realized how much I have a problem with allergies, but we decided to go canoeing in a very narrow mangrove swamp. That was really depleted in, in its depth that day. And so, we were canoeing along, but we, we got into the side of the mangrove trees and out came a Hornets, Hornets out of this giant nest and stung me all over my back.   Jon Rocke: (47:28 - 47:50) And so Jon went into, I'm like thinking that my six day, you know, marriage is over. My wife, who's so allergic, we're half hour out on our journey and I'm, she's like going to die on the spot. Cause I figured if she's so allergic to animals, then this many, you know, bee stings or wasp stings, she's, you know, she's dead.   Jolene Rocke: (47:52 - 48:12) So he jumps, jumps out. Yeah. First, the truth is he took my top off and started taking mud from the bottom of the creek and, just plasters me with mud on my back. And then he jumps out of the canoe and starts running the, the canoe. Cause it was pretty shallow.   Jon Rocke: (48:12 - 48:31) I decided it was going to be quicker to get her back in time. I figured I had about 30 minutes, you know, to, to try to get her to some medical attention. And so, yeah, so I'm running the canoe back instead of paddling it. Cause I knew I could get faster. Well, then I cut my foot on a shoal and we're a mess.   Jolene Rocke: (48:31 - 48:37) I mean, he had it. What? Like six-inch stitches. So, we ended up in the ER here.   Jon Rocke: (48:37 - 48:38) Yeah.   Jolene Rocke: (48:38 - 48:52) Both of us with me, with stings, Jon, with a cut. And, and that was just the start of the honeymoon that we called a giant adventure adventure since it wasn't great.   Jon Rocke: (48:52 - 48:55) It's been a 44-year adventure.   Laura Dugger: (48:55 - 49:15) You did start with quite the adventure. I love that. And I think the husbands' listening will appreciate, of course you took their top off first.   Jon Rocke: (49:03 - 49:04) That's right.   Jolene Rocke: (49:05 - 49:07) It was a little embarrassing.   Jon Rocke: (49:08 - 49:10) It was a good thing. Nobody else.   Jolene Rocke: (49:10 - 49:15) Nobody else.   Laura Dugger: (49:15 - 49:25) Sorry. I had to tease on that part, but through various seasons, how did you prioritize one another above your kids, your career and your own families of origin?   Jon Rocke: (49:25 - 50:35) We just knew we had to have time. So, a couple of things. I mean, we had a fortunate built in mechanism too, to take trips together. So, within our family business, we had conferences and such that we had to attend. And so, we made that a priority that we were going to do those together. I wasn't going to just go by myself. And so, a couple of times a year, and now that we're working together, it can feel like life blurs between everything. So, while we're at home, we're still talking about work and we're still dealing with ministry. And the other thing is with our kids away, a lot of our trip time is spent with our kids. So, we have to make that, that's gotta be a priority, but we realized we still need just our time away. and when we got, we went down to Florida and we just said, okay, no work talk for these five days, you know, no work talk. And it was pretty fun because most of the time Jolene broke that rule. And I would say, wait a minute, no work talk.   Jolene Rocke: (50:36 - 50:36) It's true.   Jon Rocke: (50:37 - 51:09) It's very true. But those, so trips were a big thing for us, and they don't have to be a big deal trip, but a weekend away to break the routine. You know, the example of that was, that's why God created festivals and holidays were to break routine and to have a stop in our everyday lives. And so, he knew we needed that to reconnect with him. Well, we know we need that in our marriages is to break the routine.   Jolene Rocke: (51:10 - 52:17) Very intentionally. Jon was wise enough to know we needed that as even as young as he was. Can you imagine the volumes of love that that spoke to me, that he wanted me to go with him on the trips. So that meant so much to me. And it still does today because he always wants me to go with him. And then I, I just have over the years, like when the kids were at home, that was days of rest for me when he was in meetings. But as I started growing too, as a person and not needing as much rest, I also would go into all the meetings because I liked the learning. But even as we went through college, like I just was always a part of the learning. And, and I liked that, but Jon included me. That said a lot to me.   Laura Dugger: (52:18 - 52:25) And I love your companionship, how you prioritize that. What advice do you have for all of us married couples as we seek to grow as one rather than start to grow parallel or even worse, start to grow apart from one another?   Jon Rocke: (52:18 - 52:47) Yeah, I think find things to do together. That's part of how even the biking, the tandem thing came about. Cause if we went out on bikes on our individual bikes, then I'm like, I'm wanting to run ahead. Well, you know, and then, and she's like, you know, you're not getting very much exercise or whatever the case may be. But then on a tandem, we could accomplish everything together. And so, finding some of those things.   Jolene Rocke: (52:47 - 54:56) So there's seasons of time when you're raising your children, like that, Jon was biking by himself and with some other men in a fast pace for extreme exercise. And I was doing my thing. And so, I'm not saying that hobbies apart from one another are negative, but for us, they've been mostly together. And so that just means that even there was a period that yes, Jon would go out golfing, not in excess, but when our kids were around and little, I think I was communicating even in that, that you don't just go off golfing every Saturday and leave your wife with the kids on a Saturday because you now that's your day off work. No, it's, we never get a day off work. So, you need to kick in at home too. So, there was this balance, I think is a really good word for how do you, how do you do like even individual hobbies and exercise even, but then mostly we're always trying to figure out how we can do things together. So, taking a back seat, literally on a tandem bike and knowing that that was going to help our marriage to be together. I also said recently now in a decade ago, I will learn how to golf. And so that, that just meant, again, I have no, no interest that much in golfing. I thought I loved riding the car around and being outside, but now it's like, yes, I will learn to golf if that means that that's another hobby and a sport and an activity that we can do together. So, we started a Friday night golf time, just Jon and I, it's a date night of golf and Dairy Queen supper. We call it Dairy Queen supper because we just don't eat supper, but we eat Dairy Queen after we go. So there again, there's just like, what are, what can we do together? And we're still doing date nights because it's just, we actually are really good friends still.   Jon Rocke: (54:57 - 55:51) Well, I think like I say, every season has been different for us. There was a time where kids were intense and Joe was a phenomenal mom and, was totally engaged in that. And you're in your career phase too. And so, all those things are competing. Well, then we've come back in the last five years and now we work together. So that's a different whole different dynamic. And so that's why we needed, you know, yeah, we need a golf and Dairy Queen night because we just need to get away from the intensity of our work relationship, you know, and take that break on our tandems. We usually ride for breakfast. So, most things have to do with food. It's not about exercise. It's about how to eat. So that's kind of just part of what we do.   Laura Dugger: (55:51 - 56:19) I love it though. That's an interest for all people. It's something that we have to do multiple times a day. Well, what do you want to leave us with? Whether it's a challenge or scripture, it can be anything, but how would you like to wind down our time together today?   Jolene Rocke: (56:19 - 56:30) I'm going to just say to encourage everyone. Our marriage has taken compromise and it's taken communication and it pays off in the end.   Jon Rocke: (56:19 - 57:11) You know, Ephesians 5 is really an important understanding that it's submitting to each other. The idea of wives submit to your husband, you're not catching the whole picture of that. If that's what your focus is, because it's husband loves you, love your wives as Christ loved the church. And so, and it starts the whole section off with submit to one another. And so, we have to be just intentional and committed. One of my favorite sayings is from Augustine, who says, when he was in prayer one time says to God, “Command what you will, but give what you command.” And so, when I think about our marriage, that's what grace is all about. Yes, it takes intentionality and commitment, but that only comes by his grace.   Jolene Rocke: (57:11 - 57:55) And one other thing that I thought of is that we always taught our kids to remember whose they are. And that just means that if you do that within a marriage too, and you're remembering that you're the Lord's, you're made in his image, then you relate and you will love the other one better. Even as you know your identity in Christ first, you will love your mate better.   Laura Dugger: (57:55 - 58:05) Amen. And you too may know we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for both of you today, what is your savvy sauce?   Jon Rocke: (57:56 - 58:07) You know, I just say submission is a good thing. It's not associated that way, but in a marriage it's such a good thing.   Jolene Rocke: (58:08 - 59:13) So that's both submitting to each other, not just the wife being clamped down. But our savvy sauce would be that sacrifice and submission are good things. They're not bad words. So, in our experience, a savvy sauce for our 44-year-old marriage is that sacrifice and submission have been very good things on both of our parts.   Laura Dugger: (59:13 - 59:20) Well, you clearly live this out, and you've been great role models to Mark and to me and our family. You love one another with such an intensity, and you love your Lord that way, and you love your children that way in your community. And I just see the way that He's had this ripple out from being intentional in the most key important parts of life, and that He's really blessed you in that, but He's also blessed all of us around you. So, thank you for sharing your journey with us. Thank you so much for being my guest.   Jolene Rocke: (59:20 - 59:22) It's been so great to be here with you. Thanks for asking, Laura.   Jon Rocke: (59:13 - 59:27) Yeah, it's been a privilege for us just to take the time to reflect again and realize the challenges, but really just celebrate what God has done through His grace in us and our marriage. So, thanks.   Laura Dugger: (59:27 - 1:03:10) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.   This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.   Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.   And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.   First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.   You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.   We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Vinay Orekondy joins The Great Battlefield to talk about his career in politics in the U.S. and Australia and founding Better Together America, where they're working to bridge divides and combat authoritarianism from the bottom up.

Love, honor, and mutual respect lay a foundation for healthy communication in any marriage. Seeing your spouse through God's eyes empowers us to love and care for one another well—especially when disagreements arise. Join Laurie Crouch, Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell, Dr. DeeDee Freeman, and Holly Wagner as we discuss how couples communicate and navigate conflict with love, honor, and care. ---- To love others well, we must first understand God's love for us! Here are 10 Bible Verses to remind you of God's unconditional love for YOU! ------- If you missed last week's conversation, we encourage you to go back and listen to “Our Love Stories.” ------- Do you want more Better Together? We have 1100+ conversations available! Start watching now for free on the TBN+ app!   --------  If you need prayer, join our community on Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // TikTok  and let us know how we can pray for you! ---------  Better Together is TBN's first daily original program made by women for women! We discuss faith, family, friends, and so much more—no topic is off-limits. Find out what happens when real friends get together for real conversations. ----- Antique Candle Co: Use “BETTERTOGETHER” to get a free Gift Set with your purchase of $40 or more now at ⁠antiquecandleco.com⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices