Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

We all walk through seasons that feel like a desert—lonely, exhausting, and full of questions for God. In this episode, I open up about my own painful wilderness years—struggling with infertility, chronic illness, and depression—and how I eventually discovered that God hadn't abandoned me after all. Through my story, you'll see that the desert isn't a place of punishment but preparation. It's wher...

Every marriage goes through seasons—some filled with laughter and connection, and others that feel dry, distant, or lonely. Maybe you've found yourself wondering, "What happened to us? Why can't we enjoy doing things together like we used to?" The feelings you once had faded, and no matter how hard you try, it feels like you're just going through the motions. If that sounds familiar, you are not a...

What dream have you had that you feel is too big to pursue? One of my big dreams has always been to go to England, the country my maternal grandmother was from. But I don't like to fly, I was worried I couldn't do that much walking, didn't know how to figure out all of the planes, trains, underground, taxis and Uber logistics, etc. etc. I decided not to give into those fears, however, when my husb...

Did your motherhood story turn out the way you hoped? Even if it didn't, God is still writing something beautiful. Motherhood is both messy and miraculous. Even the president of MOPS faced heartbreak in motherhood. When Elisa Morgan led MOPS, she encouraged millions of moms — but behind the scenes, her own motherhood journey was far from perfect. In this candid conversation, Elisa shares the strug...

In this heartfelt episode I sit down with my mom and sister to share a legacy of faith, resilience, and family love. My mom's story begins with her mom, an English war bride, who left everything familiar behind to start a new life in America. Later, mom had her own military journey after she married my dad who was stationed at first in Germany and eventually was deployed to Vietnam. Even though it...

What does it take to break free from a lifetime of pain and abuse? Ruth Valor's story is a powerful Christian testimony of how God can heal even the deepest wounds. From the time she was just three years old, Ruth endured sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional neglect. Her father battled alcoholism and carried his own scars from an abusive childhood, leaving Ruth desperate for love and accept...

Before the Israelites could enter the Promised Land, they had to stand at the edge of the Jordan River — and trust God to make a way. At a retreat diving deep into the book of Joshua, the leader God appointed after Moses died, I found myself at my own river's edge, staring at something God was asking me to let go of. But I wasn't ready. This is the story of how He met me there — in my fear, in my...

What happens when kids grow up in Christian homes, attend church regularly, and still end up thinking more like the culture than like Christ? That's the question Elizabeth Urbanowicz couldn't ignore as a classroom teacher—and it sparked a mission that's now helping families around the world. In this episode, Elizabeth shares how her background in education and apologetics led her to create Foundat...

Have you felt God calling you to step outside of what you know how to do into an unknown arena? Over 12 years ago I felt led to begin writing. Me, the girl whose college English teacher said that if I didn't start writing shorter essays, I would flunk her class. I had no idea why God wanted me to write, and sometimes the question still begs an answer, but I was obedient, and God opened doors I nev...

Do you ever wonder if marriage can be great—not for the rare few—but for you? Today's episode answers that question with a resounding yes. In her new book, Making Marriage Easier, Arlene Pellicane shares lots of funny (and painful) stories that we'll talk about today. Like her mortifying story about electrolysis and how her wedding almost went off without her! She also gives practical wisdom like...

Twelve years ago, Noelle Lawson died from alcohol poisoning. Her husband, Scott, had just been trained to do CPR and was able to revive her before the ambulance arrived. Their lives have never been the same since. Scott and Noelle share their story of alcoholism and how a deadly accident Scott was involved in while in high school delayed his obedience to follow God into the ministry for over 30 ye...

Have you or someone close to you experienced trauma? Most of us have at one point in our lives to various degrees. Kim Haar had an extreme trauma when her usually calm ex-husband broke into her home one night, beat her for three-and-a-half hours, shot holes in her walls, kidnapped her and took her to her boyfriend's house where he shot him ten times. This horrific story plays out like something fr...

Today I have three very special guests, my daughter, Elise Roper Younts, along with her husband, Wes, and his mom, Frieda (who's also one of my best friends!). Elise and Wes walked their own lonely journeys through singleness before finally finding each other and marrying last March. Even though for most of their lives they lived exactly 7.3 miles apart, and Wes's mom and I have been best friends...

One Wednesday night after church I struck up a conversation with another church member, Henry Mitchell, and he shared all of the great things God had been doing in his life. Now I knew Henry had been released from prison over two years prior and that he'd served a long time in prison, but I didn't know how long he'd served or why he'd been arrested in the first place. Henry shared that three weeks...

Cynthia Tobias was on my bucket list since before I started this podcast because of the work she's done teaching about the strong-willed child. Her book, You Can't Make Me: But I Can Be Persuaded, was a key influence in helping me raise my strong-willed daughter, Elise. Before I knew how to handle her stubborn temperament, I would frequently end up frustrated and in a puddle of tears. But once I l...

Molly Stillman has lived the type of life that when shared, people stop in their tracks and ask, "Wait, what happened?" Molly's mother, Lynda Van Devanter Buckley served as an Army nurse during the Vietnam War and wrote the bestselling memoir,  Home Before Morning . When Molly was seventeen, Lynda passed away after an eight-year battle with an autoimmune disorder due to her exposure to Agent Orang...

Christy Braddock has struggled with shame from a teen pregnancy and years later, abortion. The guilt became a heavy weight to carry. Christy got pregnant at 15 and gave her baby up for adoption. Then at 21 she became pregnant again, but this time she decided to keep the baby and get married, thinking this was her second chance to raise a child. But because her marriage was so dysfunctional she mad...

As we've entered the last week of May, I remember how crazy this time of year is for those who have school-aged children. I know a lot of parents are in what many call Maycember. The chaotic final days of the school year entail so many parties, ceremonies, graduations, proms, concerts, teacher appreciation gifts and sports tournaments. It can also bring lots of anticipation, with kids looking forw...

Liz Cobo says that nothing has deepened her faith and changed her walk with Jesus like studying the Bible. Studying God's Word literally changed her life. Things that were once important priorities aren't anymore. Things that were once afterthoughts are now at the top of her list.  Scripture is God's self-revelation and is available to anyone willing to take the time and make the effort to read an...

I don't know about you, but in my home the laundry room is considered one of the most important rooms. It's command central. When my kids were still at home it was also a disaster on most days. Oh, it might be clean for a few brief hours, but then when everyone started slinging off boots and muddy clothes, you'd never know I'd darkened the door that day. Many days the frustration of laundry, picki...

Husband-and-wife music duo, Kenny and Claire Hilliard both grew up in the upstate of South Carolina before God took them the long way around to finally settle in Nashville, TN.  In 2015, during Kenny's tenure as a senior pastor and worship leader in Asheville, North Carolina, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Shortly after successful surgery to remove the tumor, Kenny received a second diagnosi...

When my kids were teens, I shared with both of them that I used to curse—a lot. You should have seen the expressions on their faces as their jaws dropped, and eyes grew wide with disbelief.  "Not you Mom! I don't believe it!" I was pleased that I had to convince them otherwise, glad that I'd decided when they were both very little that my speech needed to change. That, and the Holy Spirit got ahol...

Mary Marantz knows how fear can hold us back. Even though she was able to leave the musty single-wide trailer of her childhood in West Virginia and make her way to Yale Law School, she always carried the fear that she would be found out. Even though she had worked hard and earned every grade and scholarship she received she thought others saw her as an imposter. So, she strove to be the best at ev...

When I started this podcast, my two best friends, Frieda Younts and Julie Bagwell, graciously agreed to be my first interview. We wanted to help other women find and experience friendship like ours, because good, godly friends can have an amazing impact on your life, as we all can testify. One of the things Frieda said during that interview describes the foundation of our friendship. She said, "We...

Christian comedian Kerri Pomarolli knows what's it like to feel hopeless. After she and her comedian husband divorced, she didn't think anyone would want to hire her for Christian events again, so she holed up in her bedroom and hid under the covers, binge-watching all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, drinking coke and eating a balanced diet of M&M's and salt and vinegar potato chips. Becoming...