No More Perfect Podcast with Jill Savage

Today’s No More Perfect Podcast episode is one I have been excited to share for quite some time. That’s because the couple Mark and I are talking with have made a huge difference in our lives. Have you ever heard of Love Styles? This isn’t Love Languages. It’s something very different. Our Love Styles are formed in primary attachment, like our childhood home and family, and they become more eviden...

It can be hard to transition from actively parenting your children to doing life alongside them once they become adults. Whether you are quickly approaching this season or are currently in it, I want you to know that you can experience a richer, deeper, more fulfilling life (and relationship with your kids) than ever before. My guest, Jim Burns, not only writes and speaks on strong marriages, conf...

Did you know that “mom brain” is a real thing? It’s true! On an even deeper level, mom fatigue syndrome is real, it’s pervasive, and it creeps into every facet of a mom’s life. My guest, Hannah Keeley, has spent over 2 decades studying "mom brain" and discovered that researchers have literally found differences in brain scans of women before and after they had children. However, moms con...

If you have been following us for any length of time, then you know Mark and I are passionate about marriage. Our own marriage went through a dark crisis about 10 years ago, which is an experience we are really open about. However, it is often hard to find other couples who are open about their own story and struggles. That’s why I’m honored to share today’s episode. This is a conversation that Ma...

One of the things Mark and I talk about quite a bit are the Marriage 2.0 Intensives we have the opportunity to host at our home in Normal, IL. However, one of the questions we often get is, What happens at a marriage intensive? That’s what we want to share with you on today’s episode! A marriage intensive is intentional time that you set aside to be focused on the growth you would like to make in...

Something that isn't often talked about is the experience where you will never have an “empty nest.” The never-empty nest occurs when we have a child that is not able to leave the home or a child that needs care for the rest of their life. This reality can be so challenging to adjust to when you have to process (and grieve) that life may look different than you expected. For this episode, I’m...

Our past, our upbringing, and our experiences in life don’t stay in the past. They are carried into our marriages and affect how we operate in our relationships. This is a topic that Mark and I cover a lot in our book No More Perfect Marriages and in our coaching with other couples. The good news is that you are not powerless or stuck in the past! You can move beyond it and experience true intimac...

I have my hubby, Mark, on the podcast with me today! We are tackling an important topic, not just for married couples, but for any relationship. What’s the topic? Communication. (Can we get an amen!?) Learning how to stop assuming and start communicating was at the heart of making over our marriage after our crisis. Through communication, we changed how we talked and listened to each other, which...

Do you feel like you are lacking friends? Do you have moments of loneliness? Have you felt like you want to grow your friendships but don’t know how? Well, that is exactly what we are talking about on the podcast today. In this episode, I’m joined by Craig Cooper. Craig and his friend, Walker Hayes (yes, the Walker Hayes who sings “Fancy Like”), wrote a book on friendship called Glad You’re Here:...

Today’s episode is not coming to you from two women who are authors and speakers. Today’s episode is coming to you from two women who have had at least one parent pass away, sharing openly about our experience and the details we wish we would have known before they passed. Losing a loved one is an experience that all of us will experience at some point in our lives. As I was recently talking with...

Raising a daughter in today’s social-media-oriented, crazy world can be challenging! As our daughters grow up, we actually have some growing to do too. What does it look like for us to grow up and to love our daughters well? How can we grow ourselves to remain an emotionally-safe place for our girls? How can we lead them well through the hormone-charged pre-teen and teen years? Joining me to help...

Let’s be honest: life can be really hard sometimes this side of Heaven. I know in my own life I think of my breast cancer, the dark season of Mark and I's marriage, losing my dad recently, deep challenges my children have experienced, and much more. I imagine you can think of many situations in your own life as well. Along with those hardships come emotions that can feel like a rollercoaster...

Today’s episode is probably one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done, and it was honestly pretty emotional for me. During Mark and I’s dark season of marriage, Cheri Keaggy’s music was a comfort to my heart. You see, music is a powerful delivery truck for truth for me. When I listen to the truth of God’s Word set to music, it helps that truth to reside in my soul and stay there. In today’s epi...

Zig Ziglar, author and motivational speaker, says, “If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time.” Too often that’s what we do with relationships and our marriage; we don’t have a plan or a goal set to make our relationships better and we end up aiming at nothing. This causes us to drift away from our partner and into an unhealthy, unintentional relationship. My guests today believe that i...

Most of us have experienced being misunderstood at some point in our lives. Honestly, it has happened to me more times than I can count and each time it is simply heartbreaking. This often looks like being misheard, mischaracterized, or misrepresented by family, friends, or even strangers. Even worse than a single instance of being misunderstood is when we go through a whole season of misunderstan...

Too many of us are paralyzed by the fear of “what if.” Have you ever felt that way? We feel God calling and want to go forward with His plans, but fear often stops us in our tracks. Today we are going to declare no more! Instead of letting fear stop you short, you can let faith call you forward. My guest, Jennifer Hand, calls this “putting your yes on the table.” When you do that, you watch God do...

Several years ago, Mark and I started hosting “cousins’ weekends” for our grandkids. This is when all the grandkids come to our home for 24 hours to have a fun time with their cousins and we get to enjoy time with all of them. As an added bonus, their parents get a nice break too! In addition, three years ago we started “Cousins Camp.” This is an extended time together that we offer to our older g...

I know that both Mark and I have struggled to cultivate a heart that can see the good on hard days at various points in our life. This is why I'm honored to welcome Dr. Michelle Bengtson onto the podcast today! Michelle has been through some intense health struggles in her life. Nevertheless, she has held on to God's truth and promises in her work as a podcast host, international speaker...

Did you know that there are more ways to break trust in a marriage than infidelity? Today, I have my hubby, Mark, joining me on the show, and we are going to be launching into a topic that we often explore in our marriage coaching: The topic of broken trust. While infidelity certainly is something that will significantly break trust, it's important that we understand the other ways trust can...

What is a crazy dream that God has dropped in your heart? Is there a door that God seems to be opening that you’re afraid to walk through? For many of us, the default answer to dreams or opportunity is, “No.” But today we’re going to explore the question: “What if we say yes?” My guest calls these opportunities “God dares.” Kate Battistelli and I met at a recent conference we were both speaking at...

Welcome to another bonus episode of the No More Perfect Podcast! We like to bring you some extra podcast goodness every once in a while that's quick to listen to and helpful for your life. Just to say thank you! In today's episode, we're talking about some really hard things Mark has been walking through recently. From multiple tears and detachments with his retina, a mini-stroke, a...

Have you ever heard the term “conversational intelligence?” I hadn’t before, but my guest today is an expert in it! Too often, parents of teenagers or young adults miss out on connecting because we aren’t approaching conversations in the right way. We have a tendency to lecture rather than listen, to tell rather than ask, or be controlling rather than curious. I know that last one has often been m...

Several years ago, my daughter and I wrote a book called Better Together all about building your “mom tribe.” These are the women you hang with, the ones you care for, and those that care for you. In this book, I talk about sharing our stories and how we all have stories to share. Today, I am inviting two women who are in my own mom tribe to share their stories with us. They have both been on my p...

We all have a story, and that large story of our lives is made up of smaller stories that all make up who we are and what we believe. Each of us has smaller stories about our past experiences, stories of how our faith in God has been shaped, and stories about where our life is headed now. Today on the podcast, my guest is Robyn Dykstra, and she has quite the story to share with us! From her time a...

If someone asked if you wanted to make a difference in the world, I imagine your answer would be an enthusiastic, “Yes!” However, the truth is we often get caught up in work demands, home responsibilities, cranky attitudes, challenging people, and exhaustion. All of these things keep us from seeing opportunities to show love to others. But what if living and loving well weren’t accomplished in the...