The snap, crackle, and pop of aging joints might not be what we expected in our forties, but as we navigate this season of life, we're finding both humor and wisdom in the journey.

Jess opens up about her recent knee replacement surgery and the humbling experience of buying a raised toilet seat and walking with a cane before she hit 50. Meanwhile, Steph shares her transition to progressive lenses and how her once-perfect vision took a sudden nosedive after 40. Together, we laugh about bodies that make Rice Krispies sounds when we stand up and how our children are both mortified and fascinated by these new developments.

But amid the physical challenges, we're discovering unexpected gifts. Our conversations with our Gen Z children have revealed important lessons about work-life balance and setting healthy boundaries—concepts our generation wasn't always taught to prioritize. We're learning to honor our limitations, like recognizing when our "social battery" is depleted or acknowledging that sometimes, when the sun goes down at 5 PM, we're just done for the day.

We take a nostalgic trip through technologies that have faded away, from encyclopedias sold door-to-door to mix tapes and AOL's iconic "You've got mail." These shared memories connect us to our past while reminding us how much we've adapted through the years.

While aging isn't always graceful (and certainly isn't for the weak), we're embracing this season with gratitude, perspective, and plenty of laughter. After all, what's the alternative? Join us for this honest, heartfelt conversation about finding joy in life's changing seasons.

What happens when Christian dating expectations collide with reality? Join hosts Jess and Steph for a candid, no-holds-barred conversation about navigating relationships as believers in today's world.

From opposite sides of the relationship spectrum – Jess as a divorced single woman approaching 50 and Steph as a newlywed in her 40s – they share raw truths about their journeys. Jess opens up about the surprising challenges of Christian dating, including the uncomfortable reality that some of her strongest pressure to compromise values has come from professing Christian men. Meanwhile, Steph reveals the ongoing work of marriage, especially maintaining romance beyond the honeymoon phase and balancing independence with biblical partnership.

Whether you're single, dating, married, or divorced, this episode offers wisdom, solidarity, and a healthy dose of humor about doing relationships with faith and honesty. Got relationship questions or stories to share? Connect with us on social media – we'd love to continue the conversation!

Church hurt transcends mere offense or discomfort. It encompasses betrayal, judgment, manipulation, exclusion, and sometimes even abuse at the hands of fellow believers or church leadership. In this raw and honest conversation, Jess and Steph share their personal journeys through church hurt, from the subtle exclusion after divorce to the blatant marginalization as single adults in family-focused congregations.

Jess reveals how after her divorce, she continued attending her ex-husband's church only to find herself systematically excluded from service opportunities and community events. "As soon as the ink dried on the divorce papers, everybody started treating me differently," she explains, describing the isolation she felt sitting alone Sunday after Sunday in a crowded sanctuary. Meanwhile, Steph recounts her heartbreaking experience with a church that explicitly prioritized married couples with children, leaving her feeling unwelcome and eventually driving her away from church altogether for several years.

These experiences reflect a troubling reality within many faith communities: people are walking away from church—not because they've lost faith in Jesus, but because they've been wounded by His followers. The consequences are devastating, as believers attempt to maintain their relationship with Christ while disconnected from community, often leading to a "slow fade" from faith.

Yet hope remains. Both hosts emphasize that Jesus was never the problem—He's the healer, not the source of hurt. They encourage listeners to acknowledge their pain without allowing it to destroy their relationship with the One who never fails.