Andy and Stacie Wood on how a marriage drifts from lovers to roommates, what working on it actually looks like, and the conversation about sex and intimacy the church usually avoids.

This conversation picks up where the weekend message left off. Watch "Stronger Marriages" first: https://youtu.be/XFandtFb3A8

In Episode 3 of Stronger, Andy and Stacie Wood sit down with Ariel Amaro the week they taught God's design for marriage, and they go where a Sunday message can't: the eight months they ran with no margin and the getaway that reset them, the weekly checkpoint and the shared calendar that keep a marriage current, what to do when the check engine light comes on, and why the difference between working in your marriage and working on it decides what year fifteen looks like.

Then they go where most churches don't: why God designed sex for marriage and what gets in the way of it, what Stacie wishes someone had told her before her wedding, why "consistently kind, then very kind" is a better plan than the gas pedal, and what Stacie says to the wife whose husband is caught in pornography and won't get help.

Married and drifting, married and fighting for it, or single and wondering what to hope for, this one is for you.

BONUS EPISODE TUESDAY
Andy and Stacie's hot takes on money, conflict, and how they work through disagreements. Coming Tuesday, October 6.

ONE THING TO DO THIS WEEK
If you're married: pick one thing this week that works on your marriage instead of in it. A weekly checkpoint, a date, or the conversation you've been putting off. Put it on the calendar. If you're single: write down what you want your marriage to be before you're in one, and pray for the person you haven't met yet. Then send this to a couple who needs it.

RESOURCES MENTIONED
Celebrate Recovery at Saddleback: https://saddleback.com/sections/get-care/celebrate-recovery/
Saddleback Cares: https://saddleback.com/care/
Female by Design podcast (Francie Winslow): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/female-by-design/id1493541368

CHAPTERS
0:00 Coming up
0:54 Welcome: God's design for marriage
1:57 Episode three: Stronger Marriages
2:19 The Thin Mints story
4:12 What is marriage? Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19, Ephesians 5
6:46 Leaving, cleaving, and what isn't a marriage
8:45 Living like roommates
11:36 Working in your marriage vs. working on it
12:18 Eight months with no margin: the getaway
15:15 If your marriage were a car
17:17 Maintenance: the weekly checkpoint, the shared calendar, date nights
19:39 Getting away, two or three times a year
21:31 When the check engine light comes on
22:01 Keep it current: the four helpful lists
25:10 Agreements
26:50 "Can we schedule time to even have sex?"
28:07 Why the church avoids talking about sex
29:26 Stacie: "All I had heard was save it to marriage"
32:15 Symptom and source: consistently kind, then very kind
34:26 The gas pedal and the brakes
36:22 Getting to the source
38:39 When one spouse wants help and the other doesn't
41:41 To the wife carrying the faith alone
43:27 To the husband who feels like he's failing
46:27 Stay at the table
47:55 To the man with something under the surface
50:43 Bonus episode Tuesday

SCRIPTURE IN THIS EPISODE
Genesis 2:24 · Matthew 19:4-6 · Ephesians 5:28-31 · 1 Peter 3:1-2 · James 5:16 · Matthew 5:29 · Colossians 3:5

NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Every episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvtcV3aqv-M
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id6812944219
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0MhCJU9jhDFc89e5HwigDw
Show site: https://stronger.saddleback.com

Stronger is recorded at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and every episode starts with what was taught that weekend. Wherever you're listening from, this is for you too. Find a campus or join online: https://saddleback.com

You were never meant to be strong on your own.

#StrongerWithAndyWood #AndyWood #StacieWood #Saddleback #Marriage

Stacie Wood on what Proverbs 31 actually describes, and why it was never the 1950s housewife. Culture has two boxes for a woman, tradwife or girlboss, and God's design doesn't fit in either one.

This conversation picks up where the weekend message left off. Watch "Stronger Women" first: https://youtu.be/EBL74YWPvdU

In Episode 2 of Stronger, Stacie Wood sits down with Andy Wood and Ariel Amaro the week she preached God's design for women, and they go where a Sunday message can't: why Saddleback got kicked out of the SBC and what the church actually believes about women and leadership, what Stacie says when someone asks if she's a co-pastor, and what Proverbs 31 does to the 1950s housewife.

Also in here: why men are now outpacing women in church attendance and what Stacie thinks is behind it, why a wife is a crown and not a competitor, what Stacie does when a room full of women starts roasting their husbands, the four years the Woods lived in a small apartment on one income, what would have happened if Andy had been the stay-at-home parent, and Mondays with Mom.

Single, married, raising daughters, or the man trying to make room for the women around him, this one is for you.

ONE THING TO DO THIS WEEK
If you're a woman: name one place where you've been living inside a box culture built instead of the design God gave you, and take one step out of it. If you're a man: name one woman around you whose gift you can make room for this week, and do it. Then send this to someone who's in the middle of this conversation.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Coming up
0:47 Before we jump in
1:28 Week two: Stronger Women
2:58 Respond to Scripture, not culture: Jesus and women
6:40 The correction, and the overcorrection
8:03 Men are outpacing women in church
9:08 Why women are leaving
11:00 Headship, helper, and kicked out of the SBC twice
13:32 Who's defining the boxes?
16:19 "Are you a co-pastor?"
17:31 How Stacie started teaching
22:58 A wife is a crown
25:06 When women roast their husbands
28:00 The batting cage
29:52 Working outside the home
32:00 Tradwife, girlboss, and Proverbs 31
35:24 Your kids are being raised by somebody
38:05 Childcare costs and one income in the Bay Area
40:49 "If we'd done stay-at-home dad..."
43:19 Hope for the next generation: Titus 2
44:33 Mondays with Mom
49:45 Stacie's mom and dad
54:51 To the woman who was wounded
57:00 Next week: Stronger Marriages

SCRIPTURE IN THIS EPISODE
Mark 5:25-34 · John 4 · Proverbs 12:4 · Proverbs 14:1 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · Titus 2:3-5 · Psalm 40:2

NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Every episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvtcV3aqv-M
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id6812944219
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0MhCJU9jhDFc89e5HwigDw
Show site: https://stronger.saddleback.com

Stronger is recorded at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and every episode starts with what was taught that weekend. Wherever you're listening from, this is for you too. Find a campus or join online: https://saddleback.com

You were never meant to be strong on your own.

#StrongerWithAndyWood #AndyWood #StacieWood #Saddleback

Nobody hands you a picture of what a man is. You pick it up from movies, sitcoms, and whatever your feed served you this morning.

This conversation picks up where the weekend message left off. Watch "Stronger Men" first: https://youtu.be/VtW99uyEH7Q

In the first episode of Stronger, Andy and Stacie Wood sit down with Ariel Amaro, open Genesis 1 and 2, and ask what God designed a man to be. They come back with four words and a man from Scripture for each one: Daniel, David, Joshua, and Joseph.

Also in here: why Stacie lets Andy hold her hand at every crosswalk, why a noise downstairs at 2:30 a.m. is a theology question, what a study of 34 sitcoms found about TV dads, and why Jesus wept over a city before he flipped its tables.

Single, married, raising sons, or married to one of these guys, this one is for you.

ONE THING TO DO THIS WEEK
Look at the four words: leader, lover, protector, provider. Name the one you're winning in. Name the one you want to grow in. Then say both out loud to someone who knows you well enough to tell you if you're right.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Coming up
0:44 Before we jump in
1:39 Why we started this podcast
2:10 Why "Stronger"?
3:34 Three men you'd download traits from
6:32 Every answer came from a screen
7:08 Genesis 1 and 2: the design
11:59 Four words for a man
13:48 Leader: Daniel and the open window
17:59 Lover: David, poet and warrior
22:01 Protector: Joshua and the noise at 2:30 a.m.
24:55 Stacie on crossing the street
29:37 Provider: Joseph feeds a nation
34:16 When you're not living it
37:36 How TV turned dad into the punchline
42:22 Genesis 3: what got distorted
46:08 Jesus, tough and tender
48:56 Next week: Stronger Women
51:38 One thing to do this week

SCRIPTURE IN THIS EPISODE
Genesis 1:27-28 · Genesis 2:15-18 · Daniel 6:10 · 2 Timothy 2:5 · 1 Corinthians 9:25 · Psalm 90:12 · 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 · Joshua 1:6-9 · Genesis 41 and 50 · 1 Timothy 5:8 · Genesis 3:16-19 · Luke 19:41-46 · Romans 5:8

The four words come from Andy's friend Josh McPherson, credited in the episode.

NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY
Every episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvtcV3aqv-M
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id6812944219
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0MhCJU9jhDFc89e5HwigDw
Show site: https://stronger.saddleback.com

Stronger is recorded at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and every episode starts with what was taught that weekend. Wherever you're listening from, this is for you too. Find a campus or join online: https://saddleback.com

You were never meant to be strong on your own.

#StrongerWithAndyWood #AndyWood #Saddleback

There's always more to say than a weekend allows.

Stronger with Andy Wood picks up where the weekend message leaves off, with honest conversations about faith, family, and everything you carry through the week.

New episodes every Monday. Follow the show so the next one is waiting for you.

Stronger with Andy Wood is a weekly podcast about building a stronger faith, family, and community. Every Monday, Andy Wood, lead pastor of Saddleback Church, picks up where the weekend message leaves off and gets practical about living it out in your home and relationships. Real questions, real stories, and one next step you can take this week.

First episode drops Monday, September 21. Follow the show so it's waiting for you.