Why do we keep doing the things in marriage we know we don’t want to do? In this episode, Brad sits down with Ron and Nan Deal to unpack the core concepts behind their new book The Mindful Marriage—a practical, accessible tool built on decades of clinical marriage therapy work from Dr. Terry Hargrave.

Ron and Nan explain what “dysregulation” actually is, why your brain reacts before you can think, and why couples get stuck in repeating patterns of blame, shame, control, and escape. They share how the cycle forms, how it fueled their own marriage struggles, and how learning to map their “pain cycle” and “peace cycle” changed everything.

This conversation is loaded with insight, neuroscience, honesty, and hope. If you’ve ever wondered “Why do I keep reacting like this," this episode could be a breakthrough.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Blended & Blessed – https://blendedandblessed.com
• Ron Deal’s Resources – https://rondeal.org
• Grace Marriage – https://gracemarriage.com


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• What “dysregulation” really means — and why your brain shuts off in conflict
• The four predictable responses: blame, shame, control, escape
• How triggers form and why they happen in nanoseconds
• The “pain cycle” vs. the “peace cycle” in marriage
• Why your spouse can’t heal your pain — and why that’s actually freeing
• How to move from emotional reactivity to intentional, Christ-centered responses
• Practical steps to rewiring your brain toward love, peace, patience, and self-control


📚 KEY VERSES
📖 Romans 7:15 “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
📖 Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
📖 Matthew 7:3 “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
📖 Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”


LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage

Most couples think they have a game plan for marriage… until life exposes that they actually don’t. NFL chaplains George & Tondra Gregory join Brad to reveal why doing nothing is still a “game plan” (even though it's a terrible one) and how intentional, Christ-centered strategy can completely transform your relationship.

If your marriage feels “fine but not beautiful,” this conversation gives you the practical steps (and spiritual framework) to change that.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Journey for Life – https://journeyforlife.com


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Doing nothing is a game plan...just not a winning one.
• Assumptions are one of the biggest threats to unity.
• Professional athletes never settle for average...neither should spouses.
• Your marriage won’t grow by accident. It grows by intentionality.
• Sanctification and marriage health go hand-in-hand.
• You find life by giving your life away (especially in marriage).
• Complacency is the enemy of beauty in marriage.

📚 KEY VERSES:
📖 Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
📖 Matthew 16:25 - For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
📖 Matthew 7:3–5 - Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
📖 Matthew 13:22 - As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage

In this episode, Brad and Kent get brutally honest about a tension every parent wrestles with: How do you balance grace and truth?
Kent shares a powerful framework on why Jesus didn’t stand in the same place with everyone. He stood wherever the person in front of Him needed Him most. And as parents, that’s exactly what we’re called to do.

Brad opens up about his own journey with grace, including how regular confession, forgiveness, and delight radically reshaped his relationship with his daughter.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Manhood Journey – https://manhoodjourney.org/


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Balancing grace and truth in parenting
• Why kids stop wanting time with their parents
• The danger of a performance-based Christian home
• How delight builds long-term influence
• Marriage conflict and ‘unseen capital
• How grace multiplies when you give it away
• How to discipline without shaming your kids
• Why Jesus didn’t use one-size-fits-all grace


LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage

Blended families often step into marriage thinking the hardest part is behind them...then reality hits. In this powerful conversation, Brad sits down with Ron Deal, one of the leading voices in stepfamily ministry, to unpack why blended family life feels so complex and why those challenges are actually normal.

Ron explains why a blended marriage begins in the middle of a story, not the beginning, and how layers of loss, shifting traditions, co-parenting dynamics, and differing expectations create a level of complexity most couples never see coming. He also shares practical steps couples can take to reduce discouragement, build unity, and approach their home with grace instead of guilt.

Whether you’re part of a blended family, know someone who is, or serve in a church trying to support stepfamilies well, this episode brings clarity, compassion, and actionable hope.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Blended & Blessed – https://blendedandblessed.com
• Ron Deal’s Resources – https://rondeal.org
• Grace Marriage – https://gracemarriage.com


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why blended families experience unique stress that feels “unexpected”
• The difference between coupleness and familyness — and why both matter
• How past loss, co-parenting, and household transitions impact stepfamily dynamics
• Why mixed traditions (holidays, rules, routines) cause conflict no one anticipates
• Why flexibility, patience, and learning are essential in stepfamily life
• How churches can better support blended families and why most don’t
• The importance of intentionality and ongoing marriage ministry in every church


LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage

In this episode, Brad sits down with pastor and author Kyle Idleman to talk about the unseen thought patterns that quietly shape our marriages. Kyle shares the heart behind his new book Every Thought Captive and why so much of the transformation we hope for in marriage never sticks, because we try to change our behavior without ever changing our thinking.

He unpacks how strongholds form, why simply trying to “stop thinking something” rarely works, how to replace lies with biblical truth, and why the gospel itself begins with admitting weakness and asking for help. Kyle also explains how Romans 12 and neuroplasticity surprisingly say the same thing about renewing the mind.

If you’ve ever felt stuck repeating the same patterns in your marriage, this conversation offers a hopeful first step: before you try to fix your marriage… fix your thoughts.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why unseen thought patterns quietly shape your marriage
• How strongholds form (and how to break them with Scripture)
• The lie: “Asking for help means failure” (Kyle’s personal example)
• Romans 12 and neuroplasticity: what science and Scripture agree on
• How gratitude and intentional thinking reshape your brain
• Using Philippians 4 as a filter for your thoughts about your spouse
• Why lasting change starts in your thoughts, not your behavior

📚 KEY VERSES
📖 Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
📖 Philippians 4:8 -- “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
📖 2 Corinthians 10:5 – “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage

Most parents say their kids are their top priority. But what if putting your children first is actually damaging your marriage?

In this episode, Brad talks with Kent Evans (Founder of Manhood Journey) about why a strong marriage is the foundation of great parenting, how our culture has become child-centered, and why the gospel calls husbands and wives to love one another first.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

• Manhood Journey – https://manhoodjourney.org/


🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why being a “better dad than husband” is actually a red flag
• How to raise children who want healthy marriage because they’ve seen one
• Why delight, not pressure, transforms parenting
• Practical, freeing mindset shifts that lower stress and increase joy at home
• A healthy marriage creates healthy parenting
• The purpose of marriage is to glorify God — not just to meet needs
• Kids thrive when they see their parents love each other
• Delight is more powerful than pressure in parenting
• You are not the hero of your child’s story — Jesus is
• Time and presence matter more than measurable progress


LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage

We’re getting a lot of things wrong in marriage—and it’s not because we don’t care. It’s because we often fight the wrong battles.

In this episode, Brad Rhoads talks with Dr. Chris Thurman, author of Real Marriage Made Simple: Proven Principles for Thriving in Marriage. Together they unpack why so many couples end up frustrated, distant, and emotionally drained (and some simple biblical principles that can change that).

From learning to "stay in your own backyard" to becoming a true giver instead of a taker, Dr. Thurman shares decades of wisdom from counseling couples who’ve found real freedom in letting God do the convicting and focusing on what they can actually control.

If your marriage feels stuck or one-sided, this conversation will help you rediscover grace, humility, and peace right where you are.

Listen now—and start working on the one person you can actually change.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

** Real Marriage Made Simple: Proven Principles for Thriving in Marriage –https://a.co/d/izefU1K

🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why trying to “fix” your spouse never works (and what does)
• The difference between triggering emotions and causing them
• How to find freedom by staying in your own backyard
• Why giving more than you take leads to real joy in marriage
• How guilt and pressure fail—but grace transforms
• The subtle difference between desire and need in healthy relationships

📚 KEY VERSES
📖 Matthew 7:3 – “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
📖 Galatians 5:1 – “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
📖 Acts 20:35 – “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
📖 Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage

Why do women say they feel unseen and unheard while men quietly wonder why sex feels distant and disconnected? In this episode, Brad Rhoads sits down with researchers and authors Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn to unpack the two most common complaints in marriage: “We don’t communicate” and “We’re not intimate enough.”

They reveal surprising research about how women are constantly asking, “Do you still love me?,” and how men are silently wondering, “Do you still want me?” You’ll hear real stories, from skipped conversations after important meetings to choosing connection over a $2,500 roofing mistake, plus the science behind desire and why most couples misunderstand each other.

This conversation is honest, practical, and might just change the way you pursue the person you married (emotionally and physically).

Stay to the end for simple next steps you can try this week.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help more couples discover the hope of a grace-filled marriage.

Jeff & Shaunti Feldhahn – Research, books, blog, and podcast: https://shaunti.com

🔑 KEY IDEAS:
• Why women crave connection through conversation and men crave connection through sex
• The hidden question most wives ask daily: “Do you still love me?”
• The silent fear many husbands carry: “Am I still desirable to you?”
• How communication and intimacy fuel each other instead of competing
• Initiating vs. receptive desire — and why most couples don’t understand this difference
• Why couples drift into sexless patterns and how to reverse it
• How pursuit often comes before desire but leads to deeper intimacy

LIKE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING??
✅ Subscribe & Share – Help us spread the message of grace-based marriage by subscribing to the Grace Marriage Podcast and sharing this episode with friends or family.
✅ Join Grace Marriage – Ready to invest in your marriage? Visit GraceMarriage.com to learn how proactive marriage care can transform your relationship.
✅ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us reach more couples who need encouragement.

FOLLOW US:
📌 Facebook: facebook.com/gracemarriage
📌 Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarriage
📌 YouTube: youtube.com/@grace_marriage