FamilyLife Today®

Latest Episodes:

When God Feels Far Away: I'm the Problem, Right?: Brant Hansen Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

You pray. Read your Bible. Show up at church. And God still seems … crickets. When God feels far away, does that mean your faith is broken—or that you are? Brant Hansen, author of Blessed Are the Misfits, gets candid about skepticism, emotional wiring, and our all-too-human pressure to manufacture spiritual experiences. What holds your faith together when your feelings have approximately nothing useful to report?

Show Notes and Resources

Connect with Brant on Instagram.
Connect with Brant on Facebook.
Learn more about Brant on his website.
Listen to Brant and Sherri’s podcast, The Brant and Sherri Oddcast.
Get Brant’s book, Blessed Are the Misfits.

Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
Download FamilyLife's app!

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Why Don’t I Feel Close to God? For Christians Who Just Don’t Feel It: Brant Hansen Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

Everyone else seems to feel God. Worship moves them. Prayer lights them up. Meanwhile, your faith feels flatter than a three-day-old Coke. If you're wondering, “Why don’t I feel close to God?” Brant Hansen, author of Blessed Are the Misfits, gets refreshingly honest about faith for people who don’t fit the emotional Christian mold. Are you spiritually defective—or have we confused certain personalities and feelings with what genuine faith is supposed to look like?

Show Notes and Resources

Connect with Brant on Instagram.
Connect with Brant on Facebook.
Learn more about Brant on his website.
Listen to Brant and Sherri’s podcast, The Brant and Sherri Oddcast.
Get Brant’s book, Blessed Are the Misfits.

Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
Download FamilyLife's app!
Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

You Can’t Control This. Now What? Help for Christians Parenting Teens: Melissa Kruger Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

Grades. Sports. Friends. Faith. Future. It’s ridiculously easy to turn your teenager’s life into your personal report card. Melissa Kruger, author of Parenting with Hope, gets honest about Christian parenting of teens when, perhaps despite the evidence, you want desperately to get it right. What if our good intentions are quietly piling pressure on our kids? And how do we stay close when their choices—and their future—aren’t ours to control?

Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about Melissa Kruger on her website.
Get Melissa's book, Parenting with Hope, and her other book on our shop.
Read and watch Josh McDowell speak about "rules without relationships".
Find more resources on parenting teens.

Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
Download FamilyLife's app!
Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

How to Parent a Teenager: Melissa Kruger Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Your sweet kid turned into a teenager—and apparently you’re embarrassing now. How do you stay close without clinging, set limits without making every conversation a lecture, and keep fear from running the show? Melissa Kruger, author of Parenting with Hope, gets real about how to parent a teenager when the stakes feel higher, the eye rolls get stronger, and you desperately want to get this right.

Show Notes and Resources

Learn more about Melissa Kruger on her website.
Get Melissa's book, Parenting with Hope, and her other book on our shop.
Read and watch Josh McDowell speak about "rules without relationships".
Find more resources on parenting teens.

Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
Download FamilyLife's app!
Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Finding Your God-Given Purpose: Is This God—or Am I Nuts?: Loreen and Emmanuel Garilus Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

You’ve got a dream. You’ve also got bills, responsibilities, loved ones eager to offer opinions, and that nagging question: Is this big idea for my future actually from God … or am I nuts? Saxophonist Emmanuel Garilus and his wife, Loreen, get real about finding your God-given purpose when the sensible path doesn’t feel like the faithful one. How do you weigh calling, risk, hard work, and marriage—and know when a dream is worth chasing?

Show Notes and Resources

Emmanuel Garilus’s Apollo Theater performance. Find the video on Emmanuel Garilus’s Instagram.
Visit FamilyLife Today.
Become a FamilyLife Partner.
Scriptures referenced: Proverbs 4:18 and Colossians 3:23.

Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
Download FamilyLife's app!
Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Communication for Newlyweds: So…We’re Really Different, Huh?: Loreen and Emmanuel Garilus Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

You love each other. You love Jesus. So why is communication already this hard? Newlyweds Loreen and Emmanuel Garilus get refreshingly real about communication for newlyweds—mismatched expectations, conflict, family backgrounds, and those “Couldn’t you just text me?” moments. How do you learn to understand your spouse without making your way the right way—or letting little frustrations quietly become big ones?

Show Notes and Resources

Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
Download FamilyLife's app!
Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

How to Control Your Emotions: From Fired Up to Spirit-Led--Ron & Nan Deal Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

You know you should listen. Instead, you get louder. Or colder. Or suddenly walking away sounds very reasonable. So how do you control your emotions when your brain and body have already hit DEFCON 1? Ron and Nan Deal, authors of The Mindful Marriage, join Dave and Ann Wilson on FamilyLife Today to unpack what’s beneath those knee-jerk reactions—and how real change manages when your spouse says that thing again and your better judgment has fled the building.

Show Notes and Resources

Find The Mindful Marriage by Ron and Nan Deal on our shop.
Also get Vertical Marriage by Dave and Ann Wilson
Find information on The Worship Initiative at theworshipinitiative.com
Come to a Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaways by visiting weekendtoremember.com

Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
Download FamilyLife's app!
Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

When Life Doesn't Go as Planned: Elizabeth Woodson Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

When life doesn't go as planned, most of us don't stop living—we just stop expecting much. And maybe we keep waiting for real life to start. Elizabeth Woodson, author of Embrace Your Life, joins Dave and Ann Wilson for a candid conversation about disappointment, comparison, and the exhaustion of postponing happiness until life cooperates. This conversation is for anyone tired of waiting for a different story or pretending the losses don't sting.

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

How To Deal with Disappointment in Real Life: Elizabeth Woodson Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Sometimes the hardest thing to grieve is the life you thought you'd have. Elizabeth Woodson, author of Embrace Your Life, joins Dave and Ann Wilson for real talk about how to deal with disappointment, why unmet expectations can keep you stuck, and how to move forward without just looking the other way.

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

MarrIage Blind Spots Keeping You Stuck: Dave Harvey Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

You know exactly what your spouse needs to work on. But what if you're missing the bigger narrative? Based on his books When Sinners Say I Do and I Still Do, author and pastor Dave Harvey joins Dave and Ann Wilson for an honest conversation about marriage blind spots, self-awareness, and the hidden habits keeping you stuck.

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