December 22, 2024 — Episode #51

In a special Christmas edition, Jerry and Becky Drace unpack a single line from the nativity story that they say changed the course of human history.

Working through Luke 2:6 — “while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” — Jerry and Becky reflect on God’s perfect timing in sending Jesus, tracing the prophecy back to Genesis 3:15 and noting the hundreds of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled at Christ’s birth. They talk through Joseph’s role in delivering Mary’s baby in humble surroundings, the angels’ announcement of “glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men,” and how the shepherds became the first evangelists by running to tell others what they’d seen. Jerry and Becky also share their own memories of their son Drew’s and daughter Becca’s premature births, use those stories to talk about a father’s spiritual responsibility in the home, and close by encouraging listeners to keep Israel and the Jewish people in prayer during a time of global unrest.

Topics discussed:

• Luke 2:6 and God’s perfect timing in the Christmas story
• Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Christ’s birth
• Joseph and Mary’s roles in the nativity story
• The angels’ announcement and the shepherds’ response
• Fathers as the spiritual leaders of their homes
• Jerry and Becky’s memories of their children’s premature births
• Becky’s book “The Bright Side of Blue”
• Praying for Israel and the Jewish people

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December 15, 2024 — Episode #50

Wrapping up their year-long series on building a stronger marriage, Jerry and Becky confront where judgmental attitudes and prejudice come from, and how couples can guard against tearing each other down.

Jerry shares childhood memories of witnessing racial prejudice growing up in the South, and the couple discuss how judgmental attitudes, whether racial, economic, or within families, are learned rather than innate, tracing the pattern back to Cain and Abel and Joseph’s brothers in Scripture. They caution parents against favoring one child over another and encourage grace and compassion instead of judgment. The episode moves through several more listener-submitted principles: not pressuring a spouse who is already discouraged, choosing comfort over lecturing, keeping promises to children and a spouse, avoiding comparisons between a spouse and others, and being respectful of a spouse’s extended family. They close by encouraging listeners to keep building their marriages on the same daily habits discussed throughout the year.

Topics discussed:

• Where prejudice and judgmental attitudes come from
• Cain and Abel, and Joseph’s brothers, as biblical examples of favoritism and jealousy
• Avoiding favoritism among children
• Not pressuring a discouraged spouse; choosing comfort over lecturing
• Keeping promises made to a spouse and children
• Avoiding comparisons between a spouse and others
• Respecting a spouse’s extended family
• Becky’s book, “The Bright Side of Blue”

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December 8, 2024 — Episode #49

Continuing their listener-submitted list on building a rewarding marriage, Jerry and Becky dig into how the words couples choose — and the timing of them — can make or break trust at home.

The couple cover several more listener-submitted principles: not joking about a spouse’s sensitive areas, not insulting a spouse in front of others, pausing before reacting in the heat of the moment, choosing words carefully, and never raising your voice in anger. They share stories from their conferences about spouses who publicly belittled each other and the lasting damage it caused, and discuss how children absorb the tone and words used at home even when parents think they aren’t listening. Becky also mentions that a longtime friend, a former state governor who wrote the foreword to her book, was recently named to a high-profile diplomatic post, prompting a discussion on the value of diplomacy in marriage as much as in public life.

Topics discussed:

• Avoiding jokes at a spouse’s expense
• Not insulting or correcting a spouse in front of others
• Pausing to think before responding in an argument
• The power of careful, deliberate word choice
• Never raising your voice in anger
• How children absorb the tone of their parents’ conflicts
• Diplomacy as a marriage skill
• Becky’s book, “The Bright Side of Blue”

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December 1, 2024 — Episode #48

Jerry and Becky turn the mic over to their own listeners, sharing reader-submitted advice on what it takes to build a rewarding, lasting marriage.

Drawing on years of letters and comments gathered through their Hope for the Home conferences, the couple work through listener suggestions one at a time: valuing a spouse’s opinion even when you disagree, giving your spouse more attention than you give to others or to screens, refusing to give a spouse the silent treatment, scheduling dedicated time together, and being willing to talk openly about things you don’t fully understand. They share stories from their conference counseling, including a wife who described her husband’s devotion to sports as a “sexless mistress,” and a child’s drawing that left himself out of the family portrait because he felt unnoticed. They also share an update on Becky’s new book, “The Bright Side of Blue,” releasing nationwide this month.

Topics discussed:

• Valuing a spouse’s opinion even in disagreement
• Giving a spouse more attention than screens or other people
• Avoiding the silent treatment in marriage
• Scheduling regular one-on-one time together
• Being open about things you don’t understand in each other
• A story about feeling emotionally “present but not there”
• Becky’s book, “The Bright Side of Blue”

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November 24, 2024 — Episode #47

In a special Thanksgiving edition, Jerry and Becky trace the holiday’s roots in American history and challenge listeners to make gratitude a lasting family practice.

Becky shares a favorite childhood Thanksgiving memory of her extended family’s annual hog-butchering tradition, while Jerry recalls a snowy Thanksgiving from his own boyhood. They then walk through the history of Thanksgiving in America, from early expressions of thanks by Spanish and French explorers and the Jamestown colonists, to the Pilgrims’ voyage on the Mayflower and the Mayflower Compact, to George Washington’s first national Thanksgiving proclamation and Sarah Josepha Hale’s decades-long campaign that led President Lincoln to establish it as a national holiday during the Civil War. They reflect on how holidays can be difficult for those grieving a loss, and encourage listeners to use the table to give thanks and pray together as a family, closing with a call for national unity and gratitude.

Topics discussed:

• Family Thanksgiving traditions and memories
• Psalm 107 as a Thanksgiving psalm
• Early American Thanksgiving observances by explorers and colonists
• The Pilgrims, the Mayflower Compact, and religious freedom
• George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamations
• Sarah Josepha Hale’s campaign for a national Thanksgiving holiday
• Coping with grief and loneliness during the holidays
• Encouraging gratitude and unity as a family and a nation

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November 17, 2024 — Episode #46

In a rare in-studio interview — unusual for this era of the show — Jerry and Becky welcome longtime friends Vic and Joyce Winburn, married 57 years, to talk about raising children, discipline, and passing faith to the next generation.

Content note: one guest briefly describes experiencing harsh, physically abusive discipline as a child.

Vic and Joyce share their spiritual upbringings, including how a family friend and mentor helped shape Vic’s faith after a difficult childhood home, and Vic’s career as a college athletic trainer, including his years at Marshall University in the years following the school’s tragic 1970 plane crash. The couples discuss raising two daughters with different personalities and interests, one of whom homeschooled her own children and one of whom is married to a pastor now battling cancer. They talk candidly about discipline: Vic describes growing up with harsh physical punishment from his own father and intentionally choosing a gentler approach with his own children, while Joyce credits their daughters’ faith more to their own walk with the Lord than to specific parenting techniques. The conversation closes with reflections on grandparenting and letting adult children raise their own kids without interference.

Topics discussed:

• Guests Vic and Joyce Winburn’s 57-year marriage
• Mentorship from a family friend who became a father figure
• Vic’s career as an athletic trainer, including at Marshall University
• Raising daughters with different personalities and interests
• Homeschooling and its effect on family time
• Approaches to discipline across generations
• Supporting a family member through a cancer diagnosis
• Letting adult children parent their own way

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November 10, 2024 — Episode #45

In the final chapter of Jerry’s book “44 Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage,” the couple explore what it truly means to say “I love you” and keep that love alive for a lifetime.

Jerry and Becky break down the four Greek words for love — eros, philia, storge, and agape — and explain why a marriage built only on eros (attraction and pleasure) struggles to survive without the deeper commitment of agape love. They share a C.S. Lewis quote from “Mere Christianity” on how quieter, committed love keeps a marriage running long after the initial spark fades, and discuss statistics showing that second and third marriages divorce at increasingly higher rates than first marriages. Becky reflects on how she and Jerry built their marriage on shared faith and open discussion of hard topics before marrying, and they close by encouraging listeners to say “I love you” to their spouse and children daily. Scripture references include Proverbs 5:19 and Philippians 1:6.

Topics discussed:

• The four Greek words for love: eros, philia, storge, agape
• C.S. Lewis’s reflection on “being in love” versus staying in love
• Divorce rate statistics across first, second, and third marriages
• Building a marriage on shared faith and open communication
• The importance of premarital conversations about career and calling
• Proverbs 5:19 and Philippians 1:6

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November 3, 2024 — Episode #44

Content note: this episode includes discussion of an abusive relationship (a spouse who was physically struck) and pornography’s impact on a marriage.

Jerry and Becky unpack the difference between decisions grounded in feelings versus decisions grounded in fact and commitment, arguing that lasting marriages need both.

They explain that while most people fall in love and marry based on feelings, a marriage’s durability depends on commitment as a fact and a choice, not simply an emotion that can fade. The couple discuss divorce statistics showing that second and third marriages fail at even higher rates than first marriages, and share cautionary stories, including a woman who repeatedly married men struggling with addiction, and another whose husband became physically abusive after the wedding. They talk about how family-of-origin patterns shape expectations in marriage, why premarital counseling should dig into real, specific questions, and how commitment can sustain a couple through seasons when feelings of love ebb. They close by discussing common fears in marriage and Proverbs 4:1 and Mark 4:9 on listening well.

Topics discussed:

• The difference between feelings-based and commitment-based decisions
• Divorce statistics for first, second, and third marriages
• A pattern of repeatedly marrying partners with addiction issues
• A story about a marriage that turned abusive after the wedding
• How family-of-origin patterns shape a marriage
• The importance of specific, in-depth premarital counseling
• Fears husbands and wives commonly carry into marriage
• Proverbs 4:1 and Mark 4:9

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October 27, 2024 — Episode #43

Jerry and Becky discuss what it really means to be present for a spouse, not just physically in the same room, but emotionally engaged and available.

Referencing Dr. James Dobson’s advice to spend meaningful daily and weekly time together, they describe practical rhythms for couples: talking daily, dating weekly, and getting away quarterly. They discuss how easy it is for couples and families to sit together while everyone is absorbed in a cell phone, and how that erodes communication over the years. Jerry recounts a story of a young pastor who built a thriving ministry but nearly lost his family in the process, and the couple emphasize balancing career and ministry demands with real time for a spouse and children. They also mention a friend’s son-in-law currently facing a difficult cancer diagnosis, closing with Amos 3:3 and Ephesians 5:15-16 on walking together in step with one another.

Topics discussed:

• Dr. James Dobson’s guidelines for couple time together
• “Dialogue daily, date weekly, depart quarterly”
• Cell phones and distraction at the dinner table
• Balancing a demanding career or ministry with family time
• Traveling together versus in separate vehicles
• A friend’s son-in-law facing a cancer diagnosis
• Amos 3:3 and Ephesians 5:15-16

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October 20, 2024 — Episode #42

Content note: this episode discusses alcohol and drug addiction, underage drinking, a story involving a fatal drunk-driving accident, and pornography use within marriage.

Jerry and Becky tackle a hard-hitting chapter on breaking the harmful habits that quietly erode a marriage and a family, from substance abuse to screen addictions.

They walk through statistics on alcoholism in America and discuss how habits formed in childhood homes often carry into adult marriages, arguing that addiction begins as a series of small choices rather than an unavoidable disease. Jerry shares a sobering story about a father whose two sons were killed in an alcohol-related accident, and the couple discuss the dangers of normalizing drinking around children. They also address the rising prevalence of internet pornography and its financial and relational toll on families, the “BookTok” trend exposing kids to harmful content, and the importance of parents monitoring school libraries and cell phone use. The episode closes with Proverbs 5:21 and Romans 13:12 as a call to walk in the light.

Topics discussed:

• Alcoholism statistics and the generational cycle of addiction
• A story about a fatal drunk-driving accident involving two young men
• Prescription pain medication misuse
• Underage and college drinking statistics
• Internet pornography’s impact on marriages and families
• Monitoring children’s access to books, libraries, and cell phones
• Proverbs 5:21 and Romans 13:12

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or directly via our podcast RSS feed. See the full episode archive for more.