What do you do when YOU were the one who hurt your spouse?

When you're the one who lied, cheated, became selfish, broke trust, or helped tear your marriage apart, it can be incredibly difficult to believe that God's grace still applies to you.

In this episode of Restored + Rising, I'm opening some of the anonymous messages you've sent us—and both of today's stories come from people wrestling with the weight of their own choices.

One listener asks a heartbreaking question:
If Jesus has loved me when I was unlovable, why do I still fail Him?

Another has confessed infidelity, recommitted their life to Christ, entered therapy to understand the deeper issues behind their behavior, and is praying not only for reconciliation—but for God to transform their heart, mind, and life.

And that's what I want to talk about.
Because repentance doesn't mean pretending the damage wasn't real.
It doesn't erase consequences.

It doesn't require the person you hurt to trust you immediately.
But your worst choices do not place you beyond the reach of Jesus Christ.

We talk about:
- the difference between conviction and condemnation
- why knowing about Jesus isn't the same as walking closely with Him
- accepting forgiveness when you feel like you deserve punishment
- renewing your mind and returning to Scripture
- repentance after infidelity
- understanding the deeper “why” behind destructive behavior without using it as an excuse
- allowing God to transform you instead of making reconciliation your only goal
- what it means to return to your first love—Jesus
- praying for restoration while surrendering the outcome to God

And at the end, we pray together for everyone in this community who feels trapped by shame, strongholds, broken relationships, or circumstances that look impossible.

If you've been thinking:
“I caused this. Maybe I don't deserve restoration.”
I especially want you to hear this conversation.
Your responsibility is to repent, surrender, pursue healing, make the changes God is calling you to make, and allow Him to transform you.
Shame does not get the final word.

💌 If you'd like to send us your story or prayer request, you can reach us privately. Your personal information will remain anonymous if we share your story on the podcast.

🎙️ RESTORED + RISING @restoredandrisingpod
Faith • Repentance • Forgiveness • Healing • Marriage Restoration
No story is beyond God's restoration.

#MarriageRestoration #InfidelityRecovery #ChristianMarriage #repentance #restoration #christianpodcast #marriage #forgiveness

What if you got everything you thought you wanted from your divorce… and immediately realized it wasn't what you wanted at all?

In this episode of Restored + Rising, Eddie shares a dream that shook him.

In the dream, our divorce, the one we came within days of actually completing, was finalized.

There was no dramatic courtroom battle. No unexpected loss. Eddie got the outcome he had wanted.

And instead of feeling relief, he felt regret.

As the dream unfolded, he began to see the weight of what had actually been lost: our family divided, our daughter splitting her life between two parents, and two people who had become so convinced divorce was the answer that they never stopped long enough to ask whether there was another way.

It led us into a conversation we believe some marriages desperately need to have.

We talk about:

• Why getting what you WANT isn't always getting what you NEED
• The danger of silence and lost communication in marriage
• How distance, distraction and unresolved hurt can slowly become destructive
• The illusion that divorce automatically brings peace
• The impact our decisions can have on our children
• Conviction vs. justification
• Why marriage is more than a legal relationship—it's a covenant
• And why restoration deserves to be considered before assuming your marriage is beyond repair

We aren't sharing this episode to minimize anyone's pain or pretend every marriage situation is identical. We're sharing it because we once believed our marriage was finished too. We came incredibly close to living the life Eddie saw in this dream.

But God intervened.

If you're standing at a crossroads in your marriage, maybe the question isn't simply, “How do I get out of this?”

Maybe it's worth asking:

“God, is there another way?”

🎙️ Restored + Rising
Because no story is beyond God's restoration.

What if the change you're praying for in your marriage doesn't start with your spouse?
When a marriage is hurting, it's easy to focus on everything the other person needs to change, their selfishness, their choices, their behavior, their heart. But during our own marriage restoration, God showed us something completely different: real transformation had to begin within us.

In this episode of Restored + Rising, we talk honestly about the selfishness that existed on both sides of our marriage, how it showed up differently in each of us, and what happened when we stopped focusing on changing each other and allowed God to change us.

We talk about what selfishness can actually look like inside a marriage, why genuine change can't simply be performed for your spouse, and what it means to surrender your heart to God—even when the person you're praying for seems nowhere near changing.

We also share one of the hardest lessons from our restoration: your obedience cannot depend on your spouse's obedience. One person choosing healing, repentance, forgiveness, and surrender can begin changing the entire direction of a marriage.

We dive into Galatians 2:20 and Romans 12:2 and what Scripture teaches about dying to our old selves, renewing our minds, and allowing God to transform us into someone new.

If you're praying for your marriage, waiting for your spouse to change, or wondering whether someone who has been deeply selfish can ever truly become different, we hope our story reminds you:

Don't put limits on what God can do. And don't wait for someone else to change before allowing Him to begin with you.

🎙️ Restored + Rising
Real conversations about marriage restoration, repentance, forgiveness, faith, healing, and the God who still makes all things new.

New episodes every Sunday.

Scripture discussed:
Galatians 2:20
Romans 12:2

Can people truly change?

It's one of the biggest questions we hear, and one we had to answer ourselves.

In this episode of Restored + Rising, we continue sharing our marriage restoration journey and talk about what genuine repentance looked like in our relationship. We discuss the difference between temporary behavior changes and true heart transformation, the role of forgiveness, and how God began changing us from the inside out.

If you've ever wondered whether a marriage can survive betrayal, whether trust can be rebuilt, or whether someone can genuinely change, this conversation is for you.

Our prayer is that this episode points you to the hope found in Jesus and reminds you that restoration is possible.

"Behold, I am making all things new." — Revelation 21:5

❤️ If this episode encouraged you:
• Subscribe for more conversations on faith and marriage.
• Share it with someone who needs hope today.

📩 Have a testimony, prayer request, or topic you'd like us to discuss? We'd love to hear from you!
Email us at: restoredandrisingpod@gmail.com

While we can't provide counseling or respond to every message, we read every email and pray over the requests we receive.

Our marriage was dead. Neither of us wanted reconciliation. Then God stepped in.

In the very first episode of Restored + Rising, we're sharing the story behind this podcast-and the marriage we never believed could be restored.

Our relationship had deteriorated to the point of divorce, lawyers, anger, broken trust, infidelity, and almost no communication. We were living separate lives, and eventually, both of us were ready to move on. In our minds, there was nothing left to save.

But God had other plans.

We share how one woman at church continued encouraging Melina to pray for her marriage when almost every other voice was saying to walk away, and what happened when she finally did. God didn't begin by changing the circumstances. He began by changing her heart.

And neither of us was looking for reconciliation. Eddie had reached a place where he was genuinely content moving forward as a single father. Yet God began doing what neither of us could have orchestrated ourselves: turning two hearts back toward Him and ultimately back toward each other.

We also talk honestly about forgiveness, repentance, infidelity, the voices you allow to speak into your marriage, rebuilding after broken trust, and why restoration isn't about going back to the marriage you had, it's about allowing God to build something new.

We aren't marriage experts.

We're a marriage miracle.

If your marriage feels hopeless, or you're wondering whether God can really change a heart, this episode is for you.

📖 Scripture: Ezekiel 37:3–5
“Son of man, can these bones live?”

Because if God can breathe life into dry bones, we believe He can breathe life into what looks impossible.

Welcome to Restored + Rising. ❤️