What do you do when your child walks away from Jesus?

Matt and Lauren talk honestly about the years their daughter Audrey was far from the Lord, the things they tried to control, the disappointment they carried, and what it looked like to keep praying when nothing seemed to be changing.

For anyone still praying for someone they love: don’t lose heart.

ORDER MY LATEST BOOK

Becoming Like Jesus is a book about “progressive sanctification” that takes it beyond church words into the honest conversation so many Christians have navigated. Rooted in the Beatitudes, this book unpacks the lifelong series of highs and lows that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into a person who looks like Jesus.

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If you’ve enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show and make sure others find it, is to subscribe and leave a review. Thank You!

Thank you to our Sponsors

Global Christian Relief

GCR comes alongside persecuted Christians with prayer, Bibles, and real help so the church can endure and shine as a light for the Gospel. Stand with the persecuted Church and be a lifeline of prayer and support. — visit https://bit.ly/GCRMatt to learn more.

Human Coalition

For just $26, Human Coalition can help reach a woman before the abortion industry does and offer her real, compassionate support. Right now, there’s an opportunity to do even more. A generous donor has provided a $100,000 matching gift, so every gift made through December 31 can go even further.

So don’t wait. Give $26 today at humancoalition.org/chandler and help show the next mom that she is not alone.

Christian Marriage Cruises

Ready to invest in your marriage, rest, and reconnect? Join licensed marriage therapists Caleb and Verlynda for a faith-based marriage retreat at sea—visit christianmarriagecruise.com/sundays to reserve your spot today.

The Unimaginable

Some questions only suffering can teach us to ask, and only God can meet us in.If you or someone you love is walking through devastating loss, The Unimaginable is a faithful companion for the journey...reminding you that while grief may never fully disappear, you never have to carry it alone.

Available at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever books are sold.

–

Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

For sponsorship inquiries, email sponsor@thegoodpodcast.co

Because we’re made in the image of a creative God, creativity isn’t reserved for artists, musicians, writers, or preachers. It can show up in a sermon, a song, a beautiful room, a meal, or even a really good spreadsheet. We all reflect something of God’s order, beauty, and goodness in the things we make and the ways we serve.

In this episode, we talk about our own creative processes. Matt shares how he approaches sermon writing, why he needs time to steep with the Lord in a text, and what he’s learned from the seasons when he tried to preach like someone else. Lauren talks about songwriting, writing books and Bible studies, design, comparison, and the way creativity often begins for her with a sense that the Lord is stirring something that eventually needs to be brought to life.

Our hope is that this conversation gives you permission to be curious about how God has made you. You don’t have to create like somebody else. Pay attention to the gifts He’s given you, keep growing in them, and then make something and share it for the good of others and the glory of Jesus.

ORDER MY LATEST BOOK

Becoming Like Jesus is a book about “progressive sanctification” that takes it beyond church words into the honest conversation so many Christians have navigated. Rooted in the Beatitudes, this book unpacks the lifelong series of highs and lows that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into a person who looks like Jesus.

FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE:

Follow Lauren | Follow Matt | Youtube | Website | Newsletter

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show and make sure others find it, is to subscribe and leave a review. Thank You!

Thank you to our Sponsors

Global Christian Relief

GCR comes alongside persecuted Christians with prayer, Bibles, and real help so the church can endure and shine as a light for the Gospel. Stand with the persecuted Church and be a lifeline of prayer and support. — visit https://bit.ly/GCRMatt to learn more.

Human Coalition

For just $26, Human Coalition can help reach a woman before the abortion industry does and offer her real, compassionate support. Right now, there’s an opportunity to do even more. A generous donor has provided a $100,000 matching gift, so every gift made through December 31 can go even further.

So don’t wait. Give $26 today at humancoalition.org/chandler and help show the next mom that she is not alone.

Christian Marriage Cruises

Ready to invest in your marriage, rest, and reconnect? Join licensed marriage therapists Caleb and Verlynda for a faith-based marriage retreat at sea—visit christianmarriagecruise.com/sundays to reserve your spot today.

The Unimaginable

Some questions only suffering can teach us to ask, and only God can meet us in.If you or someone you love is walking through devastating loss, The Unimaginable is a faithful companion for the journey...reminding you that while grief may never fully disappear, you never have to carry it alone.

Available at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever books are sold.

–

Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

For sponsorship inquiries, email sponsor@thegoodpodcast.co

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Chad Wright—former Navy SEAL, ultrarunner, founder of 3 of 7 Project, husband to Brooke, and brand-new dad—to talk less about the accomplishments people know him for and more about what following Jesus looks like in the ordinary places of life.

Chad shares what the SEAL teams taught him about patience, endurance, and staying in the fight when things get hard—and what he’s had to unlearn about pride and self-sufficiency. We talk about the ways marriage and fatherhood expose our illusion of control, why weakness can actually be a gift, and the difference between asking God to give us strength and asking Him to be our strength.

We also get into sanctification and why becoming like Jesus is fundamentally different from another self-improvement project. Chad opens up about the dangers of building a platform, the temptation to protect an image, and the importance of repentance when we get it wrong. And as new parents, Chad and Brooke are learning in real time how to remain husband and wife while becoming mom and dad—a conversation that takes us back into some of the hardest years of our own marriage.

This conversation is a reminder that sometimes the Lord’s deepest work doesn’t happen through extraordinary achievement. Sometimes it happens in weakness, interrupted plans, sleepless nights, repentance, and the slow work of being conformed into the image of Christ.

Mentioned Resources

• 3 of 7 Project
• Follow Chadd
• 🎧 Listen

ORDER MY LATEST BOOK

Becoming Like Jesus is a book about “progressive sanctification” that takes it beyond church words into the honest conversation so many Christians have navigated. Rooted in the Beatitudes, this book unpacks the lifelong series of highs and lows that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into a person who looks like Jesus.

FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE:

Follow Lauren | Follow Matt | Youtube | Website | Newsletter

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show and make sure others find it, is to subscribe and leave a review. Thank You!

Thank you to our Sponsors

Global Christian Relief

GCR comes alongside persecuted Christians with prayer, Bibles, and real help so the church can endure and shine as a light for the Gospel. Stand with the persecuted Church and be a lifeline of prayer and support. — visit https://bit.ly/GCRMatt to learn more.

The Unimaginable

Some questions only suffering can teach us to ask, and only God can meet us in.If you or someone you love is walking through devastating loss, The Unimaginable is a faithful companion for the journey...reminding you that while grief may never fully disappear, you never have to carry it alone.

Available at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever books are sold.

Cozy Earth

Head to cozyearth.com and use our code BETWEEN for an exclusive 20% off. That’s code Between for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here!

–

Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

For sponsorship inquiries, email sponsor@thegoodpodcast.co

In this episode, we’re telling the story of Storied Provisions—an idea that sat in Lauren’s heart for years before the Lord brought the right people, place, and timing together.

What started as a desire to create something beautiful, hospitable, and rooted in community eventually became Storied Provisions, a coffee shop, bakery, mercantile, and gathering space. But the story is really about more than opening a business. Lauren and our friend and co-founder Sara Keene share how two separate dreams began to converge, how the Lord provided people with complementary gifts, and what it looked like to keep saying yes when neither of them had the whole picture.

We talk about discerning a dream from God without trying to force it, doing something with the Lord instead of simply for Him, and learning to trust Him through closed doors, changing plans, financial pressure, and plenty of moments where we felt in over our heads. We also get into the beauty—and difficulty—of building something with other people: knowing your strengths, being honest about your weaknesses, navigating old wounds and insecurities, and choosing vulnerability before tension has a chance to turn toxic.

One of the sweetest parts of this story has been seeing that the Lord dreamed a better dream than we could have dreamed for ourselves. Storied has become a place where truth, beauty, goodness, hospitality, meaningful work, and community all meet—and where the Lord continues to shape the people building it just as much as the thing being built.

Our hope is that if the Lord has put something on your heart, you’ll be encouraged to hold it with open hands, invite others into it, and trust Him with what it becomes.

Mentioned Resources

• Storied Provisions
• Aesop’s Fables
• Edison Coffee Co.

ORDER MY LATEST BOOK

Becoming Like Jesus is a book about “progressive sanctification” that takes it beyond church words into the honest conversation so many Christians have navigated. Rooted in the Beatitudes, this book unpacks the lifelong series of highs and lows that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into a person who looks like Jesus.

FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE:

Follow Lauren | Follow Matt | Youtube | Website | Newsletter

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show and make sure others find it, is to subscribe and leave a review. Thank You!

Thank you to our Sponsors

Global Christian Relief

GCR comes alongside persecuted Christians with prayer, Bibles, and real help so the church can endure and shine as a light for the Gospel. Stand with the persecuted Church and be a lifeline of prayer and support. — visit GlobalChristianRelief.org to learn more.

The Unimaginable

Some questions only suffering can teach us to ask, and only God can meet us in.If you or someone you love is walking through devastating loss, The Unimaginable is a faithful companion for the journey...reminding you that while grief may never fully disappear, you never have to carry it alone.

Available at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever books are sold.

Cozy Earth

Head to cozyearth.com and use our code BETWEEN for an exclusive 20% off. That’s code Between for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here!

–

Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

For sponsorship inquiries, email sponsor@thegoodpodcast.co

Brooke Ledbetter joins us to talk about a journey that many people quietly walk through—depression, anxiety, loneliness, and the surprising gift of friendship. Brooke shares how a painful college breakup opened the door to a season of depression, how anxiety and social fear followed, and how God met her through His Word, wise counseling, medication, and, perhaps most powerfully, the faithful presence of Christian friends.

We talk about the role of community in healing, what it looks like to let people carry your burdens when you can’t carry them yourself, and the moment God used a simple prayer gathering to bring a dramatic turning point in Brooke’s story. Along the way, we discuss friendship with Jesus, why deep relationships require vulnerability and conflict, and how isolation can quietly keep us from the healing God intends.

Whether you’re longing for deeper friendships, struggling with depression or anxiety, or simply wondering how to cultivate meaningful relationships in a disconnected world, we hope this conversation encourages you to keep moving toward Jesus and His people.

Mentioned Resources

• Closer Than a Brother — Brooke’s book on friendship and belonging.

ORDER MY LATEST BOOK

Becoming Like Jesus is a book about “progressive sanctification” that takes it beyond church words into the honest conversation so many Christians have navigated. Rooted in the Beatitudes, this book unpacks the lifelong series of highs and lows that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into a person who looks like Jesus.

FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE:

Follow Lauren | Follow Matt | Youtube | Website | Newsletter

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show and make sure others find it, is to subscribe and leave a review. Thank You!

Thank you to our Sponsors

Global Christian Relief

GCR comes alongside persecuted Christians with prayer, Bibles, and real help so the church can endure and shine as a light for the Gospel. Stand with the persecuted Church and be a lifeline of prayer and support. — visit https://bit.ly/GCRMatt to learn more.

Psalms of Trust

In Psalms of Trust, H. B. Charles walks through ten Psalms, including Psalm 27, Psalm 42, Psalm 73, and Psalm 91, helping readers discover fresh confidence in God's character and care.

You can find it at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever you get good books.

Authentic Masculinity

If you want clarity around the topic of masculinity, or you want to help the men in your life find it, pick up Authentic Masculinity.

You can find it at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever you get good books.

–

Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

For sponsorship inquiries, email sponsor@thegoodpodcast.co

We sat down with our friend Mike McCalley, whose story both challenged and encouraged us. Mike shares how a simple conversation with his son exposed a deeper spiritual and physical drift that had quietly settled into his life. What began as an inability to run a quarter mile became a journey of repentance, renewed stewardship, and ultimately completing the Leadville 100—a grueling 100-mile mountain race.

Along the way, we talk about the connection between physical discipline and spiritual vitality, the dangers of settling for “good enough,” and how God often uses small acts of obedience to awaken us to bigger things. Mike also shares powerful lessons about failure, perseverance, community, marriage, and the importance of telling ourselves the truth without getting trapped in shame.

More than a story about fitness, this is a conversation about stewardship, sanctification, and what it looks like to pursue all that God has for us—one faithful step at a time.

Mentioned Resources

• The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
• Leadville Trail 100 Run

ORDER MY LATEST BOOK

Becoming Like Jesus is a book about “progressive sanctification” that takes it beyond church words into the honest conversation so many Christians have navigated. Rooted in the Beatitudes, this book unpacks the lifelong series of highs and lows that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into a person who looks like Jesus.

FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE:

Follow Lauren | Follow Matt | Youtube | Website | Newsletter

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show and make sure others find it, is to subscribe and leave a review. Thank You!

Thank you to our Sponsors

Global Christian Relief

GCR comes alongside persecuted Christians with prayer, Bibles, and real help so the church can endure and shine as a light for the Gospel. Stand with the persecuted Church and be a lifeline of prayer and support. — visit https://bit.ly/GCRMatt to learn more.

Psalms of Trust

In Psalms of Trust, H. B. Charles walks through ten Psalms, including Psalm 27, Psalm 42, Psalm 73, and Psalm 91, helping readers discover fresh confidence in God's character and care.

You can find it at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever you get good books.

Authentic Masculinity

If you want clarity around the topic of masculinity, or you want to help the men in your life find it, pick up Authentic Masculinity.

You can find it at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever you get good books.

–

Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

For sponsorship inquiries, email sponsor@thegoodpodcast.co

In this special bonus episode, we share a full chapter from Matt’s upcoming book, Becoming Like Jesus — the chapter readers asked for most: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

In it, Matt talks about what it means to grieve honestly before God in a world that constantly pushes us toward distraction, comfort, and numbness. This chapter explores how mourning shapes us into people who are tender toward both our own sin and the brokenness around us.

We’ll reflect on the old Puritan prayer for “the gift of tears,” the way sin deforms and distorts the human soul, and how easy it is in our internet-saturated age to become overwhelmed, cynical, or emotionally shut down. But Jesus doesn’t call us to harden ourselves. He invites us into deeper communion with Him through repentance, compassion, and presence with hurting people.

More than anything, we hope this episode reminds you that comfort is not found in avoiding sorrow but in meeting Jesus there. His presence, His promises, and His redemption are enough for every kind of mourning.

ORDER MY LATEST BOOK

Becoming Like Jesus is a book about “progressive sanctification” that takes it beyond church words into the honest conversation so many Christians have navigated. Rooted in the Beatitudes, this book unpacks the lifelong series of highs and lows that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into a person who looks like Jesus.

FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE:

Follow Lauren | Follow Matt | Youtube | Website | Newsletter

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, one of the best ways to support the show and make sure others find it, is to subscribe and leave a review. Thank You!

Thank you to our Sponsors

Global Christian Relief

GCR comes alongside persecuted Christians with prayer, Bibles, and real help so the church can endure and shine as a light for the Gospel. Stand with the persecuted Church and be a lifeline of prayer and support. — visit https://bit.ly/GCRMatt to learn more.

Cozy Earth

Let this Mother’s Day be a reminder that she deserves care, too — discover how Cozy Earth turns everyday routines into moments of softness and ease. Head to cozyearth.com and use code BETWEEN for an exclusive 20% off.

Authentic Maculenity

If you want clarity around the topic of masculinity, or you want to help the men in your life find it, pick up Authentic Masculinity.

You can find it at MoodyPublishers.com or wherever you get good books.

–

Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

For sponsorship inquiries, email sponsor@thegoodpodcast.co