The Speakeasy

In this episode, Angie Smith and I talk about moving beyond a faith that puts Bible-verse Band-Aids over our struggles into a deep, honest, surrendered relationship with Jesus. The shallow end can look like white-knuckling, performing, using perfectionism for control, or ignoring painful patterns. Angie encourages us to go underneath: Where did I learn this? What am I afraid of? What does this reveal about what I believe about God?
I got personal about my own perfectionism and realizing it was an attempt to control outcomes and stay worthy of God's favor. But our coping mechanisms aren't our identities. As Angie puts it, you're not a perfectionist as an identity. You're a daughter of God who may have learned perfectionistic tendencies that once served a purpose. Recognizing those patterns isn't an invitation to pile on more shame. It's an opportunity to bring them into the light, hold them against truth, and let God begin changing them.
Resources
Angie's new book, Into the Deep, explores the intersection of faith, psychology, learned patterns, identity, surrender, and what it looks like to move into a deeper and more honest relationship with God.
Learn more on Angie's website: https://angiesmithministries.com/
Follow her on Instagram @officialangiesmith
Sponsor
CrowdHealth
CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to resources including bill negotiators, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, vetted doctor lists, and healthcare support.
Get started for $99 for your first three months using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.
CrowdHealth is not insurance.
#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #AngieSmith #IntoTheDeep #ChristianPodcast #ChristianLiving #Faith #Surrender #IdentityInChrist #Perfectionism #Healing #RenewYourMind #TrustGod #CrowdHealth

Erin and I are talking about the hardest question: what do you do when God asks you to lay down something you worked hard to build? We're both walking through seasons of transition, so this is less "here's how to do it" and more "me too."
Erin spent over a decade building businesses and finding success as an entrepreneur before God asked her to step back to homeschool her family. We get honest about the hardest part: identity. When you've spent years becoming known for something, suddenly losing it feels like losing yourself. The questions start: Who am I without this? What if I'm giving up too much?
Sometimes what feels like losing everything you've built is actually God making room for what He's going to build next. You can be scared and still obey. You can ask God what He's doing and still end with, "I will trust You."
Connect with Erin
Follow her on IG @erinmeinel
Visit her website at https://erinmeinel.com/
Sponsor
CrowdHealth
CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to resources including bill negotiators, lower-cost prescriptions, vetted doctor lists, and healthcare support.
Get started for $99 for your first three months using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.
CrowdHealth is not insurance.
#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #ErinMeinel #ChristianPodcast #ChristianWomen #Faith #TrustGod #Obedience #Surrender #Calling #ChristianLiving #HomeschoolMom #Motherhood #LifeTransitions #CrowdHealth

Content Advisory: This episode contains a respectful but direct conversation about pornography, sexual content, and protecting children from exposure. Parents may want to listen with headphones when little ears are nearby.
In this episode, Kristen A. Jensen, founder of Defend Young Minds, and I talk about something every parent needs to consider: preparing our kids for pornography exposure.
I was scared talking about pornography would take away my daughters' innocence. But Kristen helped me rethink the goal entirely: innocence isn't the ultimate goal, preparation is. Our kids need to recognize harmful content, understand why it can hurt them, know what to do when they encounter it, and most importantly, know they can come to us without shame.
You can't bubble-wrap your children from everything. But you can prepare them. You can give them language. You can give them a plan. And you can make sure when the world tells them about pornography, it isn't the first voice they've heard.
Resources
Learn more about Kristen's work, Good Pictures Bad Pictures, the new guide for girls, and free resources for parents at DefendYoungMinds.com/Books.
Connect with Kristen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DefendYM/
Instagram: @defendyoungminds
X: @defendYM
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/defend-young-minds
Sponsor
CrowdHealth
CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to resources including bill negotiators, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, vetted doctor lists, and healthcare support.
Get started for $99 for your first three months using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.
CrowdHealth is not insurance.
#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #KristenAJenson #DefendYoungMinds #GoodPicturesBadPictures #Parenting #ChristianParenting #ParentingGirls #OnlineSafety #DigitalSafety #ProtectingKids #Motherhood #CrowdHealth

Jennifer Pepito is back on the podcast talking about the hard stuff: homeschooling can be beautiful and really hard at the same time. She has thirty years of wisdom and helped me work through the questions we all quietly ask—are my kids learning enough? When is it okay to just put the curriculum down?
Here's what Jennifer keeps reminding me: the curriculum serves your family, not the other way around. Sometimes the best thing you can do is close the books and come back tomorrow. The goal isn't measuring success by grade levels, it's asking who you're trying to help these children become.
You aren't going to make or break your children with one hard day. Even the hard seasons are opportunities to depend on the Lord and love your families well.
Connect with Jennifer
Learn more about The Inspired Homeschool at InspiredHomeschoolBook.com.
Find Jennifer's homeschool curriculum, resources, and free homeschooling guide at ThePeacefulPress.com.
Sponsors
CrowdHealth
CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance that gives members access to bill negotiators, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, and a dedicated care advocate.
Get started for $99 for your first three months using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.
CrowdHealth is not insurance.
Live Action Network
Live Action works to reach women facing unexpected pregnancies with life-affirming truth, resources, and hope at the moment they are searching for answers.
To support their work, text BLAKE to 70723 or visit LiveAction.org/donate/Blake.
#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #JenniferPepito #Homeschool #Homeschooling #HomeschoolMom #ChristianHomeschool #ChristianParenting #ThePeacefulPress #TheInspiredHomeschool #Motherhood #Faith #CrowdHealth #LiveAction

James Finke is back on the podcast to talk about apologetics and why Christians should be ready to explain what we believe and why we believe it. He's passionate about making this accessible to regular people like us, and we dig into the historical evidence for Jesus, his resurrection, and the early church. But this isn't about winning arguments, it's about being prepared when someone you love starts asking questions.
James shares a story that changed him: an acquaintance died unexpectedly after they'd talked casually about Jesus. It left him asking, what if our silence costs someone the chance to hear the Gospel? That hit me hard. If we truly believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, shouldn't we be willing to have those hard conversations with the people we love? Sometimes you're not meant to bring someone all the way in one conversation. Sometimes you're just supposed to be a rock in their shoe, leaving them with a question they can't shake.
Learn what you believe. Understand why you believe it. Love people enough to have difficult conversations. And trust God with what happens after you plant the seed.
Resources
Learn more about James Finke, his books, and his work at AuthorJamesFinke.com.
James also created a Christian Author's Toolkit with resources for anyone interested in writing and independently publishing Christian books. Visit AuthorJamesFinke.com/Blake.
Sponsors
Live Action Network
Live Action works to reach women facing unexpected pregnancies with life-affirming information, resources, and hope when they need it most.
To support their work, text BLAKE to 70723 or visit LiveAction.org/donate/Blake.
CrowdHealth
CrowdHealth provides a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance, including access to bill negotiation, lower-cost prescriptions, and healthcare resources.
Get your first three months for $99 using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.
CrowdHealth is not health insurance.
#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #JamesFinke #ChristianApologetics #Apologetics #ChristianPodcast #Faith #Jesus #TheGospel #Christianity #Bible #SharingYourFaith #GreatCommission #CrowdHealth #LiveAction