What impact are our marriages having in this world? This is a question we explore in Episode 8 of the Marriage After God interview series. I chapter 8 of Marriage After God we included part of our story and so today we want to highlight a piece of our story. In the second year of our marriage when things were really tough, we moved to Merritt Island Florida, where we met Nathan and Daisy Walter…except when we met them and so we decided it would be appropriate and fun to interview them. Please enjoy.
“Just as God has led us on a journey with specific work to do, your marriage is also on a journey toward the extraordinary work God has prepared for only the two of you to do.” – Marriage After God book
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[Aaron] Hey we’re Aaron and Jennifer Smith with Marriage After God.
[Jennifer] Helping you cultivate an extraordinary marriage.
[Aaron] And today we’re in part eight of the Marriage after God series, and we’re gonna be talking with Nathan and Daisy Walter about the impact we have in this world. Welcome to the Marriage after God podcast, where we believe that marriage was meant for more than just happily ever after.
[Jennifer] I’m Jennifer, also known as Unveiled Wife.
[Aaron] And I’m Aaron, also known as Husband Revolution.
[Jennifer] We have been married for over a decade.
[Aaron] And so far we have four young children.
[Jennifer] We have been doing marriage ministry online for over seven years through blogging and social media.
[Aaron] With the desire to inspire couples to keep God at the center of their marriage. Encouraging them to walk in faith every day.
[Jennifer] We believe that Christian marriage should be an extraordinary one, full of life.
[Aaron] Love.
[Jennifer] And power.
[Aaron] That can only be found by chasing after God.
[Jennifer] Together.
[Aaron] Thank you for joining us on this journey as we chase boldly after God’s will for our life together.
[Jennifer] This is Marriage After God.
[Jennifer] So we just want to first of all, just say thank you for everyone who’s been following along in this series. We hope that it’s been inspiring you and impacting your lives.
[Aaron] You know, we’re at the halfway point which is exciting.
Yeah, yeah. Super awesome, but before we move on in this episode today, we just want to ask you guys to leave a review, this is just one way that you guys can help support the podcast by spreading the podcast. When you leave a review, it helps other people find the Marriage After God podcast. And it’s super simple, all you have to do is scroll to the bottom of the app, leave a star rating review or a comment review, and Aaron and I really appreciate it.
[Aaron] And also the reason we’re doing this podcast in the first place, the entire podcast, and this series, this 16-part series, is because we wrote a book called Marriage After God, and you can get it today, and we’d love for you to get that, that’s one of the best ways you can support this podcast. And also to support your marriage and to support the marriages around you, and just go to shop.marriageafterGod.com, and pick up a copy of our new book. We wrote this book for you guys.
[Jennifer] So today, we have good friends of ours, Nathan and Daisy Walter, hi guys.
Hey how are you doing?
Hello.
[Jennifer] Thanks for being with us today.
[Aaron] We’re so excited to have you guys on.
[Nathan] We’re excited to be here.
[Daisy] It’s good to be here.
[Aaron] Awesome, so why don’t you, cause a lot of people know us and our online presence, but they don’t know all the people we know.
[Jennifer] Yeah.
[Aaron] And so that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to do all these interviews, is to let people know all the people that have helped shape who we are today, that God used in our lives, and you guys are one of those couples in our life. We’ve known you guys for a very long time. Why don’t you let everyone that’s listening know who you are, your children, what you guys do, and how we know you?
[Nathan] Right, well my name is Nathan Walter, and this is my wife.
[Daisy] Daisy.
[Nathan] And we have three kids It took me a second. Flynn, who’s five, Aurora who is
[Nathan And Daisy] Two.
[Daisy] And Ivy’s nine months.
[Nathan] Nine months goes by fast. We are youth pastors at a church in Florida, and we also have a worship band called the Quiet Science. So, between all that, we stay pretty busy.
[Daisy] Yeah, stay pretty busy.
[Aaron] With half of that, you’re busy.
[Daisy] Yeah, and just the kids alone.
[Aaron] Yeah.
[Jennifer] So if anyone’s familiar with the book launch surrounding the Unveiled Wife and our marriage story there, Daisy and Nathan are the ones that wrote that worship song that we wanted to launch with that book, called “The Unveiled” and it’s available on YouTube if you guys want to check it out.
[Aaron] It actually still gets tons of views.
[Jennifer] I love that song.
[Aaron] Yeah, people say it’s like their favorite worship song.
[Jennifer] You guys are so talented. I remember we had already been hanging out in our friendship for quite awhile, and we were hanging out at Daisy’s parent’s house when you guys had some instruments out, and you started kinda just fiddling around with them, and we didn’t realize that you guys were like–
[Aaron] I know we had no clue you were–
[Jennifer] Really creative, you had a band.
[Aaron] It was like months of knowing you guys. And you guys are like, you guys start playing and singing in the living room, we’re like, what’s happening right now?
[Nathan] Awkward.
[Daisy] I’m like, oh my God, why did we do that?
[Aaron] Well, I think you guys were like practicing or something,
[Daisy] Probably.
[Aaron] Maybe you were going to be giving a show and we had no clue that you guys were part of a band. Anyways, we, go ahead.
[Daisy] Oh, no, it’s just like, oh by the way, we have a show.
[Aaron] Yeah. But, how long has it been, we’ve known them? We met them in pretty much the first year that we were married, so 12 years now we’ve known you guys.
[Daisy] Yeah.
[Aaron] And you guys weren’t married yet back then, you guys were dating when we met you.
[Nathan] No.
[Aaron] And then we got to go to your wedding. And even though we live on literally opposites of the country, probably the farthest distance we can be from each other. We still tend to keep in touch.
[Daisy] Pick up where we left off.
[Aaron] And pick up where we left off. That’s one of the things we just love about you guys, is you guys are always changing in the right direction, you’re always growing closer to God. But you’re always the same to us. Which is cool cause we’re growing with you, so. Why don’t we get into the icebreaker question?
[Jennifer] Yeah, so, this is an interesting one. If you could have dinner with anyone from the Bible who would it be and why? And it can’t be Jesus. Cause we know that’s a given.
[Daisy] Um, I would say Isaiah. I know that’s probably, I don’t know. It’s my favorite book and I just think, I don’t know, he just seems like a wise old soul. And that’s like, I don’t know, that’s my, thing. In every cast, every movie, my favorite character is the wise character.
Like Gandalf.
Like, I need wisdom, help me out! But I just–
[Jennifer] It makes for great conversation.
[Daisy] It does! I just, I don’t know, I feel like, whenever something amazing hits me, I’m always like, “Oh my gosh, of course, “I’m reading Isaiah.” Not that the rest of the Bible isn’t amazing, but I just, I love Isaiah, I would love to meet him. Well, I will meet him, but.
[Nathan] Yeah, we will meet him.
[Daisy] We will.
[Jennifer] Okay, what about you, Nathan?
[Nathan] You know, my first answer was gonna be Paul, but I feel like that’s really, um, just because he wrote a lot of letters about the church, and I would want to get his opinion about the church today and get all fired up with him. But I also, I don’t know, I didn’t want to be like, super, well never mind I’m not gonna do two. I was just gonna do two. I guess, just I was gonna say Paul or an Old Testament prophet, cause the thing I like about the Old Testament prophets or that I respect, is that they were alone. They were like completely alone declaring the Word of the Lord, and I know Paul was, it just seems like they were, there were so many people on Mission, you know, I just respect the Old Testament prophets having to do it by themselves with nothing but the Word of the Lord, and it’s like, how did you guys do it? How did you stay strong?
[Aaron] Especially back then, when there was no church yet, it was God telling these men, like, “Hey, go speak this.” And they’re like, “Wait, they’re gonna kill me “if I do that.”
[Daisy] Yeah, yeah.
[Nathan] And my Old Testament prophet would have been Elijah, so. I know I didn’t say it, but.
[Aaron] Oh there you go.
[Jennifer] So you picked two.
[Daisy] Yeah he did.
[Aaron] Elijah did have some pretty rad things he did.
[Daisy] Yeah.
[Jennifer] Great, well thanks for playing that little game with us. It always helps to let other people know a little bit more about who you guys are.
[Nathan] And you can catch people who don’t know the Bible.
Here’s a quote-I know, they’re like, what person is that? So, here’s a quote from chapter eight of our book. And then we’ll get into the topic. “Just as God has led us on a journey “with specific work to do, “your marriage is also on a journey “toward the extraordinary work “God has prepared for only the two of you to do.” So the idea of this chapter is just talking about the uniqueness of how God created all of our marriages and how He’s given us unique talents and gifts and resources. And the specific purpose of this chapter is to show kind of that journey that Jennifer and I have been on and how He’s uniquely gifted us, and all the different experiences, especially our relationship with you. You know, not everyone has this kind of relationship with you, and not everyone has the kind of relationships, everyone has different ones, and different resources and different experiences. And then toward the end of it we explain, but the point is, this is our marriage. It’s not yours. And you, you and Daisy, have your own story, your own unique talents, gifts, resources, your own tool belt is what we call it. And God desires all of us, each one of us, to use what He’s given us for His purposes, for His glory. And that we don’t sit back and say, “Well, since I don’t have Aaron and Jennifer’s marriage “and their experiences and their education, “and their talents, then I must not be usable.” Or, “Since I don’t have this person over here “and what they’ve gone through and what they have, “I’m not usable.” The truth is, that God’s given us all–
[Jennifer] We’re all one body.
[Aaron] Yeah, unique gifts, talents, resources, for the sake of the body, and for what the body’s doing. What God’s doing in this world. So, that’s the purpose of this chapter, but today we get to chat with you guys to talk about the influence that you guys had in our story, and just to talk about where you guys are at and how we met, and so we’re just gonna have some fun with that, and we hope that and pray that everyone listening gets just blessed by this conversation, and gets to also think about what God’s doing through their marriage and in their marriage right now.
[Jennifer] So one of the things that we mentioned that’s a part of our tool belt is relationships, and so we thought it would be cool to kind of dive into our relationship, with you guys, and just kind of go back to the beginning, because we met you guys at a time when, that first year of marriage was really difficult for us. And we didn’t have a lot of relationships. But we were going to the same church, and you guys and your families loved on us, in a time that we really, really needed it. That time was impactful for us because even though we were enduring hardship, in our marriage, and we weren’t really talking about it, we still were able to find ways to experience friendship together, with each other, and with you guys, and so I wanted to highlight that and how that impact is still impacting us in our relationships today. And has really impacted the ministry that everyone gets to benefit from this Marriage After God ministry. So Daisy and Nathan, what are some ways that we have had fun together?
[Nathan] Honestly, when I was thinking about that, there’s so many things that I think we did and they were all pretty mundane. And I think–
[Aaron] Yeah, yeah.
[Nathan] I think that’s what makes good friendships, is like, so many of our memories, I think, are sitting around on the back porch, playing some game Aaron had us play. Made up. Like, is it… And we were able to have fun no matter what we did, and I think that’s kind of, not the key to good friendship, but I think it’s evidence of good friendship, because there’s so many people you’re around where you gotta fill the silence, or you feel like you’re entertaining, or you… And I think from the very beginning, we were always able to just, no matter what we were doing, we were having fun. So–
[Aaron] I like that. I think what you just said right there, is evidence of good, close relationship is not feeling like it’s a one-sided thing. Cause that’s essentially what entertaining is, you’re entertaining a guest versus you’re spending time with a, with a friend.
Just being in the presence. Yeah.
Being in the presence of. Daisy, what are some of the things that you remember that you guys, that we had fun with?
[Daisy] I remember going to, Charles and Casey’s wedding, and you guys like, doing the lift, remember when you were dancing?
[Aaron] The lift?
[Daisy] Yeah!
The Dirty Dancing lift?
And you’re like, “Come on, Jen, run toward me, run toward me!” She was like, “I don’t want to!” And you made her do it.
[Aaron] I don’t remember this at all!
[Jennifer] I don’t remember it working very well.
[Nathan] It was the Dirty Dancing lift.
[Daisy] It was the Dirty Dancing lift, and remember their wedding was like, on the beach, that was the most fun wedding. And toward the end you’re like, “Come on, come on, run, run toward me!” You did it in front of everybody on the dance floor.
[Jennifer] How embarrassing.
[Aaron] I forgot how weird we are.
Yeah, and for everyone–
Of course, everyone was cheering.
[Nathan] Yeah, I think all the girls were jealous, were like, “Why don’t you do that with me?” That’s so romantic of you!
[Jennifer] What’s funny about this story is that, Aaron and I, we just don’t like dancing, like it’s a hard thing for us. So that’s really funny.
[Aaron] I think we did most of the dancing around Daisy and Nathan. You guys drew the dancing out of us. So when I think about our relationship, I remember, we didn’t initiate it. I don’t remember us going to you guys, I actually remember us feeling pretty, not lonely, but just kind of there, at the church at the time. We just kind of, working with that mission organization.
[Jennifer] Yeah.
[Aaron] And I remember just, we would go on Sundays, and we had some people we knew and we’d say hi, and just did the normal Sunday thing. But I remember one Sunday, we were leaving church and walking out to the parking lot, and a car just pulls up to us. And invites us to lunch. And it’s your mom and dad, Daisy. They’re just like, “Hey you guys wanna go to lunch with us?”
[Jennifer] I remember we went to Red Lobster, and back then Aaron and I could not afford that, and it was like, heaven.
[Aaron] It was such a treat. That you guys just did that. Do you remember, were you a part of that, like did you know us before that moment? And you know, your parents driving up and inviting us, what was happening in that kind of season?
[Nathan] I don’t know, I think, we were kind of the same way. Well, Daisy had gone to that church for a long time, but I think, um, we didn’t have any friends that were couples. And I think that Daisy’s parents were really like, “Hey there’s this couple that we’re gonna invite to lunch.” And we’re pretty shy and we don’t do that kind of stuff, so it was almost like a, like they set us up
Like you’re matchmaking us.
on a date or something.
[Aaron] It was a blind double date, I love that.
[Jennifer] It worked.
[Nathan] Yeah, and I just remember from that moment on, we hung out every day that we could.
[Daisy] Yeah, like every day. I feel like we hung out every single day.
[Jennifer] I remember, we went to lunch that day, and then we went back to your parents’ house, and we stayed there until like midnight, I think.
[Daisy] Yeah, I remember that.
[Jennifer] It was an all day thing.
[Aaron] Didn’t we go swimming? We swam a lot.
A lot.
[Daisy] Yeah, you always wanted them to turn on the jacuzzi.
What I love about that. Yeah, the hot tub, yeah.
[Nathan] That was Daisy’s original answer, when it was like, “What did we do a lot?” Daisy was gonna be like, “The hot tub, “I think we were in the hot tub.”
[Daisy] Aaron was always like, “So, jacuzzi anybody?” And I’m like, “Uh, sure.”
[Aaron] It was, it was really great. And I think, so there’s a couple things that were happening, cause Jennifer and I, and you guys didn’t realize this, your parents didn’t even know, you know, Jennifer and I were going through spiritual and just emotional turmoil in our marriage. But I think a couple things happened, we, I want to use the word used, we used our relationship with you guys to help us cope with where we were at. Which is, I think, a thing that we’re called to do, we’re supposed to lean on each other in the body of Christ, and rely on those relationships for strength. You know, when the Bible tells us to bear one another’s burdens, whether you guys knew it or not, you guys were bearing burdens with us, that we would come and just, those many nights, many, many nights, you’re right cause we spent, probably couple, three, four, five days a week with you guys sometimes.
[Jennifer] Thank you for being so willing–
[Aaron] Yeah, thank you for being there with us.
To build that friendship.
[Nathan] It was fun.
[Daisy] Oh, we were having so much fun.
[Aaron] Yeah, and just having fun with you guys, and chatting with you guys, and I remember we had lots of spiritual conversations, but, like you said, even the mundane things were, it was safety for us. And it kept us from spiraling into oblivion in our marriage, alone, because we had people with us. It made the dark times, the hard times for us bearable. And again, you guys didn’t even really know, that was our fault for not really sharing with you guys where we were at. But what I love is that, you were saying that you guys didn’t have those close relationships either, and how the Lord orchestrates like, “Hey, here’s two of my, two couples, four of my children, “that I’m gonna bring together and use them “in each others’ lives,” whether we know it or not. You know, just because we’re walking as Christians with each other. Um, so, why is friendship in marriage so important? Like, I’m bringing all this stuff up but I’m trying, I want to draw this out for the people listening. Okay, so why are friendships in marriage so important, first, and secondly, why was it so important to you guys?
[Nathan] I think that I value, our friendship more now that I don’t get to see you guys all that often. Because, I think the older you get the more you realize how rare it is, that you have friendships with other couples that, both of them have a heart after God and a heart for you. And it’s encouraging to know that, those relationships can exist, and that we can perhaps have other couple friends like that. I mean, we only have like two or three couple friends like that, that are all throughout the United States. But it’s kind of nice to know, these are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and God has them elsewhere right now, but we’re all on Mission. And even though it feels like we’re apart, we’re on Mission together for the same thing, for the same Kingdom. And even though we don’t get to see them a lot now, we’ll get to see them later, when the mission is complete. And I think that when things get rough, especially in terms of friendships with other couples, we always have that reminder of like, we have another, there are other friendships out there that we will get to see again, and they go through these same struggles as we are on Mission for the Kingdom of God, you know? God just has us different places on Mission, and it’s nice to know that other people, there are others out there that are like you, that are on it. It’s just encouraging, even, even without getting encouragement from people talking to you, just to know that you’re out there doing it is, I don’t know, it just gives you hope and encouragement.
[Aaron] So having that, just the experience that we had over those, you know, year and a half, two years, of building our friendship, what you’re saying is, has given you, a standard to look forward to, in relationship with other believers, and an excitement for that. Do you feel like that’s, so that standard, that way of walking with other Christian couples, other believers, has inspired you and Daisy to be those kinds of friends to others? Whether or not they can fulfill the other side of it? Like do you feel like you guys, you’re like, “Oh this is what it looks like, “this is how we’re gonna attempt to walk “with other Christians?”
[Nathan] Yeah, definitely. I think that having a blueprint for what a godly friendship in marriage looks like is certainly helpful when you are creating new friendships with other Christians. I think it’s helpful to have a blueprint of what that looks like.
[Jennifer] That’s really good. And can you explain a little bit about your and Daisy’s friendship in marriage? Because I feel like, we’ve been talking about friendship as a couple with other couples, but why is friendship within marriage so important? And how do you guys cultivate that?
[Nathan] It’s funny, we’ve had to think about that a lot lately as we, as we lead a youth group and we’re talking to kids who are wondering about future relationship and relationships that they’re in, and as we model a godly relationship for them. I think most of our strong bond comes from being in ministry together and trying to inspire these kids. And a lot of the kids mention, often, at school, like for the kids that are really chasing after God, they mention the loneliness. How lonely it is. And we just kind of, as we counsel them, have come to realize, and Daisy’s actually the one who counseled them on this, who was like, “That’s why it’s so important who you marry. “That you marry a man of God or a woman of God, “because often the person you’re with, “is hidden, possibly the only one there with you, “walking after Christ.” And as she was telling me that, I was reading how Jesus sent out the disciples, and he sent them out two-by-two. And it was, in a duo, was the word. And often, I feel like, in marriage, we are the two-by-two. We are the ones
Huh. I like that.
standing together. We are the ones that encourage each other. We are the ones who pick each other up. When I’m down, she’s the one who pulls out, and she doesn’t just encourage me regularly, she pulls out the Bible, and she’s like, “Well, you remember Joseph, when he was in prison…” You know what I mean, and just starts preaching at you. And it’s not just regular encouragement, it’s the word from God, coming from my wife. And like, you can’t, it’s hard to even survive without that. It is so essential, I think, cause I just look at it like that. We’re going out two-by-two, and she is the person God has put me with, for our ministry to go out into the world. She’s my encouragement, but she encourages me through the Word. And I just think it’s vital.
[Aaron] I love that. And the two-by-two, the friendship aspect of knowing, like, you can’t be friend with the world and friend with God, you can’t be, it’s hard to have an unequally yoked relationship where one’s a believer, one’s not a believer. Which is why the encouragement should always be, to singles, like, “No, no, you chase after, “you marry a believer. “Someone who loves God.” And uh, sorry, I love that, and Daisy it’s really awesome that you, you help Nathan like that, where you preach the word of God to him. Cause like, what better friend than someone that’s gonna say, “No, actually, this is what the Bible says, “remember it. “Don’t forget, Nathan.”
Right.
[Aaron] And vice versa.
[Daisy] Well, I think, I think we do that. It’s cool though, I think that we do that for each other. Cause it’s like, I don’t know. I think Nathan can tend to be more melancholy than I am, but like, I feel like there’s always a balance. When I’m in that place where I’m like, “Oh, I don’t know.” And it’s like, Nathan does that for me, and it’s just cool cause it’s like, I don’t know, it’s like I’ve got his back and I know that he’s got my back, and I think that that’s really important, that I know that he’s also listening to God and being moved by the Spirit. Like I can trust, I can trust him in that way.
[Nathan] Yeah, I think it’s important, like what we always do, there’s no encouragement. People can tell me like, worldly encouragement, and it can make me feel good for a second. But I think with a spouse and someone walking through life with you that knows you well, we’re just giving each other like, spiritual smacks in the face, almost. Where it’s like, “You stop, you get up! “It says he stand on the Word “of the Lord and God has said this “and that’s what we will trust in! “You stop hanging your head, you look up!” You know what I mean? “Where does your help come from?” And you just kind of like, you know what I mean?
[Daisy] I don’t say it like that!
[Nathan] But it’s like.
[Aaron] That’s how Nathan hears it, though, Daisy.
Yeah, yeah.
[Nathan] It’s just kind of like this inspiring, you know, don’t fall into that, that’s lies. This is the truth. And that’s what we stand on.
[Daisy] Yeah, and well, the person that you marry, I think this is why, this is what we’re always really trying to impart to the kids is like, the person that you’re dating and the person that you marry, they have the strongest voice in your life. They’ll end up replacing your friends, your parents, not like in your relationships, but as far as having the strongest voice in your life. So it is important to not just you know, be attracted to somebody, cause I think, you know, that’s easier.
[Aaron] It is important, but not as important, yeah.
[Daisy] It’s not, you know? You have to, you know, you have to have other things. And I think being friends with the person that you’re with and someone that you can trust, when you marry them, they’ll have the strongest voice in your life. And so do you want someone that’s also following Christ, to have the strongest voice in your life? And hopefully the answer is yes for them.
[Jennifer] It is for us!
[Aaron] That’s such a good, it’s such a good encouragement. So taking, not just who you marry, right? But most people are listening, are hopefully already married. We have some singles that listen. But, the other side of this is those voices, right? Going back to friendships outside of the marriage, those people have voices too. There’s a scripture that says, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” And the principle of that is like, who you spend the most time with is going to have the loudest voice in your life. So like, your spouse is the loudest voice, right? And then, you know, the biggest influence. And then your relationships that you spend the most time with outside of that. And that’s kind of what I want to encourage everyone that’s listening, the importance of aligning your lives, your relationships, with other believers who are walking the same direction, are chasing the same things, who believe the same words that you believe, you know, in the Word of God, in the Bible, and aren’t trying to, “Oh, don’t worry about that. “Oh, that’s not a big deal. “Oh, you wanna go do something else?’ Not trying to take you somewhere else, but are trying to keep you there. And I think that principle that you have in marriage should just go straight out, too, and the Bible teaches that. To not be unequally yoked, not just in marriage, but in our relationships.
[Daisy] Yeah, oh yeah.
[Aaron] It says, “What fellowship does light “have with darkness?” Doesn’t mean we can’t have friends or relationships with unbelievers. But we can’t have fellowship with them. And what you were talking about in the beginning of, you know, we had fellowship with you guys. The ability to just sit and be still with you guys, and laugh, and have jokes, and have fun, and eat meals, and talk about hard things and deep things with you guys, was fellowship. And we’ve, like you’ve said, that template, we’ve taken that template forever. Like all of our relationships, we look at it, and we, we say, “Okay, we’re gonna walk with these people “the way we’ve walked with you guys.” But actually more so because we weren’t as open with you guys as we should have been. We were learning back then. And I believe we actually would’ve had a, probably, even a deeper relationship, if we had been more honest back then, but we didn’t know how to be. We hadn’t been taught that. We hadn’t experienced what that looked like until later on in our story. Which again, happened around friends, of the same nature. So you know, it happened in those same environments that we had with you guys. But I want to ask you guys, speaking of the big picture, speaking of what God’s doing in our lives, through our lives, in this world, for His Kingdom, we talked about how we didn’t know what God might have been doing. But looking back, we look at the relationship we have with you guys and God leading us into that relationship, and the impact that you guys have had, not only on our story, but on the ministry that God’s used us in, has been immense. You know, we talk about how we probably wouldn’t be here today, together, if it wasn’t for you guys.
[Jennifer] Yeah, I feel like hanging out with you guys gave us a reprieve from the turmoil that we were experiencing intimately in our relationship. So it was like this hopefulness of, well, we still get to hang out with our friends and we still get to do these fun things together, so it gave us this breath of fresh air and hopefulness for the future.
[Aaron] Yeah, and I don’t know if you guys realize that. Have you guys realized that kind of impact? I know it wasn’t intentional, necessarily, but looking back, do you see like, wow, God used us in the Smiths’ life?
[Nathan] No.
[Daisy] No.
[Aaron] Awesome, okay.
[Nathan] I mean, honestly, when I look back, when I know now what I know about the struggles you were going through, mostly I just feel bad. Like I wasn’t a good friend for not noticing and that I missed an opportunity.
[Daisy] Yeah.
[Nathan] You just feel kinda, I don’t know, maybe foolish, like I wasn’t listening to God. Or like, “Man, God, like, “they were right there going through this stuff “and I didn’t even know, “like how could I not have known?” But honestly, that has made me try to be more aware. You know? I’m like,
Awesome.
[Nathan] “Man, are these people going through stuff I don’t know?” Cause I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna miss that again, you know?
[Aaron] Yeah.
[Nathan] I’m glad the story ended up well, where God was able to move and use it. But like, what if, I think like, what if God placed us there to save something, and what if it broke down later? And we missed our opportunity to be the hands of God?
[Jennifer] I appreciate you sharing that.
[Nathan] But it makes me, it’s definitely something that I think we’ve added to our blueprint of what a Godly relationship looks like. Is like, watching out for them. Watching out for your friends. Watching for signs that they might not wanna talk about or face but I mean, I think that’s what Christians do. We’re supposed to hold each other accountable, encourage each other, and sometimes, everyone hides stuff and doesn’t wanna be honest and talk about issues, but that’s what God’s called us to do.
[Aaron] You have to be light in each others’ lives.
[Nathan] Yeah. And so I think we’ve just kinda added that to the blueprint of what we wanna do for future friends.
[Jennifer] I love that you shared that. And I just wanna point out a couple things. The first being that, even though you didn’t know back then, you guys still were walking faithfully and were obedient to what you knew, which is how to be a righteous person, and how to encourage one another. And that’s what you guys did for us. So I think the encouragement here, for those listening is, even if we don’t know the details of what other people are going through, and we still walk in obedience, we still have an impact. And I think that’s really awesome.
[Aaron] And I was also, I was thinking, of the Scripture, when Paul’s talking about, “One waters, one plants, “but it’s the Lord who brings the increase,” and I just want to encourage you guys that, and those listening that, even though you didn’t know, it’s possible that, well we’re all in a place where we didn’t know certain things, but our maturity levels as Christians, you guys, weren’t married yet until later.
[Daisy] Right.
[Aaron] And so, being faithful where God has you, with the knowledge that you do have, yeah you probably back then, could have asked us some questions, right? But you didn’t know to, right? But that doesn’t mean you weren’t faithful. It doesn’t mean you didn’t do what you were called to do. You might have been naturally walking in that relationship with us, but it was out of a love for Christ in how you guys just normally live, and how you interacted with us. And I just want to encourage you that, you guys watered us. Whether you knew it or not, you may not have been the one planting, and I think you partly were planting in us, too, but the Lord’s the one that brought the increase in our story. That’s none of our responsibilities to bring the increase. God wants us to be faithful with either the planting or the watering or the both. And so, those listening, recognizing that we are to be faithful in our walks with Christ, and the knowledge that we have of Him, and to walk with other believers the way the Bible tells us to. Regardless if we have all the answers, regardless of if we know how the story’s gonna turn out, whether we have all the puzzle pieces in the right spot, He just wants us to be faithful in those relationships the way He wants us to be. And what happens is God brings the increase. You know. And the encouragement, also, to people who are trying to witness and encourage people that aren’t followers of Christ yet. Who don’t, who aren’t regenerated in the Spirit, who haven’t accepted the Gospel, to be faithful in who we are as Christians, in the message that we’ve been given, and knowing that God’s gonna do with that seed and the watering what He wants to do with it. And trusting that, and just continually being faithful in that, so. I just want to encourage you guys that, whether you knew it or not, you were watering and planting in us, seeds of faithfulness, of friendship, of truth, encouragement, and all of those things, God has used in our life. And so, I love that God has also used our relationship to show you how you guys can more intentional in your future relationships, and I’m sure you have been.
[Daisy and Nathan] Yeah.
[Aaron] Which is something God wants us to be, and so I think that’s just wonderful.
[Jennifer] Yeah, that was gonna be my other point. When you were talking about how it’s made you more vigilant to ask those bigger questions, and to have eyes to really see and discern what people are going through, and I think that also is an encouragement and testament for those listening that we can be, you know, people who pursue intimate relationships with other believers in this way and be willing to ask the bigger, harder questions, for their sake and for ours, so that we can exhort one another.
[Daisy and Nathan] Mmhmm.
[Nathan] Yeah.
[Aaron] So I want to just ask you guys, we’re talking about friendship and relationship and whether or not you knew God was using you doesn’t really matter, because God was. And when we’re faithful to God and just walk with Him, and–
[Daisy] Say yes to Him.
[Aaron] Say yes to Him, and we pursue the things He loves and wants, He uses it. And He is faithful in that way. But in your own personal lives, you guys have been given a tool belt as well, and you have gifts and talents and resources and relationships and things that God’s given to you and wants you to invest for His purposes. How do you guys encourage each other to use the gifts that you have? In your marriage and to those outside your marriage?
[Nathan] Just in the positions that we’re in, I think a lot of the things that we have in common, that God uses most in us, is our musical abilities. And we love worship. And our love for youth and their struggle that they go through. And I think that, honestly, I think that I love Daisy the most when I’m watching her worship, or watching her counsel a young girl. I don’t want to sound weird, but it’s like, really attractive to see her using her gifts for God’s glory. And God’s given me similar gifts.
[Aaron] That’s awesome.
[Nathan] That’s how God kind of pairs us, I think. You know, like, we have passions for the same thing, and I think I love her most when I’m watching her use it or when she’d come home and she’s like, “Oh, this girl’s talking to me about this, “and I said this,” And when I hear her answers, you’re just like, “Oh man, it is so, man God just used you, “and what wisdom!” And you have to encourage each other in that, too, because usually after I say something or she says something or counsels someone, we come back and we’re like, “This is what I said! “Was that okay?” You know, and it’s nice to have someone be like, “Yes, no, that was spot-on, that was so good what you said. “I mean, that’s what I’m gonna say, “if I’m ever asked that question.” You know, and in a ministry, sometimes you feel the weight of every word that you say. This person needs hope in this moment, and they’ve come to me and I’m the person who has to give it to them. I am God in their, I am the person God can use right now, oh God, please, like this is important. So it’s really nice to have someone to check with. Or be like, “Man, did I get that right?” And kind of, check your wisdom. And it’s so nice to have someone who’s there with you in the trenches being like, “Oh man, no, that was God, that was awesome.”
[Daisy] I feel the same way, I just feel like it’s, I don’t know, you have so much wisdom. I’m like, “This kid wants to talk to me, “I need you to be there, so you can say smart things!” Not like, not that I’m not smart, I don’t know, I just feel like sometimes I get tongue-tied, and I’m just like, “Okay, Nathan, you gotta do this for us, “represent us both.” I don’t know.
[Aaron] You guys are answering exactly what I was thinking.
[Nathan] But that’s also like, why it’s important that I encourage her. Because often, she’ll say things that I wouldn’t have thought of, like sometimes the right intelligent answer isn’t what a person needs to hear. They need to hear a loving answer. Sometimes they just need an open ear. And I see so many times when people say, “Oh I didn’t have the right answer,” and then I’ll just like, “Maybe God just wanted you to listen in that moment.” And so, I think what Daisy says is awesome. And so I like, encourage her, be like, “No, you can do it, you are capable. “When you say stuff, I’m like, ‘Man, that was awesome! “‘How’d she come up with that?'” I just think it’s nice to be reminded by the person you care about the most, that you know, God is using you and that you’re on track.
[Jennifer] I think that’s so powerful. And to tie it back into what you guys were talking about earlier, about voices, and you know, the impact that we have in each other’s lives, like you guys are ministering to young kids, and as a couple, your voice is so powerful and so impactful, and when you go back to, you know, conversations of what you guys have been through, or experienced with these children, you’re refining each other, and you’re building one another up, you’re encouraging one another, you’re gleaning from each other the wisdom that you’re each sharing, and you’re cultivating that voice that you’re sharing with the world. And I love that, and the impact is unfathomable, like you’ll never know the extent, the impact you’re actually having in each individual life that you guys are ministering to. And I think that’s true for every marriage after God. And that encourages me.
[Aaron] Which is why we need to be excited about what God’s doing in us, faithful about it, and just like, you know, you brought up the Old Testament prophets. The Bible tells us that, in Hebrews, none of them got to see what they were told they were gonna see. They were looking forward to what we get now. And so this idea that we might not ever see how God is fully moving, because this picture He’s building is huge. But as long as we’re excited about it, we’re encouraging each other, we’re moving forward, we’re faithful in the things He’s given us, and investing for Him. God’s gonna do what his purposes are in this world, and we get to be used sometimes, which is awesome. And so, praise God for what He’s doing in you guys, and through you guys, and we praise God all the time for, just our relationship with you, and what it means to us. And so our prayer is that, the couples listening will be able to experience close biblical friendships and how that can impact the world for God’s Kingdom, how it can impact their marriages.
[Jennifer] I would like to encourage them listening, everyone, all of us listening, to remember that we don’t have to sit around and wait for God to give us friendships, but that we have an obligation to be the friends that He has called us to be in other people’s lives, and we can start doing that today.
[Aaron] Or we can wait for our parents to set us up
Set us up.
On a double friendship date. Well let us take from your parents’ advice and let’s do this for our kids. Set them up on double friendship dates.
[Jennifer] You know, at the end of every episode throughout this series, we’ve asked each couple to share this last question, and so we’re gonna ask you guys as well, it’s, in your own words, what is a marriage after God?
[Nathan] I think a marriage after God, I think starts with each individual seeking after God with all their heart. And then, then when you come together, and to each of you individually, God comes first, then when you come together in marriage, everything you do is for His glory, and is about Him and about furthering His Kingdom. And the evidence is shown in your children, in the way you spend your time with them, and the things you say to them. And the way you encourage them, and the way you build them up, and the way you handle their mistakes. It’s evidenced by, how you encourage one another, where your encouragement comes from, are you just encouraging someone like, “No, you’re the best!” Or are you like, giving them biblical encouragement? Which is where the real strength is. And like, and it’s evidenced by sharing each other, like “Oh this is what I read in the Scripture today.” Like you can amass so much more biblical knowledge if you have two people reading the Bible and then sharing with each other what God showed.
[Aaron] That’s awesome.
[Nathan] Or even like, reading the same thing and having different, “This is what God showed me,” “This is what God showed me,” and like, God kind of like, uses us to sharpen each other in every aspect in our lives. In parenting, in work, in ministry, in health and fitness.
[Aaron] It’s true.
[Daisy] Well yeah, I think just having Jesus at the center of your marriage kind of changes your priorities, you know. And I don’t know, it’s like, it kind of takes the, hopefully it’s not like it’s perfect from the get-go, but I think it really helps with like, the selfishness you can find in marriages, or even just friendships. When you’re constantly reminding yourself that Jesus is at the center, I think it really helps keeps your priorities straight, you know.
[Aaron] That’s so good. The point is like, hey, remember what we’re doing? We’re getting off track, what’s going on? Love that. So guys, we love you guys, we miss you guys a lot, so you guys need to come to Bend, Oregon and visit us soon.
[Daisy] Oh, we miss you, too.
[Nathan] We love you guys, too, we miss you.
[Aaron] So, can you guys let everyone know where to find you guys, your music.
[Nathan] Yeah, we are the Quiet Science. We are on Instagram. We’re still on Facebook. We are on, you can listen to us on Spotify, we’re on iTunes, we’re everywhere. The Quiet Science.
[Aaron] The Quiet Science.
[Daisy] He always says it really fast.
[Aaron] And we definitely want to encourage everyone to go check em out, their music is awesome. They’ve been doing it for years and they do it as a couple.
[Daisy] Our secret band.
[Aaron] Yeah, we want to thank everyone for listening to today’s episode. We pray that it’s been an encouragement to you in your marriage, to seek out godly friendships, and to realize that God wants to use your story, He wants to use the relationships in your life to impact this world for His goodness, for His purposes, for His Kingdom. And so we’re just gonna end in prayer.
[Jennifer] Dear Lord, thank you for your creativity in how you made each and every one of us. Lord, you put so much thought and care into how you made us. Thank you for the resources you have given to our marriage, and the unique talents and gifts that you have blessed us with. We pray that as Christian husbands and wives, we would not only desire to use all the tools we have, but also pursue what you want us to do with them. We pray you would show us how you would like us to invest what we have so that we can grow your Kingdom in this world. Help us to encourage each other, and affirm each other in how we use the gifts, talents, experiences, testimony, and resources that you’ve given to us. We pray that your name would be magnified as we remain obedient to all that you have called us to do. We pray that our marriages would represent and reflect your divine love story. May we be ambassadors of your love to this hurting world. Inspire us to be creative in the ways that we share about you, and share about the faith that we have in you. Thank you for the gift of life and thank you for salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
[Aaron and Nathan] Amen.
[Daisy] Amen.
[Aaron] So again, thank you for joining us on this podcast episode. This is part eight of the Marriage After God series. We’re halfway, we have eight more episodes and eight more interviews. You’re not gonna wanna miss em, so we look forward to having you next week. Did you enjoy today’s show? If you did, it would mean the world to us if you could leave us a review on iTunes. Also, if you’re interested, you can find many more encouraging stories and resources at MarriageAfterGod.com. And let us help you cultivate an extraordinary marriage.
