Episode 169

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Published on:

12th Aug 2025

What's Behind Door #1 and Why It Matters

Communication may be the key that unlocks the door in a relationship, but it's what's behind the door that unites or divides. Too often we've been taught to focus on crafting a beautiful door rather than examining what's on the other side.

All relationships rest on expectations. The more aligned the expectations, the greater the unity. The more misaligned the expectations, the greater the conflict. While this seems like a "well, duh," statement, the reality is we often never identify or express our expectations.

In today's episode, we look at principles including:

1. God has been expressing expectations from the Beginning.

2. Identifying and expressing expectations requires courageous honesty and vulnerability.

3. Identifying and expressing expectations reveals priorities, values, and beliefs about what we owe others and what they owe us.

4. Eliminating all expectations is ridiculous and shouldn’t be a goal. Aligning expectations with what is right, just, and reasonable is our goal. Any other approach isn't sustainable for the long term.

Invite others as I begin this "Relationally Smart" mini-series.

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#spirituallystrong

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#relationships

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#smartrelationships

#parenting

#raisinggodlykids

#raisingadults

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#truth

#biblestudy

#christianfaith

#christianwomen

#christianity

#expectations

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About the Podcast

Living Wide and Deep
Growing a life of spiritual strength, emotional health, and relational wisdom
You want to be the best possible person, parent, or spouse. Yet sometimes you may not know how. You may feel alone. I understand.

The "Living Wide and Deep" podcast helps you grow spiritually strong, emotionally healthy, and relationally wise. Your good intentions and abilities will thrive through learning and applying principles from research, real-life experience, and the Bible.

You don't have to choose between deep and narrow or wide and shallow. You can live wide and deep! Stephanie brings depth and winsomeness, authority and vulnerability. A wife, mom, mother-in-law, and Nana, Stephanie is a speaker and writer who loves helping others flourish.
Learn more at her website, https://www.stephaniepresents.com/

About your host

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Stephanie Smith

Stephanie knows from experience good intentions aren't enough to be spiritually strong, emotionally healthy, and relationally smart--or to raise kids who are. She shares powerful Scriptural principles and science-backed insights into human behavior to equip people to grow good intentions into godly impact.

Stephanie's authenticity creates immediate connection with audiences both virtual and on the stage, while gracious authority provides clarity and confidence for listeners. Her leadership experience includes being a certified Primal Question coach, Christian school founding board member and teacher, homeschool cooperative founder, and Teen Theater Director.

Stephanie is a wife, mother of five grown sons, mother-in-law of four, and Nana to a growing tribe of awesome grandkids. She is committed to Psalm 17:17-18, proclaiming God's power to generations through wisdom forged in real life.