Best of 2012, Part 1: Episode 256

Published: Dec. 27, 2012, 10 a.m.

This week and next we have compiled some of our favorite podcast segments from 2012. Happy New Year! Shame on You!-- 00:00 A listener question prompted this week's roundtable. She struggles with shame around her singleness, brought on not only by the lies she tells herself, but by the comments she receives from her friends and family. It got our panel to thinking about how a struggle with the "shame" of singleness has affected us. Join us for a heartfelt (and hard!) discussion about finding joy in a sometimes dark place. Marriage Is Messy-- 31:11 Mark and Grace Driscoll's marriage should be a bad statistic, but by the grace of God, it's not. They're still together and doing better than ever as they take life and love one day at a time. They're also not afraid to share their journey in hopes of helping other couples avoid the mistakes they made, and their new book Real Marriage reflects much of their story. We talk about some of it here as Mark and Grace unpack themes like friendship, men in marriage, respect, the effects of abuse and other important lessons. Lonely People-- 1:03:03 Most of us realize that with singleness comes loneliness. But did we ever expect it to be this hard? Our listener asks for help in navigating her feelings on this issue, and I draw from my own experience and the wisdom of others (including Jesus!) to help her out. Music this week comes from Eddie Kirkland.