Praises in the Pod

What happens when hidden sin affects your marriage and you don't even know it? Alexis sits down with a married couple, Sydney and Chandler, who share how a Catholic upbringing, a teenage divorce, and getting kicked out of high school all led them to God in different ways. Chandler talks about hitting his knees in repentance, praying for a wife and a family, and watching God answer through a phone call he never expected. Together they walk through marriage, moving in obedience, and years of unexplained infertility, including the day Chandler confessed what he had been hiding and the year of restoration that followed. They share the birth of their son Judah Samuel, a name that means praise and "God has heard me," and talk about conviction versus condemnation, what a husband's covering looks like, and taking every thought captive using 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. If you are struggling with secrets, infertility, or spiritual warfare in your marriage, this testimony will encourage you.

How do you actually forgive someone who hurt you, especially when you still feel the same afterward? Recorded live at Women in Truth: Abide 2026 in Macon, Georgia, this episode starts with Alexis sharing how the conversation went somewhere she never planned and why she is thankful it did. Author and ministry founder Kia Stephens opens up about growing up in a church home with her parents' divorce at age three, chasing validation and living a double life, and a moment in a college dorm room that unlocked years of buried pain over her father's absence. She walks through writing forgiveness letters to her father, herself, God, and her mom, what forgiveness is and is not, and the practical and supernatural parts of releasing someone you feel has wronged you. Alexis also shares her own struggle with the savior complex and finding the root of what we keep covering up. If you are carrying unforgiveness, father wounds, or anger at God, this conversation is for you.

How do you build a Bible reading habit that actually lasts? Alexis sits down with Eva Kubasiak, who grew up in a pastor's home and gave her life to Christ at nine, but spent years wrestling with depression after she decided she would not follow God unless she could feel Him. Eva shares how she realized she had made her feelings an idol, what changed when she finally read the whole Bible for the first time, and how reading through it in 90 days turned into a consistent habit she now does multiple times a year. They talk about the difference between reading and studying the Bible, what to do when you fall behind on your reading plan, and why God's first questions to Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" and "Who told you that?", are an invitation back instead of condemnation. Alexis also opens up about giving up social media after her husband told her she never listened, and they get honest about how phones compete with time in God's Word. This conversation is a reminder that Bible reading is about meeting with God, not checking a box.

Alexis and Abby are back in the studio for a real conversation about prayer, what it actually looks like, and why it is so easy to let it become an afterthought instead of the foundation of your walk with God. They talk through what it means to have a secret place, a specific spot where you go to be fully honest and surrendered before God, and why kneeling in prayer can be a posture worth trying even if it feels uncomfortable at first. They get into confession, journaling, praying out loud with strangers, and what it looks like to shift from praying only for yourself to praying for your family, your community, and the people around you. Rooted in Matthew 6:6, this episode is a reminder that the secret place is where real intimacy with God is built, long before it ever shows up in public.

Alexis catches up with an old friend Peyton Horton for a conversation about the winding road that brought her back to Jesus. Peyton opens up about a near fatal car accident in college, becoming a single mom in Atlanta, and the moment she felt God clearly tell her to move back to Warner Robins in the middle of an engagement that was not built the way it should have been. She talks honestly about the pruning process that followed, learning to read scripture for herself instead of just hearing about God secondhand, and the season where she finally started shedding things she used to hold onto. Peyton also shares a wild, Spirit led moment of praying for a total stranger at the gym, and what it taught her about being available to God in the smallest moments. This episode is a reminder that you never know who is watching your story, and that hope is always still on the table no matter how messy the middle looks.

What does God actually call you? This episode is Alexis's message from Born Two Praise, the live event celebrating two years of Praises in the Pod. She shares a teaching on identity in Christ and how easily we accept the names the enemy gives us over the names God has already spoken. Alexis walks through her own story of being called fat, hard to deal with, and unqualified, and how a conversation with her mentor Eva led her to actually sit down and ask God what He calls her instead. She breaks down what Scripture says about who you are in Christ, why knowing God has to come before knowing your identity, and how your specific, God given identity can anchor you through any season. Recorded live in front of the women who gathered to celebrate this milestone with PITP.

Alexis sits down with Catherine, a salon owner whose life has taken more unexpected turns than most. Catherine opens up about childhood sexual abuse, running from a painful past into an early marriage that ended in divorce, and a wild season that took her from nursing school to cosmetology to becoming the first female firefighter in her county. She shares how she met her husband, the fear she carried into that relationship, and how the two of them ended up healing together instead of one waiting on the other. Catherine gets honest about celebrate recovery, working through the 12 steps multiple times, and learning how to parent her daughter Lacey without passing down her own trauma. This conversation is raw, hopeful, and full of reminders that God can use every unexpected turn in your story, even the ones that do not make sense until later.

Alexis sits down with Cherrie Burdeshaw, founder of The Potter's House and author of Lord, Change Him or Kill Him, for a deep dive into fasting as a spiritual discipline. Cherrie breaks down what actually happens in your body day by day during a fast, from glycogen depletion to ketosis, and explains why Jesus fasted and why we should too. They talk through the different types of fasts, how long you can safely fast, and the long list of physical and spiritual benefits that come with it. This episode is a practical, no fluff guide for anyone who has wanted to try fasting but did not know where to start, paired with real testimony of what fasting has done in both of their lives. If you have ever said I could never go a day without food, this conversation might change your mind.

Diana wrote in her journal on April 8th, 2003 that God had given her another child and it would not come from her belly. Nine years later, her plane ticket to Uganda to bring home her daughter Esther was dated April 8th, 2012. In this episode Diana and her daughter Laney sit down to share the full story of a faith legacy passed down through generations, a hair loss journey that became a ministry, a business God grew from a ten by ten shop to three states, and a nonprofit called Warrior Wigs that gives free wigs to women and children with cancer and alopecia. This one is for every woman who has been holding onto a promise and wondering if God forgot. He did not forget. He was just writing a better story.

There are seasons where you do not want to open your Bible, you do not want to pray, and the fire that used to burn so bright is barely embers. Alexis and Abby are talking about it because somebody needs to. In this episode they get honest about what it looks like to stay committed to God when your feelings are not following, why your emotions cannot be the foundation of your faith, and the difference between feeling distant from God and actually being distant. They also talk about what God produced in them through the hardest seasons of their lives and why the crushing is never wasted. If you are in a dry season right now and wondering if something is wrong with you, this one is for you.

It's the two year anniversary of Praises in the Pod, and Alexis is celebrating the only way she knows how, bringing her mom back on the mic for real talk about walking closely with God. They dig into why the joy of the Lord is your strength, how comparison can be a sneaky form of lust, and the difference between the enemy attacking you and just plain old flesh. Alexis opens up about taking every thought captive, learning from her mentor Eva, and why she is finally understanding what delayed obedience really costs. This one is honest, a little messy, and full of the kind of conversation you would want with your own mom about growing in Christ. Grab your coffee and celebrate two years of chasing Jesus with us.

Lindsay Balliew grew up watching her father battle alcohol, protecting her siblings, and painting the picture of a happy family at church on Sundays while everything at home fell apart. She made great grades, became a nurse, moved to Savannah, and found herself 22, single, and pregnant by someone she had already walked away from. She walked into a clinic planning to have an abortion. A stranger prayed over her. And everything changed. In this episode Lindsay shares her full testimony including childhood trauma, a miscarriage, and what it looked like to finally stop running and surrender everything to God. You are never too far gone. This one will remind you of that.

Chaley grew up with a sister who had a rare muscle disease and a family that showed her what it looks like to open your home and love people well. Chris grew up a preacher's kid who heard the gospel so many times he almost became numb to it until he wasn't anymore. Together they built a business, stepped out in faith, faced a seizure, a type one diabetes diagnosis, a stroke, financial hits, and a brick and mortar they had no idea how they were going to afford. In this episode they get honest about what entrepreneurship and obedience actually look like when God is the one calling the shots, why success can be one of the most dangerous things for a believer, and what it means to keep believing he will not let you fail even when everything around you says otherwise. This one is for every person who is building something and wondering if God is still in it.

Chloe knew she was going to adopt since elementary school. Jacob just wanted to date her and figured he would sign up for whatever she wanted. One year and a half into their marriage, at 22 years old, they went from zero children to three in a single phone call they were not expecting. In this episode Chloe and Jacob share the full story of how God orchestrated their foster care and adoption journey, including the biological family they chose to love, the trauma they had no idea they were walking into, the finalized adoption and the biological baby that came two months later, and what it actually means to say yes to something when you have no idea what you are signing up for. If you have ever felt called to foster care or adoption and talked yourself out of it, this one is for you.

One hundred episodes and Alexis, Abby, Mallory and Kim chose the one topic most women click away from: biblical submission as a wife. They asked their husbands to score them, and nobody scored above 72. In this episode they get honest about what submission actually means in scripture versus what culture has made it out to be, what it looks like when your husband is not yet walking with the Lord, how treating marriage as transactional keeps you from the freedom God designed for it, and why submission is a command and not a personality trait. This is one of those conversations that is going to convict you, challenge you, and change the way you see your marriage. Happy 100 episodes to every woman who has been here since the beginning.

If you heard Kasey’s episode last week, you already know her story. This week she brought Matt in to share his. At 18 years old Matt prayed for empathy and two weeks later hit a man with his car who did not survive. What followed was a full year of depression he hid from almost everyone, a transfer, and a divine appointment that led him straight to Kasey. In this episode they share how two people going through separate rock bottoms ended up finding each other and building a life, a marriage, and a baseball program centered on character and faith. If you missed kasey’s episode, go back and start there first.

Kasey Hopkins has been saved for 30 years, has been at the same church her whole life, and will be the first to tell you she still has junk to deal with. In this episode she gets honest about tying her worth to achievement from a young age, losing herself completely in a relationship at 16, spiraling into depression and anorexia after it ended, and spending decades justifying people pleasing, anxiety, and control as personality traits instead of calling them what they actually are: sin. She shares what happened when she finally started therapy at 40, how God is literally rewiring her brain through scripture, and why your story matters even if you never hit rock bottom. This one is for every woman who has ever said I don't really have a testimony.

Logan and Micah are back and this time they are holding nothing back. Micah grew up as a pastor's kid and grandson, gave his life to Christ at six, and has wrestled with lukewarm Christianity and the weight of a reputation he had to live up to his entire life. Logan came to faith later, partied through her early years, and had to learn what it meant to actually follow Jesus. In this episode they talk about what dating looked like with two totally different backgrounds, the breakup nobody saw coming, an emergency C-section, a NICU baby, postpartum anxiety, postpartum rage, and what happened to their marriage when they had nothing left to give each other. This one is raw, real, and for every couple that has felt like they were losing each other in the middle of a hard season.

Alexis and Abby are back and this one goes deep. From washing bottle parts at 5am with a grateful heart to wrestling with spiritual pride, they get honest about what it actually looks like to stay rooted in God during the heavy seasons of life. They talk about the difference between getting sober and getting delivered, why an empty house is more dangerous than a messy one, what it means to walk by the Spirit and not feed your flesh, and why so many Christians are full of information about Jesus but have never actually been transformed by him. If you are in a hard season right now and wondering if God is still working, this one is for you.

Anna Grizzle was adopted from Guatemala as a baby, grew up in the church, and thought she knew God until life started falling apart. In this episode she shares her full testimony including a traumatic firework accident on the 4th of July that shattered her eye socket, a pregnancy she was not ready for, and the rock bottom that finally drove her all the way into her faith. She talks about finding real community, changing her path, and how God orchestrated every detail including her husband from a prayer warrior, a Facebook DM, and a church she almost did not walk into. If you have ever felt like your story is too much to share, this one is for you.