Hey friends!

What an exciting episode we have in store for you today! In Part #3 of our Online Dating Mini-Series, we wanted to give you a close look at an online dating success story for one of our best friends, Melanie. Melanie is Bethany's youngest sister, and she also happens to be Kristen's best friend of 14 years. 

Melanie married her husband, Tres, in December of 2017, and they actually met online in the summer of 2016. So since they aren't too far removed from the online dating scene, we thought to would be fun to have them come on the show and tell you their story from start to finish.

They'll be talking about the reasons why they both decided to get online, what their experiences with online dating were like before they met each other, and how they transitioned from dating online to dating in person once they met. It's incredible story filled with great advice and funny tidbits along the way - you're not going to want to miss it!

Check it out today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podbean. And don't forget to go back and listen to Parts #1 and #2 of our Online Dating Mini-Series if you haven't already. 

We'll see you on Friday for another CouchCast episode, featuring the question, "How do I pray for my future husband?"

-K&B

Hello friends!

Happy Wednesday! Today we are continuing with part two of our Online Dating Mini-Series where we are answering all of your questions about online dating!

In today's episode, we are going to be walking you through setting up your profile(s), which is quite possibly the most overwhelming part of this entire process. Not to worry, we give you step-by-step guidance to setup your profile in a way that represents you well and makes it easy for guys to start a conversation with you.

From there, we'll talk about how get into quality conversation with the people you're interested in and how to maintain those conversations. We'll help you figure out how go about setting up your first date, whether that's on the phone or in person. And finally, we'll give you some tips on how to stay safe in the context of dating online, including some personal examples of measures we've taken to be smart and safe when meeting up with someone for the first time. 

This is a great conversation with lots of practical takeaways. So if you're just getting into online dating, or if you've been considering trying it for awhile but have yet to pull the trigger, you're not going to want to miss this episode. You can listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean. And if you didn't get a chance to listen to Part #1 of our Online Dating Mini-Series, be sure to check that episode out as well.

Finally, tune in on Friday for our next CouchCast episode where we're sharing some fun plans and activities for weekends when you don't have a date!

We'll see you then!

-K&B

Hey friends!

We are so excited that today we are kicking off the first episode of our Online Dating Mini-Series! One the next three weeks, we are going to be answering all of your questions about online dating. We'll walk you through the process step-by-step, share our best practices in the realm of online dating, and we'll even share an incredible success story that ended in marriage for one of our best friends! 

To take it a step further, we aren't just going to be talking about online dating based on our past experiences. We are going to walk through this process with you firsthand. Bethany has just recently decided to get back into online dating after taking a short break, so Kristen will be interviewing her about her experience in real time in order to give you the most accurate and up to date information as Bethany walks this road with you.

So in today's episode, we are going to start things off by helping you decide if getting online is a good next step for your dating journey. We realize a lot of people are choosing to date online, but that doesn't mean it works for everyone. Our goal is help you make that decision with as much clarity as possible.

Next, we'll walk you through the different dating sites so you can figure out which one will work best for you. From swiping apps to paid sites, we take a look at the whole spectrum to give you plenty of options.

Finally, we'll answer some basic, practical questions you might be wondering about online dating. Questions like:
- Should I be on more than one site at a time?
- What are some things I should be looking for in someone else's profile?
- What kind of age range should I set in my preferences?
- Is it okay to talk to multiple people at once?

We'll be talking through all of these questions and more, so you're not going to want to miss this episode! Go check it out today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean. Then come back next week where we'll be helping you setup your own profile step-by-step, as well as giving you safety tips and walking you through setting up the first date.

And as always, check back on Friday for CouchCast where we'll be answering the question, "How important are common interests in a relationship?"

See you then!

-K&B

Hey friends!

Season 2 is finally here! And boy are we kicking things off with a bang! 

If yall have been following the show for awhile, you know how much we love romantic comedies (especially Kristen). And you also know how easy it is for some of us (especially Kristen) to have our expectations and ideals of a relationship be based on romantic comedies. 

So as we start off this new season, we wanted to take a closer look at this beloved movie genre and answer the question, "Why can't my life be a romantic comedy?"

To set the tone for the episode, we will both be telling you our top favorite TV/movie couples, as well as what we admire about their relationships. Then we'll go a step further and talk about the good expectations and the bad expectations that can come from wanting your love life to look like a RomCom.

We'll walk you through how to differentiate what's realistic and what's unrealistic. We'll help you learn how to identify good qualities from onscreen relationships without expecting these qualities to be manifested perfectly in your own relationships. And we'll help you determine if you need to take a break from the RomComs for a little bit, because sometimes we all could use a breather, right?

​This episode was an encouragement and a gut-check all at once for the two of us, and we hope it is the same for you. So go listen today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean. And then tune in next week where we'll be kicking off our mini-series on online dating! 

See you then!

-K&B

Hi friends!

Happy Season 1 Finale premiere day!

We can't believe our first season is already coming to an end, but we are very excited for all of the exciting things we have in store for Season 2. But more on that later. 

Trust us when we say that we know exactly how tricky and at times uncomfortable it can be when you go through the holidays as a single person. Between your social media blowing up with engagement announcements and couples' Christmas cards, to your Great Aunt Connie asking you how your love life is going, it can be difficult to fly solo during this time of year.

With that in mind, we wanted to give you some tips and tricks that will hopefully make things a little easier for you if you're walking into the holidays single.

We'll help you get in the right mindset about your singleness, helping you focus on what you do have instead of what you don't have. We'll give you practical advice on how to get through awkward conversations with your family, friends, and coworkers. And we'll walk you through how to create and develop your own holiday plans and traditions, because who ever said a boyfriend/husband was mandatory to make traditions? 

Our goal is for this episode to be a mix of empathetic encouragement and practical takeaways so that you feel affirmed and equipped to have an amazing holiday season, regardless of your relationship status. 

So head on over to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean and check out the episode today! Or queue it up for your long drive to Great Aunt Connie's house...either one works. 

And that wraps up Season 1! We will be taking a break from our full-length episodes over the next couple of months as we enjoy the holidays with our own family and friends, as well as plan for Season 2! But don't worry, we will still be posting a new CouchCast episode every Friday over the break, so stay tuned for those!

Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New year! We will see you in Season 2!

-K&B

P.S. Here is the Trey Kennedy video that inspired today's episode title. You're going to want to check this out. 

Hey friends!

Today's episode features a conversation that will more than likely leave the two of us with a vulnerability hangover. Starting this podcast has been so much fun, but also super challenging at the same time, because it's caused to discuss several topics that go really deep into our views on dating, our views on faith, and our views on ourselves.

As we talk about navigating dating well as Christian women each week, we want yall to know that while we want to help each of you with your own dating experiences, we don't have all the answers. We don't have it all figured out. And sometimes, we need to learn to take our own advice.

That's what this episode is all about.

We decided that for today's episode, we were both going to make a list of our own struggles when it comes to dating, singleness and relationships and talk through why we struggle with these things. To summarize, here is what we each wanted to address:

Kristen
- I think I need to look a certain way in order for guys to be interested in me.
- I project feelings/hurt/fear from past relationships onto the new guy I'm interested in.
- I have too much of a RomCom mentality.
- I want so badly for a relationship to work out that I attempt to "make things happen" and end up pursing the guy instead of him pursuing me.
- I feel jealous towards my friends who are dating, engaged or married. 

Bethany
- I lead with skepticism anytime I meet someone new instead of assuming the best of people.
- I don't let myself get super excited or invested too quickly when I first start dating someone, because I don't want to get hurt or heartbroken if doesn't work out. 
- I expect a guy to lead in a very stereotypical way that leads to him having to try to read my mind.
- I am tempted to put my life on hold while I wait to be in a relationship.
- I think I'm single because there must be something wrong with me and that's why no one wants to be with me.
- I am a terrible flirt (haha). 

As we pour our hearts out to you and talk about these struggles and insecurities, we hope to accomplish two goals:

1. Let you know that you are not alone if you struggle with some of the same things we do. 
2. Show you that applying the content of this podcast is easier said than done. We need these reminders just as much as the next person. 

So be sure to go check out the episode where we dive into these topics, and hopefully you'll leave feeling encouraged as we all navigate these dating journey together! You can listen to "Easier Said Than Done" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean.

And finally, check back next week for our season finale where we'll be talking about how to navigate the holidays being single.

We'll see you next week!

-K&B

Hosts: Kristen Camp and Bethany White
Music by: Adam Johnson
Mixing and Editing by: Bethany White
Logo Design by: Kristen Camp

Happy Wednesday friends!

We hope you’re all doing well as you star gearing up for the holiday season! December is our favorite time of year with all of the twinkling lights, festive music, and shopping trips. But what makes this season extra special is the fact that we get to spend so much time with our family and friends. So with that in mind, we wanted to take some time in today’s episode to talk about hospitality.

Now, you might be wondering, what does hospitality have to do with your singleness or your dating life? And if this podcast is supposed to be “the Christian girl’s guide to modern dating”, why do we need to talk about hospitality? Those are great questions! We asked ourselves the exact same things as we were deciding on whether or not we should record an episode on this topic. 

We think hospitality can help you relationally in so many ways. First, it gets you in the habit of serving others and being welcoming to the people around you. Having a heart posture like that can set you up so well as you’re looking towards dating and marriage. If you begin to make hospitality a rhythm of your life, you will begin to view relationships, conversation, and community in a whole new way, a way that can only impact your relationship life for the better. And second, if you think on the practical side, the more hospitable you are, the more people you are going to interact with meet. And who knows if someone you are hospitable to ends up becoming more than just a friend? You never know!

Either way, we thought this was an important topic to discuss, but we wanted to make it fun and easy for you guys to get started at practicing hospitality on your own. So this episode is full of practical tips and takeaways that are super simple to implement right away! We give you party ideas, hosting tips, game night suggestions, and so much more! You’re not going to want to miss this episode!

We hope you enjoy this outside the box topic and are encouraged to begin welcoming people into your home so they can build relationships and foster community. 

Be sure to check back next week for our next episode we’re calling “Easier Said Than Done.” We are both going to be talking about different things we are figuring out and struggling with in regards to singleness and dating, because, trust us, we definitely DO NOT have it all figured out! We want you to know you’re not alone as you’re trying to figure how to navigate this season well, and our hope is that this episode reminds you of that.

But until then, head on over to iTunes, Spotify, or Podbean and check out today’s episode “Hospitality And The Single Girl.”

We’ll see you next week!

-K&B

P.S. Here are the rules to Spicy Uno I promised you 🙂 

Credits:
Hosts: Kristen Camp and Bethany White
Music by: Adam Johnson
Mixing and Editing by: Bethany White
Logo Design by: Kristen Camp
Content Advisors: Lindsay White and Melanie Hobson

Hello friends!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with the people you love most (and maybe some people you only sorta love). We both enjoyed a week full of great food, exciting football games, and a lot of great Black Friday finds. Actually, let’s be real. I (Kristen) got a lot of great Black Friday finds. Bethany stayed home all day watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Either way, though, it was a good week!

Another fun thing that happened last week is that we released our very CouchCast mini-episode! We were originally going to take last week off, but we came up with this fun idea to do a mini-episode on a topic that we had been asked to cover. So for CouchCast Episode 1, we asked the age old question, “Can Guys & Girls Be Just Friends?” This was such a fun conversation for us because it was structured a little differently than our other episodes. There were no notes. There was no prep. Just two girls trying to answer a question that a lot of people are trying to figure out. So, if you haven’t had the chance already, head on over to iTunes, Spotify, or Podbean and take a listen. You’ll be glad you did!

Now let’s get into today’s episode. What we’re talking about today are the hesitations people can have around getting married. This was actually another topic that was brought to our attention by some friends of ours. Typically neither of us have a lot of hesitation around marriage itself. We get more worried about making sure we find the right guy or that we’re not with the wrong guy. But marriage has never really scared us. However, we know that’s not the case for everyone. We began to see more clearly after talking to our friends that there are some very common hesitations and worries that people have around getting married, so we wanted to address those things in today’s episode. 

There are four specific hesitations and fears that we are going to talk about. They are:

1. Fear and insecurity around not being ready - “I need to fix things about myself or my life before I get married."
2. Fear that you’ll turn out like your parents - “My parents didn’t have a great marriage, and I don’t want to repeat their mistakes."
3. Fear of uncertainty and change - “I don’t know if this will turn out well.” or “I don’t want to lose my freedom."
4. Fear of leaving your family/comfort zone - “I don’t want to move away, quit my job, leave my community, etc."

Maybe you struggle with one, or several, of these hesitations. Maybe you’ve met the right person, you’re dating the right person, or maybe you’re even engaged to the right person, but you just can’t seem to get over some of the fears you have around moving towards marriage. If that’s the case, then this episode is for you. 

We want to encourage you that while there are some healthy fears around relationships and dating, there are also fears that can hinder you, or even paralyze you, from moving forward. If we’re not careful, we can allow these fears to keep us from receiving God’s best for our lives. Our Heavenly Father created us not to have a spirit of fear or timidity. He gave us a spirit of strength and confidence because we have the Holy Spirit living in us! 

So with that in mind, our hope as you listen to this episode is that you feel encouraged to hand your fears over to God and trust Him with where you’re at. He has your best interest in mind, and He will guide you forward, even if what’s ahead seems scary.

We hope this conversation is helpful for you, and we can’t wait to hear your feedback! If you’re enjoying our podcast, we’d love for you to leave a rating and review on iTunes! That way iTunes knows to recommend the podcast to other people just like you who are trying to navigate dating well. We really appreciate your support as we continue this journey to find “the middle” when it comes to dating, relationships, and singleness as Christians. 

Finally be sure to check back next week where we’re talking about hospitality and the single girl! 

See you then!

-K&B

Credits:
Hosts: Kristen Camp and Bethany White
Music by: Adam Johnson
Mixing and Editing by: Bethany White
Logo Design by: Kristen Camp
Content Advisors: Lindsay White, Melanie Hobson, Matt Ziesmer, Kate Freeman, Chelsey Ward

Hi friends!

Happy new episode day! I don’t know about you, but Wednesdays are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. You guys have been so wonderful to us as you’ve tuned in every week, kept up with us on social media, and shown us your support for this podcast. We literally COULD NOT do this without you, so I hope you know how grateful we are for each and every one of our listeners! So before I get super duper sappy, let’s jump into today’s show notes!

In this episode, we are talking about contentment, which I know is every single girl’s favorite word in the English language (insert eye roll here). But we wanted to talk about contentment because we’ve both realized recently how it easy it is to make it look like we are content where we are, when we’re really just ignoring our discontentment. In today’s society, where busyness is a badge of honor, it is so easy to mask a discontented spirit with the distractions of day to day life. The thought of being still and acknowledging our current reality sounds a lot less appealing when we can just push it to the side and do other things that actually sound fun. But I think we are really missing something if we aren’t okay with sitting in our current state. 

This is something I personally really struggled with when I was going through a season where several of my friends were getting engaged and married. I immersed myself in being a bridesmaid - helping in whatever way I could, attending showers and parties, going dress and decor shopping, all the things. I didn’t want to slow down long enough to acknowledge the fact that I was hurt and disappointed that my friends were all getting something I really wanted. I was discontent, but I didn’t want to face my discontentment. 

So as we go through this episode today, our hope is that you don’t make the same mistakes I did. Don’t get me wrong. I totally understand how difficult it can be to find contentment in a less than ideal season, but we have to remember that our contentment is to be found in Christ, not our circumstances. He is where we find our hope, our joy, and our peace. If we look for those things anywhere else, we will inevitably be disappointed. Trust us. We know. We’ve tried.

Towards the end of the episode, we give you some practical action items that you can incorporate into your every day life. We talk about keeping a gratitude journal and how to remove discontentment triggers from your life, in the hope that you will find contentment and gratefulness in a season where you’re tempted to just stay distracted. 

We hope this conversation helps you find rest in your Heavenly Father, in who He created you to be, and in where He has you right now at this point in your life. And as always, we would love to hear from you if you have questions, need encouragement, or just want to say hi! All of our social media and our email address is listed below so you can get in touch with us easily. 

Happy listening friends! 

-K&B

P.S. Really quick, once you listen to the episode, if you could head over to iTunes and leave us a rating and review, it would be a HUGE HELP to us! Those ratings and reviews are how iTunes knows to recommend the podcast to other people. So if the podcast has been helpful or encouraging to you, head on over and leave a review and we will be forever grateful! 

P.P.S. Last thing I promise. We are going to be taking next week off for Thanksgiving week. So we hope you enjoy your holiday week with the people you love most, and we will pick back up with Episode 1.12 on Wednesday, November 28th. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Credits:
Hosts: Kristen Camp and Bethany White
Music by: Adam Johnson
Mixing and Editing by: Bethany White
Logo Design by: Kristen Camp
Content Advisors: Lindsay White and Melanie Hobson