Between Us is a monthly conversation series on 1 True Talks where Renee and Amanda sit down for real, candid conversations rooted in Biblical truth and real life.

What if strength and softness didn’t compete, but completed each other? In this Between Us conversation, we sit down with Amanda West to unpack the new terrain of dating, the pull of independence, and the quiet need every woman has to feel safe enough to “hang the hat” at the door. From first texts to long-haul love, we explore how clarity, kindness, and congruence turn sparks into something you can actually build on.

We dig into the real frictions: men’s single-task focus vs. women’s multitasking minds, why “be direct” beats “drop hints,” and how specific requests paired with sincere gratitude can change the tone of a home. If hot-and-cold behavior drives you crazy, you’ll hear practical language for setting expectations without sounding harsh and ways to protect your time, your hobbies, and your voice. Because the traits that drew someone to you, your faith, your joy, your grit shouldn’t disappear once dating gets serious.

Amanda also brings hard-won wisdom for single moms and widows navigating love after upheaval. We explore the difference between rebuilding grit after grief and guarding your heart after divorce, how to avoid comparison traps, and why raising the bar around values like faith, integrity and consistency, outlasts chasing a look or a physical attribute. We talk about guarding your mind, choosing counsel from people who’ve built what you want, and holding the frame of your life while letting God fill it in ways you didn’t plan but deeply need.

If you’re ready to date with hope, communicate with warmth and clarity, and keep your identity intact, this Between Us conversation is for you. Share this episode with a friend who needs it, subscribe for more 1 True Talks. Have a question, story, or topic you'd love for us to talk about in a future Between Us episode? Email us at amanda@1truematch.com, we'd love to hear from you!

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What if the fastest way to love is to slow down? We sit with Pastor Steven Mencia to unpack how a reluctant church visit for a teenage date turned into a life shaped by Jesus and how that journey reshapes the way we approach singleness, dating, and marriage.

Steven’s story moves from early skepticism to deep faith, then through trials that tested a young relationship: chronic illness, long distance, breakups, and the question every couple faces will we stay when it’s hard? Together, we explore why singleness is not a penalty box but a formation ground, how to wait without wasting the valley, and what it means to discern God’s voice when urgency shouts for quick decisions. You’ll hear practical markers of spiritual alignment, more Scripture, more honesty, more peace and red flags that quietly dull your devotion.

We also tackle identity and worth. Steven shares the “well vs wound” lens for choices, the widow’s quiet gift as a model of obedience over performance, and the freedom that comes from dating as someone already loved, not someone hustling to be chosen. From “microwave culture, crockpot God” to Romans 12’s renewing of the mind, this conversation offers grounded wisdom for moving at a pace that lets character prove itself, community support you, and God’s timing lead the way.

If you’ve felt overlooked, rushed, or tired of rejection, consider this your permission to breathe. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs steadiness, and leave a review telling us where you’re learning to slow down and trust God’s best.

More Info about Celebration Church: https://www.celebration.org/

Follow Steven: https://www.instagram.com/stevenmencia10/

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The years between 25 and 35 can feel like a tidal wave: career moves, marriage questions, fertility timelines, money pressures, and the constant hum of outside opinions. We invited best-selling author and mentor Stephanie Mae Wilson to help us quiet the noise, listen for God’s voice, and make choices that create a life we actually want to live, long before the ring, the job title, or the baby arrives.

Stephanie shares the moment she stopped living by borrowed deadlines and started trusting God with outcomes, a shift that led her to say yes to adventure, service, and ultimately meeting her husband. We unpack what healthy pursuit really looks like, mutual interest, reliability, and shared effort, while dismantling the myth that a woman must sit on her hands to be “chosen.” If you’re tired of keeping a relationship from hitting the floor, you’ll find language, boundaries, and confidence to move toward certainty and care.

Prayer and presence thread through our talk. Stephanie’s 100-day prayer journal, Every Single Moment, guides women to pray for a future partner without idolizing an imagined person or abandoning their own growth. We explore why one of the most transformative prayers is for a best friend, and how female friendships lower stress, build courage, and make the steep hills of life feel climbable. Stephanie also offers a beautiful parenting picture: don’t cram God into a tidy jewelry box; invite your kids into a wide, living relationship with Him.

If you’ve felt the squeeze of the “everything era,” this conversation brings relief, practical tools, and hope. Tune in to learn how to curate your inputs, invest in real friendship, participate in your love story, and trust God while taking bold, grounded action. If it resonated, share it with a friend, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

More about Stephanie: https://stephaniemaywilson.com/

Follow Stephanie Here: https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/

Check Out Stephanie's Podcast: https://stephaniemaywilson.com/girlsnight

Stephanie's Prayer Journal Every Single Moment: https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/products/every-single-moment

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What if waiting wasn’t wasted but the very way God builds you for a love that lasts? Pastor Charles Maris joins us to share how a heartbreaking divorce led to surrender, healing, and a whole new way of dating rooted in prayer, clarity, and kingdom purpose. He walks through the “movie clips” God used to correct his patterns, the fasting and prayer that rebuilt his heart, and the moment contentment made space for a Spirit-led match that turned four months of friendship into a confident yes.

We dig into what Christlike leadership actually looks like in a home: faithfulness you can measure, honesty that doesn’t flinch, and consistency that holds when emotions swing. Pastor Charles unpacks Biblical courtship, two people asking God separately and together if the relationship is ordained and explains how to end a mismatch without cruelty or delay. We get candid about blended families, co-parenting realities, and holiday decision traps that can fracture unity, plus practical steps to protect peace and keep the marriage centered on prayer, purpose, and presence.

If you’re single and tired, you’ll hear why singleness is a gift, not a gap. If you’re dating, you’ll learn how to set non-negotiables, spot spiritual alignment, and avoid idolizing romance. And if you’re married, you’ll find language and tools to reconnect around kingdom vision. We also highlight Pastor Charles’s resources: The Intune Husband, the Kingdom Singledom Workbook, and The True Behavior of a Kingdom Man, guides that help men tune into God and women pray with precision for the partner they desire.

Ready to build love on a stronger foundation? Listen now, share this with a friend who needs hope, and subscribe for more conversations that help you become whole, choose wisely, and grow closer to Christ.

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What if the hardest day of your life became the first step toward your calling? That’s the heartbeat of Renee's conversation with her faith filled friend Amanda West, a mother of two who loved fiercely, lost suddenly, and learned to soar by leaning into God’s strength and a faithful community. Her story begins with a marriage built on showing up at 110% and pivots into the raw aftermath of widowhood, where breath-by-breath perseverance meets the conviction that only moments and relationships endure.

Amanda opens up about her faith journey, from growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness to encountering the Holy Spirit through a single worship song. Saying yes to Jesus meant excommunication and a decade apart from her parents, yet it also meant the discovery of grace and the freedom from earning love through deeds. She shares how Scripture, especially Isaiah 40:31, became a lifeline, teaching her to wait on the Lord and rise like an eagle in the face of overwhelming loss.

We also dig into the practical side of healing: how friends, neighbors, and church family carried visible and invisible burdens; how serving others sparked fresh joy; and what dating after loss really looks like when grief arrives in waves. Amanda’s candid wisdom helps anyone navigating widowhood, single parenting, or starting again with a tender heart. She explains why mixed-age discipleship groups transform singles ministry, how churches can support without turning community into courtship, and why God wastes none of our stories, especially the heavy ones.

If you’re wrestling with love, loss, faith, or the courage to try again, this episode offers honest hope and grounded tools. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs strength for the next step, and leave a review to help others find the conversation. Then tell us: which moment spoke to you most, and why?

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What if your season of waiting is the very place God is shaping your future? Renee sits down with Pastor Rodrick Walters, CPA, husband, father, and leader of Word Life Christian Fellowship, to trace his remarkable journey from Jamaica to the States, through culture shock, loneliness, and a heartbreaking breakup, to a surprising call to bivocational ministry. His story challenges the myths we carry about singleness and success, showing how identity in Christ can steady you through the noisiest moments of life.

Rodrick opens up about renewing the mind and letting the Holy Spirit rewrite old scripts of inadequacy. He shares how Psalm 27:14 became a lifeline. We explore practical habits for singles, daily time in Scripture and prayer, learning to hear God’s voice in solitude, serving with purpose, and setting healthy boundaries in dating. You’ll hear the tender, intentional steps of blending a family, earning trust, and recognizing the right relationship at the right time, years after a first meeting. Along the way, we talk about the power of purpose at work, the beauty of bivocational calling, and how churches can support singles and “in-betweeners” without isolating them by age or status.

If you’re tired of forcing the wrong fit or feeling defined by your relationship status, this conversation offers grounded hope and clear next steps. Learn how to wait well, choose excellence without hurry, and let God’s timing lead you into relationships that strengthen your calling rather than distract from it. Subscribe for more stories and practical guidance, share this episode with a friend who needs encouragement. God Bless.

Follow Pastor Rodrick's Church Here: https://wordlifecf.org/

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What if waiting for love isn’t about pause, but about becoming? We sit with Pastor Bri DuPree, leader, mentor, and inspiring single woman in ministry, to explore how faith meets desire, how community heals loneliness, and how to prepare for marriage without losing yourself along the way.

Bri shares her path from psychology student to pastor and reframes “kingdom work” as simple, daily acts of presence: listening well, asking better questions, and dignifying people in ordinary moments. We press into the hardest parts of singleness, end‑of‑day loneliness and the ache for true companionship and talk about practical steps to build healthy friendships, create robust community, and grow emotional intelligence. Bree challenges churches to move beyond clichés, equipping singles with tools for real life, including candid conversations about sexual desire that remove shame and point toward wisdom.

Together we dismantle the myth that there’s only one person for you and replace it with a grounded vision of compatibility, shared values, and timing. We dive into non‑negotiables, why “you complete me” sets couples up to fail, and how to wait actively by cultivating hobbies, purpose, and spiritual depth. Bree’s theology of suffering brings hope after heartbreak: if God collects every tear, nothing is wasted. The invitation is clear, become whole, so you can love from abundance, not desperation.

If you’re navigating singleness with faith, longing, and a desire to do the inner work, this conversation offers clarity and comfort in equal measure. Listen, share with a friend who needs encouragement, and subscribe for more honest, hope‑filled talks on love, faith, and relationships. We’d love to hear your biggest takeaway from this week's episode!

Follow Bri's Church Here: https://www.instagram.com/theembracecollective_/?hl=en

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What if the cure for loneliness isn’t more scrolling, but a bigger story and a closer community? We welcomed Pastor Bob Martin from College Park Church to talk candidly about a decade of singleness, the unexpected grace of a pre-breakup, and the slow, steady practices that turn waiting into deep formation. Bob unpacks the “already and not yet” reality of the Kingdom, why embodied church life matters in an AI-saturated age, and how simple invitations can change a spiritual trajectory.

We explore the most common pain point singles face, loneliness and the constellation of cures that actually help: gathered worship that widens your horizon, small groups where prayer is real, weekly rhythms that tame hurry, and a counterintuitive practice of solitude that lets God speak identity into the quiet. Bob reframes dating as service, not self-fulfillment, and challenges men and women alike to leave people better than they found them. He also dismantles a few myths: singleness is not a single story, there’s no “just do this” fix, and marriage isn’t a higher tier of holiness. Scripture dignifies both callings and roots intimacy in a family of faith.

If you’re preparing for marriage, Bob’s counsel is disarming and practical: YOU bring YOU into the covenant. Start practicing the lifestyle of Jesus NOW, patience, humility, and faithful presence, so the front door of your wedding day opens into a home shaped by Christ’s character. We close with resources for finding community and next steps you can take this week: invite a friend to church, commit to one act of service, and set aside an hour of quiet time with God.

Enjoy the conversation? Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review to help others find their way to a stronger community and a deeper love.

Bob's Church: https://www.yourchurch.com/

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