A Heart That Beats for Home
Hey friend! I’m Nikki Smith—wife, mom of three, entrepreneur, and host of A Heart That Beats for Home. Over the years, God has used marriage, motherhood, business, and everyday life to stretch me, grow me, humble me, and draw me closer to Him. This space is a reflection of the journey I’m still on—growing, learning, and leaning into much-needed grace. I have a heart to keep investing intentionally in my marriage of 26 years with the man God has given me as a partner and best friend, to walk faithfully toward the season of empty nesting, and to grow...
106. Less Pressure, More Presence: Reclaiming the Heart of the Holidays
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What will your children remember most about Christmas? The gifts under the tree, the perfectly decorated house, or the way it felt to be home?
As moms, we can spend so much time trying to create holiday magic that we forget to actually experience it ourselves. Between the shopping, decorating, hosting, traditions, and endless to-do lists, the most wonderful time of the year can quickly become one of the most overwhelming.
In this final episode of Season 3 of A Heart That Beats...
105. The Heart of Hospitality: More Than a Beautiful Home
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What makes a home truly beautiful? Is it the decor, the perfectly prepared meals, and the thoughtful details? Or is it the way people feel when they walk through our doors?
As women, we can put so much pressure on ourselves to create beautiful homes and memorable gatherings that we sometimes lose sight of the very people we're trying to love.
In this episode of A Heart That Beats for Home, we're talking about the true heart of hospitality and why welcoming...
104. 6 Things to Stop Doing in Your Marriage (Part 2)
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What if some of the biggest changes we could make in our marriages started not with what our spouse needs to do differently, but with what we’re willing to change in ourselves?
In Part 2 of this marriage series, we’re diving into the final three habits that can quietly create distance, resentment, and division in our relationships—and the intentional choices we can make instead.
We’re talking about the power of expressing gratitude instead of simply feeling it, learning to listen t...
103. 6 Things to Stop Doing in Your Marriage (Part 1)
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What if some of the biggest changes we could make in our marriages started not with our spouses, but with us?
After nearly 27 years of marriage, I've learned that a healthy marriage isn't built by two perfect people. It's built by two imperfect people who are willing to keep growing, extending grace, and choosing each other through every season of life.
Recently, while studying Ephesians with a group of younger married women, two words stood out to me: grace and peace.<...
102. The Little Things That Quietly Tear Down Our Homes
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Have you ever stopped to consider the little things that might be quietly stealing joy from your home?
We spend so much time trying to protect our families from the big things that we can overlook the small attitudes, habits, distractions, and compromises that slowly begin to take root.
In Song of Solomon 2:15, we're reminded to catch the little foxes that spoil the vineyards. And while this beautiful imagery originally speaks to protecting love, I believe there's a powerful lesson here for...
101. Stop Fixing Everything: Giving Our Kids Room to Grow
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
As our kids get older, one of the hardest parts of parenting is knowing when to step in and when to step back.
This week’s episode came out of a conversation I had with a girlfriend about that exact tension. When do we let our kids make their own decisions? When do we allow natural consequences to do some of the teaching? And how do we begin releasing control without releasing the responsibility we still have as parents?
I want my ki...
100. 100 Episodes Later: The Words I Still Carry With Me
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
100 episodes.
It’s honestly a little hard to believe we’re here.
When A Heart That Beats for Home began nearly three years ago, I knew I had a heart for encouraging women to cultivate strong marriages, intentional families, and homes centered around biblical truth. What I didn’t know was where God would take it.
One hundred episodes later, this little podcast has been listened to in 97 countries, 2,228 cities, and six of the seven continents. We’ve shared 63 solo episodes...
99. The Stories Our Children Will Need When Life Gets Hard
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What are the “stones” in your family, the stories you never want your children to forget?
In Joshua 4, God instructed the Israelites to take twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River and build a memorial. Why? So that one day, when their children asked, “What do these stones mean?” they could tell them the story of God’s faithfulness.
In this deeply personal episode, Nikki reflects on the stones within her own family: miscarriage and postpartum depression, closed doors that became pro...
98. Beyond ‘Fine’: How to Have Deeper Conversations With Your Kids
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
We all want deeper relationships with the people we love, but sometimes we’re waiting for meaningful conversations to happen instead of learning how to invite them.
In this episode, Nikki explores the art of asking good questions and how simple curiosity can help our children, teenagers, spouses, and friends feel truly known, heard, and seen. She shares seven practical ways to move beyond questions that produce one-word answers and create conversations that build genuine connection.
You’ll learn why our questions need...
97. Nothing Humbles You Quite Like Your Kids
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What happens when you ask your kids what you do that makes them cringe?
For this episode, the answer came from a simple phrase: “my mama heart.” What started as a funny conversation with a daughter turned into a much bigger realization... of course our kids don’t fully understand the mama heart yet. They haven’t experienced one.
Motherhood changes the way a heart operates. We feel their disappointments, celebrate their wins, worry about things completely outside of our control, and sometime...
96. Why Mom Sets the Tone of the Home: Tips to Thrive This Summer
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Biblical Resources for Families:
Favorite Children's Bibles:
The Biggest Bible Story: https://amzn.to/3uHo1o5
The Biggest Bible Board Book Version: https://amzn.to/3ThT2YU
The Biggest Bible Story Storybook: https://amzn.to/4bYDEbx
The Jesus Storybook Bible: https://amzn.to/3UT37Nm
Seeds Family Worship Music:
https://seedskidsworship.com/product-category/music/
On Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/5kV2pC0biCYFh3y9HxgNkS
On Apple: https://m...
95. Protecting Our Children in a Digital Age with Ryann Bauer
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
This week on A Heart That Beats for Home, I’m joined by Ryann Bauer for one of the most powerful and important conversations we’ve had on the podcast. Ryann shares her deeply personal story of childhood abandonment, depression, self-harm, and becoming a young mom, and how God slowly redeemed her pain and turned it into purpose. What began as heartbreak has now become a passionate mission to protect children and raise awareness around human trafficking, grooming, and child exploitation.
Together, we talk hone...
94. Consistency, Grace, and the Legacy of Home with My Mom, Monique Cronk
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
This week’s episode is one of the most meaningful conversations I’ve ever shared on the podcast. In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m sitting down with my own mom, Monique, for a conversation about motherhood, faith, marriage, family, loss, legacy, and the beauty found in ordinary everyday life.
My mom was married at 18 years old and went on to raise five daughters over nearly three decades of nonstop parenting. She shares openly about seasons of infertility and miscarriage, raising a family on a very...
93. Connecting with Your Teen and Young Adults in Ways That Last
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
This week’s episode is a continuation of a conversation that I truly believe every parent of teens and young adults needs to hear.
After revisiting one of the very first episodes of this podcast last week, I was reminded just how relevant these principles still are, and how much they continue to shape the way I parent today.
So this week, we’re finishing that conversation.
In this episode, we walk through three powerful ways to build deeper, lasting conn...
92. Parenting Teens Without Constant Conflict: Where to Hold the Line (and Where to Let Go)
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
This week’s episode is a little different, and one I’m really excited to bring back.
As I was preparing to record a new episode on the topic of principles vs. preferences in parenting, I went back to revisit what I had already shared in the very early days of this podcast… and I was reminded just how much this conversation still matters.
In fact, it felt too important to try to recreate.
So today, we’re revisiting one of the v...
91. Navigating Life in Seasons of Soaring and Struggling
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
As this episode goes live, I’m celebrating my 48th birthday, and I felt a strong pull to pause what I had planned and just sit down for a real, honest conversation with you.
Looking back over the last 48 years, one thing is so clear: life is not a straight line. It’s a mix of seasons. Seasons of soaring and seasons of struggling. Times where we feel like we’re thriving in one area while quietly falling apart in another.
In this e...
90. When You Lose It as a Mom (And What to Do Next)
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Have you ever had a moment where you just snap—and the second it’s over, you wish you could take it all back?
In this honest and personal solo episode, I’m sharing a moment from last week where I lost my cool as a wife and mom—and what God has been teaching me through it. Because the truth is, so many of us are trying to hold it all together, and when we don’t, we often carry shame instead of allowing i...
89. Don’t Burn Down Your Own House: Fighting for Your Marriage with Lindsey Maestas
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
In this episode, I sit down with Lindsey Maestas for a conversation that feels both honest and deeply hopeful for anyone navigating the realities of marriage.
Coming off our Marriage Through the Decades series, this conversation couldn’t be more timely. Lindsey brings both truth and tenderness as she shares from her own story—walking through seasons of exhaustion, disconnection, and even moments where their marriage felt like it was on the brink.
We talk about what really leads marriages toward breakdown—not th...
88. Marriage Through The Decades: 44 Years of Marriage and the Practices That Make Love Last with Marc & Lori Maillefer
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
n the final week of the Marriage Through the Decades series, Nikki sits down with Marc and Lori Maillefer, a couple who have been married for 44 years and who have played a deeply meaningful role as mentors in Nikki and Jed’s life. Their marriage has been shaped by decades of ministry, raising five children, navigating grief and hardship, and learning to continually choose one another through every season of life.
With humility and honesty, Marc and Lori share the rhythms and practices that ha...
87. Marriage Through the Decades: Trusting God in Every Season with Loren & Sue Tucker
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
In week three of the Marriage Through the Decades series, Nikki sits down with Loren and Sue Tucker, a couple who have been married for 35 years and whose influence has stretched across generations. This conversation is especially meaningful as Loren and Sue were Nikki’s youth pastors during some of the most formative years of her life. With warmth, wisdom, and humility, they reflect on marriage, parenting, empty nesting, grandparenting, ministry, and the faithfulness of God through every season.
Together, they share what it lo...
86.Marriage Through The Decades: Protecting What You’ve Built in Marriage with Eric & Lindsay Parks
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
In week two of the Marriage Through the Decades series, Nikki sits down with Eric and Lindsay Parks for an honest and encouraging conversation about what it looks like to protect what you’ve built in marriage and family life. Married for 23 years and raising five children, Eric and Lindsay share wisdom from a season filled with busy schedules, teenagers, college students, work demands, and the everyday realities of building a strong home. Together, they talk about why a healthy marriage is foundational to a thriving fa...
85. Marriage Through The Decades: Choosing Each Other When It’s Not Easy with Cody & Lyndsey Tinsley
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Over the next four weeks, we’ll hear from four couples in four different decades of marriage, from 11 years all the way to 44. Each story is unique, but they share a common thread: faith, real struggles, and the grace it takes to keep choosing each other through every season.
To begin the series, I’m joined by Lyndsey and Cody, who have been married for 11 years and are raising two young kids. Lyndsey is an entrepreneur and mom at home, and Cody work...
84. Marriage Through the Decades Series
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What if one of the greatest gifts we can give our children isn’t a perfect childhood, but a healthy marriage to grow up inside of?
In this special kickoff episode, we’re introducing a four-week series called Marriage Through the Decades. This series isn’t about picture-perfect relationships or pretending anyone has it all together. It’s about real couples in real seasons who keep choosing each other—again and again.
Over the next four weeks, you’ll hear from four couples marr...
83. Meeting God in the Middle of the Mess with Devan Holman
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Some days feel like you’re barely holding the house, the calendar, and your own heart together, and you wonder if you’re failing at life. Today’s conversation will meet you right there. Nikki sits down with Deon Holman, wife, mom of three, and writer of an upcoming 30-day devotional project Messy Days, Mighty God, to talk about finding Jesus in the middle of full schedules, ordinary motherhood, and real-life discouragement.
Deon shares the “building project” framework behind her devotional, including three dail...
82. The Greatest of These Is Love: Raising Kids Who Know How to Love Well
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Valentine’s week often centers around flowers, feelings, and romance. But what if love is meant to be much deeper and much more daily than that?
In this episode, we step back and ask a foundational question: if the greatest commandment is to love, what does that actually look like inside our homes?
Not the cultural version of love built on emotion and attraction, but biblical love rooted in action, commitment, humility, and truth.
Together we explore:
• The diff...
81. Excruciatingly Beautiful: When Joy and Grief Collide in Motherhood
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
In this heartfelt episode, Nikki shares an honest conversation about the tension so many mothers feel but rarely name, the joy and grief that exist side by side as our children grow and begin to let go of our hands.
From sending a child off to college to watching her youngest drive away for the first time, Nikki reflects on the moments that feel both painful and beautiful at once. She introduces the phrase “excruciatingly beautiful” to describe this season of motherhood wher...
80. How to Thrive in 2026 Without Burning Out (Part 3): Staying in Your Race for the Long Haul
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
As we wrap up our three-part series on starting the new year with clarity and purpose, this episode focuses on one essential question: How do we stay in our race when the excitement fades and the work gets hard?
We explore why we often expect quick results in the beginning but underestimate what steady faithfulness can produce over time. Through personal stories, practical analogies, and biblical wisdom, this conversation invites you to trade the racehorse mentality of burnout and comparison for the...
79. Get Clear in 2026 (Part 2): Vision That Simplifies Your Yes and No
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
In part 2 of our 3-part series on goal setting and vision, we’re talking about clarity and how clear, God-given direction can simplify your life in a way that feels like peace. When you don’t know where you’re headed, everything gets heavier: indecision, overthinking, people-pleasing, and yeses that don’t align with what truly matters.
Today, I share a powerful conversation with my husband that changed how I make decisions. We talk about a “clarity test”, a simple filter you can run every opport...
78. Run Your Own Race In 2026 (Part 1): Why Faithfulness Matters More Than Speed
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
As we step into a new year, many of us feel a mix of hope, pressure, exhaustion, and uncertainty. In this opening episode of Season 3, Nikki invites you to pause, reflect, and reframe what it really means to move forward.
This episode kicks off a three-part series centered on running your own race, not chasing comparison, perfection, or unrealistic expectations, but pursuing faithfulness in the life God has entrusted to you. Nikki explores why so many goals fade after the initial excitement...
77. From Perfection to Peace: A Season Finale for the Mom Who Tries So Hard
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
If perfection keeps stealing your peace, this episode hands it back. In this season finale, we look at a year of growth in the real world — inside homes full of schedules, emotions, and people we love. We talk about the shift that’s changing everything for our families: saying less, being clear, and repairing quickly when we miss the mark. We also offer a simple way to reframe those “I’m failing” spirals — because most moms who feel behind are actually giving more than they can see.
Y...
76. Gratitude, Growth, And Grace - Reflections on 2025
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
When the calendar starts sprinting and the afternoons turn dark way too early, we get the chance to slow everything down. We can take a deep breath, look back on the year, and see it through three lenses that matter—gratitude, growth, and grace. Not to hustle harder or create picture-perfect plans, but to walk into 2026 with steadiness, a little more peace, and a whole lot more awareness of God’s goodness.
We talk about gratitude in the real, everyday ways—celebrating a daughter steppi...
75. Dwell Differently Co-Founder Natalie Abbott: Finding Peace in Scripture When Anxiety and Fear Feel Overwhelming
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
In this podcast episode, Nikki welcomes Natalie Abbott, co-founder of Dwell Differently, a ministry dedicated to helping people memorize scripture.
Natalie discusses her life as a wife, mom of five, and author. She shares her personal journey to faith, which started with reading various religious texts, including the Bible given to her by her great-grandmother. Through scripture, she discovered the transformative power of God's word.
Natalie explains how Dwell Differently began, recounting her sister Vera's story of overcoming anxiety through memorizing Bible ve...
74. Justin Whitmel Earley on The Body Teaches the Soul: Rhythms That Heal, Restore, and Shape Us
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
In this engaging conversation, Nikki Smith interviews Justin Whitmel Earley, exploring the profound connection between our physical habits and spiritual lives. Justin shares his personal journey from a crisis in mental health to discovering the importance of habits in shaping our souls. They discuss the impact of technology in parenting, the significance of instilling healthy habits in children, and the grace that allows for growth and change. The conversation emphasizes the importance of community and shared practices in navigating the challenges of modern life, particularly in...
73. Beauty From Ashes Story - Redemption, Obedience and Redefining Success with Debbie Neal
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Today I get to sit down with a dear friend of mine, Debbie Neal.
For years, I’ve known Debbie as a woman of incredible drive and determination — a true leader, a go-getter, and someone who has inspired so many through her work and her example. But today’s conversation isn’t about her professional achievements. It’s about something far more personal — the way God has been working in her home and heart over the past several years.
Debbie and Scott are parents...
72. When God Rewrites the Blueprint: The Story Behind The House the Parks Built with Lindsay Parks
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What happens when your “forever home” isn’t forever after all? We sit down with Lindsay Parks—wife, mom of five, creator, and co-host of Built for More—to unpack the surprising decision to sell the dream house she built in public, and the freedom that followed. This isn’t a story about loss; it’s a story about listening. Lindsay shares how a quiet nudge became a clear call, how she navigated pride and fear, and why obedience sometimes looks like doing less instead of doing more.
71. More Than a Role: Actress Masey McLain Talks Faith, Purpose, and Trusting God Through Every Season
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What if the season you’re calling a drought is actually sacred training? I sat down with actress and creator Masey McLain for a candid, deeply encouraging conversation about conviction, calling, and the new feature film Soul on Fire—where she portrays Beth O’Leary. From growing up a pastor’s kid to turning down roles that crossed personal lines, Masey traces the steady thread of choosing God first and letting the work follow.
We go behind the scenes on The Baxters and the serendipi...
70. A Mom’s Sacred Calling in a Get-Things-Done World
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Some days the kitchen sparkles; an hour later, it’s crumbs and cups and quiet frustration. I share candid stories from 23 years of motherhood and 26 years of marriage, the Scriptures that steady me, and the simple habits that reset a house’s tone when everyone feels stretched thin.
We unpack the honesty of “I want to grow but I’m busy,” then map desire to obstacles we can actually change: screen and sleep hygiene, thin spiritual rhythms, and scorekeeping that poisons connection. From Colossians 3:23’s call to wo...
69. Beauty From Ashes Story - Finding Hope After Losing Everything with Andrea Hryszczuk
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What happens when you lose everything but discover what truly matters? In this deeply moving conversation, Andrea Hryszczuk shares the harrowing yet hope-filled story of watching her family home burn completely to the ground in May 2020.
The fire began unexpectedly in their garage during pandemic lockdown, with the family unaware for crucial minutes as flames engulfed their truck and spread toward the house. Andrea recounts the terrifying moments of uncertainty, not knowing if everyone had escaped safely, followed by overwhelming joy when the family...
68. When Life Burns Down: John O'Leary's Story of Faith and Resilience
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
What if your darkest moment became the spark that illuminated your greatest purpose? John O'Leary was just nine years old when curiosity led to catastrophe – an explosion that left him with burns on 100% of his body and a 1% chance of survival. Yet from those ashes rose an extraordinary story of resilience, purpose, and profound gratitude that now touches millions.
In this deeply moving conversation, John takes us beyond the headlines of his remarkable survival to explore the transformative lessons forged in fire. With raw vu...
67. Embracing Life's Unpredictable Seasons
We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback.
Have you ever had a season of life that looked nothing like you planned? That's exactly what happened during my summer break from the podcast. What I expected to be a peaceful time of preparation transformed into a rollercoaster of unexpected challenges, profound grief, beautiful celebrations, and deep life lessons.
When God nudged me to take a summer podcast break, I struggled with the decision. I'd committed to showing up consistently every Thursday with content to help families cultivate strong homes. But as Proverbs 16:9...
