Girls in Real Life

How to Move Forward When Fear is Holding You Back 15.06.2026 28min

If you consider yourself to be an overthinker... this episode is for you. We're talking about irrational fears. And not ones like being afraid of clowns or flying, but the fears that don't seem irrational at all: the fear of making the wrong decision, being misunderstood, failing publicly, regretting your choices, or stepping into something unknown. The kind of fear that disguises itself as wisdom, discernment, and responsibility while quietly keeping us stuck. In this episode, we're unpackin...

Peace is Not a Reward — It's a Decision 08.06.2026 27min

We've been treating peace like something we have to earn. Like once the finances stabilize, once the relationship feels easier, once the career finally clicks — then we can relax. Then we can breathe. Then we get to feel okay. But what if peace was never tied to your circumstances at all? In this episode I'm breaking down one of the most quoted verses in the Bible — Romans 8:28 — and why I think most of us have been reading it wrong. "All things working together" isn't God promising to rearra...

You Don’t Always Have to Finish What You Started//The Art of a Pivot 01.06.2026 29min

We are halfway through the year, and I think a lot of us are sitting with plans that aren't working, goals that no longer feel like ours, or ideas we've outgrown but can't bring ourselves to release. So instead of a "get back on track" pep talk, we're having a more honest conversation than that. In this episode, we're talking about the art of the pivot: what it actually means to change direction, why it's so hard to let go even when you know you should, and how to stop chaining yourself to ol...

Spiritual Accountability in Marriage//When Your Partner Becomes Your Mirror 18.05.2026 30min

Most of us don't notice when we're slipping spiritually. That's kind of the whole problem. For years, I navigated my faith alone. Which meant my blind spots stayed blind. No one was close enough to see what I couldn't see in myself. I'd go months without realizing anything had shifted. And then I got married, and all of that changed. This episode is about the adjustment that comes with having someone who notices before you do. Someone who will voice concern about where you are spiritually b...

Getting Out of a Slump: The Part No One's Being Honest About 11.05.2026 36min

We all know what it feels like to fall off. Life gets busy, the good habits go first, and before you know it the routines you so carefully built up are now all gone. But here's the part nobody talks about: what happens when life slows back down and you still can't make yourself do it? In this episode, I'm getting real about being in a slump. Not as someone who's overcome it, but someone who's still working through it. We're talking about why motivation isn't actually the problem, the psychol...

Everything I Did Wrong in My 20s...//Leaving my 20s Behind + Stepping Into a New Decade! 06.04.2026 50min

It's my birthday week, and I'm turning the big 3-0! I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the woman I was in my 20s, and if I'm being honest, there are a lot of things I'm not proud of. In this episode, I'm opening up about some of the mistakes and decisions I made throughout my 20s; the things I'm not proud of, but that ultimately shaped who I am today. This isn't about shame. It's about growth. Because the truth is, sometimes you have to live through the wrong things to learn w...

Things No One Tells You About Your First Year of Marriage 30.03.2026 46min

I've officially been married for one year! Which means, of course I have to share the knowledge of everything I learned in my first year of marriage with the girls. In this episode, I’m sharing the things no one really prepares you for. From communication and conflict, to softness, intimacy, and the daily choice to love someone even in the most unfiltered, real-life moments. Marriage has a way of revealing you. Your habits, your patterns, your triggers, and teaching you how to show up ...

Stop Holding Onto Who You Used to Be... //Growth Requires Letting Go 16.03.2026 36min

In this episode, we're talking about identity shifts and the natural evolution that happens as women grow through different seasons of life. Each chapter asks something different of us. The woman you were when life looked one way might not be the woman you need to be when your responsibilities, priorities, and purpose begin to change. Growth often requires letting go of old identities, old mindsets, and even old expectations about who we thought we would be. Not because that version of...

Newsflash: No One Coming to Do it For You 09.03.2026 28min

Some days motivation is there, but most days, it isn't. In this episode, I talk candidly about my current feelings surrounding the podcast, why I don't feel motivated, and my lack of time. But I also reflect on the importance of showing up anyway. Because the truth is, the life we hope to have in the future is built by the choices we make in the present. Our future selves can only achieve what our present selves are willing to do today. This episode is an honest conversation about discipline,...

Stop Competing With Motherhood//Embracing Who You've Become Instead of Missing Who You Were 02.03.2026 27min

Three years ago I became a mom! And while it was the most magical day of my life, somewhere in the middle of sleepless nights, identity shifts, and quiet grief for the life I used to have... I felt like I lost myself. The early years of motherhood can feel like a competition. Competition with your freedom. Your body. Your ambition. Your spontaneity. You love your child deeply, but still find yourself missing who you were before them and wondering if she's gone for good. In this ep...

How Will I Know??//The Myth of Finding Certainty in Love 16.02.2026 35min

We’ve all asked the question, "How will I know?" How will I know he’s the one? How will I know I’m not settling? How will I know I won’t regret this? We’ve been conditioned to believe love comes with clarity where everything feels undeniable and certain. But what if that moment never comes? In this episode, I’m unpacking the myth of “when you know, you know.” I share how love, in my experience, was never instant or overwhelming. We also explore the concept of love being a choice instead...

The Devil Wants You Absent From Your Home//Why Homemaking is a Holy Assignment 09.02.2026 38min

Culture tells women that choosing home, family, and softness means giving something up. That to be domesticated is to be oppressed, outdated, or diminished. But what if that narrative is wrong? What if the life the world calls “small” is actually sacred? In this episode, I’m reframing domestication through a spiritual lens. Not as submission without agency, but as intentional stewardship. We talk about the fear of losing identity, the shift from independence to interdependence in marriage, an...

You Can’t Be a Disciple if You Don’t Love Others (yes, even THEM) 02.02.2026 30min

Jesus said the world would recognize His followers not by their opinions, politics, or ability to be right, but by their love. Yet today, Christians are more divided than ever. We argue, we condemn, we choose sides, and somewhere along the way, compassion has taken a back seat. In this episode, we’re having an honest conversation about what it means to love others as Jesus commanded, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when culture tells us to harden our hearts. We talk about empathy, humility...

How to Become the Woman You Keep Praying About//Habits and Routines GUARANTEED to Shift Your Life 26.01.2026 52min

In this episode, we’re talking about the gap between who you are right now and who you desire to be, and how habits, routines, and daily obedience quietly close that gap. Using Proverbs 31 as a framework, we break down what it actually means to become a woman who is trustworthy, wise, and rooted in her faith without performance or pressure. This conversation isn’t about copying a lifestyle or checking boxes. It’s about developing character. We’re working backwards from the woman you’re prayin...

Your Life Won’t Change Until Your Choices Do//Repentance, Discipline & Breaking Cycles 19.01.2026 33min

Wanting change isn’t the same as choosing it... Last week, we talked about aligning our goals with God—but alignment alone doesn’t change your life. Your choices do. The next step is learning how to move differently in our everyday lives. In this episode, we’re talking about why so many of us stay stuck in the same cycles—even when we want better—and how real change begins with repentance, discipline, and daily decisions. We’ll explore how repeated choices create repeated outcomes, w...

Alignment Over Ambition//How to Set Goals You’ll Actually Achieve – With God 12.01.2026 30min

January pushes us to move faster, dream bigger, and set goals rooted in pressure. But what if the goal this year isn’t more ambition—what if it’s alignment? In this episode, we’re talking about how to set goals from a place of faith instead of fear. I’m walking you through the difference between hustle-led goals and faith-led goals, how to discern whether a desire is from God or from comparison, and how to align your goals with what God wants for you. This episode is a roadmap for anyo...

2026?? It's Time to Lock In//My Goals For the New Year 05.01.2026 37min

Happy new year!! I missed you guys so much on my break, but I'm back and ready to chat with my girls ❤️ Today I'm sharing all of the goals I have for 2026. We’re talking spiritual growth, personal habits, relationships, motherhood, and the mindset shifts I’m carrying into the year! Can't wait for all this year has to offer and the amazing conversations that will be had on the pod. FOLLOW US: @girlsirlpod @mariahclayton_ Don't forget to leave a 5 star rating!

Stop Carrying What God Called You to Release//How to Let go Gracefully Before Entering the New Year 15.12.2025 35min

As the year comes to a close, many of us are carrying things we were never meant to take into the next season. Expectations. Guilt. Responsibilities that drain us. Relationships that no longer align. In this episode, we talk about what it really means to release without guilt and trust God with what we’re letting go of. We explore how letting go is not failure or weakness, but an act of faith and obedience, and how making space is often the first step toward peace, rest, and what God wa...

The Cost of Almost// How Partial Obedience and Half-Hearted Effort Keep You from God’s Best 24.11.2025 29min

So many of us live in the space of almost — almost healed, almost disciplined, almost obedient to what God asked us to do. But what we don’t realize is that “almost” still costs us something. In this episode, we’re talking about the hidden price of settling for halfway — the opportunities we miss, the growth we delay, and the peace we forfeit when we don’t fully commit to what we’ve been called to. Because the truth is, partial obedience is still disobedience, and almost becoming who God crea...

Drowning in the Day-to-Day//How to Overcome the Chaos When Life Feels Like Too Much 17.11.2025 31min

Life has a way of piling things on all at once. The to-do list gets longer, the responsibilities get heavier, and suddenly you’re just trying to keep your head above water. This episode is for the days when you’re stretched thin, worn out, and wondering how you’re supposed to keep going when life feels like too much. And more importantly, we’re learning how to breathe again — how to pause, recenter, and invite God into the chaos instead of trying to manage it on our own. If you’ve been overwh...