Faithful in the Mundane with Emma Waters

What if you've been believing a lie about children without ever knowing it? In today's conversation on the Marriage After God podcast. Aaron sits down with Emma Waters — wife, mom, policy analyst, and author of Lead Like Jael: Seven Timeless Principles for Today's Women of Faith — to talk about the fear of motherhood that nearly cost her her marriage, why the trad wife movement and girl boss feminism are more alike than they seem, what a 3,000-year-old tent peg reveals about a woman's role in marriage, and how to stop treating your home like a waiting room for your real life. About Emma Waters Emma Waters is a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, where she focuses on infertility, reproductive technology, and family structure from a life-affirming perspective. She writes for First Things and World magazine on issues of family, femininity, and what it means to be human in an age of rapid technological change. Emma is married to Jack Waters, who is pursuing ordination in the Anglican Church of North America, and together they have two daughters with a third on the way. She is also the author of Lead Like Jael: Seven Timeless Principles for Today's Women of Faith. Website & Podcast: rethinkingfertility.com Book: Lead Like Jael — available wherever books are sold In This Episode The fear that almost ended her relationship — She broke up with her now-husband over one question: do you want kids? "Either you're right, or the Bible's right" — The mentor's challenge that changed everything Every negative thing about children in the Bible belongs to the villains Trad wife and girl boss: more alike than they look Jael's tent peg — She could only do what she did because she'd been faithful in the mundane The myth of the morally neutral public square Adam and Eve's names as a marriage blueprint The enemy has always targeted the home — The first attack didn't happen on a battlefield. It happened in the Garden. Seasons of faithfulness — Why both "my life is over" and "it's only a few years" get it wrong Resources from This Episode Book: Lead Like Jael: Seven Timeless Principles for Today's Women of Faith by Emma Waters — available wherever books are sold Website, Podcast & Substack: rethinkingfertility.com Book referenced: The Glory of Man by Peter Leithart Book referenced: The Three Worlds Framework by Aaron Renn (Zondervan) If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with a couple you love, and subscribe wherever you listen. Follow us on Instagram: Marriage After God · Unveiled Wife · Husband Revolution Want to go deeper? Become a patron and help us keep creating resources for marriages that pursue God together. Smith Family Resources, Inc © 2026