When someone hurts us—especially someone we love—there’s a deep temptation to make them pay. To bring up past mistakes in future fights. To keep score. But that’s not love—and it’s definitely not forgiveness.

In this second episode of our Love in the Deep End series, Ryan and Laura Dobson talk about what it means to not punish your spouse or your kids for a lifetime. Drawing from their own story of surviving cancer, crisis, and real emotional pain, they explore how grace restores what punishment destroys.

You’ll hear:

• Why “keeping score” is a fast track to disconnection

• The spiritual and emotional cost of dragging up the past

• Parenting in crisis—and why behavior isn’t always the real issue

• How to reset a fight with “Can I try that again?”

• What Scripture says about how God forgives—and how we can follow His lead

This episode is for every parent, spouse, or friend who wants to stop recycling old pain and start building something stronger, even in the deep end.

Key Verse:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” – Psalm 103:12

“You can’t prepare for something like this.”

That’s what people say when the diagnosis comes, the pain hits, or the marriage feels like it’s crumbling. But on REBEL Parenting, we don’t believe that.

In this raw and deeply personal episode, Ryan and Laura Dobson open up about surviving Laura’s fourth cancer diagnosis, a life-threatening infection, and the hardest year of their lives—by choosing, over and over, to Go Again.

Kicking off our new series, Love in the Deep End: Preparing for the Unpreparable, Ryan and Laura reveal how faith, honesty, and relentless love became their anchor when everything else was falling apart. They share how building a spiritual foundation—through daily time with God, Scripture, and community—prepared them for storms they never saw coming.

With vulnerability and hard-earned wisdom, they discuss marriage, parenting, repentance, and the power of showing up for each other when life gets ugly. If you’ve ever wondered how to keep going when you’re out of strength, this episode is for you.

📝 Show Notes

In This Episode:

• Why the phrase “you can’t prepare for this” is a myth—and how to replace it with hope

• Laura’s journey through a fourth cancer diagnosis, five surgeries, and a dangerous, antibiotic-resistant infection

• The power of Psalm 136: “His steadfast love endures forever”—and why it became their lifeline

• What it means to “go again” in marriage, especially when crisis leaves you both exhausted and raw

• Parenting with grace when your kids are unraveling too—and why your home should be a safe place for their emotions

• The role of vulnerability, repentance, and asking, “Can I try that again?” in building resilient relationships

• How Jesus is the reason they’re still standing—and still in love

Key Quote:
“Sometimes you’re sick, and it’s worse, and it’s poor. But I made a promise. And that means I’ll go again—until the day I die.”

Scripture Highlight:
Psalm 136 — “His steadfast love endures forever.” (Repeated 27 times, a reminder that God always goes again.)

Takeaway:
You can’t stop the pain, but you can build a foundation strong enough to carry you through it. Go again—one day, one prayer, one act of love at a time.

Listen now and join the conversation about faith, family, and the courage to go again—even when life is at its hardest.

In this video, Ryan Dobson discusses the importance of deescalation as a crucial skill for navigating conflicts with children. He provides strategies for staying calm, using positive language, listening actively, validating feelings, offering options, and taking breaks to help defuse tensions and find resolutions. This video encourages parents to work on their deescalation skills in order to improve communication and strengthen relationships with their children.