New year energy can inspire change or quietly recycle the same old dating patterns. We dive into the subtle habits that keep love stuck and share how small, honest shifts open the door to healthier connection. From “attraction on autopilot” to the urge to decide everything by date one, we unpack why familiarity feels safe, how pressure clouds wisdom, and the simple questions that restore clarity in the early stages of getting to know someone. If dating has felt like different faces with the same emotional script, this conversation offers a kinder, clearer path forward.

Together we contrast scarcity thinking with a posture of peace. Instead of racing a clock, we explore how grounded trust sharpens discernment, protects standards, and makes room for real compatibility to show up over time. We also get practical about speaking truth in love, sharing intentions, setting boundaries, and using calm, direct language that creates safety rather than tension. You’ll hear why waiting to feel perfectly ready can be a polished form of fear, and how growth often happens inside relationship through repair, reflection, and mutual care.

Expect encouragement, not pressure. You don’t need a brand new version of yourself to date well this year, just the most aware version. If you’re ready to replace urgency with intention and confusion with clarity, you’ll leave with grounded steps to try on your next coffee date or message exchange. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope for their love life, and leave a quick review so more people can find these tools. What small shift are you making this week?

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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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