Their marriage almost didn’t make it.

In the early years of Ryan and Karina’s relationship, things were a lot harder than people realized. The fighting, the friction, the uncertainty… at times it became so overwhelming that Karina wanted to leave. What looked like a strong marriage from the outside was actually two young people trying to figure out how to love each other through pain, pressure, immaturity, and completely different perspectives.

But Ryan refused to let their marriage fall apart.

Instead of running from the tension, he pursued Karina relentlessly and fought for the idea that no matter how hard things got, they would work through them together. And over time, those difficult years didn’t destroy their marriage… they actually helped shape it.

In this episode of Life Upside Down, Ryan and Karina open up about the real struggles of their early marriage — learning how to communicate, raising kids while still trying to grow up themselves, searching for direction and career stability, and making countercultural decisions to protect their family.

This conversation is honest, raw, and deeply relatable for anyone who has ever struggled in marriage, questioned their future, or felt overwhelmed trying to build a family and a life at the same time.

And somehow, through all of it, the struggles that once pushed them apart became the very thing that brought them closer than ever.

#MarriagePodcast, #ChristianMarriage, #MarriageStruggles, #YoungMarriage, #RealRelationships, #FaithAndMarriage, #MarriageTestimony, #FamilyLife, #ParentingJourney, #ChristianPodcast, #RelationshipGoals, #MarriageHealing, #LifeUpsideDown, #MarriageAdvice, #FaithJourney, #LoveAndFaith, #MarriageStory, #FamilyFirst, #WorkingParents, #counterculture



🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: @livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate
🔗For podcast appearances, speaking engagements, or collaboration inquiries, please email us at marketing@lifeusd.com

He was just a kid chasing a thrill.
It started small. It always does.

Skateboarding. Friends. A little rebellion that didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. But by 17, Dan Graves found himself going down a path that was anything but harmless. What began as experimenting with drugs slowly pulled him into something darker… until he was running with real criminals.

By the end of his senior year, Dan was the getaway driver in a gas station robbery.

And it cost him.

He got caught.
He went to jail.
Six months behind bars with nothing but time… and the quiet voice of God beginning to plant seeds.

In this episode of the Life Upside Down Podcast, Ryan and Karina Martinez sit down with Dan Graves to hear the full story—one he’s never shared quite like this before.

Jail didn’t instantly change everything. The seeds were there, but surrender hadn’t happened yet. It wasn’t until after he got out—watching people around him genuinely follow Jesus—that something began to shift. The life he was chasing started to feel empty.

And then came the moment.

A real, tangible encounter with God that changed everything.

Dan didn’t clean himself up first.
He surrendered first.

Now his life looks completely different. He owns a successful carpet cleaning business. He has a beautiful family. And he’s built something powerful out of his past—literally.

A skate barn on his property, running a skate ministry called The NAAR.
A place for the next generation—walking the same roads he once did—to come, find real community, and encounter God for themselves.

This episode covers Dan’s early years, the slow drift into drugs and crime, the robbery, jail, the seeds planted behind bars, and the moment everything flipped when he encountered Jesus for real.

If you’ve ever wondered how far is too far… this story answers that question.

No one is too far gone.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Dan’s story didn’t just change his life—it shaped the way he works and leads today. If you’d like to support his business or learn more, check it out here:
rugredeemer.com (service)

steaminredeemer.com (Equipment)

#dangravestestimony, #getawaydriverstory, #robberytestimony, #jailtestimony, #fromcrimetochrist, #drugstoJesus, #radicaltransformation, #godencounter, #excriminaltestimony, #findinggod, #lifechangestory, #christiantestimony, #faithbasedpodcast, #christianpodcast, #jesuschangeseverything, #redemptionstory, #youthministry, #skateboardministry

🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com

🔗 TikTok: @livelifeupsidedown

🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast

🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums

🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic

🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store

🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate

🔗For podcast appearances, speaking engagements, or collaboration inquiries, please email us at marketing@lifeusd.com

He lost both of his parents in a car crash. Instead of running from God, he ran toward Him. And it changed the course of his life forever.

In this episode of the Life Upside Down Podcast, Ryan and Karina Martinez sit down with Pastor Tyler Schenzel, head pastor at Waypoint Church, a non-denominational church in Omaha, Nebraska and part of the Antioch movement. Tyler shares his full testimony for the first time on this platform, and it’s one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had.
Tyler’s story starts in a place a lot of people can relate to. He loved the world. He was in a fraternity. Partying was the lifestyle. The things that pulled at him weren’t unusual for a college kid. They were normal. And that’s what made them so dangerous. Because when sin looks like everyone else’s Friday night, it doesn’t feel like sin at all.

But God had other plans for Tyler. And the road to transformation wasn’t gentle.

Tyler lost both of his parents in a car accident. Not one. Both. In the same moment, the two people who raised him were gone. And in that devastation, Tyler had a decision to make. Two paths sat in front of him. One led away from God. Blame Him. Be angry. Walk away and let the grief swallow everything. The other path led directly toward Him. Seek refuge. Trust His character even when nothing made sense. Let God be the Father when his earthly father was no longer there.

Tyler chose God. And through that decision, through the grief and the surrender and the rebuilding, God called Tyler into full-time ministry. The kid who was partying in a fraternity became the head pastor of a church. Not because the pain made him qualified. Because the pain made him willing.

This episode covers Tyler’s childhood, his college years, the moment of the accident, the grief that followed, the Holy Spirit’s comfort in his brother’s guest bedroom, and the calling that grew out of the ashes of the hardest season of his life.
If you’ve ever lost someone and wondered whether God still had a plan for you, this episode is going to meet you exactly where you are.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

🙏 Learn more about Waypoint Church:
https://www.waypointomaha.com/

📩 Have a testimony to share? Reach out through lifeusd.com

#LifeUpsideDownPodcast #PastorTylerSchenzel #WaypointChurch #ChristianTestimony #AntiochMovement #LostBothParents #GriefAndFaith #Psalm3418 #Psalm461 #FraternityToFaith #RadicalTransformation #ChristianPodcast #FaithPodcast #OmahaChurch #CalledToMinistry



🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: @livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate
🔗For podcast appearances, speaking engagements, or collaboration inquiries, please email us at marketing@lifeusd.com

He embarrassed her the first time they met. She was about to ask him to be a groomsman in her wedding. Instead, he asked her to marry him.

Ryan and Karina come from two completely different backgrounds. Different upbringings. Different lifestyles. Different everything. They met working together when Ryan was 18 and Karina was 16. And Ryan’s first impression? He told her a dirty joke that completely embarrassed her in front of everyone.

Not exactly a love story opening.

But over time, something shifted. Ryan was curious about Karina’s faith. He didn’t understand it, but he couldn’t ignore it either. And over the next three years, Karina would witness to Ryan as they slowly became friends. She wasn’t trying to change him. She was just living her life for God, and he noticed.

But it wasn’t a clean road for either of them. Ryan would pull away at times because his own conviction about his lifestyle was too heavy to sit with next to someone like her. Karina invited him to church camp in the first six months of their friendship. Ryan had a meaningful experience there, but then went right back to struggling with sin for the next three years.
Meanwhile Karina was in a long-distance relationship that had been going on for about four years. It was toxic. But she stayed because she didn’t know anything different. Eventually she was ready to get married to someone else.

Then the turn nobody saw coming…
Ryan got saved. Actually gave his life to Christ. And in his prayer time, he felt God showing him something he never expected…that Karina was his match. They reconnected as friends after Ryan told her he was saved. And Karina was so happy for him that she planned to ask him to be a groomsman in her upcoming wedding.

But before she could ask, Ryan said something that stopped the whole conversation.

What if we got married?

Karina didn’t say yes on the spot. She fasted. She prayed. And God revealed that He was asking her to marry Ryan. Not the man she had been with for four years. The man who embarrassed her on day one and spent three years running from the God she served.

You can’t make this up. Only God writes a love story like this.
Episode 3 is now live on YouTube.




🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: @livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate
🔗For podcast appearances, speaking engagements, or collaboration inquiries, please email us at marketing@lifeusd.com

Her dad walked out... Then she lost her mom and brother in the same accident. Then she walked away from God. He never stopped chasing her. Episode 2 is here.

Karina’s story is one of the most layered testimonies you’ll hear. She grew up in a predominantly Catholic household with a father she was deeply close to. And then he walked out. Her parents separated. The man who was supposed to be her foundation became one of her first lessons in loss.

But God started drawing her closer. She began to understand something her religion alone hadn’t taught her — that it wasn’t about working her way into heaven or earning God’s love. It was about laying her life down.
Reviving in the love and sacrifice of Christ. Proclaiming Him as Lord. That shift changed everything for her.
And then tragedy struck again.

Her older brother — the one who had stepped into the role of father figure and protector — died in a car accident. And her mother died in that same accident. Two of the most important people in her world. Gone in a single moment. Her refuge collapsed. The people who held her family together were suddenly not there anymore. And Karina had to face the question every grieving person eventually asks. Where is God in this?
The answer she got wasn’t a fix. It was a presence. God promised her that He would be her refuge. Her world. Her constant. He wasn’t going anywhere.
But Karina didn’t always walk that out perfectly. As she got older, she stepped away. College came and she chose to rebel. She put distance between herself and the God who had carried her through the worst losses of her life.

And here’s the part that makes this testimony hit so hard — God never stopped chasing her.

He answered prayers she barely whispered. He waited patiently for her to come back. He never held a single thing against her. Every time she ran, He was already where she was running to. That’s the kind of love most people don’t believe is real until they’ve lived it.

This is Karina’s full testimony. Episode 2 is now live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Uk08h_FDM



🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: @livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate

In the first episode of Life Upside Down, Ryan Martinez shares his full story…from a broken childhood and addiction, to the moment everything changed.
This isn’t a highlight reel. This is the real, unfiltered journey. The pain, the mistakes, the years of searching for something that never satisfied. And the moment God stepped in and flipped everything upside down.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your past disqualifies you from purpose... Listen to this.

P.S. This episode is part of our relaunch and includes new stories and reflections added to the original episode we shared.

🎙️ Life Upside Down is a faith-based podcast hosted by Ryan and Karina Martinez, sharing real stories of redemption, marriage, and Christ-centered living.

💍✝️ Subscribe for new episodes every week.

🔗 Watch The Full Video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqAKdHaAp40
🔗 Website: https://lifeusd.com
🔗 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livelifeupsidedown
🔗 Instagram: @lifeusd.podcast
🔗Support Life Upside Down With a Direct Download of Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/store/albums
🔗Stream Ryan's Music Here: https://lifeusd.com/ryanmartinezmusic
🔗Visit The Life Upside Down Merch Store Here: https://lifeusd.com/store
🔗Give A Tax Deductible Donation Here: https://lifeusd.com/donate