Mom to Mom Podcast

We all know a great and godly marriage takes work. And it’s also fair to say that motherhood is a full-time job of its own as well. It’s a delicate balance. How DO we find the time, the space, the energy, and the focus to keep both relationships healthy and strong?  Is it possible?

This episode originally aired in Season 1 of our show. Be sure to head to https://momtomompodcast.com/11 for the show notes.

Today we’re chatting about the overwhelm of motherhood. Between the three of us, we have 16 children and have experienced more than our share of overwhelm in our mothering journeys.

This episode originally aired in Season 1 of our show. Be sure to head to https://momtomompodcast.com/5 for the show notes.

We are mothers but we aren’t superwomen and we’re not supposed to be. When we are recharged, we're better able to cope with the issues that are bound to come up during the summer. In this episode, Kate, September, and Jamie share their best tips for using summer to refuel.

This episode originally aired in Season 1 of our show. Be sure to head to https://momtomompodcast.com/9-2/ for the show notes.

There are plenty of issues that can divide Christian moms, with well-meaning and Jesus loving women on both sides of any argument. Yet the debate runs deeper than the typical "mommy wars" because at the heart of the division is our commitment to God and His Word. Today, we’re going to be talking about the differences between personal convictions (sometimes called freedoms) and Biblical commands. As we chat, we’re not necessarily going to share our individual beliefs about specific issues, but rather how to put our convictions in their rightful place.

This episode will conclude season 5 of the Mom to Mom podcast. In the coming months, Kate, September, and Jamie will be taking a hiatus to enjoy some rest. They'll be back in September with new episodes, eager to join the conversation around the long and wide table of motherhood. In the meantime, we all hope you’ll still tune in as we rewind through some of the most popular episodes of the first four years.

Recently, Kate, September, and Jamie had the privilege of hosting a Q&A panel at the Teach Them Diligently convention in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The room was packed with moms eager to ask them some hard questions about mothering, faith, homeschooling, discipleship, and so much more. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get to all of the questions and there were several that were quite universal, so they thought it would be beneficial to discuss them on the podcast.

In this episode, they return to that stack of questions and do their best to answer them as if we were still sitting down with mothers in real-time. Just as in the live Q&A, they do "shoot from the hip" with no preparation or background, not knowing all the nuances behind the question or your specific set of circumstances. Take their thoughts as a gentle invitation to explore further on your own.

Thank you so much for listening. We are winding down season 5 of the show and are in process of planning season 6, so if these or any other topics piqued your interest and you’d like to hear more, please shoot us a message on Instagram⁠ or Facebookand let us know what topics you’d like for us to discuss next season!

In the American church, there's been a growing, gaping hole between the generations. Older women often feel disconnected and irrelevant to younger women, easily intimidated by modern technology and navigating social media and it’s easy for many to feel out of touch. Many younger women feel like they’re doing just fine on their own and don’t see the need for biblical mentorship. Others find that when they do ask an older woman to mentor them, they get turned down and they wind up navigating as best they can but desperate for help from someone who’s been there and done that.

Our goal in this episode is to encourage the hearts of both older and younger women and give strategies to help you connect and share creative ways to bridge the massive gap between the generations. You can also find us on Instagram, on Facebook, or at our website at www.momtomompodcast.com. We would love to hear from you, so reach out and we will reach back to you.

Our culture in general seems obsessed with the idea of "hustle." But for some of us, a side hustle can make all the difference in meeting our desire to stay-at-home with our kids as well as providing additional income or bringing personal satisfaction in an area of interest outside of motherhood.

Listen as Jamie, Kate and September delve into the topic of side-hustles (specifically for stay-at-home moms) and share insights and practical tips on how to balance family life and side-hustles, as well as how to identify profitable opportunities that may be better suited than others to you and your family.

As always, we’d love to connect with you! Join the conversation on Instagramand Facebook. 

We live in a crazy, mixed-up world, vastly different from the world 20 years ago. Back then, there were no cell phones, only very rudimentary computers, no internet or social media and the world seemed much calmer as we all had more time to spend in face-to-face communication. We weren’t looking more at our phones and less at the world around us, the way many of us do today. Just stand in line at a restaurant or sit at your gate in the airport: ninety percent of people are staring at their phones rather than interacting with the ones around them!

But even 20 years ago, parents still needed to impart basic life skills to children, skills all kids need to learn before they move into life as an adult. There are several critical ones that Kate, Jamie, and September are going to chat about today. Listen as they hit on some of the major topics for the current culture we are living in right now.

For more information and resources mentioned in this episode, see the show notes at our Mom to Mom Podcast website.

Months after Jamie wrote her first book, Homeschool Bravely, she was being interviewed on a podcast. And while she doesn’t remember much about that particular show, she does remember one particular question the host lobbed her way. She was asked, do you still have fears when it comes to your mothering? The podcaster was specifically referring to fears about homeschooling, and so Jamie's answer took the conversation in a different direction than she was shooting for. Jamie answered, “Yep, I fear what will happen when everything I have poured into them over the years is now theirs to do with as they will. I pray they will hold fast to their faith and the truth of God’s Word. I pray 2 Timothy 3:14 for them, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.” But then we have to let those fears go, give them to the Holy Spirit and trust that in God’s great love for them, He’ll continue to chase after them even when our role in their lives shifts. That interview was nearly 4 years ago. Jamie now has a grown adult child, and yet she still nurses some of those same fears. 

Today, Jamie hopes that Kate and September, in their hard-won wisdom, can calm not just her fears about parenting adult children, but all of our fears.  We can use all the advice we can get! So, let's turn to our mentor moms and come expecting lots of answers!

For Christian families, discipleship that goes to a child’s heart will give them a passion for Jesus like nothing else.  We mamas do our utmost to raise our children according to biblical principles and standards as we do our best to model Christ’s love to them and everyone in our lives.

To chat all about how to focus on discipleship and why it’s so critical for our kids, we’re welcoming Leslie Nunnery, an author and mom of four who along with her husband, David, founded Teach Them Diligently, the nation's premier source for gospel-centered homeschool events. Leslie has been on our podcast before, on Episode 53 which is all about finding your parenting vision and is well worth listening to. She’s the author of two books and she’s written multiple homeschool courses. But whether you homeschool or not, Leslie is full of wisdom about how we can focus on discipleship and why it’s absolutely critical to Christian families, especially in the times we live in. 

Visit Teach Them Diligently, for resources and experiences to strengthen Christian families, at teachthemdiligently.net. You can also register for Teach Them Diligently Conferences, by clicking here. If you do attend, please come to our Mom to Mom panel presentation and say Hi! We’d love to meet you!

Ep. 53: Find Your Parenting Vision with Leslie Nunnery

Ep. 55: Discipline that Connects to the Heart with Jim & Lynne Jackson

As always, we’d love to connect with you on Instagramand Facebook. 

A few years into her mothering, Jamie decided that she wanted to put more emphasis on Easter in her home. It bothered her that Christmas–the day set aside to remember the birth of Christ--had become an entire season of celebration and yet Easter–the day honoring His ultimate sacrifice on the cross and His miraculous resurrection was just defined by most of the evangelical church, herself included, with a few lilies at the front of the sanctuary, maybe some new dress clothes most kids didn’t want to wear, and a basket of candy. She wanted her kids to see that both moments of Christ’s life–His birth and His death–were equally important in their faith.

In this episode, Kate, September, and Jamie chat about Easter and how they’ve found ways to center the season on Christ. We’d love to know how you mark the sacredness of Easter in the ordinary of your days. Find us on Facebook or Instagram and tell us all about it!

Today we’re welcoming Jess Ronne to the podcast. Jess is the author of Sunlight Burning at Midnight,  founder of a non-profit, and mom of 8 including  her son, Lucas, born with profound disabilities. Jess became a widow and single mom at 33, after losing her husband to a brain tumor. She had 4 children under 6, and after several years, she met Ryan Ronne, a widower with 3 children. They married and had a child together in 2015.

At that point, her son Lucas was entering puberty, and raising him became more challenging every day. She and Ryan sought out resources and support for caregivers, but, try as they might, they couldn’t find any community  for caregivers desperate for a break. So she founded her own non-profit, The Lucas Project, to help families with special needs. She realized early on, her efforts needed to include respite care for the caregivers, advice to help all of us to recognize their needs, and practical ways we can help.  Not only do disabled individuals need lifelong care, but their caregivers do as well.

Resources & Links:

Sunlight Burning at Midnight, the new book by Jess Ronne

Unseen: How We’re Failing Parent Caregivers and Why it Matters, an unfiltered, honest documentary that takes a glimpse into the lives of the Ronnes, to enable a change for millions of caregivers and their families.

The Lucas Project, providing recognition, respite and resources to family caregivers of those with special needs.

Jess Ronne's blog, jessplusthemess.com

The Ostrich and Other Lost Things by Beth Hautala

“But so-and-so has one.” “It’s all your fault.” “That’s not fair.” As moms, we’ve all heard these dramatic declarations on occasion–often at full volume and packaged in tears. But while in their immaturity, kids can be prone to selfishness, if left unchecked these self-seeking desires can morph into an unholy trinity of Me, Myself, and I. 

Today, Kate, September, and Jamie chat about curbing this “self” epidemic prevalent in our culture in adults and kids alike. Some folks would call this me-first attitude "privileged." Others might use the word “spoiled.” But for the sake of this conversation, they'll use the word "entitled."

We’d love to meet you on Instagram or Facebook, so feel free to follow us there. And, we’d be deeply grateful if you left us a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, and shared our podcast with other moms who’d love to join us.

Mamas, God designed sex and it is a great gift to us in marriage, but sometimes it can also lead to frustrations and hurt feelings.  The world has such a fractured view of sex, but we think part of the reason sex has become so distorted in our culture is that we’re not having these kinds of conversations.  

We're sure you can tell by the title of this episode that this is not going to be a G-rated discussion! Now would be a great time to hit pause if there are kids around and find a way to listen privately, perhaps even alone with your spouse.

We’re talking about sex today with our friend Francie Winslow, the host of the Heaven in Your Home podcast and an outspoken advocate for Biblical intimacy between husbands and wives.

Join us for this hard, yet importantly honest, discussion.  Find more from Francie at her website, www.franciewinslow.com and as always, join the conversation with us on Instagram at @momtomompodcast.

It can be a big challenge coming up with healthy meals for your family day after day. But we all want our families to be as healthy as they can, right? Food has a huge impact on maintaining our health and gives us the energy to tackle all the tasks we deal with every day. It’s tough, yes, but it’s certainly not impossible to make healthy choices,  and I'm sure many of you are doing it successfully.

But what about the woman who’s not? Her day can quickly get overwhelming, especially when she’s got littles at home. Or, maybe she works or has a part-time job and the time to prepare simply slips away. It's easy to feel guilty and anxious about what you’re eating and feeding your family, and we certainly don’t want this episode to put any more pressure on you than you might be putting on yourself. But, it’s an important area to examine and see what simple changes might work for you and your family.  So, lets dive in and chat about the proactive things we can start to do to eat healthier.

Also listen to Ep. 12: Meal Planning Hacks for the Busy Mom for more healthy eating ideas!

We’d love to meet you on Instagram or Facebook, so feel free to follow us there. And, we’d be deeply grateful if you left us a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, and shared our podcast with other moms who’d love to join us.

As women, we live in a world of confusion and comparison over our bodies. Even our womanhood is under “attack.” Raising girls in this next generation with healthy body image is even more challenging in a day when social media heavily influences what we see, think and choose to do or not to do with our minds and our bodies because a healthy body image begins in the mind!

A lot of times, women in our circles speak of childbirth or motherhood as an attack on their body image, but we have been doing some deep thinking on this and if we are being completely honest, any struggles we had with our bodies began long before we had any children!

Listen in this episode as we discuss our own struggles with body image, and share some of the ways we've found to make peace with how God has fearfully and wonderfully created us!  You can join the conversation over on Instagram at @momtomompodcast!

In episode 92, The Well-Read Mother with Jennifer Pepito, Jennifer shared with us all about how reading great books has shaped her motherhood. As we alluded to in that episode, we have been shaped by books too! So in this episode, we want to flip the mic back around and have our chance to share with you some of the books we continue to go back to – books that have mothered us.  

Be sure to grab our list of the many favorites that we just couldn’t get to in this recording – books that maybe didn’t fit one of these specific categories but which has walked through a different season with each of us! The list is at the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website.

The best kind of mentor for motherhood is a real life one, but sometimes that’s just not possible. When needed, a book can be a great alternative.  Fortunately, we've had Titus 2 examples and the wisdom of other trusted women in our lives because we’ve always surrounded ourselves with good books. Voices of encouragement, discipleship, and practical help have rung out to us from these pages and have helped shape our day-to-day faithfulness to our husbands, our children, our ministry commitments, our walk with the Lord…pretty much every area of our lives!

In today's episode, Jamie Erickson and September McCarthy speak with Jennifer Pepito, author of Mothering By the Book: the Power in Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy. They discuss the importance of reading aloud to your kids, making time for personal reading in the busyness of our day, and options for the mom who isn't a reader.

We’d love to know what books have been meaningful to you. Which ones do you find yourself going back to again and again for wisdom, for spiritual discipleship, for practical advice? Join us over on Instagram or Facebook to continue the discussion. 

Resources & Links

Mothering By the Book: the Power in Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joyby Jennifer Pepito, www.motheringbythebook.com
The Peaceful Press Shop
Jennifer Pepito on Instagram at @thepeacefulpress and @jenniferpepito

When was the last time you took a "date night?" Is this an outdated, old-fashioned idea that seems elusive to busy parents who cannot even find time for a minute alone? 

This episode is all about date nights and how we make it happen even when we aren’t feeling the “love?” Maybe that’s you? Or maybe you have tried date nights and have just run out of ideas or haven’t considered the importance of this time away?

Don’t forget to check out our date night list in the show notes for this episode on The Mom toMomPodcast website (and this time, we will include them on our Instagram feed as well.)

Try a date night. What do you have to lose?

In today's episode, we're talking about the little years, and although we have all graduated or semi-graduated from those days, we walked through them for a long time and the conversation is never dull or old when we remember or re-invite others to the table to talk about those very formative and busy, crazy years.

For links to some of our favorite practical hands-on helpful tools and resources, as well as ideas to help you bring the Word to life in the lives of your littles, please visit the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website!

Tis the season. Or at least ‘tis almost the season. Now is the time to start making a Christmas list for all the special people in your life. We don’t know about you, but we don’t want the marketing gurus of Target and Walmart to determine what to put under our trees! Instead of just searching the sales ads or the store shelves for some random something, we find it more helpful to mull over the recommendations of trusted friends – folks who have used and enjoyed certain things and can vouch for their value.

So, that’s what we do in today's episode – we'll be the friends that share what we’ve enjoyed, what our people have enjoyed – in case... like us... you find it helpful to have a few recommendations to get you started as you plan gifts for your people.

For links to all the gift ideas mentioned, please visit the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website!

There’s a spiritual battle going on in our culture today, Mama, and it’s a battle for our children’s hearts, minds, and bodies. Just turn on your TV and watch the news, or scroll through Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram. It’s everywhere your kids are and everywhere you don’t want them to be.  What can we, as moms, do to stem the tide of corruption targeting our kids?

In today's episode, September, Jamie and Kate chat about how they are raising Christian kids in an unstable world and how we can help our children to not only stay pure, but desire purity. 

Are you curious about the lifestyle called hygge?  According to co-host Jamie Erickson, the word comes from the British and Norwegian words for hug, and it's a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality from fostering a life of comfort, contentment and rest.

In today's episode, Jamie discusses her newly released book, Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow, with Mom to Mom co-hosts, Kate Battistelli and September McCarthy.  While the book breaks down each of the tenets of hygge and examines them in light of the Gospel, the ladies discuss what hygge is and how it can be a versatile tool in demonstrating the Gospel to the world as well as within our homes.

For more on Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow by Jamie Erickson, please visit www.jamieerickson.com/holy-hygge

Marriage is God-ordained.  It’s God’s gift to mankind, as He initiated the very first marriage in Genesis. Its purpose is to bring joy to us, bring glory to Him, and raise Godly families. He gave marriage to us to make our lives more fulfilling and richer, ultimately drawing us closer to God.

As soon as two become one through marriage, their relationship changes, and they are unified in a mysterious way, different from any other human relationship, with eternal significance. God’s design for marriage is companionship, purpose, and passion.

And although every marriage comes with pitfalls, there are steps we can take to strengthen our relationship with our spouse even after physical or emotional infidelity and model what Christ taught us about loving and forgiving others.

Everyone wants to feel at home in their home. For some of us, nothing can be further from the truth. Our homes are sterile, uninspiring, or on the flip side cluttered and overwhelming. The good news is, transformation can often happen with just a few tweaks here and there. Today, we're joined by Marian Parson, known online as Miss Mustard Seed.

Marian is a pastor's wife, mother of two boys, paint enthusiast, and lover of all things home. She’s recently released her fifth book, Feels Like Home: Transforming Your Space from Uninspiring to Uniquely Yours and she’s here to specifically give hope to those of us who are chronically hesitant decorators who might want to transform their spaces but aren’t sure where to start.

We realize that abortion is a very tender topic for some listeners, especially in light of the recent reversal of Roe vs. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. To be honest, it’s a very tender topic for each of us on the show. All three of us have been touched by the effects of abortion in some way or another. Our goal today is not to pass judgment or to point fingers. Instead, we hope to do two things: First, share our stories and the truth of Scripture to offer help, hope, and healing to anyone who might need it, and second: equip others to help their family, friends, and neighbors choose life.

We are joined by Abby Johnson, former clinic director for Planned Parenthood and now an outspoken advocate of the pro-life movement.

Life isn’t always as smooth and happy as a Hallmark commercial. For some of us, tragedy arrives out of the blue, shattering every truth about God we thought we knew. It can come through divorce, death of a loved one, the loss of a secure job, or the loss of a spouse.

How do you find your Rock in the midst of devastation? How do you find unshakeable peace? Danita Jenae has walked the road of deep loss after suddenly losing her husband Dan. In her new book, When Mountains Crumble, she shares a compelling message for the brokenhearted.

Summer is upon us and if you live in a place that is buried under snow for what feels like 95% of the year, you want to take full advantage of all three weeks of it. You welcome the sunburned noses, the skinned knees, and even the mosquito bites that are the required dress code of summer. Some moms, whether because of personality or daily responsibilities,  find summer easy–they become less structured, more breezy, and naturally more fun.

But for some of us, our expectations of summer fun fall far short of our realities. We want to be the fun summer mom, but we’re perhaps more Type A. Or maybe our schedules and responsibilities don’t shift or we just prefer the Great Indoors.

But here’s the thing, no matter our personalities or daily schedules, you and I  most likely only have 18 summers to spend with our kids without adulthood handing them adultish things–18 chances to squeeze in adventures and make lasting memories. Let’s not let this summer just slip by. Let’s grab a hold and make the best of it!

Mom anger is real, it is hidden, it is often something that takes the calmest and even the most loving and positive mother by surprise, and is one of the most shameful and embarrassing topics in mom circles because most mothers think they must be the only ones who get angry with their children.

From our children’s immaturity, our own personal struggles, our circumstances, and a child’s behavior, we all have moments where our children have not seen the best in us. And most of the time, it is directed or misdirected at them.  Which is the last thing any of us want for our motherhood or for our children.

Today, we  are chatting with Amber Lia, a native of California, married to her husband Guy and raising four boys. Amber is an author, speaker, life and health coach and this topic brought her book Triggers, to the top selling list, as it caught the attention of many desperate mamas, finding help and encouragement with our Mom Rage.

Moms, we are in a battle--a battle against the culture for the hearts and minds of our children. Today, Heidi St. John has joined us to help us prepare for it.  

Heidi has an uncanny ability to bypass our prejudices and preconceptions allowing her to speakdirectlyto the heart of every mother as she offers wisdom, inspiration and grace to those who are all too often feeling overwhelmed by all that's on their plate. Heidi’s been married to her husband Jay since 1989. Together they have seven children and several grandkids. The St. John children range in age from tweens to adults. They’ve homeschooled their kids all the way through high school, with 5 graduates now. In addition to all this, Heidi is running for Congress for the 3rd district of Washington state.

We don’t know what myths…or really lies you’ve believed about what it means to be a “good” mom, but we hope that our discussion today will dispel some of those misguided beliefs.

The truth is, we’re all in process–trying to be the best moms we can be to the children that God has specifically given to us to mother. We’re gonna get it right some times and we’re gonna mess it up at other times. But, let’s not get discouraged in doing well. Let’s remember Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” That’s not a myth. That’s a truth and a promise, not just for you but for your kids.

If you’re raising a strong-willed child, you’re well aware of it without having anyone tell you. Strong-willed kids aren’t bad but they can be incredibly frustrating. They’re often smart and confident, able to problem solve quickly, and are determined to achieve their goals. Although those are great traits, they’re probably not the first things that pop in your mind when you think about your child.

The defiance can be exhausting and the disrespect crushing. The weight of it all can exhaust you and become all-consuming.

Strong-willed children crave two things: respect and choice. So how do you find out what makes them behave the way they do? What do they need from you to help you both move forward and build on their strengths?

Motherhood can be overwhelming and quite honestly, as much as we organize, set up boundaries, and have a healthy view of our daily life, the peace and joy may be absent from our soul and our calm feels like chaos.  How can a mom be transformed from the inside out?

Today’s guest, Tricia Goyer, understands what it’s like to be pulled in a dozen different directions with the longing and intention to do all things well.

Perimenopause and menopause are God-designed. They are seasons that can and should be welcomed and celebrated. But unfortunately, they are often talked about with undertones of regret, embarrassment, or lament.

Today, we hope to change the narrative.

In Psalm 141:3, we read, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” This verse echos the theme of dozens and dozens of verses in Scripture. And it’s not by accident that God warns us more than once to watch what we say. Our tongues are powerful and as we’ve mentioned before on the show, they can give life. Today's guest, Ginger Hubbard, is here to give us some tips for taming our kids' tongues so that they too might speak life. 

It’s been said that lost time is never found again. You have but one life to live. So, how you use your time each day really counts. Today, we are looking back on all the promises we made to ourselves last month and doing a quick assessment of our goals. Hopefully our chat will be like a shot in the arm to you to keep pressing in to yours.

When we gossip, we’re sharing information about someone that’s not public knowledge…if they wanted you to know it, they’d share it themselves. Before you're tempted to share news about someone else, ask yourself this: "Would I say these words if the other person were standing right here in front of me?"

Gossip is extremely harmful and, if what you're sharing is not true, it’s slander. When you gossip, you’re telling only a partial truth about someone because you can’t possibly know the whole story. The hard truth is this: Gossip is sin and it can destroy a home, a church, and a friendship. It’s like a secret hunger that we try to avoid but when someone starts talking about someone else, we almost can’t resist it.

When left unchecked, the seasons of a woman’s body and her ever changing hormones can often lead to discouragement, spiraling emotional and physical crashes, and a shadow loneliness. Sadly, after decades of ignoring the natural response of our bodies and the intricate design and purpose we were created for, many of us struggle to respond to our beautiful womanhood in healthy ways.

Our husbands have volunteered to be in the hot seat and we’ll be turning the mics over to them to give us all a peek at what it means to be a husband and father with intention and hopefully help us all as moms know how best to love, support, and partner with them in helpful ways. This is obviously the Mom to  Mom Podcast, so the episode is for you. But, if you’re married,  we’d encourage you to grab your spouse and listen together.

The term helicopter parent was derived from some parents' literal and continuous hovering over their children's every move. It is a fitting term for moms and dads who choose to oversee every detail of their children's lives. Even when kids are more than capable of doing things independently, helicopter parents can't help but swoop in and take matters into their own hands.

In today’s episode, we are sifting through the pros and cons of micro-managing and parenting our children and the difference between being a protective parent or having a child-centered home.

Feelings of discontent sometimes feel unavoidable in this digital age, because unlike in the previous generations when the temptation to compare only came from face-to-face interaction or the occasional hand-written note in the mail, we have the blessing and burden of peering into the lives of others all the livelong day.

Today, we want to flip the narrative. Instead of focusing on what we lack, let’s start focusing on what we offer--what makes us unique--what makes us awesome. If that phrase makes you squirm a bit, that’s understandable. We’re all so used to feeling down about ourselves that it can feel slightly uncomfortable acknowledging the good that God is working in us.

Today we welcome Dr. Kathy Koch, founder of Celebrate Kids based in Fort Worth, Texas, popular national convention speaker, and author of several great books including 8 Great Smarts: Discover and Nurture Your Child’s Intelligences.

We know that motherhood makes high demands. Yet we know it’s worth it. Some days we may feel like no one sees us or wonder if our daily investments are even making a difference. Because let’s be honest; motherhood is not glamorous. Days and weeks can go by without an ounce of appreciation, without any special moments, without any “it’s all worth it!” epiphanies. Maybe you feel like some sort of defective woman who is selfish and like a fraud because you are feeling the weight and perhaps the disappointment of motherhood not being all that you expected it to be.

As moms, we are always on the lookout for ideas and shortcuts, tips, and tricks to make life easier. Today, we're sharing lots of fun and practical tips we think will help you and hopefully, make life a little bit easier for you. We have gathered loads of ideas, categories, some helpful links, and much more to inspire you.

Teaching our kids hospitality or generous living flows from our everyday lives and not just the singular stress-filled moments of hosting company or entertaining guests.

It begins in the heart and how and what we think of others--how we view our own possessions and our actions. The only art to hospitality and generous living we can teach our children is the act of selfless giving and a posture of humility with what we have been given.

Raising children who love to learn is a goal of just about every parent but not every parent believes they have the tools to do it properly. But, by learning how to identify your child’s innate smarts, parents will have a unique advantage and a leg up on helping their kids recognize that they really are smart, no matter what the circumstances say. How children view themselves is so important! And as parents, we can help them view themselves correctly.

On the one hand, we want our kids to know what is going on in the world in order to process history in the making through a Biblical lens, on the other hand, we want to protect them from being crushed by it all.

How do we prepare them today to be the leaders of tomorrow without overwhelming them with all devastation, corruption, and sorrow?

Well, today, we’re going to be talking about age-appropriate ways to navigate current events with our kids.

September has arrived and school has begun all around the country. Kids are back in school and whether you homeschool or send your kids to public or private school, you’ve likely run into some issues in the morning or evening dealing with attitudes and habits that may have developed over the summer months.

How do you get back into the rhythm of the school year without losing your cool and keeping your sanity at the same time?

Kidswillfight. It’s simply the way of the world. But we can’t simply chalk it up to selfishness or “that’s just how kids are” and hope they grow out of it. Selfishness is something every single one of us battles. We each have to learn self-control and to put others' needs first. Therearepractical things parents can do to stop the squabbling and fighting, the yelling and constant bickering.

Our new normal after Covid 19 looks different and brings with it a new wave of disappointments, not just for us, but for our kids.

But what if instead of looking at all these setbacks and frustrations as something to “slog through,” what if we as moms could see them as an opportunity to help our kids learn to walk well through disappointments. How would that change the landscape of our homes moving forward--regardless of how long this Covid craziness lasts?

So today, we’d love for you to pull up a chair as we chat about how to help our kids walk through disappointment.

Every mom feels unprepared for motherhood at some point or another. This is especially true for the one who is mothering a child with special needs. She faces unique circumstances every day that often set her far apart from her friends' schedules, lives, and experiences. She's often lonely, exhausted, and full of fear.

Mothering a different-by-design kid is an experience no one can feel prepared for.

Today, we welcome Lisa Jacobson, a woman whose mothering story has changed the lives of thousands of moms who like her have raised a special child.

The statistics are slow in coming, but according to November 2020 findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between April and October 2020, hospital emergency departments saw an increase in the total number of visits that were from kids for mental health needs.

And while that is true and terribly tragic, statistics also show that anxiety,  depression, and thoughts of suicide were already on the rise even before this global pandemic. One report from the ADAA (Anxiety & Depression Association of America) states that 1 in 20 kids struggle with mental health disorders each year.

Today we hope to offer you some help. Our guest today is Crystal Paine. She’s the founder of MoneySavingMom.com, host of “The Crystal Paine Show” podcast, New York Times bestselling author ofSay Goodbye to Survival Mode, and author ofMoney-Making Mom. She’s just released a new book, Love-Centered Parenting that is quite a departure from her normal offerings. But she’s opening up about a very vulnerable piece in her family’s story in order to help change that 1 in 20 statistic.