Family Meeting

Does your spouse actually know what would make your birthday amazing? Where do you want to eat? What do you want to do? What kind of gift would you actually enjoy? Do you want a big celebration or a quiet day? Do you love surprises or hate them? Sometimes we expect our spouse to somehow know exactly what we want. Then our birthday arrives, they make their best guess, and we end up disappointed bec...

Is there a conversation you know you need to have with someone in your family, but you keep putting it off? Maybe there's unresolved hurt between you and a parent. Tension with a sibling. A boundary that needs to be established. Something was said that you can't seem to get past. Or maybe everyone in the family knows there's a problem, but nobody wants to be the person who brings it up. Avoiding t...

Is wrestling with your kids actually good for them? The tackling. The chasing. The wrestling matches on the living room floor. The pillow fights. The laughter that eventually ends with somebody yelling, "Do it again!" It might look like you're simply having fun, but healthy physical play can also create opportunities for connection, trust, boundaries, self-control, and quality time between parents...

One of the Osterkamp girls got married! Episode 313 of the Family Meeting Podcast is a special wedding episode, and we're bringing you behind the scenes of the wedding with stories, pictures, videos, and moments you didn't get to see. And this Family Meeting has a very special guest joining us, the new Mrs. Corey Bowman! What is it really like when your daughter gets married? How does it feel when...

Is your spouse paying for something they never did? Sometimes your reaction to your husband or wife has less to do with what is happening in your marriage today and more to do with something that happened in your past. A parent who constantly criticized you. A previous relationship filled with betrayal. Someone who abandoned you. A childhood where conflict never felt safe. Those experiences can in...

What do you do when your child is afraid of something that hasn't even happened yet? A new school. Moving to a new place. Trying out for a team. Going to college. Meeting new people. Changes in the family. Sometimes the biggest fears our kids face aren't about what IS happening. They're about what MIGHT happen. In Episode 311 of the Family Meeting Podcast, Thomas and Lysandra Osterkamp discuss how...

What is killing the sexual intimacy in your marriage? For many couples, intimacy doesn't disappear overnight. It slowly gets pushed aside. Resentment builds. Schedules get packed. Phones get more attention. Conflict goes unresolved. Emotional connection begins to disappear. And eventually, what happens outside the bedroom starts affecting what happens inside it. In Episode 310 of the Family Meetin...

Have you ever looked back at something you said or did to your spouse and thought, "I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself"? Maybe you lost your temper. Maybe you lied. Maybe you were unfaithful. Maybe you neglected your marriage or made a decision that deeply hurt the person you promised to love. Your spouse has forgiven you. God has forgiven you. But you still can't seem to forgive yourself. I...

Your kids are being discipled every day. Movies. Music. YouTube. TikTok. Social media. Influencers. Television. Video games. Friends. Culture. Every message they consume has the potential to shape what they believe about truth, relationships, sexuality, identity, success, morality, and God. The answer isn't simply keeping your children away from every message you disagree with. You need to teach t...

Can your spouse tell you the truth? One of the greatest indicators of a healthy marriage isn't how rarely you disagree. It's whether you can lovingly receive honest feedback without becoming defensive. In Episode 307 of the Family Meeting Podcast, Thomas and Lysandra Osterkamp discuss why every healthy marriage needs honest feedback. You'll learn why defensiveness damages connection, how humility...

Is your child sharing their struggles online… or looking for validation through social media? A growing trend called sadfishing has changed the way many children and teenagers express emotional pain. Some posts are genuine cries for help. Others become a way to seek attention, approval, or sympathy from an online audience. As parents, how do we respond with both compassion and wisdom? In Episode 3...

Did you know God has uniquely gifted you to strengthen your marriage? Every follower of Christ has been given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit. While we often think about using those gifts in the church, God also intends for them to impact the people closest to us, especially our spouse. In Episode 305 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we explore how discovering your spiritual gifts can transform y...

What are the words your children hear from you the most? Correction? Instruction? Or affirmation? Before Jesus performed a single miracle or preached a single sermon, God the Father publicly declared, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) Those words affirmed Jesus' identity before His ministry ever began. What if our children regularly heard those same kinds of lif...

Why does one of you love change while the other resists it? Maybe one of you is ready to move, start a new job, book the vacation, or rearrange the house tomorrow. Meanwhile, the other needs time to think, process, and feel comfortable before making a decision. Neither approach is wrong. You simply have different levels of change tolerance. In Episode 303 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we explore...

Have you ever corrected your spouse in front of your kids? Overruled a parenting decision? Said "yes" after your spouse already said "no"? It may seem harmless in the moment, but undermining your co-parent's authority can confuse your children, weaken trust between spouses, and create division in your home. In Episode 302 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we discuss why parents must work together as...

What do you wish someone had told you about sex before you got married? Many couples enter marriage with unrealistic expectations, unanswered questions, and assumptions that quietly create frustration and disappointment. The truth is, a healthy sex life isn't something that just happens. It's something couples intentionally build through communication, trust, selflessness, and a growing emotional...

Families are always changing. Kids grow up. Roles shift. Responsibilities change. And every transition affects the family differently. In this special Episode 300 of The Family Meeting Podcast, all six members of the Osterkamp family sit down together for an honest conversation about the transitions each of them is currently walking through, and how everyone in the family feels about it. From grow...

Is your child struggling with anxiety, fear, or constant worry? More kids than ever are dealing with anxious thoughts, emotional overwhelm, and stress, and many parents feel unsure how to help without making things worse. In Episode 299 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we talk about how parents can wisely support children who struggle with anxiety while creating emotional safety, resilience, and hea...

What does your spouse feel like they're competing with? Your phone? Your work? The kids? Your hobbies? Stress? Exhaustion? In many marriages, emotional distance doesn't happen because love disappears. It happens because connection slowly gets replaced by distractions, priorities, and competing demands. In Episode 298 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we talk about the hidden things spouses often feel...

Why do so many family meetings start with good intentions… but end in tears, anger, or emotional shutdown? Many parents want open communication with their kids, but without emotional safety, healthy structure, and wise communication, family conversations can quickly become tense, defensive, and overwhelming. In Episode 297 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we talk about why family meetings often beco...

"I shouldn't have to ask." "If they really loved me, they would just know." "I do everything, and they do nothing." These are often signs "secret contracts", unspoken, unagreed-upon expectations we place on our spouse that quietly create frustration, disappointment, and resentment. In Episode 296 of The Family Meeting Podcast, Thomas and Lysandra unpack how hidden expectations damage marriages and...

What do you do when your child begins questioning their gender? For many parents, this can feel emotional, confusing, and overwhelming. You want to respond with both truth and compassion, but knowing how to navigate the conversation wisely can feel difficult. In Episode 295 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we discuss how parents can support, guide, and love their child while staying grounded in bibl...

Do you constantly feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, or stretched too thin? For many families, the problem isn't just a busy schedule, it's poor boundaries. When you say yes to everything, carry responsibilities that aren't yours, or never create margin, stress becomes a permanent way of life. In Episode 294 of The Family Meeting Podcast, we talk about how healthy limits bring peace to your ma...

You're not just raising kids for today, you're raising someone's future spouse. In Episode 293 of The Family Meeting Podcast, Thomas and Lysandra talk about how to raise children who grow up to be great husbands and wives. The habits, attitudes, and values your kids develop now will directly shape how they love, communicate, and commit in marriage later. Marriage preparation doesn't start in prema...

Money isn't just a financial issue in marriage. It's a unity issue. In Episode 292 of The Family Meeting Podcast, Thomas and Lysandra talk about the importance of creating shared financial goals, and why so many couples struggle to get on the same page when it comes to money. Different spending habits, priorities, and expectations can quietly create tension, conflict, and distance. But when couple...