Moms Take Ten

In this final episode of the season, Moms Take Ten closes out the Parenting Practical series by stepping into the complex and often overwhelming topic of childhood aggression. Host Lyssa Stoyko is joined by Connected Families Certified Parent Coach Julie Maas for an honest, hope-filled conversation that many moms quietly need. Together, they move beyond surface-level behaviors to explore what's re...

In this final episode of Moms of the Bible for this season, Lyssa is joined by a very special guest—her mom, Judy—as they reflect on the quiet yet powerful legacy of faith seen in the lives of Timothy's mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois. Though only briefly mentioned in Scripture, these women are remembered for something deeply significant: their genuine faith in God, passed down from one ge...

In our final episode of this season's Parenting in Scripture series, Lyssa reflects on the heart behind the series—looking beyond traditional "parenting passages" and instead allowing all of Scripture to shape the way we think about and engage in motherhood. Each verse, encountered through quiet time, sermons, and everyday moments, serves as a reminder that God's Word is unchanging, yet always spe...

In this episode of  Moms Take Ten , Lyssa is joined by Kayla Moffitt of @makingthemoffits  for an honest and deeply encouraging conversation about foster care, adoption, and the realities of parenting children from hard places. Kayla shares her family's unexpected journey from planning for two foster children to welcoming five siblings into their home—and how God expanded their capacity along the...

In this episode of Moms Take Ten , Lyssa is joined by fellow Connected Families certified parent coach Merrie Beth Eubanks for an honest and hope-filled conversation about parenting children with special needs. Drawing from her own family's journey, Merrie Beth shares how traditional parenting approaches often fall short—and how shifting expectations, embracing accommodations, and slowing down can...

In this episode of Moms Take Ten , Lyssa is joined by her friend Erin for another conversation in the Moms in the Bible series, focusing on Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Together, they reflect on Elizabeth's quiet but powerful faith—her trust in God's timing, her joyful acceptance of her calling, and the way she wholeheartedly encouraged Mary without comparison or jealousy. Through ho...

Do you ever wake up already overwhelmed by the day ahead? In this episode, Lyssa shares how a simple shift—starting her mornings with "This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it" —began to change her mindset and her parenting. By anchoring herself in Psalm 118, she discovered that rejoicing isn't about feelings—it's a daily choice rooted in God's truth and faithful love. I...

Watching doors close on our dreams can break our hearts and cause us to question God's good plan for us. Years later, after watching doors close in her own life, my guest Audrey Frost sees how God used that to guide her to new doors and new dreams, including caring for children through Safe Families for Children. She has experienced the wonder of love for children not her own and the sustaining po...

Did you know that sometimes behaviors we see as wrong, or out of control, or mean, are actually anxiety in disguise? This is something that we are learning in my house and it has changed the way I think about those behaviors and my responses. Julia Crickenberger joins me today to talk about what anxiety is, what is can look like, and ways we can respond. She offers a grace-filled way of caring for...

Mary had the incredible privilege of birthing and raising the Son of God. And she also had the incredible pain that came with that, watching her son suffer and even die. As mamas, we all want to protect our children and shield them from suffering, but what if in doing so, we are shielding them from blessings and purposes that the Lord has for them? Stephanie Geisler joins me today to discuss how M...

We talk a lot on Moms Take Ten about identifying our toxic beliefs, as Connected Families calls them, and replacing them with grace-filled truths. But that takes work, doesn't it? How can we bring those truths into our every day moments more and more so they become deeply rooted in us? One suggestion that Connected Families gives is to share those truths with our children. That sounds good, but I'...

Do you remember the moment you first felt the tug towards foster care? My guest today, Emma Benedict, remembers sitting at church as her pastor, a foster dad himself, shared of the need. From her initial thought of, "I think I can do something" to saying yes to fostering a little boy, Emma is discovering the good that God has for her as she follows his leading. And not just for her, but for her wh...

What does the phrase "sibling conflict" raise up in you? Maybe frustration, exhaustion, annoyance, overwhelm? In this episode, fellow parent coach Skylar Turek helps us go below the surface to identify some of the thoughts driving our responses to our children when they fight and she points to some benefits of conflict you might not have considered before. If you are feeling weary from trying to w...

Her story is told in only ten verses but they are powerful ones. In this episode, Sarah Janes shares how Jochebed's strategic faith and intentional parenting have encouraged her own heart as she raises her five kiddos. Sarah Janes is a pastor's wife, mama of 5, follower of Jesus, and a delight to talk with! You can connect with her on Instagram @inbluejanes I am a Connected Families certified pare...

Have you ever found yourself yelling, "Stop yelling at each other!" or responding to your child's snarky comment with some snarkiness of your own? I know that I have. Sometimes I stand there wondering who is more the child, them or me! Paul's words to the Jewish believers in Romans 2 really challenged me in this--to beware of the trap of judgement, but also to remember that we are all in need of J...

It's an amazing thing to be able to look back over years of waiting and grief and struggle and say that it was all leading somewhere good. My guest, Molly Duble, testifies to that in today's episode as she shares her journey to adopting her two girls. There's still pain. There's still struggle. But given the choice, she'd go back and say yes all over again.  This episode is part of Moms Take Ten's...

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, I want to turn our attention to his lineage. Matthew lists generation upon generation that Jesus descended from in his first chapter. Among all the fathers and sons, for family lines followed the men, we find five women mentioned. Each of their stories is unique and each played a role in bringing the events of this holiday to pass. Join me as we lear...

A calm house. A clean kitchen. Time to ourselves. Obedient children. There are many place and people and situations that we are tempted to take shelter in. Psalm 91:1-2 reminds us that God is our trustworthy shelter, the only one that we can truly find refuge in. Even when things around us are falling apart, or our kiddo is melting down, we can take shelter in him and find the peace and the streng...

The journey to foster care and/or adoption looks different for each one of us. But for the moms on this podcast we all can point to a time when God said "this is what I want you to do." For Kate Rietema, it was about seventeen years ago as she listened to stories from foster parents and felt her heart stirred to say yes. Now, reflecting back on that time, Kate shares her own stories of loving and...

Happy Thanksgiving Mamas! Given the season, I wanted to re-share an episode from two years ago with Katie Wetsell about gratitude. More than feeling grateful or writing something down in your journal, which is good to do, gratitude is meant to be shared. As parents, when we model gratitude to our children and express ours to them, we invite them to experience the benefits and enjoyment that a grat...

Who are the women who helped shape your faith? Whose faith are you helping shape today? Those are the questions that today's mom from Scripture guides us to ask. My guest, Evie Wesner, draws our attention to a single verse in the Scripture that speaks to a legacy of faith that one mama, one grandma, left behind. Her name was Lois and she is known for how she passed down her faith to her daughter E...

Have you ever found yourself comparing your capacity for something with your friend's and found yours lacking? I have. And it has led me to questioning what was wrong with me and why I couldn't measure up. God, in his kindness, met me recently during one of those times and spoke a different word over me. He wants to speak that word over you as well. I pray you will be encouraged through this episo...

Fostering kiddos can bring us to the end of ourselves, of our limited human capacity. But today's guest, Ashley Carter, reminds us that isn't a bad thing. Because it is there that we recognize the true rescuer, Jesus Christ, and the work he is accomplishing in the children we are caring for, but also in our own hearts. He gives us the ability to continue, filling us up so that we can pour out to t...

We talk to our kids a lot, don't we? We are giving instructions, correcting them, laughing with them, connecting with them. Some conversations are hard and some are pure joy. Have you ever thought about incorporating blessings into those conversations? In this episode of Parenting Practicals, Christy Grey teaches us about just that. Walking us through six Scripture passages, she shows us how speak...

How do the stories of the moms in the Bible speak to you? What has God taught you through them?  That is what this season's Moms in the Bible series is all about. I am inviting other mamas to come and share their answers to those questions. This month, my sister Kim Taylor talks about how Rachel and Leah's lives of comparison and rivalry speak a cautionary word to us. Their lives were impacted sig...