Christian Parent, Crazy World

A little boy whose dreams were dashed by the words of a teacher. A young man whose aspirations were ignited by the words of a co-worker. A poor child who believed he could be anything if he kept reading because his illiterate mom said so. These are some of the incredible stories that Catherine brings to life in this uplifting series on the power of our words. Words are weighty. They can shape the...

In this episode, Catherine wraps up this series on dealing with the difficult parts of the Bible by addressing those parts of Scripture we still don’t understand. Let’s be honest—sometimes Scripture does say what we want it to say. What is the point of these passages dealing with rape, slavery, and murder? Issues like these frequently come up when discussing the Christian faith with unbelievers an...

Catherine continues in a series on dealing with the difficult parts of Scripture by discussing two often misunderstood aspects of God’s nature: his mercy and his justice. These attributes are opposite ends of the divine pendulum. If we don’t understand them, we don’t understand who God is. We must properly comprehend these parts of God’s character if we want to prevent our kids from falling for th...

There are many out there who would mischaracterize God. We need to prepare our kids for these mischaracterizations of God. We must not ignore, sanitize, or downplay the difficult parts of Scripture. We must address them head on and give our kids an accurate understanding of who God is. If we read the Old Testament honestly, we will see a God of great compassion and mercy. A God who pleads with his...

Catherine continues in her series on dealing with difficult parts of Scripture with installment two. In this episode, Catherine applies the practical guidelines that she gave in episode 31 to a difficult story from the Bible that led a young college-age Christian to abandon his faith. Our kids are getting blindsided by parts of the Bible that they haven’t heard or haven’t properly considered, and...

There is stuff in the Bible that is hard to understand and difficult to explain. And too often, the first time many Christian kids encounter these difficult parts of the Bible is when an atheist professor brings them up in a class, or a friend who is a secular humanist challenges them in the cafeteria or at work. Kids are getting blindsided because they didn’t cover those topics in Sunday School o...

In this episode, Catherine tackles a question that every parent needs to have firmly settled: is it ok to question God and the Christian faith? Kids are coming home from school, extracurricular activities, higher education, work, or even church with serious questions about their beliefs. This is a good thing. But how do you handle that? How do we help our kids with these difficult topics? How do w...

When it comes to defending your faith, you don’t always need to play defense. Sometimes you need to go on the offense. These 7 guidelines will help you and your kiddos challenge cultural lies and lead others to the truth. You and your children need to: 1. Always define your terms. 2. Question everything. 3. Challenge labels. (Don’t label and discard.) 4. Don’t Cancel. Instead, consult. 5. Don’t ce...

How powerful are our words? Can they change the future? In this episode of CPCW, Catherine takes a fascinating, prophetic look at how words have the power to shape reality in the past, present, and future. Our leaders are using words to confuse and distort reality. But as faith-filled parents, we can use our words through prayer to effect change in our lives, in our kid’s lives, and in the world....

Get to know Catherine better in this wacky bonus episode of CP/CW as she shares a very fun and lively interview with Larry Roberts from the recent Spark Media Conference in Nashville, TN. Hear more about her background, how the podcast started, her passion for Christian apologetics, her two miraculous trips to the maternity ward in her 40s, and more than you ever wanted to know about Nashville hot...

What Every Parent Needs to Know about the Prodigal Child – Episode 26 *CONGRATULATIONS to CHRISTIAN PARENT/CRAZY WORLD for being named the 2022 Best Kids and Family Podcast by Spark Media.* https://bit.ly/3qmrx1K Catherine brings some much-needed truth to our perspective on parenting in this episode of CPCW by discussing what is the parent’s responsibility, what is the child’s responsibility, and...

Catherine continues in a series on truth by examining another way that the enemy is attacking the Christian faith and the next generation. In this episode, Catherine connects the dots between a prominent philosophical movement and the current state of gender and sexuality in our culture. The influence of nominalism has led not only to the denial of universal truth, but the denial of universals in...

Catherine continues in a series on truth with this second installment, which identifies the leading way that the enemy tricks Believers. Truth is the central issue of the Christian faith—it is the primary reason Christ came to earth, and yet nearly half of all born again Christians do not believe in universal truth. The enemy has a plan to twist and contort the truth, and in this episode, Catherin...

In this episode, Catherine identifies the greatest threat to our faith and our culture today. That threat involves an attack on something that is so central, so foundational to our faith, that to attack it is to attack the very core of who we are as Christians. Truly, it is an attack on Christ Himself. This threat is leading to an erosion of both our faith and our culture, and it is leading to the...

This is Catherine’s most practical podcast yet. In this insightful episode, Catherine helps you leave behind the old and embrace the new in 2022 with a “Dashboard for Life,” which is a report card containing 13 gauges on how to improve in the new year. Catherine walks you through how to examine your faith life, your marriage or dating life, your family life, and nine other areas by offering simple...

The Hallmark Channel has found a cash cow with their Countdown to Christmas, attracting around 80 million viewers during the 8-week event. These films are a cultural phenomenon. Why are they so popular? After all, they are predictable and a little cheesy. Why do we love them so much? Catherine has a theory on that, which is both enlightening and entertaining. The answer is very significant both cu...

Culture swings on a pendulum between two extremes, and the enemy is very adept at using these extremes to his advantage. He is masterful at hiding our vices, and using a complementary virtue to reinforce what is our greatest area of weakness, as a culture and as individuals.  In this episode, Catherine shows how culture how ebbs and flows between these two extremes throughout history. Then she ide...

HOW DO YOU LIVE BIBLICALLY WHEN EVERYONE AROUND YOU ISN’T? Or a lot of people around you aren’t. In other words, how do you live a counter-cultural life? Good question, huh? We are in the middle of a series on how to be a counter-cultural Christian. In this episode, Catherine offers six guidelines to help you and your kids swim upstream in our downstream culture. At the end of life, all that matte...

If we are going to swim God’s direction in this downstream culture, people will think that we are odd. They will have all kinds of choice words to describe us. We need to have this expectation in life, and we need to give our kids this expectation as well. If our children stay true to God’s Word and God’s standard, our culture will not celebrate them. In fact, our culture will accuse and may even...

Do you know that you have a purpose in life? Like beyond parenting. Beyond what you do for a living, even, perhaps. Beyond paying the bills and doing the chores and feeding the kids. You have a purpose in life. Something that God created you to do before you were ever born. God has a very specific part for you to play in the grand story He is writing throughout all of history In this podcast, I’m...

The more your kids understand their God-given purpose in life, the more likely they are to stay grounded in their faith into adulthood. As parents, we have this incredibly unique position in our kid’s lives. We are literally front row center for most of the first two decades. We are, hands down, the most important influence on our kids during their formative years. We have not just the ability, bu...

When you step out with God in prayer, you need to expect opposition from the enemy. That’s because prayer changes history. Your history, your child’s history, human history. *** Resources: Read my article on this topic on Crosswalk.com God Is Good, But This Isn’t: Blogcast Recording | Article. Take Heart: 100 Devotions to Seeing God When Life's Not Okay *** Scriptures to Pray When You Go to Battle...

Get close to God. Seek His face. Declare who He is. Exclaim His goodness. Ask for direction. Request what you need. And command His will to be done here on earth in your life as it is in heaven. Pray some bold prayers. Scriptures referenced: James 1:5 Philippians 4:6-7 Psalm 37:4 Psalm 144:1-2 Article referenced: Is God Still Speaking to Us in Dreams, Even Today? Read my article on this topic on C...

I love apologetics, explaining the faith and equipping parents to help their children stand strong in the faith. But there comes a time in life when we need to stop explaining and start exercising – we’ve got to start walking out all that we know. In this episode, we will cover: 1. The four types of prayers we should be praying when we are in a battle for one of our kids 2. The greatest impediment...

We spend a lot of time worrying that our children will leave the faith in college. But statistics show that children are more likely to leave the faith before they leave the nest. In this episode, Catherine covers: 1. What is to blame when your child walks away from the faith (and what NOT to blame). 2. A battleplan for going to war for your child’s faith Articles and Resources Mentioned in this E...