Inner Peacemaker Parent Podcast

Sometimes it's important to look to the past to untangle big feelings, other times it's perfect to be fully present in the moment, and other times, it's helpful to ponder about your future.  Over the years, I've found 6 different approaches/ideas/prompts that have helped me at different times to uncover valuable direction from my "future self".  Remember that I'm...

I turned to binge watching a show while I was resting from a round of having Covid. I was super grateful for a fun, good-feeling activity to do while I was healing.  After I was physically well again, I noticed how I KEPT craving and wanting to binge again, sometimes even more than other activities and tasks that seemed even more of a priority.  In this episode, I share my inner struggle of confli...

My kids' bedtime routines have changed over time. Because we just moved, and my children have their own rooms now, and the school year started, it's once again another natural shift to a different routine. They have different wants and needs now too. I realized that I have been trying to figure out their routines by myself until I was reminded of Paul's words of being someone "...

Esther recently reminded me about praying together for a good cause, so this 4-min episode is a short prayer for you & your children (and/or grandkids) as they start their next school year or next chapter of their lives. So wherever your kids go to school, may this prayer be for them AND for you to enjoy the joyful moments together, and to have wisdom from God sent to your heart to help your k...

My husband and I are slowly learning more about how to grow plants, but we sometimes royally mess up (like when we planted our asparagus upside down!! Haha; you can judge us for that! That was hilarious!)  One time, our neighbor helped us know that a beautiful "bush" in our backyard was actually an overgrown tree that was in desperate need of trimming! This week's episode is about t...

One time I put down the back seats in my car, put fluffy pillows and soft blankets in there with twinkle lights and homemade treats and drove around to different homes to offer a 10-min "homework break" to some of the young women I was asked to serve at the time. While they enjoyed treats, I read them a story I first heard years ago during my first time at girls camp. This powerful littl...

Perhaps you too have taken a lot of photos this summer. I noticed that I had some big feelings as I looked at a specific photo of myself. I felt both anger and disgust come up towards my body.  I reflected on my main reason for no longer just pushing those feelings aside or thinking "I should just be grateful..." to why I intentionally choose to "be still" with those big emotio...

Bathing suit seasons sometimes trigger big feelings, so I wanted to share some ideas I have learned (and will be using again this season) to help us stay in-love with the gift of our bodies AND the bodies of others. THAT'S how I want to show up from a place of genuine love this summer at reunions, get-togethers, and gatherings. I'd love to share a few ideas with you if your heart might n...

This episode is a short meditation for the start or end of your day, so it has: (#1) a simple way to ask God how you can be a support to someone else, and (#2) a way to give sincere thanks for the support you've received throughout today. (I'm trying to look up "at you" in the camera so I repeat a portion. Haha. I'm trying to be present with you which usually equals some r...

As the chicken-run in my backyard was being taken down this morning, I started having some big feelings.  For years, I just "didn't get it" when others seemed SO attached to their family pet. But because I've now had 8 little chickens of my own, I now get it.  The next home my family and I are moving to this summer, sadly won't be a place we are able to keep them, so it&ap...

This past Sunday, in my head, I unkindly judged somebody for something they chose NOT to do. And then a few hours later, I felt and did the VERY thing that I was judgmental about!!   I've always thought moments like this meant I was a hypocrite. The Greek root meaning of the word "hypocrite" translates to “stage actor” or “pretender.” Dale Renlund says if I am striving to do good, t...

I had kind of a humbling experience going back and forth wondering if I had "received personal revelation," then not understanding the timing, and now what I've learned from it. Feeling grateful to be helped with a story from a 7 year-old and a thought about first responders; I needed these reminders as part of my journey to keep learning line upon line about this topic of personal...

It's ok if you don't agree with me on today's topic; honestly, I didn't agree with it for years when I first heard it! But now it's easily one of my most influential mental health tools to feel more inner peace about the good AND hard moments, and to feel more empathy & kindness when others are going through a half-empty kind of day. It's all part of the same glas...

I didn't remember this story of “when Saul was troubled with an evil spirit, David played for him with his harp and Saul was refreshed and the evil spirit departed" (see 1 Samuel 16:23) (Ezra Taft Benson, "Do Not Despair," Ensign 16 [October 1986]: 5).  I love that is included in the Bible! There are so many awesome gifts of music!!  This episode was really so much fun to write...

“…Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today" (Matthew 6:34, NRSV).  I appreciated hearing a vulnerable, open story of an apostle's worries & challenge in a financial experience & what he learned about sometimes taking life just one day at a time.  I'm excited to also share with you a joyful moment at the airp...

Because my home was just involved in a house fire two days ago, I keep thinking about the power of water. To the woman at the well, to Lehi, and to you & me, there is a gift of water that we have access to everyday and it can powerful.  Reflecting on a scale of the power from a firehose, a garden hose, a water can, or spray bottle, how powerful does His love and power feel in our own life??