Christian Parent, Crazy World

One prevailing question burns at the heart of each generation—one question keeps them up at night. Understanding this question helps us know how to reach people of every age, especially our kids.   For the Baby Boomers, people born in the 40s, 50, and 60s, that question is:   What is TRUE?   Like the great philosophers of old, this generation was preoccupied with truth.   For Gen X , born between...

Where does discipleship in the home start? Do you use a particular curriculum or a new Bible study or is there a check list that gets the job done? All of those things can be helpful, but they aren’t where discipleship starts. Discipleship needs to begin with a spiritual truth that so many parents miss because often they don’t know it themselves.   That truth is identity.   Understanding our ident...

According to recent Barna research , reconciling a good God with an evil world is the number one barrier to the Christian faith for the next generation. As parents, if there is an obstacle to our kids’ faith, we need be prepared with some answers.   Catherine’s special guest for this episode is eminently qualified to help us reconcile any difficult question concerning the Christian faith. Dr. Doug...

Woke ideology is everywhere. You can’t escape it. As parents, we need to understand exactly what it is so we can help our kids to understand it. That means we need to know where it came from and where it is going.   Catherine wraps up this two-part series on Woke by digging into the history of Woke philosophy:   Who were the major players? What did they believe? How did they introduce Woke ideolog...

Woke ideology permeates our culture. It has saturated our airwaves—sung in our songs, read in our novels, acted out in our films, espoused by our educators, preached by our politicians, and even (re)written into our history.   But what exactly is woke, and what makes it so powerful?   Catherine begins a new two-part solo series on woke ideology by looking at the long view of history to properly es...

At some point, every parent will have to work through a crisis with their kids. Whether their child deals with a substance addiction or battles an eating disorder or questions their sexuality or walks away from the faith, parents need encouragement and strategy to work through these difficult seasons.   Joining Catherine again to discuss parenting through the hard times is best-selling author Lain...

Statistics show that a majority of Christian kids are leaving the faith when they leave the nest. That means a majority of Christian parents are parenting a prodigal child. Support for those walking through the prodigal journey is one of the greatest needs for parents in the body of Christ today.   Where does the prodigal parent start?   Joining Catherine to discuss parenting prodigal children in...

Do you wake up anxious first thing in the morning? Is your mind racing with thoughts of what you need to get done today and what you failed to do yesterday? If this is a pattern for you, we challenge you to break the morning cycle of worry with prayer! In this episode preview from Teach Us to Pray, host Christina Patterson shares what to pray in the morning for a worry-free day.   Discover More Ep...

May is mental health awareness month, and more families than ever are battling challenges in this area of health. Catherine and her special guest, Peyton Garland, dive deep into the topics of OCD, anxiety, and depression in this episode to offer unique insights, education, and encouragement to weary parents.   Peyton has a powerful testimony of how God is using a mental health disorder in her life...

In this episode, Catherine continues her riveting conversation Blake Howard, the committed church kid raised in a Christian home who struggled with same sex attraction from a very young age. Then, tragically, Blake was molested and bullied in school for acting gay. So after high school, he became gay. He was also addicted to drugs and was doing drag to receive the love and affirmation that his hea...

We've all heard the story of a kid in the church youth group who is now on a destructive path. Many parents are living this story. Sometimes the lessons we teach our kids don’t stick. The faith we hand down doesn’t become their own. They have outside influences that erode the foundation that us parents seek so diligently to build.   In this episode, Catherine shares a cautionary tale of a young ma...

Our culture is selling a pack of lies to the next generation. Are your kids buying?   Joining Catherine again in this episode is Elizabeth Urbanowicz, creator of Foundation Worldview , a Christian worldview curriculum for kids ages 14 to 4. Elizabeth has distilled the catalog of cultural falsehoods into a best-of list containing the top seven most prevalent lies being sold to our kids.   They are:...

What type of mindset makes us vulnerable to chronic stress, anxiety & depression? When you are stressed, what automatic coping mechanisms have you adopted that don’t help, but diminish your wellness?  What holds you back from getting the rest that you need when you’re stressed?   In this episode from Breathe: The Stress Less Podcast  (another free show from LifeAudio), soul care coach Bonnie s...

The Christian worldview is challenged like never before in American culture. With a majority of kids leaving the faith after they leave the nest, Christian parents need to prioritize establishing a biblical worldview in the lives of our children.   Our kids can’t keep what they don’t own, and they can’t own what they haven't received.    But how do we teach our kids the Christian worldview?   What...

There is no greater discipline that we can teach our children than the daily practice of prayer. Communing with our heavenly Father is the lifeblood of our faith.   But how do we teach our kids to pray?   Catherine wraps up this series on Gen Z by exploring that question.   Joining Catherine to discuss this vital topic is Erica Renaud, author of the brand new book Pray with Me: Help Your Children...

Every generation has faced challenges from the culture, but the intensity and ferocity of the challenges facing Gen Z is new. These challenges are pummeling the next generation like waves, one after another after another.   What are the cultural waves facing Gen Z?   We can’t respond to them if we don’t know what they are.   Joining Catherine again to discuss these cultural waves is Dr. Jonathan M...

The gap between generations has never been greater. Understanding the unique aspects and challenges of Gen Z is vital if we want to reach this generation with the truth of the Christian worldview. How well are we doing? Recent statistics show that half of Gen Z children raised in the church are leaving the faith after they leave the nest, and recent research from Barna shows that only 4% of Gen Z...

Raising the next generation presents some very unique challenges. Recent statistics show that half of Gen Z children raised in the church are leaving the faith after they leave the nest. And recent research from Barna shows that only 4% of Gen Z has a Biblical worldview.   How do you disciple them?   How do you relate?   What obstacles do they face and how can you teach them to pray?   Catherine a...

How can you eat better, sleep better, exercise better, work better, play better, spend better, save better, serve better, worship better, and pray better? Those are very good questions to ask at the beginning of a new year.   But how can you improve your relationship with your kids this year?   Now that’s a question to put at the top of the list.   In this special New Year’s episode, Catherine spe...

Finding worthwhile holiday entertainment is quite a challenge these days. A recent list of “The Top 100 Christmas Movies of All Time” on Rotten Tomatoes placed a movie called “ Tangerine” at number 4. Brace yourself for the description:   “After hearing that her boyfriend/pimp cheated on her while she was in jail, a transgender sex worker and her best friend set out to find him and teach him and h...

Baptism is an important part of being a Christian, regardless of your theological tradition. However, we can’t all seem to agree upon exactly how we’re supposed to do it. In this special episode, Catherine provides a special preview of Kainos Project, another podcast on the LifeAudio podcast network that's perfect for parents! Every week, hosts Dale and Tamara Chamberlain help you tackle ancient t...

Did you know that 20 young people take their own lives every single day in the United States? Catherine recently sat down with one such teen for a two-part series on suicide. Emma Benoit had a picture-perfect life. She was a vibrant, beautiful 16-year-old varsity cheerleader whose secret battle with anxiety led her to take a gun, point it at her chest, and pull the trigger. Only 1% of people with...

Did you know that 20 young people take their own lives every single day in the United States? Catherine recently sat down with one such teen for a two-part series on suicide. Emma Benoit had a picture-perfect life. She was a vibrant, beautiful 16-year-old varsity cheerleader whose secret battle with anxiety led her to take a gun, point it at her chest, and pull the trigger. Only 1% of people with...

Just mentioning God’s plan for our sexuality has become hate speech these days. How did that happen? That question is answered as Catherine concludes this series on sexuality by discussing the overarching narratives that are competing with the Biblical view on sexuality. Also addressed is the sinister agenda taking place in our nation’s hospitals where children are being maimed in transitional sur...

Biblical sexuality and cultural sexuality are diametrically opposed to one another. Our kids are neck deep in a culture that says everything the Bible teaches on sexuality is not only wrong but oppressive, divisive, and hateful. As parents, we need to know what our culture is saying about sexuality. We must know where these ideas are coming from and how to talk to our kids about it. In part 3 of a...