Gospel Matrescence

How comfortable are you at allowing others to feel the painful consequences of their lack of responsibility?  How often are you tempted to step in with an adaptive or reactive manner that hinders others from taking responsibility?  We can not make another person responsible, the more we try to make them responsible, the less responsible they become.  However, we can reconnect others with the pain...

Do you struggle with martyr-mom syndrome?  Are you so busy meeting other's needs that your own go unmet and then you begin to resent the people around you for not meeting your needs?  If so, you are not alone.  Learning to be a non-anxious presence in our homes requires that we take charge of our own needs in such a way that helps us show up authentically and respect those around us.  In this...

In this episode, we discuss a mother's calling to minister outside her home and how vital that is to her well-being and her children's view of the broader body of Christ.  We look at principles that help us balance marriage, motherhood, and ministry.  Andie shares her own experience finding her calling both inside and outside her home and encourages you with four steps to growing in this...

In this episode, we take some time to discuss our parenting practices that affect our overall matrescence health.  Andie shares lessons from her parenting journey and the resources that helped her family form a confident practice of shepherding their eight children.  She discusses the role of older mentors in our lives and shares resources that have significantly formed their family's discipl...

In this episode, we discuss mental strength in light of motherhood.  How does a weary mama learn to embrace adversity, chaos, and disorder in such a way that builds antifragility and strength in her home?  How do we parent our own children away from victimhood and towards mental strength when we ourselves feel so weak and fragile?  Three books are mentioned: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter An...

In this episode, we dig deep into your sexual identity as both a mother and a wife.  There are countless ways that the enemy can distort our view of sexuality and rob our marriages of the gift that God intended for us.  It is time to begin the work to win that back for you and your spouse.  This episode may be the first baby steps toward restoring your sexual soul.  

In this episode, we will discuss the impact motherhood has on both our physical bodies and the way we view our physical bodies.  All too often, mothers struggle to nourish and nurture themselves while they are bearing and caring for children.  We will look at three truths that will renew our minds in this area: 1) Our bodies are tools, 2) Our bodies are a testimony, 3) We must embrace a Christian...

Today we will dig a bit deeper into the third pillar of healthy matrescence by discussing the emotional experience many moms go through. One of the important roles of every mother is to help her children process their big emotions but how can we do that if we don't understand our own emotional experiences?  What framework do we use for understanding the human heart?  What is the difference be...

In this episode, Andie discusses what it means to have a self-differentiated identity that is rooted in the finished work of Christ rather than your childhood or life experiences.  One hallmark of this is when a mom can show up as a non-anxious presence in her home, even when the anxieties of others run high.  How do we exchange the identity we have gained from our past with the identity Scripture...

This is the first episode in an eight-part series that will dig a bit deeper into each of the 8 Pillars of Thriving Matrescence.  Here we discuss the deep need every mother has to be filled with the grace and strength it takes to pour herself out on behalf of her family.  What does a mom do when her own tank runs low?  Who is responsible to replenish her?  What well does she drink from when her ow...

In this episode, we will look at the description of a mother in Psalm 128:3 - a fruitful and thriving vine.  While all women wish this could be true of them, often we find ourselves feeling dry, feeble, and fruitless.  Andie introduced an evaluation tool that will help you take a closer look at the eight pillars of thriving matrescence:   Spiritual - A deep, abiding connection to God  Identity - B...

In this episode, we look at the Hero's Journey story template and apply it to motherhood.  This involves a hero who goes on an adventure, learns a lesson, wins a victory with that newfound knowledge, and then returns home transformed. What do the 12 steps of the hero's Journey look like in matrescence?  Click the link below to see an image of the Hero's Journey clock and watch a vid...

In this episode, we look at mental health and matrescence.  We learn about the importance of not just discussing the psychopathologies that can occur during matrescence, but also the normalized experiences mothers have in this season of life.  We apply the work of Dr. Allen Frances and Dr. Bruce Perry to matrescence and discuss the four factors that contribute to mental wellness.

In this episode, we discuss the history of the concept of Matresscence and the women who created and developed the term.  We look at seven factors that are greatly affected by the occurrence of matrescence.  We also compare the modern perspective of motherhood against the description of a thriving mother in Proverbs 31.  

Welcome to the first-ever episode of Gospel Matrescence!  In this episode, Andie shares her journey into motherhood and her introduction to matrescence.  She casts a vision for the coming episodes and invites you to build community and navigate motherhood together.