Growing Home Together Podcast

From the time we had the first of our five children, some of our most special moments were snuggling up to read books together. And some of those stories became like familiar old friends as we read them over and over until the kids could probably recite them by heart. We found so many gifts in reading together with our kids – the quality time, our children’s enjoyment of language and artwork, and...

We got married young and it felt like we were launching out of a starting gate with other couples we knew who got married around the same time. As the years have gone by, one of the hardest things to hear is when one of the couples we care about has fallen to sexual sin and some have even chosen to get a divorce. It’s a sad reality that many marriage partners struggle against the pull of pornograp...

Many of us have the perception that prayer is a one-size-fits-all aspect of our faith with God. We may think that we are getting it wrong or failing that aspect of our Christian life. We believe that prayer is a deeply personal practice. It is an essential way to invite God’s power and wisdom into our lives, marriages, and relationships with our kids. We are so excited to welcome Janet McHenry bac...

Most couples have encountered situations where they feel stuck. Maybe there’s a recurring area of conflict. Or a pain from the past that keeps showing up in the present. Maybe you wish your spouse would utilize your love language more, or that the two of you would be more unified in your parenting. No matter the area of your marriage that feels stuck, the good news is that change in your marriage...

We are keeping it real today! You’ve likely heard us say that we are committed to quality time as a couple. Even when our kids were small, once a month we would scrape together whatever money we had left in our budget to pay a sitter to make sure we got quality time together. Date night has always been a big deal for us, but lately these last months we’ve fallen out of our routine. It’s felt like...

Did you know that we’ve been parents for over 30 years? We can still remember holding each of our children as newborns and feeling overwhelmed by our love for them. But we also had many fears about raising our children in a world that is so broken and full of dangers. While we knew we couldn’t change the world, we did have hope that our children would grow resilient, full of faith in God, and able...

I have to be honest with you. This month is just giving me all the excuses to lay awake at night and worry about my kids. I have one that is headed into middle school and it’s just so easy to spiral into worrying about his friend group, how he'll manage academically, and what kinds of influences might drag him down this year. Not to mention we have a daughter who is moving away to college for...

Recently, I (Joanna) have been meditating on the story of Abram and Sarai in Genesis 12. In the story, Abram becomes afraid that someone will murder him because his wife, Sarai, is so beautiful. It can seem like a pretty crazy story. But it shows how we can look at our spouse's assets and view them not as gifts, but liabilities. In this episode, Rob and I want to look at why we can struggle t...

Next month, our family remembers one of the most important anniversaries of our life together–the adoption day of our youngest son. We view this day as a blessing and a celebration, but for our son, that day holds a whole mix of feelings. While he loves us and is securely knit in the love of our family, his story holds confusion and loss that are an inherent part of a child’s separation from their...

You may have heard of decision fatigue where you just have so many choices to make it can kind of be exhausting. Well, our family has been going through transition fatigue. We have had so many transitions both as a family and as individuals over the last year and a half. These transitions have been everything from switching jobs, moving to a new house, saying our goodbyes as a family member moves...

We have five children, and in recent months they have been asking some significant questions about their money and their future. Everything from how health insurance will handle a pregnancy, how to find a good job and a reasonable apartment, and how to sell old video games to finance a new game. Each of our kids is at a different age and stage but they all have questions about money that are signi...

Even before we were married, we dreamed about becoming parents. We’re so grateful to God that today we have two wonderful sons and three beautiful daughters. Yet while parenting truly is incredible, it's not easy! For Rob, if he had to pick one of the hardest parts of parenting, it’s when our kids break down and cry. As a dad that just breaks his heart and he wants to make it all better as qu...

It’s a very common story. You have an idea of how life will be with your spouse. You probably imagined a picture-perfect marriage with no conflict where you would just click together. But then once you start living with them day in and day out, it is all too easy to get hung up on their flaws and notice all the ways you're different from one another. This happened to Rob and me when we were f...

Recently, I was talking to a good friend of mine who has an older teen. We talked about the struggle we feel as parents to help our kids hold onto their faith while they have the world’s voice in their ears all the time. Like so many parents, she has watched her child turn from the truth of God to believe the lies of the world. How can we help our kids have confidence in the Bible? What do we say...

While we love each other very much, marriage is not always easy. Joanna and I are in this for the long haul, but it isn’t easy for two imperfect people to stay close, connected, and happy for a lifetime. Maybe you are feeling this struggle in your marriage today. Your spouse's habits are making you crazy, or you may not be feeling cared for , or you are constantly in conflict that drives a we...

Fifteen years ago, our lives were filled with stress and busyness. While I thought I was doing everything right to work FOR my family by homeschooling during the day and working at night, I didn’t see that my relationship with my husband and my kids was struggling. Have you ever felt that way? We can get so wrapped up in doing and being productive that we miss out on what matters most. That’s not...

In our previous episode, we discussed how to prepare ourselves to launch our children into adulthood. Continuing on this theme, this episode focuses on parenting young adults, which is particularly important to Rob and me since it's a topic that's close to our hearts. We delve into the heartache that comes with parenting a wayward child and aim to offer you the hope and encouragement you...

In this episode, we are going to discuss a stage of parenting that isn’t talked about as much. It’s what is known as the “messy middle” of parenting, where your kids are preparing to leave the nest for good. The questions and situations you have to deal with as your children start to assert their independence can be quite challenging. We are excited to have Brenda Yoder with us to discuss how we c...

We know many couples who have split up or who are seriously questioning their future together, and the one thing that is crystal clear with all of them is that their relationship did not break down overnight.  You may be wondering where your marriage will stand in the next year or if you can overcome the hurts and conflicts that have happened in your marriage. If you have been looking for a change...

For the majority of our marriage, we had a traditional schedule where Rob would head off to an office job in the morning while I would stay at home with the children. But a few years ago, we flipped our lives upside down to pursue self-employment together as partners. This transition made us realize that we had a lot to learn, not just as marriage partners but as life and business partners. That i...

Every married couple will face challenges throughout their marriage. It could be dealing with a serious health crisis, mental illness, parenting prodigal children, infertility, financial setbacks, or overwhelming work and responsibilities. From the day a couple says “I do,” they set out on a journey that holds inevitable struggles and threats to a happy and lasting marriage relationship. Today’s g...

If you're married, you likely stood up at the altar on your wedding day and made vows to stick together for better and for worse, in sickness and in health. And maybe, like many couples, your vows have been tested because of an injury, illness, or chronic condition affecting your daily life. The challenge of chronic pain puts a unique kind of stress on a marriage—it can bring you together and...

Do you ever feel disappointed or discouraged in your marriage? As wives, I (Joanna) know we want to know how to bring life to our marriages when we’re losing hope. So many women, despite their love for their husbands, feel discouraged in their marriages. Their husbands may seem distant and like he doesn’t want to work on a close relationship, or the communication has broken down, and they find the...

This episode was recorded in the midst of a crazy season of our life. From moving homes to health issues to the back-to-school season and much more, it was quite stressful. During seasons like that, it’s no secret that the marriage relationship can get a little tense. That season of life provided the perfect context for us to have this conversation with Chris and Jenni Graebe, authors of The Rhyth...

Rob and I have four biological children, and 11 years ago our family grew again through adoption. We are so grateful that God gave us the best gift in the courtroom that day, but we also had no idea what the journey ahead would hold. When we read Brittany Salmon’s book, It Takes More Than Love , we felt seen and understood. Today, we’re welcoming Brittany onto the podcast! She is a professor, writ...