Let's Parent on Purpose: Christian Marriage, Parenting, and Discipleship

Today’s big question: How do you, as a parent, emotionally and spiritually set yourself up for starting the school year off well? I want to propose four truths to consider, and what we might do in response to these truths. Audible credits have allowed me to enjoy books such as Free to Focus, Atomic Habits, Harry Potter books, and The Body Keeps the Score. I highly recommend Parenting by Paul David...

We’ve all been there. Life gets to be so overwhelming that we start using words like “stress” and “anxiety” to describe the way it makes us feel. What can be done about it? How do we unpack, rearrange, or maybe eliminate the heavy boxes in our lives? My friend and Christian Counselor, Brian Neal, joins me again today to share wisdom on the matter. A father of six, husband of 28 years, and Marriage...

Today, I’m talking to the guys. But ladies, I think you will be blessed by the conversation today, too. I hope you’ll join me as I talk about ways husbands can help their wives when they’re overwhelmed. I’m going to provide tools and solutions that you can implement right away, and I encourage you to share these with others. This is the next podcast in my You Ask It, I Answer It series. To view th...

What if my primary love language is not physical touch and my spouse’s is?  Spouses can each experience love differently, but to have a healthy marriage, it’s vital to learn how to love your spouse in the ways they receive love.   Listen to this episode to grow in your understanding of the importance of physical touch, learn how to actively love your spouse better even if physical touch isn’t your...

We each have different bents; what’s important to us many times looks different for each spouse – a clean house, an organized garage, etc.  There will be plenty of trials in life that you have no control over so why not just strengthen the areas you DO have control over?  Join me today as I discuss some practical tools in loving your spouse through actions and filling in the gaps with grace.  We m...

One out of every three families in the United States is some form of blended family. Many have asked for wisdom on how to make their blended families work. Today I bring in the two wisest people I know on the subject: my dad and mom! Dan and Pat Holland are 45 years into their second marriage, and share a lifetime of wisdom from raising a family of 5 children. Show Highlights Intro to my parents d...

What if you could figure out how to take your family around the world to experience people and culture beyond the basic tourist experience? My new friend Susan Whitehead has spent the last several years traveling the world, even living in foreign countries, with her family of 8. All of this started with a one way ticket to Costa Rica and $3,000 in the bank. Along the way, she’s figured out how to...

Whether your children have phones and iPads or not, they are massively influenced by social media because of the culture we live in. It can be scary. But you’re still the parent, and you get to have the biggest influence in your child’s life. Youth Pastor and podcast host Aaron Mamuyac, student pastor and host of the We Think God is Awesome Podcast,  joins me to discus ways we can make sure that w...

Goals are great, but goals alone don’t change much. Until you have a process or a system, goals are just opportunities for disappointment. Today I am going to share why it’s much more important to define and love your process than it is to live and die by goal setting. Click Here if you’d like to download a copy of my 52 week Scripture Memory Tool. This is the third podcast in my series on Habits...

As my friend always says, “your habits are perfectly suited to give you the life you are living.” If you want to change your life, change your habits. In this week’s podcast, I share steps for starting, starting, or replacing any habit. Learn to master this in your own life and you will be primed to unleash the power of habit in your family! This is the second of a three part series I am doing on...

Tiny changes can work like compound interest over long periods of time. This week we begin a three part series on change, habits, and transformation. Rather than focus on radical change, we’re going to learn the atomic power of getting just one percent better. If you catch the vision and apply them, these concepts can change any aspect of your life. As James Clear says, “You should be far more con...

Sometimes we overcomplicate things. My good friend and brother-in-law Brent Gibson has been using a simple spiritual growth strategy with his children for each of the last three summers. Today, we talk about being intentional dads, and Brent shares how he’s encouraged Bible Study, memorization, and reading with his children each summer. You might also want to check out my blog from Last Year: Summ...

We invest in our retirement. We invest in our physical fitness. We invest in our caffeine habit. Why wouldn’t we invest in our family relationships?  My friend Brian Neal of True Course Counseling joins me today to talk about the benefits of pastoral and professional counseling, the different ways counseling can help a family get “unstuck”, and how counseling can help a healthy family reach the ne...

Studies show 66% of teens who are active in church leave the church after high school.  Ben Trueblood of LifeWay Student Ministry joins me today to discuss the missing links and how we can help our kids stay connected to the church as they leave home. Show Highlights Lifeway released a survey of 23-30 year olds who were active in church throughout their high school years.  The goal was to track th...

My good friend Jenny Price joins me today to talk about THE most important relationship in your home!  Nothing affects the development and stability of your children as much as your marriage. Ignore the health of your marriage at your own (and your children’s) risk! In conjunction with this episode I’ve created a free tool for you and your spouse. Download your free Marriage Snapshot Tool and inve...

(No Spoilers!)  Whatever your preconceived notions are about this episode, you’re probably wrong!  Student pastor and host of the We Think God is Awesome Podcast, Aaron Mamuyac, joins me for a fun look at movies and culture, including how we find traces of the gospel repeated over and over again in our favorite stories. Your children and their friends are most likely going to see Avengers Endgame....

Today I share why Easter gives me hope even in the darkest days of family life. I conclude with a post I wrote at 3AM on Easter Sunday five years ago, just one week after my son was diagnosed with Leukemia. As always, thank you Patreon Supporters! You’re awesome!  If you want to support this podcast for as little as $1 an episode, you can do it through www.patreon.com Tweet this I am created in th...

“The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” – Oswald Chambers Today’s topic highlights the intersection between the fear of man, shame and how it’s indicative of how small our God is. Learn to identify shame and then how to view it in light of God’s truth.  When people are big in your life, God is smal...

We don’t love our children the same. We love them uniquely, because they are each unique. Because of their uniqueness, a parenting approach that works for one child could cause another one to wilt. My good friend, partner in ministry, and coach/strategist Jenny Price joins me today to talk through various personality types we find among children, and what strategies can help us get the best out of...

We all want to be great parents with thriving kids, but the truth is that only God can change a heart.  I do the best I can with all the means I can, but it’s ultimately His Spirit that reaches them.  Learn how to trust that God will reach our kids hearts, shape them and eventually bring freedom as we faithfully walk this parenting journey. Show Highlights Trusting God Even When Life Hurts – the s...

Gratitude is a crucial component in changing our circumstances and in helping develop the character of our children. Join me today as I discuss three ways you can encourage a heart of gratitude in your household. I want to say a special thanks to my growing group of Patreon Supporters !  For as little as $1 an episode you can invest in making this podcast as I invest in your family! Show Highlight...

Show Highlights Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future. Our friends determine the direction and quality of our lives. Why I should intentionally equip myself and my family on how to have the most healthy friendships How negative behaviors and bad habits become normal to us when we surround ourselves with bad company Why not to make close friends with gaping character defects Am I esta...

If you’re tired of putting out fires started by your tongue, you’re going to really benefit from my conversation with my friend Aidan Till.  Aidan preached recently at my church Covenant Fellowship Baptist Church  from James 3. What he shared about the connection between our hearts, minds, and tongue was so applicable to moms and dads I grabbed him for a followup conversation.  If you want to hear...

While it might be unrealistic to ever get to the point of disciplining without any emotion, we can at least strive to correct behavior without having a stroke. As author Dr. Kevin Leman puts it, our goal is Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours! As I mentioned, thank you for subscribing and sharing, and a BIG thank you to my Patreon supporters!  For as little as $1 an episode you can help supp...

Sometimes it seems like a cloud of negativity hangs over our household.  This week I share with you a simple change I made that helped change my perspective, as well as the reality, in my family. Show Highlights Realizing that I had become overly critical of those in my life Deciding to live like God gave me the gift of encouragement My resolution for the year: “Catch them doing good” Realizing th...