Pardon the Mess with Scarlet Hiltibidal - Christian Motherhood, Biblical Parenting, Raising Christian Kids

Sean McDowell joins us today to talk about God’s design for our sexuality and raising kids biblically in a confused culture that blurs the lines. We tackle topics like the shortcomings of the purity culture movement, as well as the biggest misconceptions our kids are facing when it comes to love and relationships.   Sean is a gifted communicator who speaks all over the world, equipping Christians...

I had the opportunity to hear Sarah Harmeyer speak at an event in Dallas years ago, and her words have literally stayed with me to this day. Long story short—after a pastor encouraged Sarah to be who God created her to be, she left a successful business career in pursuit of gathering people . It started by her sweet dad building her an outdoor table to host her neighbors, and thousands of people l...

Sometimes we confuse spiritual health with mental health, assuming they are one in the same when that’s often far from the truth. Knowing this, it seems appropriate to take a little deeper dive into our emotional health with Licensed Professional Counselor, Debra Fileta. We cover a lot of ground today with topics like: ways to take inventory of our mental health, when spiritual answers don’t addre...

Please tell me you’ve heard of the Bible Recap ! If not, get ready for some good ole’ fashioned indoctrination today with Tara-Leigh Cobble, the founder of the Bible Recap. She’s passionate about helping people not only read through the whole Bible, but love it in the process. Tara-Leigh shares her personal story of being in full-time ministry for years before someone challenged her to read throug...

Here’s the thing about parenting—It’s really hard to evaluate how you are doing or identify areas of improvement when you’re in the thick of it every day. Because parenting comes with no performance evaluations or long-term guarantees of success, we often find ourselves simply trying to survive, not thrive (I speak from experience).   Danny Huerta from Focus on the Family joins us today with some...

Imagine this: You’re picking up your son from the first day of school after waiting to hear all about his day. Even as he’s closing the car door you begin asking the most critical of questions like... How is your teacher? What friends are in your class? Who did you meet? Did you talk to any girls? What did you have for lunch? Are you tired? Why are you so quiet? Were the kids mean to you?   Appare...

There are many things I don’t fully understand in parenting, not the least of which is video games. I don’t get what’s so enticing, or the anticipation surrounding “new skins,” or why every time I try to shut down my gamer I’m told they “just need to finish this level.” Bless your heart for video games and those who love you. Knowing that I’ve listed only a few of the mysteries facing every parent...

As we’re pushing through summer and finding ways to be intentional in our parenting, I can’t think of many topics more important than discipling our kids.   Don’t anyone panic—discipleship is simply teaching our kids about our faith by pointing them to the Lord in the most normal moments of everyday life.   Rebecca Carrell joins us today, and aside from being a morning show host on KCBI , a mom, w...

It’s summer, and although we’re all glad to have a little bit of normalcy this year as opposed to last, it won’t take long before these people (i.e. our kids) start their usual antics and send us on a one-way trip to the crazy train.   In an effort to help keep our wits about us, I bring to you Dr. Ken Wilgus today. Dr. Ken has been with us many times and brings a wealth of knowledge as a licensed...

In honor of Father’s Day this weekend, Pardon the Mess is dedicating our whole show today to the dads we love!   Former NFL quarterback Jeff Kemp speaks all over the country, championing fatherhood by speaking into God’s design for dads as difference-makers in their families. Today we’re blessed to have him speaking into our own families by sharing his passion behind building up men, encouraging t...

I’ve prayed for years that my kids would chase after God-sized dreams, so when I saw Sheila Erwin’s book on Raising Up Dreamers , I knew she would be perfect for our summer series on Pardon the Mess .   Sheila is the mother of Andrew and Jon Erwin, writers and producers of I Can Only Imagine , I Still Believe , and many other Christian films. Sheila shares with us the importance of recognizing our...

Alright guys, stop what you’re doing because I have the perfect summer experiment for us to do with our kids this month!   More accurately, Kay Wyma has the perfect 30-day experiment, and we’re talking all about it today on Pardon the Mess .   It’s called The Peace Project: A 30-Day Experiment Practicing Thankfulness, Kindness, and Mercy . What is it you ask?   The Peace Project is an experiment t...

I’m so excited about today’s podcast with my dear friend, Clint Schumacher. He’s talking with us about the importance of resiliency which he defines as our “ability to deal with adversity in a positive and meaningful way.”   If we’ve learned anything from 2020-2021, it’s the importance of resilience in the face of uncertainty and allowing our faith to ground us during the hard times.   As much as...

Max Lucado is on the show again today, and I kind of feel like it’s Christmas because... well it’s Max Lucado, and he’s pure gold! I’m sure I’ve said this many times before, but I’m hard pressed to find many authors whose books have impacted my faith more than those of Max Lucado.   I’m especially grateful as I’ve watched him bring God back into the narrative this past year, speaking to virtually...

It’s officially here, the last week of our prayer journal!   I have mixed emotions as we wrap up the 2020–2021school year, especially as the mom of a graduating senior. Yet I’m so thankful that even as we’ve braved the hard places of a pandemic, we’ve come together each week (okay, most weeks) to faithfully pray that our kids are marked by the things of God.   We’ve prayed that our kids are marked...

It was about seven years ago when my husband and I realized the Lord was nudging us to explore foster care. And just in case you’re new to the Pardon the Mess family, the long story is we finally did what we were called to do and our lives are forever changed by fostering and adopting our little one, JB.   As I look back on my 20s and 30s, I kind of wish someone would have kicked me in the pants a...

It’s almost unbelievable that we’re down to our last two weeks of praying through the 2020–2021 prayer journal. As we’re beginning to wrap it up, I’m just so thankful that you’ve been doing this together with me.    As we pray this week for our kids to be marked by “remembering,” we’re praying they will trust God’s faithfulness in their present circumstances because they have seen his goodness in...

Lysa TerKeurst joins us today for a second time on Pardon the Mess , and she’s coming in hot (that’s a good thing, BTW)!    I’m continually blown away by how the Lord is using the hard places Lysa has faced in her marriage and health to show his goodness and redemption so powerfully.     Lysa and I talk about so much today, but here are a few of my favorite discussion points:    - Forgiving what y...

We’re raising kids in a culture that basks in recognition and praise, making it difficult to strike the balance of teaching our kids to be confident in their God-given identity while also exuding a humble spirit.   We’re kicking off this week on Pardon the Mess by praying humility over our kids, and I’m hard-pressed to think of an attribute that’s more lacking in today’s culture than this one.   J...

Many years ago I heard Sally Lloyd Jones speak on a friend’s podcast and she made a statement that struck a chord with me: always make sure your definition of success is the same as God’s.    That wisdom has stuck with me because so often I find myself judging success based on our culture’s version of it versus God’s definition. What a great parenting application when we stop to consider what we v...

Many years ago I trained and ran a half marathon. The end. (Not really, but kind of.)    In doing so I learned a whole lot about what it takes to build endurance so that you can run the race well. I also learned a lot about chafing—but I digress.    The Christian life is like a marathon in that it requires significant endurance if we’re going to make it through the obstacles we face along the way....

Today’s podcast hits some tough topics we don’t often cover on Pardon the Mess . But these are very real issues facing so many, and I’m thankful Ashley Abercrombie is with us as we do it.   Ashley is a writer and speaker whose work has been featured in outlets like OprahMag.com, Relevant, and Grit and Virtue. She is the author of Rise of the Truth Teller and Love Is the Resistance .   Ashley chats...

As we wrap up the last several weeks of praying the greatest commandment over our kids, we’re focusing today on what it means to love God with all of our strength.   Contrary to how it sounds, loving God with all of our strength is not a reference to our physical strength, but instead it’s using our possessions, our time, our talents, our parenting, our volunteering—everything we’ve got—to love Go...

It’s cool enough to have one opportunity to chat with Bob Goff, but then to get a second shot that includes his daughter, Lindsey Viducich?   Well, that’s the makings of a podcast packed with laughter and endless nuggets of truth.   Lindsey and Bob co-wrote Everybody, Always for Kids , and they describe it as a book of stories demonstrating how to live out our faith as expressed in love .   Take t...

As you know, we’re praying the greatest commandment over our kids this month—that they will love God with their heart, soul, mind, and strength.   As we pray for our kids to love God with all of their minds this week, we’re reminded that our mind is made up of our thoughts. In order to love God with all of our minds, we have to think about what fills our minds and how it impacts the way we love Go...