Practically Speaking Mom: Intentional Mom, Strong Family

Parenting is fabulous but it can also be really hard, with difficulties that come at you from all directions.  Sometimes those difficult times last for a day or week. Other times, a difficult season seems it will never end.  Val Harrison, The Practically Speaking MOM, and her husband, Rich, take a lighthearted look at the valuable role of dreaming and goal setting as parents and in marriage when l...

I don't want my vision for my family's future. My vision is skewed. My motives are often selfish and my imagination of what could be is often way too small. I want new vision, but I want it to be God's vision for our family. He is the divine Way-Maker. He's the great Vision-Caster, truly the Master Artist of our family, if we allow Him to be. I don't want to be heading tow...

" Our kids need to know that SUCCESS IS IN THE JOURNEY AS MUCH AS IN THE END ACHIEVEMENT. Falling down and getting back up are important milestones in the journey." Val Harrison, The Practically Speaking MOM Three Steps to Teaching Your Kids the Success Habit of Goal Setting and Goal-mapping Skills. 1. Pray over your goal-setting before, after, and during the process. We want God to be o...

"H iding in the messy moments from our past are opportunities for new God moments with us and with our kids" - Val Harrison, The Practically Speaking MOM from episode 68 & 120 We are always working on the growth of our kids' hearts.  This episode is for YOU, intentional mom, to work on your heart.  It's a process to recalibrate, to refine your mom journey. Somewhere around...

"What they're struggling with on the inside, these are the more critical things than the things that they're struggling with on the outside." What I've Observed in the middle years 1.They're figuring out social skills about themselves so be sure to be teaching them people skills. 2. There's a reason they're so absent-minded right now - have grace and try the...

Intentional Moms, I pray that you and your family are preparing your hearts for a blessed Christmas in your home.  Today's episode is an inspirational devotional from guest host Jan Burt.  She gives us encouragement that, because of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have reason to have hope and joy, even in the midst of the struggles we face in our world.  Thank you, Jan, for pointing us...

Mama, Are you depleted?  You can't pour out of an empty pitcher.  Intentional Moms take time to have your soul nourished so that you can truly nourish the souls of your children. Today we look at the different ways a busy mom can get quality time with God to nourish her heart so that it's filled up in order to be poured out for her children. The episode concludes with a look at four step...

An honest story of brokenness, redemption, hope, and beautiful scars along with SPECIFIC ACTION STEPS for INTENTIONAL PARENTS - steps for the role you play in your child's sacred journey to make their faith their own...with Guest Host Nina Baldwin, EverydayBlessings.net , Everyday Blessings YouTube Channel , featuring Victoria Dahilig.   What's so sacred about struggling?  We don't...

Not only are we talking about MOM PRESSURES on episode 112, we're also talking about the MOM PRESSURE that lead to my Big Announcement! And, no worries, it is a good announcement!   We are going to cover Four Steps to Dealing with Mom Pressure.  Step two includes bringing our concerns to God in prayer.  One of the great things about God is that His solutions to our obstacles  come at just the...

We mamas are on a constant quest for improving our health.  We talk about that journey in the first half of today's podcast. In fact, the tips that guest Becca Hammond shares are the changes she made to help her third pregnancy to be MUCH healthier than her previous ones.  She even says her delivery was a positive experience and she felt good, alert, and had energy.  In episode 111, she share...

Everything you do as a parent is an investment in your child's future. Therefore, let's be sure that the effort we are making is effective for strengthening their life steps.   In Episode 110 we are going to have a checklist for growth steps toward the ultimate goal of helping our kids to live fully in God's unique purpose for their lives. To do this, we look at Val's diagram o...

"COMFORT ZONES are pretty dull places to live..." This week is about helping our kids to STRETCH for growth, to SPREAD their wings in order to fly.  It's one of those episodes you will want your kids to hear. "You become a leader by learning to serve others"  "Don't compare yourself to others" "Everything you do speaks and you are constantly building yo...

This is the second episode in the new series "Preparing Your Child to Soar," where we're talking about how the best preparation is a holistic approach, based on Luke 2:52.  In this episode I'm joined by our youngest son Andrew to discuss specific and practical techniques for thriving.  Today we cover the following topics: Time management skills People skills Balancing Weaknesse...

I want my children to be well-prepared for life –  a holistic view of life – prepared emotionally and socially, prepared academically and with wisdom, prepared spiritually and with discernment for their life purposes, prepared physically with healthy habits.  I want my kids to be prepared. Do you agree? That preparation doesn’t begin when they’re 16, it begins from a very early age.  We’re going t...

My husband Rich joins me in the studio this week to share about the BIG SURPRISE our children gave us!   Next week, we begin the series "Equipped to SOAR" - what are the ingredients to effectively prepare your kids to soar beyond the nest? It begins NOW, right where your kids are TODAY.  They aren't too young to begin preparing them to soar! Send Val your encouragement and thoughts...

In this final episode in the series, "Teaching Our Kids to BE A BLESSING,"  we look at HOW to help our children ESTABLISH and MAINTAIN healthy friendships .  One of the most common concerns that moms bring to me, is their heartache over their child's lack of meaningful friendships.  What can be done about this concern?   In this episode we look at ALL the layers of RELATIONSHIPS tha...

Here's an episode power-packed with examples and PRACTICAL solutions for your family.    The focus is on improving sibling interactions.  Intentional Mom, you can do this!  There is HOPE for your family! 41 - Sibling Relationships, Family Values... Val's Four Daughters 53 - Sibling Squabbles, Bonding, Etc. Gal. 5:15-24 (NIV) Send Val your encouragement and thoughts about the show. Suppor...

"BLESSING ONE ANOTHER AMONG SIBLINGS," what does that look like? How do we make this a reality in our imperfect home?  It's going to take two episodes to share my answers with you.  This  is part one.  Oh!  This episode also talks about IDENTIFYING GOD's WILL FOR OUR OWN LIFE and OUR KIDS LIVES ! Read the BLOG POST that goes with this series, CLICK HERE . This is the THIRD topi...

We're in the middle of a series on Teaching Our Kids to be a Blessing.  Last week we talked about being a blessing  through VOLUNTEERING.  This week, we're looking at incorporating BEING A BLESSING through HOSPITALITY in your busy, hectic, imperfect family life.  Learning to create a community right in your own home using your home to care about others while growing your children's...

This week on the podcast I am joined by my dear friend, Debbie Smith.  She inspires us to look for opportunities to impact our children and others through volunteering.    This is part one of our series on Teaching Our Kids to Be a Blessing. Volunteering is an opportunity to Impact those who need help AND impact our kids' heart, character, and life skills. The amount of confidence, flexibilit...

Val and her daughters Abby & Emma celebrate the 100th episode Plus, Val interrupts the celebration to share what God put on her heart to share with moms this week - Mom, stop fighting your battles yourself and make way for your Defender.  There's lots of drawings happening on the Intentional Mom Strong Family Facebook group this week in celebration of 100 episodes, so be sure to check the...

God has called me to encourage and equip ALL MOMS, no matter where your children receive their education.  I know that circumstances are unique for every family.  Even though I've been a homeschool mom for 24 years, my ministry is not limited to just homeschoolers. That being said, I do get a lot of questions about homeschooling, and this week I decided to answer your questions.  I thought I&...

Join me, Val Harrison, for the Coffee Break Tour 2021: Wichita, KS, Thurs, Aug 12, 7-8:30pm Tulsa, OK, Aug 21, 7-8pm If you want to join me in Wichita or Tulsa, email me at Val@PracticallySpeakingMom.com and I will email the location to you. Read the BLOG POST that includes more detail for this episode.  You'll find it HERE by noon on Monday! RESOURCES to HELP YOU WITH MORE ON THIS TOPIC: If...

You may want to grab your earbuds and listen to this one without the kiddos first. Then determine if you want them to listen afterward as a springboard for discussion, depending on their age. This is episode 97 of the Practically Speaking MOM podcast, the place for intentional moms to build strong families. The topic is Modesty & a reflection on the purity movement. Yeah, we’re goin there. Buc...

Last week, in episode #95, you listened to a conversation between me and my daughter Abby (at the time of recording she was a sixteen-year-old junior in high school). The conversation continues this week, recorded a full year later, in episode #96. Abby shares some keys that helped her slow down this process, how she waited a little longer than society around her to open the door of her heart to t...