Raising Christian Kids

Once a month, Lori and Lee Ann will discuss complex topics regarding parenting and disciplining to help families have peace in the home and work together to build lifetime connections! Lori Wildenberg is a national speaker, a licensed parent-family educator of over 25 years, and an award-winning author of six Christian parenting books. Lori also leads the popular Moms Together Facebook Community P...

Do you have a child who has struggled to empathize with others? Don’t feel alone - most parents have experienced this with their kids at one point or another. Empathy has been described as a person’s ability to recognize and share another person’s emotions; it connects us with our common humanity.  It has been called a virtue of the intellect. Empathy comes from the heart; it is foundational to wh...

“There is a lot of toxic content now pushed on very small children, and the worst statistic of all is that while 62% of Americans who are over 40 believe in God, 32% of children believe in God in America.” -Brent Dusing. Brent Dusing is the CEO and founder of TruPlay, a gaming platform created to bring high-quality, fun, and biblically-sound entertainment to audiences worldwide. An entrepreneur at...

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” -Ezekiel 36:26. The beauty of the Christian faith is that it offers redemption and forgiveness for our sins. We can use the Bible to show our children how even though people committed the worst sins against God, he still forgave them and transfor...

“There’s a lot of practical things we can do to build character in our kids; it doesn’t have to be overwhelming!” -Monica Swanson. Monica Swanson is a popular blogger, the host of the Monica Swanson Podcast, and the author of Boy Mom and Raising Amazing. Monica graduated from Pepperdine University, has a teaching credential from Linfield College, and has a bachelor’s degree in sports medicine. Mon...

How can we help children learn to trust God, especially when they feel like their world is falling apart? As parents and caregivers, it is our responsibility to help our children learn to trust God; They must learn to trust God’s guidance as the days become increasingly chaotic and evil. During this episode, Lee Ann expounds on the following tips for helping children to learn to trust God: Talk to...

“My job is to teach my kids to discern right from wrong and to constantly help them practice in everyday situations. I’m instilling and equipping wisdom and discernment in my child by doing so.” – Julie Lowe. Julie Lowe, MA, is a faculty member at CCEF and a licensed professional counselor with over twenty years of counseling experience. Julie is also a registered play therapist and has developed...

“No two mothers are alike. No two experiences in motherhood mirror each other. But something powerful happens when our stories come together: they speak love, worth, value, and beauty.” -Leslie Means. Leslie Means, the founder and owner of the popular website “Her View from Home,” is passionate about connecting women through heartfelt stories on motherhood, marriage, faith, and grief. She is a for...

"I think it’s very important not to play referee but be the coach and help them work through the issues.” -Lori Wildenberg Once a month, Lori and Lee Ann will discuss complex topics regarding parenting and disciplining to help families have peace in the home and work together to build lifetime connections! Lori Wildenberg is a national speaker, a licensed parent-family educator of over 25 years, a...

Looking for a summer camp for your child to have fun adventures, make lifelong friends, and learn more about Christ? Amy Lowe is the Director of WinShape Camps for Girls – a summer camp for girls from 1st grade to 12th grade, and she also oversees WinShape Camps for Families – a family camp and family weekend experience. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Samford Univers...

Michelle Medlock Adams is a NY Times best-selling ghostwriter and an award-winning author of over 100 books. Raising Christian Kids and Michelle are doing a giveaway with four of her amazing books: I Love You to the Sun and Beyond, Our God I Bigger Than That, Fly High, and Love Connects Us All. During this episode, Lee Ann and Michelle discuss the four books in the Spring giveaway: I Love You to t...

“Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” -Luke 24:44. In a world that seems to reject Christianity, many Christian holidays such as Easter or Christmas seem to be centered around traditions such as the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause. And although we can still incorporate those fun traditions, we should also emphasize the importance of the a...

“When we look at our actual homes, really the question to ask is, ‘How is screen time affecting my home - does technology bring my family closer together?’” – Arlene Pellicane. Arlene Pellicane is a speaker and author of several books, including Parents Rising, 31 Days to a Happy Husband, Calm, Cool, and Connected, and Screen Kids. Arlene has been a featured guest on the Today Show, Fox & Friends,...

If we are not responsible for our children’s actions and behaviors, then who is? As parents, we tend to think that our children's actions and behavior directly reflect our parenting skills or lack thereof. And in some instances, this may be true. We may find ourselves as adults making excuses when we behave badly in front of others. But we are not responsible for how they act; we are responsible t...

“It’s never too late. God changes people at any age; he changes little children, he changes, elementary-aged children, he changes teenagers, he even changes adults; so, we’re really grateful that God’s grace permeates the heart of any person.” -Scott Turansky. Dr. Scott Turansky is the co-founder of the National Center for Biblical Parenting and the author of over 15 books. He is a professor at Co...

“Understanding the action point is a crucial idea that will help parents be more powerful and significant when working with their children.” -Dr. Scott Turansky. Dr. Scott Turansky co-founded the National Center for Biblical Parenting and is the author of over 15 books. He is also a professor at Concordia University, where he teaches the master’s level Parenting Class to students who will be socia...

“We do not need to be ‘punishing’ our children because Christ already took the punishment.” – Sarah R. Moore Sarah R. Moore is the author of Peaceful Discipline: Story Teaching, Brain Science, and Better Behavior and the founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting. She's a public speaker, an armchair, a neuroscientist, and, most importantly, a mother and a daughter of Christ. Sarah is a lifelong...

“Another issue with disciplining today is that way too many people think of it as punishment; discipline is training for righteousness; discipline is walking with!” -Kathy Koch. Dr. Kathy Koch is the founder and president of Celebrate Kids and the associate co-founder of Ignite the Family. She regularly speaks at conventions, schools, churches, and pregnancy resource centers, where she has influen...

“If we want to understand what biblical discipline truly looks like, we need to look at Jesus, and we need to see how Jesus disciplined his disciples.” -Angela Harders. In this second part of the two-part episode series, Angela continues to share her wisdom regarding the controversial passage, Proverbs 23:13-14, that states, “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod...

“We need to remember that when we see the word discipline in the Bible, it does not mean punishment; that word means to verbally teach or instruct; it does not mean physical punishment at all!” -Angela Harders. Angela Harders is a certified special education teacher, an international best-selling author, and the founder of Pax Ministries. She left a toxic school environment to practice Peaceful Wo...

“Discipline literally means to teach. And Jesus disciplined by how he lived his life, not by lecturing, punishing, and sending his disciples to their rooms.” -Kirk Martin. Celebrate Calm founder Kirk Martin has helped almost one million parents stop the yelling, defiance, and power struggles with the most strong-willed children. He is also the host of the Calm Parenting Podcast, and he offers a mu...

Discipline, instruction, and guidance… what do you think when you hear those words? For the entire month of March, we will feature experts in discipline and parenting to share their knowledge and help parents and caregivers navigate the rough waters of disciplining. The wisdom that will be shared will hopefully help you raise children who are teachable and obedient to you and, most importantly, ob...

“I think for us to be able to understand what the Bible is saying to us, we have to fully understand the broader context of what the author of the scripture intended for the original audience.” - Dr. Eric Bargerhuff. Dr. Eric Bargerhuff serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Bible and Theology at Trinity College of Florida. He has served there for the past ten years; pr...

Mother Theresa wisely said, “Some people come in your life as blessings. Some come in your life as lessons.” “Life is not easy.” “It gets harder as you get older.” These are some phrases we sometimes hear throughout life. And maybe there is some truth to these sayings, but during tough times, the Lord can teach us and our children some valuable life lessons. Life lessons can be learned anywhere an...

“Ask God to help you focus on that person, the eternal spirit, that is living inside that temporary body that may have limitations.” -Sonya Shafer. Sonya Shafer is a popular homeschool speaker and writer specializing in the Charlotte Mason Method. She has been on an adventure for more than 20 years studying, researching, practicing, and teaching Charlotte’s gentle and effective education methods....