Rock Solid Families

I don't know about you, but sharing my faith has never been easy.  I grew up with my faith being assumed, but seldom discussed in any depth with others.  I especially didn't feel comfortable trying to persuade someone to come to faith.  You know the saying, "never discuss politics or religion."  But, is this right?   The Great Commission commands us to go out and make disciples...

Linda was running a reconnaissance mission as she was at the local swimming pool.  Her mission; to find the next question for Rock Solid Families Podcast.  Well, not really, but she couldn't  resist the opportunity when it presented itself.   While at the pool she overheard a group of young teenage girls discussing whether or not their parents could look at their phones. As they were going ba...

We often get questions about various situations and circumstances in people's' lives. It's also true that we often hear the same kinds of questions. Maybe the details change, but the main idea remains constant.   In this series we are going to tackle a series of questions that have found their way to us.  Again, some of the details may be a little different from one person to anothe...

Being prepared is the name of the game for first responders.  They must be prepared to walk into the most difficult of situations and do the right thing.  We would do well to treat our life journey in a similar fashion.  No matter the day, we must be prepared to walk through difficult times and do the right thing.  But, the question is, "What's the right thing?" In the parable of th...

We often talk about the importance of having a strong father figure in the house.  But, we don't always talk about what the characteristics of the strong father are. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, we get an incredible picture of what it looks like to be a Strong Dad!  Here are six ways that the Father responds to us so that we can respond the same to our children.  Unconditional Love: Th...

Jesus frequently spoke in parables to teach the people of the day.  The parables sometimes seemed to be not so straight forward.  Almost like riddles.  He then makes the point that those who do not have the heart and mind to hear them will not understand them.  His point simply being that you have to be prepared and ready to receive the Word of God.  Sometimes the word is referred to as the "...

Not many would question whether or not having an affair can be very destructive to a marriage.  Some may argue that it can spice up your marriage or make life more interesting, but if we have to be honest, we at Rock Solid Families have never seen that outcome.  Infidelity comes at a cost and often it is the price of divorce and brokenness.  But what if we go so far as to connect with someone else...

Summer is upon us and many parents are wondering how and what they are going to be doing with their kids through the Summer days.  Something to consider is the mindset that you allow your kids to be in.  Are they in the mindset of producing something that serves themselves as well as others? Or, are they in the mindset of "it's my break so everyone should serve me?"   We understand...

Have you listened to the Harrison Butker commencement speech?  If you are a Christian living  a Christian lifestyle, you will likely find the speech good, but not surprising.  However, if you watched the news media stories you got the idea that Harrison was trying to command all women to forget about careers and stay home to make babies.  That is not at all what his speech was about, but that&apos...

Have you ever been turned off by someone's hardriving fire and brimstone evangelism.  It typically comes with great fervor and intention, but the delivery leaves a lot to be desired.  We are currently living in a time when church participation is dropping and people are making their "own" gods to fulfill their needs.  When asked about following Jesus or being Christian they make sta...

The endless search for finding a content and complete life can be exhausting. Looking for people and things to make us feel like we finally have it all together is the great quest.  But, is this really the quest you want to take?   The great philosophers have repeated over and over that we can not find life happiness in people and things.  We must go elsewhere.  That's what this show is about...

Marriage is a creation of God’s and is meant to be a blessing.   So, how can we do that better? Advice -  Recognize you are on the same team.   Submit to one another for the good of the team, i.e. marriage. Ephesians 5:21-33 - Verse 33: … every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband.                                                      One of you is not bett...

Back ground - Philippians 2:14-15 Do All things without complaining and disrupting that you may become blameless and harmless children of God.  Let’s just start with an example: Your child is quick to tell you about every time they have an ache or pain.  When they are telling you about the ache it is often with such emotion that you wonder how they are even living through it.  Then, five minutes l...

Are you fit enough to do every day life?  We often hear about building muscle and scuptling the perfect body, but the truth is, many of us don't have the time or interest to build the perfect body, we just want to be active and healthy.  In today's show Merrill discusses the concept of building Work Capacity.  Work Capacity is our abiltiy to do work.  Nothing fancy.  Work by definition i...

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the thought of incorporating the Bible into your family's daily life? Fear not! Our latest conversation provides a relatable and supportive guide to navigating scripture and its enduring teachings. Merrill and Linda are transparent about their ignorant beginnings in their faith and how they felt overwhelmed by all they didn't know.  However, it was from...

We live in a culture of excess.  We have more stuff now than ever. More clothes, more food, more comforts, and more parenting. Yes, even more parenting.  In this age when our kids seem to have it all, they also have way more parenting hovering over them. As we have indulged our kids with stuff, we also have found ourselves indulging in way too many aspects of their lives.   Total lack of parental...

No doubt about it, marriage can be difficult.  Anytime we are putting two people with differing ideas and opinions together for one common cause, we are bound to have conflict.  Yes, we can and we should develop our communication skills, build our trust, and treat each other with respect. However, these essential relationship attributes could be meaningless if we have unhealthy individuals. If one...

Lots of exciting things going on with Rock Solid Families and the mission!  In this show we introduce the newest employee of Rock Solid Families, Jenna Helton.  Once we decided to have a banquet in 2024, we recognized the need for more help.  Jenna to the rescue! We first brought Jenna on just as a subcontractor to help with the organizing and set up of the banquet. It didn't take long for us...

So why this topic of Shame Free parenting? As parents, our job is to help our children meet their physical, cognitive AND emotional needs. Physical abuse or neglect is a lot easier to spot and call out. Even cognitive is easier. If the child isn’t getting to school or learning how to walk, talk, or read or socialize….it shows pretty early. But emotional needs are just as important. They give our k...

As with all our shows, we’re approaching this topic of dating later in life from a Christian perspective. We believe it’s the healthiest way to approach dating. Looking at every date through the lens of a good, good father who is crazy about you and has amazing plans for your life is very different than how the world views dating. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us to guard our heart above all things becaus...

Today’s topic is one we have visited before.  But today, we would like to address the topic from a different angle.  As parents we would never want to intentionally hurt our kids.  We desire the best for them and all of the best opportunities to do well in life.  But, over the years we have lost sight of what “the best” really means for our kids. In many cases we have recognized what we have earne...

Embark with Linda and me on an intimate exploration of the complex tapestry of love, from its passionate beginnings to the profound connections we cherish in friendships and family. We're unwrapping the mystery of love's many forms, starting with a look at 'Eros' - the romantic, fiery love that often gets our hearts racing. But we won't stop there; we're threading thr...

In a perfect world I think we could agree that keeping marriages healthy and two parents in the house raising the children is the optimal situation.  But, we live in a less than optimal world.  As this relates to the home we often have marriages coming apart and children being raised by parents or step parents that often desire little to do with each other.  The result can be a devastating environ...

Should I seek counseling or therapy for my child?   Here are some things to consider Advice -  Before jumping into therapy, have you considered that you, as the parent, are likely to have the greatest influence and support in helping your child through many situations.   Oftentimes we suggest that we spend our counseling sessions with the parents to help give them the tools necessary to tend to th...

Making difficult decisions can be stressful and even paralyzing.  "Should I take the job or not?  "Where should I live?" " How should I spend my money?" "What should I study in school?" "Who should I marry?" As you can see the list can seem to go on and on.  The "right" answer seems to be hidden and rarely appears to give us that definitive st...