The Balanced MomCast | For Overwhelmed Christian Moms Seeking Time Management, Work Life Balance, and Focus

It’s mid-November and the official beginning of the 2023 holiday season. While it certainly can be the most wonderful time of the year, it’s also the most stressful time of the year. For those of us who struggle with overwhelm on an ordinary day (*raises hand*), the holiday season with all of its special events, yummy food, and expensive gifts can cause us to white-knuckle the next six week until...

Today I welcome back to the show Dr. George Barna. Dr Barna is the New York Times Best-Selling author of more than 60 books. Dr. Barna  has been referred to as the most quoted person in the church today. If you haven’t listened to EP201, pause this and listen to that first. Today Dr. Barna explains the role media takes in shaping the worldview of our children and what we can do about it. He also d...

Who your child will be as an adult–their core beliefs, morals, values, desires, and lifestyle– is essentially determined by the time he is 13 years old . We have the exciting opportunity and daunting task as moms to shape whether our kids will be disciples of Jesus or adopt a worldview that ultimately opposes scripture. Today I welcome New York Times Best-Selling Author, Dr. George Barna, the auth...

This is our 200th episode and we are celebrating! I’m celebrating YOU. I’m answering some fun questions from some of my favorite Balanced MomCast friends, highlighting some special moments on the podcast, telling you what I’ve learned, confessing my most embarrassing mom moment, sharing some things on my To-Don’t List, giving you something new for FREE, and also telling you about a big change that...

Today I welcome back Elizabeth Urbanowicz with Foundation Worldview. She explains how we can teach our kids to discern when emotions point them to the truth and when emotions deceive them, and why must teach our kids to open up the Bible and study for themselves. Elizabeth also shares some timely encouragement for moms who are overwhelmed with the thought of coming against our cultural climate. Fo...

How do we teach our kids to think well and to discern truth from lies when the culture says, " Follow your heart ." " Trust your feelings ." " Look within for the answers. "? Today, I welcome Elizabeth Urbanowicz from Foundation Worldview. We discuss some hard topics and the importance of teaching our kids a Biblical worldview without becoming jerks.  For show notes,...

Today I welcome back to the show, my husband of 30 years, Jon Cooper. If you haven’t listened to EP196 , I encourage you to do that first. Today in part 2 of this 2-part conversation, we talk about marriage counseling, aha moments we’ve had in our marriage, what we wish we would have done differently, conflict resolution, love languages, the secret to a happy marriage, and so much more. We aren’t...

Today I have the most special guests of any guest ever. Jon Cooper, my husband of 30 years, is joining us to talk about how to grow and sustain a healthy marriage. In part 1 of this 2-part conversation, we share how we met, what we’ve changed for the better and sacrificed for the sake of the marriage, and how we faced several extremely challenging seasons, and how we made it through. You’ll want t...

Today’s episode is for the tired moms. And let’s face it, that’s most of you--maybe all of you. You are tired from the last 3 years. You are tired of the cultural climate. You are tired because you haven’t had a full night’s sleep since you brought your baby home from the hospital. You are tired from the marriage issues or the work issues or the financial issues or the extended family issues or th...

What do you do when all your well-laid plans are ready to go and life throws you a curveball? Maybe you get sick or a kid gets sick. Maybe your appointment cancels or your contractor delays finishing the renovation again. Well, guys…that’s me right now. Today’s episode is brought to you by The Curveball. Our special guest is Mary K Tiller, jumping in as our pinch hitter(why so many baseball analog...

The summer is officially behind us, the kids are back in school, and I am back from a three-month podcast break, which included a one-month complete work break. Coming back from a break of any kind can feel overwhelming. And since “overwhelm” appears to be my default setting, of course, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. You too? No worries. Today I’m sharing with you four things to remember...

Today I welcome back to the show my dear friend Stephanie O’Dea . She is a New York Times  best-selling author of Make it Fast, Cook it Slow,  the host of The Slow Living Podcast , and the blogger behind A Year of Slow Cooking . Today she shares How she made the transition from slow cooking to slow living and how that impacted her career  How the hustle culture (which is the opposite of slow livin...

What if you wanted to stay home so badly with your kids, that you were willing to try an unconventional work-from-home strategy? What if it involved a new year’s resolution and your crockpot? And what if that crazy idea landed you on the Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times Best Seller list? Today I welcome to the show my friend Stephanie O’Dea . She is a New York Times Bestselling author, the h...

I hate to burst your bubble, but whenever you step out in obedience to God, all hell breaks loose. That is exactly what happened when my guest embarked on writing her Bible study for sexually broken women: Graced: How God Redeems and Restores the Broken. Today, I welcome back my friend Teresa Whiting for Part 2 of our 2-part conversation where we talk about what to do when you encounter spiritual...

Today I welcome my IRL friend, Teresa Whiting. She has written an incredible Bible study entitled, Graced: How God Redeems and Restores the Broken.  In Part 1 of our 2-part conversation, Teresa shares why she did NOT want to write this study and why she did it anyway. She gives us a refreshing and Christlike way to view our scars. She reveals what surprised her the most about studying broken women...

Today I welcome back to the show Jennifer Dukes Lee. She is the author of several books, the latest is called Stuff I’d Only Tell God: A Guided Journal of Courageous Honesty, Obsessive Truth-Telling, and Beautiful Ruthless Self-Discovery. Today we start out with a fun YES or NO rapid-fire session with me in the hot seat. And then we talk about how journaling honestly with God makes you a better mo...

Gut-level honesty is vulnerable and scary–a bit like walking into a room with no pants on. It takes a special kind of courage and holds a special kind of power that leads to a form of intimacy with yourself and with God. Today I welcome Jennifer Dukes Lee. She has written a beautiful guided journal that will push your limits of vulnerability and self-reflection. It will plumb the depths of your hi...

Wine Mom Culture is the pervasive phenomenon that hails wine as the preferred coping mechanism for parenting stress and the ultimate way to unwind and connect with friends. Often promoted through humorous memes and merchandise, this messaging has produced a generation of moms who struggle with drinking. Today I welcome back to the podcast Dana Bowman, an Author of 2 books, a speaker, a writing Ins...

In the 1990s a very specific marketing campaign emerged to target women, advertising sweet, pink, beautiful alcoholic drinks and showing women happy consuming alcohol in social situations. A few years later hilariously clever memes showed up on Facebook hailing wine as the preferred coping mechanism for parenting stress. And it was wildly successful: In the last 15 years, the greatest increase in...

I have been thinking about getting old a LOT lately. I’ll be 55 this year…my body continues to change, my skin looks a little saggy, and I’m drifting further and further away from pop culture and what young people think is cool. Evidenced by the fact that I still say “cool.” But one of the undeniable benefits of growing older is developing spiritual maturity. What does spiritual maturity look like...

Today I welcome back to the show my dear friend Sarah Dalton. If you haven’t listened to EP182, be sure to do that first, where she shared the first 2 steps of her 3-step process to optimize your energy levels through seasonal living. Today, she gives us step 3, along with some sage advice for moms in the midst of transition or those enduring a difficult season. For show notes visit https://thesco...

Do you want to know a surefire way to drain your energy? Fight against the season you are currently in. Today I welcome my dear friend Sarah Dalton. She’s here to help you identify and embrace the season you are in so you that you align your days accordingly. In Part 1 of our 2-part conversation, she gives us the first 2 steps of her 3-step process to optimize your energy levels through seasonal l...

Elizabeth is a Stress Coach for Christian moms, a Podcast Host, a mom of 4, a wife, and a believer. She’s here to help you reduce mental stress and overwhelm so you can respond with patience and calm. In Part 2 of our 2-Part conversation, Elizabeth explains why some moms have so much trouble regulating their emotions,she gives us 5 things that contribute to mom rage, and then leaves us with action...

In Part 1 of our 2-part conversation, Elizabeth shares how she always considered herself to be a calm person… until she became a mom . After she had her 3rd child, she felt like she was losing control and had the wisdom to seek help. Now she's a Stress Coach for Christian moms and she's here to help you. Today she explains the difference between normal anger and destructive rage and how...

Surprise! Today I release a brand new podcast:  Writing Off Social (best podcast name EVER!). This is a weekly podcast for female Christian writers who want to grow and nurture their audience without social media. I’m co-hosting it with my friend and yours, Mary K Tiller.  PLEASE GO TO APPLE PODCASTS AND CLICK FOLLOW! SHARE THE TRAILER FROM APPLE PODCASTS WITH A FRIEND OR POST IT TO YOUR SOCIAL ME...