The Intentional Parents Podcast

This week, all four of us sit down for a meaningful conversation about everyday forgiveness — small, often-overlooked moments of hurt that show up in our closest relationships and call for repair. Whether it's with a spouse, parent, friend, or coworker, these minor offenses can quietly accumulate and widen the distance between us — unless we learn to close the gap before it becomes a chasm. Di...

This week, we’re thrilled to welcome back our dear friend A.J. Swoboda — author, professor, theologian, lay pastor, and fellow podcaster — for an honest conversation about what it means to parent while carrying our own scars. Like physical ones, emotional scars tell the story of pain endured and healing found. We talk about the reality that many of us are giving our kids something we never receive...

Do you ever catch yourself wishing away the ordinary, mundane days of parenting — those moments that feel repetitive, exhausting, or spiritually dry? Maybe you carry guilt for not “praying enough,” or wonder when you’ll ever have space for deep spiritual encounters again. In this week’s episode, Brook and Elizabeth invite you to reimagine what prayer looks like in the midst of diapers, dishes, and...

This week, Brook sits down once again with author, professor, theologian, lay pastor, and podcaster A.J. Swoboda to talk about the importance of having a teachable spirit in today’s world. Centered around his latest book, A Teachable Spirit , this episode invites listeners to see teachability not just as a personality trait, but as a deeply spiritual discipline. We begin by naming a sobering truth...

Do you ever find yourself at a loss when it comes to disciplining your children as they move beyond the toddler years? Do you wish you could instantly curb the pushback, mood swings, and moments of disrespect? This week, we discuss our Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Parenting resource, which reframes how we respond to our children’s behaviors by emphasizing both correction and connection. After all, God h...

This week, Brook sits down with actor, author, and producer Kirk Cameron for a powerful conversation about faith, marriage, and what it means to live as a man of God. While many remember Kirk from his prominent roles in the Growing Pains TV series and the Left Behind films, his story goes far beyond the screen. He shares how a shift from atheism to Christianity as a teenager altered the trajectory...

This week, we explore procedural memory — the unconscious, long-term memory that drives us to perform actions automatically. Shaped by childhood experiences and behaviors modeled by our parents, procedural memory often feels like running on autopilot or slipping into default mode, especially in how we respond under pressure. It’s that reflexive reaction, internal or external, that surfaces when we...

This week, Elizabeth and Diane make an exciting announcement: The Intentional Motherhood Retreat is BACK for 2025 — this time, in Portland, Oregon from October 23-25! They discuss what the retreat is all about, why you should come, and what to expect if you haven’t been before. As retreat speakers and hosts, Elizabeth and Diane reflect on the deep connections, vulnerability, and transformation exp...

This week, we’re diving into the topic of emotional intelligence — the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions in both ourselves and those around us. Developing emotional intelligence helps us navigate life with maturity and stability, while also equipping us to guide our children in naming and managing their emotions with confidence and care. At its core, emotional intelligence is b...

This week, the entire Intentional team sits down to respond to your questions, covering a range of topics, including emotional availability, attachment, overstimulation with kids, physical intimacy in marriage, and navigating emotional pain with our children. We discuss the difficult task of staying emotionally present with toddlers while tending to household responsibilities. Elizabeth unpacks co...

In this episode, the whole Intentional team comes together to unpack five essential practices for maintaining calm and regulation as parents — even in the midst of chaos. We explore how our response to our children must be rooted in humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and contentment. We discuss the fleshly desire to respond to heightened emotions and dysregulation in our kids by matching...

This week, we welcomed Sally Lemos, MS, LPC back on the show for a continued conversation around generational trauma, this time focused on the path to healing. Drawing from her own history of significant childhood trauma, Sally walked us through what it can look like to find healing and restoration, offering a raw account of her transition from denial and blame to naming and claiming. Sally’s heal...

Have you ever felt stuck in your decisions, as if changing your mind would mean admitting defeat? This week, we’re talking about the beauty and bravery of pivoting, whether it’s within your marriage, the way you parent your children, or other areas of life. We unpack the reasons we may have trouble granting ourselves permission to change, whether that’s worry, fear, pride, ignorance, identity, or...

This week, we welcomed author, speaker, fellow podcaster, and overall inspiring, vibrant and magnetic human Annie F. Downs to the show. First, we highlighted the children’s book Annie co-wrote with her sister, ”Where Did TJ Go?” , which helps kids navigate grief and loss. The story was born from personal tragedy. After her sister’s family lost a baby, Annie wrote it for her nephew, Sam, to help hi...

This week on the podcast, all four of us (Brook, Elizabeth, Phil and Diane) sat down to respond to some questions centered on avoiding bitterness in your marriage while dealing with sickness and the unique challenges of parenting neurodiverse children alongside neurotypical children. We discussed the reality of living out the marriage vow, “in sickness and in health,” and how it requires a deep lo...

This week on the podcast, we welcomed back Ruth Chou Simons — author, artist, podcaster, and mom of six(!) boys — for an inspiring conversation about nurturing relationships with our kids. Ruth shared her wisdom on fighting for connection, especially during the teenage years, emphasizing the importance of leading with vulnerability. We explored the idea of viewing parenting as a journey rather tha...

In this episode, we take a heartfelt and insightful dive into the unique challenges and profound joys of parenting neurodivergent children. We acknowledge the emotional, spiritual, and practical complexities that come with raising children who experience the world differently, while also embracing the beauty and growth that can emerge from these experiences. Throughout our discussion, we explore h...

Today on the show, Brook+Elizabeth and Phil+Diane answer your marriage-related questions, offering practical strategies and heartfelt wisdom for navigating the challenges and celebrations of married life. They tackle everything from difficult in-law dynamics and moments of overstimulation to prioritizing your spouse during the busiest or most exhausting seasons. With a focus on communication, resp...

We wholeheartedly welcome back Sally Lemos, MS, LPC, to our show today to talk about trauma as it relates to families through generations. In this episode, we want to lay a foundation and start at the beginning by defining what trauma and abuse are and how they can show up in different ways in us, in our families, and how it’s passed down to future generations. Sally shares with us through the wis...

Merry Christmas! Welcome to our special Christmas episode! Today, Brook and Elizabeth, along with Phil and Diane, dive into the challenges of navigating interpersonal relationships, especially in a culture where it’s often easier—and even socially accepted—to cancel those who feel inconvenient. Together, they share eight essential principles for handling difficult relationships and explore the bet...

In this episode, Brook+Elizabeth, and Phil+Diane tackle three insightful questions about navigating relationships and faith. They explore how to foster deeper connections with family members who struggle with vulnerability by modeling openness, inviting honest conversations, and listening without judgment. They also share how they have learned to support self-critical loved ones through the power...

On the show today, Brook and Elizabeth and Phil and Diane talk about complaining. They unpack how complaining often masks deeper issues like grief, unmet expectations, or a lack of acceptance. True lament invites God into our pain, helping us process grief without getting stuck, while godliness with contentment reorients our perspective. By repenting of entitlement, embracing suffering as part of o...

Conflict, conflict, conflict! We all have it, none of us really want it, and we usually don’t handle it well. What are we to do with the complexities of relational tension and dynamics in our closest relationship? What are some tried and true strategies that are effective now, and how do we heal the emotional wounds that come from conflict? What does the Bible say about this pivotal dynamic in our...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! On today’s show, Brook, Elizabeth, Phil, and Diane sit down to respond to some great questions you all sent in. They open with an important question: is cooking a turkey necessary at Thanksgiving? They also cover some questions like how to find a spiritual mentor, how to keep fighting for your spouse when your spouse is struggling with an addiction, and how to focus o...

On today’s show, we are so pleased to welcome Glenn Packiam. Glenn is a Pastor, author, podcast host, husband, and father of four. We are excited for you to get to know Glenn and the work he has been up to, not only as an author with the book he co-wrote with his wife, Holly but also to learn what God has been teaching him about fatherhood and his relationship with Jesus. Join us in this deep and...