The Thriving Family

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Today’s episode tackles a very sensitive and difficult subject: sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is on the rise in Canada. This episode will educate you about how traffickers operate and what to be aware of as a parent. Note that this episode mentions sexual assault and is not suitable for children. We recommend parents listen t...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Today, you’re in for an inspiring conversation with Carissa Youssef, a leader with a servant’s heart who is passionate about God’s redemptive work. Born in Chicago, Carissa lived throughout the Midwest until her family settled in Seattle in 1993. After graduating from high school, Carissa moved to British Columbia to attend univ...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. In today’s episode, we are tackling a deeply personal issue – emotional abuse in marriage. Words don’t leave physical marks, but they bruise the spirit. This episode is full of practical advice and insights from marriage experts to help work through this daunting topic. While we recognize that men are also victims of emotional a...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Today’s episode features Bryan and Bonnie Pue, founders of The Union Movement. As a young man, Bryan was into the party scene, depressed, angry and addicted to pornography. Meanwhile, Bonnie was the homeschooled church teen girl whose naivety was shattered when a trusted church leader confessed his sexual sin to his congregation...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. In today’s episode, we explore the very real topic of fear and anxiety in children. As you well know, every person at every age has moments of fear. Consider how many times Scripture tells us, “Do not be afraid.” For children specifically, each new developmental age brings up common fears as they are learning to discover the wor...

​Welcome back to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. This is the space where family, faith, and culture intersect. In this second season, the theme is healing scars. You’ll hear sound bites on how to navigate relationships and experience restoration from brokenness. And we sat down with ministry leaders as well as followers of Christ who work in a variety of sectors – all wh...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. We carry around a heart that is aching to be known and felt in a way that warms us from the distances we feel in our relationships. It’s a longing for that deep inner touch. And the closer we are in the relationship, the deeper the pangs of loneliness can be. Today’s episode, “Building Bridges in Intimate Loneliness,” was origin...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Today’s bonus episode comes features a very special guest: Katie Leigh, the iconic voice behind Adventures in Odyssey character Connie Kendall! Katie has voiced a wide range of roles, and she's played the role of everybody's favorite teenager, Connie, for over 20 years - a part that strangely mirrors her own life. Katie attended...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Yes, there are times where their questions may come at an inconvenient time, but a child’s desire for connection with their parent is a beautiful thing. Sometimes, the most important conversations are a two-way street. How can parents share their own mental and emotional health journeys authentically and appropriately with their...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. When there’s stress in a marriage, it impacts all areas of life. While some couples find a way through on their own, many feel stuck. So, what differentiates someone who stays simply to stave off defeat, and someone who desires to overcome the strife they feel and ultimately thrive in their marriage? Today’s episode, “3 Qualitie...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast.  Today’s episode is short and sweet, just like its subject. We put together a collection of insights from relationship experts about how to deepen love and strengthen communication in your marriage. A friendly reminder: Reference to the individuals quoted does not constitute a blanket endorsement of either the individuals’ exter...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. For today’s episode, we have the extreme honour of introducing a powerful testimonial of hope being restored. Gary and Joy had been married for 37 years, but as time went on, they both felt increasingly alone in the relationship. When they became empty nesters, the problems in their marriage they’d been avoiding for years could...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. If you’re a parent of a strong-willed child, this episode is for you. It’s packed with expert insights to help bring out the best in your strong-willed child by discovering their motivations and how to build on their many strengths.

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast.  Whether we realize it or not, the family we grew up in still impacts us today and it can be difficult to know how to create a family that thrives when we’re repeating unhealthy patterns of the past.  Today’s episode dives into the meaning of our family of origin and how to navigate these intricate relationships. This is a massi...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Today’s special guest is Andrew Montgomery, who came to our Canadian office for a special visit from Focus on the Family’s U.S. headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO. As director of organizational development and communications, Andrew creates opportunities for Focus on the Family staff to grow in their knowledge, skills, and abi...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast.  They say silence is golden, but in the context of marriage, silence can be devastatingly painful. There’s a lot you can say about saying nothing. Since silence can be used both constructively and destructively in a relationship, it's important we understand what is going on behind the silence. Today’s episode, “Silent Storm: Wh...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Today’s episode features Pastor Sam Owusu, who took the time to sit down for a truly encouraging conversation.

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast.  It’s natural for parents to step in and ensure our children will be okay. So, how do we balance that tightrope of protective parental instinct, and preventing our children from launching into adulthood? Today’s episode, “What to Do When Your Child Won’t Grow Up,” tackles these questions with love and care thanks to the wisdom o...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast.  Picture this: You and your friend are hanging out, talking like you always do, when suddenly, your friend is divulging serious stuff about their marriage. What should you say – and what should you not say – if you want to help your friend? Today’s episode can help guide us through this relational tightrope.   Just a note: Refer...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast. Boundaries, both personal and mutual, are expressions of our values. They enable us to build a healthy relationship by feeling safe and secure. But what do healthy boundaries look like in marriage? How do we set them, and how do we maintain them? Today’s episode, “How to Set Marriage-Strengthening Boundaries with Your Spouse,” c...

Welcome to The Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family Canada podcast.  Whether you’re engaged, newlywed, or have been married for years, you know that spouses come with attachments: in-laws. These relationships have the potential to offer support to the married couple, but the reality is many couples struggle with in-law dynamics. Similar to having a newborn child, there is no instruction manual f...

In the first season of The Thriving Family podcast, we explore one of the most pressing topics that people ask us about – conflict and communication. Whether you need help in your marriage, as a parent, or in your relationships with loved ones, we want to help you with practical advice, real-life stories, and encouraging conversations.

Check out Focus on the Family Canada’s NEW podcast featuring authentic Canadian content, coming this June! This space – where faith, family, and culture intersect – will be available on our mobile app, website, and wherever you get your podcasts!