Walk Beside Me

in todays TOP SECRET episode we feature exclusive guests and never before seen stories about YO MAMMA

This episode is a special ode to our very own wonderful mamas on Mother's Day. We love you!! 🫶🏼

As a recovering type-A perfectionist, one major theme of parenting for me has been learning not to freak out when things don’t go “perfectly.” In this episode I sit down with my husband to talk about the simplicity-complexity-simplicity paradigm, which has helped me embrace imperfection as a necessary step in the process of becoming whole. Scripture References: Luke 7:36–60

Have you ever found yourself one inconvenience away from a mental breakdown? That was me, just about a week ago. But in this episode, I'm laying out a perspective that has helped me shift from counting my inconveniences to counting my blessings. Whenever any inconvenience arises, I'm asking myself "Who would see this inconvenience as a blessing?" I'm thinking of pioneer paren...

Join me in this very special episode for an interview with Kurt Francom, Executive Director of Leading Saints. Leading Saints is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Kurt Francom leads the organization and hosts its podcast, which is one of the most listened-to podcasts in the Latter-day Saint community with over 21 million total show listens....

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any time at all, you know that one of my core beliefs is that in moments of emotional turmoil, the best thing we can do for our kids is to BE the calm that they need. Rather them tell them “calm down,” we show them what calm looks like and let them catch the calm from us. But what do you do if you DON’T feel calm? What if you, the parent, need a little...

Welcome back to the podcast! In this episode, I'm joined by my husband, Trenton Bird. We're celebrating exactly one year since the birth of Walk Beside Me and introducing you to season 2, including updates regarding what the podcast will be like moving forward. Then we're diving into a principle that has been keeping us grounded as we navigate life with a vibrant toddler and adorable b...

In this last episode of 2025, I'm highlighting my three favorite topics covered over the course of the year: Agency The Golden Rule Repentance, not Punishment I'll be taking a little time off for the holidays and then I'll be back in 2026! Thank you for listening and supporting me during the podcast's first year <3

There's been a lot of noise on social media lately about how to prep yourself to answer "annoying" questions and comments from friends and relatives. The questions that tend to come up repeatedly at once-a-year gatherings. Questions like... Is your baby sleeping through the night yet? When are you having another one? Is she a good baby? There seems to be widespread agreement that the...

Today I’m tackling why I skip solitary confinement (a.k.a. time-out) as a tool for teaching my children. Long story short: it's un-Christlike and there is a better way. If we want our children to know a Heavenly Father who responds mercifully to their mistakes, who pursues the lost sheep rather than exiling it, then we as parents have to model that mercy first. Resources Mentioned: The Montess...

Today I’m sharing the story of a small miracle that taught me this important lesson: Parenting is like gardening. There are seasons of reaping and seasons of sowing. And just because you aren’t tasting good fruits right in this moment doesn’t mean that you aren’t being successful. Maybe the bitter moments are the greatest opportunities to sow seeds that will bear sweet fruit in the future. Resourc...

There are certain things about parenting that are physically exhausting: waking up for a baby in the middle of the night, folding piles of laundry, chasing a toddler around. So let's do whatever we can to avoid making it mentally exhausting, too. One of the BEST ways to free up your mind mentally as a parent is to recognize all the little ways you are treating your child as an object or projec...

Today I'm sharing some recent reflections on perfectionism, a condition I've dealt with my whole life. Becoming a parent has shown me the dangers of perfectionism. Yet I realized recently that pursuing perfection or excellence isn't the problem. The problem is thinking you can make yourself perfect on your own, and letting your own (or the world's) definition of perfection guide you. In this episo...

In this episode, I'm discussing how the way Jesus addressed the woman caught in adultery is the PERFECT, grounding story to remember when we are parenting our own children in public. Like Jesus, we can slow down and remember that impressing other people is never worth sacrificing our relationship with our kids. Scripture References: John 8 Mosiah 3:19

I’ve been thinking about the argument “but kids need structure!” for some time now. The mentality seems to be, “Yes kids can have some autonomy, BUT they need to be controlled a little bit too.” I’ve come to the conclusion that kids DO need structure, but it’s not what most people think. It’s not a flawless bedtime routine, three perfect meals a day, or strictly delegated chores. I’m not saying th...

Today I'm challenging a popular paradigm in the world of faith-based leadership: the "high love, high expectations" framework. High expectations can be detrimental. When we set an expectation, we make our emotions and reactions dependent on another person's behavior. Essentially, we say "I will only be happy with you if you do X." A more scriptural approach is high &quo...

Today's episode is a quick hitter on a topic that can be triggering for a lot of parents: tone. Short story shorter, the best way we can help our kids speak in more "respectful" tones is to (1) dispel the fear, and (2) model what we want to hear. Listen to the full episode for more. Scripture References: 1 Samuel 16:7 2 Timothy 1:7 Matthew 7:12 Matthew 7:2

In this episode, I'm sharing how prayer is saving me from some of the most intense guilt I've ever felt in my life. Since. I was very young, I've struggled with perfectionism and the crippling, sometimes physically painful guilt that comes along with it. Nowhere has this been more true that in my relationship with religion and God. Until one day, a friend asked me a question that started to shift...

This episode is all about the most important skill you can develop as a parent: seeing correctly. In a book I read recently, I learned that the difference between a good artist and a not-so-good one is not a lack of skill or talent. It's a fundamental difference in the way the two artists see. The same is true in parenting. If you can see your children accurately, you don't really need to...

This episode is for anyone who feels a bit of panic while noticing their old habits and weaknesses creep back into sight. This is where I have been the past few weeks. But the panic has dissipated due to some scriptural truths and spirit-given analogies that are helping me as I regain strength. I'm understanding weakness in a way that is more empowering and hopeful than ever before in my life....

I'm so lucky to have my cousin Melissa and her husband, Lawrence, join my on the podcast today. Melissa and Lawrence Stone have been through the gauntlet of grief: In 2012, they lost their oldest daughter Ethne in a car crash when she was 2 years old. A couple years later, their third son was born with a birth defect. And only a few years after that, their son Thomas was stillborn. Miraculously, t...

Right after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God said to Eve, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children . . . .” At first glance, this looks like a punishment. It looks like God making Eve (and all women) suffer for what she did. But some personal spiritual experiences I’ve had recently make me wonder whether childbirth has to be framed...

The phrase "give yourself grace" has been on my mind a lot as I navigate the postpartum period following my second daughter's birth. We often use this phrase to reassure someone going through a difficult time that they deserve mercy because they are doing the best that they can given the circumstances. I am all for extending mercy—this is the essence of Christ's mission. But true GRACE—Christ's gr...

This episode is part 2 of Baby Bird #2’s birth story. I’m comparing my first daughter’s birth with this one, laying out all the practical tips and gospel principles that helped my second birth experience go SO much smoother than my first. My biggest takeaway? Everything is a choice. The noises you make during labor are a choice. The way you think about pain is a choice. The way you treat your spou...

I am THRILLED to announce the birth of another sweet babe into our family! This episode is a play by play of everything that went down to get our baby earthside. I couldn't have done it without the support of my husband, a.k.a. birth doula. So I decided I didn't want to do this episode without him, either. Listen in to hear about shark fishing during early labor, our Mary and Joseph moment...