Walking our kids through grief with Lisa Appelo
Happy Summer!
I hope you’re having a great ending to the school year and ready for a fun-filled summer! I know that summer can bring a mix of emotions for most of us, so no guilt as we navigate these days well with our kids.
Today Lisa Appelo is with us to discuss grief and how to walk our kids through it. This is so important for when our own kids are grieving, but also for when those around us are walking hard roads and need support.
Lisa lost her husband suddenly and has led her seven children through this enormous loss for ten years. She shares some critical principles of living through grief such as being authentic, making a safe space for your kids to mourn, and giving grace as each person grieves differently.
There’s a whole lot of wisdom packed into today’s podcast—so listen to it, take a few notes, and share it with someone who might be struggling in a hard place today.
So grateful for you!
Resources from today's show:
Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your World Back Together After It All Falls Apart
More from Lisa Appelo
Talk About from Awana - Try one month FREE with promo code: PTM
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook
Praying for Uvalde and all of our schools
There are no words at a time like this and, if you’re like me, the news feels almost suffocating this morning. I want to take a minute to lead us in a special time of prayer for our friends in Uvalde as well as for all of our students.
Take a minute to listen to this special edition podcast and join me in praying for Uvalde and our schools.
Also, I wrote an article several years ago after the school shooting in Florida that I want to share with you. It’s equally relevant today, and I hope it’s a renewed call to action in praying for our children and schools.
We are not powerless in school shootings
Praying for our kids: Patience
We are down to the last two weeks of praying through our 2021–2022 journal, which is really hard to believe! Yet it also seems fitting to be praying for patience as we’re staring down the barrel of summer and preparing for lots of extra time with our kids the next several months.
It’s not lost on me that very few of us feel like we’ve mastered patience when it comes to our kids, which is why I’m thankful for my good friend Noel Pearce joining us today to work through it. We will not only pray for our kids to be patient with their siblings, friends, teammates, and parents, but also that they develop the discipline of waiting patiently for the Lord.
Pray with us this week, and then don’t miss next week as we close out the school year praying God-sized dreams over our kids!
Finding Peace in the midnight moments with Joni Eareckson Tada
“God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.”
— Joni Eareckson Tada
The ten words above have marked me from the very first time I heard Joni Eareckson Tada speak them. And today Joni is sharing her heart behind these words and much more on a show you definitely don’t want to miss!
Joni is an author, speaker, artist, and the most incredible example of loving Jesus in the hardest places that I’ve ever known. She suffers with quadriplegia, and, even so, has traveled the world sharing her hope in Jesus.
Joni very candidly talks to us about her accident and the words she prayed just months before it happened. We get a little insight into how she’s learned to love Jesus even when life’s midnight moments of despair come creeping in.
There’s literally no way for me to hype today’s show enough, so please, please take a minute and go listen.
Resources from today's show:
Talk About from Awana - Try one month FREE with promo code: PTM
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook
Praying for our kids: Submission
The word “submission” oftentimes has a negative connotation in our culture and is probably not any of our go-to prayers for our kids. But submission is exactly what we’re praying this week because submitting to the Lord means placing ourselves under his authority—and that’s a big component of accepting Jesus and living for him.
My good friend Stephanie Martin joins us today to talk about how she prays for her family, and, as always, gives us a few laughs along the way. We also have a good discussion on how to submit our will for our kids to God, and we all know that’s not easy most days.
Join me in praying this week that our children submit to God through obedience to his word, a lifelong commitment to worship, and a desire to live to the higher standard to which they have been called. Can’t wait to pray together!
Gen Z and their faith with Grant Glover
Attention❗️: If you have children born between 1997 and 2010, today’s podcast is especially for you!
We’re talking about all things Gen Z, and even if your kids aren’t technically a part of Gen Z age-wise, please take a few minutes to listen to this fascinating conversation with Grant Glover. He does an amazing job breaking down how Gen Z views the world as the first generation of kids with 24/7 access to technology. We get a peek behind the curtain on their inner-narrative and the loneliness so often associated with this age group.
His insight on raising kids in a post-Christian culture and how that impacts their feelings about church is so, so good. And although I love this entire conversation with Grant, you have got to hear the very end where he shares the one thing that has had the greatest impact on him staying the course in his faith.
This is a podcast that is going to stick with me for a long, long time. I know you’ll agree!
Resources from today's show:
Off the Clock with Grant Glover
Talk About from Awana - Try one month FREE with promo code: PTM
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook
Praying for our kids: Humility
My mom (aka Dorothy) is joining us on the show today to talk about humility, and I promise you don’t want to miss the chance to hear Dorothy share some wisdom.
It’s easy to skip over humility when praying for our kids because we live in a world that thrives on self-promotion and performance. But the Bible is full of warnings about pride and reminders that we are called to live each day with humility. It’s a foundation of our faith because it’s difficult to know your dire need for the Lord if you don’t have the humility to acknowledge it.
We will also talk about the importance of teaching our children to put others first, seeking to build them up and not just working for their own self-interests. That’s a big one when it comes to social media and raising kids who use it with humility and grace.
Join me and my mom today as we pray for humility for our kids!
How to study your Bible with Jen Wilkin
Jen Wilkin is a speaker, podcaster, author, and someone who really knows how to study the Bible and lead others in doing the same. I am thrilled to have her joining us today to talk about the “why” and the “how” behind studying the Bible.
Bible literacy matters not simply because it’s how we know God (which is a big one), but it also matters in our parenting because our kids need to learn to measure cultural truth with biblical standards.
As summer approaches it’s easy to lose our routine and also the discipline of spending time with God. Let me encourage you to get a plan in place now so that doesn’t happen. A great way to do this is to gather friends and do a Bible study like Jen’s in community.
Don’t miss these practical yet significant words on studying your Bible.
Resources from today's show:
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook
Praying for our kids: Purity
Kay Wyma is joining us today to talk about purity and thoughts to consider as we pray for our kids. Praying purity definitely means we’re praying for our kids to pursue it in their dating relationships, internet searches, music choices, clothes, and pure groups. However, we also know that purity is rooted in our identity, and when we know our worth it makes purity less about checking a box and more about trusting our Savior.
I love how Kay reminds us that through the blood of Christ we are all clothed in righteousness, and that nothing our kids have done (or that has been done to them) can take that away. There’s a whole lot of soul issues around the notion of purity, and I’m grateful Kay is joining us today to break it down in ways we probably haven’t considered before.
It’s hard to believe we’re in our last month of praying through the school year! Finish strong and join us in praying today!