Praying for our kids: Peace
This week we’re praying peace over our kids, and this seems especially relevant considering the state of our world today. Peace for our kids means they are not consumed with fear and worry, but instead live filled with the peace of God which transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
We will spend a few minutes in Psalm 9 considering King David’s formula for living in peace. We’ll see how even in the turmoil he so often faced, he always came to the Lord with (1) praise, (2) perspective on God’s bigger picture, and (3) a healthy memory for God’s past faithfulness in his life.
It’s all about peace on Pardon the Mess today—so share it with a friend!
Loving our kids unconditionally with Missy Robertson
Have I told you this week how much my family loved Duck Dynasty all those years ago? If not, let me reiterate our love by sharing a few of my favorite Duck Dynasty lines:
I live by my own rules (reviewed, revised, and approved by my wife) . . . but still my own. —Si Robertson
You can talk any redneck into a challenge. That’s why so many rednecks die in strange ways. —Jase Robertson
My advice is: Don't take yourself too seriously, laugh a lot, enjoy your time with family, and appreciate the unique talents of others. Trust in God, love your neighbor, say you're sorry, forgive, and work hard. —Willie Robertson
Knowing my love for this family, you can appreciate how excited I am to have Missy Robertson joining us today. We’re talking about loving our kids unconditionally and her new children’s book written about this important subject. Our conversation also comes at a very interesting time in her life as she and Jace were unexpectedly given custody of a newborn and are working through the details of that.
Missy has a great word on standing in the gap for people around us and how their family has tried to live missionally before, during, and after the platform of Duck Dynasty. Her words on the importance of the nuclear family (and the attacks on it) are so good, and I’m grateful for the passion she has to speak into it.
Having talked to so many of the Duck Dynasty crew in the past, I’m now grateful to meet MIssy, and I know you’re going to love her!
Resources from today's show:
Average Boy’s Above-Average Year
Praying for our kids: Service
This week we’re praying for our kids to be marked by a heart that longs to serve those around them. Not only are we literally serving Jesus when we do so, but we get a beautiful new perspective on life.
There are so many ways to serve others well, but we’ll focus our time on praying that our kids share the gospel, befriend the marginalized, and actively find ways to serve others in our homes and our churches.
We’re also going to spend time praying for Ukraine this week. It feels overwhelming and oftentimes words even fail us. But with all that’s going on in the world, we can trust that where two or more are gathered—the Lord is with us and hears us.
Thank you for being so faithful to pray with us each week. Pray for your kids’ eyes to be opened to the needs around them so that serving others becomes second nature in their daily lives.
Raising prayerful kids with Stephanie Thurling and Sarah Holmstrom
We spend a lot of time in these parts talking about the importance of praying over our kids. But this week we’re giving it a little twist and talking to Stephanie Thurling and Sarah Holmstrom about raising prayerful kids. Said differently—how do we raise kids who pray?
As with all things when it comes to parenting, intentionality is the key, and today’s show is full of practical yet intentional ways to incorporate prayer into your kids’ daily routines.
Sarah and Stephanie have a powerful book on teaching your kids how to pray—and let’s just say when they refer to starting a “prayer chain” it’s what you’re thinking of from the ‘80s with lots of serial phone calls and casseroles.
So glad you’re with us today! Be sure to share this with a friend. Let’s work together to raise kids who spend time with their Savior in prayer.
Resources from today's show:
❤️ Average Boy’s Above-Average Year
❤️ How Much Is A Little Boy Worth?
❤️ Parent with Purpose - A Perfectly Imperfect Christian Parenting Digital Event
Praying for our kids: Resolve
We’re praying resolve over our kids this week, and a good working definition for resolve is “to reach a firm decision.” So praying resolve means we’re praying they reach a firm decision each and every day to follow Christ and grow in their faith.
Resolve is critical for this generation, who is bombarded daily with social media, pornography, graphic music, widespread internet access, and so much more. To follow the Lord, they will need to consistently do the faith-growing practices of connecting with the Lord daily, following godly mentors, and walking away from things that are less than God’s best for their lives.
Join me this week as we laugh a little bit about my half-marathon experience so many years ago, and the take-aways of discipline, muscle memory, and determination required to do the hard things in life.
The real deal with learning differences and our kids with Dr. Housson
Learning differences impact so many of our families, and oftentimes leave us confused and concerned as we consider the impact on our kids. I’m so grateful we have the opportunity to talk about this important issue today, and I’ve brought in the best to guide our discussion.
Dr. Matthew Housson has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and focuses his Dallas practice on learning differences, specifically diagnosing autism, attention disorders, learning disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders.
He is preeminent in his field and is graciously giving us a crash course on topics like these:
- When is too young to test for a learning difference?
- How do learning differences present themselves in elementary, middle, and high school?
- Does a LD mean lower intelligence?
- What are the different types of attention disorders?
- Is it ever too late for “early” intervention?
My prayer is that we can dispel some of the myths and shed light in the dark places we fear on the learning difference journey.
Trust me when I say you need to hear this today—if not for your own children, then for those walking these roads beside you.
Resources from today's show:
Parenting for the Present resources
Parent with Purpose - A Perfectly Imperfect Christian Parenting Digital Event
Praying for our kids: Inerrancy
I’m guessing you pray inerrancy over your kids every day like I do? Just kidding, me neither.
But I do believe inerrancy is a critical aspect of our faith and one we need to be praying for our kids. Boiling it down to one sentence—praying inerrancy means praying for our kids to believe that everything in the Bible is absolutely true. That’s it!
And it’s especially important in a culture of relativism that believes there is no absolute truth. Some of the anti-inerrancy (assuming that’s a word) messages we hear today relate to the Bible being dated and not relevant today because we’re more enlightened now. Or that the Bible was written by too many authors, so it’s contradictory and not a reliable historical source.
There’s lots more to this topic, but we’re going to keep it short by praying that our kids believe every word in the Bible is divinely inspired and the ultimate authority for their lives, no matter what the culture is telling them about the Bible.
Join me in praying inerrancy this week—it’s a big one!
Lies good moms believe with Kari Kampakis
The last few weeks we’ve discussed the various lies we believe when it comes to things like faith vs. science, or our friendships, or even lies our culture promotes such as Christians are intolerant and even dangerous.
But this week we’re honing in on lies good moms (like you and like me) believe, and Kari Kampakis joins us to identity and dispel them.
We’re talking about lies like:
✨ My needs are second to the needs of my kids
✨ I don’t have time to rest
✨ We’re to be comforters, not comforted
✨ Our personal wellness goals are selfish
✨ We aren’t important outside of our role in the family
I especially don’t want you to miss our discussion of having certain “malls” in our lives (you’ll understand when you listen) and how those places of stress and anxiety need to be identified.
I can’t wait for you to hear this word from Kari Kampakis and all that she is sharing from her book, More than a Mom.
Resources from today's show:
More Than a Mom: How Prioritizing Your Wellness Helps You (and Your Family)
How Much Is a Little Boy Worth
Get your Early bird ticket to the 4 Perfectly Imperfect digital event, Parent with Purpose today!
Praying for our kids: Courage
It’s all but impossible to do the things God calls us to without courage. David, Joshua, Moses, and Samuel each challenged their people to be courageous in their last days before going to heaven. Why? Because living for God isn’t the easy road, and we will be called to places that are impossible without courage.
I can’t help but think of what some of our favorite Old Testament greats would have missed without having courage.
- Moses without courage doesn’t leave his land and go to a foreign country
- Esther without courage doesn’t speak to the king and save a nation
- Moses without courage doesn't lead the Isrealite
- Rahab without courage doesn’t house the spies
I could go on and on, but let’s just say it’s important to pray courage over our kids because they are going to be asked by God to do bold things in this culture. Let’s also pray that they have the courage to say no to things that are not from God like drugs, toxic friendships, gossiping, pornography, etc.
We have one life to do the things God has called us to this side of heaven—and if the people in the Bible tell us anything it’s that we’re going to need a little courage along the way. Can’t wait to pray with you!