Praying for our kids: Gratefulness
Happy Thanksgiving week!
Just curious, is anyone besides me completely grossed out by the whole cooking the turkey thing and pulling out the innards? Honestly, I could do without the turkey in general and just park myself in front of the sides for a fine little Thanksgiving. With great timeliness, my Mom is joining me on the podcast today to talk about Thanksgiving, praying for our kids, and everything in between.
One of my favorite things about this time of year (aside from the food) is the opportunity to reflect on and appreciate all that the Lord has done in the last year. Just as everything in me wants to rush right into Christmas decorating and gift shopping, I’m reminded that gratefulness is so critical for my soul and I desperately need to thank the Lord for his faithfulness day after day.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, join with me and my sweet Mom to pray gratefulness over our kids. Let’s pray they acknowledge the Lord’s faithfulness in their lives, seeing him in the big and the small, the successes and the failures, and the trials and the triumphs.
Truly the Lord is the giver of all good things—let’s celebrate this truth by praying our kids are marked with a heart of gratitude.
That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs
It’s a hallmark day at Pardon the Mess because for the first time ever we have Annie Downs on the show. Annie lives in Nashville and is an author, podcaster, speaker, and expert on all things related to having fun!
You guys have no idea how long I’ve waited for a chance to chat with sweet Annie. Having followed her for many years, I’m absolutely in awe of how she lives out her faith in fresh and exciting ways, challenging believers to figure out what looks fun in their own lives (and then actually go out and do it).
Today she reminds us that God uses all things in our lives to prepare us for his greater purposes. I love her quote that God “full circles all things,” meaning he takes even our missteps and detours and uses them for his greater purposes.
But more than anything, I want you to hear Annie’s encouragement on having fun as Christians (so often we miss that component in life) and the importance of helping our kids figure out what “fun” looks like in their own lives both now and in the future.
This is the perfect time of year to be thankful for all that God has done for us. A great way to express this gratitude is to live with joy and chase after the fun things God has created for each of us uniquely. I just know you’re going to love Annie Downs like I do after today’s show.
Praying for our kids: Discernment
When I read the verses above, it makes me think of how nice it would be to simply hear a voice telling me how to proceed in certain situations and the resulting confidence I would have in knowing that I’m getting it right. And then I’m reminded that the Holy Spirit does just this when we listen expectantly as believers.
My dear friend Stephanie Martin (and one of the most discerning people I know) is joining us today as we pray for discernment in our kids’ lives. We’re talking about teaching our kids to be attentive to God in all things and praying they learn to hear God’s voice in their lives from an early age.
Not only is having discernment critical in our kids’ lives—but we’re also praying they have people around them who help them discern truth in all the situations they will face.
You be YOU with Jamie Ivey
There’s just nobody like Jamie Ivey when it comes to having a hilarious conversation filled with lots of truth and vulnerability. This girl loves Austin, Texas, her family, parenting, marriage, and encouraging people to walk the path God has uniquely designed for them.
Today’s show was such a great reminder for me that what we do matters, and that our job is to be faithful where God has us (instead of wishing our lives looked like someone or something else). I love Jamie’s thoughts on gauging if we’re staying on our own God-given path and also the gift of being a cheerleader for others.
Jamie and I also talk about marriage, teaching our kids to live comfortably in their own skin, and so much more that you just can’t possibly miss! Take a few minutes to listen to my conversation with Jamie and then share it with a friend who needs the reminder that God wants “you to be you.”
Praying for our kids: Praying Time Management
Today we’re talking about time-management on Pardon the Mess, and my husband Mike is making a cameo as we pray over our children.
As a young mom I so often remember being told to treasure each moment because “the days are long but the years are short.” Now as a mom who just celebrated a fairly large milestone birthday, I realize the absolute truth of those words both in raising kids and just in life generally.
Because it’s so hard to truly appreciate how precious each day is when you’re young, we’re focusing our prayer time this week on praying time management for our kids. Their days, like ours, are filled with so many demands as they balance school, activities, family, and time with the Lord. Let’s pray as they do this each day they learn to make wise decisions with their time and use it in ways that best honor God’s purposes in their lives.
I love the wisdom of Psalm 90:12 as it relates to time management: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The Lord is our sole source of all wisdom—so let’s ask him to guide our kids this week.
Adoption, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a ‘Surrendered Yes” with Rebekah Lyons
November is National Adoption Month, and I’m thrilled to be talking with Rebekah Lyons about adoption, following God’s callings, and what a ‘surrendered yes’ looks like in each of our lives.
And then there’s the fact that I’m slightly obsessed with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and Rebekah (having lived in NYC for several years) tells us all about it. Basically I’ve reconfirmed my commitment to get there someday very soon!
Here are some of the important topics we cover in today’s show:
- The gift of adoption and the many ways God can show us how losing our lives is really gaining true life
- The three parts of a surrendered yes and what that means in your own life
- A pivotal question to ask yourself when considering if you’re obedient to God’s callings
I can’t wait for you to hear today’s show, and, in honor of National Adoption Month, I give you a recent picture of my sweet little one (along with a few links to articles I’ve written about our adoption journey).
Praying for our kids friendships
It’s November, and as we begin the countdown to Thanksgiving I naturally think of friends, family, and doing life together. Because of this, all month long I’ll be bringing some of my favorite people on the podcast to join us in praying over our kids. You’ll hear from people like my husband, my mom, and several of my sweet friends with lots of wisdom.
To kick it off today, we’re praying for the friendships in our kids’ lives. One of my dearest friends, Brandie Rodgers, is joining us as a mom who has prayed every single day for her three kids to have Godly friends. She has some sweet reminders on why we pray this for our kids and how God honors our prayers when we do.
We know that friendships can be a great blessing to our children, especially when they have good ones. Let’s pray this week for our kids to have at least one authentic, godly friendship to build them up in each stage of their lives. Let’s also pray they are good friends to others, showing kindness, encouragement, and inclusivity to those around them.
A conversation every parent needs to hear on drugs and addiction
When my son was about five-years-old he repeatedly urged me to say no to “rugs.” I was perplexed at his stance against floor coverings until I realized he was referring to drugs. Apparently he misunderstood a well-intentioned friends' advice on avoiding drug use—and it still makes me laugh today. But I digress.
This week is red-ribbon week in public schools and the perfect time for us to talk about the tough subject of drugs and addiction in our kids. Richard Capriola has great wisdom in this area from his work as a mental health and addiction counselor the last two decades, most recently at the Menninger Clinic in Houston.
Here are some of the important topics we cover in today’s show:
- The drug(s) of choice for our teens today
- Signs of drugs and alcohol use in our kids
- What to do if you suspect drug/alcohol use in your child
- The difference in clinical addictions and process addictions
- Warning signs of self-harm
- Treatment options
- Encouragement for parents who are walking through addiction with their kids
Please take time to listen to this important topic. If you’re like me, you may feel like it’s not relevant to your kids today or even that it’s a heavy subject you would rather avoid. But we don’t know what we don’t know about the future and who may need us to be knowledgeable in this area. So let’s do it together.
Praying for our kids: Praying accountability
If David was named a man after God’s own heart yet still needed accountability, how much more do we need it in our own lives? That’s why we’re praying this week for our kids to have mentors and friends (i.e. Nathans) who point them to truth when their actions don’t line up with God’s word.
Accountability is not only important for our kids now, but also as they leave our homes one day and need truth spoken into their marriages, finances, and careers. It’s so easy to be influenced by the norms of our culture, making accountability incredibly important from people who will say what we need to hear and not always what we want to hear.
Only after Nathan confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba did David confess and repent making his relationship right with God. It was in the blind spots of his sin where God placed accountability in David’s life. It’s those same blindspots where we will be praying accountability for our kids both today and all of their days this side of heaven.