Pardon the Mess with Courtney DeFeo - Christian Motherhood, Biblical Parenting, Raising Christian Kids

If I had to pick just one person to speak into the nitty gritty of starting a new school year, it would 100% be Mia Mbroh. She’s not only a licensed professional counselor, but she has also worked directly in the school trenches giving her a unique insider's perspective.    In the only way Mia knows how, today she brings us an honest and vulnerable look at the good, bad, and ugly that our kids are facing in this new school year. And as a part of that, I can promise you don’t want to miss a second of her advice on showing grace and letting go of some of the high expectations we’re holding onto for our kids (ouch, my toes).    There’s a really, really good word I needed to hear on walking our kids through hard friendships, social awkwardness, and the hard places we face with learning differences. And take note if you have a junior high or high school child, she addresses ways to best connect with these little darlings and gives a HILARIOUS dog/cat analogy.    If your kids are back in school, don’t miss the wise words of Mia Mbroh!Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It feels like we’ve weathered some pretty significant storms the last 18 months, both in the world at large as well as individually and as families. If you’re anything like me, there have been hard places that have caused you to cry out to God and, at times, even question his plans.  I’m so thankful that Sally Clarkson is here today talking about the hard places we face, reminding us that storms are our training grounds for obeying God’s Word and walking in his ways.   Sally shares with us some of the storms she’s personally faced and how walking with God has allowed her to build a life on the rock of eternal values. We talk very practically of these important topics: how to to observe but not internalize the difficulties we face, the role of our feelings when we’re struggling, walking our kids through hard things and the trap of busyness and distraction, raising kids who are out of the box, and tips for weathering marriage difficulties Some days it’s nice to have someone just a little further down the road giving us perspective and wisdom. Today is one of those days, and Sally Clarkson is just the right person for the job! Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I don’t know about you, but it feels like now that school is back in session I can finally exhale and breathe a little bit knowing there’s going to be more routine in my days.  Maybe it was getting one ready for college, or mentally preparing for high school with my middle son, or the beginning of kindergarten with my youngest—but life has felt like a lot the last few months.  If you’re feeling this same way, today’s show with Jennifer Dukes Lee is for you. Jennifer shares with us a time when she was at a breaking point in her own life and realized the need to “un-hurry” her heart. She gave herself permission to slow down and wait for the better things that come only with slow growth and deeper connection with the Lord.  I love the practical advice she shares from her new book Growing Slow and how we can: stop living in hurriedness and instead rest in Jesus, trust the winter seasons in life to God even when we don’t see his hand moving, find rest knowing that the small, slow things we do in parenting often produce big fruit in our kids’ lives. I’ll leave you with my favorite parenting quote from Jennifer: “In my most insecure moments as a mom, the only thing that ever gave me hope and guidance was the gospel.”  Amen and amen!  Don’t miss this much-needed word for all of us taking a deep breath at the beginning of a new school year!Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sean McDowell joins us today to talk about God’s design for our sexuality and raising kids biblically in a confused culture that blurs the lines. We tackle topics like the shortcomings of the purity culture movement, as well as the biggest misconceptions our kids are facing when it comes to love and relationships.   Sean is a gifted communicator who speaks all over the world, equipping Christians to make the case for their Christian faith. Alongside his Dad, Josh McDowell, they are passionate about teaching believers (especially youth) to identify the lies in our culture and respond biblically. Sean shares with us some of the top faith issues facing our kids today and how to address them with truth while keeping an open dialogue.   His new book, Chasing Love: Sex, Love, and Relationships in a Confused Culture, is a much-needed deep dive into God’s design for our sexuality. Oh, and If you missed our conversation with Josh McDowell, please go back and listen to it ASAP. I promise it’s worth every second of your time to hear Sean and Josh McDowell—some of the top apologists of our day—share their thoughts on raising kids biblically.Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I had the opportunity to hear Sarah Harmeyer speak at an event in Dallas years ago, and her words have literally stayed with me to this day. Long story short—after a pastor encouraged Sarah to be who God created her to be, she left a successful business career in pursuit of gathering people. It started by her sweet dad building her an outdoor table to host her neighbors, and thousands of people later, she has a ministry and business called Neighbor’s Table. Sarah and her father hand-deliver their outdoor tables all over the country, allowing countless people to do life elbow to elbow just as Jesus did in his earthly ministry. Sarah encourages us to let go of perfectionism and keep it simple, opening up opportunities for meaningful conversation with a place for everyone at our table. As we begin a new school year, it’s a perfect time to commit to being people gatherers in our neighborhoods and communities. Sarah says it this way, “I’m on a love mission. I just believe ordinary people, like me, can be called to love extraordinarily around the table. Why? Because we were made to do this.”Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sometimes we confuse spiritual health with mental health, assuming they are one in the same when that’s often far from the truth. Knowing this, it seems appropriate to take a little deeper dive into our emotional health with Licensed Professional Counselor, Debra Fileta. We cover a lot of ground today with topics like: ways to take inventory of our mental health, when spiritual answers don’t address our mental health issues, the importance of modeling emotional health with our kids, training our kids to identify their emotions, recognizing our kids’ default emotion and investigating the deeper issue. And please don’t miss Debra’s advice on preparing our kids for dating relationships, the frequent pitfalls they may face, and resources we can use to navigate the dating years. Here’s to a show addressing the very important mental and emotional health issues facing all parents!Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Please tell me you’ve heard of the Bible Recap! If not, get ready for some good ole’ fashioned indoctrination today with Tara-Leigh Cobble, the founder of the Bible Recap. She’s passionate about helping people not only read through the whole Bible, but love it in the process. Tara-Leigh shares her personal story of being in full-time ministry for years before someone challenged her to read through the entire Bible. Only then did she start to feel God’s complete presence in her life and begin writing the commentary that’s the basis of the Bible Recap. There’s so much I want you to hear in today’s podcast, but here are a few highlights: why it’s important (and do-able) for every one of us to read through the Bible, how using the right lens changes how we experience God’s word, common mistakes in reading the Bible, how 12 minutes a day can be life changing for scripture-starved believers, and incorporating scripture into the lives of our families. If you’ve never read through the whole Bible—or maybe you’ve started (and ended) in Genesis more times than you care to discuss—may I please implore you to join Tara-Leigh and so many of us on the Bible Recap journey? You won’t regret it.Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Here’s the thing about parenting—It’s really hard to evaluate how you are doing or identify areas of improvement when you’re in the thick of it every day. Because parenting comes with no performance evaluations or long-term guarantees of success, we often find ourselves simply trying to survive, not thrive (I speak from experience).   Danny Huerta from Focus on the Family joins us today with some valuable benchmarks to consider in our parenting journey. His new book, 7 Traits of Effective Parenting, very practically lists some of the most critical areas of our parenting and how to assess how we’re doing or where we need to make some tweaks.   Some of the traits of effective parenting we discuss include adaptability, respect, and intentionality—and believe you me, there’s some truth spoken today that I needed to hear and I bet you will feel the same way, too.   Danny also shares with us the areas of our culture he believes will most challenge our kids' faith and gives us his thoughts on how to prepare them to live biblically.   I hope you’re having a wonderful summer, and I’m so grateful you’re joining me on this parenting journey! Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Imagine this: You’re picking up your son from the first day of school after waiting to hear all about his day. Even as he’s closing the car door you begin asking the most critical of questions like... How is your teacher? What friends are in your class? Who did you meet? Did you talk to any girls? What did you have for lunch? Are you tired? Why are you so quiet? Were the kids mean to you?   Apparently unaware of the millions of questions swirling in your mind, your son simply responds that his day was “good.”   I feel your pain (like really feel your pain), and David Thomas from Daystar Counseling in Nashville does, too. He’s joining us today to talk all about the boys in our lives, including their developmental stages: Explorer (0-4) Lover (5-8) Individual (9-12) Wanderer (13-17) Warrior (18-23).   We also discuss the best ways to communicate and connect with our boys, which apparently does not involve barraging them with questions the second they get into the car (my bad).   If you have a boy in your life, please don’t miss this episode with David Thomas. He’s an expert on all things boys, and your son will thank you (probably without using words) for listening! Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

There are many things I don’t fully understand in parenting, not the least of which is video games. I don’t get what’s so enticing, or the anticipation surrounding “new skins,” or why every time I try to shut down my gamer I’m told they “just need to finish this level.” Bless your heart for video games and those who love you. Knowing that I’ve listed only a few of the mysteries facing every parent of a gamer, I happily present you with Drew Dixon on Pardon the Mess today to answer so many of our questions... Drew runs a ministry with, hands down, the greatest name ever: “Love Thy Nerd.” It’s all about loving gamers well and helping Christians embrace those around them who happen to love a video game. Here are a few gaming topics you will be empowered with after listening to Drew Dixon: What’s so fun about video games anyway, what misconceptions might I have about gaming, how do I connect with my gamer as a parent, what types of games are good and what types should we be avoiding, what’s up with chat rooms and should I be worried, what are some resources I can trust to navigate this gaming world with my kids? If you find yourself frequently saying “take off that headset” or “that’s not really connecting with your friends”—well, today’s podcast is for you!Our Sponsors:* Check out Everyday Dose and use my code MESS for a great deal: https://everydaydose.com* Check out IXL and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.ixl.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy