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

Candace Cameron Bure is on the show today! It’s as if nothing else matters having just reached a new Pardon the Mess podcasting pinnacle. 😀 💕 🙌    To say I love Candace is an understatement of epic proportions.    First of all, she’s Hallmark royalty, and there’s not a one of us that hasn’t needed movies with predictability and a happy ending after the year we’ve weathered. And don’t even get me started with her Full House greatness that marked all of our childhoods.    But then hearing about her life growing up in show business and how her faith has played into her career... well, it’s almost too much.    Candace (which is what I call her now because we’re best friends) very vulnerably shares the struggles she’s recently faced with social media critics and her best parenting advice having raised three kids. She also talks about how she came to know Christ and the impact it has on all facets of her life today.    Check out her new children’s book, Candace’s Playful Puppy, based on the fruit of the spirit, faithfulness. You’ll definitely want to grab it for the younger kids in your life.    Yes, I’m all over the place, and yes I’m giddy!    Please just take a few minutes today and enjoy our conversation with Candace Cameron Bure. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week we’re praying for our kids to live each day surrendered to the Lord.     The idea of living a “surrendered” life may be one of those confusing concepts we hear about at church but don’t know how to practically implement. It’s the antithesis of trying to “work” our way into a right relationship with God—instead, it’s allowing the Spirit of God to enter into us, shaping us into something greater than we could be on our own.     The first and most significant act of surrender we can pray over our kids is their choice to surrender to the lordship of Christ by accepting Jesus as their Savior.    But, even after our kids have accepted Christ, we can pray that they surrender their words, plans, dreams, finances, and relationships to the Lord.     W. Tozer reminds us of the great benefit of living surrendered to God: “The man or woman who is wholly or joyously surrendered to Christ can’t make a wrong decision—any choice will be the right one.”    Join me in praying that our kids live each day in a way that’s pleasing to God and brings him glory.  Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who inspired you to do the very thing that deep down you knew God was calling you to do? That happened to me with today’s conversation with Christy Nockels.    She gave the most grace-filled, permission-giving reminder of the need for rest in our lives. As parents, that’s something that’s so easily neglected in the busyness of raising kids.    Christy is a singer, songwriter, author, and host of the podcast Glorious in the Mundane. She shares with us how God taught her to begin living from a heart of rest during a season where he called her to leave a busy touring schedule to stay home with her family.    In the quiet moments, God taught Christy to seek him in the deep places she had been neglecting so that she might live from the inside out instead of the outside in. (So convicting, but soooo good.)    I walked away with so many truths for my own life, but I think these will resonate with all of us: We need rest. Rest comes from surrendering to our creator. Our tendency to “hustle” prevents God’s supernatural work in our lives. It’s critical we learn to guard our time in order to prioritize physical and spiritual rest. Living from the inside out comes from resting in our Savior.    Join me today for a powerful conversation on rest. I have a feeling you’re going to walk away with the encouragement you didn’t know you needed. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we don’t know what’s coming our way at any given time.    One year ago this week, the World Health Organization confirmed an additional twenty cases of COVID-19 in the United States, bringing the total number of cases in our country to thirty-five. Even though the number was seemingly small at the time, it was unsettling not knowing what the future held with this virus at hand (and thank goodness we didn’t know).     The one thing we can be certain of this side of heaven is that our lives are going to be uncertain.     Yet even in the middle of uncertainty for Joshua, God reminded him that “every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you” (Joshua 1:3 ESV).    The message to Joshua is the same message for us: with God directing our steps, not even one is unexpected or without purpose to the One who authors them all.    This week, we’re praying for our kids to understand that what’s uncertain to them is anything but unexpected or unplanned to God. Knowing that, we can put our trust in the One who not only knows the future but also writes it.    Join me in praying for our kids to be marked by God’s certainty through all of life’s unknown roads.  Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I come to you today in the midst of Texas’ 2021 polar vortex.     With great anticipation, we southerners were awaiting our first big snow in years. It was going to be sledding, hot chocolate bars, game nights, and family bonding. Until... we had an electricity crisis.     My house has been running a temp of around 46 degrees INSIDE, and there’s been more family bonding than I care to share with you. That said, we’re grateful to be safe and to have food, and we’re looking forward to some fun memories to share one day.       Nonetheless, we’ve got a great podcast for you today.    I’ll keep it short and just say YOU NEED to listen to my conversation with Susie Robb. She’s an interior designer, single mom, and has a great word on God’s redemption in our lives.     Besides giving us encouragement for single parents, she also shares design tips and even her favorite paint colors. Talk about full service!    So thankful for each of you and praying you’re safe and warm. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 ESV).    Raise your hand if you feel like you check the box well when it comes to being marked by self-discipline.    Me neither.   That’s why I’m glad we’re praying it over our kids this week.    Self-discipline (or lack thereof) will impact every part of their lives, including dating relationships, finances, online accountability, marriage, physical health, and even their occupations.    The author of Hebrews (in perhaps the biggest understatement ever) reminds us that discipline isn’t fun in the moment, but it’s a key step on the pathway to righteousness.    The good news is that self-discipline isn’t just a matter of mustering up enough willpower. Rather, it's a God-given perspective that the greater reward in waiting is better than the immediate temptation we’re facing.    Let’s ask God to give our kids the self-discipline to look away, walk away, or find a way to pass by anything that interferes with God’s highest goals in their lives.    Can’t wait to pray with you this week!Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As we focus this month on loving what God loves, I’m so excited to shine some much-deserved light on our precious families raising children with special needs.    Nichole Huggins, Director of Special Needs at Prestonwood Church in Dallas, Texas, joins us as both a mom to a son with special needs as well as one directly engaged in church ministry in this area.    Today’s podcast is not just for the families in the trenches each day raising children with special needs, but it’s also a much-needed word for those of us who are called to walk alongside and support these families.    There’s so much in this podcast that I can’t wait for you to hear, but here are a few takeaways you can’t miss:    Even on the hardest days, you have hope, and you are not alone The importance of seizing the God-moments in our parenting Conversations every parent needs to have concerning kids with special needs It’s okay not to be okay   Please take time to listen to this important conversation, and then share it with your friends who need this encouragement today.Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The entire theme of this year’s prayer journal is built around the notion of being “marked” by the things of God.   In a culture that threatens to mark our kids with anxiety, depression, and social media inundation (and in the midst of a pandemic), we’re praying that our kids will be supernaturally marked only by the things of God.   This week we’re praying for arguably the most significant “marking” in our kids’ lives: that they will be marked by God’s presence.   The presence of God is a core message from Genesis, with Adam and Eve in the garden, all the way to Revelation and the promise of all eternity with God. Living in God’s presence is significant for our kids because it’s assurance that they are never overlooked, unseen, or insignificant.    We can find joy no matter what we’re facing in this world because of the presence of Jesus in our lives.   Join me in praying this over our kids this week.Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We spent the month of January considering the different areas in our lives that might need some adjustments in a new year. We talked about our parenting, finances, and our physical and spiritual lives in the context of our faith.   Now as we move into February, we’ve got a month-long focus on love. More specifically, we’re considering how we might better love the things God loves.   You’re in for a big treat today because Lisa Harper is with us, and she’s amazing. If you haven’t run across her before, suffice it to say she’s hilarious, honest, real, and she really, really loves Jesus.   There are so many reasons to listen to Pardon the Mess today, but here are just a few topics you don’t want to miss:   Three traps women fall into with their faith. Is the gospel really good news this side of heaven? How do we experience abundant life in a turbulent world? Why we need to step into someone else’s story. Adoption being God’s megaphone for grace.   Oh, and I won’t lie—we covered a few other really important topics like Spanx, bathing suits, and chips and queso. 😜   Drop what you’re doing and join us as we lean into a month of loving the things God loves!   Check out Lisa Harper’s new devotional! Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9 NIV).   This week we’re praying that our kids are marked by purity in their lives.    The idea of raising pure kids in an impure culture can feel like an impossibly tall order as parents. We sometimes mistakenly make purity a goal our kids must achieve, staying away from certain things or even keeping on a prescribed path until the finish line of marriage.   But purity is not an accomplishment—it’s a relationship, as Dan Martin of Pure Hope Ministries shares with us on today’s podcast.    It’s a relationship with Jesus, who comes to redeem us from the sin of this world and purify us to himself (Titus 2:14). He cleanses us and makes us new creations. He gives hope that is everlasting and brings healing when we fall short.   Join me in praying for our kids to have purity in their physical relationships, in the way they dress, in the motivation behind their actions, in their pursuit of Jesus, and in the music and media that fill their minds.    Let’s also pray that when they fall short, they know that the Lord stands ready to forgive them and give them a new beginning. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy