Restored: Helping Children of Divorce

When your parents’ marriage breaks apart, it feels like an earthquake. The most basic foundation, your family, is shaken and shattered. It’s disorienting. It’s traumatic. As a result, we tend to go through life doubting anything can last. But thankfully, we’re not doomed to skepticism our entire lives. We can heal and feel whole again, like our guest Sandy. In this episode, she shares:How she beat chronic depressionHow her choice to forgive her parents led to feeling free instead of stuckThe sexual mistakes she made and the healing she’s foundShare your storyShownotes

What did you learn about parenting from your parents that you want to repeat with your kids? What do you not want to repeat?The answers to those questions are extremely valuable in helping you become the best parent you can be. But sadly, most of us don’t dig deep enough. Today, we do by talking about:Our experiences as new parents with babies who haven’t been born yetOur fears about becoming parentsAnswer: Do we feel more confident about marriage or parenting?6 things kids need from their parents and how to fill those needsReflect on lessons learned from our parents, good and bad, and how we want to parentHas Restored helped you? Let us know how.Shownotes

It’s no secret that we’re facing a huge crisis of fatherlessness. So many fathers have physically or emotionally abandoned their children, largely because nobody ever showed them how to be a great dad. This problem is at the root of so many issues in our world. So, what’s the solution?In this episode, Justin Batt from Daddy Saturday offers advice and encouragement to current or future dads on how to raise good kids who become great adults. We discuss:How do we fix the fatherlessness crisis?Practical advice on how to become a great dad from a father who’s spent 14,000 hours and 500 intentional Saturdays with his kidsEncouragement for any men out there who feel like they don’t have what it takes to be a great father, especially because you didn’t receive it from your dad growing upBuy the Book: Daddy SaturdayAsk Joey

For most people, becoming a parent is beautiful but also scary and intimidating. But that is especially true for people from broken families. Often, we didn’t see a great example of parenthood, so we feel lost and unsure how to do it ourselves.In this episode, we talk parenting with Mike and Alicia Hernon, the parents of 10 kids and leaders of a ministry for parents called The Messy Family Project. We discuss:How his parents’ divorce affected Mike as a husband and fatherFears he had about becoming a father, how he overcame them, and how you can tooShould you put your marriage first or your children first and why is that important?Lots of practical parenting tips, especially for new parentsEncouragement if you feel like you don’t have what it takes to be a good parent because you never experienced it in your family Listen to The Messy Family PodcastShownotes

If you’re from a broken family, you likely struggle extra in your relationship with God. There are so many barriers people like us have to overcome. One barrier is feeling abandoned by God.In this episode, a Catholic priest who is a child of divorce joins us to discuss:How to overcome common barriers people like us face in our spiritual livesWhat to do if you feel abandoned by GodHow father and mother wounds impact our relationship with GodWhat to do if you feel far from God and want nothing to do with himFind a spiritual directorShownotes

As people from broken homes, we fear repeating the dysfunction we experienced in our families. But sometimes, we end up going down that path. Our guest today dealt with that in a very real way. Years after her parents divorced, she found herself in the exact place she never wanted to be: Going through her own divorce, feeling so broken and empty. But thankfully, her story and her marriage’s story doesn’t end there. In this episode, you’ll hear how her marriage was rescued and more:What was happening in her head and heart as her marriage fell apartHow she wrestled with depression, suicidal thoughts, and a bad relationship with her fatherHow she felt like she was inadequate and didn’t deserve loveShare your storyShownotes

Statistically, children of divorce are less likely to attend college. Further, they’re less likely to receive financial support from their parents for college. To pay for college, most young people apply for government aid by filling out the FAFSA. But if your parents are separated, divorced, or remarried, the process can seem confusing. Today, we speak with two experts to offer guidance on:How to answer certain FAFSA questions depending on your parents’ marriageMyths to watch out for Practical tips that are difficult to find on GoogleA video and infographic that’ll make the process simple for youWatch FAFSA videoView infographicBuy the Book: Degree Free Degree [affiliate link]Shownotes

You want to go to counseling, but a massive barrier stands in the way: The price. Therapy is not cheap. So, how are you going to pay for it? We tackle that question and more in this episode:9 practical tips on how to pay for counselingHow much does counseling actually cost?The info and next steps you need to pay for counseling, so you can heal and feel whole againFind a counselorShownotes

As a psychologist, author, and speaker, Dr. Bob Schuchts has dedicated his life to helping people heal their brokenness. In this episode, he offers his expertise on healing, but he doesn’t stop there. He also shares how his parents’ broken marriage deeply affected him. It took years, but he did find healing - for himself and even his family. We delve into that and more:The anatomy of a woundHow the healing process works1 tip you can do today to healRegister: Dr. Bob’s Healing RetreatBuy the Book: Be Healed [affiliate link]

When our families break apart, most of us feel homeless. We lose our sense of safety and belonging. As a result, we go through life looking for the family we never had. In this episode, Malcolm touches on those points while sharing his story. We also discuss:His struggles in his relationship with his parentsHow he’s healed his relationship with his dadThe undeniable truth that hurt people hurt peopleWhat he did to cope with the pain and problems in his life in unhealthy waysShare your storyShownotes