Tragically there are too many times when a spiritual leader uses their spiritual authority to perpetrate sexual harm and abuse on individuals under their care. The harm such victims experience is deep and long-lasting. And when these individuals seek help, the church's response has too often only added to their pain. In this sobering but enlightening episode Dr. Carol talks with Christian lawyer Boz Tchividjian about clergy sexual abuse in the Protestant church - a cause he has devoted a good share of his career to. Boz has worked for decades on behalf of those who have experienced sexual abuse, assault, and harrassment, and brings both courage and grace to this important conversation. Find out more about Boz Tchividjian's work on his website. If you have been harmed sexually in a religious context, please check out Restored Voices Collective. Check out Dr. Carol's article When You've Been Harmed in the Name of God Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential comment here. 

Young people today are growing up in a very different world than adults did even a decade or two ago. For parents, teachers, pastors, and others who care about kids, it feels challenging to connect with them and help them become who they were created to be. Giving them facts doesn't nurture the creativity or leadership they need to develop. But what does? Dr. Tim Elmore, author, speaker, and founder of the Growing Leaders organization, joins Dr. Carol on this episode to talk about how adults can nurture kids to become creative and develop leadership in the way God has gifted them. Stories of other kids are an encouraging and powerful way to do this. Connect with Dr. Elmore on his website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Find all the resources around his latest book I Can't Wait: 52 Stories of Kids who Changed Their World, or get it on Amazon. Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential comment here. 

Do you find yourself struggling with people pleasing, unhealthy relationships, avoiding conflict, or trouble setting boundaries? Have you lost yourself along the way of trying to love those closest to you? Perhaps you're suffering and struggle to understand why. On this episode Dr. Carol talks with Courtney Burg about the family-of-origin dynamics that may set you up for codependency and ongoing dysfunction. And then you'll hear how to overcome your fear of setting boundaries, and what that looks like for a follower of Jesus. You can learn to love in ways that are wise and life-giving. Connect with Courtney Burg on her website, Facebook, or Instagram. Find Courtney's book Loyal to a Fault: How to Establish New Patterns When Loving Others Has Left You Hurting Check out Dr. Carol's article How to Find Your People When You Need Help Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave her a confidential message here. 

Does trying to get your children to obey leave you frustrated and upset? And does it seem that if you clamp down harder, your kids only resist more? What if there were a way to help your kids want to "be good," know how to do that, and actually demonstrate a healthy godly character even when you're not watching? Dr. Kathy Koch from Celebrate Kids joins Dr. Carol on this episode to help you learn how to Parent Differently. She offers practical, relatable, and spiritually-related insights and strategies that focus on guiding and growing your kids so they develop character from the inside out to become who God created them to be. Connect with Dr. Kathy Koch on her website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Find Dr. Koch's book Parent Differently: Raise Kids with Biblical Character That Changes Culture  You may want to check out - and preorder - Dr. Carol's upcoming book Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories About God, Love, and Relationships Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. Leave her a confidential message here. 

It's the twelfth day of Christmas.  We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives.  Your internal picture of God matters. That's perhaps the most important thing for 2024.  The verse for today: "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known."    John 1:16-18

It's the eleventh day of Christmas.  We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives.  What do YOU want for this year? Addressing our deepest desires matters - to your wellbeing, and to God. The verse for today: "The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” " John 1:35-39  

It's the tenth day of Christmas.  We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives.  What do you think God's goal for you is, for 2024? I think it's primarily for you to be WITH Him! The verse for today: "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."   1 John 3:1-2  

It's the ninth day of Christmas.  We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives.  As we transition into a new year, what is your intention? How are you planning to live this year? What decisions are you making? The verse for today: "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.  And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life."   1 John 2:24-25  

It's the eighth day of Christmas.  We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives.  It's also the beginning of a new year.  What have you been waiting for? And what is your hope for this year? The verse for today: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”    Galatians 4:4-6  

It's the seventh day of Christmas.  We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives.  On the last day of 2023, let's talk about time - our experience of time, and God's perspective on time. The verse for today: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  a time to be born, and a time to die;  a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;  a time to kill, and a time to heal;  a time to break down, and a time to build up;  a time to weep, and a time to laugh;  a time to mourn, and a time to dance;  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;  a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  a time to seek, and a time to lose;  a time to keep, and a time to cast away;  a time to tear, and a time to sew;  a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;  a time to love, and a time to hate;  a time for war, and a time for peace."    Ecclesiastes 3:1-8