The Heidi St. John Podcast

As a mom of seven, I am always looking for help with mealtime. Today, my friend Erin and I talk about ways to provide our families with frugal, fast meals and avoid the 4pm meltdown. (A moment of silence for every mom who knows what the 4pm mealtime meltdown is all about.)  Listen in and be encouraged! www.myfreezeasy.com Erin Chase is the founder of 5DollarDinners.com, 5DollarMealPlan.com, GroceryBudgetMakeover.com, and MyFreezEasy.com and author of The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook series. She’s on a mission to help busy, overwhelmed home chefs learn to spend less money on groceries and get organized in the kitchen. Her courses and membership programs have helped tens of thousands of shoppers save hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless shreds of sanity. Beyond the money savings, she’s helped many people come to enjoy cooking again and help them stop feeling stressed and overwhelmed with feeding their families every single night. When not whipping up delicious, frugal meals in the kitchen or helping streamline work schedules, she can be found out of a run, chasing her 4 boys around the neighborhood, or taking escape from the south Texas heat at the pool. She lives with her husband, 4 boys and 1 furry boy in San Antonio, TX. Pre-Order Prayers for the Battlefield Today!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…” we hear this verse quoted all the time in Christian circles. It’s on plaques in the bookstore and on graduation cards … but who was this verse written for? How should we understand God’s heart from the passage in Jeremiah 29? Join me today as we dive a little deeper into the study from MomStrong International! God’s heart is FOR His children. Scriptures Jeremiah 29:1-14 Pre-Order Prayers for the Battlefield Today!

Today at Mailbox Monday, Michelle asks, “How do I start to de-clutter my books? I don’t how to get rid of things and I’m afraid I’ll miss something that I let go of.”  Today, I’ll be talking about my summer project: I took out a very old carpet and in the process, emptied most of my house. The result: a massive de-clutter! It was a lot of work, but it has created an atmosphere of peace and relaxation in our home that was worth every trip to the Salvation Army and every trip to the dump. Using Mari Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, I was able to part with over 60% of my books and other furniture, clothes, kitchen gadgets, etc. It really is life-changing. Tune in and hear how life-giving it can be to “Tidy Up!” Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Daylight Managing Your Days , by Heidi St. John: Do you need encouragement and fresh ideas for your homeschool day? Help is on the way! Tick Tock, Tick Tock… Can you hear it? Are you “burning daylight?” If you have ever experienced a series of days, weeks or even months when you felt like you just could NOT get on top of all you had to do, you are not alone. Juggling homeschooling and homemaking can be challenging-or so we’ve heard! Whether you’re struggling with managing your day, or simply looking for encouragement and fresh ideas for tackling your list of things to do, you will enjoy hearing from the heart of busy homeschool mom of seven, wife and author, Heidi St. John. You’ll laugh out loud, learn some of Heidi’s favorite tips on everything from home organization to meal preparation, and discover how you can homeschool in freedom and joy. Are you ready to be encouraged? Then join Heidi in discovering that real moms sometimes serve cereal for dinner-and live to write about it!

“Did you really just say that?” I can’t even count how many times I have thought or said this in a moment of frustration and anger with one of my children. Yes, parenting is hard work — but Ginger Hubbard offers life-giving, practical solutions that even busy parents can implement today by pointing our children (and ourselves) back to the ultimate parenting manual: The Bible. This is one of my favorite podcasts ever—tune in! You will be glad you did. Scriptures Mentioned James 1:5 Matthew 12:34 Psalm 51:5 Galatians 6:9 A Blog Post from Ginger: 3 Steps to Taming Your Child’s Tongue GINGER HUBBARD is a sought-after speaker, author, and an award-winning writer. She has spoken at hundreds of parenting conferences, mom’s events, and homeschool conventions across the country. She is a veteran homeschooling mother of two adult children and stepmom to two much-adored stepsons. She and her husband reside in Opelika, Alabama. I Can’t Believe You Just Said That!: Biblical Wisdom for Taming Your Child’s Tongue: Are you ever embarrassed or shocked by what comes out of your child’s mouth? Do you raise your voice, threaten, and coerce, but find yourself frustrated because nothing seems to work? In I Can’t Believe You Just Said That!, Ginger Hubbard provides a practical, three-step plan to reach beyond the behaviors of tongue-related struggles—such as lying, tattling, and whining—to address your child’s heart. After all, as Matthew 12:34 tells us, “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” By moving past the idea that parenting is about rigid rule-setting or behavior management, we can set aside ineffective practices such as scolding, ignoring the offense, or merely administering punishment. Instead, we start to see that our children’s outbursts are prime opportunities for the ultimate goal of all parenting: to guide them to the redemptive work of Jesus and his transformational power. a Rafflecopter giveaway

“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:14  … Is that Really in the Bible continues this week as we take a closer look at what this verse means and how to pray God’s will in your life. Be encouraged! God’s heart toward His children is truly a father’s heart. His heart toward you is always, ever, only good. Pre-Order Prayers for the Battlefield Today!  

Loaded questions are our speciality here at the podcast and this one packs a whallop! If you have struggled with the issue of alcohol and Christianity, you’re not alone—but what does God have to say about it?  Quite a bit! Tune in as we talk about whether or not Jesus really did turn water into wine and what God says about drinking alcohol. Mentioned in Podcast Today’s Christian Woman: What Does the Bible Say About Alcohol? Pre-Order Prayers for the Battlefield Today!

Today, my friend Jennifer is joining me for an encouraging and honest discussion about how very busy we all are—and how it just might come down to issues of control. Jennifer is the author of It’s All Under Control, which releases on the same day as me new book, Prayers for the Battlefield! Listen in, I know you’re going to be glad you did. Jennifer Dukes Lee is the author of It’s All Under Control, along with other books. She is a blogger, a speaker, and a former news reporter for several Midwestern metro newspapers. Jennifer still loves to chase a great story. Nowadays, however, she prefers to write about the remarkably good news of Jesus Christ. Jennifer and her husband live on the Lee family farm in Iowa, where they raise crops, pigs, and two beautiful humans. She attends a small country church, where some Sundays you’ll find her spinning tunes as the church DJ. She’s a big fan of dark chocolate, emojis, eighties music, bright lipstick, and Netflix binges. She wants to live life in such a way that you can’t help but want more of Jesus. Mentioned in the Podcast Busy to Best Challenge More Podcasting from Heidi and Jennifer: What’s Your Happiness Style? An Interview with Jennifer Dukes Lee – Have you ever wondered what makes your heart sing? The Bible says that God created you with a purpose and He wants to join you in fulfilling it! Today, Heidi talks with the very encouraging Jennifer Dukes Lee as she talks about her “Happiness Style” quiz and helps listeners discover how they can find their sweet spot—the place, relationship, or activity that gives the greatest sense of well-being. Listen in! Read on my blog from Jennifer here as well! You Can Control More Than You Think Pre-Order Prayers for the Battlefield Today!

This month at MomStrong International, our study is called, “Is that Really in the Bible?” and today, we’ll be talking about a passage in 1 Corinthians that is quoted often… like this: “God will never give you more than you can handle.”  Is that true? Is that what Paul meant? Listen in today, friends—I think you’re going to be encouraged! Scriptures 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 2 Corinthians 4:3-9 Pre-Order Prayers for the Battlefield Today!

Are you wishing for a screen-free summer? You’re not alone? Today on the podcast, I’ll be answering a question from Dana and I’ll be offering four ways you can get your child away from screens and into summertime right now. Be encouraged! You can do it! More Like this From The Busy Mom Help! I’m Parenting Kids in the Age of Social Media, with Kathy Koch – Are you struggling to parent your kids in this Internet age? Ever wonder what to do when you realize your child may be addicted to his/her device? A Screen Free Summer – Part 1 and Part 2 – Are screens taking over your home? You’re not alone if you’re saying yes! We’re having trouble in my home too, so we made a plan that includes some great ideas and media management.  Join me today and let me know what your plans are! Giving Our Kids the Gift of Boredom – Ahhh, the lazy days of summer – when kids run wild – exploring, building forts, climbing trees, forming clubs, reading books.  Well, that’s the way it used to be anyways.  These days we are all about programs, and bucket lists…

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker that says “COEXIST” and wondered why we can’t all just “get along?”  The point of that sticker is to embrace the lie that all religions are equal and that they all lead to God. But is is true? Is there more than one way to heaven? Join me today as we talk about when it’s appropriate to be “intolerant” and why Christianity offers hope through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Mentioned in the Podcast Bible Answers to Life’s Big Questions: Conversations About Faith in Plain Language (Christianity 101) Romans 2: 14-15 2 Peter 3:9 John 3:16 More Like this From The Busy Mom Learning to Discern Counterfeit Christianity – The only way to succeed in this life at the end of the day is to walk humbly with God and ask Him for truth and wisdom. You are a redeemed child of God and can discern counterfeit Christianity when you see it. Dig in and ask God for wisdom!