Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

“When an army retreats on the battlefield, it doesn’t mean that they are giving up. It can mean that they are taking time to reassess and regroup so they can come back stronger. This is the essence of a Family Retreat.” ~ Mike Hernon The concept of a family retreat is something that we have developed over the years for our own family.  It grew out of our desire to regroup and reconnect with our kids outside of the daily chaos in our home.  To do this, we have taken our children to vacation homes, retreat houses, and occasionally to a hotel, to take some time for family fun, team building activities, teaching and prayer.  We don’t use a set program, but we do have the same principles that we use over and over.  In this podcast, we share these principles with you so you can develop your own retreat for your family.  If you would like more than what is just offered on this podcast - check out our Family Retreat Guide found on our website!  Even if you don’t do a retreat this year, listen in so you can talk about it with your spouse and develop a strategic “retreat” for your family.   Family Retreat Guide: messyfamilyproject.org/guides/ Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/A5pQ-qaJ9vY

We love hanging out with Chris and Natalie but in this interview, we found out something else we have in common. Both of us had honeymoons that were epic fails! Is the last time you got away, your honeymoon? Hear from all four of us as we talk about the first time that we got away as a married couple without our children and why we think it’s so important. Parents have a lot resting on their shoulders. Work, the busyness of family life and the strains of our world need to be relieved by taking time to get away from ordinary life to be reminded of who we are and our first priorities. Getting away has a price but the return is unbelievable! Listen in as we chat with Chris and Natalie Stefanick about the first time that they got away, some crazy failures on our honeymoon and how you can make the most of the time when you go away.  More infomation at catholiccouplesgetaway.com

“Christian marriage is the school of love, where despite the limits of our own love, we can discover Christ’s presence and power to teach us to love one another with the Love that never fails” - Peter and Debbie Herbeck When we offer date nights, we try to pick topics that are fun for couples but also useful and thought-provoking. That's why we are so excited to share with you this interview we did on our June Date Night with Peter and Debbie Herbeck.  They have been in ministry together most of their adult lives and are the authors of a book that expresses much of what we believe and teach on marriage: Lessons from the School of Love: Cultivating a Christ-centered Marriage. Listen in to this conversation and hear from this wise and authentic couple.  When Peter and Debbie married, they had the challenge of coming from two different faith backgrounds, two different family dynamics, plus the challenge of two very different personalities! You will hear how they tackled forgiveness, learned to be vulnerable, how they handled the differing roles of father and mother, and most of all, how they helped their children encounter Christ.  You will love listening in to this conversation!     Lessons from the School of Love: Cultivating a Christ-centered Marriage: https://stpaulcenter.com/product/lessons-from-the-school-of-love-cultivating-a-christ-centered-marriage/   Join us for future Date Nights by getting on our mailing list here: messyfamilyproject.org

“Teaching is an essential part of our faith that reminds us that following Jesus Christ transforms every part of our lives, from our attitude toward money, to the choices we make at the doctor’s office, to the way we build our families.” ~ Nancy Bandzuch Parents are charged by God to be good stewards of their children and caring for children includes forming them in the faith and teaching them!  This is especially important in our culture where there is widespread confusion about some of the most essential issues, in addition to issues where Catholics can disagree.  Nancy Bandzuch has taken on this challenge to help parents discuss these issues with their children clearly in the book Catholic Social Teaching for Youth available through her ministry Catholic Sprouts.  In this interview, we talk about why this task of the formation of children is so important, how to use this book for a variety of ages, and what is covered.  Listen in to be empowered to embrace the task of forming your children in the truth.    www.CatholicSprouts.com  www.CatholicCouplesGetaway.com  Watch here: https://youtu.be/zse3JrTzNuU   

“Words of affirmation are simply true statements affirming the worth of another person” ~Gary Chapman Parents need to take time to consider how they are intentionally calling out the good in the lives of their children because it is within the family that people have their identity - who they are - confirmed and then affirmed over the years. This is just as essential to children as food, clothing, or education! One of the ways we have instilled affirmation in our family culture is the practice of “honoring”. We usually do honorings on someone’s birthday or times of transition like graduations. Listen to this podcast to find out how to start this practice in your home, why it is important, and the effect it can have on your family.  For more information on this and other topics visit: https://www.messyfamilyproject.org/ Watch here: https://youtu.be/tHK1vP_SOXE

“Mothers are the strongest antidote to the spread of self-centred individualism… It is they who testify to the beauty of life”. - Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia The life of a mother is hidden and powerful at the same time, but the message of our culture is that you only matter if you have a strong resume, evidence of your worth, and an education to back it up. This is simply not the way God sees the vocation of motherhood! In this interview with Christine Hanus, author of the book Everyday Heroism we discuss the reality that the “hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” even when we don’t feel like it. This conversation is full of tears, laughter, and real stories about real moms who deal with the ups and downs of raising children. We hope that this podcast inspires all moms to be the best person they can be for their kids, but also for themselves. Embracing motherhood means embracing personal growth and holiness on a whole new level.  Buy Christine’s book here: https://amzn.to/3J5kcwN Getaway - Early bird ends 6/30 - catholiccouplesgetaway.com New and Improved Website - Check it out! - messyfamilyproject.org  

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. ” – Mark Twain All families need to play together.  Why?  Because this is how you lay the foundation for your child’s belief in God, his self-esteem, and this is how you communicate to him, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you love him.  In this podcast, we dive deeply into the importance of doing an intentional Family Fun Day and give some practical tips on how to do it so everyone wins.  This month’s Play and Pray Challenge is a great excuse to think about how you can grow closer as a family through play and fun!     Play and Pray challenge - www.messyfamilyproject.org/challenge Getaway - Early bird ends 6/30 - catholiccouplesgetaway.com MFP 091: King of the Home - https://messyfamilyproject.org/mfp-91-king-of-the-home/ MFP 205: Nine First Fridays to Change the World - https://messyfamilyproject.org/mfp-205-nine-first-fridays-to-change-the-world/  

“Do a date night! It’s cheaper than marriage counseling.” This is an oldie but goodie podcast for you. We released this one way back in 2015 when we were just starting out but the content in it is something that even we need to be reminded of! When we have gotten into “slumps” in our marriage when we don’t feel like we are connecting, working together, or in sync with each other, that is when we need to take a look at our date nights. Are we spending intentional time together? Are we having fun together? Are we making room in our lives for our spouse? Listen in to this podcast where you will get some inspiration to not just get out of the house, but to also make your time together effective and impactful for your relationship.   Play and Pray challenge - www.messyfamilyproject.org/challenge Website - www.messyfamilyproject.org Date Night Herbecks - 6/15 - www.messyfamilyproject.org/programs/date-nights/ Getaway - Early bird 6/30 - catholiccouplesgetaway.com Watch episode here: https://youtu.be/r6NACXjUaVs    

“If all fathers fulfilled their duty of watching over the discipline of their children, we should have but few crimes and few executions.” ~ St. Alphonsus Ligori If you haven’t listened to MFP239 on the foundations of discipline, you should do that first.  This podcast will give the practical steps for those principles.  Once a parent has clear in their mind why they are discipling and they have made a plan on following through, they need to actually work that plan!  In this podcast we give the practical things to keep in mind as you work to discipline, or form the hearts and minds of your children.  There are six questions you should ask yourself when evaluating your child’s actions.  Not all behavior is a child acting out or defying you.  How do you know the difference and how should you respond?  Listen in!    Play and Pray Challenge - www.messyfamilyproject.org/challenge/ Catholic Couples Getaway - www.catholiccouplesgetaway.com/     Watch here - https://youtu.be/vl0t6KbGJok  

One thing that we at the Messy Family Project are passionate about is family culture. We call it “the secret weapon of the Catholic family” because it can be so powerful! In this interview, we talk to Elissa Tiprigan of Catholic Family Crate, a business that is in the business of Catholic culture. We talk about how and why she started her business, the importance of beauty in the home, and the elements of what it takes to bring a family together. This episode is full of great ideas of how to engage your children from toddlers to teenagers and bring them into closer relationship with you and with the Lord who is the source of life. As a special gift, we are also including this download on Building a Catholic Culture at Home that you can use to look at your family culture and get some ideas to strengthen it. In addition, Elissa gave all our listeners get 20% off sitewide by using the code MESSYFAMILY! And here is their website: Catholic Family Crate And a link to all their free resources: Free Downloads Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/RZdxVvyDGmw