Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

“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

To become a better parent, I need to become a better person ~ Mike and Alicia One of the subjects we are most often asked about is discipline.  We know how hard it is to form the will, heart and mind of a child!  Though every child is different and every parent is different, there are some principles that we can give you to help you make a discipline plan that works for you and your spouse.  In this episode, we start with the foundational points..  First, we need to get our hearts right and recognize why we are taking the time to discipline in the first place.  Then, parents need to speak with confidence, set clear boundaries, and do so keeping in mind that your role in affirming your child is essential.  Listen in as we start this essential conversation.   Play and Pray Challenge - www.messyfamilyproject.org/challenge/ Catholic Couples Getaway - www.catholiccouplesgetaway.com/     Watch here - https://youtu.be/vmEzF1MCvPE   

“When we're able to put most of our energy into developing our natural talents, extraordinary room for growth exists. So, a revision to the "You-can-be-anything-you-want-to-be" maxim might be more accurate: You cannot be anything you want to be—but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” ― Tom Rath, Strengths Finder Very often parents focus on improving the weaknesses in their children, but actually the opposite is more effective.  The best way for any person to grow is to focus on their strengths - virtues, talents, or what they are naturally good at.  Using those strengths builds confidence and actually can then make up for the weaknesses.  Listen in as we discuss how to empower children through “strengths-based parenting”. Play and Pray Challenge - www.messyfamilyproject.org/challenge/ Catholic Couples Getaway - www.catholiccouplesgetaway.com/     Watch here - https://youtu.be/TTV85m_tlp0   

“You know that feeling you get after a good night’s sleep? Yea, me neither.” - Every Parent Ever If you feel like you are living in a state of almost constant exhaustion, you are not alone.  It's not just the sleepless nights and crazy days - that’s a reality that parents have always had to deal with.  We believe parents are more exhausted today because  there are certain elements of our culture that do drain our energy more than parents in the past experienced. In this podcast, we pinpoint those elements so you can see them, recognize them for what they are, and learn how to manage them.  You do not have to be worn down all the time!  Managing the stressors of parenting is possible and hopefully we can help you with these tips and tricks! Play and Pray Challenge - www.messyfamilyproject.org/challenge/ Catholic Couples Getaway - www.catholiccouplesgetaway.com/     Watch here - https://youtu.be/inI8NPgFzsg 

 "Men do not fear a powerful hostile army as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary." -St. Bonaventure One of the questions we ask parents as an icebreaker for our in-person events is “How many of your childrren have used rosaries as weapons?” This is a common experience of families with young children as parents try to pray.  We get it.  For a long time, we found it hard to encourage devotion to the rosary with our children, but we have grown and learned a lot over the years! As we launch into the month of May, we wanted all our listeners to take some time to reflect on why the Blessed Mother is so important to families.  In this re-release of an earlier podcast, we talk about devotion to Our Lady, how to pray the rosary as a family creatively, and how she can inspire us in our family life.  Listen in and be encouraged and inspired! Find all this and more at www.messyfamilyproject.org Play and Pray Challenge - www.messyfamilyproject.org/challenge/ 

“Before we began the adoption process, before we could be the parents our children needed us to be, I had to grieve those losses.  I had to offer my broken dreams to Jesus, and trust He would not permit me to carry the cross of infertility unless He could bring something beautiful out of it.” - Emily Stimpson Chapman This interview with Emily and Chris Chapman is an amazing conversation about some deep and painful topics, but sprinkled with laughter and joy!  Emily Stimpson Chapman is an accomplished author and Insta personality, but she is also a wife, mother, and friend to us!  Through their own journey in the ups and downs of single life and then marriage, Chris and Emily have learned many lessons that they share with us in this podcast with wisdom and humor.  It's amazing to hear how you can go from living alone, to living with a husband, to living with 3 babies in a very short amount of time.  Add to that a basement flooding with sewage, ailing parents, and adjusting to family life overall makes for some interesting conversations!  Join us for this visit with the Chapmans and be encouraged on your unique journey with the Lord. Find all this and more at www.messyfamilyproject.org Watch here - https://youtu.be/QBesLrHJ4vw

“How can there be too many children? That’s like saying there are too many flowers.” - St. Theresa of Calcutta There is great confusion in our world, even among good Catholics, about the purpose of marriage and even the purpose of having children. Catholics do not “discern having another child”.  Instead, our default is that we are always open to new life in our families, but in grave circumstances, we can postpone pregnancy for the overall good of our family.  In this episode, we discuss how we can form our conscience to come to a deeper understanding of the role of children in our marriage that includes, but also goes beyond, financial considerations. Discerning this area of marriage can be tricky, so we called a lifeline for this one, and invited Jonathan and Amanda Texiera, founders of WalletWin, to come on and help us to navigate this issue and give couples good questions to discuss with each other and options to consider.   Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/x_vnTYkxO9Y For more information on this and other topics visit: https://www.messyfamilyproject.org/