The Parenting for Faith podcast

Mental illness affects a huge proportion of families, whether in the life of a parent/carer or a child/teen. So how can we navigate our way through this as Christian families? How can we frame mental health and mental illness for our children, from the time they’re born through to when they’re teens and young adults? What are the healthy practices we can model, and what do we do when they’re not enough? Bringing wisdom, experience and compassion to this episode is Rachael Newham. Rachael is a specialist in the theology of mental health and formerly worked for Kintsugi Hope. She is the author of two books: Learning to Breathe (about her own experiences of mental illness as a teen, intertwined with the theology of mental health) and And Yes (finding joy in hard times through lament). Rachael is also a wife and mum, and is based just outside London. Links: Follow Rachael on on Facebook, X and Instagram at @RachaelNewham90 Read Rachael’s Substack: https://rachaelnewham90.substack.com Rachael’s website: www.rachaelnewham.com Rachael’s books: https://www.eden.co.uk/shop/search.php?products%5Bquery%5D=rachael%20newham Join us tonight for our pop-up small group “Different ways to engage kids and teens with mission” with Rachel Turner https://www.facebook.com/parentingforfaithBRF/ If you’re enjoying this podcast, why not partner with us to make it happen? For just £2 a month, you can give to the work of Parenting for Faith and help us make all our resources freely available to all. Click here to give a one-off or regular gift: www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/ Parenting for Faith is part of the charity, BRF. We are reliant on donations from individuals and churches to make our resources available to as many people as possible. We are grateful for all donations, big or small. They make a real difference. Thank you so much for partnering with us.

There’s not a family alive who hasn’t experienced the curveball of big emotions at some point or other - sometimes from the child, sometimes from the grown-up! Helping us to navigate the emotions that crop up in family life with Biblical wisdom is Lisa Campbell. Lisa is a freelance children, youth and family ministry consultant who specialises in inclusion. She’s a former SENCO (in both primary and secondary schools), and is passionate about enabling churches to create safe, inclusive, trauma-sensitive spaces where every child feels seen, heard and valued and can discover more of the incredible love of Jesus. Lisa is the founder of Wonderful Me! which offers training and support to churches looking at issues of trauma and inclusion. She also created Living Well which offers discipleship resources for anyone who would like to explore well-being that has Jesus at the centre. Lisa lives in the north west with her husband and two teenage daughters. Links: Check out Wonderful Me! https://wonderfulme.org.uk/ Follow Wonderful Me! on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550796820336 Check out Living Well https://living-well.online/ Star of Safety tool https://wonderfulme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/STAR-of-safety.pdf Emotional literacy book reviews and family time resources https://wonderfulme.org.uk/childrensbookreviews/ The Whole Brain child book by Dan Siegal https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whole-Brain-Child-Strategies-Nurture-Developing-ebook/dp/B0070TRH6O Unlocking the Adolescent Mind: Insights from Dr Siegel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O1u5OEc5eY The video Lisa made to simply Dr Siegel’s hand-brain model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG0TzSn9Y1Q Join us next Tuesday for our pop-up small group “Different ways to engage kids and teens with mission” with Rachel Turner https://www.facebook.com/parentingforfaithBRF/ If you enjoyed this podcast, would you consider a small, regular financial gift to help us continue to produce it? You can give from as little as £2 a month (less than a decent coffee!), and it makes such a difference to our ministry. Click here to give a one-off or regular gift: www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/ Parenting for Faith is part of the charity, BRF. We are reliant on donations from individuals and churches to make our resources available to as many people as possible. We are grateful for all donations, big or small. They really do make a difference. Thank you so much for partnering with us.

In this longer episode, we chat to Russ De Vos - husband, father and creator of LIFELINE - about the curveball of addiction. Russ is open about the many challenges he and his family have been through over the past 20 years, and the incredible grace of God in bringing his heart to repentance and healing. Together with his wife Heather, Russ has equipped hundreds of couples across the United States whose teens are struggling with addiction with the skills and strategies that were so life-changing for them as they parented their own teen. Links: Check out Catalyst Coaching: www.catalystcoachinghq.com Watch Russ’ YouTube channel: The Wrestling Room: https://bit.ly/3yWnxXtYouTube Grab Russ’ free resource: LIFELINE Quick Start Guide: https://discovery.catalystcoachinghq.com/free-guide What Healthy Love Looks Like For Your Child: https://bit.ly/49ELXXV Parenting Teens course: https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/parenting-teens-course/ In order to continue this podcast, we need your help! Can you commit to giving just £2 a month to support all the free resources - including this podcast - that Parenting for Faith makes available to families, churches and leaders all around the world? Click here to give a one-off or regular gift: www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/ Parenting for Faith is part of the charity, BRF. We are reliant on donations from individuals and churches to make our resources available to as many people as possible. We are grateful for all donations, big or small. They make a real difference. Thank you so much for partnering with us.

This season, we’re looking at the ‘curveballs’ that enter our parenting journey and threaten to derail family life. In today’s episode, we’re thinking about early life trauma. Whether we’re parenting adopted or fostered kids, or whether our birth kids have been through traumatic events, what are the obstacles to discipleship, and what are the practices which help our kids see Jesus? Sharing her nuggets of truth and wisdom is mum-of-eleven (yes, you read that right) and co-founder of Back2Back Ministries, Beth Guckenberger. Parenting has not been the journey Beth imagined, as God has opened the hearts of her and her husband Todd to more and more children, but wow - what a sanctifying process it has been for them! Beth offers hope within the gutsy reality of life with trauma-experienced children. Links: Beth’s website and books: https://recklessfaith.com/ Back2Back Ministries: https://back2back.org/ Follow Beth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bguckenberger Trauma-Free World: https://traumafreeworld.org/ Parenting for Faith mailing list: https://brf.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=399acccd02338888d8b7cb202&id=0309f54a6d We are so grateful for all Beth shared with us today. If you’d like to see this podcast continue, with guests like Beth who give so much of their wisdom and experience, would you consider partnering with us financially to enable this podcast to continue? Click here to give a one-off or regular gift at www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/ Parenting for Faith is part of the charity, BRF. We are reliant on donations from individuals and churches to make our resources available to as many people as possible. We are grateful for all donations, big or small. They make a real difference. Thank you so much for partnering with us.

As we head towards Easter, today’s episode - the Season 8 finale - looks at how we can help our families connect with God through the major (and minor) festivals throughout the year. Do we have to set up multiple exhausting family traditions? What about secular festivities? Where do they fit in? And how do we talk about the tricky bits of Easter? Joining us to share her wisdom from many years’ experience of children’s, youth and family work is Parenting for Faith founder Rachel Turner. Rachel is the author of many Parenting for Faith titles, presents three of our four courses, and was the original host of this podcast! Links: Buy Rachel’s books: https://www.brfonline.org.uk/search?type=product&q=rachel+turner Watch Rachel in the Parenting for Faith course: The Garden, The Curtain and The Cross: https://www.eden.co.uk/bibles/childrens-bibles/storybook-bibles/age-4-to-7-childrens-storybook-bibles/the-garden-the-curtain-and-the-cross-storybook/ The Jesus Storybook Bible: https://www.eden.co.uk/the-jesus-storybook-bible-anglicised-edition/ Partner with us as we share in God’s work of discipling children and young people in a faith that matures into adulthood and lasts their whole life: https://www.brf.org.uk/donate (You can become a Friend of Parenting for Faith for as little as £2 a month!)

What does it mean to be creative? Whether our kids enjoy visual art like painting or drawing, or whether their creativity can be seen in music, cooking or problem-solving, today’s episode is all about how we can connect with God through art. We look at how to encourage our kids to be creative, whether or not they consider themselves ‘arty’ - and also how looking at, interpreting and responding to visual art around us can turn our eyes towards our Creator. Sharing her expertise and wisdom in today’s episode is Sophie Killingley of Perish and Fade. Sophie is an artist and author, and lives in Surrey with her husband and two teenage children. Links: Perish and Fade https://www.perishandfade.com/ Follow Sophie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perishandfade/ Buy Sophie’s creative spiritual journal Draw Near: https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/draw-near Curious Questions: https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/curious-questions/ Book onto the Forge: https://www.brfonline.org.uk/products/the-forge-west-2024 If you enjoy this podcast, did you know that you can help ensure its future by partnering with us as a Friend of Parenting for Faith? You can become a Friend from as little as £2 a month and we are so grateful for each and every one of you! Click here to get involved: www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/

Many of our children enjoy dance, formally or informally, and today’s episode is all about how we can connect with God through the bodies he’s given us, whether that’s in dance, exercise or any kind of movement. To guide us through, we’re delighted to be joined by Ruth Carpenter, founder of Psalms and Stretches. Ruth is a professionally-trained contemporary dancer, Pilates teacher and mum of two little ones. Links: Psalms and Stretches: https://www.psalmsandstretches.com/ Follow Psalms and Stretches on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psalmsandstretches/ Follow Psalms and Stretches on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/psalmsandstretches Pop-up small group, 19 March, 8.00 pm on our Facebook page: Different ways to engage kids and teens with worship (with guest Becky Drake, Worship for Everyone) https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/different-ways-to-engage-kids-and-teens-with-worship/ We are so grateful to all of you who partner with us by being a Friend of Parenting for Faith so that we can continue to produce this podcast. You can start from as little as £2 a month and we are so grateful for each and every Friend. Could you partner with us in this way? www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/

Fashion is something all of our children experience in various ways. At the very least, all our kids have to choose something to wear each day! But for many of our children and young people, fashion is a hobby, a way they can express themselves, and a mark of their God-given creativity. So how can we help our kids to connect with God through fashion? How do we help them navigate body image and confidence? And what about the ethics of fast fashion? Tola-Doll Fisher is our guest today. Tola is a model, as well as editor and creative director at Premier Woman Alive. She co-hosts the YouTube show Sisterhood with TBN and is the author of 'Still Standing:100 Lessons From An 'Unsuccessful' Life'. Tola writes weekly for her Substack subscribers. Links: Read Tola’s weekly essays https://stillstanding.substack.com/ Watch Sisterhood on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrokxQDREPA&list=PLl49n61XUvugndzrqt8tCWOsfOhfvsFHX Buy Tola’s book ‘Still Standing’ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Still-Standing-Lessons-Unsuccessful-Life/dp/0281083258/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=tola+fisher&qid=1575994020&sr=8-1 Listen to Tola’s TedX talk - Debunking the Myth of Success: https://www.ted.com/talks/tola_fisher_debunking_the_myth_of_success Premier Woman Alive magazine: https://www.womanalive.co.uk/ General info on Tola: https://linktr.ee/christcouturegirl Join our Teens course launch on 13 March! https://www.brfonline.org.uk/products/parenting-for-faith-teens-training-online We can only continue to produce this podcast if we have the financial means to do so. If you’ve enjoyed today’s episode and would like us to keep making fun episodes like this one, please would you consider supporting us? You can become a Friend of Parenting for Faith for as little as £2 a month - less than the price of a coffee! We are a charity, reliant on fundraising to continue doing what we do. Your donations, big or small, make a real difference and are very much appreciated. Give here: www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/

Many of our children and teens will ask big questions about God, faith and the church at some point in their childhood. Some of our kids ask 100 questions a day, every day! How should we answer these questions? How can we help our kids seek Jesus through their questions? Here to help us think through how we approach these questions is none other than Canon J.John: an experienced evangelist, minister, speaker, broadcaster and writer of over four decades. In particular, J.John’s book ‘That’s a Good Question!’ helps children think through some of the most common questions about faith. Canon J.John lives near London with his wife Killy, and is a dad and a grandad. Links: Check out J.John’s books for children and adults here: https://canonjjohn.com/books/ Parenting for Faith Jumpstart Training: https://www.brfonline.org.uk/products/parenting-for-faith-courses-jumpstart-training Wow, what wise words from Canon J.John! We loved learning from his experience in ministry and family life. If you did too, please consider giving a one-off or regular gift to support this podcast going forward. We are a charity, reliant on fundraising to continue doing what we do. Your donations, big or small, make a real difference and are very much appreciated. Give here: www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/

Sport is a large part of life for many of our children and young people, and there is a bigger range than ever for them to get involved in. Even our children who don’t enjoy sport will usually be taking part in school PE lessons or active extra-curricular clubs. So what are the lessons we can learn from sport to help us as we draw closer to Jesus? How can we enjoy the bodies and opportunities God has given us, without them becoming an idol? And what are the sorts of windows we can create, through sport, into what a life lived with God looks like? Today’s guest is Richard Shorter, Baptist minister and founder of Non-Perfect Dad, an organisation working in elite sport, aiding conversations between coaches, parents and young people so that children can thrive in and off the sports field. Links: Non-Perfect Dad https://non-perfectdad.co.uk/ Take Richard’s quiz for sports parents: https://conversations2succeed.scoreapp.com/ Teens course training event https://www.brfonline.org.uk/collections/parenting-for-faith-events/products/parenting-for-faith-teens-training-online Richard gave such helpful wisdom today to all parents, carers and leaders whose children are involved with sport. These podcasts cost money to produce, so if you’d like to see them continue, please consider giving a one-off donation or setting up a regular gift to Parenting for Faith at www.brf.org.uk/get-involved/give/ Parenting for Faith is part of the charity, BRF. We are reliant on donations from individuals and churches to make our resources available to as many people as possible. We are grateful for all donations, big or small. They make a real difference. Thank you so much for partnering with us.