In this episode, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker, talk about how to cultivate grateful hearts in their own lives and in their children. They also discuss ways of making God central amidst the activities, food preparation, and business of the approaching holiday season. 

Topics include:

A brief history on how Thanksgiving became a holiday

How gratefulness leads to faithfulness

Practical ideas for cultivating gratitude in our kids

Thanksgiving book recommendations

Episode #18: A Storyformed Thanksgiving

The Storyformed Podcast is here to celebrate the soul forming power of imagination, good books and beauty in the life of your child.

Kids & Family

In the podcast today, I share some reflections about my adventure to England with my family this summer. My husband graduated with his doctorate in theology from Durham University so we thought it was the perfect excuse to take the whole family. We loved seeing the sights and spending time with friends - old and new.

Episode #31: Updates and Changes

In this Storyformed episode, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker answer listener questions and make a special announcement. 

Topics include:

Cultivating imagination without it leading to violence and aggression;

Book recommendations for young boys;

Picture books suggestions with themes of courage and bravery;

Favorite audio books for kids ages 3-5; and

Book recommendations for new readers

Episode #30: Q & A and an Announcement

Do you want to travel more with your kids, but realize this may not be a likely reality in your near future? Or maybe you are traveling soon and want to enhance your experience through reading books about the place or culture. Today on the podcast, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker share about their summer plans and give book recommendations to aid you in transporting you and your kids to other countries, the beach, woodlands and many other places and locations. 

Topics include:

The value in taking advantage of more space in summer to read

Ways to travel to nearby or faraway places through books

How to create summer booklists with your kids

Book recommendations

Episode #29: Using Stories to Enhance Summer Experiences

Do you sometimes wish your child had more of an imagination? Do you wonder what steps to take to help cultivate an imagination in your kids? Today on the podcast, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker talk about why imagination matters in life and faith, drawing from the stories of inventors, authors, and even their own experiences with their kids. 

Topics include:

How imagination inspires creativity

How imagination leads to a life with God

Ways to cultivate imagination in our kids' lives

How to create space for imagination in our children

Book recommendations

Episode #28: Cultivating Your Child's Imagination

Do you ever hear people rattle off the words, 'goodness, truth, and beauty', and wonder what they are talking about? We mention this triad of words from time to time on the Storyformed podcast, but don't often take the time to discuss what we really mean when we say them. So, today I had the opportunity to interview philosophy professor Adam Pelser about this topic!

Adam received his Ph.d from Baylor University where he studied under Bob Roberts, a renown Christian philosopher. Adam is a currently a philosophy professor at the Air Force Academy where he teaches Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Love, and even a course on C.S. Lewis and Philosophy. He writes on emotions and virtue formation and he is currently writing a book on Emotional Evidence for God where he explains how we can see God with the "eyes of our heart." You can connect with Adam on Facebook and Twitter (@AdamCPelser) and at his website - adampelser.com.  

Topics Include:

The value of understanding goodness, truth, and beauty as Christian virtues

How goodness, truth, and beauty show up in everyday life

How goodness, truth and beauty reveal themselves in stories

Book recommendations

Episode #18: A Storyformed Thanksgiving

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