In part three of my School Choice Series, I sit down with my friend Emily Fenlaw to talk about all things public school. With four children who have experienced everything from traditional public school to the talented and gifted program, an all-girls school, and an arts-focused school, Emily has navigated the many options and transitions that public education can offer.

She also shares candidly about parenting children with ADHD — walking through 504 plans, medication decisions, and the ongoing process of learning how to support executive functioning at home. Through it all she learned to be a student of her child to discover the best path for them. 

My hope with this series is to share a variety of school choice stories so you can hear different experiences and perspectives. As you listen, I encourage you to pray and seek God’s guidance, asking Him to bring to mind exactly what you need to know for your family’s journey. Trust Him to walk hand in hand with you, year by year, as you make decisions and navigate each step of your children’s education. Here is some of what we cover: 

Featured Sponsors: 

In part two of my School Choice Series, I sit down with Misty Persefield, a mom of three, to talk candidly about navigating school choice from the early years through high school. Misty shares her family’s journey through private and public schools, the fears she faced, and the peace that came from trusting God rather than comparing herself to others. This conversation offers reassurance for moms carrying the weight of making the “right” educational choices and highlights the importance of keeping fear out of the decision-making process.

My hope with this series is to share a variety of school choice stories so you can hear different experiences and perspectives. As you listen, I encourage you to pray and seek God’s guidance, asking Him to bring to mind exactly what you need to know for your family’s journey. Trust Him to walk hand in hand with you, year by year, as you make decisions and navigate each step of your children’s education. Here is some of what we cover: 

Featured Sponsors: 

In episode one of my School Choice Series, Kris Habashy shares her family’s journey from homeschooling to Christian private education. From navigating dyslexia to the challenges of transitioning middle schoolers, Kris offers a heartfelt, honest look at the joys, struggles, and unexpected growth that come with trusting God in your educational choices.

My hope with this series is to share a variety of school choice stories so you can hear different experiences and perspectives. As you listen, I encourage you to pray and seek God’s guidance, asking Him to bring to mind exactly what you need to know for your family’s journey. Trust Him to walk hand in hand with you, year by year, as you make decisions and navigate each step of your children’s education. Here is some of what we cover: 

• Living Fearless: By Jamie Winship

Featured Sponsors: 

Parenting a spicy child can feel overwhelming, isolating, and exhausting, especially when traditional parenting advice just doesn’t work. In this episode, Mary Van Geffen joins us to talk about what it really means to parent a strong-willed, spirited, intense child without losing yourself or crushing their spirit.

So often, as moms, we unknowingly tie our identity and worth to how our children behave. When our kids are calm, compliant, or successful, we feel like we are doing a good job. When they are loud, explosive, or struggling, we internalize it as failure. Parenting a spicy child brings this tension to the surface and forces us to ask deeper questions about where our identity really comes from. This conversation invites moms to loosen their grip on performance-based parenting and remember that our value is not measured by our child’s behavior, but by who we are and whose we are. 

Here is some of what we cover: 

Links Mentioned:  

Related Episodes:

Featured Sponsors: 

*Republishing our most downloaded episodes, one a month this year*

Whether you’ve been married for a few years or are approaching a milestone anniversary, a healthy marriage takes intentional work. Marriage isn’t built in the big, dramatic moments, but in thousands of small habits and daily interactions that over time lead to either a God-honoring, joy-filled relationship—or one marked by strain and self-focus.

Author and speaker Paul David Tripp joins me to talk about how those everyday habits shape our marriages and how to identify the ones that need to be uprooted. Drawing from nearly 50 years of marriage, Paul helps us see our relationships through the lens of the gospel.

“A biblical view of marriage is a sinner married to a sinner in a fallen world—but with a faithful God. That means we can’t coast. There are things in each of us that threaten our marriage, and we need God’s grace every day.”

My hope is that this conversation encourages you to re-engage your marriage with renewed faith and confidence in what God can do.

What we talk about:

Links Mentioned: 

Featured Sponsors:

Are we living in the most anxious generation ever? In this powerful and hope-filled conversation, Max Lucado joins us to talk about anxiety, mental health, and the unseen struggles so many kids and teens are facing today—and what parents can do about it.

With constant access to phones, social media, and nonstop information, anxiety often shows up sideways in our kids through anger, withdrawal, or fear. Max explains what’s happening in the brain, why anxiety feels like an alarm that never shuts off, and how parents can become a soft place to land when emotions run high.

We also talk about the importance of parents addressing anxiety in their own lives, how worry steals joy and peace, and why our presence (not perfection) is what God desires most. Max shares encouragement for praying parents, reminding us that Jesus never turned away a parent who asked for help for their child. Here is some of what we cover: 

Links Mentioned:  

Featured Sponsors: 

My friend and Sidetracked podcast co-host, Cynthia Yanof, joins me to discuss her new book, How’d I Miss That?

Cynthia shares hilarious and poignant stories about family and kids that help uncover deeper truths—reminding us that God has a plan, and there’s no formula for this parenting journey. We often stress over things that feel big at the moment, like preschool registration or making the “right” sports team, but what really matters is having an eternal perspective—focusing on who our kids are becoming at 25 and who we are becoming as parents. In this episode, we talk about:

Links Mentioned:  

Featured Sponsors: