Jam and Ed are back together! Literally! In the same room! (Open a window.) Find out the origin story of the Olympic Flame in this special episode about God’s glory featuring Ed’s favourite Bible story of all time in 1 Kings. It’s the gold medal-winning story – and there is fire falling from heaven. It’s VERY dramatic! And our friend Michael J Tinker has a song about THIS EXACT STORY! It's also here on YouTube.

Find out why Ed went to Rome in pursuit of Glory. We also hear from John Bostock who didn’t just have a football at his feet aged 15, but the world of football. You can watch the whole interview at the Christians in Sport YouTube Channel here.

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What has been your greatest win? The glory of winning gold is great, but nothing beats the glory of God himself. In this episode, we’re looking at the cloud of glory when God himself turns up at the tabernacle. It’s epic. Fun facts about ‘so-called’ gold medals and we hear from an Olympic medal winner, Debbie Flood. And a sketch with Anna and Josh. And music from Dumbrocks: If God Made the Sun. Singalong here!

You can hear the full interview with Debbie at the Christians in Sport website here and she will be coming very soon to the Faith in Parents podcast.

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Living out our beliefs is a place of integrity and strength as an adult. But as parents, do we want that for our children?

Would we prefer our children to shine like stars or to blend in like a chameleon?

Their well-meaning conversations in the school playground can easily lead to us clearing up the relational debris from their clumsy courage. How distinctive do we really want our families to be?

Join us as we talk to Jennifer Kvamme author of 'More to the Story'. After years of ministry amongst teens she has written this book to guide them through desire, relationships, identity and peer pressure. We need this because these conversations are only ever going to be tricky!

People:
Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Jennifer Kvamme has been in youth ministry for 20 years at Centennial Church in Forest Lake, Minnesota. She is also on the director team for the Challenge Youth Conference. Jennifer is the author of More to the Story and a contributor to the EFCA blog. She’s married to Greg and they have three children.

There is an angel in every child!

You heard it here first, from an expert. David McKie is a Director of Europe's largest Mental Health Trust. He says he has the best job in the world because he gets to listen to teens for 45 minutes at a time. He is a wildly experienced Child Psychologist and he knows stuff about how our children's minds and hearts work (and what is happening when it seems like they're not).

And yet, this is a comforting listen. He sees a better way forward with groundbreaking wisdom such as, 'if you have two ears then listen to your child' and 'however badly your relationship with your child is going, there will be 15 minutes each day when they are listening.' Boom!

Join us as we talk big emotions, strong feelings and listening well.


People:
Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
David McKee is is a Director of Europe's largest Mental Health Hospital.

Other resources:
Videos from David McKie.
How thinking affects our well-being
Mr Worry's Thinking Part 1
Mr Worry's Thinking Part 2
Mr Worry's Thinking Part 3a and Mr Worry's Thinking Part 3b

As our children grow up, we'd love them to be clear on the truth God gives and compassionate about the brokenness we can often experience. This episode helps us talk about marriage.

Lizzie Cross shares her story with honesty, beauty and clarity sharing how she experienced the heart ache of marriage break down and yet clung to the faithfulness of God with her children.  

You can expect moments of laughter, tears in your eyes and encouragement that we have a good story to share with our children as they are growing up.

People:
Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Lizzie Cross is an active mum and registered childminder who lives in Chorley with her husband Andy. Together, they form a blended family with four children. 

Other resources:

Parentalk podcast on Blended Families: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZiIqDcMh6s

Ian Henderson helps us to navigate the internet, explaining that it is like a city; full of places to take our children, so much to see and do, but there are murky places where we would never leave our children to explore alone.

A recent report said that 10% of kids have seen inappropriate online images before the age of 9, rising to 27% by 13. Various studies say the average age for seeing those images for the 1st time is about 11 years old.

As parents we want to help them respond wisely when - not if - this situation arises. 

Ian gives us the 3 T's and helps us think through the bigger picture, giving practical steps to follow.

People:
Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Ian Henderson established the Naked Truth Project in 2013 in Manchester, UK an initiative of Visible . He set out to open eyes & free lives from the damaging impact of pornography through awareness, education and recovery programmes. 

Other resources:

• The Naked Truth project. Plus NT Church App is available for church leaders and youth leaders on the App Store.
• internetmatters.org - help for parents in navigating internet filters and controls.
• The Fortify App & website - great secular support for pornography addiction.
• Fight the New Drug  - a non-religious organisation raising awareness of the harmful effects of pornography using science, facts, and personal accounts.

Talking through some monsters: Boys, girls, gender, confusion, puberty, worry and frustration. We're in safe hands! Dr John Greenall, a paediatric doctor, with a world of experience takes us carefully through the issues, one by one. Even the little people running around Amy's head calm down. Listen in for beautiful clarity, simple advice and plenty of stories so we all leave feeling ready for the next conversation. 

We talk through the unchanging nature of our gender and the extraordinary changes that puberty brings to our children's bodies. We often feel like we'd rather the doctor did the talking to our children but Dr John is clear - parents are perfectly placed to speak words of truth, care and encouragement into the confusion.

People:
Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Dr John Greenall is a Paediatrician in Bedfordshire, a dad to four children and is passionate about the role dads play in children’s lives. He enjoys ‘roughenup tumbles’ with his kids, walking in the woods (the more mud the better) and cheering his kids on to be all God has made them to be. You can check out his mini-podcast series called ‘The Intentional Father’ HERE.

Other resources:

Faith In Parents #97 | The Transgender Debate and Gender Identity

What God Has to say about Our Bodies by Sam Allberry  - great first book for parents on the topic.

Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions About Life and Sexuality by Nancy Pearcey - a harder book for parents.

My Body is Me by Rachel Rooney  - a picture book for younger children.

CMF Quick Guides to gender dysphoria and trans identification are also available for healthcare professionals, pastors, teachers and youth leaders. Find them at: cmf.li/QuickGuides

Bayswater Support - for parents and carers of gender questioning children and young people

For helpful stats and medical information visit Stats for Gender. 

Who am I? How do I work it out and who do I listen to? As our children grow up they’re working this all out. This episode helps parents navigate the confusion, thoughts, feelings and others opinions, and ask is listening to who God says we are good? Andrew Bunt helps us think through it all, with excellent advice - inspiring quotes that could be sticker art and Amy’s enthusiasm.

We’d love you to join us and explore this topic on this next episode in our “Growing Up” series.

People:
Ed Drew - is the Director of Faith in Kids
Amy Smith - is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Andrew Bunt -  is part of King’s Church Hastings and Bexhill. He is Emerging Generations Director at Living Out and a training and resources consultant for New Ground Churches. Andrew is the author of several books including:

Who in Heaven’s Name Do You Think You Are?
People Not Pronouns: Reflections on Transgender Experience and 
Finding Your Best Identity: A Short Christian Introduction to Identity, Sexuality and Gender

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We've got a Professor on the Pod! We kick off the new Growing Up series with Glynn Harrison. He helps us to have the hard and awkward convesations with our children. He teaches us to shine the Gospel on smart phones, bodies and the mental health crisis in teenagers. And hear what Glynn's Gran said when he asked her what pregnancy is!

People:
Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Professor Glynn Harrison was formerly Professor of Psychiatry and Head of Department at Bristol University, where he was also a practising consultant psychiatrist. He now speaks widely on issues of faith, identity and mental health, including the psychological benefits of gratitude and christian optimism.
His books include ‘The Big Ego Trip’  and ‘A Better Story’. 

As our children shoot up, the challenges grow too, who will they listen to as they work these things out? Our brand new “Growing Up” Resources are launching on 2 May for parents and churches to use together as we help our children grow up in today’s world, with God’s word as their guide. Head to faithinkids.org for all the details on this excellent series. They’re growing up fast so come on, let’s share God’s good story.

Our daughters, in particular, are under pressure to look good, to appear perfect on their socials and to live for the approval of others. That is so far from the better story that their Creator offers them.

Join us as we chat to Emma Owen. Her story starts as a 16 year old in the work place being treated as a woman when she was actually just a girl. She now spends her time telling young people in the classroom to make sure they don't repeat her mistake on their social media feeds. As we navigate short skirts, plunging tops, make-up and nails, we hear that there is a better conversation we can have with our children than just rules and rebukes.

People:
Ed Drew - is the Director of Faith in Kids
Amy Smith - is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Emma Owen - is a former member of Manchester band The Tribe and former God TV presenter. She has been delivering top class school lessons, assemblies and events since 1997. After battling through and overcoming an eating disorder as a teenager Emma has a passion for young people to understand their true worth and value and to reach their full potential in life. www.respectme.co.uk

Some links mentioned in the podcast:
https://youtu.be/z2T-Rh838GA?si=tqc4TPa3Il5dbEkv

https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns/detoxify.html

 https://www.message.org.uk/genetik-sessions/