Faith in Parents

Imagine being the parent of a British Champion! That's Perks and Rosslyn's story, as their daughter Flora competes for a pro-bike team. 
Hear the challenges, the temptations and the thrills of being a sports mad family. And how do they work through sport on Sunday when Perks is their church leader?

Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Richard and Rosslyn Perkins are parents to Flora Perkins who has just become the U23 British Road Cycling Champion. They have spent many years driving her around, cheering her on and wondering if she really does need another bike. Richard also happens to be the Pastor of King’s Church Guildford, while Rosslyn works part-time as a GP, an NHS appraiser and teaches Medical Students. They both were top level athletes in their day. Richard argues that he is yet to peak. They have two other children who are just as wonderful in their own right! 

Other resources:
Christians in Sport - Support for parents and guardians.
Christians in Sport podcast - Should I play sport on a Sunday? with Pete Nicholas

Our epic and glorious journey is coming to an end, but the real journey will go on for ever getting better and better! But before we get to that, we want to know your ideal winter sport and whether head first or feet first is best. And where do you go to feel safe? Ed would like to be clear that he doesn’t actually own a river, and Jam has fun facts about light. There’s a sketch, some emails about another epic journey, and we hear what cyclist Flora Perkins wants more than anything else.

Music from Michael Tinker: There’s A Party Coming Soon from the Mission to Dendros MixTape And you can sing along to that track and find Adventures of the Juniper videos HERE.

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Find out why Jam has a green thigh, and how Ed got hit for six! And fun facts about sweat and how it doesn’t actually smell. And this time it’s Jam’s favourite Bible banger: the transfiguration according to Mark’s Gospel. Plus we hear how Premiership Footballer Linvoy Primus came to know where true glory is found.

And we listen to Your Joy on Awesome Cutlery’s new Album, Word on the Street

Readings and sketches performed by Joshua Leese and Anna Nicholson.

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How does it feel to stand on the Olympic podium and receive a medal?
What does God teach through 15 years of elite sport? Can Amy cope with being around a medal winning mother who finds time for two part time jobs?

To hear the answers to these and many other questions, join us as we jump, sprint and sail into the Summer of Sport. We are joined by Debbie Flood, 3 time World Champion and double Olympic medal winning rower. She also happens to be a Mum who is determined to show her children that above all else she is a follower of Jesus.

People:
Ed Drew  is the director of Faith in Kids.
Amy Smith is a writer for Faith in Kids.
Debbie Flood is part of the Elite Sport Team at Christians in Sport, supporting elite and professional athletes and is also the Henley Debt Centre Manager with Christians Against Poverty UK. She is a former GB Rower who won medals at two Olympic games and has three World Championship gold medals. She is married with three children.

Other Resources:
Christians in Sport - the Sport Mission Pack is available here.
Christians Against Poverty - money and debt advice is available here.

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.