Since we know very little about adopting children we thought it would be wise to bring in a bona-fide expert: our friend Natalie who (along with her husband) have grown their family exclusively through adoption. Now a family of four, they adopted two children domestically and two internationally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition to walking through the adoption process herself, she also earned her Masters degree in Social Work, has previously worked in the foster care system, and currently works part time educating and assessing families who are interested in adoption. Like we said, she's a bona-fide expert.

After giving us a little background on her family she gets into some of the common misconceptions around adoption, the intricacies of raising children of a different race than their parents, and the importance of kids developing an understanding of their story (adopted or not).

There's something here for everyone because no matter how your family grows, kids are kids and parents are parents.

 

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Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Is loyalty a value worth instilling in your children? Is God loyal? What does "loyalty" even mean? These questions might be trickier than they seem...

For example, what happens when your child's friends are doing something wrong and they appeal to a sense of loyalty to keep them from telling someone? Should they betray their friends or stick with them? How do we balance being there for people through the hard things in life (including their poor choices) with bailing on them to protect ourselves? What about tattling? One way or another, all of these questions are related to how you see God and loyalty.

As usual, we have a lot of thoughts, and a lot fewer answers.

 

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Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Who hates Disney world? Well, apparently both Dan and Jake thought they did...without actually going. With Dan returning from a recent trip to the Magical Kingdom, we find the magic of Disney fully took hold as he's apparently been fully converted. He shares about how all of his expectations were exceeded as well as  some helpful tips on maximizing your time, saving money, and the perfect age to take your kids.

If you ever plan/hope to take a family trip to Disney, don't miss this one.

 

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Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Spanking. The increasingly scrutinized discipline practice that some view as nothing less than psychologically traumatizing, while others would point out: "whoever spares the rod hates their children." Suffice it to say there's a lot to unpack here. We start by sharing our experiences with spanking as kids, discuss our family's current spanking policies, and ask whether or not they think God "spanks" us.

We don't start out in total agreement and we don't up there either (surprise surprise). It's a big topic and every family is different, the main thing we hope this episode does is stimulate thought, prayer, and conversation that leads us all closer to parenting like God.

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Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

We've been looking forward to this one, only hearing us Dad's talk about raising our kids is like reading the first half of a book, it's can be good and all but getting the whole thing is much better. They give their perspective on romance after kids and hit on some much bigger issues than chocolate and flowers like arguing in front of your kids, the Mom guilt that can come with babysitters, and balancing alone time with family time.

They've got some great stuff to say, we know them pretty well and even we learned some things.

 

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Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

It's that time of year again...when couples try and muster up the energy to show how much they care about each other (oh and Hallmark ensures they make some money in February). In honor of this made-up holiday, we compare the state of romance in our marriages, our plans for Valentines Day, and ask ourselves why God created the desire for the romantic in the first place.

You can also look forward to the next episode where our wives will give their take on the same topics. Romance is a two way street after all.

 

Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Continuing off of last weeks conversation (Why Even Discipline Your Kids?) we get a lot more practical and compare our family's methods of discipline. Definitely not a "How To" segment (every family is different), we get into both things that have worked for us and the ways we most often mess it up.

Then at the (35:17) mark we switch things up from parenting to TV and share our initial impressions on NBC's "The Good Place" before a spirited debate comparing the character line ups in "The Office" and "Parks and Rec."

 

Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Discipline is such a crucial part of parenting and, arguably, the aspect containing the greatest amount of landmines. Children's disobedience can frustrate, exhaust, and confound even the wisest and most patient parent. Suffice it to say: it's easy to make mistakes in this area...

And that's OK! We're all just here to get better, so we start by focusing on the guiding compass for all discipline decisions: the purpose. Why do we discipline our kids? The same reason God disciplines us. Why is that? That is cause for a conversation...

 

Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

With Dan off in Disney World, we sub in pastor and author Drew Meyer to talk about the power of prayer in family life. If you ever wonder about:

how to stoke a passion for prayer in you children

how to maintain faith when praying for big things in your family

how to answer the big "why" questions of God

how to foster an family dynamic where everyone encourages one another

...then you are just like us. Drew's got some great insights, I hope they help you as much as they did us.

Check out Drew's new book Discovering the Power of Prayer: 12 Truths that Can Awaken the Church to Pray on Amazon!

Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

The more connected to and hungry for God we are the better parents we will be, full stop. But how do we cultivate and preserve a sense of wonder and longing for more of God? The guys wrestle with this question and discuss the role community and the Bible play in connection with God. Some memorable soundbites from the episode: "don't pray for a week" and "reading the Bible is (often) pointless" (but wait...context matters).

Intro music- "As Colourful as Ever" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0

Outro music- "Night Owl" by Broke for Free from FMA under CC BY 3.0