Marking one year of producing the Is That Normal? Podcast, this episode shares the heart behind the podcast, a preview of year two, some great youth ministry stories, and what makes Mark and Randell abnormal!

How much of one thing should I stockpile? How long can I survive during an apocalypse? Will my kids turn out okay in the future? During this episode we address all of those questions and more!

In this episode, we review Voddie Baucham's book Family Driven Faith and look at some of the principles we need to focus on to raise godly children.

We are all unique and because of that we tend to not always see eye to eye. In our homes, the diversity of personalities can lend to a variety of conflicts. In this episode we talk about those personalities and how to navigate getting along.

We all want our children to do well. Sometimes we want that so much that we are willing to do whatever it takes to get the results we want. In this episode we talk about why that might be really dangerous and how to avoid some unpleasant parenting nicknames!

We can't take anyone to a place we haven't gone ourselves. When it comes to leading our children to be followers of Jesus, we have to be good models of what that looks like. One of the highest priorities in becoming the parents we need to be is investing in our own spiritual development. We unpack some of the keys to that process in this episode.

We as humans, parents, and followers of Jesus need to be growing and bettering ourselves daily. In this episode we talk about why reading books can be one of the best tools in accomplishing that goal. We also talk about some great places to start reading and how to make a plan to be successful in your reading.

We all pray and hope for our children to be healthy and happy and wise. However, the reality is everyone, including our children, struggle with feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness from time to time. We as parents and concerned adults need to be aware of the warning signs of significant concerns and be prepared to take positive steps to help. In this episode, we discuss what those signs and responses can look like.

In the pursuit to raise our children into adults, we must learn how to literally and figuratively turn over the keys of responsibility to them at the appropriate times. We invited resident key expert Kyle Schwanke to discuss what that might look like.

As parents and significant adults in the lives of teens and young people, we need to help them learn to be self-evaluators. Randell and Mark discuss some practical ideas for accomplishing that idea.