License to Parent with Trace Embry

Counter Cultural Kids

For over 2,000 years Christian parents around the world have trained their kids to live counterculturally. This simply means they are different from the norms of their native land. For the most part in America, Christian parents have raised their kids to fit into America's culture. From the beginning, Americans had largely accepted the moral principles of God’s word, but due to recent cultural shifts helping our kids fit into our culture means turning a blind eye to what God’s word teaches.

Discussing Children with Tina Maria Griffin

Tina is known as the Counterculture Mom. She has the inside scoop and a wealth of knowledge about Hollywood. In her younger years, she worked on TV shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Young and the Restless, Lizzie McGuire, 90210, and many others. Today she uses what she learned about pop culture and the entertainment industry to inform parents about how Hollywood is eroding the development of our kids.

Episode Highlights:

It is much easier to succeed as a parent when you apply what?

What is the difference between a dream and a vision?

What is the main problem in culture today?

What is the biggest thing we need to do as parents?

What is happening that is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah?

Image from Canva

Loving Children Well

For most parents loving our kids is as natural as breathing. It’s just wired into us. Although they usually would agree that we really do love them, our kids may not necessarily agree that we always make them feel loved. At least not in a way that fosters security and emotional well-being. So how can we foster that security and emotional well-being in our children?

Discussing Children with Gary Chapman

Dr. Gary Chapman is best known for working to improve or heal our most important relationships. Since the success of his first book, Dr. Chapman has expanded the Love Language series to reach out to teens, singles, men, children, and military families. Dr. Chapman is a pastor, marriage counselor, conference speaker, and author. His book The Five Love Languages of Children can be found here.

Episode Highlights:

What are the 5 love languages?

What is your primary love language?

What is/are your child(ren)'s primary love language(s)?

Do you know for certain that your children feel loved?

What is the value of affirming effort?

Do gifts always have to cost money?

Image from Canva

Healing Humanity

American parents are realizing that there is something amiss in our culture and that it is radically affecting their children. Kids today seem to have gained much more influence and authority in their homes than those of previous generations. It looks like progress to some, but to others, it is considered child abuse. Is it possible that the American culture is abusive? Many parents and grandparents would argue that our culture needs a complete overhaul. We need to heal humanity for the sake of our kids.

Discussing Healing with Richard Cohen

Richard is a psychotherapist, educator, and author. He travels throughout much of the world teaching about marital relations, parenting skills, healing from sexual abuse, and understanding gender identity and sexual orientation issues. Over the past 34 years he has helped hundreds in therapy and thousands through healing seminars as well as training physicians, psychologists, counselors, and ministry leaders how to assist those dealing with gender identity and sexual orientation concerns. His latest book is entitled “Healing Humanity: Time, Touch, and Talk.”

Episode Highlights:

Why should we not want our kids to “fit in” to culture today?

Who should be our final authority in child-rearing?

What is the single most important thing we parents can do in raising our children?

What makes healthy touch such an important part of parenting?

Why is our culture so over-sexed?

Image from Canva

Religious Liberties

It seems that people in our government are exercising or rather imposing their power and authority on parents. It may feel to you that our government is now the final authority to determine what is best for our children. While we the people have given the government certain liberties to intervene when blatant abuses occur in our homes, these liberties have sometimes been abused. Too often we the people have allowed it. Many of these governmental overreaches have had no logical, scientific, or moral undergurney.

Discussing Rights with Michael Farris

Mike Farris is the president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom and he brings to the role a diverse background as an effective litigator, educator, public advocate, and communicator. He is widely recognized for his successful work on both the national and international stages. Mike has been fighting for our religious freedoms for many years. He was a founding president of both the Homeschool Legal Defense Association and also Patrick Henry College. Mike is the author of over 15 books. He is married to Vickey and they have ten children and many grandchildren.

Episode Highlights:

What is the title “License to Parent” trying to communicate?

What is Alliance Defending Freedom?

What is the concept behind “America Bless God”?

What kind of people do we need to become?

How is “the separation of church and state” a slogan?

Image from Canva

A Good America

Today’s news is filled with any number of hot-button issues; racism, abortion, white privilege, gun control, climate change, LGBTQ+ issues, and more. These are just a few hot-button issues. Our kids are being influenced by the people that they trust to form value judgments that can often contradict much of what you may be teaching them. There are some dangerous perspectives on the issues at hand that can easily shape, if not hijack, the worldview of us and our children.

Discussing Worldview with Joe Battaglia

Joe Battaglia is a broadcaster, author, and president of Renaissance Communications which is a media company whose mission is to provide media platforms for gifted communicators of Biblical truth. He is the executive producer of the nationally syndicated radio program Keep The Faith, and for over 16 years has been involved in the promotion of highly successful hit movies like “Miracles from Heaven,” “War Room,” and “I Can Only Imagine.” His latest book is “Make America Good Again.”

Episode Highlights:

What is the first thing parents need to do when trying to teach their children good v. evil?

What movement lead to destroying the moral standard in America?

What has more influence on people, laws, or the arts?

What do our media habits tell us about our spiritual lives?

Why are children lacking direction?

Image from Canva

Digital Diet

Raising emotionally, socially, physically, and spiritually healthy kids is exhausting. It requires healthy relationships. A generation ago, routine parent-to-child face-to-face interaction was just part of raising children, but now excessive screen time really helps diminish this essential face-to-face interaction. It is more important than ever for parents to be intentional in making this face-to-face interaction possible with their kids a top priority.

Discussing Digital Abuse with Nicholas Kardaras

Dr. Nicholas Kardaras is an Ivey League-educated psychologist, an internationally renowned speaker, and one of the country's foremost addiction experts. He is considered a leading expert on young people and digital addiction. Dr. K, as he is known, wrote “Glow Kids,” which has been translated into 10 languages. Dr. Kardaras lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and twin boys.

Episode Highlights:

What is driving our mental health crisis?

How are your children being shaped by social media?

What is the copycat effect?

What does media prime our children for?

What is the Tik-Tok Tourettes phenomenon?

Image from Canva

Taking Back Joy

Raising kids has always been a challenge and a joy, but today the challenges in raising kids seem to overwhelm the best of parents and the joy can feel gone. Parents seem to have lost their voice in the home and in our culture. We are seeing many couples opting out of raising kids altogether. Our culture now appears to be working against traditional families and robbing them of the joy that once was.

Discussing Joy with Rick Boyer

Rick Boyer is recognized by many in the homeschool network as Uncle Rick. He is an author, speaker, and homeschool pioneer. For many years his audio recording have taken scripture, history, and adventure stories and turned them into character lessons for many children. Rick and his wife Marilyn created the homeschool curriculum “Character Concepts.” 

Episode Highlights:

What happens when a nation forgets its history?

How could God be using the homeschooling movement?

What does it mean to be a Son of Issachar?

What in our school systems is reminiscent of The Hitler Youth?

What is the difference between leaders and followers?

Image from Canva

Bully Proof

Nobody likes a bully and nobody wants to be bullied, but now the tough question: have you ever considered that your child could be the bully? Have you thought of a plan of action if you discover your child is a bully? Or what is your strategy if your child is being bullied?

Discussing Bullying with Paul

Paul Coughlin is a dad, husband, speaker, author, and expert witness standing against bullying. He started the organization The Protectors which stands for freedom from bullying through courage, character, and leadership. Paul has written eight books including, “Raising Bully-Proof Kids,” “Free Us from Bullying,” and a number of years ago he wrote the book “No More Christian Nice Guy.”

Episode Highlights:

What kind of feedback does a kid get who is experimenting with bullying?

What exactly is bullying versus children just being children?

How is teasing not bullying?

What is the short answer for why people bully?

Why is being nice not the solution?

In what three vocations can a bully do the most harm?

Image from Canva

Navigating Culture

If you are over 50 you have lived through some drastic changes, or rather deviations, in our culture. Even some of our kids have lived through these changes and our cultural attitudes and behaviors toward things that used to be considered abnormal. Less than 10 years ago, only a few people identified as gay. Yet in the last few years, we have seen those numbers rise and more than double. Are we preparing our kids to interact in a world that is changing drastically? Some of our own kids are feeling influenced to follow this lifestyle. What are we to do?

Discussing Cultural Navigation with Joe Dallas

Joe Dallas is an author, conference speaker, and ordained pastoral counselor. He directs a biblical counseling ministry for those dealing with sexual and relational problems. He also works with their families. Joe says that one of his greatest joys is seeing people’s lives conformed to God’s will. Joe has also authored six books on human sexuality from the Christian perspective and his new book is “Christian in a Cancel Culture.”

Episode Highlights:

What does Psalm 11:3 say?

What are the things in danger from the mainstream agenda?

What is the best place to start when facing sexual education?

How can discussing feelings help build a foundation for the topic of sexuality?

When talking to young children about sexuality what should you start with?

Image from Canva

The Power of Music Pt. 3

Since the beginning of time philosophers, spiritual leaders, and even musicians themselves have all shared their convictions about the power of music and its ability to influence attitudes and behaviors for good or for ill. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are just a few who affirm these observations. In modern times scientists and musicologists have also weighed in on musics' extraordinary power to affect body and brain chemistry positively and negatively. Yet, many parents still see music as a benign form of entertainment that serves as nothing more than just that; entertainment. Could the music we allow be a catalyst for some of the ill behaviors that can wreak havoc in our homes?

Discussing Music with Joe Schimmel

Pastor Schimmel has been equipping Christians with the truth of God's word since 1987 and his testimony of the transforming power of Jesus Christ in his own life can be seen in the powerful expose “They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll.” Brother Joe started Good Fight Ministries with a mission to reach a lost and dying world with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Joe’s life work and ministry are dedicated to carrying out the great commission of Jesus Christ.

Episode Highlights:

What is the main sin the Bible mentions?

What are we designed to do?

What do we do about it?

What is the danger that superheroes present?

Who is much of the comic world influenced by?

Image from Canva