License to Parent with Trace Embry

The antidote for healing America from the poison of hate, blame, and victimhood truly is an acceptance of, and a dependency on, the person of Jesus Christ.

Our guest, Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, is the most courageous and outspoken critic of the modern day “civil rights” establishment in America today. Raised without his father on a plantation near Tuskegee, Alabama during the Jim Crow era, Peterson has lived a part of America’s history few have experienced. Jesse is the founder and president of BOND, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “Rebuilding the Family by Rebuilding the Man.” He is a talk show host, media commentator, and the author of several books including, SCAM: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America, From Rage to Responsibility, and his latest book, The Antidote: Healing America from the Poison of Hate, Blame, and Victimhood. Reverend Peterson also writes a weekly column for World Net Daily (WND) and appears as a media commentator on Fox News Channel, CNN, and other national TV and radio networks.

How Good Character can Stop the Poison of Hate From Infecting Our Kids

Any good parent knows that, by and large, the antidote against raising kids with poor character qualities is to help bring them out of a state of immaturity and dependence to a state of maturity and independence. Yet, as godly parents, it is understood that our kids should always be taught to have an overarching dependence on our Creator—particularly for the things that are out of our control.

Teaching them to rely on God for their worldview, moral character, and the ability to love and forgive our fellow man takes a heavy burden off our kids. In today’s diverse society, this is a guard against pride, bigotry, and racism also. Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson and I discuss these issues more as we cover the following topics:

Why are so many people making claims about racism?

How the murder rate in Chicago ties into racism.

1 common denominator with people that seem to be victims of racism.

How to solve the problem of hate in America.

Picture provided by: K-Screen Shots

The antidote for healing America from the poison of hate, blame, and victimhood truly is an acceptance of, and a dependency on, the person of Jesus Christ. Our guest, Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, is the most courageous and outspoken critic of the modern day “civil rights” establishment in America today. Raised without his father on a […]

Since then, many other forms of this music have evolved—or devolved, depending on your point of view—from the broader genre of what we still call rock and roll. Today, hip-hop is arguably the most popular form of music with young people. And the dangers in this music culture make Elvis and the artists of the 1950s look like choir boys at a church picnic.

Our guest, G. Craige Lewis, has been ministering for over 25 years. He is Pastor of Adamant Believers Council in Grand Prairie, TX, and also travels the world spreading the message of deliverance through EX Ministries. He promotes the message of Jesus Christ and fights against the secularization of God’s church.

Why Lecrae Leaving Christian Music Should Remind Parents to be Careful with Their Entertainment Habits

Have you ever considered that the hang-ups, strongholds, addictions, or other destructive issues you are dealing with right now could be linked to the things that you allow to entertain you regularly? Have you considered that these things are opening up spiritual doors into your system so that the enemy’s imps can just march right in and have their way with you and your kids.

No, I have no empirical proof to support these ideas. That doesn’t mean I don’t have strong evidence. None of us has any empirical proof to support the fact that we actually love our spouses either—only evidence. Yet our spouses believed it enough to marry us. Besides, there is plenty of empirical evidence to show what this stuff is doing to our kids—even if we never had any spiritual concerns.

Sadly, many parents have no clue about all this—largely because this stuff is now so systemic to our American culture. G. Craige Lewis and I discuss the influence of music and entertainment as we consider the following topics:

Has the content in our music industry gotten better?

Can music convert a soul?

What do light frequencies have to do with music?

How our physical actions literally affect the spiritual realm.

The truth behind Lecrae and his transition to the secular.

Can secular artists cause our kids to sin?

Picture provided by: Joel G Goodman

Since then, many other forms of this music have evolved—or devolved, depending on your point of view—from the broader genre of what we still call rock and roll. Today, hip-hop is arguably the most popular form of music with young people. And the dangers in this music culture make Elvis and the artists of the […]

As parents raising kids in today’s entertainment-saturated society, do we consider the possible power and influence of music in shaping our kids’ hearts and minds? Well, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle actually did. And that was way before the advent of the electric guitar.

Our guest, Lauren Green, currently serves as Fox News Channel's (FNC) chief religion correspondent based in the New York bureau. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, and she joined FNC in 1996. Green reported live from Rome in 2013 on the election of Pope Francis, as well as on the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI. She also provided live coverage of the beatification of Pope John Paul II from Rome in 2011 and Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States in 2008.

Outside of her career at FNC, Green is a reputable concert pianist with a degree in piano performance from The University of Minnesota. She has interviewed some of the most prominent people in the classical music world including Placido Domingo, Pierre Boulez, and Joshua Bell and has covered such events as the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and opening night of The Metropolitan Opera. In 2004, she released her debut album, "Classic Beauty."

How the Influence of Music has a Positive Impact on Kids

As it relates to bringing up healthy kids, I have a lot to say about the power of music. I often advocate for parents to introduce their kids to a musical instrument—at the earliest possible age. Why do I feel this is so important?

Well, if I could raise my kids all over again, I would actually make my kids learn an instrument—probably keyboard—and then I would do all I could to get them interested in any number of other instruments as they got older. Just by saying this, there are probably a million people thinking that I am the most tyrannical dad on the face of the earth.

I have my reasons for it. First, don’t we basically make our kids learn other things that they have absolutely no interest in—even things they think they are likely to never use, like algebra or chemistry? When I was in public school, music class was mandatory. Music is something our kids can always use. They don’t necessarily have to be gifted in music—or even like learning it at firs for music to bring benefits to their brain. So many kids who are actually made to play an instrument actually do learn to like it.

Studies show that kids who can read music and play an instrument have larger frontal lobes in their brains! I’m talking physically larger! These are the reasoning faculties—the action and consequence part of the brain. It happens because they are intensely working out those areas of their brains that wouldn’t ordinarily be worked out so intently. It’s like going to the “brain gym.” What parent wouldn’t want that for their kids? Yet, we allow our kids to sit in front of video games for hours on end. Most of that is like neural-junk food! By the way, those same studies show that reasoning skills are also advanced in kids who have been playing music. They are two to three grades ahead in math, and their SAT scores are considerably higher as well. There are many other benefits that I can’t recall at the moment.

It could also be argued that there is a flip side to all this. Maybe we’ll touch a little bit on that with our guest today too. If not, it’ll definitely be the core topic in next week’s broadcast; because, whatever good that can be brought about through music, there’s an equally powerful dark side that can manifest as well. I’ve had that confirmed over and over again right here at Shepherds Hill Academy. Lauren Green and I discuss music and kid’s brains as we cover the following topics:

What is the connection between music and our child’s brain?

How entertainment uses music to provoke emotions in the movies.

As parents raising kids in today’s entertainment-saturated society, do we consider the possible power and influence of music in shaping our kids’ hearts and minds? Well, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle actually did. And that was way before the advent of the electric guitar. Our guest, Lauren Green, currently serves as Fox News Channel’s (FNC) chief […]

Ultimately, worldview has an incredible impact on our children’s behaviors, their attitudes, and how they interact with others—including you, their parents. In fact, as I often say at the end of License to Parent broadcasts, “If you don’t train your children, somebody else will.” And, now, particularly with the advent of the smartphone, somebody too often represents the toxic side of our American culture.

Sam Sorbo is a radio host, author, actress, model, activist, wife, mother, and homeschooling advocate. She is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program The Sam Sorbo Show, and she speaks publicly around the country. Sam's latest book is: They're YOUR Kids: An Inspirational Journey from Self-Doubter to Home School Advocate, and she also co-authored the book, The Answer: Proof of God in Heaven with Marius Forté.

She recently appeared in the movie Hope Bridge along with her husband, Kevin Sorbo, and Boo Boo Stewart. Sam also appeared in the movie Just Let Go with Ian Cusick, for which she won "Best Supporting Actress" at the Utah Film Festival. Their latest film, written by Dan Gordon and Sam Sorbo and directed by Kevin Sorbo, Let There Be Light, also stars Kevin and Sam with their two boys, Braeden and Shane. It is due for release on October 27, 2017.

Why Christian Parents Should Share Their Biblical Worldview with Their Kids

One wouldn’t think that we would need to be reminded that our kids are actually our kids. Parents ought to train their kids not just what to think, but also how to think. However, a lot of parents, albeit with all good intentions, have too often allowed perfect strangers—through media, our school systems, advertising agencies, the entertainment industry, and our culture at large—to influence the worldview, and consequently, the actual attitudes and behaviors of our kids. Today, Sam Sorbo brings us insight into how parents can help their teens learn how to think, and we discuss the following subjects:

Why you should stop saying “OK” to your child.

Is the state supposed to be responsible to raise your child?

Examples of how our culture is teaching our teens what to think.

Why kids, particularly young men, will succeed by learning self-control at a young age.

Discern if you are angry or impatient with your kids.

Should our kids be dating in today’s culture?

Picture provided by: congerdesign

Ultimately, worldview has an incredible impact on our children’s behaviors, their attitudes, and how they interact with others—including you, their parents. In fact, as I often say at the end of License to Parent broadcasts, “If you don’t train your children, somebody else will.” And, now, particularly with the advent of the smartphone, somebody too […]

Are there specific roles in a family that God has specifically designed people to play? How can parents better listen to God to form, or reform, our family into the intended family dynamic? Last week Dr. Meg Meeker and I talked about the father’s role as hero; this is part two of that conversation.

Dr. Meg Meeker is a top authority on parents, teenagers, and children’s health. Not only is Dr. Meeker a pediatrician, a speaker, the host of her podcast Parenting Great Kids, and the author of a bestselling book, but also she is a mother and grandmother. Her experience as a mother and in 30 years of adolescent and pediatric medicine allows her to write with a blend of medical authority and motherly love. Her most recent book is Hero: Being the Strong Father Your Children Need. Dr. Meeker makes speaking appearances nationwide and has been a guest on shows and networks such as: The Dave Ramsey Show, NPR, The Today Show, Fox and Friends, and others. She resides in Michigan and works with her husband at their shared medical practice. More about Dr. Meeker can be found on her website, megmeekermd.com.

How Fathers and Mothers can Play Specific Roles in a Family Dynamic

God tells us in Isaiah 1:18, “Come, let’s reason together.” The funny part of all this is that men have to tap into both their logic and their feelings to allow the Spirit of God to work through them and enable them to be the complete father-hero their kids actually need and want. Ideally, it takes moms to help bring these fathers to completion. We need those emotional doorways to better access the spiritual realm.

This doesn’t mean that things of the Holy Spirit are not logical and reasonable; they are! Despite this, I have kids try to tell me all the time that the Trinity isn’t logical; we say we serve one God in three persons, and of course, 1+1+1 equals three, not one. That’s when I have to remind them that they have calculated wrong. They are doing addition when they should be doing multiplication; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all fully God, 1x1x1 equals One.

No kid needs a Bible, a church, or a religion to identify with that need or want—it’s born into them. So, generally speaking—because there are exceptions to every rule—it’s mom’s feelings and emotions that help keep dad’s logic and reason in check and helps keep him from being the tyrannical dictator that most men are capable of being. Of course, it’s the Holy Spirit that orchestrates all this—ideally working through both a mother and a father.

Can a single parent get it done? Sure, just like a one-armed man can make adjustments to get through life pretty well, but it isn’t an ideal situation. The one-armed man will always have a disadvantage, and there will be certain things that he will never be able to do as efficiently as a person with two arms—if he can do them at all.

So, can women and moms be heroes? Absolutely! We will be interviewing one today. There is just something about the heroics that only men and fathers can bring to God’s ecosystem that their kids and their wives not only need, but also desire. I think it is a security and significance thing. Every time I ask our girls if they would be willing to follow and submit to a guy who loves them, cherishes them, protects them, commits to them, and sacrifices for them, every hand goes up. I’ve been doing this for years! History, research, statistics, experience, Scripture, and what used to be common sense all back me up. And, I think today’s guest might too! Dr. Meg Meeker and I continue our conversation about dads, moms, and families as we cover the following topics:

Meg Meeker, M.D. continues her conversation on understanding feminism.

Is transgenderism something we need to truly be concerned with?

Why is it wrong to use gender neutral pronouns?

Are there specific roles in a family that God has specifically designed people to play? How can parents better listen to God to form, or reform, our family into the intended family dynamic? Last week Dr. Meg Meeker and I talked about the father’s role as hero; this is part two of that conversation. Dr. […]