License to Parent with Trace Embry

The realization of our need for help can be humbling—especially when, even after experiencing residential treatment for our kids, our best striving has fallen flat. Though never perfect, effective parenting is intentional parenting; it is not by chance.

Well, in many cases there are certain things that dad is better equipped to handle and others that mom is better equipped to handle. When we neglect the importance of fathers—or mothers—we may start seeing families out of balance.

Pediatrician, mother, grandmother, best-selling author of six books, and host of the podcast Parenting Great Kids, Dr. Meg Meeker is the country’s leading authority on parenting, teens, and children’s health. Her work with countless families over the years served as the inspiration behind her best-selling books: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters; Strong Mothers, Strong Sons; The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers; and Boys Should be Boys. This week we share her new book: Hero: Being The Strong Father Your Children Need.

Dr. Meg’s popularity as a speaker on key issues confronting American families has created a strong following across the nation and around the world. She has also spoken nationally on parenting issues, including personal appearances on numerous nationally syndicated radio and television programs such as: The Today Show, Today with Kathie-Lee and Hoda, Dateline with Katie Couric, The O’Reilly Factor, Fox and Friends, The Dave Ramsey Show, The Laura Ingraham Show, NPR, Oprah Radio, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, and more.

Has Our Culture Forgotten that Families Need Fathers

Parenting in a day when common and simple terms are so often getting redefined, divisions and communication breaches with our kids are rapidly becoming the norm rather than the exception. When terms like marriage and family are now being changed—and even sanctioned by our government—this can foster confusion and angst in the healthiest among us. And when the obvious lines of demarcation between what it means to be a male or female are now being disputed, it should be no wonder that the traditional roles of mothers and fathers are also being brought into question. The issues now involved in parenting kids are more complex than ever. Today, we’ll start with what used to be called—and still should be called—the institutional head of the family—or fatherhood.

Today’s families seem lost without the guidance of true fatherhood. In this program, we set out to provide evidence that the father still plays a crucial role in the life of a child. Dr. Meg Meeker and I discuss the following topics:

Is a father still relevant in today’s culture?

The love of a father provides a specific role that a child needs.

Why children need a father and a mother.

How the role of a father reflects the love of God.

Characteristic of a strong father.

Why kids want to feel protected by their fathers.

Proof that fathers are a part of God’s design.

Picture provided by: Gugatchitchinadze (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The realization of our need for help can be humbling—especially when, even after experiencing residential treatment for our kids, our best striving has fallen flat. Though never perfect, effective parenting is intentional parenting; it is not by chance. Well, in many cases there are certain things that dad is better equipped to handle and others […]

The realization of our need for help can be humbling—especially when, even after experiencing residential treatment for our kids, our best striving has fallen flat. Though never perfect, effective parenting is intentional parenting; it is not by chance.

Dr. Tim Thayne is the founder of Homeward Bound, an organization which helps families transition their teens and young adults back home after they have been away in treatment at wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and residential treatment facilities. Dr. Tim Thayne, author of the book Not by Chance: How Parents Boost Their Teens Success In and Out of Treatment, is also the leading national expert in transition services.

How Families Benefit From Intentional Parenting and a Biblical Worldview

As our guest has written in his book, there’s a direct correlation between the buy-in parents have and the commitment they have to getting their own parenting ducks in a row while Junior is at a therapeutic boarding school like Shepherds Hill Academy. It’s an insurance policy of sorts for Junior’s success once he gets home. Because, once their child comes home, parents have to build on all that Shepherds Hill Academy has equipped them with while in our care. They have to take the baton and then continue an on-going culture of familial health—based on a biblical worldview.

The great thing about living out a biblical worldview, when it comes to mental health and parenting, is that it’s logically congruent, historically effective, and—despite common misconceptions—scientifically supported. It’s everything that’s right and good about today’s mental health field, and it applies to any society or culture on the planet—regardless of how ungodly that culture might be.

So, to the degree that families get on board with these timeless standards—especially “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”—the “parent/child relationship lottery” has been won! But parents have to be intentional about it. Because it truly doesn’t happen by chance! Dr. Tim Thayne and I talk about parenting and boarding schools as we cover the following topics:

Why do teens some times return to Shepherds Hill Academy?

Who is Dr. Tim Thayne?

Three factors of long term success.

How parents can appropriately prepare for their child’s return home.

Debunking the myth that a teen is “fixed” simply because they attended a boarding school.

How Tim’s team will prepare families for their transition home.

Picture provided by: pexels.com

The realization of our need for help can be humbling—especially when, even after experiencing residential treatment for our kids, our best striving has fallen flat. Though never perfect, effective parenting is intentional parenting; it is not by chance. Dr. Tim Thayne is the founder of Homeward Bound, an organization which helps families transition their teens […]

Why do so many Christian parents put their children in public school where so much of what the kids are being taught is antithetical to the very foundations of truth, reality, and moral virtue that Christian parents are supposed to be teaching their kids at home? Unless, of course, Christian parents aren’t really teaching their kids anything about truth, reality, and moral virtue. As we weigh all the costs between homeschool and public school, remember: They’re your kids, so choose wisely.

Sam Sorbo is known for her quick wit, fun personality, voracious work ethic, and strong commitment to principle. She holds many titles including radio host, actress, international model, activist, author, wife, mother, and home schooling advocate. Sam's new book, They’re Your Kids: An Inspirational Journey from Self-Doubter to Home School Advocate, is recently released to rave reviews.

Why Putting Children in Public School Might Not Be the Best Option

Jesus drank wine and was called a glutton and a wino for it. John the Baptist wouldn’t touch it to his lips and lived in the wilderness eating a very specific diet, and people thought he was nuttier than squirrel dung. There are exceptions to every rule. Scripture is full of them. The key is submitting to the perfect will of God—and that’s going to look different for different people.

I’d never say there couldn’t be a specific calling on some families to send their kids to public school—as bad as so many public schools are today. If your child is the next Billy Graham, Mother Theresa, Joseph, Esther, Daniel or Ruth, and you and Junior have heard from God that he/she is to be a world-changer via the public school system, then you better go. I just don’t think, generally speaking, it is the best option for the average Christian kid.

Our first obligation to our kids is to protect them. They’re kids after all. The Great Commission was given to adults—not kids. Childhood—again, generally speaking—is a training ground. Where our kids get that training—and what they’re trained in—I believe is our responsibility. I think Scripture bears that out. That’s a foreign concept to a citizenry that’s been indoctrinated with a public school mindset. And, by the way, I’m all for Christian teachers in the public school system.

Sam Sorbo and I talk about schooling our kids, and we discuss the following topics:

The myth about public school according to Sam Sorbo.

Understanding how Christian schools compare to public schools.

The role discipline should play in the classroom.

Why it seems parents are intimidated by the school system.

Should parents who homeschool their kids allow them to return to public school?

What is the Oxford comma cartoon?

Picture provided by: tpsdave

Why do so many Christian parents put their children in public school where so much of what the kids are being taught is antithetical to the very foundations of truth, reality, and moral virtue that Christian parents are supposed to be teaching their kids at home? Unless, of course, Christian parents aren’t really teaching their […]

Our kids see that a respected national voice believes similarly to mom and dad, and he can articulate his position convincingly and passionately. But what happens when this same person is alleged to betray, in his personal life, many of the very same virtues he so passionately promoted to you, your kids, and the world?

How High-Profile Lapses in Moral Virtue Can Cause Disillusionment in Our Kids

Many of our listeners are conservative in their politics, just like they’re conservative in their faith. Bill O’Reilly may not have been conservative in his faith, but I have to believe his faith certainly influenced him to be conservative in his politics. Sometimes these lines between faith and politics get blurred—especially for young and impressionable minds like those of our kids.

Think about it. You’re watching Bill O’Reilly on Fox News every night, and your kids are seeing you agreeing with his positions on:

Abortion

Absentee fathers being a problem for American families and American culture

Drugs being a menace to our society

Border issues

The very real dangers of music and today’s entertainment industry

Internet issues

Smartphones

Pornography

Social media

And the list goes on. These are all legitimate concerns for the fabric of our nation, our families, and our kids as individuals.

So, kids have been watching their parents “Amen” Bill O’Reilly every night, and then they just saw their mom and dad’s “social hero” (for a lack of a better term) get annihilated on every news venue in America—from TV to radio and from newspapers to the Internet. The Goliath of the number one cable news network just got taken down with a crash. Therefore, in the eyes of our kids anyway, he totally got disgraced and discredited. Those two things are virtually the unpardonable sin to today’s generation of youth.

Here’s a guy who talks and writes about moral virtues, history, social justice, faith, and God virtually five nights a week. Many Christian parents thought the sun and moon rose and set on this guy. So, when a litany of immoral accusations and character flaws come out against the very guy our kids’ parents (that would be many of us) view as a "cultural icon" (again, for a lack of a better term)—how does that speak to our judgement and credibility in the eyes of our kids when we put our faith in and give our worship to another man who happened to live 2,000 years ago? And this Man we can’t even feel, see, or hear—not in person anyway; not even on TV.

We need to be prepared to help make sense of this mess in the eyes of our kids if we want to optimize our chances of retaining any healthy measure of credibility and influence toward shaping their worldview. If we don’t influence and help shape their worldview, in spite of this very confusing, disheartening, and maybe even distorted story, then the very folks who are getting a whole lot of mileage out of Bill O’Reilly’s demise are going to get even more mileage out of the fact that our kids are convinced that perhaps the liberal and postmodern worldview, that is currently infecting and dividing America, has been right all along.

And for many of our kids, that means God is now a myth. And the logical end of that conclusion isn’t pretty. Let’s consider disillusionment, how it affects our kids, and what we need to do about it all. I cover the following topics in this program:

Why is it important to be aware of Bill O’Reilly’s downfall

How to take the time to gain a deeper perspective on the problems surrounding the scandal

Why O’Reilly’s mistakes can contribute to the church’s hypocrisy

Teach your kids the importance of discerning the dark side of humanity

How your kids can regain respect for someone that has made a mistake

Our kids see that a respected national voice believes similarly to mom and dad, and he can articulate his position convincingly and passionately. But what happens when this same person is alleged to betray, in his personal life, many of the very same virtues he so passionately promoted to you, your kids, and the world? […]

To resolve conflict isn't just about trying to get along with others. It is about forgiveness too. Forgiveness isn't just about forgetting a conflict, but it means to "release" it from you. By releasing someone or something doesn't mean you are letting them off-the-hook. It means you are letting them off of your hook and putting them on God's hook.

Our friend, June Hunt, Founder of Hope for the Heart is back with us this week for part-two of conflict resolution. This week in part two, she shares how forgiveness plays a big part to resolve conflict. Click here to listen to part one.

After years of teaching and research, June Hunt developed Counseling Through The Bible, a scripturally-based counseling course addressing approximately 100 topics, such as marriage and parenting, depression and anger, stress and suicide. This 5-volume set was instrumental in the creation of the Biblical Counseling Institute (BCI) where June leads at least 20 conferences each year. The conferences provide training for laypeople, pastors, counselors and other caring Christians to help others in need.

Besides being an author, June is a speaker, singer and hosts an award-winning radio broadcast called Hope For The Heart, which is heard daily across America. In addition, Hope In The Night is the name of June’s live 2-hour call-in counseling program. June wrote the book on Conflict Resolution: Solving Your People Problems where she puts Scripture to practical use to help those struggling with conflict like she once did.

Help Your Teen Resolve Conflict and Learn to Forgive

It doesn't seem logical to forgive. It doesn't make sense. However, we are not strong enough to carry around the weight of unforgiveness. We were not designed to carry around that much weight around our necks for the rest of our life. Vengeance is Mine says the Lord! So release it to Him. He will be the one to re-pay.

June shares how we each have a part in conflict, some more than others. But we need to recognize our part in the conflict and take ownership of that. You look beyond the fault of the other person and see the need they have. Pray for your enemies and have compassion on them. Determine what you can do for the other person that is most loving; in the agape sense of love. Love them as God loves them.

On the flip side, forgiveness does not mean complete restoration. Proverbs 22:24 tells us "Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go." We have a biblical right to move out of harm's way. There are incidents that we need to steer clear of for the protection of our selves and loved ones when irreconcilable damage is done; such as in the case of sexual abuse, etc.

Battles of opposing issues, and different ways of living are bound to happen. Jesus said "In this world we will have trouble, but He has overcome the world."  The Spirit Truth will guide us in all truth, so we really need God's wisdom on how to handle the areas of conflict that will come our way.

Today June and I discuss the following:

June shares personal forgiving experiences with her father.

Why it is imperative we forgive others.

Does forgiveness mean complete restoration?

Is it biblical to move out of harm's way?

How to get along with your opposer.

How to define conflict resolution.

How to earn credibility and respect with your kids.

Picture provided by: BenteBoe

To resolve conflict isn’t just about trying to get along with others. It is about forgiveness too. Forgiveness isn’t just about forgetting a conflict, but it means to “release” it from you. By releasing someone or something doesn’t mean you are letting them off-the-hook. It means you are letting them off of your hook and […]