Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

Sometimes we try to love someone in a language they don't understand.

We all know that our mission is to love our spouses and our children, but how do we communicate that love to them? How do we speak so that others can understand what we are saying? Gary Campbell has written a book that we have referred to often called The Five Love Languages, and it is a great way to figure out how to speak in the way that our family can understand our love.

Show Notes:

• The 5 Love Languages (website and resources)
• 5 Love Languages of Children book by Gary Chapman

“The desire of a child to do a chore is inversely proportionate to their ability to do it.” ~ attributed to a frustrated mother

Chores are a part of every family’s life, or at least they should be! Sometimes, faced with children who can’t do a job correctly and with children who refuse to do a job without complaining, parents find it easier to just do everything themselves. But this doesn’t teach children responsibility, nor the essential life skills every person needs. So why are chores valuable? More importantly, how can we get our kids to do them?

Show Notes:

* Age-appropriate chores from Focus on the Family

* Happy Housewife chores based on age

* Maria Montessori’s philosophy on children’s work

"The desire of a child to do a chore is inversely proportionate to their ability to do it." ~ attributed to a frustrated mother

Chores are a part of every family's life, or at least they should be! Sometimes, faced with children who can't do a job correctly and with children who refuse to do a job without complaining, parents find it easier to just do everything themselves. But this doesn't teach children responsibility, nor the essential life skills every person needs. So why are chores valuable? More importantly, how can we get our kids to do them?

Show Notes:

• Age-appropriate chores from Focus on the Family
• Happy Housewife chores based on age
• Maria Montessori's philosophy on children's work

“Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior.” Ephesians 5:22-23

Catholic lectors regularly skip this passage for a reason: people in the pews start squirming when it’s read! Why is that? But this is an integral passage to help us understand not only the relationship between husbands and wives, but in understanding how we can image God to each other. Often this passage is misinterpreted and misunderstood, but after years of thinking about this and living it out in our marriage, we want to offer a different view. The heart of what we talk about is how God wants to love each husband and each wife through their spouse. Marital love is a powerful thing because God wants to use it to show us His powerful awesome love. Listen in as we offer our perspective on this compelling passage of God’s Word.

Show Notes:

* Read it in the Bible: Ephesians 5:21-31

* Fr. John Riccardo’s podcast on The Biblical Vision for Marriage

* An old article Alicia wrote on submission in marriage ( from 1998!)

"Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior." Ephesians 5:22-23

Catholic lectors regularly skip this passage for a reason: people in the pews start squirming when it's read! Why is that? But this is an integral passage to help us understand not only the relationship between husbands and wives, but in understanding how we can image God to each other. Often this passage is misinterpreted and misunderstood, but after years of thinking about this and living it out in our marriage, we want to offer a different view. The heart of what we talk about is how God wants to love each husband and each wife through their spouse. Marital love is a powerful thing because God wants to use it to show us His powerful awesome love. Listen in as we offer our perspective on this compelling passage of God's Word.

Show Notes:

• Read it in the Bible: Ephesians 5:21-31
• Fr. John Riccardo's podcast on The Biblical Vision for Marriage
• An old article Alicia wrote on submission in marriage ( from 1998!)

"…the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have the right to enjoy, has a face and a name. It is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist." - Pope Benedict XVI

The only way our faith as Catholics makes any sense is when we see our lives as a journey to deepen our relationship with Jesus. If our lives aren't about Him, what is the point? In this podcast, Mike and Alicia interview Alicia's parents, John and Michele Doman, who are the parents of ten and grandparents to over forty young Catholics! Amazingly, and by God's grace, all of the Doman children are living lives as dynamic Catholics - married and in the priesthood. John and Michele discuss their own faith journey and how they guided their children into a relationship with Christ over the years. There is much wisdom in their words, as well as humor and honesty. What a wonderful resource to hear from a couple so in love with the Lord and with such great experience!

“…the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have the right to enjoy, has a face and a name. It is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist.” – Pope Benedict XVI

The only way our faith as Catholics makes any sense is when we see our lives as a journey to deepen our relationship with Jesus. If our lives aren’t about Him, what is the point? In this podcast, Mike and Alicia interview Alicia’s parents, John and Michele Doman, who are the parents of ten and grandparents to over forty young Catholics! Amazingly, and by God’s grace, all of the Doman children are living lives as dynamic Catholics – married and in the priesthood. John and Michele discuss their own faith journey and how they guided their children into a relationship with Christ over the years. There is much wisdom in their words, as well as humor and honesty. What a wonderful resource to hear from a couple so in love with the Lord and with such great experience!

“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”

~Ronald Reagan

Those of us who grew up with family dinners and who continue that tradition with our kids may not realize how counter-cultural we are becoming! Having dinner as a family is one thing you can do for your children to help keep them healthy, emotionally stable, and academically successful. It’s a simple thing, so why doesn’t every family have dinner together? In this podcast, we discuss why family dinners are an important part of our parenting, why they can be challenging, and some ideas to make your mealtime even better than it is now! Listen in and join the conversation.

Show Notes:

* Grace Before Meals with Fr. Leo

* Family Dinner Box of Questions Game

* Once a Month Cooking or get their cook book

* Once a Month Meals

* Family Dinner Project

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table." ~Ronald Reagan

Those of us who grew up with family dinners and who continue that tradition with our kids may not realize how counter-cultural we are becoming! Having dinner as a family is one thing you can do for your children to help keep them healthy, emotionally stable, and academically successful. It's a simple thing, so why doesn't every family have dinner together? In this podcast, we discuss why family dinners are an important part of our parenting, why they can be challenging, and some ideas to make your mealtime even better than it is now! Listen in and join the conversation.

Show Notes:

• Grace Before Meals with Fr. Leo
• Family Dinner Box of Questions Game
• Once a Month Cooking or get their cook book
• Once a Month Meals
• Family Dinner Project

“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22

One of the trickiest parenting situations to deal with is when a child tells a lie. Do you punish them? If you do that, won’t they keep lying to avoid punishment in the future? How do you know they are lying? What if you think they are lying, and they are actually telling the truth? In this podcast, we will share with you what we did in our family when we had kids in our household who had a habit of lying. What we’ve learned is there is not a “one size fits all” approach to this issue, but we can give you some ideas and suggestions as we share our experiences with you.