Moments Matter

For mothers and daughters (and sons), the engagement and wedding process is a tricky one riddled with highs and lows. JennaLyn Dalton, Sonja's youngest daughter, joins us today to tell her story of how she came to the decision to move up her wedding date by almost 8 whole months and what her relationship with her parents looked like on that journey.

Have your sons or daughters considered long engagements? If so, what are the pros and cons? We dive into the many challenges that come along with deciding when to get married and how to have conversations about it. 

Moms, we must be aware of how we treat our adult children! Are we passive aggressive, do we guilt them into doing things we want them to do, do we manipulate and manuever situations to get the outcome we desire? An even better question: how do we know if we're doing this?

Today we talk about what it means to depend on your kids for your happiness and how that feeds into the way you act toward them and love them. It's time to wake up and be the best mom we can be to our adult children.

Good Boundaries and Goodbyes book link

Everything in your bones says that you are on YOUR kid's side when they are having problems with their spouse. Your heart wants to instantly think that it's your daughter- or son-in-law's fault and that your child is the innocent party in whatever marital problems they are having. Today we consider what it looks like to be a supportive and loving parent to a child who is going through marital issues. Everyone goes through difficult seasons, and it's up to you decide how you're going to treat your kids as they walk through life's rough journeys. What is a healthy, Godly way of responding to your child and their spouse? 

"We have an army of forgotten moms trying to navigate their changing roles with their adult children... and don’t know where to turn." Do you feel forgotten as a mom of adult children? There were all these resources for moms when you were a mother of little toddlers, but now the help and community seems few and far between. Today we tackle an article written by Pamela Henkelman that gives some amazing advice on how to encourage "the forgotten moms" in the thick of parenting adult children.

When you don't know where to turn, we've got you. Listen in today to hear our take on a wonderfully written article. 

The Forgotten Moms Article: https://www.pamelahenkelman.com/blog/f1f5riui0r7al80gdh68wvy1pg3jiw

"It may have seemed disappointing to us at the time–my papa who I saw only a few times a year–shushing us chatty little girls to read a book. But it made me wonder what all the fuss was about? Did it really matter that much, reading the Bible and praying?" Julia gets on the podcast to give a child's perspective on how a parent's relationship with God can impact a child's life whether or not they see it as helpful in the moment. She discusses the importance of having a relationship with the Lord, and how she came to naturally make a habit of reading the Bible through different examples in her life. 

I confess I had a fight with Kevin very recently that reminded me of who I used to be and how far God has brought me since then. It's something I want not only all of my listeners to hear, but especially my 3 daughters. God can fill your life with redemptive grace, amen? Today I talk vulnerably about the imperfections that I still face even today, and I do a deep dive into some of my health struggles and what I've been working through for most of my life. There are such hard things that happen, and it's crazy to think about how God brings you through it all. 

Don't look back at the end of the summer and say you didn't do anything! Let's dive deep into how to have the best summer ever with these 5 intentions. Sonja and Julia discuss 5 ways (we won't call them goals, we promise!) in which we can be productive and fun this summer without getting too caged in. Sonja talks about "fluid documents," how to set intentions, and make the best of your summer no matter if you're an empty nester or in your 20s. Join them for this fun discussion around summertime productivity. 

What do you do when your kids want nothing to do with your faith? The hardest journey to tread is being a Christian parent to an unbeliever. Your heart aches for them, your desire is that they would hear the truth and know it, but you don't know how to handle the day-to-day reality. How much time do you invest in them, what does it look like to love them well, am I enabling them when I help them? There are so many questions that go through your mind, and Sonja discusses some possible steps to take when walking this hard road. 

Motherhood is not an easy road, and it starts to look different as your kids grow older. Sonja and Julia discuss what it actually takes to have good relationships with your adult kids (and with your parents as adult children). If you're wondering how to have thriving relationships with you adult children, you have to be willing to put in the work and grow yourself to become the mom that your kids want to be around when they're older. So, what DOES it take? It's not an easy job to be a mom of adult children, and if you're looking for some insight to communicate well, listen in to hear what Sonja has found to be true in her own life with adult kids. 

Mother's Day is not always all it's cracked up to be. Sonja and Julia discuss the history of Mother's Day and why it started in the first place and they ask the question who is Mother's Day really for? Is it still for the mothers who have become grandmas? Is it necessary at all? We dive into the woes of Mother's Day as well as what it SHOULD look like for those mamas who are in the trenches with little ones.

- What expectations should one have for Mother's Day if your kids are out of the house

- Why are sermons on Mother's Day the same every year? 

- Mother's Day as a hard day for some

- What mothers can do to have a wonderful day with their families