There are few things as painful as getting excluded from a friend group or birthday party or event. And this isn’t just true for our kids, it’s true for us, too! Whether it’s a six year-old getting left out of a game on the playground or a thirty-something mom not being invited into a group of friends, it hurts. 

Vacationing with young kids brings with it a whole host of challenges - packing, diapers, disrupted sleep schedules, unexpected sickness, too much sugar, and everyone melting down - including mom and dad. 

In this episode, I share with you the #1 thing that has helped us have almost 20 years of successful family vacations. From beach trips to big cities, and from newborns to teenagers, this one concept continues to impact me and Jason as we plan for, execute, and adapt during our family vacations. 

What you won’t find in this episode? Packing lists and what gear to take. 

What you will find? The best thing we’ve learned to do as parents taking our kids on vacation and the key to rich, life-giving, and memorable times away with our kids. 

DON’T miss this one!! Available everywhere you get podcasts. 

I wish it wasn’t so, but our kids are gonna go through hard things and hard seasons. While it might look different for each of them, tough stuff is coming their way. 

So how do we help them? What can we do as moms when our kids are facing struggles at school, in relationships with friends, or in a hard season that feels like it just won’t end? No matter what your kids are going through, they need these three things from you as a parent!

Whatever age kids you have, you can do these things now to walk with your kids through a tough season or a hard situation. If they haven’t had one yet, it’ll be here before you know it. In this episode, I share with you some personal experiences we’ve had in our family with hard stuff, how I learned to do these three things when I felt helpless, and how they helped my kids get to the other side of a hard time!

Whether life is smooth sailing for your kids right now, or they’re really struggling through something, this episode is for YOU! 

Our kids will experience so many changing circumstances throughout their lives and there is so much we can do to help them move forward through those changes. From a new baby sibling arriving on the scene and your older child having to share their mom and dad for the first time to family dynamic shifts or hardships, we have tremendous opportunity to build within our kids a deep sense of trust and safety that will not only help them feel seen and valued, but will train them to see and value others as well.

On Part 2 of Helping Our Kids Deal With Change, I share with you specific ways you can help walk your kids through change. I walk with you through each different stage of childhood - from a new baby entering your family and tips and tricks to make that transition easier for your kids, to helping your kids navigate the tough stuff of changing friendship in their teen years.  

Part 2 in Helping Our Kids Deal With Change is available NOW!

Our kids will experience so many changing circumstances throughout their lives and there is so much we can do to help them move forward through those changes. From a new baby sibling arriving on the scene and your older child having to share their mom and dad for the first time to family dynamic shifts or hardships, we have tremendous opportunity to build within our kids a deep sense of trust and safety that will not only help them feel seen and valued, but will train them to see and value others as well.

On this week’s episode, I share with you two foundational concepts that will transform the way you prepare your kids to handle change, whether it’s welcome change because something new and exciting awaits them, or heartbreaking change they didn’t know was coming. 

From new babies to Dad’s new job in a new city to waving goodbye to their big sibling heading off to kindergarten, you can help build a foundation in your kids that will equip and empower them to face these challenges knowing they are loved and valued, and begin the process from the moment they’re born.  

Part 1 in Helping Our Kids Deal With Change is available NOW!

As moms, our words to our kids carry so much weight! We are, after all, one of the first people our kids ever love. So how do we use our words in an intentional way to encourage and empower our kids, create trust and safety in our relationships with them, and reinforce what is true about them and the God who made them?

In this episode, I share with you five life-giving phrases your kids need to hear at any age. From your baby learning to walk to your teenagers learning to navigate relationships to your adult kids finding their way on their own, these words will build your kids up, empower them to take on new challenges, and help them become people who can use their own words to cheer for and love people well. 

Our kids need our life-giving words. Listen in as we dive into how to use them to speak truth and love to our babies, kids, teens, and the adults we’re sending out into the world. 

DON’T MISS THIS ONE! 

The Greatest Night In Pop! 

On January 28, 1985, the world’s biggest pop stars came together for one night in secret to record the hit single “We Are The World”, which raised more than $80 million for humanitarian aid in Africa. 

But what could Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cindi Lauper, Diana Ross, and the other 60 people in that studio have to teach all of us about community and friendship almost 40 years later? I can tell you, it isn’t what you think!

In this episode, I share with you three UNLIKELY things this documentary has to teach us about how we can enter rooms, sit at tables, walk into church or sit in the stands at our kids’ games and be confident in who we are, lift others up, and enrich our friendships. 

Come along with me as we head back to the ‘80’s and peek into A&M Studios in Hollywood on this one night in January 1985 and learn what it has to teach us. You don’t wanna miss this one! 

We know our kids will face hurt and disappointment over and over again. And their hurt… hurts us. 

So what do we do when our kids are left out, called names, going through a hard breakup, don’t make the team, don’t get invited to the party, or are navigating painful extended family situations? It can feel like we’re the ones going through it. But in fact, we aren’t. 

In this episode, I share with you FIVE opportunities we have when our kids are hurt or disappointed. With real life situations I’ve walked through with my own kids, I point you to ways we can teach them empathy, how NOT to treat others, and what God can do through the pain and hurt they’ll continue to experience throughout life.  

Come behind the scenes in my life as a mom and hear what I learned in walking with my kids through their own pain and hurt, the wisdom other moms shared with me, and the can’t miss opportunities that will help our kids grow into resilient, empathetic adults! 

Click PLAY now to dive into this one with me!