Between sports, school events, church activities, and everything in between—family life is BUSY. But is all this activity helping or hurting us?

In this honest and practical episode, Pastor Jon Mahlstedt (NextGen Pastor at Northbrook Church) and Pastor Zack Casper (Associate Pastor at Fulton Church) sit down for a real conversation about the silent killer of busyness. They talk about the toll it’s taking on parents, kids, and faith—and how we can fight back with intentional rhythms that honor God.

💬 Why is busyness so normalized in Christian families?
🙇‍♂️ What does it look like to steward your time for God’s glory?
📅 How can we start reclaiming margin in our homes?

🎧 Tune in now and join the conversation.

Why are so many students walking away from their faith after high school? As a Next Gen Pastor, Pastor Jon has seen the trends, had the conversations, and wrestled with the reality that too many young people disengage from church after graduation. In this episode, he unpacks five key reasons why this is happening—and what we can do about it. Whether you're a parent, pastor, or student, this conversation will challenge and encourage you to rethink how we disciple the next generation.

Tune in and let’s talk about it!

Today Pastor Jon interviews our upcoming Equip Parenting Conference speaker, Terra Mattson. Terra is a licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed professional counselor, clinical supervisor, executive coach, social entrepreneur, and co-founder of Living Wholehearted and Courageous Girls alongside her husband, Jeff.

We are thrilled she will be at Northbrook March 7/8 for our Equip parenting conference, and excited to let our audience get to know Terra a little bit before next month!

Here is the link to register for the conference and Pastor Jon's email to be entered into a drawing to win a free ticket to the conference!

Conference registration page (scroll to bottom of page)

Pastor Jon's email

Here is the link to Terra's book and website.

Courageous book

Terra's website

Welcome to helping students in 2025! We all want to help the young people in our lives, but helping starts with understanding. In this episode Pastor Jon dives into four battles students are facing right now and how parents and loved ones can support them.

Pastor Jon and his wife Shalanna share over 20 of their favorite books for parents and teens in categories like parenting, spirituality, leadership, biographies, politics and more. Everyone is sure to hear at least one book they mention that sparks an interest! Find links to all the books they mention below:

The Anxious Generation

Books by David and Sissy

Your New Playlist

Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Do Hard Things

Habitudes

The Dare

Truth Matters

Practicing the Way

Hidden Potential

The Road Back to You

Tired of Being Tired

Breaking Free from Body Shame

Not in it to Win it

Jesus and the Powers

Thirst

A Burning in My Bones

Love Does

Everybody Always

David Thomas answers some of the questions we didn't get to at the Equip parenting conference. Great wisdom for any parent!

Road Back to You Enneagram Book

Enneagram Made Easy

Driven to Distraction Book

Raising Boys and Girls

Northbrook parent mentors John and Jill Peterson share their insights on what parent mentoring is, who would benefit from it, and other helpful parenting advice they've learned over the years!

Ben Pugh Podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ryt1j8QCaoseRPQHw9eSL

Books:

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Life-Your-Adult-Children/dp/0310353777/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1707426179&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Girls-Melissa-Trevathan/dp/0310272890/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GC7P6N7GWPAV&keywords=raising+girls+sissy+goff&qid=1707426157&s=books&sprefix=raising+girls+siss%2Cstripbooks%2C122&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Things-Art-Nurturing-Boys/dp/1414322275/ref=asc_df_1414322275/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312710253827&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11850429507258787461&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018754&hvtargid=pla-435818556871&psc=1&mcid=14ab79d5013234f1851aacb9691f796f&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61681020945&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312710253827&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11850429507258787461&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018754&hvtargid=pla-435818556871&gclid=CjwKCAiAlJKuBhAdEiwAnZb7lTK38g8xqe6bwJp-btFv8MMBPkG02kiJGIrM0o3e_IQA4mwMuazAZBoCHEUQAvD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Love-Logic-Teaching-Responsibility/dp/1631469061/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TXXUQX3PN6Y&keywords=love+and+logic+parenting+book&qid=1707426206&s=books&sprefix=love+and+log%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-1

Looking to work on your marriage? Whether you have a healthy marriage and want to keep it that way, your marriage is in crisis, or your marriage is somewhere in between, we're here to help! Join Pastor Jon and Pastor Jenny as they share resources provided by Northbrook for marriages in any state of health, and Jenny shares some simple advice to make your marriage healthier in the coming year.

Additional Resources:

https://www.gottman.com/couples/

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Principles-Making-Marriage-Work/dp/0553447718/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3OX8LKG84YYB8&keywords=gottman+books&qid=1704731899&sprefix=gottman+book%2Caps%2C849&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Marriage-Facing-Complexities-Commitment/dp/1594631875/ref=sr_1_1?crid=59L2R1IPVYC8&keywords=the+meaning+of+marriage+tim+keller&qid=1704731925&sprefix=the+meaning+of+%2Caps%2C206&sr=8-1

https://www.northbrookchurch.org/

This Christmas season Pastor Jon and his wife Shalanna talk about great gift ideas to help kids birth through college grow in their spiritual development, improve mental health, or gifts that facilitate quality time as a family!

Next Gen Survey

Gift link list:

Parent Cue Gift List

Stair Slide

Beginner's Bible

Adventure Bible

Action Bible

NIV Teen Study Bible

God Speaks in Whispers Book

Indescribable for Little Ones Books

Indescribable 100 Devotions About God and Science

Ready Set Move Devotional

Into the Unknown Middle School Devotional

Your New Playlist Book

Do Hard Things Book

Truth Matters Book

Ruthless Elimination of Hurry Book

How to See God Devotional for High School

How to Be Human Book

Crazy Fort Glow in the Dark

Match Up Memory Snack Game

Bounce Game

Q's Race to the Top Board Game

Talking Points Card Game

Fat Brain Box and Balls Game

Hot Potato Game

David's Books 

Raising Emotionally Strong Boys: Tools Your Son Can Build On for Life

Strong and Smart: A Boy's Guide to Building Healthy Emotions