In this heartfelt episode, Lori Apon welcomes her son, Evan, to share what it was like to grow up without a dad and how God became his Father. Together, they encourage moms raising sons to move from a victim mentality to a victorious mindset rooted in truth. You will be reminded that even when Dad is absent, God is present and powerful to redeem your child’s story.

Key Takeaways

1. Beliefs shape behavior

   A victim mentality begins with false beliefs like “I can’t overcome.” Moms can help their sons replace those lies with truth from God’s Word, which leads to hope and confidence.

2. God is the true Father

   Even without an earthly dad, sons can find identity, strength, and direction in their heavenly Father, who promises to be faithful.

3. Moms are powerful influencers

   Your example of faith, gratitude, and perseverance speaks louder than words. When you live in victory, your children learn to do the same.

4. From pain to purpose

   God can turn every hard place into a platform for His glory. Encourage your children to trust His plan and walk forward in hope.

Stay Connected

For more encouragement and resources for single and widowed moms, visit PerspectiveMinistries.org. You can also follow Perspective Ministries on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for weekly inspiration, podcast updates, and stories of hope.

In this special episode marking the beginning of Raising Fatherless Kids on YouTube, host Lori Apon takes us back to where it all began—the story behind the podcast and Perspective Ministries. Lori shares her personal journey from wife to widow, mothering eight young children after tragedy, and the hope she found in God’s promise from Psalm 68:5: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows.”

Whether you’re a single mom, a widow, or raising children who’ve lost or been abandoned by their dad, this episode offers biblical encouragement, honest reflection, and a list of 25 things to expect when raising children with God as Father.

Key Takeaways

1. God will be faithful.

2. When in transition, God is at work.

3. Expect God to father your children.

4. Expect to grow as a warrior and a woman of prayer.

5. Expect hope to rise.

   
   

   Scriptures Mentioned

• Psalm 68:5 – God is a Father to the fatherless and Defender of the widow.

• Psalm 18:34–36 – He trains our hands for battle and strengthens us.

• Isaiah 40:11 – He gently leads those with young.

• Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.

• Matthew 11:30, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 40:31, Ephesians 6, James 1 – Encouragement for weary hearts.

  
  

Episode Highlights

• Lori recounts the night God’s Word in Psalm 68:5 became her family’s anchor.

• How Perspective Ministries began with one widow’s obedience to trust God through pain.

• The pivotal—not darkest—day that changed everything.

• 25 lessons learned from raising eight children without an earthly dad.

• Encouragement for moms to expect God’s presence, provision, and promises to hold true.
  

Encouragement for Moms

You are not alone. God is with you, and He will father your children. You are a visual aid to the world of His glory. He is using your story and your children’s lives to display His faithfulness and love.

For more hope-filled resources, visit PerspectiveMinistries.org or follow @PerspectiveMinistries on Instagram and Facebook.

In this heartfelt episode, Lori welcomes back Chris Britt, who previously shared his story of growing up with three dads—but discovering the steadfast love of one perfect Father. Today, Chris returns to share how memorizing Scripture transformed his life, reshaped his purpose, and became the foundation for leading his family of four boys.

From leaving behind a promising acting career in Los Angeles to portraying Jesus in the Atlanta Passion Play, Chris testifies to how God redeems our gifts for His glory. His story reminds single and widowed moms that God’s Word truly is life-giving—sharpening our faith, replacing fear with truth, and strengthening our hearts for every season of parenting.

1. God redeems every chapter of our story

2. Scripture transforms the heart and mind

3. Admitting our weakness and trusting God for His strength is important to remember4. Learning to replace lies with God’s eternal truth

• Watch Chris Britt’s dramatic presentation of The Gospel of Matthew: www.tgom.info
  

• Previous episode 183: Finding Hope When Earthly Fathers Fail: Truth Moms Can Trust — Chris Britt’s testimony of finding God as his Father

Encouragement for Moms

God’s Word is not just for the mind—it is an anchor for the heart and a foundation for your home. When you hide Scripture in your heart and the heart of your children, you are equipping your family to stand strong in truth and hope.

Key Takeaways Resources Mentioned For more information and helpful resources, check our website, PerspectiveMinistries.org, and follow us on Instagram @PerspectiveMinistries.

Whether you are a widowed mom considering a visit to the grave of your child’s dad or a divorced single mom helping your children process the absence of their father, this decision is one of the most tender parts of parenting after loss. In this heartfelt and biblically grounded episode, Lori offers practical wisdom and spiritual guidance to help you discern what is best for your family. Together, you will learn how to prepare your children emotionally, approach the experience if you choose to go, and anchor their hearts in God’s unshakable truth about life, death, and eternity.

1. Practical tips for deciding to visit the grave and what to consider if you choose to go to the gravesite

2. Important biblical teaching on life after death

3. Encouragement for divorced moms walking their children through absence

Suggested Resources

Single Mom Considerations for Fall and on Halloween Podcast Episode 131 with Lori AponWhere’s Daddy? Helping Moms Answer Hard Questions Podcast Episode 169 with Lori Apon

Key Takeaways:
If this conversation spoke to your heart, we invite you to explore more resources designed to support and encourage you on this journey. Visit PerspectiveMinistries.org to find practical tools, biblical encouragement, and a community that understands. You can also follow Perspective Ministries on social media or subscribe to the Raising Fatherless Kids podcast for more hope-filled conversations that will help you and your children walk forward in faith.

Parenting a son without an active father in his life can feel overwhelming, isolating, and heavy — but it is not a journey a mother is meant to walk alone. This episode offers biblical encouragement and practical guidance for single and widowed moms navigating the unique challenges of raising boys on their own. Through honest reflection and actionable wisdom, it explores how to release the pressure of doing everything yourself, trust God’s faithful presence, and intentionally build a circle of support that will shape your son’s future. Loosening your grip is not letting go — it is entrusting your son to the One who loves him most and will be faithful to complete the work He has begun.

• Invite others in. Look for godly men, mentors, and couples already in your life and intentionally welcome them to speak into your son’s story.

• Create rhythms of faith. Lead your home spiritually with regular conversations about God’s character, daily prayer, and simple mother-son devotionals.

• Surrender what you can’t control. Write down fears, plans, or expectations that weigh on you and commit them to God in prayer.

• Speak life over your son. Remind him often that he is loved and encourage him to watch for God’s activity in his life.

Other Resources:

The Importance of Mentors and How to Ask

The Value of a Mentor Podcast Episode 49 with Guests Evan Apon and Dave Inabnit

The Investment of a Mentor Podcast Episode 52 with Guests Brandon Apon and Eric Helms

Scripture Encouragement

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” — Luke 1:37 “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy habitation.” — Psalm 68:5

The absence of a father changes your family’s story, but it does not define its future. As you release what you cannot control and trust God with the rest, you will watch Him provide in ways you never expected. He is with you. He is for you. And He loves your son more than you ever could.

Key Takeaways
Final EncouragementFor more information and helpful resources, check our website, PerspectiveMinistries.org, and follow us on Instagram @PerspectiveMinistries.

This episode concludes our series on one of the most painful lies widows and single moms often believe—that it was somehow our fault our husband died, or that our children are growing up without their dad because of something we did or failed to do. Regret is real, but it never gets the final word. God does, and He is our Redeemer.

We will look at the character of God as Redeemer, explore how to rest in His care, and share practical encouragement for guiding our children when regret creeps in or when they begin to believe the lie that their father’s absence is somehow their fault.

Key Takeaways

• God is our Redeemer: From Exodus to Ruth, Isaiah to the New Testament, Scripture reveals God’s heart to redeem, restore, and make new. Redemption is not only what God does—it is who He is.

• Scriptural Anchors of Redemption: Job 19:25, Psalm 103:4, and 1 Peter 1:18–19 assure us that redemption is God’s promise and His nature.

• Helping Children Process Regret: Recognize the lies children may believe about their father’s absence and gently replace them with biblical truth about God’s love and presence.

• Practical Tools for Moms: Model honesty before God, replace lies with truth, affirm children’s love for their dad, and encourage expression and lament as steps toward healing.
  

• Living in Trust: Show your children how to rest in God’s redeeming care by pointing out His provision and sharing testimonies of His restoration in your own life.

Every widow, every single mom, every child has a Redeemer. Even when loss feels final and regret whispers lies, God redeems, restores, and renews. Regret does not have the final word. Christ our Redeemer does. May you and your children walk in His redeeming love.

Other Resources:

Link to Pt. 1-2

Perhaps you’ve felt the heavy weight of regret—those “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” moments that whisper lies and leave you feeling responsible for things you could never control. In this episode of Raising Fatherless Kids, Lori unpacks the crucial difference between conviction from the Holy Spirit and condemnation from the enemy. Understanding this distinction changes everything.

Conviction leads us to restoration, hope, and freedom in Christ. Condemnation leaves us in shame, despair, and fear. The good news? God is our Redeemer. He restores, rescues, and makes all things new.

• Understanding the difference between conviction and condemnation, and why it matters for healing.

• Recognizing conviction as the kindness of God that leads to repentance, freedom, and life.

• Identifying condemnation as the enemy’s voice that accuses without hope and keeps us stuck in guilt.

• Remembering God’s sovereignty over life and death which brings peace in the midst of regret.

Key Takeaways:Scripture References: John 16:8 • Romans 2:4 • Psalm 103:10, 4 • 2 Corinthians 7:10 • Romans 8:1 • Revelation 12:10 • Job 19:25If you missed Part One in this series, Regret Meets Redemption, be sure to go back and listen. And join us next week for Part Three, when Lori shares how to help your children walk through their own regrets with the truth that Christ is Redeemer.

Lori opens a special three-part series, Regret Meets Redemption, addressing lies that widows, single moms, and even children often believe and how God's attributes dismantle those lies. Today’s lie is the belief that we could have done something to keep our children from growing up without their dad. Knowing God as our Redeemer shatters that lie and brings hope.

Through Scripture, personal reflection, and encouragement, Lori points listeners to God's character as Redeemer. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible tells the story of redemption, and this truth brings clarity, comfort, and assurance when the weight of regret presses in.

• Understanding regret and grief, and learning to discern when natural regret turns into a lie.

• The sovereignty of God over life and death, with Scripture that confirms our days are set by Him (Job 14:5; Psalm 139:16; 1 Samuel 2:6).

• Why combating lies with the truth of God’s character as our Redeemer is essential, and how redemption brings freedom and peace (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19).

In this episode, Lori will discuss:
Takeaway: Regret may whisper lies, but God’s truth speaks louder. Your Redeemer lives—and His truth has the final word.
For more information and helpful resources, check our website, PerspectiveMinistries.org, and follow us on Instagram @PerspectiveMinistries.

What does it mean to grow up fatherless when you technically have dads in and out of your life? How can God reveal Himself as Father through confusing, absent, or painful circumstances?

Lori Apon sits down with Chris Britt to hear his powerful testimony of growing up with multiple “dads”— a biological father he barely knew, an adoptive father who struggled with alcohol, and eventually a stepfather who modeled love and service. At only twelve years old, Chris learned life-changing truths about his family’s past, but at the same time, he encountered the God who promises to be a Father to the fatherless.

• God uses painful family circumstances to reveal His faithful presence.

• Generational sin does not have to define the future. 

• A praying mother and grandmother can plant seeds of faith that bear fruit in a child’s life.

• Children who grow up fatherless can discover that God Himself is their steady, unchanging Father.

Chris reminds us that even when earthly fathers fail or disappear, God never leaves or forsakes His children. His story is one of grace, healing, and redemption, showing us that we can trust God with our children’s stories, even when circumstances feel overwhelming.

✨ Be encouraged, moms: God sees you. He knows your children. He is faithful, and He has a plan for their lives.

• Absent Dad, Present Father – Lori’s upcoming book includes Chris’s story and 30 other testimonies of how God meets the fatherless with His faithful presence.
  

Key Takeaways:Resources Mentioned:Listen & Share:If this episode encouraged you, could you share it with another mom or friend who needs hope today? Be sure to subscribe so you do not miss Part 2, where Chris shares how Scripture memory and prayer became an anchor for his soul (and yes, he has memorized the gospel of Matthew).

When Joshua declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15), he was leaving a blessing for generations to come. But what happens when Dad is no longer there to make that declaration over your home? Can a mom take this stand for her family? The answer is yes—absolutely yes.

In today’s episode, Lori Apon encourages moms to boldly proclaim this truth over their homes and children, even in the absence of a father. Drawing from Joshua’s life and God’s faithfulness, Lori reminds us that you do not walk this journey alone. God Himself steps in as a Father to the fatherless, covering your family with His strength, presence, and peace.

You will be encouraged to:

• Understand the depth of Joshua’s declaration and how it applies to your family today.

• Discover the importance of the blessing of speaking faith over future generations.

• Find practical ways to lead your children to serve the Lord.

This episode offers biblical examples and real-life encouragement. It calls you to anchor your family in God’s promises and declare boldly, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Seek and Savor - A Podcast by Tara Dickson, Let Joy and Sorrow Co-Exist

Connect with Lori:

• Website: www.perspectiveministries.org

• Social Media: @perspectiveministries

Other Resource:Takeaway Blessing to Speak over your children: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I bless my children in the name of Jesus so they will grow to know Him, love Him, and follow Him all the days of their lives. May our home be filled with God’s presence, peace, and truth, and may future generations rise up to serve Him faithfully.