Sunshine in My Nest

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It took me a long time to realize that parenting isn't about guiding our kids perfectly with all the right answers. I would try and fail every single day. A few years in, I started to realize that what was building resilience in my kids was them watching God work on my own heart to make me more like him. Going to them and confessing when I messed up (because who were we kidding? I knew I had messed up and they knew I had messed up) was a game changer. Bringing that same heart to my marriage and the Bible studies I was a part of led to more growth than when I pretended to have it all together. I'm sure you know that going first is so, so hard. Someone I've seen do this really well is Abbey Wedgeworth. I'm looking forward to hearing from her about her journey to a soft heart that embraces Confession as a spiritual discipline that forms her family and soul. 

Can you tell me about a time you were trying to hold it all together, but that wasn't fooling anyone? 

How does the dishonesty of trying to pretend we are "doing fine" when our attitude is falling apart affect our kids? 

How does the way we see God influence the way we approach confession? 

When we hit storms, it's easy to think we hang on to our own "self-justification" by listing our extenuating circumstances. How do you interrupt that script and bring in a humble heart that leans into confession and how does that help us build resilience, and our kids build it too? 

What are some practical ways we can start to build these habits into our lives? 

We talked about "this episode" with Bob Flayhart.

You can find links to Abbey Wedgeworth's books, "Help! I'm Ruining My Kids" and "All Kinds of Weather" or her website.

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Helping you love Jesus and disciple your kids ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Or get access to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Additional study resources here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

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It's so easy to start to measure our worth by what we own and how we dress rather than whose we are. I remember the first time we ever changed churches. We went from one church with a style of clothes to a different church with a drastically different type of clothes. I felt all itchy and out of place until I learned the new metrics and felt like I could fit in. I would like to say that is something that passed with childhood and adolescence, but as we record my family just moved to a new part of the city. I can't help but notice how many people in my new neighborhood wear elevated athleisure... of which I own none. When I work out, I look like a sweaty troll that escaped from a twisted fairy tale. While writing Gently Tended, I was struck by the fact that Christian simplicity isn't about owning less, or the freedom to own it all, but rather remembering the character of the one who clothes us. I've loved watching for years as Caroline takes a theme and traces it cover to cover through the Bible. She's done it with Home and Water. Now she's doing it with clothes! 

Have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction, or the need to find an awesome outfit that stands out to you? 

Why do you think clothes make us spiral into overthinking? 

Did you have a moment, or maybe several like that, that caused you to think about clothes in the context of a Biblical theme? 

Can you talk us through briefly where we see clothes and being clothed in the Bible? 

If we genuinely believe that we are clothed in Christ's righteousness, how does that change the way we see what we own, and how that causes us to be viewed by others? 

Do you have a time when you walked into a situation that should have set you on your heels, but knowing that truth gave you confidence to respond well? 

You can find links to Caroline Saunders's book, "But What Do I Wear" and her website.

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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Order Gently Tended and finish fed this year by grabbing the pre-order bonuses too!

Join us tomorrow at Commonplace Books at 7pm to meet in person and kick off your own Finish Fed challenge!!

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ou can find Elizabeth writing helpful hints ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on the blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Helping you love Jesus and disciple your kids ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Or get access to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Additional study resources here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Order Gently Tended and join the Bible study now!

Stewarding the relationships with our kids and their faith is one of the most important tasks handed to parents. I remember the shock and overwhelm when, at 23, my newborn baby was strapped in the car seat and sent off with us home from the hospital. We didn't even have to sign for him like you would an important package. There was no 10-hour class like hunter safety, or hands-on test like the driver's test. You're just given a baby and wished "good luck." Because of that, parents are often at a loss for what to do. We turn to whatever expert our friends found helpful to know what to do with this unpredictable little person. I've found myself sliding into permissiveness or cracking down with an authoritarian framework when that wasn't working, but someone I've found to be a very helpful, centered voice is Dr. Fay. His book "Raising Emotionally Strong Kids" was so helpful to me a couple of years ago, and I'm eager to chat with him today about how we steward our kids well. 

In case someone isn't familiar with your work already, can you do a synopsis of your Love and Logic framework? 

What I admire about your encouragement is that we aren't asked to force our kids to follow a set of rules, or just let them do whatever. What boundaries do we set up to help us avoid common pitfalls as parents? 

I know the parents listening to this are so intentional, but also likely overwhelmed. In your years of practice, what are some lies you've noticed parents tend to believe about parenting, and by extension, stewarding their kid's behavior and faith? I think often we tie those things tightly together.

I've started realizing parenting is as much about my own spiritual formation as it is about me forming my kid. You build reflection into your work. Why is that so important as a step not to skip?

You say we can't respect someone we don't trust. How do we build that trust from a young age? What does it look like to have 

I loved your book Raising Emotionally Strong Kids and am eager to read Raising Spiritually Strong Kids. I'll link both of those in the show notes. Where can people find you? 

You can find links to Dr Charles Fay's books, "Raising Mentally Strong Kids" and "Raising Spiritually Strong Kids" and his website.

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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

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Order Gently Tended and join the Bible study now!

During my studies this year for Gently Tended, I've realized the quality of Christian humility is elusive. We can't really "make ourselves humble." If we try to beat ourselves down, it doesn't make us more like Christ. The only way to understand humility is to see ourselves rightly in God's story. As we grow to know and love him better, we become humble because we realize how much we rely on him. My guest Jen Wilkin is the writer of theologically rich Bible studies. Last summer we chatted about a book project she was about to start working on it's just been published under the name "Dust to Dust." In it, she was studying biblical literature and the way it reveals the path to a life well lived. As I've thought about humility this year, I've kept thinking what a humbling project that would be. She's literally spent a year looking carefully at human mortality in light of God's plan and eternity. 

Usually, I wind up slowly, but since we did a whole episode setting up this one, I want to dive right in. Before we get going, though, can you give a brief review of the arc of Biblical literature and how it's reflected in human life?

Why do you think it's important for Christians to understand and consider their mortality? 

What has it done in your own soul this year, spending so much time thinking about being made from dust and returning to dust? 

What does this human arc reveal to you about who God is? 

What disorder does our anti-aging culture reveal?

Why do we need to think about this before we become old? 

How does remembering our mortality help us to live and age better? How is that connected to humility? 

You can find the link to Jen Wilkin's book "Dust to Dust" and her website.

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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

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Meditation is the script that we play over and over inside our heads. Biblical meditation often starts with an acknowledgement of what is, grieves what should be, then moves to rejoicing that what is now isn't what will always be. Laura Wifler's poetry always leaves me with one or all three of those feelings. She has an incredible mental eye for seeing what most of us overlook, both the beauty and the brokenness. Then what her years of practice in Risen Motherhood gave her was the ability to see all those things through the lens of the gospel. I'm excited to chat with Laura today about internal dialogue, poetry, and how it ties into Biblical meditation. 

What have you done to train yourself to see the little things? A lot of your writing deals with joy and grief, or grief moving into promise. I'm always curious how people decide how long to sit in the lament, and when to move into rest in the promise during the messy middle. You've written about other tender things like motherhood and body image. In that it's required you to take an honest look at what you believe.

Have you been able to do that internally, or have you had to trust someone wise to point those out to you?

How have you replaced those lies you were believing about body image, or ultimate black-and-white thinking? \Does poetry help you as you process?

What does it do for your own soul? 

What experiences do you have the most trouble putting into words? 

What do you wish with your work that more people would address in their own thought lives?

What do you hope to press them to change? 

What's something you love so much you could do an ad for it? 

I'm going to link your new book of poetry, "This Side of the Sky," in my show notes. Where can people find you? 

You can find the link to Laura Wifler's book "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You're Only Human⁠" on her Instagram.

You can find Elizabeth writing helpful hints ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on ⁠the blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

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I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Kelly Kapic speak at a conference I was attending a couple of weeks ago. He is a professor of theological studies at Covenant College, where we were staying, and the session was titled "Have I Done Enough?" Led me down a thought bunny trail, because isn't that the question we are all asking ourselves during back-to-school season? Did we read enough hours? Did we soak in enough moments? Did I play with them enough? Have I purchased enough school supplies? I've found the weight of carrying all that is crushing and leads to self-loathing and depression rather than worship. 

What happens as parents when we try to be and do too much? 

Is being limited a sin? 

How do we respond internally when someone reminds us again to "savor all the moments" 

What about the things Christ commanded us to do? What do we do when we realize we can't be fully invested in caring for orphans, feeding all the widows, stewarding the discipleship of our kids, and going into all the world to preach and disciple? 

How do we wrestle with the feelings of incompetence that come when we see another parent doing something we wish we could do or wish we were good at? 

You can find the link to Kelly Kapic's book "⁠⁠You're Only Human" and his website.

You can find Elizabeth writing helpful hints ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on the blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

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This is the last challenge of the summer, and it may be one of my favorites. Along with it comes an encouragement to carry this challenge into the fall.

We are commanded in the New Testament to meet with other believers because of the way it strengthens and encourages us. My favorite verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, tells us to “Encourage one another and build each other up.”

My family has done this well through books. You can probably tell I love them a lot, but I love them even more when I get to read them with other Christians, especially mom friends. A few years ago I invited friends and strangers into my home to spend 18 months going through the book “Lifegiving Home.”

Sometimes we discussed the book; other times we just shared what we were struggling with and prayed for each other. That year was one of the most spiritually formative and lifegiving phases of my life. I’ve done that again this summer for my son byinviting his friends who enjoy reading to join him at a coffee shop to read the Junior version of “Unbroken.”

I hope this episode about books and reading encourages you. I’ll also link below both Whitney’s book and my book. Both would be amazing places to create if you want to do one of these groups for yourself!

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Join the Challenge ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and share with a friend!

My summer has looked nothing like what I expected. I had 5 days of middle school, two days at home, then 5 days at a conference. That was the expected part, what I didn’t expect was to be trusting God into buying a new home on land and nestled in the trees.

All the things being placed in my hands are good things, but it’s also forced me to say, “no” to some things too. In our family we have a rule, “You can’t pick up anything, unless you put something down.” If not, then our kids end up paying the price.

In this season I need the challenge of “simplicity.” It can be easy to run away with my plans. To try to buy furniture to make it cozy, or plan ahead for what I can’t know about. Just knowing this episode with Jodi was coming has been enough to slow me down and encourage me to snuggle on longer empty days, andwait to buy things after I need them not in anticipation of “maybe” needed them.

God keeps replaying to my mind and heart Matthew 6:19-21 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I hope this week if you’re feeling overwhelmed by having picked up too much, you’ll find a thing or two to lay down. Trusting that he’s working in those moments too.

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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

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Join the Challenge ⁠⁠⁠⁠and share with a friend!

My experience with getting later into summer is that the quiet, laziness of the days has finally sunk in. The frantic activity of May has passed and the first of the summer trips are over. Our Summer Faith Challenge is a fun one this week. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure. Either invite someone over for a meal orMake cookie dough and freeze balls of it to have on hand in the freezer.

Discipleship is done so well over food. As soon as I start baking my kids gather around to see what’s happening, or as soon as they smell cookies going into the oven, the smell lures them out to talk.

We are called to “Go make disciples.” Jesus famously discipled in combination with food. It’s a good recipe for discipleship success! We hear stories of the feeding of five thousand, wedding feasts, and the last supper.

The early church copied that, and we see in Acts 2:42&46 that “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”

I think this interview with Sally Clarkson will inspire you in your discipleship goals! Enjoy!

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