The Connected Mom

Middle School + Girls. Wow, there can be a lot there! Becky and Sarah talk with author Heather Holleman about her book, "This Seat's Saved." Her book deals with middle school issues in fiction form...perfect for daughters and moms to discuss tricky situations...including rejection at the lunch table. Listen in--we believe connecting with your middle school daughter is SO worth it...and this could be a tool to help. Parenting middle schoolers is not easy...we're cheering you on!

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Dr. Heather Holleman is an associate teaching professor with over 25 years of experience in the college classroom. She is a national public speaker, podcaster, and award-winning author of over 8 books, including a bestseller in the inspirational market. Heather and her husband, Ashley, also work with a missions organization (Cru) where Ashley serves as the Executive Director of Graduate Student Ministry. Heather blogs daily at heatherholleman.com and writes both fiction and nonfiction. She has two daughters, three cats, and a fantastic backyard garden with plum trees, blackberries, and lilacs.

ABOUT THE BOOK
This Seat's Saved
Class schedules, locker combinations, and the play for popularity — middle school is a new world with new rules.

At the start of 7th grade, Elita Brown’s friends enjoy their seats at the popular lunchroom table. Meanwhile, Elita hides in the bathroom. This is not how she envisioned middle school. And her omission from the popular table is only the beginning of her problems. What will she do when she’s terrorized by the meanest girl in school and accused of a crime she didn’t commit? Elita befriends an older couple living in the woods and gains confidence through her project on the red fox. Will Elita find her way and take her seat at the best table? Full of suspense and divine moments, readers will be captivated by this story.

Parents and teachers who loved Seated with Christ can invite their middle school reader to This Seat’s Saved. With great discussion questions and a main character who learns to read her Bible, trust God for the first time, and understand what it means to be seated with Christ from Ephesians 2:6, This Seat’s Saved will help young readers on their journey with Jesus.

Chapters:
(00:00) Connected Mom podcast focuses on helping moms connect more deeply with God and others
(01:16) Dr. Heather Holman is a bestselling author and professor at Penn State
(03:46) Heather wrote Seated with Christ about being rejected at middle school lunch table
(05:21) Heather decided to go with fiction for this book about overcoming rejection
(07:59) Sometimes girls don't open up to their moms, Heather says
(10:33) Heather, another theme that I saw in the book is shame
(18:23) Heather: When we were raising our kids, I always prayed for them
(25:57) You can share stories of how you had to turn to God
(32:51) Do you remember the first passage of Scripture that you memorized and just loved
(35:17) We want our kids to lean into the power of God's Word
(36:14) Heather: I pray for a special blessing over our moms out

So. Much. Pressure. is out there to be an amazing mom. From the moment we find out we're pregnant, we start thinking about our child's needs...and all too often forget that we have real needs, too! Join us for a conversation that is sure to lighten the pressure and bring refreshment. We talk with author Alli Worthington about her newest book "Remaining You While Raising Them" and her insights are sheer gold!

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Alli Worthington's goal is to help women live the life they were created to live. She lives outside Nashville with her husband, Mark, their five sons, and the only golden retriever who refuses to retrieve. 

She's a popular Christian women's speaker who travels the country sharing her humor, practical advice, and encouragement. She hosts her top-rated weekly podcast, The Alli Worthington Show, and brings us friends she loves, experts to learn from, and coaches listeners in life, business, and faith.

Alli built her business in 2008 after her family went bankrupt with $42, a broken laptop, and millions of Google searches. She is now a sought-after coach and consultant who has helped individuals, small business owners, and Fortune 500 companies be more successful. 

Alli's no-nonsense, guilt-free take on motherhood, parenting, and balance lead to appearances on The Today Show and Good Morning America. 

Alli spends way too much time on Instagram at @AlliWorthington and you can download free resources and gifts at AlliWorthington.com

ABOUT THE BOOK: REMAINING YOU WHILE RAISING THEM
Bestselling author, life and business coach, and mom of five boys Alli Worthington believes too many moms have neglected to take care of arguably the one person who matters most: themselves. In Remaining You While Raising Them, Alli shares guilt-free, often hilarious, empowering, and research-informed advice to help you:

• Intentionally care for yourself--spiritually, emotionally, and physically--amidst the demands of motherhood
• Drop the "good mom" myths that have been stealing your happiness
• Take back your own identity by discovering the unique type of mom you are
• Let go of social pressure, conquer mom guilt, and stop toxic comparison once and for all
• Discover easy tools for building your confidence and developing a healthy mom mindset

Raising children who are spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy is essential, but to accomplish that heroic feat, mothers also need to be healthy in those areas. It's time to rediscover the beauty, the joy, and the sacred and secret art of confident motherhood together.

Moms can get so caught up in parenting that we lose who we are in the process. How can journaling along the way help moms know God more deeply and themselves more completely? How can it bring healing? Join us for a conversation with Jennifer Dukes Lee with thoughts behind her super creative journaling book, "Stuff I'd Only Tell God." You need this in your life!

ABOUT JENNIFER
Jennifer Dukes Lee lives on the fifth-generation Lee family farm in Iowa, where she and her husband are raising crops, pigs, and two beautiful humans. Jennifer is the author of several books, including Growing Slow and It's All Under Control. She loves queso and enjoys singing too loudly to songs with great harmony. She wants to live her life in such a way that you can't help but want more of Jesus.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Stuff I'd Only Tell God: A Guided Journal of Courageous Honesty, Obsessive Truth-Telling, and Beautifully Ruthless Self-Discovery
What would you say if you were completely honest with yourself and with God? It's time to find out.
 
With daring questions, provocative lists, and quirky charts and illustrations, this journal is a place to record all the stuff you'd only tell God: ideas, beliefs, secrets, memories, wonderings, and wishes--things that might seem outlandish or outrageous to anyone else but are what make you you. You'll find the space, the courage, and the help you need to unearth the real you, the you that is sometimes buried deep beneath a layer of self-protection.

Where to begin? With your beautifully ruthless honesty.

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER
Website
Facebook
Instagram

We're thrilled to be in SEASON 2 of The Connected Mom podcast! We kick off this season chatting with Caris Snider about how moms (and grandmas!) can use time in the CAR LINE (of all places) to deepen our relationship with God. Be sure to listen in and find encouragement ... even if you're on the go as you listen!

ABOUT CARIS
CARIS SNIDER loves to share the hope of God through speaking, writing, coaching, and leading worship. She is the author of "Car Line Mom Devotional," “Anxiety Elephants: 31 Day Devotional” and “Anxiety Elephants: 90 Day Devotional for Tween Boys and Girls.” From her own personal experience, she helps women in their journey of overcoming depression, anxiety, fear, and shame. Caris lives with her husband, Brandon, and two daughters in Cullman, Alabama.

CONNECT WITH CARIS
Instagram
Facebook

Phew. Perfectionism in motherhood can really be strong. If you're ready to break away from mindsets that hold you down, this is the podcast for you. Alicia shares from her experience as a NeuroCoach. Here's your reminder that thought patterns obsessed with perfection CAN change. There is hope!

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Alicia Michelle is an author, speaker, certified NeuroCoach and host of the award-winning The Christian Mindset Coach Podcast. Through her coaching, courses and Bible studies she loves equipping Christian women with practical brain-and-biblically-based tools to break free from the worry and exhaustion of perfectionism, people pleasing and performance that come from feeling “never enough”. She is a regular contributor to popular Christian sites such as iBelieve.com, Crosswalk.com and her podcast is featured as a weekly radio show on KHCB’s Upliftd. Cultivate godly confidence, learn how to manage emotions and find lasting peace when you download one of Alicia’s free brain-science and biblically based mindset trainings at VibrantChristianLiving.com. You can also connect find her on Instagram at @aliciamichellecoach

Spoiler Alert! Yes, rest is possible for mamas...but it may not look how you think. Join us for this super-practical episode with Dr. Saundra about different kinds of rest and how you can get some...and must! 

FREE Resource from Dr. Saundra:

Take this quiz and find out what type of rest you need to live your best life...

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is an award-winning author, speaker, wellbeing thought-leader and host of I Choose My Best Life podcast. She spent over 20 years in clinical practice as an internal medicine physician. Dr. Saundra speaks internationally to audiences on topics of faith, wellness, and healing. Learn more about Dr. Saundra at IChooseMyBestLife.com

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity

How can you keep your energy, happiness, creativity, and relationships fresh and thriving in the midst of never-ending family demands, career pressures, and the stress of everyday life? In Sacred Rest, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a board-certified internal medicine doctor, reveals why rest can no longer remain optional.

Dr. Dalton-Smith shares seven types of rest she has found lacking in the lives of those she encounters in her clinical practice and research-physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, creative-and why a deficiency in any one of these types of rest can have unfavorable effects on your health, happiness, relationships, creativity, and productivity. Sacred Rest combines the science of rest, the spirituality of rest, the gifts of rest, and the resulting fruit of rest. It shows rest as something sacred, valuable, and worthy of our respect.
By combining scientific research with personal stories, spiritual insight, and practical next steps, Sacred Rest gives the weary permission to embrace rest, set boundaries, and seek sanctuary without any guilt, shame, or fear.

One of the hardest challenges for parents is dealing with our kids' BIG emotions (or even ours!). Sometimes these BIG emotions can interrupt family life and leave us feeling disconnected. In this super-helpful episode, we talk with Michelle Nietert about how to deal with these big emotions! We want to help you--and today's episode is packed with practical advice that can help you and your child deal with the big emotions that come our way.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Michelle Nietert has been a licensed professional counselor for over 25 years and the coauthor of the award winning book Loved and Cherished: 100 Devotions for Girls along with Make Up Your Mind: Unlock Your Thoughts, Transform Your Life and soon to be released God I Feel Sad: Bringing Big Emotions to a Bigger God series. She leads a team of counselors as the clinical director of Community Counseling Associates in the Dallas, TX area. A popular speaker on topics regarding mental health, faith and parenting, she is a frequent guest on national television and podcasts, including her own “Raising Mentally Healthy Kids.” She and her husband Drew have been married almost two decades with two school aged children.

Connect with Michelle:
YourMentalHealthCoach.com
Facebook
Instagram

Michelle's books:
Make Up Your Mind
Loved and Cherished: 100 Devotions for Girls

Michelle's Podcast:
Raising Mentally Healthy Kids

In this day and age, fear and anxiety for mamas is on the rise. School shootings have increased. There's strange illnesses out there, like monkey pox?! There's so much that we have to let go of as mamas. Right?

In this episode, we talk with author Judy Dunagan about how moms can step away from fear and pray Scripture over our children and lives. Judy shares many practical steps, some of which come from her newest book, The Loudest Roar. The book came out of an honest question Judy asked God, "Why does the enemy have so much power?"

Scriptures mentioned today:
Psalm 91:1-2
Psalm 139
Ephesians 6:10-18

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Judy Dunagan is an acquisitions editor for the women’s Bible studies and books at Moody Publishers. Judy is passionate about discipling others and making God’s Word and prayer come alive in everyday lives. She is a speaker and Bible teacher and serves on the board of Deeper Walk International, the ministry her father Mark I. Bubeck founded. Judy and her husband, Rick, live in Colorado and are the joyful grandparents of five littles.

Connect with Judy:
judydunagan.com
[email protected]

And, be sure to check out her book:

The Loudest Roar: Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ

Do you feel stuck battling the same fears, temptations, lies, and doubts, wondering if you’ll ever overcome them? Does it seem as if you’re in that battle alone? Author Judy Dunagan has been there. In The Loudest Roar, you’ll marvel at the power, majesty, and authority of our Lord Jesus and learn how to stand in the unshakable victory He’s already won for you.

Carol had every reason to succumb to crippling “Mom Guilt” when an unimaginable situation rocked her family. Instead of isolation, Carol learned to keep a connection with fellow mamas in authenticity. Carol also stayed committed to keeping her connection with God alive, even with baby steps. She also shares the refreshing truth that we can never give up on HOPE…regardless of how life goes.

We need each other in this journey!

ABOUT OUR GUEST: 

Carol Kent is a bestselling author and an international speaker for conferences and retreats. She’s the executive director of the Speak Up Conference, an event committed to helping people develop their speaking and writing skills. She and her husband, Gene, have founded the nonprofit organization, Speak Up for Hope, which benefits inmates and their families. Carol holds a master’s degree in communication arts and a bachelor’s degree in speech education. Carol has trained Christian speakers for over twenty-five years and she has been a featured speaker at Women of Faith, Extraordinary Women, and Women of Joy arena events. She is the author of over twenty-five books, including the bestselling When I Lay My Isaac Down, Tame Your Fears, and Becoming a Woman of Influence. Her two newest titles are a 365 page-per-day devotional titled, He Holds My Hand, and Staying Power.

Connect with Carol

www.facebook.com/authorcarolkent

www.twitter.com/CarolKentSpeaks

www.instagram.com/carolkentspeaks

www.CarolKent.org

www.SpeakUpConference.com

www.SpeakUpforHope.org 

Becky and Sarah had the privilege of talking with Lucinda Secrest McDowell in December 2022. Shockingly, it was one of the last interviews she gave before her death...and we cherish the time we had with her talking about being "soul strong." This is one of our favorite episodes that we're resharing as we talk about deepening our connection with God.

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Lucinda Secrest McDowell, M.T.S., is a storyteller and seasoned mentor who engages both heart and mind while “Helping You Choose a Life of Serenity & Strength.” A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Furman University, McDowell is the author of 15 books and contributing author to 30+ books. Her award-winning books include new releases Life-Giving Choices(2019) and Soul Strong (2020), as well as Dwelling Places, Ordinary Graces, Refresh, and Live These Words.  Lucinda, a member of the Redbud Writers Guild and AWSA, received Mt. Hermon “Writer of the Year” award and guest blogs for The Write Conversation, Blue Ridge Christian Writers Blog and (in)courage.