Do you ever struggle with having unrealistic expectations? Us either. Okay, so it's safe to say that ALL of us deal with being idealists from time to time, and it can negatively affect our parenting and our marriages if we're not careful. Jenifer and I spend some time talking about healthy -vs- unhealthy expectations, and in what ways we as wives and mothers might be setting ourselves up for disappointment. The word of EVERY day has to be GRACE -- grace for our children, grace for our spouses, and grace for ourselves.

In this, the second part of my interview with Barrett Johnson (founder of INFO for Families), we tackle the tough topic of pornography. In a world that is saturated with pornography, and with it always a click away and readily available, how do we teach our kids a healthy view of sexuality? How do we teach them to guard their eyes and to make wise decisions when the temptation to look is so strong? How do we safeguard our homes and create healthy boundaries for our kids when it comes to internet usage? Barrett does an outstanding job of equipping us with both knowledge and practical tools on today's show.

Helping our kids navigate their sexuality in this hyper-sexual and often perverse culture can feel overwhelming, especially for those of us who didn't have parents who shared openly and honestly with us when we were children. Enter Barrett and Jenifer Johnson. As the founders of INFO for Families Ministry, and having had over 25 years of experience in church-based family ministry, Barrett and Jenifer both have a passion for helping families function well in this crazy world. Their best-selling book, The Talks, is in the top of its genre for a reason -- it's full of wisdom and practical tools for us as parents to use as we educate our children on Biblical sexuality. I'm thrilled to have this ministry power couple with me on today's show!

"Let go and let God." You've heard that before, right? And while it's always uttered by a well-meaning person, it can be tough and scary to let go of the most important things -- and people -- in our lives, especially our children. The truth, though, is that we don't want to micromanage our kids' faith. We want to teach them to own their relationships with God, and a big part of that is teaching them to listen for and hear God's voice. We want them to hear clearly from Him without out our help, because it's what they need long term to grow into confident, godly adults. Today we talk about how teaching our children to hear from God can alleviate our fear as moms, because we trust His Holy Spirit in them more than we trust our ability to control their lives. Listen in and enjoy, all you control-freak mamas!

Raising godly kids can feel like an impossible task at times, but we have a chance to partner with God as He writes the story for their lives, so we mustn't lose heart. In this bonus episode of The RLMS Podcast, Jordan looks at the story of Nehemiah, a cupbearer turned builder, and draws some interesting parallels to motherhood. She'll probably make you giggle a little, as well. Enjoy!

When we talk about fear, it's only appropriate that we'd stop to consider the difference between unhealthy fear or worry and a holy sense of unease, a nudge from the Holy Spirit to wake up and pay attention to what God is trying to reveal to us. God is speaking often, if only we'll stop to listen. We need His wisdom when it comes to discerning the voice of God, and we must practice walking in confidence when He does speak to us. We can't wait to dig into this more in this week's podcast!

This week we're talking practical ways to fight the fear that creeps into our minds. We really are in a mind-control battle, and in order to fight well, we must be armed and ready at any given moment. The enemy lurks, waiting to attack when we least expect it, and the tools we talk about are straight from God's Word. Armor up, mamas, and get ready to refocus your minds on your trustworthy, faithful Father Who loves you dearly.

Upon polling well over 100 moms, a major theme that arose was FEAR. Fear of something happening to our children. Fear of our children not knowing God. Fear of our children not growing up to be "successful" (whatever that means). Part one of this four-part series addresses how, if we're not careful, fear can rule our minds as parents, and how we can learn to parent out of an overflow of our faith in a trustworthy God instead of from fear. 

Discipline is exhausting, and consistency is a major challenge. What works for one child doesn't seem to affect the other, and by the end of the day it's easy to want to throw in the towel on this whole parenting thing. How can we discipline our children well, and how important is consistent discipline in terms of raising kids who turn into thriving adults?

If we really want to partner with God in parenting our children, we must determine whether or not we truly trust that God loves our children, knows our children, and has their best interest in mind. We have to decide if we'll let Him be God, even when we desperately want to grasp for control. We can't live in a constant battle for control with God and expect to make headway in our parenting. We must trade the heavy loads (which are God's burdens to carry) and trade them for His yoke, which is easy (our God-appointed jobs as moms).