Thru the Fire

Biden signed 17 executive orders on inauguration day - the most signed on any president's first day. Each one demonstrated his intolerance of any dissent concerning his attack on religious liberty, elimination of the notion of gender, and his uncompromising views on abortion on demand: Advocating fundamentally immoral policy, while claiming to holding himself to a higher moral authority.

The Pro-Life movement is not just "Anti-Aobrtion," but spreads the beautiful message that life is sacred. It is God's first gift to every person. It stands to protect our right to live that sacred life each day to its fullest. Dignity and the sanctity of life are fundamental, foundational truths to a civil society.

US bishops urge Biden to reject abortion rights after 'deeply disturbing' statement

March for Life

National Right to Life

Lutheran's for Life

Lutheran Center for Religious Freedom

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

Contact the Seltzes:

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

What causes estrangement between parents and children? And what are the effects of estrangement on our society?

We're all sinful people, we all make mistakes, but we're still called to be the best parents, and the best children, that we can be. Estrangement from those we love is a source of great pain. How do we heal from that pain and move toward reconciliation?

Reconciliation comes when we love unconditionally, forgive others fully, and seek forgiveness for our own shortcomings with humility. When two people are estranged, they must both be able to have empathy and see things from the other's perspective. As Christians, we know that only God's love is perfect and able to forgive fully. When we put the love of God to work in our relationships, we're able to love with God's love. We can heal, we can move forward, we can find reconciliation.

Scripture mentioned in this episode

John 13:35

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Resources mentioned in this episode

When Parents Hurt, by Joshua Coleman

Rules of Engagement, by Joshua Coleman

Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

Contact the Seltzes:

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

This post may contain affiliate links. We appreciate your support!

Schools have become war zones. Some are unsafe spaces where overt physical acts of violence are regular occurrences. Others have become centers where children are indoctrinated with liberal ideals rather than places to learn reading, writing and arithmetic.

Parents have the ultimate authority to raise and educate their children into mature adults. What happens when the educator begins to take the place of the parent? What happens when parents aren't even allowed to see the curriculum being taught? What happens when the values of our faith are attacked and devalued in the education of our children?

It's time to take back the responsibility of "training our children the way in which they should go!"

What can we do?

Teach your children to think critically. Children will naturally development attachments to their teachers. They grow to trust them as a parental figure. Because not everything they hear in school is true, parents must teach their children to think critically and the apply the scripture to any and all ideas presented to them.

Get involved in schools and fight for your right to choose what your children are learning. If we don't, the government will gain more power and it will become harder for parents to actually raise their children. When parents take responsibility for the education of their children, great things can happen for you, your family, your children.

The country of tomorrow is being taught in the classroom today. We need to understand that there are people who want to tear our children away from what is Biblically right, wholesome, virtuous, and instill in them some radical view of what it means to be a human being today. We can not let that happen. The consequences are too great. Our kids are too precious to leave them to this fate.

Scripture mentioned in this episode

Resources mentioned in this episode

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

Contact the Seltzes:

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

This post may contain affiliate links. We appreciate your support!

Are Christians out of step with what's going on in the world? Or do we view things from a different perspective? We know that what's happening now is temporary and that God can and will use it for eternal good. How do we respond to what's going on in the world with love, truth AND grace?

If we are in-step with God, we will often feel out of step with the world... But that's OK - because we are calling the world to be in step with God.

C.S. Lewis said, "You can't get second things by putting them first. You get second things only by putting first things first." When the big issues of life hit - we go back to church FIRST, we get on our knees FIRST. Connecting to Christ, remember who we belong to - that's our source of power, joy, identity and peace. We will never be able to solve the problems of our sinful world, but God can. God's people must turn to HIM!

What can we do?

Scripture mentioned in this episode

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Galatians 4:4-7

Psalm 31:15

C.S. Lewis Quote:

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

Contact the Seltzes:

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

This post may contain affiliate links. We appreciate your support!

There's no doubt we'd all like 2021 to bring some normalcy and hope back to our lives. Is there anything to be gained by reflecting on the past year?

For many of us, reflecting on 2020 makes us feel frustrated, powerless, and overwhelmed with disappointments. What if you don't have the energy or strength to look back, let alone look forward? Sometimes God allows our strength to be completely depleted so that we will rely on HIS strength.

In this week's episode, Greg and Marie show you how to turn our reflections on last year into a blessing for the new year.

Scripture mentioned in this episode

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

John 1:14

Psalm 23:4

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

Contact the Seltzes:

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

This post may contain affiliate links. We appreciate your support!

If we truly believe that Christmas is about more than giving gifts, gathering with family, and twinkling lights, then no power on earth can keep THIS Christmas from being the BEST Christmas ever!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

Contact the Seltzes:

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

This post may contain affiliate links. We appreciate your support!

Technology has significantly altered our lives. When the very creators of smart-phones and social media platforms severely limit how much time their children spend on devices, it should raise a red flag. Studies show that too much screen time can be damaging, yet the average kid has a smart-phone starting at age 10.

As parents, we should be asking questions that will help us use these tools wisely and not allow them to become a distraction from more important things.

What are the effects of too much exposure to devices and social media?

God calls us to love our neighbors. This means we are to live in community and be in relationship with the people around us. When smart-phones distract us from forming and cultivating relationships, they not only hinder us from fulfilling God's call on our lives but also encourage inward, self-focus. When we expose our children to this technology, we may think we're giving them access to information and entertainment, but we also set them up to be distracted from the beautiful world that God created for us to enjoy.

Scripture mentioned in this episode:

Luke 10:27

Deuteronomy 8:3

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

Contact the Seltzes:

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

This post may contain affiliate links. We appreciate your support!

As parents, it's our responsibility to advocate for our children. But when the culture censors the church and Christian parents, we are stripped of our parental right to equip our children to know right from wrong. - Do not let your voice be silenced! Do NOT leave your kids vulnerable to the lies of this world.

It's considered "normal" for 13-year-olds to own a smartphone and access social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Despite the data that shows a strong correlation between the iPhone release in 2007 and the onset of girls experiencing anxiety and depression due to unhealthy comparison facilitated by social media. Without parental involvement and coaching, this so-called "harmless rite of passage" can leave our children vulnerable to the very culture that finds offense in our Christian values and is actively trying to silence them.

The culture tells our children that same-sex relationships and transgenderism are normal and acceptable. Some state medical licensing boards have adopted "affirmative care," which requires doctors to affirm gender self-diagnosis. Testosterone hormone therapy to assist in gender transition ensues. The short-term side effects are pleasant (weight loss, sense of euphoria, and anxiety suppression) and can further affirm the diagnosis. -- However, this treatment path is irreversible, and allowing a child to make this decision at an age when they can not be expected to understand the consequences is heinous!

Does this mean that Christians hate transgender people? Absolutely not. We can refuse to condone behavior in love, without shaming or condemning. But we must be allowed to advocate for our children. We can not trust the culture to be the head of our family.

Scripture mentioned in this episode:

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Philippians 4:8

Isaiah 55:8

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child from Public School Before It's Too Late

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media, a non-profit ministry committed to helping Christian parents discern the truth in a culture of lies.

If you or someone you love is struggling with gender dysphoria, please contact us; we would love to talk with you!

Connect with Family Vision Media:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

This post contains affiliate links. We appreciate your support!

"Be thankful for what you have." -- Most of us have heard this familiar phrase from a well-meaning friend at some point. The problem with this advice is that it turns our attention inward, toward our possessions.

The world wants us to focus on what we have or don't have, but self-focus is thankless by nature. Studies show that acquiring more things and greater material wealth doesn't make us more content. In fact, the more we have, the more we want. As Christians, this kind of consumerism warps our view of God into our own personal Santa.

The Bible reminds us repeatedly to give thanks and rejoice - why? Because God is good. When Christ is the source of our joy and contentment, we can live our lives for others. Our joy increases, and worry, fear, and doubt decrease.

Scripture mentioned in this episode:

Remember, there are two kinds of fire in the world: One that burns and consumes and one that burns and empowers. May God's word and God's love burn brightly in you, giving you the strength to face any fire. Until next time, little embers!

Thru the Fire is a production of Family Vision Media.

Connect with us:

Find more encouragement and information on our blog:

Questions? E-mail us!

The 2020 presidential election has been one of the strangest in history. Would Christians be shocked to know that their religious liberties were the main item on the ballot? In a culture that is more and more aggressively antagonistic to the Christian worldview, how can we be prepared to defend our voice?