Friendships in motherhood can feel complicated, especially when old wounds and insecurities get stirred up in new seasons. In this episode, Karen and Emily talk honestly about why friendships can feel hard for moms and how to move forward with grace, healthy expectations, and a “generous explanation” for the people around us.

Episode Recap:

• Friendship is difficult as a mom (2:23)
• We all have past hurts that impact how we receive or offer friendship today (4:30)
• How do we prevent self-sabotaging friendships? (6:17)
• Communicate clearly when you have moved into a new season of life (8:06)
• Choose a generous explanation whenever possible (10:02)
• How do I handle someone who is not a good fit wanting to be friends?! (13:54)
• How do I maintain friendships in a very full season? (16:45)
• Continue this conversation on WT+ at the link below (20:16)

Scripture: Ephesians 4:2 (NLT) “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. Have you had a friendship since becoming a mom that didn’t turn out the way you expected. What made it hard?
2. When friendships feel disappointing or painful, what past experiences or insecurities tend to get stirred up for you?
3. Where do you think your expectations in friendships might need to shift to match the reality of your current season?
4. What would it look like for you to give a “generous explanation” instead of assuming the worst in a friendship right now?
5. What is one practical way you can pursue friendship with more grace this month without overextending yourself?

Resources:

• Listen to the rest of our conversation on WT+: boaw.mom/insider
• Join our BOAW Moms Facebook group
• Check out our BRAND NEW Bible study: How To Teach Your Kids the Bible

Want More of This Conversation?

Wire Talk+ listeners get extended conversations every week! Today Karen and Emily share how their past relationships have affected the kind of friend they are today.

To become a Wire Talk+ Insider, head HERE and join us for the full conversation.

Parenting doesn’t end when your kids turn 18. In many ways, it gets more complicated! Today Karen and Erin are joined by longtime parenting expert Jim Burns for a wise and honest conversation about parenting adult children. They talk about releasing control, shifting your role, navigating boundaries, resisting unsolicited advice, and discerning the difference between helping and enabling. Whether your kids are still at home, newly launched, or already raising families of their own, this episode will help you parent with clarity, peace, and long-term perspective.

Episode Recap:

• Jim is the founder of Homeward Ministries (3:06)
• When our children become adults, we have to give up control (4:43)
• What does it look like to embrace a new “job description” as moms? (7:00)
• How can we offer wisdom to our adult children or do we just bite our tongues? (11:37)
• Resist the urge to become a “one topic” parent (13:15)
• What’s the difference between helping your kids and enabling them? (15:45)
• How do we place good boundaries when adult kids move back in? (19:10)
• What does it mean to, “wear beige and keep your mouth shut?” (24:00)
• Can you cast vision for the grandparent years? (28:00)
• Continue this conversation on WT+ at the link below (32:00)

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV) –  “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. What part of parenting adult children feels most difficult for you right now? If you don’t have adult children yet, what fears or worries do you have about that season of life?
2. How can you shift from giving advice to asking permission before speaking?
3. Is there an area where helping may have crossed into enabling dependency?
4. What expectations need to be clearly communicated in your family right now?
5. How can you focus on relationship building rather than behavior correcting?

Resources:

• Listen to the rest of our conversation with Jim over on WT+: boaw.mom/insider
• Grab a copy of Jim’s new book, Doing Life With Your Adult Children
• Connect with HomeWord Ministries online
• Check out Jim’s podcast and his recent episode on Long Distance Grandparenting
• Check out our BRAND NEW Bible study: How To Teach Your Kids the Bible

Want More of This Conversation?

Wire Talk+ listeners get extended conversations every week! Today we go deeper into parenting wayward adult children, setting boundaries, and navigating complicated family dynamics.

To become a Wire Talk+ Insider, head HERE and join us for the full conversation.

Discipline is hard, especially when the results feel slow or invisible. In this final episode of our Parenting Principles from Proverbs series, Karen and Emily shift the focus to the long-term fruit of faithful discipline and the peace it brings to both children and parents.

Drawing from Proverbs and Hebrews, Karen reminds moms that discipline is discipleship. It is not about control or behavior management in the moment, but about shaping hearts, building security, and leaving a generational blessing.  Don’t miss the end of today’s episode, when Emily announces our big winners from last week’s giveaway!! 

Episode Recap:

• What does the fruit of discipline look like? (2:30)
• Discipline now will bring peace later (7:10)
• How do I teach my son to obey without all the drama? (11:30)
• How do I stay calm while disciplining my bonus child? (14:12)
• My kids argue and whine about everything. I’m exhausted! (17:30)
• Discipline takes time and repetition (21:17)
• Discipline leaves a generational blessing (22:54)
• Our big giveaway winners announced! (24:42) 

Scripture: Hebrews 12:11 (ESV) – “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. Why do you think discipline feels especially hard when results are not immediate?
2. How does seeing discipline as discipleship change your perspective?
3. Which scripture from this episode encouraged you the most and why?
4. Where might God be asking you to stay consistent, even when you feel tired?
5. What kind of long-term fruit do you hope to see in your children ten years from now?

Resources:

• Check out our BRAND NEW Bible study: How To Teach Your Kids the Bible
• Listen to episode 347 with David Thomas, Raising Emotionally Strong Boys
• Grab Thomas’ book: Raising Emotionally Strong Boys

We are celebrating 500 episodes of Wire Talk and using this milestone to talk about something every mom wants: wisdom that actually works in real life. Today Karen breaks down what it means to be a wise mom, not a perfect one, and offers a simple grid for everyday moments by asking, “Will my response build my house or tear it down?” From discipline to independence, this conversation focuses on proactive parenting that shapes our kids over time.

Episode Recap:

• Wire Talk is celebrating 500 episodes - don’t miss our BIG GIVEAWAY (2:34)
• A wise mom builds her house up in all she does (7:10)
• Children are born with a sin nature (11:00)
• Being intentional is hard work (14:31)
• What is the difference between teaching, training, and discipline? (15:50)
• Consistency builds trust (20:30)
• Discipline sets your child up for success long term (23:40)
• Listener question - how do I discipline my biter? (26:44)
• Listener question - is it too late for me to disciple my child in faith? (29:39)
• How do I discipline tantrums in public? (31:52)
• I don’t know how to help my daughters solve sibling conflict… (33:30)

Scripture: Proverbs 14:1 (NIV) – “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. Karen’s guiding question is, “Will my response build my house or tear it down?” Where do you most need that filter right now? (Discipline, mornings, homework, sibling conflict, or marriage?)
2. Where do you tend to parent reactively, and what would it look like to be proactive instead?
3. How does remembering your child’s sin nature change both your expectations and your compassion?
4. Karen talks about how tearing down can show up in our words with kids or a spouse. Where do you need to shift from criticism to building up?
5. Which do you lean toward most: teaching, training, or disciplining, and which one do you tend to avoid? Why?
6. Where do you need to ask God for help right now, one specific area where you are asking Him to meet you with encouragement?

Resources:

• Join our giveaway by commenting on this episode over on YouTube! 
• Check out our BRAND NEW Bible study: How To Teach Your Kids the Bible
• Listen to Wire Talk Episode 1! 
• Start a new habit this year with Karen’s devotional: Moments with God for Moms

Karen and Emily are kicking off the year with a three-part series about parenting principles we can learn from the book of Proverbs. Today, Karen addresses the confusion many moms today feel around discipline, authority, and the pressure to “get it right.” Drawing from Solomon’s teaching, she reminds us that children need leadership, clear boundaries, and parents who are willing to direct them with confidence rather than fear. We hope this conversation encourages you to trust God for wisdom no matter what you are facing this week!

Episode Recap:

• Wire Talk is celebrating 500 episodes next week
• Subscribe to our YT podcast so you don’t miss the giveaway
• Gentle parenting does not work
• Stop Googling and start getting into the Word of God
• We are bombarding ourselves with information overload
• Moms are afraid of messing up and uncertain of what to do
• What are the 3 stages of discipline? 
• How do I discipline without introducing shame? 
• Children are so resilient, we do not give them enough credit
• Trust that God will give us wisdom exactly when we need it

Scripture: Proverbs 1:1-5 (ESV) – “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance…”

Discussion Questions: 

1. What messages about parenting have influenced you the most in recent years—culture, social media, your upbringing, or Scripture?
2. “More information is not always good information.” Where have you felt overwhelmed or anxious because of too much advice?
3. Why do you think the word authority has become uncomfortable in parenting conversations?
4. How does Proverbs reframe discipline as protection and love rather than punishment?
5. What is one area of parenting where you need to ask God for wisdom instead of trying to figure it out on your own?

Resources:

• Check out our BRAND NEW Bible study: How To Teach Your Kids the Bible
• Listen to our series on the 3 stages of discipline: 154, 155, 156
• Grab Karen’s devotional book: Moments with God for Moms 

As Christmas approaches, we are turning our focus to love this final week of Advent. In this episode, Karen and Emily unpack what it looks like to love like Jesus in everyday moments: choosing presence, serving quietly, pausing before reacting, and remembering that we love others because Christ first loved us. If the holidays have stretched your patience thin, we hope this conversation will help you refocus your heart on what truly matters!

Episode Recap:

• We’re talking about love this week (6:05)
• How do we respond to God’s love practically? (7:55)
• Loving others looks like not being selfish (8:44)
• Take an interest in others this Christmas (12:34)
• Choose presence over perfection (15:54)
• Speak life with your words (16:31)
• Pause before you react (18:42)
• Enjoy simple moments (20:20)
• Serve quietly (21:15)
• Focus on gratitude (22:42)

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5 (NIV)
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. Why do you think loving others feels harder during the holidays?
2. In what ways do you catch yourself trying to impress others rather than love them?
3. Which part of Philippians 2:1–5 challenges you the most right now?
4. What does “choosing presence over perfection” look like in your home?
5. What is one thing you can do this week to respond with love instead of frustration?

Resources:

• Please give today to help us reach more moms with Wire Talk in 2026!

Joy doesn’t just happen, our hearts have to be tuned to it. In this third week of Advent, Karen and Emily talk honestly about how hard it can be to find joy in the middle of exhaustion, family stress, and the very real unmet expectations of the season. Using the picture of tuning an instrument, they unpack how joy comes when we continually refocus our hearts on Jesus, not on our circumstances. If you’re longing for a steadier joy this Christmas season, this conversation is for you!

Episode Recap:

• Intro (00:00)
• Today we’re talking about joy (2:10)
• We have to tune our hearts to joy (4:12)
• Jesus often becomes a secondary thought in this season (5:55)
• Remind yourself on a daily basis that this life is not about you, it’s about Christ (7:50)
• Find ways to re-center yourself on Christ this Christmas (10:30)
• Decide to have NO expectations each day, live with an open hand (11:35)
• Focusing on God makes the trivial things of this world fade away (16:01)

Scripture: Luke 2:10-11 (ESV)
“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. When you hear the idea of “tuning your heart to joy,” what stands out to you personally?
2. What tends to pull your focus away from Jesus most during the Christmas season?
3. Can you identify a recent moment where unmet expectations robbed you of joy?
4. What practical practices help you re-center on Christ?
5. How does Mary’s response to God’s plan challenge the way you respond to interruptions or disappointments?
6. What would it look like to hold your plans and expectations with open hands this season?

Resources:

Please give today to help us reach more moms with Wire Talk in 2026! boaw.mom/give

It’s easy to find ourselves in the middle of December with a packed calendar and an unprepared spirit, carrying bitterness, comparison, or disappointment into every day. Drawing from Matthew 3:3, Karen talks about what it means to “prepare the way for the Lord” so we don’t miss Jesus in the middle of our own expectations. You’ll come away with simple, practical ways to prepare your heart for Christmas, no matter what your circumstances are like.

Episode Recap:

• Today we’re talking about preparation (2:15)
• We must prepare our hearts so we don’t miss Christ (3:54)
• We prepare through self-reflection, repentance, readiness (5:06)
• It’s hard to see the condition of your own heart, so pray about it (6:12)
• This world is full of trouble, but Christ has overcome the world (13:09)
• We have to take our thoughts captive over and over and over again (14:45)
• Practically, how do we prepare our hearts? (17:13)

Scripture: Matthew 3:3 (NIV) – ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’

Discussion Questions: 

1. When you look at this Christmas season, where do you see that your heart might be “unprepared”? (Bitterness, comparison, resentment, fear, exhaustion, etc.)
2. What “self-talk” tends to get loud for you during the holidays (i.e.: life isn’t fair, I never have enough, no one appreciates me)? Which scriptures could help you renew your mind with truth instead?
3. Karen shared practical ideas for preparing your heart: starting the day with Jesus, lighting a candle, sitting in silence, simplifying your schedule, serving someone in need. Which one could you realistically try this week?
4. Is there one thing you could say no to this December to create more space for peace, presence, and noticing Jesus? What would it look like to trust God with that decision?

Resources:

• Give today to help us reach more moms with Wire Talk in 2026! boaw.mom/give
• Pick up a copy of Karen’s Self Talk curriculum today: https://store.birdsonawiremoms.com/products/six-truths-study-guide?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=ac36e3440&pr_rec_pid=1414191513677&pr_ref_pid=4773089017933&pr_seq=uniform
• Listen to Noel by Tommee Profitt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDyA9W9CaeQ

Today we’re kicking off our Advent series with a focus on hope. December fills up fast with activities, expectations, and pressure for a picture-perfect holiday, making it easy to place our hope in circumstances, schedules, and our spouses. But what do we do when Christmas doesn’t go as planned?

In this episode, Karen invites us to ask a powerful question: Where am I placing my hope this Christmas? If you’re craving a calmer, more Christ-centered Christmas, this conversation will help you anchor your hope in Him alone.

(Psst! If you’re listening with littles, you may want to skip to 3:30, we talk about Santa early on.)

Episode Recap:

• Karen and Emily talk Santa and gift purchasing (1:45)
• What is one thing about Christmas you love & one thing you could do without? (4:15)
• Karen went on an advent deep dive this year (7:59)
• Everyone can use more hope (12:27)
• There’s a lot of grief and sadness at the holidays (14:50)
• Emmanuel means ‘God with Us’ (16:52)
• Our hope cannot be in our circumstances (18:02)
• Where are you placing your hope right now? (19:07)

Scripture: Micah 7:7 (NIV) 
“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. Where are you most tempted to place your hope: your spouse, finances, health, kids’ behavior, or a “perfect” holiday?
2. Have you ever walked through a Christmas marked by grief, disappointment, or loneliness? How did God meet you there (or how are you asking Him to now)?
3. What would it look like, practically, to shift your hope from circumstances to Christ this month?
4. How can you help your kids see Christmas as a season of hope in Jesus, not just presents and activities?

Resources:

• Give today to help us reach more moms with Wire Talk in 2026! boaw.mom/give
• Reach out to https://birdsonawiremoms.com/book-karen-to-speak to have Karen come speak in your community!
• Join our private FB group, BOAW Moms: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BOAWmoms

Today Karen is tackling your questions about navigating the teenage years, from motivating strong-willed teens to handling independence, changing relationships, and the ever-present “that’s not fair!” Karen shares what worked in her home, including how to stay connected to strong-willed teens, helping boys who are pulling away, and parenting through the ever-changing norms of phones, jobs, and freedom.

Episode Recap:

• You can be strict in the teen years and have great relationships with adult kids (4:00)
• Give them a “no, because…” during the teen years (5:54)
• How do I motivate my 15 year old to help out around home? (7:25)
• Help! My 13 yr old thinks he knows everything! (11:37)
• My teenage son is pulling away, I feel sad and rejected (15:35)
• How do you handle keeping things “fair” during the teenage years? (18:40)
• We have to remember our teens are growing up and that’s messy (22:01)

Scripture: James 1:5 (NIV) 
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Discussion Questions: 

1. Where do you struggle most in balancing independence and safety with your teen?
2. Are you naturally stronger in boundaries or connection? What needs strengthening?
3. How does remembering your teen is still maturing affect your responses to them?
4. Who supports you during the teen years, and how can you invite more support?

Resources:

• Reach out to https://birdsonawiremoms.com/book-karen-to-speak to have Karen come speak in your community!
• Join our private FB group, BOAW Moms: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BOAWmoms