Pardon the Mess Podcast

I am thrilled to have a couple I have long admired on the podcast today - Jan and Chris Woodruff. Chris is the CEO and Executive Director of Lighthouse - a place where our families have been serving for years. Serving together as a family has deeply impacted each of their kids. And our family has experienced the same. We are the best version of ourselves when we serve as a family. We talk about Lighthouse as our personal example - but there are hundreds if not thousands of ways to serve as a family. I love that Chris reminds us that we can do this every day in our communities - not just a week on a mission trip. The Woodruffs are just a few months from an empty nest - so they offer a unique perspective as they look back at the benefits of serving as a family. In this episode: 💕Building a family culture of service 💕The impact of serving on children 💕How empathy grows in kids through service 💕Encouragement for busy families Listen to the full episode: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

Are you raising boys? Girls? Both? Are you approaching the stage where they begin to notice the opposite gender. I loved this episode with my dear friend, Heather MacFadyen. She is the mom to four boys and I have two girls. She has always helped me have empathy and greater understanding - especially when I get defensive over an issue with my girls. I think it’s always helpful to sit and understand the WHY behind certain behaviors. In this clip, you’ll see that Heather also offers several practical ideas on how to get boys and girls around each other so it isn’t such an awkward BIG deal when they hit high school. Loved this! Don’t miss Part 1 of our conversation over at Heather’s podcast, Don’t Mom Alone! We start with the early years and how uniquely different it can be to raise boys vs girls. In this Part 2 episode, we chat about: 💕Dating challenges for teens today 💕Ideas on how to help boys and girls interact when curiosity begins 💕How social media and phones are impacting the dating process 💕Seeing behind the homecoming drama - what is going on with each gender Listen to the full episode: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

These two episodes are packed with practical ideas for the little years. It can be truthfully overwhelming to determine how to discipline, redirect, manage chaos while not breaking the spirit of your child. I see a cultural shift from one extreme (punishing behavior out of kids and using fear) to another extreme - letting the kids run the house with no rules. Dr. David and Amanda Erickson have an approach that I really believe in - they combine child development with scriptural truth. I wish I had had them when my kids were younger. In this clip, they give an example of a value in their home: trustworthiness. Then, they explain how they practically teach that value in their home. Don’t miss these episodes - if you’re parenting babies up until teens. I learned so much! In this episode, we chat about: 💕Cultural shifts in parenting styles 💕How to build trust and honesty in parenting 💕How to redirect behavior and manage chaos 💕Ideas for discipline and consequences Listen to the full episode: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

How are you being creative as you teach your kids about the Bible? I was so excited to chat about the idea of “stories” with @dallas.jenkins today on the podcast. As the Executive Producer and Director of The Chosen- he has seen how visual stories can help unlock our understanding of scriptural truth. I have seen this happen in my own family. It can be a song, a sermon, a movie or a book - but God will use something that draws my kids in and they gain a deeper understanding of truth. Is there a movie or show or book or sermon that impacted your life? For me, it was The Passion of the Christ that helped me understand the gospel in a brand new way and accelerated my faith. What about you? Let’s be on the lookout for creative ways we can share scriptural truth with our families! In this episode, we chat about: 💕How The Chosen series changed my neighbor’s life 💕How to use creative storytelling in your parenting 💕How Dallas’ latest movie came about and how it can benefit your family Listen to the full episode: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

In this week’s episode, I have the honor of chatting with Reese - a college-aged friend that I adore. She bravely shares her testimony - one that involves abuse by a coach, a “not guilty” jury decision and God’s faithfulness through it all. Reese wanted to come on and share her story so that parents see that an authentic faith is often born from life’s toughest struggles. THe above clip is from one of my favorite moments in our chat. She gave us some real advice as parents - to let them walk through it. Letting our kids walk through pain feels unbelievable impossible - yet they often find their own faith in that process. Be encouraged, not fearful, that God has our kids in his hands. Always. In this episode, we discuss: 💕Reese’s story of abuse 💕Authentic faith birthed through hardest times 💕How she experienced God so personally 💕Rees’s encouragement for parents Listen to the full episode now: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

Get out the notepad for this one! And let it sit with you for a moment. Lysa shares that “Distrust is sometimes the wisest choice to make.” In this episode with @lysaterkeurst we talk about a critical component of relationships - trust. This can affect our lives and our kids’ lives. Lysa shares that God calls us to forgive others - but we’re not commanded to trust all. Trust is conditional. I had to let that sink in a minute. We discuss: 💕Why trust is crucial to all human relationships 💕How to manage broken hearts and relationships while raising kids 💕How to move towards healing with resilience Listen to the full episode now: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

I need to hear this reminder every day. In a world of comparison - it’s so easy to think that faith and closeness is happening for everyone else. He has the same desire for all of us. It’s so very natural to wonder if God desires us. We wonder… Is he holding out on me? Is he hiding from me? Jeannie assures us all - that God wants us to know Him and feel his presence. Every single one us! In this episode with @jeanniecunnion, we discuss: 💕What to do when you feel far from God 💕How do we learn to put effort into our faith - without feeling we must earn it 💕How to be on your own faith journey - while parenting kids on their own journey 💕Why do we do what we don’t want to do Listen to the full episode now: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

Wow! Wow! I sure did need to hear this moment in my podcast episode with Alyssa Bethke. I am a lifelong people pleaser and do-er. And I often take responsibility for other people when it’s not necessary. My LOVE for helping can cross over into unhealthy behavior. Anyone else feel the pressure to be all and do all as a mom? I actually feel like I have grown so much in this area and have given myself way more freedom to say “no.” This is one of the gifts of your 40s. Along with night sweats and brain fog. :) In this episode, we discuss: 💕The struggle of doing it all as a mom 💕The gift of boundaries and how to say no 💕Finding rest in God’s grace and what He calls us to do Listen now: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

I am capturing this clip for a selfish reason. It’s one of those moments you want to pin and save and replay for yourselves. All of us as women need to pray for eyes to see what God sees. We are so very kind to each other and honestly brutal as we think about ourselves. We are all leaders. We are all wired for a great purpose. Do not miss this empowering and challenging chat with the oh-so-hilarious and insane wise Sophie Hudson this week on the podcast. I was so personally blessed and encouraged by her insights on women and leadership. I believe this idea could really impact our lives and our families and our children as we step into who God made us to be! In this episode, we discuss: ✨Raising sons and what’s she’s learning lately ✨Why women don’t see ourselves as leaders ✨How we can begin to identity our unique gifts ✨How to see yourself as God sees you - finding your unique wiring Listen now: https://lnk.to/pardonthemess

Raise your hand if you've been enjoying our episode swap with Raising Boys and Girls 🙋‍♀️ In case you didn’t or are just wondering what a healthy emotional vocabulary looks like for your family, this episode is the one for you! Tune into the latest featuring Sissy and David from Raising Boys & Girls: lnk.to/pardonthemess

As we kick off our Monday prayer episodes next week, we wanted to go back to our conversation with Priscilla Shirer last month and share her prayer for all parents. Let's carry this with us as we pray over our kids each week this school year 🙏

So many kids walk away from their faith in college - so I am always intrigued to speak to a young adult that kept following Jesus and why they made that decision. @alliekaycooney is the daughter of Andy and @sandrawstanley and a new mom herself! She has always had so much wisdom to share and has encouraged me as a mom of daughters for many years. In this week’s episode, we chat all about the mother-daughter relationship and how we can maintain and even grow that relationship over time. I gained several practical ideas on how to keep growing my relationship with my girls. In this episode, we discuss: ✨Creating a safe and loving environment for daughters ✨How to pass on an authentic faith ✨How to show interest in your child’s life Tune in to this episode, link is in our bio!