Mom to Mom Podcast

We live in a crazy, mixed-up world, vastly different from the world 20 years ago. Back then, there were no cell phones, only very rudimentary computers, no internet or social media and the world seemed much calmer as we all had more time to spend in face-to-face communication. We weren’t looking more at our phones and less at the world around us, the way many of us do today. Just stand in line at a restaurant or sit at your gate in the airport: ninety percent of people are staring at their phones rather than interacting with the ones around them! But even 20 years ago, parents still needed to impart basic life skills to children, skills all kids need to learn before they move into life as an adult. There are several critical ones that Kate, Jamie, and September are going to chat about today. Listen as they hit on some of the major topics for the current culture we are living in right now. For more information and resources mentioned in this episode, see the show notes at our Mom to Mom Podcast website.

Months after Jamie wrote her first book, Homeschool Bravely, she was being interviewed on a podcast. And while she doesn’t remember much about that particular show, she does remember one particular question the host lobbed her way. She was asked, do you still have fears when it comes to your mothering? The podcaster was specifically referring to fears about homeschooling, and so Jamie's answer took the conversation in a different direction than she was shooting for. Jamie answered, “Yep, I fear what will happen when everything I have poured into them over the years is now theirs to do with as they will. I pray they will hold fast to their faith and the truth of God’s Word. I pray 2 Timothy 3:14 for them, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.” But then we have to let those fears go, give them to the Holy Spirit and trust that in God’s great love for them, He’ll continue to chase after them even when our role in their lives shifts. That interview was nearly 4 years ago. Jamie now has a grown adult child, and yet she still nurses some of those same fears.  Today, Jamie hopes that Kate and September, in their hard-won wisdom, can calm not just her fears about parenting adult children, but all of our fears.  We can use all the advice we can get! So, let's turn to our mentor moms and come expecting lots of answers!

For Christian families, discipleship that goes to a child’s heart will give them a passion for Jesus like nothing else.  We mamas do our utmost to raise our children according to biblical principles and standards as we do our best to model Christ’s love to them and everyone in our lives. To chat all about how to focus on discipleship and why it’s so critical for our kids, we’re welcoming Leslie Nunnery, an author and mom of four who along with her husband, David, founded Teach Them Diligently, the nation's premier source for gospel-centered homeschool events. Leslie has been on our podcast before, on Episode 53 which is all about finding your parenting vision and is well worth listening to. She’s the author of two books and she’s written multiple homeschool courses. But whether you homeschool or not, Leslie is full of wisdom about how we can focus on discipleship and why it’s absolutely critical to Christian families, especially in the times we live in.  Visit Teach Them Diligently, for resources and experiences to strengthen Christian families, at teachthemdiligently.net. You can also register for Teach Them Diligently Conferences, by clicking here. If you do attend, please come to our Mom to Mom panel presentation and say Hi! We’d love to meet you! Ep. 53: Find Your Parenting Vision with Leslie Nunnery Ep. 55: Discipline that Connects to the Heart with Jim & Lynne Jackson As always, we’d love to connect with you on Instagram and Facebook. 

A few years into her mothering, Jamie decided that she wanted to put more emphasis on Easter in her home. It bothered her that Christmas–the day set aside to remember the birth of Christ--had become an entire season of celebration and yet Easter–the day honoring His ultimate sacrifice on the cross and His miraculous resurrection was just defined by most of the evangelical church, herself included, with a few lilies at the front of the sanctuary, maybe some new dress clothes most kids didn’t want to wear, and a basket of candy. She wanted her kids to see that both moments of Christ’s life–His birth and His death–were equally important in their faith. In this episode, Kate, September, and Jamie chat about Easter and how they’ve found ways to center the season on Christ. We’d love to know how you mark the sacredness of Easter in the ordinary of your days. Find us on Facebook or Instagram and tell us all about it!

Today we’re welcoming Jess Ronne to the podcast. Jess is the author of Sunlight Burning at Midnight,  founder of a non-profit, and mom of 8 including  her son, Lucas, born with profound disabilities. Jess became a widow and single mom at 33, after losing her husband to a brain tumor. She had 4 children under 6, and after several years, she met Ryan Ronne, a widower with 3 children. They married and had a child together in 2015. At that point, her son Lucas was entering puberty, and raising him became more challenging every day. She and Ryan sought out resources and support for caregivers, but, try as they might, they couldn’t find any community  for caregivers desperate for a break. So she founded her own non-profit, The Lucas Project, to help families with special needs. She realized early on, her efforts needed to include respite care for the caregivers, advice to help all of us to recognize their needs, and practical ways we can help.  Not only do disabled individuals need lifelong care, but their caregivers do as well. Resources & Links: Sunlight Burning at Midnight, the new book by Jess Ronne Unseen: How We’re Failing Parent Caregivers and Why it Matters, an unfiltered, honest documentary that takes a glimpse into the lives of the Ronnes, to enable a change for millions of caregivers and their families. The Lucas Project, providing recognition, respite and resources to family caregivers of those with special needs. Jess Ronne's blog, jessplusthemess.com The Ostrich and Other Lost Things by Beth Hautala

“But so-and-so has one.” “It’s all your fault.” “That’s not fair.” As moms, we’ve all heard these dramatic declarations on occasion–often at full volume and packaged in tears. But while in their immaturity, kids can be prone to selfishness, if left unchecked these self-seeking desires can morph into an unholy trinity of Me, Myself, and I.  Today, Kate, September, and Jamie chat about curbing this “self” epidemic prevalent in our culture in adults and kids alike. Some folks would call this me-first attitude "privileged." Others might use the word “spoiled.” But for the sake of this conversation, they'll use the word "entitled." We’d love to meet you on Instagram or Facebook, so feel free to follow us there. And, we’d be deeply grateful if you left us a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, and shared our podcast with other moms who’d love to join us.

Mamas, God designed sex and it is a great gift to us in marriage, but sometimes it can also lead to frustrations and hurt feelings.  The world has such a fractured view of sex, but we think part of the reason sex has become so distorted in our culture is that we’re not having these kinds of conversations.   We're sure you can tell by the title of this episode that this is not going to be a G-rated discussion! Now would be a great time to hit pause if there are kids around and find a way to listen privately, perhaps even alone with your spouse. We’re talking about sex today with our friend Francie Winslow, the host of the Heaven in Your Home podcast and an outspoken advocate for Biblical intimacy between husbands and wives. Join us for this hard, yet importantly honest, discussion.  Find more from Francie at her website, www.franciewinslow.com and as always, join the conversation with us on Instagram at @momtomompodcast.

It can be a big challenge coming up with healthy meals for your family day after day. But we all want our families to be as healthy as they can, right? Food has a huge impact on maintaining our health and gives us the energy to tackle all the tasks we deal with every day. It’s tough, yes, but it’s certainly not impossible to make healthy choices,  and I'm sure many of you are doing it successfully. But what about the woman who’s not? Her day can quickly get overwhelming, especially when she’s got littles at home. Or, maybe she works or has a part-time job and the time to prepare simply slips away. It's easy to feel guilty and anxious about what you’re eating and feeding your family, and we certainly don’t want this episode to put any more pressure on you than you might be putting on yourself. But, it’s an important area to examine and see what simple changes might work for you and your family.  So, lets dive in and chat about the proactive things we can start to do to eat healthier. Also listen to Ep. 12: Meal Planning Hacks for the Busy Mom for more healthy eating ideas! We’d love to meet you on Instagram or Facebook, so feel free to follow us there. And, we’d be deeply grateful if you left us a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, and shared our podcast with other moms who’d love to join us.

As women, we live in a world of confusion and comparison over our bodies. Even our womanhood is under “attack.” Raising girls in this next generation with healthy body image is even more challenging in a day when social media heavily influences what we see, think and choose to do or not to do with our minds and our bodies because a healthy body image begins in the mind! A lot of times, women in our circles speak of childbirth or motherhood as an attack on their body image, but we have been doing some deep thinking on this and if we are being completely honest, any struggles we had with our bodies began long before we had any children! Listen in this episode as we discuss our own struggles with body image, and share some of the ways we've found to make peace with how God has fearfully and wonderfully created us!  You can join the conversation over on Instagram at @momtomompodcast!

In episode 92, The Well-Read Mother with Jennifer Pepito, Jennifer shared with us all about how reading great books has shaped her motherhood. As we alluded to in that episode, we have been shaped by books too! So in this episode, we want to flip the mic back around and have our chance to share with you some of the books we continue to go back to – books that have mothered us.   Be sure to grab our list of the many favorites that we just couldn’t get to in this recording – books that maybe didn’t fit one of these specific categories but which has walked through a different season with each of us! The list is at the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website.

The best kind of mentor for motherhood is a real life one, but sometimes that’s just not possible. When needed, a book can be a great alternative.  Fortunately, we've had Titus 2 examples and the wisdom of other trusted women in our lives because we’ve always surrounded ourselves with good books. Voices of encouragement, discipleship, and practical help have rung out to us from these pages and have helped shape our day-to-day faithfulness to our husbands, our children, our ministry commitments, our walk with the Lord…pretty much every area of our lives! In today's episode, Jamie Erickson and September McCarthy speak with Jennifer Pepito, author of Mothering By the Book: the Power in Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy. They discuss the importance of reading aloud to your kids, making time for personal reading in the busyness of our day, and options for the mom who isn't a reader. We’d love to know what books have been meaningful to you. Which ones do you find yourself going back to again and again for wisdom, for spiritual discipleship, for practical advice? Join us over on Instagram or Facebook to continue the discussion.  Resources & Links Mothering By the Book: the Power in Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy by Jennifer Pepito, www.motheringbythebook.com The Peaceful Press Shop Jennifer Pepito on Instagram at @thepeacefulpress and @jenniferpepito

When was the last time you took a "date night?" Is this an outdated, old-fashioned idea that seems elusive to busy parents who cannot even find time for a minute alone?  This episode is all about date nights and how we make it happen even when we aren’t feeling the “love?” Maybe that’s you? Or maybe you have tried date nights and have just run out of ideas or haven’t considered the importance of this time away? Don’t forget to check out our date night list in the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website (and this time, we will include them on our Instagram feed as well.) Try a date night. What do you have to lose?

In today's episode, we're talking about the little years, and although we have all graduated or semi-graduated from those days, we walked through them for a long time and the conversation is never dull or old when we remember or re-invite others to the table to talk about those very formative and busy, crazy years. For links to some of our favorite practical hands-on helpful tools and resources, as well as ideas to help you bring the Word to life in the lives of your littles, please visit the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website!

Tis the season. Or at least ‘tis almost the season. Now is the time to start making a Christmas list for all the special people in your life. We don’t know about you, but we don’t want the marketing gurus of Target and Walmart to determine what to put under our trees! Instead of just searching the sales ads or the store shelves for some random something, we find it more helpful to mull over the recommendations of trusted friends – folks who have used and enjoyed certain things and can vouch for their value. So, that’s what we do in today's episode – we'll be the friends that share what we’ve enjoyed, what our people have enjoyed – in case... like us... you find it helpful to have a few recommendations to get you started as you plan gifts for your people. For links to all the gift ideas mentioned, please visit the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website!

There’s a spiritual battle going on in our culture today, Mama, and it’s a battle for our children’s hearts, minds, and bodies. Just turn on your TV and watch the news, or scroll through Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram. It’s everywhere your kids are and everywhere you don’t want them to be.  What can we, as moms, do to stem the tide of corruption targeting our kids? In today's episode, September, Jamie and Kate chat about how they are raising Christian kids in an unstable world and how we can help our children to not only stay pure, but desire purity.  “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:24. “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15. “He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king shall be his friend.” Proverbs 22:11 “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked (worthless) think before my eyes.” Psalm 101: 2b-3a. “Finally brethren, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.” Philippians 3:8