Bonus Episode Faith Film Double Feature Kay Wyma Jennifer Garner Christy Beam

In this episode, I’m excited to welcome back Ruth Chou Simons. In her newest book, When Strivings Cease, Ruth invites us to rethink our preoccupation with approval and the striving that comes because we feel like we’re forever missing the mark. It offers a deeper, abiding understanding of what God’s generous, unmerited favor really accomplishes in and through us when we receive the gift of grace. As a mom of six boys, an author and an entrepreneur, Ruth shares from her experience of feeling like she needed to strive to move forward as a creator and how learning to trust God through the experience of mothering in the little years made all the difference.  “Sometimes I feel like a late bloomer, but there's no such thing in God's timing and God's economy of ideas and opportunities. And those 10 years of changing diapers and just keeping my children alive felt like things were happening so slowly. But God taught me more in the slow waiting, hidden moments of a season that didn't look the way I wanted it to. And those things are fruitful. They've created the fruit that you see now.” We talk about how to reset when you feel striving taking over, how to stop ourselves from demanding perfection/striving from our kids and how to preach truth to ourselves when we need to be reminded that we can trust God instead of living in fear.  Connect with Ruth:  Website: ruthchousimons.com   Facebook: facebook.com/gracelaced  Instagram:  @ruthchousimons  Links Mentioned:   BOOK: When Strivings Cease  [EP 23] Beauty creator. Unity builder. Mom. –Ruth Simons  [EP 255] Become What You Behold :: Ruth Chou Simons  [Ep 278] Giving Kids a Firm Foundation :: Troy Simons Featured Sponsors:    Uncommon Goods—To get 15% off your next gift, go to uncommongoods.com/dma.  Thrive Market—Go to ThriveMarket.com/DMA to get $20 off your first order and a FREE gift.

4 Okt 202149min

Sometimes you have to preach truth to yourself when the days are long and you feel inadequate. And oftentimes we need a friend or two to point out the truth. Jamie Ivey is on the podcast today to be that friend for us. She brings us into her personal struggles as a mom and reminds us that we aren’t alone in the struggle. “It brings me so much comfort that God is not surprised by our diagnoses. He is not surprised by our families. He's not surprised by our struggles. He's not surprised by our insecurities, but he is a God who's willing and ready to be with us in the midst of those.” If you need a reminder that God made you to have your kids. He made your kids to be who they are with all their abilities and challenges. And he didn’t just create us and stand away distanced as we struggle in life. This episode is for you.  We talk about Jamie’s new children’s book God Made You to Be You, but dive much deeper into what that message can mean to us as moms and how we can encourage our kids as they relate to others who are different than them.  Connect with Jamie:  Website:  jamieivey.com  Facebook: facebook.com/TheJamieIvey  Instagram:  @jamieivey Links Mentioned:   Book: God Made You to Be You More at jamieivey.com/kids  [Ep 191] A Safe Place to Share Messy Stories :: Jamie Ivey  Featured Sponsors:  Mathnasium — Whether you are looking to get your kids back on track or want to ensure they’re staying ahead with their math studies, find a center near you at mathnasium.com and contact them for a free in center or online consultation.  StoryWorth — StoryWorth is a meaningful gift you and your family can treasure forever. Get started right away with no shipping required by going to StoryWorth.com/DMA. You’ll get $10 off your first purchase.

27 Sep 202150min

I’m excited to welcome back Sissy Goff and David Thomas to the show to talk about helping our kids foster friendships.  As licensed counselors, working at DayStar Counseling Center in Nashville, they provide support, encouragement & compassion to children, adolescents & families in need through counseling. We talk about the nuances of boys vs girls in friendships, what to do if your kid is the bully, helping kids when friendships change or friends move, and how to take cues from our kids when it comes to their friendships “It is really more important to prioritize teaching kids to be friends than to be concerned with them, having friends. And when it comes to our worries and fears about friendships, we can't have more emotion than they do over whatever's going on for them relationally. Often that will make them either feel like we're not safe to talk to, or it'll just make them dam up these feelings.” Connect with David & Sissy:  Website:  raisingboysandgirls.com  Facebook: facebook.com/raisingboysandgirls  Instagram:  @sissygoff & @raisingboysandgirls  Podcast: raisingboysandgirls.com/listen  Previous Podcasts with David & Sissy: [Ep 119] The Art of Nurturing Boys :: David Thomas  [Ep 141] Raising Girls :: Sissy Goff [Ep 160] Emotional Milestones :: Sissy Goff & David Thomas  [Ep 311] Getting Brave About Anxiety :: Sissy Goff  [Ep 315] Understanding Boys Better :: David Thomas Links Mentioned:   BOOK: Are My Kids on Track? BOOK: The Invisible String  Featured Sponsors:  Mathnasium: Whether you’re looking to get your kids back on track or want to ensure they’re staying ahead with their math studies, find a center near you at mathnasium.com and contact them for a free in center or online consultation.  HelloFresh: Go to HelloFresh.com/dma14 for up to 14 free meals, including free shipping.

20 Sep 20211h 2min

Their real names are Melanie Shankle and Sophie Hudson, but they’ve been blogging for a long time on the internet as Big Mama and BooMama. In addition to being authors and speakers, they also host the fun podcast The Big Boo Cast where they talk about all the important stuff: faith, family, friends, football, fashion, and food. Plus, of course, their hair. They join me for a mom friends episode where we talk about parenting teens, launching kids to college and letting go of mom guilt.  “If you were a bad mom, you wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about if you were a bad mom. So the fact that you're feeling that guilt is like, you love your child, you're showing up, you're trying to do all the right things. And you just have to trust that God's grace covers the rest of it because they're going to be things you get wrong.” You won’t want to miss the fun and funny Melanie and Sophie. I consider them some of my mentor moms and they offer up a lot of candid advice and wisdom for playing the “long game” of parenting.  Connect with Melanie:  Website: thebigmamablog.com    Facebook: facebook.com/melanieshankle  Instagram: @melanieshankle   Connect with Sophie:  Website:  boomama.net  Facebook: facebook.com/SophieHudsonBooMama  Instagram: @boomama205 Links Mentioned:   The Big Boo Cast   BOOK: Grace Upon Grace Journaling Devotional: Trusting God No Matter What [EP 12] The Antelope in the Living Room with Melanie Shankle [EP 58] Home is Where My People Are :: Sophie Hudson [Ep 273] Navigating Friendship :: Melanie Shankle  Featured Sponsors:  BetterHelp: Visit betterhelp.com/DMA and join the over 2,000,000 people who have taken charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. Special offer for Don’t Mom Alone listeners: get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/DMA.  Rothys: Keep it fresh this summer with washable shoes and bags from Rothy’s. Head to Rothys.com/DMA to find your new warm weather favorites today.

13 Sep 20211h 2min

Even without the overwhelm of the pandemic exhausting us both physically and emotionally, life inevitably brings storms our way. Storms that we can ride out with God or storms that we allow to sweep us away.  Sally Clarkson, author, speaker and mentor of moms, joins me to talk about how to weather the storms of life with grace and hope. We talk about how some anchors we can put down in stormy times, pushing into friendships, filling our cups when we are depleted and parenting our kids through life’s disappointments.  Sally also shares about how weathering life’s storms helps us care for others who are experiencing hard times better.  “Sometimes in my life I think Jesus wanted me to grow up a little bit because it was in facing my storms, learning to walk through them that I was humbled. I learned a lot. I had more compassion for other people going through storms.  I feel like the story that you live becomes the platform for your compassion for other people.” Connect with Sally:  Website:  sallyclarkson.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealsallyclarkson/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sally.clarkson/  More Episodes with Sally: [Ep 54] How to Own Your Life :: Sally Clarkson  [Ep 107] Create a Home of Belonging & Becoming :: Sally Clarkson [Ep 149] Loving Your Difficult Child :: Sally and Nathan Clarkson [Ep 233] Cultivating Friendships in a World of Isolation :: Sally Clarkson  Links Mentioned:   BOOK: Help, I'm Drowning: Weathering the Storms of Life with Grace and Hope PDF: A Written Lament - She Reads Truth WORKBOOK: Mourning and Dancing from She Reads Truth BOOK: This Beautiful Truth by Sarah Clarkson Featured Sponsors:  Athena—Show your skin you care with the Athena Club Razor Kit! Sign up today and you’ll get 20% off your first order! Just go to AthenaClub.com and use promo code dma. Thrive Market—Go to ThriveMarket.com/DMA.  Join today to get $20 off your first order AND a FREE gift!

6 Sep 202148min

Self differentiation, emotional enmeshment and emotional cut-off… We got some new-to-me terms to learn in this episode, but you’ll be very glad you stick with us for the definitions. And I promise there won’t be a pop quiz at the end. 🤣 I’m chatting with Nancy Houston, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Sex Therapist specializing in individual, marital, and sexual issues. We go deep on some important concepts that I wish I’d learned earlier on in my marriage.  The big one is self differentiation. Who am I separate from motherhood and marriage? And how can I stay a healthy individual in those roles without swinging too far either direction. Nancy shares practical tips and breaks down big concepts to get us going down the path of self discovery.  “Health is being able to hold the middle where we can have some grace for ourselves and one another. Where we can have some quiet. Until I can stop judging myself so harshly, I'll never stop judging you.” Connect with Nancy:  Website: nancyhouston.net   Facebook: facebook.com/asknancyhouston   Instagram: @asknancyhouston   Links Mentioned:   [Ep 206] Overcoming Barriers to Sexual Intimacy :: Nancy Houston  Positive Intelligence The Saboteurs  BOOK: Love & Sex: A Christian Guide to Healthy Intimacy Ripple Effects of Healthy Sexual Connection :: Francie Winslow Hula-hoop-o-logy :: Vela Tomba Featured Sponsors: Stitch Fix Kids: Schedule a fix today and get 25% off when you keep everything in your fix. Go to Stitchfix.com/DMA    Don’t Mom Alone Book: Pre-order a copy today. Feel out the form over at dontmomalone.com/book to get freebies like 6 exclusive convos with Heather and a free copy of the audiobook. Also get an invite to join her launch team.

30 Aug 202154min

If God is holy, then He can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then He can’t sin against you. If He can’t sin against you, shouldn’t that make Him the most trustworthy being there is? I’m thrilled to have Jackie Hill Perry back on the podcast to share about her much anticipated book, “Holier Than Thou”. She walks us through Scripture, shaking the dust off of “holy” as we’ve come to know it and revealing it for what it really is: good news. As it turns out, God being “holier than thou” is actually the best news in the world, and it’s the key to trusting Him. “Holiness is really abstract, but what does it have to do with me? The truth is it has everything to do with the way we live because the way we engage with the world around us is symptomatic of what we believe is true about God.” We also chat about how Jackie doesn’t “mom alone,” about her growing family and the holy calling of motherhood. This is a powerful episode!  Connect with Jackie:  Website: https://jackiehillperry.com  Facebook: facebook.com/jackiehillperrypage  Instagram: @jackiehillperry  Links Mentioned:   BOOK Holier Than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him [Ep 214] Gay Girl, Good God :: Jackie Hill Perry   FEATURED SPONSORS: Stitch Fix Kids—Try today at StitchFix.com/DMA and you’ll get 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix! Hello Fresh—Go to HelloFresh.com/dma14 and use code dma14 for up to 14 free meals, including free shipping!

23 Aug 202148min

How we feel in our bodies affects so many facets of parenting-- and in some ways you might now expect. My guest Mary Van Geffen joins me to talk about 4 Ps that can help us practice body awareness as we work on parenting our kids (even the spicy ones) with empathy and connection. “When in doubt I say choose connection rather than control. We're not going to have a lot of control and we don't have the time or the energy to follow through on things. So let's make sure we're connected because connection is the honey and it will help us to have more control.” We go in depth on how paying attention to your Presence, Posture, Proximity and Phase of your Cycle can change how you parent and bring awareness of how to honor your body and rest when you need it.  Connect with Mary:  Website:  maryvangeffen.com  Instagram: @maryvangeffen  YouTube: youtube.com/maryvangeffen   Links Mentioned:   Embodied Motherhood Worksheet with 4 Ps  Coaching with Mary use code: PODCAST for $5 off Dr. Carolyn Leaf, neuroscientist Parenting Siblings School — Join Mary’s Parenting Siblings School to treat jealousy, constant bickering, mean words, and tattling with confidence.  How To Stay Calm When Your Child is Acting Crazy PDF  Featured Sponsors: Love Every — Take the guesswork out of your child’s play. Choose Lovevery TODAY and get free shipping when you sign up to receive your Play Kits at Lovevery.com/DMA BetterHelp —Visit betterhelp.com/DMA and join the over 1,000,000 people who have taken charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. Special offer for Don’t Mom Alone listeners: get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/DMA.

16 Aug 202158min