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Fall is officially here and we love all the changes that the season brings. One of the festivities the season brings is Halloween. This is an unofficial holiday that our culture has unfortunately taken and used to celebrate the dark and evil. While we don’t want this discussion to focus on that part of the season, we do want to acknowledge that it exists and that as moms we are raising our children amidst this culture.

On this episode we featured our good friend Kristin McCrary, who was actually the very first guest we had on Mom·ing--Episode 2! Kristin is homeschooling a boy and a girl, has been married for 18 years, she’s an art teacher, and she's a self proclaimed holiday-lover!

Kristin shared with us how putting Halloween in a box and telling our kids to not touch it or that it doesn't exist can actually prompt them to want it more. It is important that we have open and honest discussions with our kids about Halloween, what it can be used for,...

It’s been said that life is just a series of choices, and while that is true, as believers in Christ we know that all things work together for our good and God’s glory when we live a life that is surrendered to Him.

But what about those times when we don’t make good choices? Sometimes the negative consequences of those choices can follow us for the rest of our lives, but yet again, with God, He makes everything beautiful in His time and restores the years that have seemingly gone to waste.

Our guest for this episode was Desiree Watson, mom to four children, 2 girls and 2 boys ages 3-18. She’s been married for 4 years and we were so thrilled to have her on the show today to talk about how God can redeem all things unto Himself.

Desiree shared her amazing story with us and shared Genesis 50:20 in which Joseph says to his brothers, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save...

If you are currently in the stage of being a single mom, we hope this episode is encouraging to you, and if you aren’t in this stage, perhaps you may walk away with a deeper understanding of what single moms face and you can be an encouragement and help to them. 

On this episode of Mom·ing we interviewed our dear friend Kari Marsolais, who is currently homeschooling her two children, a boy age 7 And a daughter age 9. She happens to be currently battling cancer and all that goes with that. 

Kari gave us some very honest insights to the challenges of raising children without a spouse, as well as some really wonderful stories of how God has met them in many ways, big and small. God often uses the body of Christ to fill in the gaps and meet the needs of other people. Kari encouraged us to be on the lookout for single parents in our circles, workplaces, churches, or neighborhoods that may not ask for help, but would certainly welcome it. 

Motherhood...

Happy Mother's Day, Mamas! Stacy and I had an awesome time in May recording some sweet episodes for y'all. 

For our first episode we were invited to be interviewed for Mother's Day by our pastor, Rob Salvato, on his podcast, The Basics of Life Conversations. He asked some funny and serious questions, and it was fun to be on the other side of a podcast interview for a change :)

For the next two episodes Stacy and I interviewed the two moms who have had the most influence on us as moms: ours! We both know how incredibly blessed we are to have had these incredible women raise us. Moms have such a HUGE role in their children's lives, in fact, I would go so far as to say they have the most influence over their kids in most families.

Rachel’s mom, Yvonne, has been married for 39 years, has three grown daughters, and two grandsons. She helps to oversee the women’s ministry at our church among many other things. 

Stacy’s mom, Anita,...

It can be difficult in today’s culture to be intentional about anything; it’s much easier to just let life happen and take things as they come. In the mom world, however, there is great value in parenting with intent: the intent to listen to our kids, to teach them how to make good choices, the intent to raise good students with great work ethic, etc. If we are not proactive in training, teaching, and guiding our kids, the world and its influences will do that job for us. 

Moming with intention sounds great, and it’s definitely easier said than done. This episode we had the pleasure of welcoming Christy Duff to the show. Christy is an awesome homeschooling mom who is currently raising teenagers and young adults. She is a pastor's wife, speaker, and all around FUN mom! She has made it one of her goals to be a mom who is intentional about raising her kids. 

On this episode, Christy highlighted three key areas that we can (and should) live with intent...

The daily routine is pretty much ‘survival mode’ for most moms. From cooking, cleaning, working, and driving around town to wiping tears, snot, or other unfortunate body parts, moms are only thinking about how to get through the day. Who cares what’s going on in the world, because honestly, we should be proud that everyone in our family is alive, fed, and clean, right?!

While caring for our families is one of our top priorities, it’s still crucial that we are at least vaguely aware of what is going on in our world and in our country. It does affect us and our families!

On this episode of Mom·ing we talk to homeschooling mom of five, and the founder of A Mom on Politics, Jamie Reitenour. Jamie encourages us to know the source of what you're reading, to ask yourself questions like, "Who wrote this? Can I find another source to confirm it? Was it taken out of context?" So much of the 'news' these days is not information or facts; it's opinion and...

Resources are listed at the bottom of this post.

The heart attitude of our children is probably at the top of our prayer list as a mother. As moms who love Jesus, it's safe to say we can narrow all of our parenting goals into one: we want to raise kids who hear God's voice and obey it!

On this episode of Mom·ing our guest Debbi Bryson gave us some wonderful encouragement about feeding our spiritual health as mothers. It takes intention, purpose, and loads of grace. 

When it comes to alone time in God's Word, some moms are floating adrift in a sea of anxiety, despair, and too high of expectations. Others feel shame and defeat for not being in God's Word for a week (or months! or years!) 

You cannot stay in that place, Mamas. It's time to be intentional about reading God's Word and letting it soak into your soul. Take time everyday. Set realistic expectations for yourself depending on how old your children are. Don't let busyness crowd out your time with...

Hope is a word most of use throughout our lives. "I hope this new recipe turns out. I hope my teenager is being honest. I hope my marriage will survive." In the Bible, the word hope has so much more weight. 

We can define Biblical hope as: the absolute expectation of coming good. I don't know about you, but I need me some good news these days!

How can we have hope in a topsy turvy world? When up is down, wrong is right, dark is light, and bad is good, it can be hard to find the truth, peace, and grace we need to walk through each day. 

On today's episode we invited familiar Mom·ing guest Nicole to talk about keeping an eternal and heavenly perspective as we raise our kids and make plans for the future. Nicole shared with us the loss of her daughter Sadie, and how that experience changed the way she viewed her life. Eternity was all of a sudden much clearer. Whether you're in survival mode or cruise control, knowing the end game and what waits for us...

Moms are expert multitaskers, or at least we try to be. I think a lot of mom guilt comes from the fact that there is so much required of us that we will inevitably fail at some point. Time to take a break, Mama!

Today's guest, Nicole, is a homeschooling mother of seven and definitely knows a thing or two about priorities, balance, and finding sanity in the chaos. 

On this episode, Nicole shared her list making tool with us, which helps give her a quick visual of where she is in her day and where she needs to end up. She also makes one for each of her children so they can stay on task, and she can give a quick verbal shout out to see where everyone is.

As wonderful and organized as this all sounds, more often than not, reality comes crashing down in the form of unexpected grandparents visiting, impromptu trips to the library, last-minute WalMart runs, and waiting in three-hour DMV lines. Instead of seeing these as interruptions, Nicole encouraged us to see them as opportunities...

*Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions about sexual content. 

Wise as serpents; gentle as doves. This needs to be the mantra that defines how we approach and deal with this topic.

On today's episode we discuss how to approach the topic of healthy sexuality with our kids, how to address it when something goes sideways, and ultimately what God says about healthy sexuality.

Sexuality in our culture is one of the most important topics we face as parents, but sadly, it’s not something that is very openly discussed. Or it’s unfortunately brought up only when an issue is uncovered with our kids. Our guest is mom of 5 children, Karrie, and she gives some great practical wisdom on how to navigate through these seemingly murky topics. 

It's been said that our young children are not seeking out sexual content online, instead, it is seeking them out. Pornography is a multi-billion dollar...