#77: If you have older teens, or young adults living at home then you want to listen in today as I talk about a key parenting strategy that will help your young adult child move into adulthood well, but it will also help you make the transitions you need to as a parent. If your young adult is living at home you need to have what I call a Rites of P…

#76: Today we're talking about three words that changed my parenting: love, mercy, and grace. As Christian parents, we are probably very familiar with those words. But do we let them change how we parent? For full transcript: 3 Words that Changed my Parenting Further Listening What does it Mean to be a Christian Parent: The truth about Christian pa…

#75: Feelings of inadequacy can stop Christians from sharing gospel with children. Learn to distinguish conviction from condemnation and how to be in a place where you can confidently talk to your kids about Jesus. For full transcript: I’m a Christian, but feel Inadequate to talk to my Children about Jesus Further Listening: Jesus is our Example as…

Are you tired of feeling like you have to do it all to be a "good Christian family"? We are very quick to judge ourselves as not doing the right things, or not doing enough things to be a good Christian family. This is a false standard. What is a good Christian family anyway! Our goal should be to create a space where our children grow in their fai…

#73 As Christian parents, we all want our kids to know Jesus - and Easter is a time to create meaningful spiritual moments for our children, but we often get overwhelmed by chocolate and other things. In this episode, I’m talking about the importance of planning how you will approach Easter with intentionality and faith so that your children can gr…

#72: We all dream of a family home overflowing with love, laughter, and fun. And yet the reality is daily chaos and trying to balance all the things we have to do along with teaching and training our kids! This week I’m sharing a journaling moment that changed my heart, changed my perspective which in turn changed our family - way back when my kids…

#71: Social media is here to stay so it is something that we as parents have to get our head around. To be honest, regardless of what you think about social media, there is every likelihood that your teen will think something different. How are you going to prepare them to walk wisely? This whole topic is huge and can be daunting. In this epiosode …

#70: 10 practical steps for intentional, relational, heart-focused christian parenting that you can start implementing today. I know that it is hard to stay intentional in the middle of all the chaos that happens in family life - but ironically intentionality is the key to overcoming the chaos. Not aiming for perfect, but aiming to live life with p…

#69: It is about this time of the year that I start going through a mental wrap up. The end of the year is close, Christmas is pretty much sorted, and now my mind goes to planning next year. And we’ll start to see a whole pile of whoo-ha about setting goals on our socials. How do you feel about that? Does this make you groan, knowing everyone is go…

#68 Thinking back over Christmases Past have you ever felt like you're juggling Christmas chaos, traditions and decorations and invitations - and your children’s behaviour! In the middle of all that chaos going on you just wish your kids had a different attitude and be making different choices. Today I’m sharing 3 character traits that could totall…

#67…I want to end the year well - don’t you? And yet it is so busy, here in Australia we have the end of school, and with that comes concerts, and graduations, and parties. We have Christmas - and all that comes with that. A lot of people head off on holidays to catch up with family or just visit somewhere new. It is a crazy busy time of year. Oh y…

#66 ..Having time for a Christmas Bible study – that the whole family can do together is one way to keep Christmas about Jesus and to make it heart-focused. And yet ironically, or unfortunately, it is something that we often push to the side, and regret later that we didn’t do something more specific about Jesus this year! Today I’m sharing some ti…

# 65 This week my one of my daughters shared her testimony at her mid-week Bible study which got me to thinking about the benefit of parents sharing their testimonies or God stories with their children. Listen in as I share some of my reflections this week. >>>FULL TRANSCRIPT/BLOG: Do you talk about your Faith and Share your Testimonies with your k…

#64 This week’s episode is titled: Preparing for Christmas - and yes, it’s that time again! I want to encourage you to start planning for Christmas early (and if you aren’t celebrating - listen to the first little bit cause there’s something you need to start thinking about too!) For those who are celebrating - if we want to be intentional, relatio…

#63 My mum used to talk about the little man sitting on my shoulder making me uncomfortable if I did something wrong, or was about to. This was my conscience. I define the conscience as the work of the heart telling me when my choices are about to go against what I believe is right. We need to teach our children about their conscience. We need to t…

#62 Are you caught in the comparison trap, constantly measuring what happens in your family against others? That is not helpful and it needs to stop. This week I’m talking about living by our priorities as a parent - we can’t do it all, let’s just be honest - and instead work out what is important and put our full efforts into that! I really want p…

#61 Do you ever get frustrated when your kids just step over stuff and seemingly don't notice the mess? It doesn’t matter how long something is on the floor or left undone, they’ll just leave it there. It's as if they have a unique ability to ignore clutter. Well, you're not alone! In today's episode, I want to share what I did, back in the day, wh…

#60: As a Christian parent one of my strongest desires was for my children to know, love and obey God. I knew that as their parent, I was called to disciple them. So like we all do these days - we look for information, for the right information, for good information; resources that I could use to teach my children about God. And yet time after time…

#59 Though we all have many different reasons why we homeschool and how we homeschool I think there would be a common thread that we all want our kids to learn. We may differ on the what to learn and the how to learn - but we want our kids to learn. So when they start being really disinterested regardless of what we put in front of them it is a con…

#58: Listening to our teenagers having different opinions is challenging but it helps them clarify their beliefs and it strengthens your relationship, in fact it is an important heart-focused parenting practice. We must give our teenagers a voice (doesn't mean they are right, or don't have to learn more - but they do need to be able to speak it out…

#57: Sometimes it is the little things that go under the radar that we should be really concerned about as we parent our children. We tend to deal with the in-your-face arguments, temper tantrums, out and out lying, but attitude, now that is another thing. Attitudes are hard to define; they are hard to put a finger on. But if we don’t deal with the…

#56 How do we know that our child is growing spiritually? It is the parents’ privilege to disciple their child as a new Christian but don't make the mistake of making it about them doing all the good Christian things. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: How to know if your Child is Growing Spiritually >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email digging d…

#55: Looking back over our 20 years of homeschooling I share these 5 top lessons for homeschooling highschool. Highschool is about more than book learning. It starts with knowing your why - why are you homeschooling highschool and then are you making choices that will help you and your child reach that purpose and vision? >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: T…

#54: Are you looking to create deeper connections with your children in their faith journey? Join us on Episode #54 as we dive into a topic every parent can relate to: how to guide your kids in making their daily devotional time more meaningful. And I’ve also got a special bonus for you— Heart Booster download with 5 prompts designed to help your c…

#53: Empathy in parenting is key to helping our children’s emotions - it also builds trust and connection in the parent-child relationship. We have to slow down enough to show our children that we are there for them. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: In that Moment Your Kids Need Empathy, not Solutions >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email diggin…

#52: Follow these tips to find Margin even though you live a busy life as a Mum. It’s important as it will give you the time and emotional space to be a heart-focused parent! >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: The Importance of Margin in the Life of a Busy Mum Book mentioned in this episode: Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves…

#51: Homeschooling in pyjamas is easy to do but not always the best for our children and to be honest, not all homeschoolers stay in their pjays! In our family we got dressed every morning and there was a good reason why - listen in as I talk about Why we didn’t homeschool in our pyjamas! >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: The Simple Reason Why we didn’t Hom…

#50: Celebrating 50 episodes of Heart-focused Parenting podcast so going off script to answer questions listeners sent in. Questions about discipline, routine, children being bored, legalism, chores and money - so much in this episode. Even if you didn't send in the question I am sure you've asked at least one of these questions yourself in your ti…

Episode #49, we delve into a topic that may be uncomfortable but is crucial for us as parents to address. Bullying has become a prevalent subject in our society, often discussed in the context of schools and social media.. However, what often goes unnoticed is that bullying can happen within our own homes. We may not immediately recognize it, but b…

Parents should have the goal to raise self-governing kids not independent kids. There is a difference and in the long run it will make a big difference. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: #48: When Raising Independent Kids is our Parenting Goal - there is a Problem >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email digging deeper into the heart-focus topic so …

Episode #46: As mothers, we often find ourselves caught in the never-ending cycle of tasks and responsibilities. The never-ending to-do lists can easily consume our thoughts and leave us feeling overwhelmed. But what if we shift our perspective? What if we choose to focus on what truly matters? Today we explore the timeless saying, “A mother’s work…

Episode #46: Many parents worry that homeschooling may leave their children with knowledge deficiencies compared to their traditionally schooled peers. But let's take a moment to challenge that perception. In today's episode, we'll explore the idea that education gaps are not exclusive to homeschooling. In fact, they exist in all educational settin…

Episode #45: Parenting changes and becomes more like mentoring as our children grow older and become teens and young adults. Learn what mentoring is and how to make a shift as a parent. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: Supporting your Teen and Young Adult children as a Mentor more than a Parent >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email digging deepe…

Episode #44: When we have children of different ages in our family we must parent the younger children as intentionally and as consistently as we parent the older. Sharing three different ways we get things out of whack in our family when we rely too heavily on the oldest and forget to train the younger. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES/BLOG: When you are Parent…

Each child has unique talents, abilities and interests; it is the parent's job to help discover and encourage those skills to grow. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES: Episode #43 5 Ways to Encourage your Child’s Unique Talents and Interests to Grow >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email digging deeper into the heart-focus topic so you can make real chan…

When our child makes a bad choice parents must respond with love, compassion and wisdom instead of being upset at their behaviour. Learn how to respond in that first moment so you really can reach your child's heart. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES: Episode #42 How to Respond when Your Child makes a Bad Choice >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email di…

Does your child have a teachable heart or do they resist your instruction? Learn what is going on in the heart, what God says about it, and what you as a parent can do. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES: Episode #41 What to do when your Child doesn’t have a Teachable Heart? >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email digging deeper into the heart-focus topic…

The Bible has a lot to say about how we relate to people and these verses, though they don’t specifically address marriage, living by these verses will enrich our marriage relationship. This episode covers 7 Bible verses often overlooked when thinking about marriage. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES: Episode #40 What skills does the Bible say you need for a succ…

Create a faith-filled homeschool as you pass on faith, values, develop gifts and teach skills because of who God is. >>>FULL SHOW NOTES: Episode #39 Does Discipleship have a Place in a Successful Homeschool? >>>Join HEART-BOOSTERS (free) here. Weekly email digging deeper into the heart-focus topic so you can make real change in your family. PLUS Re…

Once a year the Christian church takes time to specifically remember the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The expressions of this celebration (for I do see it as a celebration) has been taken over by commercialism and the secular world. But it doesn’t have to be so in your family home. Listen in as I talk about how you can use East…

As a parent what do you think of when you hear Jesus command to go forth and make disciples? Matthew 28:19-20, says: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (NIV) Do you think of parenting as a way of o…

One of the most important things we can do for our children is to help them feel safe and secure. When children feel secure they are better able to make wise choices, connect with people, learn, and accept themselves. It can be challenging though for parents to know exactly how to create that sense of security for our kids. Today I’m sharing five i…

I believe that self-care is an everyday activity that Mums need to make happen. But how do we do that when there are so many different things pulling at our time, emotions and energy. And yet if we don’t look after ourselves we won’t be able to deal with all those things. So this week we are looking at how does a busy mum take a break, how does she…

#34 - Last week we talked about creating the family standard in our home that we love God and love others. And I particularly focused on how we can teach our children to love others - or to honour others by looking at the One Another verses in the Bible. As I applied that in our family - way back in the day - I had a realisation that as my kids liv…

How do we teach our children to love others, to be others aware, to treat others as precious. All these phrases probably roll off your tongue as easily as they roll off mine - this idea of our children putting others first, treating others with respect and even honour was something that we wanted for our family. It is a very counter-cultural idea t…

In a classroom situation, the teacher works very hard at creating a classroom environment conducive to learning – a creative, safe, engaging place for children to learn. We immediately envisage posters on the wall, artwork hanging from the ceiling, and a display in every corner but this is only an external expression of a creative, dynamic learning…

#31 - Have you ever paused and asked yourself if you respect your child? In the middle of their moment - are you responding in ways that shows respect to them? Is that possible - is it even necessary? I believe it is. In fact, I believe that respect is a cornerstone for heart-focused parenting. Listen in as I talk about what respect is, what it isn…

Episode#30- Here at heart-focused parenting, I often talk about being intentional. One thing Peter and I did many years ago that helped us to be intentional was we spent a weekend thinking about our purpose and our vision for our family. As we’ve found out over the years - the real benefit isn’t so much in the succinct statement but rather in the d…

Today’s episode is a little different than usual - I have a handful of questions people have asked - so I’m calling this episode: Questions People Ask about Christmas. Original hey!! Over the last few episodes, we’ve looked at how to create a heart-focused Christmas - by building up your children’s beliefs and values as you celebrate Christmas. I d…

Episode #28: Do you set goals at the beginning of the new year? To be honest I like to set goals towards the middle to end of January to avoid all the New Year hype. But now is a good time to think about goal setting - or even better - to think about putting off goal setting - till you are in a healthy frame of mind, after the holidays, so that you…