It Can Be Messy...

For our final podcast with Jake Leigh, Missions Coordinator at Elmbrook Church, we have a chance to hear the Leigh family's heart for serving others through Safe Families. Listen in to hear about what they have celebrated and where the challenges have been for them as they pursue the call the Lord has given them for their family. For more information on Safe Families, please head for their website here: https://milwaukee.safe-families.org/

What exactly is "mom brain" and how does it work? In this episode, we invite Jake Leigh back to talk through communication dynamics between moms and dads.

In this episode, we welcome our good friend Jake Leigh, Missions Coordinator at Elmbrook Church. He shares with us the intentionality with which he and his wife have determined to focus on God's love, loving others, and hospitality as core family values. We also get a chance to hear a few funny stories and insights into what it is like to be the dad of a three-year-old.

In the final podcast of our series with Tolu Osemweiga, we talk about our children, their mental health, and the importance of listening. Tolu Osemwegie, MS., LPC, CRC - https://ipressreset.com/ Tolu is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor who passionately provides a supportive, encouraging, and hope-filled space for her clients to address their areas of concern.

Seeking to help our children make time for God is part of our continued conversation with our guest, Tolu Osemweiga. Listen in as she shares how she intentionally encourages her boys to know God's word. Tolu Osemwegie, MS., LPC, CRC - https://ipressreset.com/ Tolu is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor who passionately provides a supportive, encouraging, and hope-filled space for her clients to address their areas of concern.

Raising missionally-minded children starts with intentional modeling. Our guest, Tolu Osemeweige, shares how her family of origin formed her missional thinking and how this impacts her parenting now. Tolu Osemwegie, MS., LPC, CRC - https://ipressreset.com/ Tolu is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor who passionately provides a supportive, encouraging, and hope-filled space for her clients to address their areas of concern.

We welcome licensed counselor, Tolu Osemweige to It Can Be Messy. Tolu came to the United States from Nigeria 10 years ago on October 7, 2011. Listen in as she shares her experience of adjusting to a new culture and gives us ideas on how to welcome someone who has newly arrived. Tolu Osemwegie, MS., LPC, CRC - https://ipressreset.com/ Tolu is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor who passionately provides a supportive, encouraging, and hope-filled space for her clients to address their areas of concern.

What are some practical ways that your family can start to explore living on mission? Listen in as we give some thoughts on where to start.

Part of living missionally as a family is exploring other cultures. And this exploration is not for intellectual pursuit or simple curiosity, but with the intention of friendship, understanding, and being a light in this world. Join us as we talk about inviting open and honest conversations with our friends from all around the world.

Living on mission doesn't always mean serving outside of our time zone, but it almost always means serving, at least a little bit, out of our comfort zones. How do we embrace this in order to lead our family toward missional living? Give this episode a listen for some ideas.

Part of living as a missional family is reaching out to others with the very best we have, even when it's a challenge to do so. Listen in as we chat about guiding our kids toward generous living.

Welcome to Season 2! We are starting off this season looking at how to become a Missional Family. Join Leslie, Jan, and Jen as they explore the call we have to join God in His mission in the world.

In our final episode with guest Dr. Lisa Sinclair, she offers wisdom in understanding how our own introduction to sexuality can impact our responses to our children. She also addresses how to speak to your kids about sexuality and identity, as well as resources to engage when concerns arise. Dr. Sinclair is a Doctor of Ministry and Missionary Care, has her Masters in nursing, is certified in Psychiatric Mental Health, and has a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. Dr. Sinclair is also the author of Restoring Paths: Sexuality for Christian Leaders. You can find her book through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Dr. Sinclair also recommends Dr. Juli Slattery and you can find her resources on Amazon as well.

Dr. Lisa Sinclair continues to be our guest on this episode as we explore the question of when to talk about sexuality with our children. She also gives insights into how to engage questions about gender with our kids. Dr. Sinclair is a Doctor of Ministry and Missionary Care, has her Masters in nursing, is certified in Psychiatric Mental Health, and has a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. Dr. Sinclair is also the author of Restoring Paths: Sexuality for Christian Leaders. You can find her book through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

It can be messy when our children are struggling with mental health issues. Join us as we talk with Lisa Sinclair about helping our children to be mentally healthy, especially as we identify potential issues. Dr. Sinclair is a Doctor of Ministry and Missionary Care, has her Masters in nursing, is certified in Psychiatric Mental Health, and has a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. Dr. Sinclair is also the author of Restoring Paths: Sexuality for Christian Leaders. You can find her book through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Join us as we chat with Dr. Lisa Sinclair as she talks about the challenge of living with kids through a pandemic. What can you do to help your kids proactively, and what are the warning signs that might indicate your child is experiencing trauma? Dr. Sinclair has practical suggestions for helping your kids. Dr. Sinclair is a Doctor of Ministry and Missionary Care, has her Masters in nursing, is certified in Psychiatric Mental Health, and has a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. Dr. Sinclair is also the author of Restoring Paths: Sexuality for Christian Leaders. You can find her book through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

So much of what our children learn in their most formative years comes from who they observe around them. Especially their parents! In this episode, we explore different ways to engage your child in prayer. Listen in as we chat about making prayer a priority for our children by making it a priority for ourselves.

Our kids pick up on all kinds of clues from us - constantly. From very little on, they mimic our actions and our attitudes. In this episode, Jan, Leslie, and Jen talk about our own attitude on Sunday mornings as we head to church and how that transfers to our kids - for better or worse.

One of the key components to pursuing our faith is allowing the word of God to dwell in us richly as it says in Colossians 3:16. We want this same thing for the children and students in our lives. Join Jan, Leslie, and Jen as they begin to explore the routines, rhythms, and healthy faith practices we can pursue in order to model them for the next generation.

In this final episode of this series, our guest Carol Garborg shares a great story about the vastness of Lake Superior and hurling stones, as hard as we can, as far as we can, to illustrate the greatness of God's forgiveness. Join us as we talk about what forgiveness is, and what it is not, and how to help our kids to forgive as God forgives. You can find more from Carol at www.carolgarborg.com.

In this episode, we are talking with Carol Garborg about using everyday items to spark faith conversations with our kids. Carol is an author and Bible teacher to families who has a great way of making really abstract ideas like God, prayer, and forgiveness concrete and practical, easy for children to understand. Carol gives us some practical examples from her own experiences, and from her blog site. Check out her books and other resources: www.carolgarborg.com and sign up to receive weekly ideas on talking to kids about God's Word.

What do we do when the pressures of life get too much for us? We are talking out with our special guest Carol Garborg, author and creative Bible teacher for families, about lessons learned from a pressure cooker. Join us as she shares helpful suggestions about avoiding comparison, safely diffusing life's pressure, and taking care of ourselves so that we don't explode all over our families. Check out Carol's blog post to hear more! https://carolgarborg.com/pressure-cooker-how-to-survive-parenting-pressures/ You can also find more great resources from Carol on her website at www.carolgarborg.com.

Okay, sometimes we really get it wrong. We overreact, and overcorrect, and blow everything way out of proportion. In this episode, we talk about how to avoid the big bang and set natural and realistic consequences that we can all live with.

One of the most challenging issues for all of us comes when we know that we need to discipline our kids, but we wonder how to do it fairly, wisely, and creatively. We want to make sure that we are actually training, focusing on their character, instead of simply punishing them. Join us as we discuss how to calmly hold a standard for our kids.

In this episode, we talk about learning to listen to our kids, no matter what their method of communication. Join us as we share how to ask good questions, learn when to be quiet and really observe, and how to make ourselves available and present at the time that works for our kids. We also talk about the challenge of finding other people that will listen to our kids well. We're glad you're here!

How can we manage the expectations that we have for our children? We talk in this episode about the pressure that we can put on our kids if we don't acknowledge their gifts and strengths. There is a danger when we place our own hopes and dreams on them. The set of behaviors or accomplishments we desire may end up being more about us rather than who they have been created to be! Join us as we talk about the challenge of knowing our kids well, and helping them to discover all that God has for them.

So we have talked about times when kids mess up, out of a good heart, just by accident or immaturity. And the times when we mess up as a parent, through our frustration or exhaustion, saying or doing things we now regret. But what about those times when we know that our child acted out of rebellion, defiance, or simple disobedience. . . then what do we do? How can we disciple in ways that are good for our children, and keep the most important things in front of us? Join us as we share stories, and think through ways to guide our kids even in these tough situations.

What about when we mess up as parents? How do we recover if we get so frustrated that we lose it, yell, or explode? What do we do then? Join us as we consider ways out of our own mess through asking our kids for forgiveness, taking a break to step back, and looking ahead to what we really want for our kids. We all have times of weakness, failure, and just messing things up, so let's talk about how we can turn even those embarrassing times around for good.

Welcome to “It Can be Messy . . . on the way to becoming a faith-filled family.” Join us, Jen Leslie and Jan, as we talk about how to navigate the crazy place that parenting is these days while also trying to help our kids know and love God. Jen shares a story of the mess on the door to her basement, that inspired the name of our podcast. We hope that our conversations inspire you, make you laugh, and encourage you that we are all in this together. We would love to hear from you.