Parenting Pathway

When it comes to their future after high school, young people have a dizzying array of choices and options made available to them, and with so many choices, anxiety levels can increase. One way to give young people the time and the space to understand their unique purpose and identity as they grow into adulthood is to choose a gap year. A gap year is a time set aside between high school and college or career to gain insight, perspective, and experience. Listen to this week's episode of the Parenting Pathway Podcast to learn more about gap years from Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl, High School Ministry Pastor Nathan Kocurek, and special guest Adam Martin, Vice President of Operations for Kanakuk's Link Year program. The post The Value of a Gap Year first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In this episode of the Parenting Pathway Podcast, Family Ministries Pastor Dave Carl and High School Ministry Pastor Nathan Kocurek dig into the topic of inviting our kids into a relationship with God. How do we inspire our kids to love God? It can't be something we push, demand, or discipline to achieve. This is a heart condition, so how do we encourage our kids to open their hearts to God? The post Invite Your Kids into a Relationship with God first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In this episode of the Parenting Pathway Podcast, pastors Dave Carl and Nathan Kocurek discuss the challenging nature of forgiveness. Listen as they ask questions and discuss what's standing in the way of accepting forgiveness from God. As parents, we need to surrender and embrace God's forgiveness before we can invite our kids to receive it also. Wouldn't you want to give your kids the gift of a lifelong relationship with a loving and forgiving God? The post The Thing About Forgiveness first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In this week's return to the Parenting Pathway Podcast, Family Ministries Pastor Dave Carl invites Elementary Ministry Leader Barbara Deatherage to share her struggle to overcome a lifelong battle with legalism and redefine what it means to be a follower of Christ. The post Freedom To Follow Christ first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In this week's episode of the Parenting Pathway podcast, Family Ministries Pastor Dave Carl and High School Ministry Associate Pastor Nathan Kocurek discuss a topic many have wrestled with but usually don't want to say out loud for fear of being judged: What is the purpose of Christianity? The post The Singular Purpose of Christianity first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In part two of our Parenting Pathway Podcast series on mentoring, Pastors Dave Carl and Steve Fischer talk about what it looks like to be a mentor and a mentee. We at Stonebriar strongly believe that spiritual growth is best achieved through the guidance and encouragement of fellow believers. The intimacy that develops in a mentor/mentee relationship is the best path to promoting spiritual development. The post The Value of Mentors to Our Kids, Part 2 first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

The more time we spend with kids and their parents, the more we have become convinced that all of our kids are desperate for mentors in their lives. The ability for our kids talk to someone they trust and that you trust, but is not you, is so important and life-giving to them. You can say something to your kids 1,000 times, but it usually takes someone else saying the same thing for them to hear it. Here at Parenting Pathway, we always end each podcast episode with the phrase, "Don't do life and don't do parenting alone." The power of someone beside you, pointing your kids to Christ, is overwhelming. This week on our Parenting Pathway Podcast, Family Ministries Pastor Dave Carl and Care Ministries Pastor Steve Fischer discuss the importance of mentorship in our lives and the lives of our children. Listen to: The Value of a Mentor to Our Kids, Part 1. The post The Value of a Mentor to Our Kids first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

This week on our Parenting Pathway Podcast, Pastors Dave Carl and Nathan Kocurek are stepping into the topic of failure in our kids’ lives. The very nature of children growing is a process of failing and learning from it. Whether they are a toddler learning to walk or a teen learning to drive, each life experience requires the fine tuning of their skills. Failing is a natural part of the learning process, but allowing our kids to fail, and watching them work through the consequences of that failure, is significantly more painful for parents than if we endured the failure ourselves. Listen to today's podcast episode to hear Dave and Nathan unpack why parents are resistant to allowing our kids to fail, why failure is important in kids’ lives, and how to help our kids boldly pursue opportunities and success. The post Encouraging and Allowing Failure first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

As a parent raising boys in today’s America we struggle with helping them find their way to manhood and be the leaders and spiritual influences that God has called him to be.  Dr. Ron Archer—pastor, speaker, and author join Pastors Dave Carl and Nathan Kocurek to talk about his new book The Power of One Man: How God Uses Men Like You to Change the World. The post Parenting Pathway Podcast: The Power of One Man first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In the last year, screens have crept into every area of our lives. At first this seemed like the best solution, but now as the we start to expand life outside our pandemic bubble the pull to stay tethered to our screens seems unbreakable.  Are you, or members of your family finding it hard to step into face-to-face relationships? This week, Student Ministry Youth Pastor, Nathan Kocurek talks with David Murrow, author of Drowning in Screen Time, on our Parenting Pathway Podcast. The post Drowning In Screen Time first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In Part 2 of our conversation with our resident 30 something Sarah Mcfarland, and Julie MacManus our Mom raising a teenage daughter, Pastors Dave Carl and Nathan Kocurek break down what this new generation is looking to find. In our discussion we understand that this generation is looking for purpose more than anything.  Unfortunately, with God taken out of most of our society, they are seeking purpose in various causes. They will donate time, money and energy.  The cause is giving them purpose. and the cause is becoming the idol. So we breakdown what young adults are looking for and how can the church engage in a way that draws them in, but also makes them comfortable and shows them God's purpose for their life. The post Part 2: Modern Expectation of Christianity first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

Parenting Pathway Podcast looks at the strained relationship between the church and the millennial generation. This generation came of age in a period of time when institutions and leaders are perceived to have failed them. This generation is fearful of offending people and not being accepted The question is how do you show Christ's love, open the doors of the Church to a generation who does not understand or see the value of being loved by and serving Christ. The post Part 1: Modern Day Expectations of Christians first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In this Parenting Pathway Podcast Part 2, Pastor Dave Carl and Student Ministry Pastor Nathan Kocurek  talk about all the losses and disappointments our children are facing in this COVID-19 world. They focus on the steps to helping our children move through their loss experience, recognize the validity of their feelings and embrace their feelings without becoming victims of their circumstances.  The post Part 2: Help Your Kids Overcome Disappointment first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

In the Parenting Pathway Podcast Part 1, Pastor Dave Carl invites Student Ministry Pastor Nathan Kocurek to talk about the all the loss and disappointments our children are facing as a new and very different school year is approaching. How we train our kids to respond in the face of such adversity will have a big impact on the adults they will become. Since the goal is to teach resilience, we discuss how to step into their lives in such a way that does not bring shame upon their feelings, but encourages children to grow as a result of their experiences. The post Help Your Kids Overcome Disappointment first appeared on Parenting Pathway.

What does "grace" mean? What difference would it make if I drank deeply from it and lived in the joy and freedom God has offered us? It would change everything, absolutely everything. A misunderstanding of grace can keep you from the very relationship with God you were created to enjoy. In this podcast episode, Pastor Dave Carl talks with High School Pastor Nathan Kocurek and Associate Pastor Brandon Fletcher to dive into why one of the best gifts in Christianity can be so confusing.

As you look across the landscape of your current life, you may see it's one marked by loss—you might have lost someone close to you, lost a job, be missing a milestone moment with family and friends, or simply lost your freedom to come and go. We are all losing something these days. You might be telling yourself that you are fine, and you just need to get through. But are you fine? We are taught from an early age to get over it, to push through, etc. We are not taught to grieve well. We seldom see others publicly grieve. But if you take a step back, you might see that you are experiencing both emotional and physical pain these last few weeks. You may ask, "Is this grief?" In today's episode of the Parenting Pathway podcast, we will hear from Family Ministries Pastor Dave Carl, Care Ministries Pastor Steve Fischer, and Women's Pastoral Leader Chrissy Smith. Listen in as these three discuss what grief looks like and how we can understand that there is healing and closure on the other side—if we grieve well, which can only be done with the help of wise friends and guidance from God.

Recently, Melissa D’Arabian stopped by to talk about her new book, Tasting Grace: Discovering the Power of Food to Connect Us to God, One Another, and Ourselves. She is the winner of the The Next Food Network Star, season five, and the author of many cookbooks including The Ten Dollar Dinner. In our conversation, Melissa [...]

We are excited to invite Lauren Reitsema, author and esteemed speaker, to share her new book In Their Shoes with us. In her book, Lauren challenges us to look at divorce, remarriage, and blended families from a child’s perspective.

In this episode of the Parenting Pathway podcast, Pastor Dave Carl introduces you to our new Associate Pastor of Junior High Ministries, Gary Steffes. Gary followed a unique path to ministry through professional hockey at the ECHL and AHL level.

We recently invited Julie Hornok, a friend of our church's special needs ministry, to sit with us and talk about her new book and the ministry she leads for parents of kids with autism. Julie shares her personal journey of watching her daughter Lizzie slip away from world at about 9 months, and the crushing weight of an autism diagnosis.

“So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s a Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you’ll move mountains.” Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Parenting Pathway Podcast with Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl and Student [...]

This is an unusual topic for Parenting Pathway, but after taking Dr. Andi Thacker’s class on Death and Dying at Dallas Theological Seminary last year, I knew it was a topic I wanted to dig into on our podcast. It would be easy to pass over this and say, “That doesn’t apply to me.” But [...]

Are you totally comfortable talking to your kids about sex? If you’re not… Welcome to the club. Few things create more anxiety in a parent than the thought of “The Talk.” Debby Wade, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Sex Therapist, and Certified Sex Addiction Therapist who is also a committed Christian, joined us for [...]

Authenticity: The quality of being genuine; real; an origin supported by unquestionable evidence; verified; one’s true nature or beliefs. The courage to live authentically is not natural in this comparison-based society. But we would challenge you to consider authenticity in a broader concept than just looking perfect on social media and being a mess at [...]

In our podcast this week, Pastor Dave Carl talks with Linda Wylie, Pastoral Leader of Student Ministries, and Chrissy Smith, Pastoral Leader of Stonebriar Women, about the transitions women face along life’s journey and how so often our identify gets lost along the way. Changes and transitions occur throughout our life cycle, whether it is [...]

Recently, we had the opportunity to invite Dr. Andi Thacker to speak at a networking luncheon for churches and staff involved in special needs ministry around our community. This presentation contained so much information that anyone working with or volunteering in any children’s and student ministries would find value in spending an hour listening to [...]

In this Parenting Pathway Podcast, Pastor Dave Carl has invited Young Adults Associate Pastor Brandon Fletcher and Student Ministries Associate Pastor Nathan Kocurek to talk about what they see in their ministries as the kids raised by helicopter and lawnmower parents start to reach adulthood. They share in this podcast that most of these young [...]

We are back this week with the next episode of our Parenting Pathway Podcast. Pastor Dave Carl is having a conversion with author, entrepreneur, and mom Kay Wills Wyma about her new book, Not the Boss of Us: Putting OVERWHELMED in its Place in a Do-All, Be-All World. That’s a crazy long title, but Kay shares [...]

This episode of our Parenting Pathway Podcast discusses children with ADHD. Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl has a conversation with Shannon Thornton, M.A. LPC with Chrysalis Behavioral Therapy and Counseling who specializes in working with parents and children struggling with ADHD and Executive Functioning.

Parenting Pathway Podcast Volume 3.2 – Pastor Dave Carl leads a discussion about teen anxiety with a team of counselors from Watershed Initiative. In Part 2 of this Parenting Pathway Podcast series, we are discussing parenting a child who suffers from disabling anxiety. Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl has a conversation with Jeri Marshall, Licensed Professional Counselor, [...]

In our latest Parenting Pathway Podcast series, we are discussing parenting a child who suffers disabling anxiety. In part one, Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl has a conversation with Jeri Marshall, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Erin Johnson, Licensed Processional Counselor Intern with Watershed Initiative. We will look at how the changing environment around our kids with the [...]

In part two of our Parenting Pathway Podcast series Raising Children in a Modern World, Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl has a conversation with Linda Wylie, Ministry Leader of High School Ministries, and Chrissy Smith, Pastoral Leader of Stonebriar Women. Following our prior conversation—where we discussed helping our children to see the value of living [...]

We see this in our ministry to teens and families more than you would think. We meet a family in crisis because the husband is having an affair, or the wife is emotionally disconnected. We meet teens who have watched hours and hours of porn to the extent that they are isolated, scared, and depressed [...]

In part one of our Parenting Pathway Podcast series Raising Children in a Modern World, Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl has a conversation with Linda Wylie, Ministry Leader of Student Ministries, and Chrissy Smith, Pastoral Leader of Stonebriar Women. There is a growing trend with young people today, especially those raised in church: they believe [...]

In part three of our Parenting Pathway Podcast: Raising Boys to be Christian Men,  Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl continues his conversation with Associate Pastors Nathan Kocurek and David Ake about raising boys to be men in a culture where boys are seldom taught about manhood, using John Eldredge’s book The Way of the Wild Heart, [...]

In Part 2 of our Parenting Pathway Podcast: Raising Boys to be Christian Men,  Family Ministry Pastor Dave Carl continues his conversation with Associate Pastors Nathan Kocurek and David Ake about raising boys to be men in a culture where boys are seldom taught about manhood. Using John Eldredge’s book The Way of the Wild [...]

Parenting Pathway Podcast Volume 1.1 – Hosted by Pastor Dave Carl. A discussion about raising boys to be men in a world where men are not taught what that looks like.   When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, “I am about to go the way of all the [...]

Written by Student Ministry Pastor Nathan Kocurek and High School Ministry Leader, Linda Wylie There is a biblical foundation for our conversation about dating and sexuality. Looking at 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, we see that Paul’s letter to Corinth is about living differently in a fallen world. Paul explains that believers are to have different attitudes toward [...]

A crisis is occurring in younger generations as children who grew up in churches turn away from their faith as adults. Kids may have the book knowledge required to navigate church today, but do they have the heart for Christ that will carry them through the challenges life will bring? Do you worry your own children or grandchildren are going through the motions but not really connecting with Christ in a personal way?

This unique three-part series (click here for part one) is about how to take your Christian view and values and apply them to your child’s involvement in sports. Whether at the level of recreation youth sports, club youth sports, or school sports, all parents are faced with the challenge of making the right investment of time [...]

Have you wondered if the Bible has anything to offer in helping parents navigate today’s technological world? How do we keep our kids safe from what might harm them while also teaching them to use technology responsibly? How do we model a healthy balance between use of technology and awareness of the dangers? If you [...]

This unique three-part series (click here for part two) is about how to take your Christian view and values and apply them to your child’s involvement in sports.It is almost impossible to raise a child in North Texas without crossing paths with sports. Families in this area are drawn to sports for entertainment, sports for competition, [...]

This class will lead you to discover not only your child’s physical and mental preparedness for the next stage, but also help you to look at your approach to parenting in the coming years. As your preteen pushes for independence, the challenge of parenting is to let go, allow more personal responsibility, and expand the [...]

Does this sound familiar? Yesterday morning went something like this: Me: Liv. Liv! Olivia! Olivia Marie! (at the top of my lungs) Liv: Crickets. Me: Stomping up the stairs, muttering under my breath, Disrespectful!  She’s ignoring me!?  I bet she’s just hoping I’ll give up.  I’m not giving up!  In fact, I’m the opposite of giving up. [...]

For parents of a preschooler, the debate over whether to start school or wait a year is especially hard. The decision seems daunting, and the impact of a wrong decision seems overwhelming.  We encourage you to listen to this class online with our own Director of Stonebriar Preschool Pals, Kelley Wilkinson. As an expert in [...]

Presented by Family Pastor Dave Carl and Dr. Andi Thacker, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC, RPT-S There has never been an easy time to raise kids, but it seems harder today. Remember the nursery rhyme from your childhood: “What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice; that’s what little girls are made of.” [...]

The world is full of messages that depict sex as fun, enticing, and powerful. Our children are growing up in a world where sex of any type is celebrated and even embraced. Without even trying, our children are being barraged with sexual messages that devalue and degrade them. At the same time, the Christian church [...]

Boys have a purpose but they need someone to tell them what that is. Raising Boys To Be Boys helps guide parents on how to bless their boys with purpose and adventure. Replay the lesson audio below. (If you experience an issue playing the audio in your web browser, please click on the “Download” link [...]

How can we as parents protect our kids? How can we break free of it ourselves, and how on earth do we live with someone who is struggling with an addiction to porn? Replay audio of the Sunday, April 17 Straight Talk event where discussion took place for this powerful subject from a biblical perspective. [...]

Do you remember the Bourne Identity movies? It’s the classic amnesia scenario where a character doesn’t know who he is or what he’s doing. Can you imagine walking through life aimlessly wandering? Many people do. The thing is, if you’ve never been instructed and affirmed about how and by Whom you were created, you are [...]

Join Kelley Wilkinson as she highlights the best points from Craig Jutilia’s book “Faith and the Modern Family” and shares the steps to creating healthy bonds with your family.  Replay the audio and leave your comments below to join the discussion.