Podcasts about homeword center

Interested in positive strategies for happier children, adolescents, and families? Check out Sunshine Parenting Coaching! Show notes & links available here. In this episode, Audrey's guest is Jim Burns, President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. Jim speaks to thousands of people around the world each year. He has close to 2 million resources in print in 30 languages. He primarily writes and speaks on the values of HomeWord which are: Strong Marriages, Confident Parents, Empowered Kids, and Healthy Leaders. Some of his most popular books include: Confident Parenting, The Purity Code, Creating an Intimate Marriage, and Closer. Jim and his wife, Cathy, live in Southern California and have three grown daughters, Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi; two sons-in-law, Steve and Matt; and two grandchildren, James and Charlotte. The aim of Jim (and Homeword)'s work is to strengthen and equip parents, couples and families. They believe in strong marriages, confident parents, and empowered kids. Big Ideas Our kids (no matter their age) need us to be their biggest cheerleaders. Sometimes our kids need tough love, which is not meanness. Our adult children really need us to listen. When our kids become adults we have to make some changes in our parenting role. Becoming independent can be an awkward, painful process, but we can support our kids through it. Today’s young adults “meander” towards independence compared to previous generations and that changes parents’ roles, too. Your role as a parent changes throughout your child’s life. We need to have healthy boundaries and refrain from coddling our adult children. Quotes Jim Burns: But the truth of the matter is what brings them back is setting a tone of what I call awe, affirmation or affection, warmth and encouragement...I want to be the top cheerleader in their life. Jim Burns: Even if they've not launched or they're not doing so well or if they violated values, the bottom line is they're asking this question, do you still love me? And I really believe that our kids need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt, Hey, I still love you and we're going to get through this process together in that. I think that's the best thing. We as parents can offer our kids at the same time know we do have to set boundaries and hold expectations but in a way very different than when they were children. Jim Burns: I had to realize that experience is a better teacher than advice. Jim Burns: Unsolicited advice is taken as criticism. Audrey: Even if they're doing things that are crazy or not right, you can still affirm them and be their biggest fan. Audrey: It is cool at camp that other adults can pour into kids and see that in them. Audrey: For our kids, if we can just focus on the strengths that we see and help them grow those, it's remarkable. It will help them throughout childhood and adulthood. Jim Burns: If we have somebody who believes in us, that is just huge. Jim Burns: Tough love is not meanness. Tough love is saying they're going to have to experience some of the consequences for them to learn. Audrey: I think part of what parents struggle with, and I know that you find this too, is just the fact that when you're becoming independent, it's kind of a painful, awkward process. So it's not this smooth line where you go to college and suddenly you're mature or you get a job and you're suddenly mature. It's painful and there's two steps back, one step forward. It's a lot of ups and downs. But what I like about your book is it's very much what, as a parent, we need to do help the process. Audrey: The truth is that none of us are ever really ready for something we haven't done, even adulthood. And we have to remember that when we started doing things, we weren't ready either. Jim Burns: So they go away and they are more ready than we are ... Not totally ready, because there are some bumps along the way. But you know, I think part of it is a process of us getting ready and us realizing that we have to reinvent the relationship. Audrey: Be comfortable with a little bit of discomfort or sometimes a lot of discomfort, which is when your child's going through a difficult time trying to do something on their own. You know, the innate desire as a parent is to jump in and rescue. That's not what they need. Audrey: I do want to encourage parents to read your book and I think it's good to read as early as you can, even during adolescence or sooner to kind of prepare yourself emotionally for the journey so that you're ready for it. But even if you have already a 30 year old, you could still read it and get some great insights from it. Jim Burns: You help them launch by sometimes showing empathy, showing care, but not necessarily giving them the answer unless they ask you. Resources & Links Homeword Doing Life With Your Adult Children: Keep Your Mouth Shut & The Welcome Mat Out Understanding Your Teen: Shaping Their Character, Facing Their Realities Confident Parenting Doing Life With Your Adult Children Online Video Course Related Ep. 75: Begin with the (Parenting) End in Mind 9 Secrets for Raising Kids Who Become Thriving Adults Ready for Adulthood Check-List for Kids Ep. 122: How to Connect with Your Teen with Chris Thurber One Simple Thing: Post a Quote or Mantra Each summer at camp, we select ten positive, inspirational quotes and post them on the doors of our bathroom stalls. Campers often offer the quotes, word for word, as something they learned at camp. Why not create some positive messages in your home to help remind your family about the positive practices that will enrich each of your lives? Repetition and reminders in the form of signs, notes, and postings are a great way to reinforce important lessons. If you have a favorite quote or mantra, tell your kids about why you like it and post it in a prominent location. I guarantee your kids will remember it (even if they make fun of you for posting it!). Here are some of my favorite quotes: Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.  -Mother Teresa A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. James Keller People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou We rise by lifting others. Robert Ingersoll Throw kindness around like confetti. If you want more kindness in the world, put it there. A great attitude becomes a great day which becomes a great month which becomes a great year which becomes a great life. Maybe you’re not meant to fit in. Maybe you’re supposed to stand out. Please don't hide your inner awesome. The world needs it. Be the reason someone smiles today. If you decide to post a quote or mantra, I'd love for you to share it with me.  My Favorite The Dibble Institute: Free Resources "The Dibble Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that promotes relationship training for youth—especially in the context of dating and romantic connections. Our goal is help to young people build a foundation for healthy romantic relationships now, and for lasting, positive family environments in the future." Explore all the great free resources at The Dibble Institute, including their series of Tip Sheets which include: Guiding Teens & Young Adults in Developing Healthy Romantic Relationships Tips for Parents: Coping During the Coronavirus Pandemic Listener Question This week's listener question came in via email. If you have a question you'd like me to cover on a future episode of the podcast, email me or record a voice message!   Do you have any suggestions for how to start doing family meetings? Family meetings are a great way to make sure you have a set time to talk as a family, plan ahead, and communicate about values and other things that are important to you. Most of us didn't experience family meetings growing up, so it might feel awkward at first calling your family together for a meeting. In our jobs, we know that regular communication, often in the form of weekly or monthly meetings, is vital to keeping people informed and up-t0-date. The same holds true for our families. Even if you start with just one meeting per month, it's a great way to open up communication about topics that don't normally come up in day-to-day life. In the resource section of my book, Happy Campers (p.230-231), I offer some suggestions for how to format your family meeting. You can get a A PDF version of the resource by signing up below.

dadAWESOME We're on a mission to add LIFE to the dad life. We're passionate about helping dads live fully alive as they lead their kids to God's awesomeness. Thanks for helping us reach more dads by passing along these resources: Subscribe to the dadAWESOME YouTube channel Text a few other dads and encourage them to check out www.dadawesome.org and subscribe to the podcast Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts Join dadAWESOME Daily – Simply text “dad” to 77222 to begin receiving a daily text message with prayers, Bible verses, dad tips & other fatherhood inspiration. Jim Burns Jim Burns is the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. Jim speaks to thousands of people around the world each year. He has close to 2 million resources in print in 30 languages. He primarily writes and speaks on the values of HomeWord which are: Strong Marriages Confident Parents Empowered Kids Healthy Leaders. Jim and his wife, Cathy, live in Southern California and have three grown daughters, Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi; two sons-in-law, Steve and Matt; and two grandchildren, James and Charlotte. Conversation Notes 1:00 - DA Foundations 1:50 - 10-Day Mom Awesome Challenge - https://dadawesome.org/momawesome 2:42 - Jim Burns intro - 45 yrs investing in leaders. HomeWord 5:00 - Home Word is the largest parenting ministry in the US. “Strong marriages, confident parents, empowered kids, healthy leaders.” 6:20 - Doing Life with Your Adult Children - unsolicited advice is taken as criticism. 8:52 - “Three good things” - On a birthday, say three good things about the person. 9:45 - “Relationships can't all be super serious, sometimes they need to be serious fun.” 11:45 - Intentional changes he has made as a dad 12:58 - Being the transitional generation - you either recover or repeat patterns 13:51 - having an affair with his job 19:49 - “Some of the greatest mentors I've ever had are people I've never met” 21:00  - But if we parent too much on circumstance and chance and we don't take a step back and be intentional about it, dads are really intentional when it comes to work, but at home they're just like ok so what are we going to do today. And I'm saying to dads lead, but don't lead in a weird way, lead by being intentional. And so you be the person who is most fun, you be their greatest cheerleader, but at the same time don't be letting your wife do all the discipline and you try to be Disney Land dad because you don't know what to do, or you want to be liked, or your too tired because you had a hard day at work…. 24:05 - “I'm still to this day not a confident parent, but I look back  and go wow, some of those decisions we made were good decisions.” - comparison with working out. 24:48 - Having intentionality around sexuality. 26:12 - “The more positive, values centered sex education kids receive at home, the less promiscuous they will be and actually the less confused.” 29:05 - “When a dad is intentional with his daughter, with his time, not about sex, the questions will come easier.” 33:58 - Two areas he would have nudged himself to put more focus when the kids were little: Engage them more spiritually, and appreciate the moments with them.  “Kids are leaving the church, but there is a 300% better chance that kids will stay in the church if they have faith conversations in the home.” 36:25 - Be intentional about finding mentors - start finding time with people who you respect.  Video Interview: https://youtu.be/MCc_sovSJ0g Links: HomeWord Jim's Blog on Marriage and Family Jim's books: Amazon  

Great coaches have what's called a "Coaching Tree." It's the legacy of former assistants who have gone on to great things in their own right. The longer they coach, the farther and wider those branches stretch. No youth pastor has a deeper, wider, and more influential tree than Dr. Jim Burns. Jim Burns has been involved in youth ministry since the time he was saved at 16. He  even turned down a baseball scholarship to Stanford in order to study for the ministry at then little-known Azusa Pacific University. He led a growing youth ministry in California, where he mentored a high school kid named Doug Fields. Jim became a key part of the Youth Specialties speaking team, working closely with the legendary Mike Yaconelli and Wayne Rice. He has written resources which now have more than 2 million copies in print. He eventually turned his rich wisdom towards parents, and became the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific. He and his wife Cathy still speak regularly at parenting and marriage events around the country, and are the proud parents of three grown daughters and proud grandparents of James and Charlotte. Even with his many achievements and rich legacy, Jim still gets teary-eyed thinking about the students who didn't get it. It's a quality that makes him a great youth pastor. We know you will enjoy our conversation with the gracious and wise Dr. Jim Burns.  

Great coaches have what's called a "Coaching Tree." It's the legacy of former assistants who have gone on to great things in their own right. The longer they coach, the farther and wider those branches stretch.No youth pastor has a deeper, wider, and more influential tree than Dr. Jim Burns.Jim Burns has been involved in youth ministry since the time he was saved at 16. He  even turned down a baseball scholarship to Stanford in order to study for the ministry at then little-known Azusa Pacific University. He led a growing youth ministry in California, where he mentored a high school kid named Doug Fields. Jim became a key part of the Youth Specialties speaking team, working closely with the legendary Mike Yaconelli and Wayne Rice. He has written resources which now have more than 2 million copies in print. He eventually turned his rich wisdom towards parents, and became the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific. He and his wife Cathy still speak regularly at parenting and marriage events around the country, and are the proud parents of three grown daughters and proud grandparents of James and Charlotte.Even with his many achievements and rich legacy, Jim still gets teary-eyed thinking about the students who didn't get it. It's a quality that makes him a great youth pastor.We know you will enjoy our conversation with the gracious and wise Dr. Jim Burns. 

Jim Burns is President of HomeWord and Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. He is the author of numerous books and an expert on marriage and family ministry. His most recent book, Doing Life with Your Adult Children: Keep Your Mouth Shut and the Welcome Mat Out, provides an incredible blueprint for how you can continue to have influence and input into your adult child's development. He answers questions like: Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? What's the difference between enabling and helping? What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? What do I do when my child doesn't seem to be maturing into adulthood? How do I relate to my grown child's significant other? What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? How can I support my grown children when I don't support their values? In this episode, we address a basic question: How can we reach out to our kids when they seem to have left their Christian upbringing in the rearview mirror?

Tonight was so much fun! We had David Wood and Dr. Jim Burns on the show. David did some magic, and it was amazing. If you don't watch the facebook live show, go back and find it (or skip to minute 8)! David talked about how he was able to follow his passion in ministry and builld relationships with students through magic. He wowed us all, and can wow you too. Find him at davidwoodmagic.com and follow him at davidwoodmagic.com Next, we were joined by youth ministry legend and our personal hero, Dr Jim Burns. Jim Burns is the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. He is a prolific author and awesome dude. He sared a ton of wisdom about family and marriage. It has been so much fun being at DYM 200, and we can't wait to see what comes next! We have a new resource in the DYM store called Neighbor. It would be wonderful for any volunteers coving youth group while you are at DYM 200 or NYWC. It comes with everything you need for a night of programming, and can be found here. https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/neighbor-luke10-good-samaritan Have we got a deal for you! Our biggest resource ever in the DYM store, the One Year. One Click. Bundle is being offered for just $30! This is only happening for this week, so don't miss out!. https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/1-year-1-click-50-week-teaching-bundle-youth-group Check out our resources in the DYM store here: https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/shop?author=8 Be sure to like The Morning After Ministry on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morningafterministry/ instagram.com/morningaftermin and twitter.com/morningaftermin. You can also find Tim @t00th and Andrew @andrewlarsen Be sure to check out the other shows in the DYM Podcast Network at podcast.downloadyouthministry.com Thanks to Dignity Memorial, Peek Reach, and Give Central for making our show possible!

Tonight was so much fun! We had David Wood and Dr. Jim Burns on the show. David did some magic, and it was amazing. If you don't watch the facebook live show, go back and find it (or skip to minute 8)! David talked about how he was able to follow his passion in ministry and builld relationships with students through magic. He wowed us all, and can wow you too. Find him at davidwoodmagic.com and follow him at davidwoodmagic.com Next, we were joined by youth ministry legend and our personal hero, Dr Jim Burns. Jim Burns is the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. He is a prolific author and awesome dude. He sared a ton of wisdom about family and marriage. It has been so much fun being at DYM 200, and we can't wait to see what comes next! We have a new resource in the DYM store called Neighbor. It would be wonderful for any volunteers coving youth group while you are at DYM 200 or NYWC. It comes with everything you need for a night of programming, and can be found here. https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/neighbor-luke10-good-samaritan Have we got a deal for you! Our biggest resource ever in the DYM store, the One Year. One Click. Bundle is being offered for just $30! This is only happening for this week, so don't miss out!. https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/1-year-1-click-50-week-teaching-bundle-youth-group Check out our resources in the DYM store here: https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/shop?author=8 Be sure to like The Morning After Ministry on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morningafterministry/ instagram.com/morningaftermin and twitter.com/morningaftermin. You can also find Tim @t00th and Andrew @andrewlarsen Be sure to check out the other shows in the DYM Podcast Network at podcast.downloadyouthministry.com Thanks to Dignity Memorial, Peek Reach, and Give Central for making our show possible!

Tonight was so much fun! We had David Wood and Dr. Jim Burns on the show. David did some magic, and it was amazing. If you don't watch the facebook live show, go back and find it (or skip to minute 8)!David talked about how he was able to follow his passion in ministry and builld relationships with students through magic. He wowed us all, and can wow you too. Find him at davidwoodmagic.com and follow him at davidwoodmagic.comNext, we were joined by youth ministry legend and our personal hero, Dr Jim Burns. Jim Burns is the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. He is a prolific author and awesome dude. He sared a ton of wisdom about family and marriage. It has been so much fun being at DYM 200, and we can't wait to see what comes next!We have a new resource in the DYM store called Neighbor. It would be wonderful for any volunteers coving youth group while you are at DYM 200 or NYWC. It comes with everything you need for a night of programming, and can be found here. https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/neighbor-luke10-good-samaritanHave we got a deal for you! Our biggest resource ever in the DYM store, the One Year. One Click. Bundle is being offered for just $30! This is only happening for this week, so don't miss out!. https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/1-year-1-click-50-week-teaching-bundle-youth-groupCheck out our resources in the DYM store here: https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/shop?author=8 Be sure to like The Morning After Ministry on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morningafterministry/instagram.com/morningaftermin and twitter.com/morningaftermin. You can also find Tim @t00th and Andrew @andrewlarsenBe sure to check out the other shows in the DYM Podcast Network at podcast.downloadyouthministry.comThanks to Dignity Memorial, Peek Reach, and Give Central for making our show possible!

The Next Chapter with Jon Wallace: My friend Jim Burns, Ph.D., is an alumnus of Azusa Pacific and executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family. In this podcast, we talk about marriage, family, and what we would say to our 18-year-old selves if we could go back in time. Plus, Jim shares about HomeWord’s goal to help lower the divorce rate across the nation through practical resources to support couples and families. https://www.apu.edu/youthandfamily https://homeword.com

Parenting is a lifelong job, even after our children have flown the coop and are tending their own broods. Throughout the various stages, from the early “no sleep” baby years to the endless carpool years, we barely have the bandwidth to think about next week, let alone the next few decades. But what happens when our kids grow up and start making their own decisions? How do parents lay the groundwork for happy, healthy relationships with their adult children? And how do we, as daughters and sons, honor our adult parents as we forge our own way in the world? Today’s conversation helps walk us through reframing our parental relationships. Dr. Jim Burns is an author and executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. Dr. Burns tells us how parents can be a sounding board for their adult kids (without being a clanging bell). He also helps us think through scenarios like what do you do if your child partners up with someone you’re not crazy about, what kinds of boundaries to maintain if your child moves home, how to stay connected to a child who shuns a relationship with their parents, and how you, an adult child yourself, can create a healthy bond with your own parents.

  Find Controlled Chaos Podcast on:| iTunes | Podbean | Google Play | Stitcher |YOUTUBE | Spotify   Topics for this episode:   Thank you!  Thanks to our great sponsors Central Christian College of the Bible, and ORANGE... Yes! ORANGE! We love Orange and we love MS Curriculum!!! You need to check it out, its the best out there! Generation Z tip of the week: Millennials are skipping entrepreneurship, but Gen Z is picking up their slack -- 72% of high schoolers want to start their own business someday, and 61% of college students would rather be entrepreneurs than employees, despite the clear difficulties they expect to face. For that means student leadership looks different, how we call them to invest in the ministry is of far greater value.  ARTICLE HERE Andrew Root answers a question of how to talk to students about the end times. Jadner Lugo shares with us what was happening on the ground in Haiti! Dr. Jim Burns sits down with us to talk about Sex!  Part 1 of 4 (over the next couple months) The intro is done by Jillian Chester from Mariners Church Irvine CA.... My old Church. Whose on this episode?  Justin Herman- Youth Network, Sandals Church Kurt Johnston- Next Gen Pastor, Saddleback Church Andrew Root- Professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary Jadner Lugo- Student Ministry Director at the Journey Dr. Jim Burns- President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University.   Things mentioned in the episode: Free Resouce- Postcards Middle School Ministry Campference- Youth Cartel Believe Tours- CIY The Orange Tour- ORANGE National Youth Workers Converention- Youth Specialties Generation Z Barna Book-- Buy Here Passport to Purity The Purity Code- Dr. Jim Burns  Jim Burns at Homeword Be part of #ChaosNation Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram   Meet the HOST! Justin Herman Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Email     Question or Show ideas? Email Justin at Justin@ControlledChaosPodcast.com Controlled Chaos Podcast: A junior high ministry podcast for youth workers! Podcast hosted by Podbean Thank you for tuning in.  The work youth workers do is hard work, thank you! Thank you for taking time to get a little more equipped to do Junior High or Middle School Ministry in your Youth Ministry or Student Ministry at your church.  Keep it up!  

We're continuing in our Love Does series this weekend with a special topic and a special guest speaker! Jim Burns is the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University, and he's joining us this weekend for the Refreshing Your Marriage conference at PCC (we'll see many of you there tonight!) Jim will be speaking at all our gatherings this Sunday on Love that empowers and advocates for teenagers.

It’s easy to get into a negative cycle of thoughts about your spouse. Today we talk with Dr. Jim Burns, one of the most positive people we know, about this very topic!  Jim Burns is the President and Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. He writes and speaks on the values of HomeWord, which include Strong Marriages, Confident Parents, Empowered Kids, and Healthy Leaders. Some of his most popular books include: Confident Parenting, Creating an Intimate Marriage.  Most recently, Jim also co-authored a book with Doug Fields called The First Few Years of Marriage: 8 Ways to Strengthen Your “I Do.” Interview with Jim Burns  Today we’re talking about Positive Adaptability. To talk about what it is, let’s start with the opposite – Offilize - A new word that means taking everything to the worst. “My spouse is probably having an affair, we’re never going to have a great marriage, etc”. You can discipline yourself to be more positive! Negativity brings a marriage down, but a healthy marriage is a mindset. Here are some thoughts on how create a healthy mindset: Be willing to consider if you have a low maintenance versus high maintenance marriage - A low maintenance marriage – you don’t have to work as hard at, maybe you came from highly functional backgrounds, one of the spouses really helps it be low maintenance because they’re so healthy. A high maintenance marriage – takes more work, there’s more baggage brought in. For every 1 negative thought or communication, you need 5 positive ones Start with a self-assessment – where are we on this spectrum? Ask yourself – “Does it really matter?” and don’t say everything you think! Practice “Thank Therapy” – focus on things you’re thankful for about the other person. Your one simple thing for this week: Write down a few words about why you are thankful for your spouse. And share those words with your spouse. Ted: For you, if sharing these words with your spouse is via text, that’s totally fine! What is one of the things about your spouse that you are thankful for? CJ: Teri is so selfless, which is cheesy to say. But just this morning, I had forgotten to tell her we ran out of coffee. But she had already seen and re-filled it! Afton: Hudson is so selfless too. He pretty much handles everything all the time. Thanks for joining us for the Married People Podcast! We hope today’s episode helped you realize that marriage is a little easier than you may think. We hope you’ll subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and leave a review – they help us make the podcast better.  If you want more resources, check out Your Best Us and our blog at MarriedPeople.org.  You can find more from Dr. Jim Burns at https://homeword.com. Finally – we hope you’ll join us next week when we talk to Carlos Whitaker about the question, “How can I get rid of the things holding me back in my marriage?”

Jim Burns joins me for Episode 98. I first met Jim many years ago when I worked for Saddleback Church in CA. He is someone that I could have conversations with about parenting, relationships, marriage and faith for hours. He is the President of HomeWord—an organization that exists to equip parents, marriages and families and he the Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. He speaks to thousands of people around the world each year and has close to 2 million resources in print in 30 languages. You can see why I like to talk to him! I asked Jim to join me around the table to talk about a subject that many of us feel very awkward about. We have an hour long dialog about the topic of sexuality and our kids. We talk about when you should have the infamous talk, what you should know about the “M word", pornography and sexual identities. Alright. I just went ahead and said all the awkward words. Now that I’ve done that, pull up a chair and join the conversation. Takeaways From Our Conversation: I think that this topic is one that most of us don’t feel adequate or prepared for as parents. The biggest takeaway is not waiting for one moment or one age to have that conversation but to start sooner than later weaving it into a normal part of your life with your kids. Start talking about sex from ages 3-5. The more you talk about these things hopefully the more comfortable to have these conversations as they grow. Moms of littles, this is the best time because it is not awkward to your kids. I highly recommend Jim’s books to initiate the conversation. That is what we used and it has opened the door to so many natural conversations. The number one place that older kids get their sex ed from is the internet so you are going to have to have conversations with your kids about this. Age of the first exposure of pornography is age 11. If you catch your child looking at porn, don’t make a big scary deal of it. Talk about healthy positive sex. And then talk about some of the things that aren’t healthy. If you see it, here’s what you should do. You almost have to desensitize them to it. We hurt for these people. When our kids are caught or your find out, make sure you are not a one topic parent in your reaction. Get a perspective. Talk with others. 10% will struggle with gender confusion; 1.5-2% are homosexual. It's not healthy to our kids to blast one sexual sin over another. There are 17 references to sexual sin, only 3 deal with homosexuality yet we tend to focus on that one issue. We need to partly normalize that. What did you enjoy about this episode? What was your takeaway. Let's continue the conversation  on Instagram or Twitter or you can send me an email here.  Thank you for following along life with me. I love being apart of your day. And as always, I hope this show helps you survive a little easier.