Messy Family Podcast : Catholic conversations on marriage and family

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way…” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 Very few of us are blessed to be surrounded by people who agree with us on our faith or values 100% of the time, but we need to navigate these relationships and keep them healthy in spite of our differences. This is true especially in parental relationships because honoring your parents is a commandment, without a caveat or condition. The reality is that when people are critical of our faith, our values, or our parenting choices we need to learn to respond first with love and charity. It is a simple answer but a difficult one. In this podcast, we give 5 steps in loving those who differ with us. This podcast was sponsored by an anonymous supporter who is struggling to stay in relationships with family members who disagree with their practice of the Catholic faith.

All of the parenting we have done for our son has led up to this point. The point where he separates from us and forms his own family. Feb 10, 2017 our son Patrick married Cassie in our hometown of Steubenville and it was a wedding to remember! Not everything went perfectly as planned, but that didn’t matter. The bride and groom beautifully reflected the love that God has for all of us and the formation of this new family should give all Catholics another reason to hope. We are so proud of our son and our new daughter, and we hope you are inspired by their wedding story!

Screens are part of our world and they are here to stay. TV, computers, smartphones, tablets are all around us and becoming an essential element in our everyday lives. Though many would like to demonize these devices, the reality is that they are amoral – not good nor bad. It is our job as parents to help our children learn to use these screens in a way that is beneficial for their physical, social, and emotional development. Screens are a big issue for parents and a complex one. In this podcast, we discuss navigating this topic with our kids and why limiting screens is it actually more of a challenge for parents than for children. “Their performance might be high in gaming and internet information processing, but what about performance in low-tech activities such as building relationships? Parenting? Achieving greatness at anything, from sports to music to business?” ~Amy and Evelyn Guttmann Links: * What Screen Time and Screen Media Do To Your Child’s Brain and Sensory Processing Ability * American Academy of Pediatrics: Media Use by Children * Previous Messy Parenting episode on Kids and Technology

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Ps 37:4 Making decisions is a stressful and sometimes difficult task for most of us, especially when you are a parent.  Deciding where to live, what job to take, or how to educate your children are probably 3 of the most important decisions you will make.  How can you know what God wants?  How can you figure out what is best for you and for your family?  In this podcast, we discuss things to consider when you have to make a big decision.  God wants to bless you.  Just seek His face, stay close to Him and don’t stress out! Resources: * Fr. Mike Scanlan’s What Does God Want * TV Show with Fr. Timothy Gallagher on Discovering God’s Will * Related podcast: MP 033: Educational Choice

We are all looking for the perfect gift. What gift is more treasured than our Lord? Many of you deeply desire for your children to know Christ in a special way this Christmas. In this video broadcast, we encourage you to first receive from the Lord, because we can’t give what we don’t have ourselves. In order to celebrate Christmas, use this time to seek reconciliation and give generously what you have been given. We can very simply honor the birth of our Lord through the very gift of ourselves to others. This is our fourth Advent broadcast and would love to hear your reaction. By signing up for our email newsletter we will also send you links for a great Christmas album that your family will enjoy. At the end of this is a sample with our daughters singing the Angel Gabriel. Related episodes: * Holidays with In-laws and Out-laws * Forgiveness * Family Prayer * Busyness  

Make Advent a time to renew your family’s faith life with scripture. This the audio version from the Advent video series from Messy Parenting. Our hope with this series is to help you make Jesus Christ the King of your family and unleash God’s power in your parenting. This is the second of the four part series. This week we focus on “Making the Word of God Flesh in Your Home”. In 20 minutes we share 3 ways to make scripture come alive this Advent (and throughout the year).

The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are full of many tasks, which are fun and beautiful, but also may take our eyes off of the One we need most at this time. Making room for prayer in our busy schedules isn’t just something that is important during Advent, it’s an essential part of parenting and living as a Catholic in this crazy world. In this podcast, we take some time to define WHY we should pray, HOW you can pray, and, most importantly, WHEN you can pray. Subscriber for newsletter for Advent Video Broadcast and daily meditations for the Jesse Tree at http://www.messyparenting.org.

“A child will have many friends and companions in their lives, but they will only ever have two parents.” ~Mike and Alicia The role of parents in the lives of their children cannot be underestimated. Of course we have a natural role – we are to protect and provide for our offspring- but we sometimes forget that we have an irreplaceable role in the spiritual and emotional lives of our children as well. There are many messages from the world telling us otherwise, but we need to stand firm in the truth that we have a dignity and responsibility as parents. When your children are young you cannot be your child’s friend, or companion, or buddy. You need to be the authority figure, the protector, the image of God the Father to them. This is a daunting task, but God will give you the grace you need. What is your “irreplaceable role”? How can you take your rightful place in the life of your child in a way that no one else can? * Protect them- Infants and toddlers need protecting, but so do teenagers. Looks different, but someone has to do it. * Provide for them- We realize we need to give food, clothing and shelter, but we also need to provide for kids emotionally, socially, and spiritually. * Form them- You are the first and best teacher of your child. Lean into that role and use the power of your relationship to speak to their heart. * Be a student of your child- Observe them. Learn their personality type. Find what motivates them. This is true at every age. We all want to be known and it gives a person security like nothing else to be “known” by their parents. * Invest in them- You could die tomorrow and in a few weeks you would be replaced at work, but your children would be changed forever by your loss. Your family is the greatest return on your investment. And they need you more than anyone else. * Sense of identity and belonging- Your child is a son or daughter of God and you are the one to confirm that identity on them. Create a family culture so your child knows that when the world beats them up, they will always know who they are and have a place in your home. * Sense of purpose- One of the highest and most important needs of man is a sense of purpose. Children need to know that God has a plan for their lives, that He has a mission specifically for them. Their life as a purpose, and you will be there to walk beside them and find that purpose together. Join us for a 4 week Advent Series to make Jesus Christ the King of your home. Starting the weekend after Thanksgiving we will be sharing via interactive video about how to deepen the faith in your family. The four part live video series will be recorded and posted for later viewing by patrons and sponsors. Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop and for more information on this series. [mc4wp_form id=”613″]

“Life is pain, your highness. And anyone who tells you differently is selling something.” – The Princess Bride Children today are less able to deal with failure, rejection, and pain than ever before. As parents, we hate to see our children suffer, but how do we prepare them for real life? How do we help to make them strong, but flexible at the same time? In this podcast, we discuss how hard it is to see our precious children struggle, and we point out the pitfalls that parents can easily fall into. We also give three principles you can implement in your parenting to help form resilient kids. Please take five minutes to complete the 2017 Listener Survey.

All throughout our children’s lives we are laying a foundation. A foundation upon which the rest of their lives will be built. How we relate to them, the consequences we provide, the teaching we give when they are teens (or even younger) will affect how we relate to them when they become adults. Parenting an adult child can be amazingly satisfying or heart-breaking depending on the decisions they make. In this podcast, we give 7 tips on how to parent your adult child and help them to launch into the world of adulthood.

We thought we were really nice people before we had kids. Our children can sometimes trigger anger in us that we didn’t even realize was there and we can even surprise ourselves with its violence. To overcome unrighteous anger, we need to understand why we get angry (sometimes its not unjustified!) and make a plan for how we are going to deal with it. This can be a difficult issue for many people because it takes humility to admit when we are wrong, and vulnerability to deal with our own brokenness.

Our world presents images of cartoon fairy godmothers and mob boss godfathers, but in actuality, being a godparent is a life-long commitment of spiritual significance. To be an effective godparent we need to be in relationship with our godchild as a Christian witness as we assist the parents in the faith formation of their child. In this episode we discuss how to choose a godparent, the importance of godparents in the life of the child, and how to be a godparent that actually makes an impact in the life of a young Catholic. Listen in to learn more about this important relationship.  This sponsored podcast is dedicated to Katie Stockermans.

“If the devil cannot make us bad, he will make us busy.” ~ Corrie TenBoom If we are too busy to pray, to eat with our family, to play with our kids, then we are too busy. When we look at our family’s schedule we need to make sure that we have the “big rocks” in place. We need to make sure that we invest time in those things that we say are our top priorities. Show me how you spend your time, and I will show you what you value. In this podcast we talk about families and our busy schedules. We look at how we can juggle it all and make wise choices for our children and ourselves. Really, most of our podcast ideas boil down to this – how do you make it all happen? Episode Sponsor: The Master Planner Related Episodes: * Kids and Activities * Raising confident kids who aren’t full of themselves * Overwhelmed * Family Board Meeting

The future of evangelization depends in great part on the Church of the home ~ St. John Paul the Great Every Catholic is called to evangelize. No matter where you are in life, we are to spreading the gospel of Christ in all we do. Does that mean that we need to carry a bible in the diaper bag and preach on the street? Not necessarily (though a bible in your diaper bag is a good idea!), the first step in evangelization is to love. When we evangelize as a family, that means that we first love, serve, and preach the gospel to our own children as we create a home in which others can come to be served and cared for. Your family can be a witness to Christ as you show how to love as Jesus loved. This podcast was sponsored by Sean and Aine Ascough of Ireland! Related Podcasts: * Evangelizing your Kids * Passing on the Faith (interview with parents of 10 & grandparents of 40) * Scripture and the Family

“The more ready you are to give yourselves to God and to others, the more you will discover the authentic meaning of life.” ― Jason Evert, Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves Chastity is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit and a virtue that frees us to love others for who they are, not for what they do for us. The foundation of chastity should be intentionally laid when our children are young so this virtue can fully flower in the teen years and beyond. This podcast isn’t a “chastity talk”; its 50 minutes of practical advice on what this virtue looks like when a family of all different ages and stages of development is living it out. Thank you to the Piwnicki family from St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Crystal Lake, IL for sponsoring this podcast! Related Podcasts: * Importance of Friendships for your Kids * Preparing Your Tween and Yourself for Adolescence * Messy Parenting Guide to Dating Great Books: * Raising Pure Teens by Jason Evert and Chris Stefanick * Theology of His/Her Body  by Jason Evert