The Durenda Wilson Podcast

I'm changing things up here on the podcast. I'm making the episodes shorter in length and digging deeply into God's calling on our lives as wives and moms because I think that in the midst of these challenging times, we need to be reminded of what our main focus should be. Faith is acting on the revealed will and character of God. What might He be doing and how should we respond?  Listen in to this 25-minute podcast as I share my heart as a mentoring mom. (Head over to my website, durendawilson.com to check out my new book, The Four Hour School Day, releasing June 29th!)

I seriously doubt that any of us can say that we have not fallen prey to comparing ourselves to others.  In an era of carefully curated social media images, nonstop selfies, and TV shows devoted to perfection, comparison can consume you. Chasing something better quickly becomes a burden, weighing down your soul and preventing you from experiencing the freedom, contentment, and rest that God generously offers. Today Heather Creekmore joins us and she will be talking about her new book titled The Burden of Better. She is a homeschooling mom who offers women a journey into the depths of God's grace to find a way off the treadmill of constant comparison! Ways to connect with Heather https://www.facebook.com/heathercreekmoreblog https://www.youtube.com/comparedtowho https://www.instagram.com/comparedtowho/ https://www.pinterest.com/comparedtowho/ https://twitter.com/comparedtowho Compared to Who? Podcast: www.comparedtowho.me/podcast Books: The Burden of Better: https://amzn.to/3csoSgf  Compared to Who?: https://amzn.to/2QyLB1F

Today’s title may have gotten your attention and with good reason! It’s what every homeschooling mom longs to hear!  I’m excited to have Ginny Yurich from 1000 Hours Outside with me as she shares her heart, bringing a message of encouragement and hope. We will be talking about 10 ways you are doing it right! (Hint: They are probably not what you are thinking!) Podcasts mentioned in this episode: The Value of Getting Your Kids Outside Why Homeschooling Families Thrive Durenda's new book: The Four Hour School Day Ways to connect with Ginny: www.1000hoursoutside.com Ginny@1000hoursoutside.com Facebook.com/1000hoursoutside @1000hoursoutside on Instagram   Books mentioned: Israel Wayne-Education: Does God Have an Opinion? Israel Wayne-Top Answers for Homeschooling: Top 25 Questions Critics Ask  

I was reading through my journal from 13 years ago and was reminded how, as we raise and homeschool our kids, it can be so easy to be swayed by circumstances and emotions. Don't get me wrong, emotions aren't necessarily wrong and our circumstances have a genuine effect on us. However, as believing moms, it's incredibly important for us to walk by faith in response to both of these, for our sake and the sake of our families! What does it mean to walk by faith? It means that we act (and react) not based solely on our emotions, but on the revealed will and character of God One of the ways we can do that is by asking God to help us:  -Discern where He is working in our circumstances -Understand and remember the role of emotions  Both of these instances require us to be intentional in what the Bible calls “guarding our hearts”.  Listen in to learn more about this biblical discipline that can help keep us from anxiety as we find solid biblical ground to plant our feet in the midst of uncertainty! (Don't forget to check out my new book: The Four Hour School Day: How You and Your Kids Can Thrive in the Homeschool Life!)

It's been a really tough couple of weeks. You'll likely hear that in my voice today, but it's ok. I'm grateful to God for the things He reveals to me and reminds me of when things are hard.  Recently, that happened to be the blessing of our God-ordained roles as husband and wife.  Feminism has attempted to strip away the blessings that God has for us by trying to convince us that when He set particular boundaries in marriage, He was somehow ripping us off. Nothing could be further from the truth. Listen in for a refreshing, biblical perspective on marriage.  Scriptures from the podcast: Genesis 2:18-25 Genesis 3:1-19 Ephesians 5:22-33 (Please check out my devotional for moms: Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart on my website: durendawilson.com)  

Welcome to part 2 of What is the Role of Government? I think most of us have realized in recent times how little we know about the Constitution and specifically the role of government. I’ve actually been a little embarrassed for myself, but I got over that really quickly and decided it was time to educate myself and as many other people who wanted to know as well. Today I have Christen McMasters joining us for part 2 of "What is the Role of Government"! She is a millennial Constitutionalist from Charleston, SC, now residing in NC. She holds a Ph.D. in political science, but she is not your typical academic. She actually LOVES this country and LOVES liberty and will fight for it at all costs.  She seeks to arm fellow lovers of liberty with knowledge, knowledge that is painfully lacking and desperately needed. Knowledge first and foremost of the Constitution. The Constitution is our government’s job description and we are the government’s employers. How can we hold our government accountable to their job if we don’t even know their job description?” We encourage you to gather your family and listen in as we do two shorter podcasts on the role of government. We thought 2 shorter episodes would work best for kids.  Here are some questions so you and your kids can review what you've learned! Our focus last week was on: Why do we have government? Why do we have the Constitution? Why does it matter if the government follows the Constitution? This week we are covering: What is the most important branch of government and why? What does the Constitution say? Why is it important to distinguish the Constitution from the Bill of Rights? Ways to connect with Christen:Website: www.thelibertybellenc.com Facebook: TheLibertyBelleNC Twitter: @LibertyBelleNC Instagram: @libertybellencChristen's YouTube channel  Christen's book is available on Amazon:  Why Do We Need Government in the First Place?Or order on Christen's website here: https://thelibertybellenc.com/shop/ And finally, the quotes come from this article: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-x/interps/129 “IN SUM, THE CONSTITUTION’S FRAMERS THOUGHT THAT A BILL OF RIGHTS WAS APPROPRIATE FOR AN UNLIMITED GOVERNMENT, BUT NOT FOR A LIMITED ONE LIKE THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CREATED BY THE CONSTITUTION. THE CONSTITUTION ACCORDINGLY SOUGHT TO SECURE LIBERTY THROUGH ENUMERATIONS OF POWERS TO THE GOVERNMENT RATHER THAN THROUGH ENUMERATIONS OF RIGHTS TO THE PEOPLE…IT REMAINS A GOVERNMENT OF LIMITED AND ENUMERATED POWERS, SO THAT THE FIRST QUESTION INVOLVING AN EXERCISE OF FEDERAL POWER IS NOT WHETHER IT VIOLATES SOMEONE’S RIGHTS, BUT WHETHER IT EXCEEDS THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S ENUMERATED POWERS.”  “IT [THE BILL OF RIGHTS] WAS CONSIDERED UNNECESSARY BECAUSE THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT WAS A LIMITED GOVERNMENT THAT COULD ONLY EXERCISE THOSE POWERS GRANTED TO IT BY THE CONSTITUTION, AND IT HAD BEEN GRANTED NO POWER TO VIOLATE THE MOST CHERISHED RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE.”  THE BILL OF RIGHTS ”…MIGHT HAVE VALUE AS A KIND OF BACKSTOP IN CASE THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION’S MEANING GETS TOO DERANGED. IN MODERN TIMES, THE ENUMERATED POWERS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT HAVE BEEN MISREAD BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION, TO THE POINT THAT THE ACTUAL CONSTITUTION IS NOT REALLY PART OF THE GOVERNING STRUCTURE AT ALL. WE LIVE WITH A SHADOW, OR ‘ZOMBIE,’ CONSTITUTION THAT HAS THE OUTER HUSK OF THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT BUT NONE OF ITS ACTUAL SUBSTANCE.”

Do you ever have that feeling like everything you do could have been done better? It’s every woman’s battle, especially every mom’s: “I’m not enough. I’ll never be enough.” “I could have done that so much better” “It would have been better if I would have ________.” “That was lame.” These words suck the life out of us and yet the enemy continues to effectively use them.   Nothing makes me more angry, frustrated, and hurt than doing my best and still feeling like it’s not enough. Cue in having 8 kids and there was potential for some serious feelings of inadequacy: Could I pull off raising/homeschooling 8 kids and not miss something?   Would some of my kids go off the rails because I failed to be enough? Would they hate the way they were raised or homeschooled? Would they see me as a failure? Our thoughts of inadequacy come from many places including regrets of the past, concerns for the present, and worries about the future. Listen in for a simple, beautiful truth. (Check out my devotional, Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart at my website, durendawilson.com)

  I’m doing something a little different for this podcast and I’m super excited about it! I think most of us have realized in recent times how little we know about the Constitution and specifically the role of government. I’ve actually been a little embarrassed for myself, but I got over that really quickly and decided it was time to educate myself and as many other people who wanted to know as well. Today I have Christen McMasters joining us! She is a millennial Constitutionalist from Charleston, SC, now residing in NC. She holds a Ph.D. in political science, but she is not your typical academic. She actually LOVES this country and LOVES liberty and will fight for it at all costs.  She seeks to arm fellow lovers of liberty with knowledge, knowledge that is painfully lacking and desperately needed. Knowledge first and foremost of the Constitution. The Constitution is our government’s job description and we are the government’s employers. How can we hold our government accountable to their job if we don’t even know their job description?” We encourage you to gather your family and listen in as we do two shorter podcasts on the role of government. We thought 2 shorter episodes would work best for kids.  Here are some questions so you and your kids can review what you've learned! Why do we have government? Why do we have the Constitution? Why does it matter if the government follows the Constitution? What is the most important branch of government and why? What does the Constitution say? Why is it important to distinguish the Constitution from the Bill of Rights? Ways to connect with Christen: Website: www.thelibertybellenc.com  Facebook: TheLibertyBelleNC  Twitter: @LibertyBelleNC  Instagram: @libertybellenc Christen's YouTube channel    Christen's book is available on Amazon:  Why Do We Need Government in the First Place? Or order on Christen's website here: https://thelibertybellenc.com/shop/   And finally, the quotes come from this article: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-x/interps/129   “IN SUM, THE CONSTITUTION’S FRAMERS THOUGHT THAT A BILL OF RIGHTS WAS APPROPRIATE FOR AN UNLIMITED GOVERNMENT, BUT NOT FOR A LIMITED ONE LIKE THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CREATED BY THE CONSTITUTION. THE CONSTITUTION ACCORDINGLY SOUGHT TO SECURE LIBERTY THROUGH ENUMERATIONS OF POWERS TO THE GOVERNMENT RATHER THAN THROUGH ENUMERATIONS OF RIGHTS TO THE PEOPLE…IT REMAINS A GOVERNMENT OF LIMITED AND ENUMERATED POWERS, SO THAT THE FIRST QUESTION INVOLVING AN EXERCISE OF FEDERAL POWER IS NOT WHETHER IT VIOLATES SOMEONE’S RIGHTS, BUT WHETHER IT EXCEEDS THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S ENUMERATED POWERS.”    “IT [THE BILL OF RIGHTS] WAS CONSIDERED UNNECESSARY BECAUSE THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT WAS A LIMITED GOVERNMENT THAT COULD ONLY EXERCISE THOSE POWERS GRANTED TO IT BY THE CONSTITUTION, AND IT HAD BEEN GRANTED NO POWER TO VIOLATE THE MOST CHERISHED RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE.”    THE BILL OF RIGHTS ”…MIGHT HAVE VALUE AS A KIND OF BACKSTOP IN CASE THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION’S MEANING GETS TOO DERANGED. IN MODERN TIMES, THE ENUMERATED POWERS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT HAVE BEEN MISREAD BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION, TO THE POINT THAT THE ACTUAL CONSTITUTION IS NOT REALLY PART OF THE GOVERNING STRUCTURE AT ALL. WE LIVE WITH A SHADOW, OR ‘ZOMBIE,’ CONSTITUTION THAT HAS THE OUTER HUSK OF THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT BUT NONE OF ITS ACTUAL SUBSTANCE.”   

All of us hear voices that accuse and condemn us and tell us we are not enough. They can come through many different sources, yet they all originate from the same place: the enemy of our souls. If we can recognize their source, we can wage a more effective war, and our chances of victory increase exponentially. Listen in to this short devotional podcast to hear more about exchanging chaos, confusion, and exhaustion for peace. (This is an entry from my devotional, Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart, available at durendawilson.com)  

As we try desperately hard to be better moms, it is possible to start destroying ourselves through anxiety, shame, and even idolatry, allowing things to take up far more space in our hearts than they deserve! Listen in to today's short devotional podcast on Redemption in Motherhood! (Please check out my devotional written especially for moms: Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart. You can find in on my website, durendawilson.com)

What comes to mind when you hear the word, "modesty"? Be honest. Does it conjure up images of Puritan women, denim jumpers, or pretty much anything "not cute"?  Johanna, our 18-year-old daughter, is joining me today to share her journey. She encourages us that modesty doesn't have to be boring while also reminding us that it's very much a heart issue that should not be ignored! We encourage you to invite your daughters to listen in with you!  

The other day my grown daughter who is a mom of little ones was sharing with me how hard it is to continue to do the same, seemingly mundane things every single day and feel like what she is doing is actually important...that it matters. This is a common struggle for moms. Today we are going to read through a passage of scripture that is so encouraging as it reveals God's goodness in taking what seems meaningless to the world and use it for His glory! (Please check out my devotional Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart, available on Amazon!)

When it comes to homeschooling, sometimes we get lost in the day-to-day and find ourselves easily overwhelmed. Today I'm sharing some simple ways to stay intentional in your homeschool days. We want to enjoy this time as much as possible while making sure that our priorities are being lived out so we can raise strong, godly, responsible adults!   Podcasts mentioned: There's Freedom in Simplicity Simplifying Your Homeschooling Ditching the Comparison Trap Finding Satisfaction in the Life You Have Are you Being Led or Driven? (The Unhurried Homeschooler, a simple, mercifully short book on homeschooling, available on Amazon!)  

As moms, all of us have been plagued by the thought that what we are doing and how we are doing it simply isn't adequate, but God turns that kind of thinking on its head. Listen in to this short devotional on "Looking Like Fools"! (Be sure to check out my devotional: Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart available on Amazon!)

Welcome to this new episode of On the Porch! Many of you have told me that you wish you could just sit for a while with me on my porch, so this series was created to get as close to that as we can! Sometimes I invite others to join me on the porch and share their hearts with us. Today Leslie Nunnery from Teach Them Diligently is here to encourage us! Leslie and her husband David founded Teach Them Diligently, the nation’s premier source for gospel-centered homeschool events and resources. With over 10 years of homeschooling experience from preschool-high school (and beyond) and a passion to encourage and equip homeschool families!  Listen in as Leslie and I talk about the benefits of homeschooling and specifically the opportunities we have to disciple our kids! Resources mentioned in the podcast: Teach Them Diligently events--https://teachthemdiligently.net/homeschool-convention-locations/ Heart School-- https://teachthemdiligently.snappages.site/heart-school Teach Them Diligently 365-- https://teachthemdiligently.net/resources/ttd-365-membership/ Teach Them Diligently Book-- https://teachthemdiligently.net/resources/teach-them-diligently-discipleship-book