The Durenda Wilson Podcast

We can feel so rushed in the midst of the Christmas season. But this time of year is really so much taking time. It's an invitation to wait in anticipation of a promise of a Messiah that was given so many years ago. Waiting isn't something that most of us do well, but why don't you join me for (literally) just a few minutes to ponder a few tender Christmas thoughts. Get your Free digital Holiday Edition of Homeschooling Today here!

Welcome to the party! I've connected with some amazing moms over the last 100 podcast episodes, so it seems appropriate that my guest today would be a friend that God brought into my life as only He could! Ginger Hubbard, author of Don't Make Me Count to Three and I Can't Believe You Just Said That!.  She has a heart that beats with mine for families and reaching the hearts of our children. I share a lot about slowing down and taking a more unhurried approach to homeschooling and parenting for that very reason...to connect with our kids so we can truly reach their hearts. Today we answer questions like, "When children misbehave, how can parents view it from a heart-oriented, biblical perspective?", "How can parents get their children to actually implement the principles being taught?", and more! Ginger will also share 3 effective ways parents can reach past the outward behaviors of their children to address the issues of the heart. We are doing a HUGE giveaway. Listen in to hear how to enter!   Here are the scriptures and resources mentioned in the podcast: James 1:5-8 Romans 3:23 Matthew 12:34 James 1:19 Romans 8:1 Ephesians 6:4 Ways to connect with Ginger: www.GingerHubbard.com IG - @ginger.hubbard FB - @officialgingerhubbard

I've talked to countless moms and whether they have a degree or not, NONE of them feel "qualified" to teach their children. One has to wonder why? Join me as I take this topic and filter it through both a practical and biblical perspective. You might be surprised how qualified you really are! Podcast mentioned: The Five Most Important Things We Taught our Kids Check out my book: The Unhurried Homeschooler available on Amazon!

Be intentional! It's the battle cry of the many parents out there who want to do a good job raising their kids. We want important things to STAY important things. It's no different at Christmas, but it also happens to get more complicated at Christmas. So many possibilities, so many things we could do. Today we are talking about how to cultivate your family's holiday culture. It's so important to consider where you are as a family: season of life, budget, uniquenesses of your children, etc. Heather Haupt and I are also discussing why it's important to cultivate a culture in your family, not just at Christmas but throughout the year and we will be walking you through a few guiding principles that will help you prayerfully personalize your family's holiday culture! (To enter the giveaway for Knights in Training, mentioned in the podcast, please leave a comment under this post at durendawilson.com) Heather is the author of the book Knights-in-Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous and Compassionate Boys, The Ultimate Guide to Brain Breaks, as well as GO GLOBAL: A Literature-Heavy, Movement-Rich Learning Adventure. Here are ways to connect with Heather: www.CultivatedLearning.org  instagram.com/cultivatedlearning  facebook.com/cultivatedlearning

Today I’m sharing what I believe are the 5 most important things we’ve taught our kids over our 24 years of homeschooling!  If you guessed those things have very little to do with math or language arts or history or science, you would be absolutely right, but I can tell from where I am now, these things were absolutely crucial to growing our kids into healthy, productive, responsible adults! You won't want to miss this one!

As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, I can hear someone fire off the starting gun and the countdown to Christmas begins. In my 28 years as a mom, every year has looked a bit different and some years were more stressful than others. I do know that the simpler I've kept it, the more we have enjoyed it which flies in the face of every commercial out there!  But isn't it just like God to give us beauty in simplicity? Today my friend Ana is joining me to talk about the ways their family has kept things very simple and very focused on Christ. We each come from very different experiences in the ways we celebrate, but the really important question really is, "Where is Jesus?" Where is Jesus in the busyness, the activities, the traditions? It's a question worth asking!  Join us in this mom to mom conversation! (Don't forget to enter the giveaway mentioned at the end of the podcast!) Ana is the founder of They Call Me Blessed and the creator of: 5 Days to Your Best Homeschool Years, Hebrew for Homeschoolers, Charlotte Mason Online Conference, The Homeschool Sisterhood, Grow Your Blog Partying in 30 Days, and the Beyond Blessed Life Planner. She leads a vibrant free community for homeschool moms on Facebook and you can connect with her at www.facebook.com/theycallmeblessedblog. Here is this month's podcast schedule!

Mentoring Moments is a short episode answering one question at a time of the many questions I get from homeschooling moms!  It's my chance to go a little deeper into one topic in order to bring encouragement and a little more perspective. My hope is that I can help homeschooling parents relax a little more and enjoy this journey and their children! I have found that math is one of the subjects that many parents and kids struggle with the most!  But how stressed do we really need to be? Listen in and be encouraged! In the next Mentoring Moments episode, I will share the 5 most important things we taught our kids! Check out my books (Available on Amazon, aff. links here) The Unhurried Homeschooler, a simple mercifully short book on homeschooling Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart, a devotional for homeschool moms

This is the third and final part in my series I have been doing with our daughter Brittney, whose first baby was born sleeping.  We've been looking forward to this podcast because we get to tell the amazing, redemptive story of her last birth! We spend some time talking about her struggles throughout the pregnancy as she felt God's constant nudging to move toward a VBAC. It was a continual decision to yield and trust, following a path that seemed to meander endlessly! The ways that He chooses to redeem and heal are truly His ways and often feel messy and uncomfortable. But the joy that comes from walking in obedience to God pales in comparison to trying to figure out things on our own. Something Brittney wanted me to share from her journal that she wrote during this pregnancy: "My energy is better spent embracing what God is putting in front of me right now instead of worrying about all the possibilities of tomorrow's storm."  That's good for so many areas of our lives! Listen in as we share this God story! Resources mentioned in the podcast: evidencebasedbirth.com The VBAC Link ICAN-International Cesarean Awareness Network Spinning Babies Bible study: The Wonder of His Name Song: No Longer Slaves

This is a recorded Facebook Live event I did recently sharing several things I've learned over our 24 years of homeschooling that have helped me relax and enjoy a more unhurried approach with our kids. Homeschooling is one of the best decisions we ever made and one of the reasons for that is because we actually enjoyed the time we spent with our kids! The only way that could happen was for us to do what was a good fit for our family and not necessarily what worked for someone else's family. It's so important to have the courage to think outside the box and only do the things that breath life into your home. In the last part of this episode, I answer specific questions from moms who asked questions during this event!  

Today Brittney and I are continuing to share the story of Isaac, Brittney's firstborn and our first grandbaby who was born sleeping. In the last podcast we shared about how God met us in our darkest places of grief and brought hope in the midst of deep loss. We are continuing our conversation about the grieving process and the struggles and victories that came with subsequent pregnancies. Our hope and prayer is that, even if you have never experienced this kind of loss, you will find hope and be reminded of how very faithful our God is and that you will know His faithfulness in your own circumstances, whatever they are.  We also want to give insight into what this experience was like so that if you ever need to walk alongside someone as they go through it, you will have a better understanding of the process and God can use you to bring grace and love into that place. Here is a list of possible ways to help a mom walk through the grief of losing a child: *Keep in mind that sometimes a mom can struggle to share her grief OR let herself cry when she needs to. You may be able to help her feel the freedom to do that.  *Don’t feel like you have to have answers. Don’t say things like, “God knows what’s best”. Just hug her, tell her you are sorry, tell her you have no words.  PRAY A LOT for her whenever she comes to mind. Pray that God would bring her comfort as only HE can and that He would continually meet her in a very real and powerful way. Pray for God to show you how you can love her best through it. *Ask to see pictures of the baby and ask about the baby’s name and why that name is special to them?  How much he/she weighed, how long he/she was. If you get to see pictures, talk about all the sweet things about her little one, you know, the things every new mother wants to hear…” look at all that hair!”  “He looks like his daddy” “She’s beautiful!”. *If you have a chance, ask if you can come hold the baby.  It can take a lot of courage, but whisper a prayer, trust God and GO!  Most mommies love to see other people enjoy their baby (just like any new mommy) and in this situation, it is very short-lived for them, so seize the moment if you can. Encourage the parents to take their time with the baby and not let anyone hurry them. Have someone take LOTS of pics! *Remember the Mother’s Day/Father’s Day after or give a gift in memory of baby for Christmas...  Remember to celebrate or acknowledge the baby’s birthdays. Often people stop checking in after a couple of months, so be sure to check in on her regularly after that. *Don’t assume that when she gets pregnant again, the hurt is healed.  As we are finding out, pregnancy after a loss is an emotional roller coaster for the mommy.  She needs extra encouragement and prayers during this time as well. Encourage her (or at least pray for her) to bond with her baby in spite of feeling fearful. Maybe buy at least one gift for the baby during the pregnancy as a show of faith and hope. (For links to resources mentioned in the podcast, please go to durendawilson.com)

I woke up one morning recently with a struggle that I’m not sure I ever had before: I was pondering all that God has done on our behalf through Jesus and wondering if I’m faithfully walking out my gratefulness for the magnitude of what that gift that He acquired for me. It’s not that I thought I needed to repay Him, it’s just that when I thought about the lengths the Lord went to secure my salvation and eternal life, I wondered if I was taking hold of all that He had for me?  If you’ve been a Christian for very long, you probably have heard that our faith isn’t based on works, but our works show that we have faith. (This is discussed in the book of James) That can actually get a little confusing at times. I have even heard it explained, believed myself and told my children that we show our gratitude for all He has done for by doing what’s right. I’m sure there is some truth to that, but it can be really easy to transition from there into a mindset of “repaying” God for all He has done. It only seems to make common sense, right? Well, not completely. We are told over and over again in scripture that our faith is based on grace alone. It is secured by grace alone(Ephesians 2:8,9). So how do we reconcile some of these other thoughts that seem to resonate so much with logical thinking? THESE are the thoughts that were flying around in my mind in no particular order and with no answer in sight. So I did what I often forget to do: I asked God what the deal was. How does this all fit together? How do I, in the words of Paul, “Lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me”? (Phil. 3:12) (To read the rest of the devotional, please go to durendawilson.com OR you can listen here!)

Today we are celebrating the life of our grandson, Isaac who would have just had his 6th birthday. He was our first grandbaby and Brittney and Jacob's first baby. This is the first time that we have shared his story publicly. Brittney was careful not to tell the story too soon, but allow God to do the work and healing that He needed to do in her own heart first. This isn't something you can rush. It's a kind of waiting on God that, though excruciating at times, brings with it deeper healing and perspective that nothing else can. When you lose someone, you are never the same. We wanted to give this story the time it deserves, so we have lingered over it and taken our time telling it in this podcast. We hope that you will listen with a heart that will hear the realness, but also the message of hope and redemption that so beautifully describes our experience and clearly reveals the faithfulness of our great God in a very powerful way! Our prayer is that this story will bring encouragement, but also provide tools for moms to care for others they know who are called to walk the journey of stillbirth. One song that was a huge comfort to Brittney during the healing process was by Matt Redmond, called "Never Once". She created a video featuring this song in hopes that it would paint an accurate picture of God's comfort in the midst of grief. (Suggestion: it will be more meaningful if you watch it after you listen to the podcast!) In the next podcast we will talk about Brittney's struggle with PTSD and subsequent pregnancies and births. In the third and final podcast, we will be sharing her most recent birth which is an awesome and miraculous story!!  

Plot twist: the last seven chapters of Psalms have focused a lot on the world of enemies, wicked people and distorted justice, but Psalm 8 takes a completely different turn. In case you didn’t know, the number 8 is significant throughout the scriptures and often represents a new beginning or regeneration. Psalm 8 beautifully celebrates the dignity of God’s original creation, giving hope for weary souls. For most of us, self preservation has been encouraged. No one wants to be a doormat or feel as though they have been walked over, but the degree to which most of us go to make sure that doesn’t happen can become misaligned with the character of Jesus and quite frankly cause us to respond no differently than the world does. Please don’t misunderstand me: God is NOT okay with any kind of abuse..mental, physical or emotional in personal relationships. That is not what I am referencing. However, it isn’t crystal clear who the Psalms are referring to when they talk about “enemies” or “oppressors”. This is something the Holy Spirit would need to define in your life. You might call this something more along the lines of someone “done us wrong” and instead of being able to “make allowance for each other’s faults”(Colossians 3:13), we are immediately offended and our eyes are drawn away from the Lord and focused only on the offense to the point of it being all consuming or even just an ongoing festering wound.  My point is that God has so much more for us, but it requires us to take on an attitude of humility. Humility is not popular in our culture. It even seems to be a topic that is avoided even in the church and yet Christ was our perfect example and he was exactly that: humble. (To read the rest of the devotional, please go to durendawilson.com)

What is apologetics anyway? As Christian moms, we know it's probably important, but we aren't sure if we can wrap our heads around it, much less teach it to our kids!  However, as we look around us, we are seeing Christian leaders falling to the wayside, kids leaving the faith in droves and fellow Christians succumbing to faulty beliefs. It is here where we begin to see how important it is to know why we believe what we believe and be able to effectively communicate our faith persuasively. This isn't just another thing to add to our list, it can actually be the place from which we teach those "other things". As mama bears, we have a crucial role in passing the faith onto our kids and Mama Bear Apologetics helps us do just that. Join me for this very encouraging conversation with one of the authors, Hillary Morgan Ferrar.  We will talk about how to approach the viewpoints of others that conflict with your own and tackle questions like: What do you identify as the biggest lies in today's culture? How can I teach my child how to filter what they intake from a Biblical perspective? What are some specific ways in which a mother can protect her child from the many lies the world wants to push upon him or her? Why is apologetics a relevant subject for someone who isn't a pastor or a Bible scholar? Resources mentioned in the podcast: The Unhurried Homeschooler Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart Mama Bear Apologetics The article mentioned: This is Not a Daycare Ways to connect with Hillary: Mama Bear Apologetics website (You can find the podcast here as well)  MBA Podcast FB page MBA Twitter page  

Welcome to Grace for a Mom's Heart, a short devotional created especially for moms who want to grow in their understanding of God's Word and it's applications for motherhood! Today we are spending time in Psalm 7. Now that we have made it this far into the Psalms, are you recognizing some consistent themes? Lamenting, asking for protection, affirming God’s kingship, and praise. Are you seeing how real the psalmists are, as they cry out to God? This is such an encouragement to me that I can tell God anything. I don’t have to wait until I’ve got it together and I don’t have to word it perfectly. Last week, I was feeling a lot of pressure and somewhat overwhelmed as we prepared for our son’s wedding that was happening in our backyard. I woke up during the night and realized I was just plain ANGRY. I wasn’t mad at anyone in particular, but as I verbalized my anger to God, I realized I was actually mad at Him. My good girl side would say that I should never be mad at God for lots of good, true reasons: He is good, perfect, sovereign, always has my best interest in mind, etc. But I was beyond being reasoned with. I was just done. I’d come to the end of myself and in that moment, I was reminded that I could literally tell God everything I was feeling and He would not hold it against me. He most certainly had broad enough shoulders to handle it. So I had my little hissy fit while He quietly listened. I eventually fell back asleep and as I opened my eyes the next morning, there was a sense of relief.  I felt like a toddler who just needed to blow off my frustration and take a good nap. It seems as though there will always be a little girl inside of me who needs her Daddy. He really is the perfect Daddy and we really need to let Him be that to us. Psalm 7 was written by David and as I read through it, I was reminded of some basic truths that we can take with us to anchor us today. (To read the rest of the devotional, please go to durendawilson.com)