Kindled - Motherhood, Work & The Grace We Need For Both

Is self-love really loving?  It's a question worth asking. And my guest Brooke Tabor and I go there in today's episode.  Our cultural moment is nothing short of consumed with this concept of loving yourself better. Self-love is the best love. Love yourself first to love others. And while we are sure the intention behind the phrase often means well, for Christians, it profoundly misses the mark of the kind of love scripture both promises us AND calls us to exhibit.  Join us as we discuss!  Shownotes at kindledpodcast.com Sponsor: H. Williams Creative | www.hwilliamscreative.com  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

Today is a candid conversation of reflections on hope with author Laura Smith. We talk about what God is doing with COVID-19. On a micro level in our lives but also on a global scale. How He is continuing to work out His great rescue plan for humanity.  We discuss the goodness of God, how we are like the grumbling Israelites being brought  into the promise land through way of the wilderness, and how God is turning evil for good before our eyes in spite of the brokenness we see.  SPONSOR: Prepdish - Start your free 14-day trial today! Shownotes at kindledpodcast.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

Today I'm airing the second part of my conversation with Marcia Montenegro. We're diving headfirst into the New Age and tackling some big topics like naturopathy, mindfulness, the enneagram.  Marcia explains the origins of these ideas, concepts and the enneagram itself, which may surprise you. To be fair, I have long loved the enneagram and how it felt like it explained me so accurately, helped me understand more about myself and others, but as I've learned more about its origins, I've taken a more critical approach to it. But Marcia's biggest beef isn't that you identify as a "three" or an "achiever" but that the enneagram is teaching people to value experience over truth, a foundational teaching of the new age. While I think there's plenty of room for believers to disagree on whether the enneagram can be "redeemed" (which tends to be the point of argumentation), it's important for us to take a look at the origins of what we engage with so we can rightly understand how we interact with them today.  Show note

Today I'm talking with Brenna Burrows, a wife and mom of two girls who lives in Quingdao, a city in the the Shandong province in China.  Brenna and her family have lived in China for 18 months and just experienced the spread of COVID-19. While they are not in  Wuhan in Hubei province, where the main outbreak was, it has still greatly impacted their lives.  Brenna and her family have been through the extreme measures to prevent spread many of us are just now beginning to experience and she's sharing some of what that's looked like for their family. She also shares how keeping her eyes on Jesus and prayer has helped her through this fearful and uncertain time.  Sponsor: Prepdish Shownotes: KindledPodcast.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

Today, you get to hear the testimony of Marcia Montenegro. Marcia is a former professional astrologer who was involved in seeking out the supernatural, as well as being involved in paranormal New Age practices. She was compelled by the intense love of Jesus to give up occult practices and turn to him as her Lord and Savior. Because of her background, she understands the appeal and dangers of the the New Age and now lectures on these topics around the country.  Show notes at www.KindledPodcast.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

The cultural moment we are in tells us grace and truth do not exist together. The narrative looks something like - grace means wholesale acceptance of all that someone chooses to do and the rejection of absolute truth - ie: they can do NO wrong. On the flip side, if you have the truth, you must preach it and take no prisoners. But an examination of scripture and God's heart for his children shows that is not how we are to understand these two. They are inextricably linked and meant to be applied together, not separately, in the life of believers.  Sarah and I discuss how a right understanding of grace and truth frees us to engage honestly and lovingly, even - and perhaps especially - in challenging relationships.  Sponsor: Prepdish Shownotes at www.Kindledpodcast.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

It's a wild time to be alive. We have access to more ideas, more content, more leaders, more voices, more information than anyone in history has ever had access to. And that means that we’re going to have to have wisdom to know what to listen to, which direction to go, what to take in, what to leave behind, how to discern what is really influencing us when we post, how to just clarify our own motives and how to be led by the Holy Spirit and not just be swept along by this torrent of information.  That means we need to have discernment. But discernment is more than simply avoiding bad things; discernment actually frees you to navigate the world with confidence and joy by teaching you how to recognize and choose good things. When you learn discernment and develop a taste for all that’s good, you will encounter God in remarkable new ways. Join me and Hannah for this fascinating conversation.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

Approval is something we all long for. We long to be found as enough, as acceptable, as good. In fact, it's not whether we will seek approval or not but where we will seek it. When we look for it in the wrong place, the approval we find will never satiate our desire for acceptance. But when we realize nd truly believe that our drive to find approval is meant to be met and satisfied in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, our endless search for the approval of man can end. We can see that Jesus fulfills every desire we have for approval by doing what we were powerless to do.  Donna and I talk through some of the ways we wrongly seek approval and how we see in scripture that God is the only One who can offer sound and true approval of us.  Shownotes at www.KindledPodcast.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

As Christians, we know friendship matters. Go to any Christian book store and you’ll find myriads of books on the importance of community. But while most people are convinced of their need for Christian friendships, they are often confused about the problems and disappointment they experience. What’s responsible for this confusion? For too many people, their friendships are very worldly. Following Jesus may have changed the activities of friendship, but the DNA of how and why they practice friendship remains untouched. These relationships may look good, but underneath, they’re merely friend-ish. In this conversation Kelly and I discuss what true biblical friendship really looks like and how we can be better friends to one another.  Shownotes: www.KindledPodcast.com Sponsor: H. Williams Creative --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

This one's for the working mama!  Join me as I chat with Katie Alexander about the challenges and joys working moms face. Katie shares about her own experiences as a full time working mom in Corp. America.  We discuss: Finding truth in the Word of God, first and foremost Not placing our identity in our work, whether it's in or outside of the home Learning to see other women as sisters in Christ with deep and profound similarities rather than first noticing all that makes us different Putting work in its rightful place, not on the altar of our hearts but as something we do in service to the King - and being freed by that to both do it well and not be completely destroyed when we don't.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

You're going to love my friend Alaina.  She is smart, beautiful and a great mother of three. But more than all that, she is resilient because she is anchored in a God who has and is redeeming her and her story.  Most might have been tempted to title this episode by the things that the world might say marks and even scars Alaina's life - infertility, infidelity, divorce, single mother of three, working mom. But when you place your identity in a source outside yourself and your circumstances, those things lose their power to make you anything - for better or worse. These things that have happened to her have not defined her. They have not made her who she is, but rather have been the catalyst for her to lean harder into her savior. And her attitude is not just a show - it's a choice she's made. Her commitment to her girls is not an obligation, it's the delight of her life. Her resilience is not just a show for Instagram, it's something she is modeling in her real life.  Nothing went as planned, yet she thrives.

Join me for the sixth and FINAL conversation in the Education Mini-Series! I'm chatting with Rebekah Hargraves regarding her family's choice to educate their kids in homeschool.   Rebekah shares about whether this was a difficult decision for their family, what considerations and factors played into the decision as well as how they ultimately made their choice. Rebekah and I were also both homeschooled ourselves, so we discuss from the KID'S perspective how we liked it and what were some of the pros and cons of being educated that way.    Check out the shownotes for more resources on education!   WE DISCUSS: * If deciding how to educate their kids was a difficult decision for them * What options were on the table for their family * What factors played into their decision * What their top concerns were in this decision * What lies she believed * What helped her call that out and instead center her heart on truth * What scripture encouraged her * What resources helped her decide * Her advice to parents weighing

Join me for the fifth conversation in the Education Mini-Series! I'm chatting with Karen Buhrle, a friend from my church, regarding her family's choice to educate their kids in private school.    Karen shares about how their family's situation with two full time working parents was a factor for their decision as well as wanting their kids to be educated with a biblical worldview.   Check out the shownotes for more resources on education!   WE DISCUSS: * If deciding how to educate their kids was a difficult decision for them * What options were on the table for their family * What factors played into their decision * What their top concerns were in this decision * What lies she believed * What helped her call that out and instead center her heart on truth * What scripture encouraged her * What resources helped her decide * Her advice to parents weighing their options today --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

Join me for the fourth conversation in the Education Mini-Series! I'm chatting with Kristen Hatton regarding her family's choice to educate their kids in public school.    Kristen shares about whether this was a difficult decision for their family, what considerations and factors played into the decision as well as how they ultimately made their choice. With three kids who have made it through high school, you'll be encouraged by Kristen's real world experience and her testimony to God's faithfulness in her life and her kids' lives.    Check out the shownotes for more resources on education!   WE DISCUSS: * If deciding how to educate their kids was a difficult decision for them * What options were on the table for their family * What factors played into their decision * What their top concerns were in this decision * What lies she believed * What helped her call that out and instead center her heart on truth * What scripture encouraged her * What resources helped her decide * Her advice to parents weighing th

This is the THIRD interview in the mini-series and it features a conversation with Kaylie Hodges regarding her family's choice to educate their kids by homeschooling.   Kaylie shares about whether this was a difficult decision for their family, what considerations and factors played into the decision as well as how they ultimately made their choice.  She also shares some of the lies or fears she believed and what helps her combat those lies.    Check out the shownotes for more resources on education!   WE DISCUSS: * If deciding how to educate their kids was a difficult decision for them * What options were on the table for their family * What factors played into their decision * What their top concerns were in this decision * What lies she believed * What helped her call that out and instead center her heart on truth * What scripture encouraged her * What resources helped her decide * Her advice to parents weighing their options today --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

This is the second interview in the mini-series and it features a conversation with my friend Emily Bury regarding her family's choice to educate their kids in private school.    Emily shares about whether this was a difficult decision for their family, what considerations and factors played into the decision as well as how they ultimately made their choice.  She also shares some of the lies or fears she believed and what helped her combat those lies.    Check out the shownotes for more resources on education!   WE DISCUSS: * If deciding how to educate their kids was a difficult decision for them * What options were on the table for their family * What factors played into their decision * What their top concerns were in this decision * What lies she believed * What helped her call that out and instead center her heart on truth * What scripture encouraged her * What resources helped her decide * Her advice to parents weighing their options today --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/sup

Welcome to the Education Mini-Series!  In this introduction, Haley gives a preface to this 3-part mini-series in which you'll hear from 6 women who, along with their husbands, have all chosen different routes for educating their kids. You'll hear from two who chose public school, two who chose homeschooling and two who chose private school. As believers in Jesus, we have the great privilege and responsibility of teaching our kids about Jesus and praying God uses our instruction to open the eyes of their heart unto salvation. As for academic education, I believe we have a number of faithful options when it comes to how our children are educated. There are any number of models and methods and many, many different ways people have done it over the years. But for the sake of brevity, we're broadly exploring the big three - public, private and homeschool.  The point of these interviews is not to offer a prescription for your situation or tell you WHAT to think but rather help you with HOW to think about this impor

This is the first interview in the series and it features a conversation with my friend Julie Kline regarding her family's choice to educate their kids in the public school system.    Julie shares about whether this was a difficult decision for their family, what considerations and factors played into the decision as well as how they ultimately made their choice.  She also shares some of the lies or fears she believed and what helped her combat those lies.    Check out the shownotes for more resources on education! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

If you're anything like me, the new year always presents itself with the desire to clean out, purge and start fresh!  So today I'm chatting with Morgan Tyree, expert home organization consultant, about how we can create systems for each room in our home and maintain them with a realistic, grace-based approach.  If you're feeling the urge to clean out and clear out, today's is an episode you won't want to miss! Shownotes at www.kindledpodcast.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support

This is one of my all-time fave episodes! Re-airing right before the holidays of 2019. A reminder of the invitation to radical dependence we all have from God.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kindledpodcast/support