It’s natural to prefer spending time with moms who share similar parenting values, lifestyle choices, and special interests with us. Conversely, most of us can instantly think of a mom we avoid, because she makes us uncomfortable with her more-extreme views in a gray-area of motherhood. These feelings beg the question, “How should we love and interact with those who do motherhood differently than us, especially when those differences breed difficulties?” In this episode, Emily and Laura bring the gospel to bear on these challenging relationships, remembering that the cross levels all of us. Because of the extravagant grace shown to us, we can now love others who are different, even when it’s hard.

Frustration, impatience, losing our cool, having a bad day, feeling overwhelmed; we all have different ways of describing an angry heart-attitude towards our children. Although we know what it looks like when we lose self-control (and we're experts at feeling guilty about it), we rarely stop to think about why we're so upset in the first place. In this episode, Emily and Laura share their personal struggles with anger and impatience, and discuss how the good news of the gospel is transforming their hearts. At the end of the day, we are not God and we don't deserve any of the kindness he's shown to us in Christ. Shouldn't we remember that, rejoice in it, and extend that same grace to our children?

So maybe YOU know your mission is to point your kids to Jesus, but do they? Just as God gave clear, overarching missional statements to his children, we can provide direction through the intentional act of writing a mission statement for those in our care. In this episode, Emily and Laura discuss the why (and how) of writing a family mission statement with your husband. Even if all you do is take time to get on the same page with your spouse, determining your family's ultimate mission helps you stay focused on what really matters in your mothering.

So you read the parenting articles, brushed-up on the books, and did the research to approach a parenting issue intentionally. But, your plans quickly seemed to flop when you realized you were on a totally different page than your husband. How can mom be proactive and make a plan, while honoring, respecting, involving, and coming alongside her husband too? In this episode, Emily and Laura discuss the easy miscommunication traps we can fall into as parents, and share ideas for getting back on the same team. Mom and dad have the same ultimate goal: to pass along the gospel to the next generation, training up their children in the Lord.