When Dad has to work late (again) and the kids’ bedtimes are still hours away, is there a gracious response to give? Although long days might leave a wife stuck in cycles of comparison with other families and even anger, God hasn't left her without hope and help. No matter the income-producing work balance between mom and dad, it can feel challenging to navigate family life alongside work responsibilities. In this episode, Emily and Laura look at the ways we can honor our husbands through busy work seasons, inflexible schedules, travel, and missed expectations. When our hope is rooted in Christ, we can trust that even when our husband’s meeting runs long or he’s called into work on a Saturday morning, God is our sure foundation and our greatest help.

*This show is intended to address the typical strains of balancing work and parenting within the context of healthy Christian marriages. If you’re in a marriage that is experiencing these tensions within the context of unconfessed sin or neglect, we encourage you to reach out to a trusted mentor, pastor, or counselor for help.

Disobedience, nagging, interruptions, sibling squabbles, an attitude of entitlement, or just toys carelessly left all over the floor—there are plenty of opportunities to feel anger in motherhood. And when anger rises up in us, it’s tough to respond slowly and gently. Fortunately, God’s Word gives us hope and help. In this episode, Emily reads a collection of verses to meditate on when we feel angry as moms. When we fill our minds and hearts with the truths of Scripture, we can remember these words when anger tempts us to sin or despair. Next time you’re doing dishes, driving to work, or making lunches, we pray these verses encourage and transform you. The God of all sees your frustrations—he knows you and loves you deeply.

Note: We understand that anger covers a wide spectrum of responses and feelings. Please keep in mind that some instances and experiences of anger may require professional counseling, pastoral care, or a medical doctor. If you find yourself in a situation that feels much larger than the topics we cover in this series, we encourage you to seek help from professionals who are trained to care for you best in this struggle.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Moms have a lot of work to do and the exhaustion of our responsibilities in the home, the church, and the community, often leave us wanting to lean into despair and defeat.. But God uses the work before us to show us his sufficiency and unending love in our weakness so we can lean into grace. In this episode, Emily and Laura interview Debbie Martens about God’s faithfulness and grace in motherhood. Debbie is a wife, mom of seven, and grandmother of five who is actively involved in her local church and community. We’re called to be faithful to God in the work before us, but even when we fail, God is faithful to teach and sustain us in every season of motherhood.

When it comes to anger in motherhood, it's easy to be caught in a cycle of guilt and despair. However, the good news is that there is hope in Christ and power to fight sin in practical ways! Just like a person on a diet doesn't keep tempting foods within reach, with God's help, we can find ways to limit the temptation to sin in our anger while we process through the issues of the heart. In this show, Emily and Laura discuss common triggers for outbursts in motherhood, and share helpful hints for prevention. Because of the gospel, even a worn-out frustrated mom is under grace, with the power of the Spirit to pursue holiness from a new heart.

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?