Keeping My Sanity

E42: Identifying and dealing with destructive anger with Natalie Hixson

Even if we don't want to admit it, anger is an emotion common to us all. While it isn't categorically a bad emotion, its manifestation is often sinful and destructive.
I was happy to discuss how Christians--moms in particular--can manage anger with Natalie Hixson. Natalie helps discouraged, burnt-out Christian Moms overcome destructive anger so they can enjoy being a wife and mom.
You can learn more about Natalie at https://nataliehixson.com/keepingmysanity. 

E41: Praying Scripture back to God

I can easily find myself on repeat mode when it comes to prayer, saying the same things for the same people or situations. I also sometimes find myself at a loss for words, which is when I can be thankful that God knows even what I can't say.
We know prayer is important, and if you are like me you also know that this is an area that could use improvement. There is no better prayer teacher than the pages of scripture. 
Today, I want to do something a bit different from the normal podcast. I want to pray through several passages in Romans.
You can pray with me as I highlight verses from chapters 10, 12, and 13. We can pray these for our spouse, children, family, and friends. 
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.

E40: A Jesus Easter: Explore God’s Amazing Rescue Plan with author Barbara Reaoch

I was so blessed to talk to Barbara Reaoch on today's episode. Barbara's passion to serve Christ is so apparent and she has dedicated her ministry to equip parents, grandparents, and teachers to present Biblical truth to children.
 
On the episode, we specifically talk about her latest book, A Jesus Easter: Explore God's Amazing Rescue Plan. The book is a day-by-day quick read leading up to Easter (like an advent for Easter), but it can certainly be used at anytime and be read at any pace!
 
My boys--ages 5 through 9--all love the thought questions each day. I also like the questions because they create great conversation around Biblical truths that may not come up naturally.
 
In the book, Barbara shares the four questions that Easter answers for us.
Who is Jesus?
Why did God send Jesus to us?
What lies does Satan want us to believe?
What is our right response to Jesus?
 
You can get your copy of A Jesus Easter* on Amazon today!
 
Barbara also has several other books* on Amazon that I'm excited to read eventually.
 
More about Barbara
Website: https://www.barbarareaoch.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ron.reaoch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reaoch/
 
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.
 
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. See my full disclosures, Terms of Use, and privacy policies on my "privacy" page. I never recommend a product I don't love.

E39: Balancing tolerance, coexistence, and biblical conviction with Mama Bear Apologetics’ Hillary Morgan Ferrer

If you are a regular listener, you may have heard the first part of my conversation last week with apologist and author Hillary Morgan Ferrer. Hilary is the founder of Mama Bear Apologetics, a valuable resource for training ourselves and our children to think critically, love biblically, and stand firm against the cultural tide.
 
Last week, we talked about equipping our children to defend their faith and not be lured away by a culture that tries so hard to destroy it. This week we dive deeper into the topics of pluralism, tolerance, secular word definition, sexuality, and balancing our love for others with our pursuit of truth and justice we find in scriptures.
Apologetics resources
Mama Bear Apologetics
Mama Bear Resources Website: https://mamabearapologetics.com/resources/
Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies - Find it on Amazon
Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God’s Design - Find it on Amazon
 
Cold-Case Christianity
Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels - Find it on Amazon
Cold-Case Christianity for Kids: Investigate Jesus with a Real Detective - Find it on Amazon
 
Natasha Crain
Natasha's Website: https://natashacrain.com/
Talking with Your Kids about Jesus: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have - Find it on Amazon
Talking with Your Kids about God: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have - Find it on Amazon
Keeping Your Kids on God's Side: 40 Conversations to Help Them Build a Lasting Faith - Find it on Amazon
 
Living Hope Ministries
Why? Understanding Male Gender Development - Find it on Living Hope
Why? Understanding Female Gender Development - Find it on Living Hope
 
Miriam Grossman
Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student - Find it on Amazon
 
Abigail Shrier
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters - Find it on Amazon
 
You can pick up the books on Amazon.
About Hillary Morgan Ferrer
Hillary Morgan Ferrer is the founder and Mama-Bear-in-Chief of Mama Bear Apologetics. She feels a burden for providing accessible apologetics resources for busy moms. Hillary is the co-author and general editor of the bestselling book Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies (Harvest House, 2019) and the recently released Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality (Harvest House 2021) Hillary has her master’s degree in biology and loves helping moms to discern truths and lies in both science and culture. She also specializes in understanding the root causes of doubt. She and her husband, John, have been married for 14 years and minister together as an apologetics team.
 
Find out more about Mama Bear Apologetics.
Website: https://mamabearapologetics.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamabearapologetics/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamabearapologetics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfMaFkzIfflQeKmzVF-4IGA
 
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.
 
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. See my full disclosures, Terms of Use, and privacy policies on my “privacy” page. I never recommend a product I don’t love.
 

E38: Equipping children to defend their faith with Mama Bear Apologetics author Hillary Morgan Ferrer

My husband and I have three school-aged boys. We have made a deliberate decision to enroll all three of them in public school, a topic that we may get into more in a different podcast. Though I'm able to be in the classroom regularly again this semester, there's still nothing I can do to shelter them from witnessing the reality of the fall--even in elementary.
 
Over the summer, I read Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies, by Hillary Morgan Ferrer and Nancy Pearcey. The book discusses our role as parents in the instruction of biblical truth in a depraved culture.
 
I knew I needed to bring Hillary onto the podcast to share her wisdom with my listeners. Our conversation covered such a wide scope that I've decided to break it into two episodes. In this week's episode, we discuss properly equipping our children to defend their faith.
 
In next week's episode, we'll get into topics from Hillary's second book, co-authored by Amy Davison and released in October 2021--Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God’s Design. Unfortunately, the second book is all too relevant in today's culture also. We get into some of the tough topics in that book next week.
 
You can pick up the books on Amazon.
Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies
Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God’s Design
About Hillary Morgan Ferrer
Hillary Morgan Ferrer is the founder and Mama-Bear-in-Chief of Mama Bear Apologetics. She feels a burden for providing accessible apologetics resources for busy moms. Hillary is the co-author and general editor of the bestselling book Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies (Harvest House, 2019) and the recently released Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality (Harvest House 2021) Hillary has her master’s degree in biology and loves helping moms to discern truths and lies in both science and culture. She also specializes in understanding the root causes of doubt. She and her husband, John, have been married for 14 years and minister together as an apologetics team.
 
Find out more about Mama Bear Apologetics.
 
Website: https://mamabearapologetics.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamabearapologetics/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamabearapologetics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfMaFkzIfflQeKmzVF-4IGA
 
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.

E37: Behind the masks we wear: An honest talk about depression with Pastor Alistair Chalmers

It's easy to wear a mask to hide our brokenness, but it's OK to not be OK. It was a huge encouragement to speak with Pastor Alistair Chalmers about his struggle with depression and, more specifically, the hope we have in Christ.
Pastors are broken people. Just like us. No, really. That's not always easy to remember, but can be so helpful in our most difficult struggles.
In today's episode, I had the opportunity to speak to Alistair Chalmers, an assistant pastor in Scotland, who is just as broken as you and I are. He has chosen to use his struggle with depression and suicide to encourage others.
You can purchase his book online. (Don't switch to the US site or you won't be able to see the book. Listeners can use the discount code “keepingmysanity” (all one word, all lowercase) to receive 50% off a copy of The Pastor with a Thorn in His Side for the month of January 2022.
This conversation was so encouraging to me, and I hope it will be for you as well. Find out more about Allistar below on his website.
 
Alistair's blog: https://achalmersblog.comTwitter @ASChalmersInstagram @ChalmersblogFacebook @Chalmersblog
 

E36: 11 thought-provoking questions to focus 2022

New year's resolutions can sometimes become cliché, rehashing the same generic goals each year. Today, I
want to share ten 11 intentional questions that will help guide your new years reset to focus on what really matters.
What is the one thing I can do this year to increase my enjoyment of God?
What is the most humanly impossible thing I will ask God to do this year?
What is the single most important thing I can do to improve my family life this year?
In which spiritual discipline(s) do I most want to make progress this year and what will I do about it?
What is the single biggest time-waster in my life, and what will I do about it?
What is the most helpful new way I can help strengthen my church?
For whose salvation(s) will I pray most fervently this year?
What is the most important way I will make 2022 different from 2021?
What one thing can I do to improve my prayer life this year?
What single thing that I plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years or eternity?
How can this year be our best year for the Lord?
I also mentioned the book 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. You can pick that up on Amazon if you're ready to be convicted.
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.

E35: Does growth REALLY need to be uncomfortable?

When I feel that I am out of my comfort zone, then I have a God-given chance to grow. Are you experiencing discomfort in some area of your life today?  As tough as it seems, it's probably the perfect place for you to grow in your walk with the Lord.
 
Links in the episode
Episode 10: What homeschool has taught me - https://keepingmysanity.com/podcast/what-homeschool-has-taught-me/
 
Episode 20: Our nomadic adventure that forced us to rely on God - https://keepingmysanity.com/podcast/our-nomadic-adventure-forced-us-to-rely-on-god/
 
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.

E34: Beyond the Music: A closer look at ‘O Holy Night‘

There are few things I love more than music--both listening and singing. I have several Spotify playlists that I rotate through all day long, depending on what I'm in the mood for.
 
Obviously, Christmas music is running nonstop since November. Obviously. I was struck last week, however, by how little I dwell on some of these theologically rich songs. I enjoy the music, and I can sing right along with it without truly considering the lyrics and the message.
 
By far, my favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night. I want to share with you a little bit more about the lyrics and the history of this song. If I take a few moments to think about it, the song means so much more to me!
 
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.

E33: Invite singles into your crazy: Ministering to singles in your church (Molly Duncan)

I've been married for 11 years and have three kids--the oldest of which is nine years old. I feel far removed from singleness. Though I know a lot of singles, I'm always hesitant to reach out and build a relationship. I convince myself that my crazy is too much for them or that I won't have anything relatable to talk about. 
To clear things up, I invited my delightful friend Molly to talk about singleness and share how we can best minister to singles in our churches.
If you like today's episode, maybe you'd like to get in on my weekly Coffee Chat email. Each Wednesday, I like to share a few paragraphs of encouragement or a challenge that I've been working through. I'd love to chat with you there. Sign up at keepingmysanity.com.