Parenting a spicy child can feel overwhelming, isolating, and exhausting, especially when traditional parenting advice just doesn’t work. In this episode, Mary Van Geffen joins us to talk about what it really means to parent a strong-willed, spirited, intense child without losing yourself or crushing their spirit.

So often, as moms, we unknowingly tie our identity and worth to how our children behave. When our kids are calm, compliant, or successful, we feel like we are doing a good job. When they are loud, explosive, or struggling, we internalize it as failure. Parenting a spicy child brings this tension to the surface and forces us to ask deeper questions about where our identity really comes from. This conversation invites moms to loosen their grip on performance-based parenting and remember that our value is not measured by our child’s behavior, but by who we are and whose we are.

Here is some of what we cover:

• How to stay connected to your child so you can guide them long-term
• A practical calm down recipe for flare-ups and explosive moments
• How to set boundaries without crushing your child’s spirit
• Why you are not responsible for your child’s happiness
• How to support the mild child in a family with a spicy sibling

• Instagram: 🌶️Parenting Education Classes (@maryvangeffen)
• Facebook: Mary Van Geffen
• Website: Mary Van Geffen

Links Mentioned:

• Parenting a Spicy One: By Mary Van Geffen
• The Cost of Control: By Sharon Hodde Miller
• Start Here- Quiz — Mary Van Geffen
  
  

Related Episodes:

• Parenting as a Highly Sensitive Person :: Mary Van Geffen [Ep 438]
• Body Awareness in Parenting :: Mary Van Geffen [Ep 333]
• How to Stay Calm with Strong Willed Kids? :: Kirk Martin [Ep 479]

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*Republishing our most downloaded episodes, one a month this year*

Whether you’ve been married for a few years or are approaching a milestone anniversary, a healthy marriage takes intentional work. Marriage isn’t built in the big, dramatic moments, but in thousands of small habits and daily interactions that over time lead to either a God-honoring, joy-filled relationship—or one marked by strain and self-focus.

Author and speaker Paul David Tripp joins me to talk about how those everyday habits shape our marriages and how to identify the ones that need to be uprooted. Drawing from nearly 50 years of marriage, Paul helps us see our relationships through the lens of the gospel.

“A biblical view of marriage is a sinner married to a sinner in a fallen world—but with a faithful God. That means we can’t coast. There are things in each of us that threaten our marriage, and we need God’s grace every day.”

My hope is that this conversation encourages you to re-engage your marriage with renewed faith and confidence in what God can do.

What we talk about:

• How marriages are shaped by thousands of small moments
• Why daily habits matter more than big moments
• Identifying healthy and harmful marriage habits
• How sin turns us inward—and why marriage is a covenant of community
• Confession, forgiveness, and navigating conflict
• Unity vs. uniformity in marriage
• The role of the fruit of the Spirit in a thriving marriage

• Why isolation harms marriage and community helps heal it

• Instagram: Paul David Tripp (@paultrippquotes)
• Facebook: Paul David Tripp
• Website: PaulTripp.com | Pastor. Author. Conference Speaker.

Links Mentioned:

• Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs to Make by Paul David Tripp

• Hope for the Hopeless Marriage :: Kathy Bush [Ep 453]
• Building Strong Marriages :: Kimberly Beam Holmes [Ep 374]
• Rebuilding from an Abusive Marriage :: Jeni B [Ep 246]

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Are we living in the most anxious generation ever? In this powerful and hope-filled conversation, Max Lucado joins us to talk about anxiety, mental health, and the unseen struggles so many kids and teens are facing today—and what parents can do about it.

With constant access to phones, social media, and nonstop information, anxiety often shows up sideways in our kids through anger, withdrawal, or fear. Max explains what’s happening in the brain, why anxiety feels like an alarm that never shuts off, and how parents can become a soft place to land when emotions run high.

We also talk about the importance of parents addressing anxiety in their own lives, how worry steals joy and peace, and why our presence (not perfection) is what God desires most. Max shares encouragement for praying parents, reminding us that Jesus never turned away a parent who asked for help for their child. Here is some of what we cover:

• Why today’s kids are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety
• The physical and emotional toll of chronic worry
• Why a parent’s physical presence matters more than we realize
• Max Lucado’s personal faith journey and what God taught him about presence over performance

• Instagram: Max Lucado (@maxlucado)
• Facebook: Max Lucado
• Website: Max Lucado

Links Mentioned:

• Calm Thoughts for Kids: 90 devotions for Anxious Days
• Tame Your Thoughts: By Max Lucado
• Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado
• Hermie Series–Buzby and the Grumble Bees
• **SIGN UP to Join Heather and Megan at Pro Love Saturday for Embrace Grace

• Life Empowered by the Holy Spirit :: Max Lucado [Ep 381]
• You Are Never Alone :: Max Lucado [Ep 298]
• From Overwhelmed to Anchored: Replacing the Lies of Motherhood with God’s Truth :: Erica Gwynn [Ep 544]

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