Here's an uncomfortable reality: we parents can easily idolize our kids.

When your teen or adult child is distant, critical, or just doesn't seem to like you, it cuts deep. You want their approval, their friendship, their gratitude. That's not wrong—it comes from love! But what happens when their opinion of you becomes the measure of your worth?

Brandon, Liv, and Matt explore the common trap of needing our kids' validation—and why it always backfires. When your child's approval becomes the sun in your identity solar system, you become grasping, controlling, or bitter. The very thing you're doing to win their love pushes them away.

The solution isn't trying harder. It's letting God be your source of validation so you're finally free to love your kids without needing anything back. That's when you can give them what they actually need: compassion, patience, and a parent who isn't desperate.

Practical. Honest. Hopeful.

Links:

• How to Read the Gospels with Your Imagination Workshop: https://www.signpostinn.org/events/gospel-imagination-mar-21
• Free Webinar — Heal & Deepen Your Relationship with Your Kids: https://www.signpostinn.org/webinar
• Brandon's Book — Changing the Conversation: Learning to Dance Instead of Fight: https://www.signpostinn.org/book
• Join us for an event: https://www.signpostinn.org/events
• Donate to Signpost Inn: https://www.signpostinn.org/donate

Connect with us:

Facebook www.facebook.com/SignpostInn

Instagram www.instagram.com/signpostinn

Check out our website www.signpostinn.org for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Your kid doesn't want to go to church. Before you panic or strategize, take a breath. This episode isn't about fixing your kid. It's about looking in the mirror first.

Brandon, Liv, and Matt explore why kids resist church (some reasons are healthy, some are legitimate critiques, some are heart resistance) and then ask the harder question: What implicit theology are you modeling at home? Your kids notice the gap between what you say about God and what you show them.

The good news? You can become what your teen actually needs: a "safe haven" where doubts are welcomed and a "secure base" that encourages exploration and offers forgiveness when they stumble. That's how God relates to you. And it's what you can offer your kids.

Practical. Honest. Hopeful. It's not too late.

Links:

• Join us for for an event: https://www.signpostinn.org/events
• Donate to Signpost Inn: https://www.signpostinn.org/donate

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Follow us o nFacebook www.facebook.com/SignpostInn and Instagram www.instagram.com/signpostinn/. Check out our website www.signpostinn.org for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Have you ever stood in your kitchen, listening to your kids scream at each other, and thought: "A good parent wouldn't have kids like this. Did I screw them up?"

How about the holidays with family? Was it like a Hallmark movie, or were there disagreements and fights? Did you feel a little helpless and wonder if you failed your family?

Today we're going to talk about this feeling, because if you've ever asked it, you're not alone. Somewhere along the way, most of us started believing a lie: our kids are our report card. If they turn out well, we pass. If they struggle, fight, or walk away, we failed.

Links:

• Not Home Yet: Audio book link
• Changing the Conversation Book link
• Join us for for an event: https://www.signpostinn.org/events
• Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686
• Donate to Signpost Inn: https://www.signpostinn.org/donate

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Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Why does pain feel like "reality" and joy feel like a vacation?

It is December 26th. The wrapping paper is in the trash, and for many of us, that "magical" feeling—if it was there at all—is starting to fade into the gray reality of winter. When the Christmas lights come down and we discard the tree we often feel like we are "homeless" in a broken world again.

Join Matt and Brandon as they discuss how sorrow sometimes feels more real than joy. The boys think we have it backwards. They think the incarnation means that God has made this world his home, and that his presence is actually the most real thing of all!

Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events

Links/References

• That Thing Liv Wrote - Liv’s Substack (https://livbooth.substack.com/)
• Take our audience survey! (https://myformflow.io/signpost-inn-ministries/survey)
• Matt’s recommended song: God With Us by We Are Messengers.(https://open.spotify.com/track/4iaksnylPofkl5A1MpEsnS?si=g8ODsV1xRi27KmapweP6tg)
• The Mystery of Christ & Why We Don’t Get It by Robert Farrar Capon (https://amzn.to/3NchwCi)
• Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

We tend to believe that trials and times of fear or grief, mean we've done something wrong. We feel that if we just prayed more, were more faithful with our spiritual disciplines, etc, we would feel fine, even through the worst!

But Scripture offers a different picture. Feeling our grief, fear, and pain, while lifting it all to God is prayer. Feeling bad is NOT a sign that I am bad. It’s an honest experience and expressing it to God is a powerful and intimate connection with God.

And more than that, our deep longings point to a deeper, more real reality that is waiting for us in the resurrection!

Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events

Links/References

• Mockingbird Ministries - https://mbird.com/
• Brandon’s Advent Music Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RjWQlIIUrXi0vcCTwfzZp?si=Qn_ENutRTjqEE84cODKxBg
• That Thing Liv Wrote - Liv’s Substack - https://livbooth.substack.com/
• Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website (http://www.signpostinn.org) for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

🥳 Donate to our matching fund drive! https://www.signpostinn.org/donate

Happy "National Pie for Breakfast Day." Or as most people call it... the day after Thanksgiving!

How is your soul doing this morning?

Maybe you woke up a little cringe? Maybe you’re wondering "Why did I bring that up?" "Why was I so awkward?"

Psychologist Brené Brown calls this a "Vulnerability Hangover." That regret we feel after we’ve been seen, or after we’ve tried to connect with family and it felt messy.

We often mistake this emotional exhaustion for spiritual failure. We think because we feel bad today, we must be bad!

Today the Signpost Inn gang is is going to help you with that hangover with a little theology… and a slice of pie.

📌Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events

Links/References

• Download the Navigating Emotions Toolbox: https://www.signpostinn.org/emotions-toolbox
• Check out SmartHerNews: https://smarthernews.com
• See Liv’s Picture on our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/signpostinnpodcast
• Please give us a 5 star review!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

A technical glitch becomes a beautiful opportunity. This week, Brandon and Liv pull back the curtain and invite you to the back porch for a special, from-the-heart conversation. In celebration of Signpost Inn's 5th birthday, they share the real story of the ministry's journey: the unexpected joys, the raw and honest struggles, and the passionate vision that fuels it all.

It's also a chance to partner with us. Through December 31, 2025, every gift to our ministry will be doubled thanks to a generous $12,500 matching grant. Your support helps us raise the $25,000 we need to continue providing resources like this podcast, workshops, and spiritual direction.

Listen in for the full story, and find out how you can pray for us, give to the matching fund, and share the message of grace.

Give today: www.signpostinn.org/donate

Links/References

• Buy Brandon’s book: Changing the Conversation: How to Dance Instead of Fight in Everyday Conversation.
• Get Brandon and Liv’s book as an audio book!
• Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947)
• Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

On this special Halloween episode, hosts Liv and Brandon ask why creating AI avatars of the dead seems so alluring. What does it say about our deepest soul questions and longing for the permanent approval of the dead? And what does God have to say about all of this? Liv and Brandon wrap it up with lots of hope as we talk about the real promise of resurrection life in Christ that we celebrate on All Saints Day.

IT’S SIGNPOST INN’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY! And generous donors have given us $12,500 for our matching fund drive. From now until December 31, 2025 all your gifts will be doubled! Help us keep going strong for another 5 years, donate today: https://www.signpostinn.org/donate.

Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events

Links/References

• Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947)
• Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources!

Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com