LOVING LIFE AT HOME - Christian Marriage, Biblical Parenting, Creative Homemaking, Purposeful Living

EP 4: 6 Parenting Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make

We all flub up from time to time. None of us are perfect parents. But there are a few very big, but very common parenting mistakes we’d like to avoid or counteract if we can. 
As mothers, we love our children dearly and want the very best for them in life. We want to nurture and protect them and to fill their childhood with wonderful opportunities to learn and grow and create lasting memories. Isn’t that right? 
Yet sometimes, the things we do in an attempt to “help our kids out” end up “holding them back” instead. Sometimes, our parenting mistakes actually just serve to handicap our children.
Countless habits fall into this category, but in this episode of Loving Life at Home, we'll look at six parenting practices -- all extremely common in our current culture -- that will sabotage your child’s future success if you don't guard against them.
FREE PRINTABLES MENTIONED
- Age-Appropriate Chore Chart
- Bedroom Inspection Checklist
- Ideas for Earning Screen Time: Chart
FURTHER READING
- "Play Deprivation is a Major Cause of the Teen Mental Health Crisis." -  article by Jon Haidt & Peter Gray
- "8 Ways Screens are Ruining Your Family's Life" - article by Lori Leibovich for Huffington Post
- 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You - sobering book by Tony Reinke
- Love Your Husband/Love Yourself - my book on prioritizing your marriage, even after children
VERSES CITED
- “If any will not work, neither let him eat.” - 2 Thessalonians 3:10
- "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men..." - Colossians 3:23
- "Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving. But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house.” - Proverbs 6:30
- "Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless.” - Psalm 119:37
- "My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.” - Psalm 119:71
- "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven…” - Ecclesiastes 3:1
- "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh.Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.” - Mark 10:7-9
 
 

EP 3: How to Master Your Spouse’s Love Language

Want a powerful way to improve your marriage? Learn to speak your spouse’s love language! In this week’s podcast, I share six practical ways to gain proficiency in your husband’s preferred love language —  and I discuss what to do if he isn’t fluent in yours.
BOOKS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:
- The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
- Love Your Husband/Love Your Yourself by Jennifer Flanders
SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES:
- “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” (1 John 3:18)
- “Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)
RELATED LINKS:
- Weekly Newsletter – join 19K other subscribers to Flanders Family Freebies
- Flanders Family Home Life – my family blog, full of free printable resources + parenting tips
- Loving Life at Home – my marriage blog where I discuss topics of interest to wives

EP 2: 7 Secrets to Dealing with Difficult In-Laws

Do your in-laws give you fits? Are they difficult or demanding? Have you grown weary of even trying to please them?
Imagine how much easier your life and marriage would be if everyone could just learn to get along!
Although I now enjoy a wonderful relationship with my husband's parents, that has not always been the case. We butted heads in pretty significant ways during our early years of marriage. 
But those rocky first years taught me a lot about extending grace to folks who often seemed less than thrilled to have me in their family. In this podcast, I share the seven strategic steps I took to turn things around.
SCRIPTURES CITED:
- “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18)
- “Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel.” (Proverbs 20:3)
- “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.” (Proverbs 17:14)
- “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)
- “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16)
- “Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:17)
- “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:3-8)
FOR FURTHER READING:
- How to Pray for Your Parents – works equally well with parents-in-law
- What I Most Appreciate about My Father-in-Law – focus on the good!
- Our Wedding Portrait – so you can judge for yourself how sick & pale I looked 
- Weekly Newsletter – join 19K other subscribers to Flanders Family Freebies
- Love Your Husband, Love Yourself – my life-changing marriage book
- Flanders Family Home Life – my family blog, full of free printable resources + parenting tips
- Loving Life at Home – my marriage blog where I discuss topics of interest to wives
 
 

EP 1: How to Find a Good Mentor

Would you like to have a wise mentor, but don't know how to find one? Today we're discussing what makes a good mentor, where to look for one, and what to do if you can't find anyone willing or able to function as a mentor in your life.
Also, as promised, here are links to resources I mentioned in the podcast this week:
- Bible Reading Plan - free reading plan for reading through the whole Bible in a year
- Weekly Newsletter - join 19K other subscribers to Flanders Family Freebies
- Love Your Husband, Love Yourself - my life-changing marriage book
- Flanders Family Home Life - my first blog, full of free printable resources + parenting tips
- Loving Life at Home - my marriage blog where I discuss topics of interest to wives
- In Search of an Encouraging Mentor - my original 2018 post on which this episode is based