No Ordinary Days

The world around us and everything in it seems to be crumbling. We're not sure what's on the horizon but it doesn't look friendly. Reports of economic distress and looming war abound and that's on top of the duress each home is directly experiencing. We ask ourselves, "What can I do about it? What difference could I and my insignificant home make in the face of such powerful forces?" This episode attempts to answer that question and to remind you that your home, serving Christ within your humble domain, is far more powerful, far more important, than you realize.

Links mentioned in this episode: The Well Ordered Day Planner - purchase here: https://www.thewellorderedhomeschool.com/products/the-well-ordered-day-planner-2026-edition

The world and everything in it (everyone, too often!) is growing increasingly fake. Science, politics, social media, causes, personalities, food, medicine - all of it is becoming less real by the day. That's not to say that truth no longer exists in any or all of these arenas, it's just that it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish the truth from the lies. We, as adults, are often unsuccessful at discerning the truth. How much more difficult do you think it is and will be for our children? This episode is a call to turn away from the lies that surround us and grow more prevalent by the day and to equip our children to embrace the truth and defend it to the death.

We've said it many times - raising children is hard. Like discouragingly hard at times. Sometimes that discouragement comes from the mouths of our children. They see the disfunction in our lives and they call it out and openly wonder why we can't get our act together. What they fail to appreciate (and at their age, you really can't fault them) is that while it's true that we're failing to some degree, it's also true that we're trying. What this ultimately says is that we care and also that we ultimately expect to succeed. This perseverance, despite the pressures committed to our failure, is the very example they will look back on to help them persevere through their own struggles later in life.

Here's a nearly universal truth recognized among parents - every child is different. If that's true (and it is) then shouldn't the child training methods you apply to each child be different too? The obvious answer is 'yes' but parent's are hesitant to admit it. Why? In this episode we examine the answer to this question and what the appropriate response to the uniqueness of our children should be as parents.

Raising children can be quite distressing, especially when you feel you don't have any answers to the struggles you're facing. In truth, the answers are all around us, we simply don't have eyes to see them. In this episode we talk about a truth that many parents are either unaware of or have forgotten altogether and it very well could be the key to dramatically altering your relationship with your child for the better.

In the midst of the recent tragedy that we're still processing and many of us can't quite get over, there's a question that keeps sounding in my ears - what are you going to do about it? I imagine many of you are hearing it too. There's an obvious answer and they're staring directly up into our faces.

Thoughts on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the legacy of his extraordinary commitment to not only his home, but to millions outside of it. He was among the very few who have been strong enough to work a good work on two fronts and yet not allow one to detract from the other. May he rest in peace.

Children often have a lot to say but we don't seem to have a lot of time to listen. Sure, we can smile and nod along as our 5 year old talks about their day or throw out a few deftly placed but insincere "Uh huh's" while our 12 year old attempts to convince us that they'll never actually use math in the real world. But our mind is often elsewhere, preoccupied with matters of true importance. How mistaken we are. If we can't find the time to truly listen to our children when they're young and thereby show them just how important they're concerns are to us, then they'll most likely deprive us of the privilege of listening to them when they're older. A world of meaning and significance is caught up in everything our children say, it's just a question of whether or not we care to listen.

Find our character and habit training program for children here!

Find handmade, educational chalkboards for children here!

Find our homeschool planner here!

We place a lot of expectation on our children and issue a lot of commands. But have you ever stopped to think about what's behind those expectations and commands? This episode will ask you to do the difficult and perhaps even painful work of exploring the true motivations behind the directives you give your children. For as important as the "laws" in your home are, they have little to no lasting effect without the proper spirit bringing them forth.

Find our Character and Habit Training Program for Children here.

Find our handcrafted, educational chalkboards for children here.

In this episode we talk about the thing that children want the most but that we seem to have so little to give - time. It's much too easy to allow other activities and pursuits, including necessary ones, to get in the way of us spending time with our children. We count on there always being a tomorrow (which is usually the case) but what we don't count on is the nearly imperceptible loss of unique moments and seasons in the midst of waiting for tomorrow to arrive. Let's make sure it doesn't happen in our homes. Let's give ourselves to our children while there's still time.

In this episode we talk about the prevalence of technology in our children's lives and how we can minimize its ability to negatively influence them. Also we offer some advice to first time homeschoolers and talk about the one activity that's more important than learning in your homeschool.

This is part two of a series of episodes on preparing to parent during one of the most formative periods in your child's life - their teen years. Whether you have children distant from, nearing, or in the middle of their teens, these episodes are for you.