Books, podcasts, Bible studies, conferences, articles, and social media—oh my! With so many resources and so little time, how should a mom choose the best resources for her spiritual growth? In this episode, Emily and Laura share how wise use of time on the best resources is a stewardship issue. Our hearts can chase the wrong sources of wisdom and false gods too easily, but through the study of God’s word and the work of the Holy Spirit, we can all grow in wisdom and discernment as we choose excellent resources to fill our time!

When we ask for questions from the RM community, they range from the super practical to the thought-provoking and theological, which makes the AUA show something really special. In this one-hour episode, Laura and Emily answer listeners’ questions from what they cook for dinner and their daily routines, to short anecdotal examples of how they approach discipline and what they value about their friendship. They even touch on one of our most frequently asked questions: how do you approach intimacy in the little years? We hope that as you listen in, you’ll see that the gospel truly does impact every aspect of motherhood, and we’re all learning with you.

There is just something about music that helps us remember things we’ve learned in a way that other methods can’t match! In this episode, Laura and Emily celebrate our opportunity to worship God through song. No matter what our singing voices sound like, we can all benefit from remembering God’s goodness and faithfulness through shared songs in the Christian faith. By inviting these moments of worship into our homes, we’re able to experience the joy of knowing God and resting in his promises as a whole family.

Deciding how to educate your child can be overwhelming, but momma, there is freedom—because of the gospel— in our education methods. In this episode, Emily and Laura interview Jen Wilkin, a wife, mom, author, and Bible teacher, on her family’s decision to educate their children through the public school system. We all have unique situations when it comes to schooling, but our ultimate consideration is how to honor Christ as we care for our families (and our communities) in the decision making process.

Deciding how to educate your child can be overwhelming, but momma, there is freedom—because of the gospel— in our education methods. In this episode, Laura and Emily interview Melissa Kruger, a wife, mom, and writer, on her family’s decision to educate their children through the private system. No matter where we school our children, our responsibility remains to create a gospel-culture in our homes and to trust God’s good work in our children’s lives. School is important, but we are the biggest influencers in our children’s education.

Deciding how to educate your child can be overwhelming, but momma, there is freedom—because of the gospel—in our education methods. In this episode, Emily and Laura kickoff our RM month of education with the first of four podcast shows on schooling choices! Deciding how to educate your child reveals a lot of options, opinions, and pressures from both inside and outside of your home. We hope you’ll join us over the next month while we talk about private, public, and homeschooling, and how the gospel gives us freedom to choose, in the context of our own situation, for the glory of God.

Kids say the darndest things sometimes, don’t they? Maybe it’s a comment about someone’s hair while you’re in line at the grocery store or they ask a question about someone’s dialect when you have a neighbor over for dinner, but no matter where it happens, it’s normal for children to show curiosity about God’s diverse design. In this episode, Trillia Newbell joins Emily and Laura to share practical ways we can explain God’s very good idea to our children, exposing them to different people with joy and transparency. The gospel speaks a better word than our culture — affirming that all people are made in the image of God and deserve to be loved as such.

Most of us know that good storytelling captures our attention and impresses lessons on our hearts. The same is true for our children! The adventures, battles, victories, and resolutions whisper biblical truths that impact our children, often without them fully understanding how or why. In this episode, Emily and Laura share how stories can help us pass along the gospel and give examples of godly character to our children. A good story represents the Great Story, and wonderful tales laced with hope invite our children to know the greatest storyteller of all–God himself.

The idea of eating around the table with little ones may bring to mind little tea cups in front of stuffed animal friends or fidgeting children and food-covered floors. No matter what mealtimes look like in our homes, each meal is a chance to share how God’s love impacts our children’s lives. In this episode, Sally Clarkson, wife, mother of four, and prolific author, offers her wealth of experience and insight on sharing Christ with your children around the family table. By making our times at the table something special and an opportunity for training, moms can tackle the hard work of sharing gospel truths in a natural way within the daily rhythm of mealtimes. 

Before we've even grown comfortable in the role of motherhood, it starts...the fall-to-the-floor tantrums, the food throwing, the back-talking, the hitting, and even the selective hearing. Suddenly, we're faced with the the reality that our children are sinners, and moreso, that God has given us the authority to do something about it! With a sea of opinions and resources, it's easy to just feel paralyzed. In this episode, Emily and Laura give an overview of discipline in the early years, especially focusing on using it as a tool to communicate the gospel.  Discipline will play out differently in each family, but the goal is the same: pointing our sinful children to their desperate need for the perfect Savior.

Busyness, squirmy children, silly questions, and feeling insecure about talking to toddlers about Jesus are all things that hinder intentional discipleship in the season of young children. When you feel like you can't live up to that other family, or your ideal picture of family devotion time, it's tempting to do nothing. But regardless the challenges, we're still responsible for sharing God's word with our children. In this episode, Emily and Laura discuss how they've altered their expectations for family worship, and share practical ideas for getting started. If the gospel is everything to us, and we are deeply grateful for God's word, we will show our children how to feast off of the bread of life.

The world tells us to prepare our children to be athletes, successful business people, and helpful citizens; but as Christian moms, we aim for something eternally important. Our goal isn't just to have "good" kids, but to have children that know and love Jesus. We want to help our children not just do what's right on the outside, but to think through honoring God from a right heart. How can we do this well? In this episode, Emily and Laura close out the year with a reminder about our most important mission as moms. Let's finish 2016 well mamas, and go into 2017 with hearts that long to pour rich biblical truth into our children!