Mom To Mom Podcast

In the American church, there's been a growing, gaping hole between the generations. Older women often feel disconnected and irrelevant to younger women, easily intimidated by modern technology and navigating social media and it’s easy for many to feel out of touch. Many younger women feel like they’re doing just fine on their own and don’t see the need for biblical mentorship. Others find that when they do ask an older woman to mentor them, they get turned down and they wind up navigating as best they can but desperate for help from someone who’s been there and done that. Our goal in this episode is to encourage the hearts of both older and younger women and give strategies to help you connect and share creative ways to bridge the massive gap between the generations. You can also find us on Instagram, on Facebook, or at our website at www.momtomompodcast.com. We would love to hear from you, so reach out and we will reach back to you.

Our culture in general seems obsessed with the idea of "hustle." But for some of us, a side hustle can make all the difference in meeting our desire to stay-at-home with our kids as well as providing additional income or bringing personal satisfaction in an area of interest outside of motherhood. Listen as Jamie, Kate and September delve into the topic of side-hustles (specifically for stay-at-home moms) and share insights and practical tips on how to balance family life and side-hustles, as well as how to identify profitable opportunities that may be better suited than others to you and your family. As always, we’d love to connect with you! Join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook. 

We live in a crazy, mixed-up world, vastly different from the world 20 years ago. Back then, there were no cell phones, only very rudimentary computers, no internet or social media and the world seemed much calmer as we all had more time to spend in face-to-face communication. We weren’t looking more at our phones and less at the world around us, the way many of us do today. Just stand in line at a restaurant or sit at your gate in the airport: ninety percent of people are staring at their phones rather than interacting with the ones around them! But even 20 years ago, parents still needed to impart basic life skills to children, skills all kids need to learn before they move into life as an adult. There are several critical ones that Kate, Jamie, and September are going to chat about today. Listen as they hit on some of the major topics for the current culture we are living in right now. For more information and resources mentioned in this episode, see the show notes at our Mom to Mom Podcast website.

Months after Jamie wrote her first book, Homeschool Bravely, she was being interviewed on a podcast. And while she doesn’t remember much about that particular show, she does remember one particular question the host lobbed her way. She was asked, do you still have fears when it comes to your mothering? The podcaster was specifically referring to fears about homeschooling, and so Jamie's answer took the conversation in a different direction than she was shooting for. Jamie answered, “Yep, I fear what will happen when everything I have poured into them over the years is now theirs to do with as they will. I pray they will hold fast to their faith and the truth of God’s Word. I pray 2 Timothy 3:14 for them, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.” But then we have to let those fears go, give them to the Holy Spirit and trust that in God’s great love for them, He’ll continue to chase after them even when our role in their lives shifts. Tha

For Christian families, discipleship that goes to a child’s heart will give them a passion for Jesus like nothing else.  We mamas do our utmost to raise our children according to biblical principles and standards as we do our best to model Christ’s love to them and everyone in our lives. To chat all about how to focus on discipleship and why it’s so critical for our kids, we’re welcoming Leslie Nunnery, an author and mom of four who along with her husband, David, founded Teach Them Diligently, the nation's premier source for gospel-centered homeschool events. Leslie has been on our podcast before, on Episode 53 which is all about finding your parenting vision and is well worth listening to. She’s the author of two books and she’s written multiple homeschool courses. But whether you homeschool or not, Leslie is full of wisdom about how we can focus on discipleship and why it’s absolutely critical to Christian families, especially in the times we live in.  Visit Teach Them Diligently, for resources and expe

A few years into her mothering, Jamie decided that she wanted to put more emphasis on Easter in her home. It bothered her that Christmas–the day set aside to remember the birth of Christ--had become an entire season of celebration and yet Easter–the day honoring His ultimate sacrifice on the cross and His miraculous resurrection was just defined by most of the evangelical church, herself included, with a few lilies at the front of the sanctuary, maybe some new dress clothes most kids didn’t want to wear, and a basket of candy. She wanted her kids to see that both moments of Christ’s life–His birth and His death–were equally important in their faith. In this episode, Kate, September, and Jamie chat about Easter and how they’ve found ways to center the season on Christ. We’d love to know how you mark the sacredness of Easter in the ordinary of your days. Find us on Facebook or Instagram and tell us all about it!

Today we’re welcoming Jess Ronne to the podcast. Jess is the author of Sunlight Burning at Midnight,  founder of a non-profit, and mom of 8 including  her son, Lucas, born with profound disabilities. Jess became a widow and single mom at 33, after losing her husband to a brain tumor. She had 4 children under 6, and after several years, she met Ryan Ronne, a widower with 3 children. They married and had a child together in 2015. At that point, her son Lucas was entering puberty, and raising him became more challenging every day. She and Ryan sought out resources and support for caregivers, but, try as they might, they couldn’t find any community  for caregivers desperate for a break. So she founded her own non-profit, The Lucas Project, to help families with special needs. She realized early on, her efforts needed to include respite care for the caregivers, advice to help all of us to recognize their needs, and practical ways we can help.  Not only do disabled individuals need lifelong care

“But so-and-so has one.” “It’s all your fault.” “That’s not fair.” As moms, we’ve all heard these dramatic declarations on occasion–often at full volume and packaged in tears. But while in their immaturity, kids can be prone to selfishness, if left unchecked these self-seeking desires can morph into an unholy trinity of Me, Myself, and I.  Today, Kate, September, and Jamie chat about curbing this “self” epidemic prevalent in our culture in adults and kids alike. Some folks would call this me-first attitude "privileged." Others might use the word “spoiled.” But for the sake of this conversation, they'll use the word "entitled." We’d love to meet you on Instagram or Facebook, so feel free to follow us there. And, we’d be deeply grateful if you left us a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, and shared our podcast with other moms who’d love to join us.

Mamas, God designed sex and it is a great gift to us in marriage, but sometimes it can also lead to frustrations and hurt feelings.  The world has such a fractured view of sex, but we think part of the reason sex has become so distorted in our culture is that we’re not having these kinds of conversations.   We're sure you can tell by the title of this episode that this is not going to be a G-rated discussion! Now would be a great time to hit pause if there are kids around and find a way to listen privately, perhaps even alone with your spouse. We’re talking about sex today with our friend Francie Winslow, the host of the Heaven in Your Home podcast and an outspoken advocate for Biblical intimacy between husbands and wives. Join us for this hard, yet importantly honest, discussion.  Find more from Francie at her website, www.franciewinslow.com and as always, join the conversation with us on Instagram at @momtomompodcast.

It can be a big challenge coming up with healthy meals for your family day after day. But we all want our families to be as healthy as they can, right? Food has a huge impact on maintaining our health and gives us the energy to tackle all the tasks we deal with every day. It’s tough, yes, but it’s certainly not impossible to make healthy choices,  and I'm sure many of you are doing it successfully. But what about the woman who’s not? Her day can quickly get overwhelming, especially when she’s got littles at home. Or, maybe she works or has a part-time job and the time to prepare simply slips away. It's easy to feel guilty and anxious about what you’re eating and feeding your family, and we certainly don’t want this episode to put any more pressure on you than you might be putting on yourself. But, it’s an important area to examine and see what simple changes might work for you and your family.  So, lets dive in and chat about the proactive things we can start to do to eat healthier. Also listen to E

As women, we live in a world of confusion and comparison over our bodies. Even our womanhood is under “attack.” Raising girls in this next generation with healthy body image is even more challenging in a day when social media heavily influences what we see, think and choose to do or not to do with our minds and our bodies because a healthy body image begins in the mind! A lot of times, women in our circles speak of childbirth or motherhood as an attack on their body image, but we have been doing some deep thinking on this and if we are being completely honest, any struggles we had with our bodies began long before we had any children! Listen in this episode as we discuss our own struggles with body image, and share some of the ways we've found to make peace with how God has fearfully and wonderfully created us!  You can join the conversation over on Instagram at @momtomompodcast!

In episode 92, The Well-Read Mother with Jennifer Pepito, Jennifer shared with us all about how reading great books has shaped her motherhood. As we alluded to in that episode, we have been shaped by books too! So in this episode, we want to flip the mic back around and have our chance to share with you some of the books we continue to go back to – books that have mothered us.   Be sure to grab our list of the many favorites that we just couldn’t get to in this recording – books that maybe didn’t fit one of these specific categories but which has walked through a different season with each of us! The list is at the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website.

The best kind of mentor for motherhood is a real life one, but sometimes that’s just not possible. When needed, a book can be a great alternative.  Fortunately, we've had Titus 2 examples and the wisdom of other trusted women in our lives because we’ve always surrounded ourselves with good books. Voices of encouragement, discipleship, and practical help have rung out to us from these pages and have helped shape our day-to-day faithfulness to our husbands, our children, our ministry commitments, our walk with the Lord…pretty much every area of our lives! In today's episode, Jamie Erickson and September McCarthy speak with Jennifer Pepito, author of Mothering By the Book: the Power in Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy. They discuss the importance of reading aloud to your kids, making time for personal reading in the busyness of our day, and options for the mom who isn't a reader. We’d love to know what books have been meaningful to you. Which ones do you find yourself going back to again and

When was the last time you took a "date night?" Is this an outdated, old-fashioned idea that seems elusive to busy parents who cannot even find time for a minute alone?  This episode is all about date nights and how we make it happen even when we aren’t feeling the “love?” Maybe that’s you? Or maybe you have tried date nights and have just run out of ideas or haven’t considered the importance of this time away? Don’t forget to check out our date night list in the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website (and this time, we will include them on our Instagram feed as well.) Try a date night. What do you have to lose?

In today's episode, we're talking about the little years, and although we have all graduated or semi-graduated from those days, we walked through them for a long time and the conversation is never dull or old when we remember or re-invite others to the table to talk about those very formative and busy, crazy years. For links to some of our favorite practical hands-on helpful tools and resources, as well as ideas to help you bring the Word to life in the lives of your littles, please visit the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website!

Tis the season. Or at least ‘tis almost the season. Now is the time to start making a Christmas list for all the special people in your life. We don’t know about you, but we don’t want the marketing gurus of Target and Walmart to determine what to put under our trees! Instead of just searching the sales ads or the store shelves for some random something, we find it more helpful to mull over the recommendations of trusted friends – folks who have used and enjoyed certain things and can vouch for their value. So, that’s what we do in today's episode – we'll be the friends that share what we’ve enjoyed, what our people have enjoyed – in case... like us... you find it helpful to have a few recommendations to get you started as you plan gifts for your people. For links to all the gift ideas mentioned, please visit the show notes for this episode on The Mom to Mom Podcast website!

There’s a spiritual battle going on in our culture today, Mama, and it’s a battle for our children’s hearts, minds, and bodies. Just turn on your TV and watch the news, or scroll through Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram. It’s everywhere your kids are and everywhere you don’t want them to be.  What can we, as moms, do to stem the tide of corruption targeting our kids? In today's episode, September, Jamie and Kate chat about how they are raising Christian kids in an unstable world and how we can help our children to not only stay pure, but desire purity.  “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:24. “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15. “He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king shall be his friend.” Proverbs 22:11 “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked (worthless) think before my eyes.” Psalm 101: 2b-3a. “Finally brethren, whatever things are noble, whatever things a

Are you curious about the lifestyle called hygge?  According to co-host Jamie Erickson, the word comes from the British and Norwegian words for hug, and it's a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality from fostering a life of comfort, contentment and rest. In today's episode, Jamie discusses her newly released book, Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow, with Mom to Mom co-hosts, Kate Battistelli and September McCarthy.  While the book breaks down each of the tenets of hygge and examines them in light of the Gospel, the ladies discuss what hygge is and how it can be a versatile tool in demonstrating the Gospel to the world as well as within our homes. For more on Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow by Jamie Erickson, please visit www.jamieerickson.com/holy-hygge

Marriage is God-ordained.  It’s God’s gift to mankind, as He initiated the very first marriage in Genesis. Its purpose is to bring joy to us, bring glory to Him, and raise Godly families. He gave marriage to us to make our lives more fulfilling and richer, ultimately drawing us closer to God. As soon as two become one through marriage, their relationship changes, and they are unified in a mysterious way, different from any other human relationship, with eternal significance. God’s design for marriage is companionship, purpose, and passion. And although every marriage comes with pitfalls, there are steps we can take to strengthen our relationship with our spouse even after physical or emotional infidelity and model what Christ taught us about loving and forgiving others.

Everyone wants to feel at home in their home. For some of us, nothing can be further from the truth. Our homes are sterile, uninspiring, or on the flip side cluttered and overwhelming. The good news is, transformation can often happen with just a few tweaks here and there. Today, we're joined by Marian Parson, known online as Miss Mustard Seed. Marian is a pastor's wife, mother of two boys, paint enthusiast, and lover of all things home. She’s recently released her fifth book, Feels Like Home: Transforming Your Space from Uninspiring to Uniquely Yours and she’s here to specifically give hope to those of us who are chronically hesitant decorators who might want to transform their spaces but aren’t sure where to start.