Sunshine in my Nest

If you've listened for a while, you'll probably have gathered I have 3 sons. Because of that, raising Godly sons is a topic near and dear to my heart. I want to say from the top: just because I talk about something I'm working through with my sons doesn't mean I don't think you've experienced it with your daughter. I only come from the reference point of having sons.
That being said, from the number of comments I've received about the nerves of steel, I've developed raising them, and the level of activity you would find in my house may exceed what you anticipate from the peaceful conversations we have on this podcast.
The cultural messages around us press men into malformation. Maybe you grew up with "boys will be boys" messaging you want to press against, or maybe you are trying to raise a "wild at heart" adventurer.
But more than those things Biblically, Champ Thornton points out, there's something even more important we need to center our parenting of boys around. 
Can you tell us about yourself and your current stage of life? 
How did your personal experience form you to talk about the celebration of being a boy? 
As parents, we get bogged down in the weeds about what kind of boy we want to raise. An athletic boy, an artistic boy, a gentle boy, a tough boy, a creative boy etc. Out of all those lenses to see our sons. What is most important to focus on? 
There are a lot of conversations around boys in school and the way many of them struggle with the amount of time required to sit. How do we encourage our sons to use their energy positively?
What can parents and teachers do to help them? 
How do the life of Jesus and the fruit of the Spirit help us balance and harness the potential of our sons and turn them into strengths?  
What are some lens shifts and phrases we can use in our parenting to celebrate the boy that God made our sons to be? 

You can find Champ Thornton's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"⁠It's Good to be a Boy"⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here

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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

I know some girls were super excited to transform from little girl into woman, but I was one of the many who was not excited by that prospect at all. I loved climbing trees and riding my horse. Everything that came along with being a "lady" felt like it would get in the way. This was made significantly harder because I was constantly told how men were uniquely made in God's image, but not how I was uniquely made in God's image. This wrestling nearly cost me my faith more than once. None of this intro is a surprise to Jen Oshman. She is an author and Bible teacher I've come to respect and trust deeply, especially in the realm of complicated conversations. We've had several conversations about the way the church talks about women, their roles, and neglects (often by accident) teaching about the unique ways that women reflect the image of God.
*If you're looking for us to find a hill and die on it today, that's not the conversation you're going to get, but I hope that by the time you're done listening, you'll have a deeper understanding of who you are as a woman or gratitude for the woman in your life made in God's image!
For a long time, I believed that every way I was different from being a man i was also different from reflecting God's image, since he came incarnated as a man, and God refers to Himself as Father. Why do you think we tend to get stuck in that rut? 
What are some ways God made women to uniquely reflect him? Is there a reason that we don't talk about these well in the church? 
The best lies are subtle distortions of the truth... are there historical trends that led to that distortion? 
What can we learn from the stories of the women God chose to include in the Bible? 
God uses some material imagery in the Bible. My personal favorite is that God describes Himself as a mother bear robbed of her cubs. I had always thought of my role as "Biblical mother" to look more like a Madonna and Child painting with a sweet half smile, but I don't know that anyone who knows me well would describe me as serene. How do some of these other pictures given in the Bible help us to see women more holistically? 
How do we find true joy when we understand what it means to be created in God's image? How do we pass that on to our daughters? 

You can find Jen Oshman's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"It's Good to be a Girl"⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or her women's study "Very Good." Find her on Instagram

JOIN US: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Around Our American World ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for family-style learning!!

You can find Elizabeth writing helpful hints ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on the blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

Last week, Greta and I talked about the way that culturearound smart devices for kids has changed a lot in the last 10 years. At this point, most people are seeing the effect. We talked about screen time use. When is screen time helpful for kids? When is it hurtful?
How do we have healthy limits without losing what’s most important?
Greta is going to tell us more about a family culture surrounding social media. How they have chosen to introduce it, and what to do if your 8-12-year-old is introduced to adult content on someone else’s phone.
But most of all, Greta reminds usthat God loves your kid more than you do, and his peace can guard your heart as you parent.
You can find Greta Eskridge's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"⁠It's Time To Talk to Your Kids About Porn⁠"⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or find her

JOIN US: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Around Our American World ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for family-style learning!!

You can find Elizabeth writing helpful hints ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on the blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

I have several friends who are teachers, and it's amazing how drastically things have changed in the last 10 years. When my oldest was tiny, there were a few friends who could afford to have an iPad for their kid, but generally, they were like computers. For adults, but occasionally, kids had them. It was still surprising to see kids on an iPad at restaurants. Now, even young kids have their own iPads, and elementary kids have smartphones. We allowed our son to join a construction day camp this summer, and I was shocked when my son came home talking about all the kids his age sitting around between turns and on the bus playing games on their phones.
I really appreciate how Greta has thought through the challenges this new normal brings and how parents can handle it with wisdom and grace. Greta is a homeschool mom and a very popular homeschool conference speaker. I can't wait to tap into her wisdom today! 
I don't want to be one of those people that rails against technological change and social media. Each development provides new ways of showing wisdom. What unique challenges have you seen while raising kids both before and after the evolution of smartphones?
I know every family is going to feel differently about how they choose to use technology, but we can be inspired by the choices other people make. What have been your family's boundaries around phone usage? 
You can find Greta Eskridge's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"It's Time To Talk to Your Kids About Porn"⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or find her

JOIN US: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Around Our American World ⁠⁠⁠⁠for family-style learning!!

You can find Elizabeth writing helpful hints ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on the blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest

I put a lot of time into preparing our hearts for Christmas, but often I just let Easter sneak up on me. If I'm honest, I don't really know how to go from the twinkle lights of Christmas into the darkness of winter, and think ahead to spring and the celebration of resurrection. I get a little closer every year, but culturally, we aren't given a template for what this looks like, so it really feels like swimming upstream. Every year, about this time of year, sickness after round of sickness keeps hitting and I'm really tired. I had decided I was going to coast into the season leading to Easter, when I saw the title of Elyse's book pop up in my inbox. It felt like a sign to reconsider.
Last year I attended my first-ever Ash Wednesday service and shared about it. I was shocked and discouraged to have a lot of negative comments on that post. People assumed we were veering away from "normal" Christianity. So, before we get started, Elyse, can you tell us about the practice of Ash Wednesday and the faith roots, and what denominations practice it? How does this holiday help us to bridge from winter to Easter? 
I've come to really love Advent practices. Remembering who we wait for and how long Israel waited has given me a lot of peace in the brokenness of the world. What have Christians traditionally remembered and what spiritual disciplines have they attempted to cultivate between Christmas and Easter? 
One thing I love about your work is the way you always circle back to grace. How do we keep these practices from feeling legalistic? 
If shame starts to creep up... maybe we intended to celebrate differently this year, and it's just not going to happen. How does thinking of Jesus as the "friend of sinners" cover or remove that shame? 
You can find Elyse Fitzpatrick's ⁠⁠⁠⁠"Friend of Sinners"⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ or go to her website.

JOIN US: ⁠⁠⁠Around Our American World ⁠⁠⁠for family-style learning!!

You can find Elizabeth writing helpful hints ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on the blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Helping you love Jesus and disciple your kids ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Or get access to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Additional study resources here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Original Music written and recorded by Jonathan Camenisch

*affiliate links are used when appropriate. Thank you for supporting Sunshine in My Nest