Screens are everywhere—from ordering groceries, responding to an email from school, managing our calendars, and more, it’s no surprise that our kids are interested in screens and technology. As faithful stewards of our children’s hearts and minds, what does it mean to navigate screen time, devices, content, and media engagement in today’s culture? In this episode, Emily and Laura revisit the topic of technology through the lens of discipling our children as they grow in curiosity and independence. While the Bible doesn’t directly address tablets and smartphones, we can trust that as we seek the Lord in wisdom, he will give us wisdom to disciple our children well in a digital age.

The dishes pile up. The kids run circles around the house. The to-do list is a mile long. Motherhood is full, but too often, we fill our time hunching over our phones, giving our best self to social media instead of looking up at the work in front of us. When we don’t know where to begin, social media feels like a welcome distraction. But when our days are consumed by social media, we might miss the most important things. In this episode, Emily and Laura discuss faithfulness in motherhood, examining the way it impacts our limited time and energy. When we give God first place in our hearts and steward the responsibilities before us, we can use social media as a tool rather than an escape.

It’s easy to pick on social media, but for all of its challenges, we also believe it can be used for good. In this special bonus episode, Emily and Laura provide four quick ways we can use social media redemptively. When we use our social platforms to obviously or subtly point to Christ, we provide an opportunity for someone to encounter the beauty of the gospel while they scroll. We hope this encourages you with fresh ideas for stewarding social media well, no matter the size or purpose of your account!

As proud moms, most of us can’t resist sharenting. (Yep, that term is real! If you haven’t heard it before: it just means sharing pictures of our kids online.) Whether we have a small, private account for friends and family or share lifestyle content for thousands of eyes to see, let’s at least ask the question—why are we posting this? What are the rewards? What are the risks? In this episode, Emily and Laura chat through questions to consider the ‘why’ behind our sharenting. While the takeaway will look different for everyone, when the gospel guides our thinking, we’ll share with love and wisdom.

“Mom influencers.” How does that term hit? Some of us love them. Some of us roll our eyes at them. Sometimes we do both. But either way, we might not realize how influencers shape our motherhood—the pans we buy, the parenting methods we use, and the pacifiers we purchase. Whether you’re on social media or not, you’ve been influenced! In this special live-recorded episode, Emily and Laura break down the topic of influence and mom-influencer culture, examining the good and the bad. If we’re going to navigate motherhood in a digital age, we need Christ to be our greatest influence.

Let’s get real: we all want to be liked. No matter where we are on the social media spectrum, from a professional content creator on Instagram to an occasional poster for the sake of the grandparents, God’s principles for the way we share content remain the same. In this episode, Emily and Laura walk through questions to consider as we seek to honor God in the things we post online. When we’re known and loved by him, our content won’t be ruled by our desire to be ‘liked’ by others.

Whether we recognize it or not, social media is changing us. It changes how we interact with people. It even changes our motherhood—what we buy, what strategies we use, and where we go for hope and help. In the first episode of our social media mini-series, Laura and Emily invite us to wake-up to the impact of social media on our lives. If we want to know how to swim in the waters of social media, we need to take a hard look at it’s risks and pitfalls. But as we bring the gospel to bear on our social media use, we can ask God to shape our desires and impulses for what brings the longest good to our families.

Whether we recognize it or not, social media is changing us. It changes how we interact with people. It even changes our motherhood—what we buy, what strategies we use, and where we go for hope and help. In the first episode of our social media mini-series, Laura and Emily invite us to wake-up to the impact of social media on our lives. If we want to know how to swim in the waters of social media, we need to take a hard look at it’s risks and pitfalls. But as we bring the gospel to bear on our social media use, we can ask God to shape our desires and impulses for what brings the longest good to our families.

Scroll through Pinterest or eavesdrop in a coffee shop and you might see or hear something along the lines of, “All I need is a whole lotta of Jesus and a little bit of coffee/tacos/Netflix/sleep.” While it’s usually said in jest, we all have little crutches that we tend to rely on when we’re in survival mode. In this episode, Emily and Laura talk about potential crutches in motherhood like wine, shopping, or social media. While these things may make us feel good temporarily, only Christ is the source of our greatest and lasting joy. So momma, let’s go back to the cross and fix our eyes on the only one able to sustain, encourage, grow, and help us in every situation—Jesus.

Being a mom can feel isolating. Our children may be our constant companions, but we often long to interact with other adults, and social media can be a fun and easy way to connect. But with statistics showing that the average person spends 2.5 hours a day on social media, we’re wise to consider how it affects our ability to live out the calling of motherhood. In this episode, Emily and Laura discuss how social media is designed to draw us in and how it might influence our hearts and actions more than we may realize. They offer practical boundaries for social media use and encourage us to consider whether that use of  time is beneficial to our growth in Christ. It’s important for Christians to be present on social media, but we don’t want our presence there to come at the cost of loving God and others.

Most of us have our favorite “experts” or “gurus”—the voices we turn to for tips, tricks, and how-tos. We love the ability to learn something quickly by scrolling through our social media feeds. But should Christians solely depend on the “experts” of our culture to learn how to live a faithful life? In this episode, Emily and Laura examine why we like our gurus so much. While they are often be helpful, we’re called to unconditionally follow only one expert: Jesus. In Christ, God gives us the Holy Spirit to teach and train us in wisdom according to God’s word. We can still enjoy the gurus, but we know the source of all wisdom is God alone.

Screen time can be a hot topic. We wonder, “Is there a formula for the right amount of TV time?” “Is 30 minutes or 45 minutes holier?” “Do you think my kids will be quiet if I put on a show and hide in the kitchen?” But what we need to ask is, “What’s going on in my heart?” In this episode, Emily and Laura share gospel hope for two issues in many moms’ hearts: guilt and fear. Whether you’ve used screen time to avoid the craziness of the day or created a system of rules to guarantee a particular outcome, the gospel meets you there with wisdom and hope.