The Bible is the timeless word of God, but finding time to study it as a mom of young children can feel nearly impossible. Does it count as a quiet time if we’re surrounded by noisy children? How is it possible that no matter how early we wake up for Bible study, our children seem to wake up earlier? The little years bring real struggles for spending time in God’s word, but there’s hope! In this special bonus episode, Emily and Laura share a chapter from their book, Risen Motherhood: Gospel Hope for Everyday Moments, called, “The Little Years are Not the Lost Years.” In it, they offer encouragement and practical tips for spending time in God’s word and growing in our love for the gospel, even during busy seasons of motherhood.

On one hand, we may feel like we’re never alone as moms—even going to the bathroom often becomes a family activity! On the other hand, motherhood can feel lonely and isolating. Caring for our families often leaves little time and energy for nurturing our friendships. But we’re not meant to live in isolation—we need friends who point us to Christ and encourage us in our mission! In this episode, Emily and Laura invite four women to share their thoughts on navigating friendship in the busyness of motherhood. Though we may need to adjust our expectations and find creative ways to connect, we can still have meaningful friendships in the midst of motherhood.

Prayer seems like one of the most basic parts of the Christian life, but it can also be one of the most confusing. What exactly is prayer? What should we pray for? Are there things we shouldn’t pray for? How do we teach our kids to pray? In this episode, Emily and Laura discuss these questions and more with Kristie Anyabwile. Kristie shares from her wisdom and experience, encouraging us to go boldly and confidently to the Lord in prayer. We don’t have to do it perfectly, because we have a perfect Savior who is always interceding for us!

If the word “discipline” makes you feel confused, discouraged, or even defeated, you’re not alone! As our children transition from sweet, snuggly babies into tantrum-throwing toddlers, we can see that they need discipline, but knowing how to discipline is a different matter. We may wonder whether there’s a “right” way or a “Christian” way to discipline. We may even find ourselves wishing someone would just give us a cheat sheet with all the answers! In this episode, Emily shares some of her experience trying to make sense of discipline. Although there’s no clear-cut system to fix all of our discipline struggles, she helps us think about discipline through the lens of scripture and discusses seven practical things we can do when we don’t know how to discipline.

Busy. Distracted. Overwhelmed. Worn out. Are these the inevitable characteristics of motherhood? Or is there another way? In this episode, Laura shares her journey from “hurry sickness” to rest. She helps clarify the biblical practice of Sabbath and explains how orienting one day of the week toward rest and worship can change all the other days. Even moms can find Sabbath rest as our hands do good while our hearts rest in the gospel!

Dealing with differences can be hard. How do we engage with others who have very different life experiences, beliefs, or preferences than we do? How do we guide our children as they encounter these same challenges? In this episode, Emily and Laura invite four women to share how the truth that we’re all made in the image of God, or Imago Dei, impacts their motherhood and relationships. While it’s okay to be aware of our differences, the gospel reminds us that we’re all the same in one fundamentally important way—we’re created in the image of God. So whether we share many things in common or seemingly nothing at all, we can love our neighbors as God has loved us.  

Does all of the time, effort, and heart we put into motherhood really make a difference? When we make meals that end up on the floor, wash load after load of laundry, and discipline our children for the same behaviors day after day, it’s easy to wonder if motherhood makes an eternal impact. In this episode, Emily and Laura talk with Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher (authors of Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women) about how moms matter in the redemptive story of the Bible. They help us see how God used the ordinary faithfulness of moms in scripture to lead to the birth of Jesus, and they encourage us that God is still working through moms just like us to carry out his plan of redemption in the lives of our children and beyond.

Most of us have heard it. Some of us have said it. There’s a common encouragement to moms of littles that if we “pay our dues now” or if we’re “faithful in the small things” then there will be bigger things coming later as our unseen sacrifices give way to visible fruit. In this episode, Emily and Laura unpack this idea, helping us see that while it comes from a very right desire to encourage faithfulness in following Christ, it may lead us to wrong expectations. Rather than serving the Lord looking ahead to “better” things he might give us later, we can be content in serving him now, because he has already given us the best thing in his Son.

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.

We make so many decisions in motherhood. Daily, we consider things like, what snack should I feed my child? How much screen time should they have? What discipline strategy should I use for this tantrum? And we also ask deeper, bigger questions like, how should we handle their schooling? What church should our family go to? How much time should we spend away from our kids? In today’s episode, Emily and Laura discuss how they each process decision-making and the many factors that influence the final outcome. God calls each of us to a dependent life that aligns with our deepest desire—to love and live like Christ in all we do, big and small.

Have you ever frozen as your child loudly asks why another child is in a wheelchair? Wondered how to check in with your friend after her child receives a difficult diagnosis? Felt unsure of how to encourage a mom who feels their child’s needs might be “too much” for the church to handle? In this special round table, Emily and Laura are joined by Abigail Dodds and Katie Blackburn to discuss what it’s like to raise a child with special needs and how others can show support. Whether you’re impacted directly or indirectly by the joys and challenges of this reality, we hope this show encourages and equips you to love moms who have children with special needs.

‘Tis the season of special Christmas parties at work and school. There are gift lists to check off and cookies to devour (we mean, deliver). There’s the Advent calendar and accompanying crafts, and someone needs to find the tree decorations. Is it just us or are you already tired? In this episode, Emily and Laura invite five women to share how they rest in Christ through this season of hustle and bustle. All of the good things we do—from present shopping to craft-making—can be an overflow of a heart that’s beholding God’s goodness in this season. Let’s pause to reflect on God’s greatest gift to us and the only One able to offer us true rest: Jesus Christ.