Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

Mike and Alicia Hernon : Catholic Marriage Parent and Family•www.messyfamilyproject.org

Parenting is not a clean-cut, simple process for those who like to follow the rules. Family life is messy and unpredictable, but it is the greatest adventure you will ever have. We are Mike and Alicia Hernon, parents of 10 children with a growing number of grandchildren, and we would like to invite you into some of the conversations we have had with each other about marriage, parenting, and Catholic family life. Our hope is that our conversation sparks a dialogue between you and your spouse that leads to greater unity and intentional Christian parenting in your home. Listen in to our podcast and start the conversation as we seek to lead our families to heaven. Visit us at https:///www/MessyFamilyProject.org for resources, guides, links and show notes.

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Episodes

MP 012: Passing on the Faith

"…the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have the right to enjoy, has a face and a name. It is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist." - Pope Benedict XVI The only way our faith as Catholics makes any sense is when we see our lives as a journey to deepen our relationship with Jesus. If our lives aren't about Him, what is the point? In this podcast, Mike and Alicia interview Alicia's parents, John and Michele Doman, who are the parents of ten and grandparents to over forty young Ca...

Apr 12, 2015•32 min•Ep. 12

MP 011: Family Meals

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table." ~Ronald Reagan Those of us who grew up with family dinners and who continue that tradition with our kids may not realize how counter-cultural we are becoming! Having dinner as a family is one thing you can do for your children to help keep them healthy, emotionally stable, and academically successful. It's a simple thing, so why doesn't every family have dinner together? In this podcast, we discuss why family dinners are an important part...

Mar 21, 2015•34 min•Ep. 11

MP 010: Lying

"Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight." Proverbs 12:22 One of the trickiest parenting situations to deal with is when a child tells a lie. Do you punish them? If you do that, won't they keep lying to avoid punishment in the future? How do you know they are lying? What if you think they are lying, and they are actually telling the truth? In this podcast, we will share with you what we did in our family when we had kids in our household who had a...

Mar 14, 2015•31 min•Ep. 10

MP 009: Arguing in Marriage

"A happy marriage is a union of two forgivers" - Ruth Bell Graham The only person in the world you will always agree with is yourself. Especially in marriage, people are going to disagree and this can lead to heated arguments between two people who really love each other. This is normal and healthy! We have to fight to work out our differences and come to a greater unity in our marriage. The goal of an argument should not be to be right, but to be unified. Even if you disagree, arguments should ...

Mar 07, 2015•34 min•Ep. 9

MP 008: Large Families

"For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison." - Teddy Roosevelt Being blessed with a large family is what some couples long for and something that some couples don’t even expect! Having ten children, we have a pretty realistic perspective on having more than five kids (which seems medium-sized to us!) There are considerations to being open to having mo...

Feb 28, 2015•34 min•Ep. 8

MP 007: Family Prayer

Family prayer should be the center of our lives as Catholics, but often parents find it challenging. Praying consistently with our kids is not our strength, so of course that’s why we wanted to address it! You need to find a type of prayer that works for you, and don’t worry about how “well” you pray. The Lord just wants to hear from you and your children need to see your example (especially you dads!). Our entire lives need to be submitted to the Lord, knowing that all we have is from Him. Show...

Feb 20, 2015•31 min•Ep. 7

MP 006: The Survival Zone

You want to know what it’s like having a fourth kid? Imagine you are drowning and then someone hands you a baby. ~Jim Gaffigan We believe the most challenging years of parenting are not related to how many kids you have, but rather how close in age they are. Young families say to us all the time, ”We shouldn’t complain because we only have three kids and you have ten.” This is not true! The period of time when your family consists of kids who are all in car seats, can’t tie their own shoes, and ...

Feb 16, 2015•30 min•Ep. 6

MP 005: Preparing your Tween (and yourself!) for Adolescence

The changes that happens in adolescence - physically, emotionally, mentally- are very similar to the changes that happen during the toddler years. In both stages your child is developing in leaps and bounds and you are the one God has tasked to guide them. In this podcast, we share some of our ideas and what we have done with our children to create rites of passage, give information when they need it, and helping them solidify their gender identity. This is a crucial time in the lives of our chi...

Feb 07, 2015•34 min

MP 004: Toddlers

Dr. James Dobson once quipped, "Give me an army of toddlers and I can overtake the world!" The toddler years are an amazing time of human development, but this transition from infancy to childhood is challenging for most parents. Join us for encouragement and tips.

Jan 18, 2015•30 min•Ep. 4

MP 002: When Kids Fight

"Parents don't want justice- parents want peace!" Isn't that how we all feel sometimes? We do want peace in our homes, but we also want to teach our kids how to handle conflict. Kids are going to fight. Its a fact. How do we deal with that?

Jan 18, 2015•27 min•Ep. 2

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