Divorce is so common in our culture today that the effects of it on children can easily be dismissed. Almost every couple who gets married has a family member whose life was affected by divorce, so we can think it must not be a big deal. But those people who are adult children of divorce will tell you that it is. It is a wound they carry their whole lives, but because of Jesus and His power over sin and death that wound can actually be transformed and become a life-giving wound. Dan and Beth Meo...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Parenting kids in a tech age; Teaching kids virtue in an age of tech; Is it possible to use tech with virtue? “It is your responsibility to train your child in virtue and slowly move from protecting their innocence to building Christian maturity. This is true for many areas of life, including use of technology” - Mike and Alicia Hernon We have talked about the harm that the overuse of screens can do to kids and especially teens, but in this podcast we give parents some ways that they can be proa...
Jun 24, 2021•59 min
At the suggestion of our members, we talked MONEY with Sam and Rob Fatzinger, parents of 14 and authors of the new book A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More . This conversation was insightful and full of great ideas for you and your families! Money is a hot button topic for many couples and we need to find ways to use our resources wisely especially when you have a larger family and live on one income. Rob and Sam show us that it is possible! Plus, living simply has other benefits s...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr 2 min
In this podcast, we answer listener questions in a new format - our new Program Coordinator, Katie Gamboa joins us to present topics for us to discuss. She did a great job! We may be biased since she is our most amazing oldest child (but we aren’t - she DID do a great job!) With Katie’s help, we tackle some sticky questions such as how to handle a sister who is coming out of the closet? How should this be handled with kids? Families are also struggling with the strong emotions of their children ...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr
Part of our message at the Messy Family Project is that parenting is a path to holiness. But the question many couples have is how much parenting is God asking of us? Within the bounds of the Church’s teaching, there are many prudential judgements that couples have to make - when to abstain from sexual relations, how to give birth, how many children to have, how long to wait in between births, and how to incorporate this new baby into your family. In this podcast we share some of our birth exper...
May 25, 2021•58 min
April 22 is Earth Day, but maybe we Catholics could call it Creation Day and celebrate the loving Father who gave this world to us to “till and keep”. Maybe we were thinking of this because Mike was chopping down old trees on our property and we all have sore backs this morning! But seriously, some may look at the extreme environmentalists and be tempted to move to the other extreme and not take seriously their stewardship of the land and animals that are part of our world - but that is not a Ch...
Apr 27, 2021•51 min
During this episode, Mike shares his story of his parents’ divorce when he was a teen and his own journey of healing over the past 20 years. But this is more than just his story. We also share the hope that Christ brings to us in all our relationships, the lessons learned from suffering and pain, and, ironically, how the divorce actually strengthened his belief in marriage as a covenant between two people that should never be violated. Anyone who has experienced the effects of divorce in their o...
Apr 09, 2021•57 min
For years, Patrick Lencioni has had books on the top of the best seller charts. He is a master at teaching businesses how to improve their culture and organizational health. In this podcast, Pat and his wife Laura join us to talk about the culture and health of our families and how his lessons from business can help us! In our Family Board Meeting course, we use his book 3 Big Questions for the Frantic Family to help couples discover their unique values and rallying cry so this interview was a g...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 21 min
This is the year of St. Joseph so let’s talk about what we can learn from this man who knew Jesus and Mary more intimately than any other person who has ever lived. There is so much we can learn from him! Because there is really no definitive teaching on St. Joseph, we can extrapolate from what we know about Jewish culture at the time and what we read in scripture to imagine what he must have been like. We do know that he can teach us about being a spouse, a parent, a follower of Christ. He can ...
Mar 12, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Join us for an extraordinary interview with Fr. Jay Donahue, a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh who has a heart for marriage and a deep and abiding love for Christ. We discuss with Fr. Jay the impact that his own large family had on him, how couples can image Christ’s love for the Church and the importance of the Blessed Mother in the lives of priests and everyone in the Church. He even dives into the sexual scandals that have plagued our Church with extraordinary love and compassion. You wil...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Discipline is the issue that we get the most questions about probably because there is so much conflicting advice for parents out there. The bottom line is that every couple must decide for themselves how they will form the children that God has given to them. But, don’t worry, we do have some principles and encouragement to give you! In this episode, we discuss the importance of Respect in the home. For children to truly be obedient and secure in their family, they need to respect their parents...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Looking for ideas on how to celebrate Lent as a couple or as a family? Listen in! When a married person celebrates Lent, especially when they have children, it looks very different than how a single person or religious does it. Lent is a time to take stock of how we are responding to God’s grace to become who He is calling us to be. How are we becoming a better wife, mother, husband, or father? To really invest in Lent this year, we want to encourage you to consider commitments of prayer, fastin...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr
In 1924, Eric Liddell gave up his place to compete in the Olympics final heat of the 100m race because it was held on a Sunday. He probably would have won that race, but his desire to keep the Lord’s Day holy stopped him. Would we have that courage? Starting in Exodus, the Lord has asked HIs people to keep holy His day. He commands us to set it apart from all other days to honor Him, but also for our own good! God will never ask us to do something that is not good for us, and He COMMANDS us to d...
Jan 30, 2021•50 min
January is a time of beginnings and new resolutions. The best way to make plans for the future is to evaluate where you are today! You can’t get directions unless you know where you are. In this podcast, we give you some encouragement as well as a method to assess where your family is at using our Five Elements of Family Culture. We hope that doing this assessment will inspire you to do your own Family Board Meeting, but even if you don’t, knowing where you are will help your family to make plan...
Jan 12, 2021•51 min
We are asked very often how parents can create an environment in the home that will keep their kids close to the faith. To help give parents even more resources for this, we decided to interview Colin and Aimee MacIver, who are both parents, teachers, and authors for Ascension Press. They have created resources for parents to help them catechize their children and also to communicate the beautiful truths found in the Theology of the Body. Both Colin and Aimee are kindred spirits who have a heart...
Jan 08, 2021•1 hr 9 min
There are many parents who look for advice from friends, and sometimes the responses are in the form of absolute declarations about the “only way” to parent. In reality, many parenting matters are best left to an individual’s judgment. As Catholics, we believe that there are certain issues that are black and white, but not everything falls into that category! The first step to responding to others with charity is to realize that our way is not always the way for everyone. In this episode, we als...
Dec 19, 2020•1 hr 3 min
If you've been wondering how to bring the rich traditions of the Catholic Church's liturgical year into your home and into your family, this is the podcast for you! In it, we interview Kendra Tierney of Catholic All Year about incorporating the richness of our faith into the life of your family. Kendra has lots of great ideas for moms and dads of all ages and family sizes. After discussing the importance of incorporating Catholic traditions into family life we talk about what to do with kids of ...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 4 min
The use of technology is a major issue in most households. Tech is invading our homes in an unprecedented manner and the influence on our children is something we are just beginning to comprehend. How can parents effectively navigate these waters with their children? Kids need guidance in this area more than almost any other area of Life, but it is here where parents usually are completely unaware. In this essential podcast for parents we try to light a fire underneath you and show the seriousne...
Nov 24, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Many times when we think about taking time to pray parents’ first reaction is “I don’t have time to pray!” But the problem with that is that prayer is the foundation of our life of faith and relationship with God. As we pray, we grow in knowledge and love of God. We all need that! In this podcast, we discuss internal prayer which is also called mental prayer. The many means that the Church has given us to pray such as in our liturgy are beautiful and some are essential, but that is not all there...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 5 min
We have a treat for you as we are sharing a special date night interview with Scott and Kimberly Hahn. They have been married for 40 years and have six children along with eighteen grandchildren. They are world-renowned Catholic evangelists, speakers, authors and teachers. In this show they share their wisdom on falling in love and staying in love through the tough times. They share some of their struggles and not always being on the same page with great encouragement and direction for couples. ...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 1 min
After 26 years of parenting you would think that we knew how to promote an atmosphere of virtue in our home automatically. But it doesn’t work that way! We have had to stop and evaluate the way that our younger children have been treating each other and address it intentionally. In this podcast, we share some of the teaching we gave to our kids about practicing kindness, how we followed up afterwards, and why its important to train the actions AND the hearts of our children. Listen in to hear ou...
Oct 20, 2020•50 min
The sexual relationship you have with your spouse is the most intimate relationship you will ever have, but it certainly can be complicated! In this podcast, we have a conversation with Byron and Francine Pirola, founders of Smartloving and international speakers and teachers. Our conversation about physical intimacy between spouses is honest, frank, and explicit, so please listen to this podcast in privacy. But we do believe this information is desperately needed by couples, so we have created ...
Oct 02, 2020•1 hr 14 min
All parents will fail. How do we know this? Because we are all imperfect! Many parents feel like failures when grieving over their children’s poor decisions or loss of faith. Or they look at themselves in the mirror and don’t like who they have become. How we define failure and how we deal with it will either paralyze us or call us on to greater holiness and virtue. Recognizing how we have failed our children, and even how our own parents have failed us, is how we learn and grow. In this podcast...
Sep 23, 2020•52 min
This past summer our family lost a beloved uncle, brother-in-law, and husband. Alicia’s uncle passed into eternity at home with his wife, and Alicia and her sister Maria were privileged to be present for his death. Death is a profound experience and one that we should all think about more. Many of us are afraid to confront the thought of death though it is (obviously!) a part of everyone’s life. Our culture influences us more than we realize and we can get lulled into thinking this world is all ...
Sep 10, 2020•59 min
In this podcast we continue to answer some very important listener questions about family life. Many listeners have spouses who don’t share their faith life and forging unity when that is the case can be tricky. We came up with some creative ideas on how to love your spouse more! Other questions included disciplining pre-teens and teens and as well as forming their hearts. Our Discipline Guide is a good place to start for this, but we expand on some of the ideas found there and apply them to our...
Aug 28, 2020•1 hr 5 min
Listeners send us questions all the time and we try to answer them as best we can via email. Some of these questions are really great because they bring up subjects that many people struggle with. In this podcast we tackle some questions about in-laws, and we answer from the perspective of a married couple but also from being a mother and father-in-law ourselves! We also give our advice on navigating the minefield of politics as well as social media. Though we have a podcast on preparing tweens ...
Aug 26, 2020•50 min
Rituals are an essential part of creating connections with other people, whether that is our spouse, our children, our extended family, our local community, and even our nation. Rituals connect how we act with what we believe - communicate values can be contrasted with “routines” that create order and address merely physical needs. Both are important but on different levels. When routines are disrupted, its a hassle. When rituals are disrupted, the family cohesiveness is threatened. When somethi...
Jul 24, 2020•43 min
Looking at the turmoil we are experiencing within our culture, we are becoming more and more convinced that we, Catholic families, have the answer that people are looking for. People are searching for purpose, belonging and identity. How do we “share” our family with the world? Well, first we need to make sure we have our own house in order. Examine your family culture, shore up the weak areas, and be intentional about the messages you are sending. The motivation to have a vibrant family culture...
Jul 03, 2020•55 min
Many of us are looking at the events of these days with despair, sadness, and even anger. It is hard to witness division and hatred in our world and to see the suffering of those who are caught in its crossfire. We want to respond but many of us don’t know how to. This is such a huge problem with far-reaching consequences and deeply rooted origins. Parents, do not allow the devil to use that which is far off to distract you from what is near! The greatest influence you can have is within your ow...
Jun 12, 2020•46 min
The Play and Pray Challenge is a way for us to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ into every home in a fun, interactive way. We have learned that if you are going to PRAY with your family, you need to PLAY with them! This June from the 12th to the 21st, we are challenging families to do three things: Organize and execute an amazing FAMILY DAY, plan and go on a DATE NIGHT, and proclaim Jesus Christ as the KING OF THE HOME by placing the image of the Sacred Heart in their house and “enthroning” Hi...
May 28, 2020•50 min
