During the Intentional Motherhood Retreat 2025, Elizabeth sat down with her older brother, John Mark Comer, for a deeply honest and encouraging conversation about spiritual formation in the thick of motherhood. For so many mothers, life feels crowded with the dailyness and busyness of caring for little ones, making it easy to believe the lie that we must do more or try harder to grow spiritually. But what if spiritual formation isn’t something you add to your already overloaded life — what if it...
Jan 28, 2026•42 min
In this episode, Brook and Justin sit down with Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, one of the most trusted and influential spiritual voices of our time, and someone whose work we deeply admire and return to often. A Catholic priest, theologian, and author, Fr. Rolheiser has spent more than 50 years teaching and writing about prayer, vocation, and the interior life, helping countless people understand how God meets us in ordinary, everyday faithfulness. Now 78 and a cancer survivor of more than a decade, Fr. ...
Jan 21, 2026•47 min
In today’s episode, we sit down with new friends we have a lot in common with: Addison and Juli Bevere of At Home with the Beveres . We talk about life, ministry, parenting four kids, and what it means to steward faith across generations in a world where the gap between young and old can feel wider than ever. Addison and Juli share honestly about the beauty and challenges of being part of a multigenerational ministry legacy, what they hope to pass on to their kids, and what they’re committed to ...
Jan 14, 2026•59 min
In this episode, we sit down for a “co-pod” with Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin from the Dadville podcast for an honest, funny conversation about parenting, podcasting, and why intentionality matters in the first place. We share the heart behind Intentional and Intentional Fatherhood, getting back to the basics of why we do this work and what we hope it creates. Along the way, there’s plenty of laughter and a shared acknowledgment that none of us have this figured out. Intentionality isn’t about...
Jan 06, 2026•1 hr 17 min
In this end-of-year episode, we reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026 through the practices of reflection and projection, rooted in Scripture and focused on formation rather than pressure or performance. We revisit meaningful moments from the year, both personally and within Intentional, including the Motherhood Retreat, Intentional Fatherhood, and the launch of Sowing a Hidden Seed . Reflection helps us tell the truth about our lives with God, while projection invites us to trust Him with that...
Dec 31, 2025•58 min
In this special end-of-year episode, we’re joined by our two oldest kids — Duke (16) and Scarlet (13) — for an honest, funny, and unfiltered conversation about what it’s really like to be a teenager right now. From public high school to middle school in a Christian co-op, they share what daily life looks like in their worlds, complete with sibling jokes, family banter, and plenty of real-life messiness. We talk about the unique pressure of growing up as the kids of parents who lead a family mini...
Dec 24, 2025•1 hr 37 min
In this episode, we sit down with our dear friend Joey Odom of Reclaimwell for a timely and challenging conversation about reshaping our relationship with our phones. Reclaimwell exists to help people put technology back in its proper place, and Joey shares his own story of struggle and growth, along with honest examples of both failure and success. He names the urgency of our moment, reminding us that the opposite of hope isn’t hopelessness, but resignation — and that without action, distractio...
Dec 17, 2025•49 min
It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also one of the most stressful. In our Christmas episode, we explore how to foster peace — not striving for perfection, but accepting the Spirit’s invitation to enter the season with intention, humility, and grace. The holidays can stir up dysregulated kids, busy schedules, grief, and unrealistic expectations, so we walk through the acronym PEACE as a reminder of how we might bring peace to our families this season. We start with Presence, ...
Dec 10, 2025•51 min
In this episode, all four of us respond to your questions on marriage, parenting, and discipleship. We begin with a listener who feels stuck navigating a blended family and a husband who wants another child while she feels content with their current season. We talk about honoring both present realities and future hopes, acknowledging the unique weight moms carry, communicating clearly, and seeking unity through prayer and counsel. We reference passages like 1 Corinthians and Ephesians 5 to remin...
Dec 03, 2025•41 min
In this episode, we explore what Scripture really means when it calls us to leave and cleave. Leaving isn’t just moving out, it’s a purposeful, decisive shift of loyalty and identity so a new family can truly become one. This kind of separation can feel confusing or even painful, especially for parents who have spent years nurturing their children. But leaving is not rejection; it’s the healthy foundation God designed for a flourishing marriage. We look at what this requires; physically, emotion...
Nov 26, 2025•1 hr 12 min
In this episode, we explore the growing “aura farming” movement — the cultural pressure to project effortlessness, curate our image, and step into our “main-character era.” While the world urges us to amplify our greatness, Jesus invites us into something entirely different. We look at Jesus’ call to become like children in Matthew 18:1–5, a posture marked by humility, dependence, and openness. Aura farming pushes us to present ourselves in a certain light, but spiritual formation pulls us into ...
Nov 19, 2025•40 min
In this episode, we’re talking about one of the biggest parenting challenges today — raising kids in a digital world. Many of us have overprotected our children in the physical world but underprotected them in the digital world. To help you add some guardrails, we share the practical tools and boundaries our family uses around technology — from phones and iPads to TV — and the eight foundational rules that guide us. We’re not speaking as experts, just practitioners learning through trial and err...
Nov 12, 2025•59 min
Recorded live at the Intentional Motherhood Retreat in Portland, Oregon, this special Q+R features our entire Intentional team, with Joey Odom of Reclaimwell guiding the conversation as we move from humor to depth. From lighthearted moments — like where Diane and Elizabeth’s pant suits came from — to honest questions about self-care, marriage, grief, and limitations, this episode captures the heart of our weekend together. Together, we reflect on the generational swing from overextending ourselv...
Nov 05, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Note: This episode contains mature themes that may not be suitable for younger listeners. Please use discretion. This week, we’re joined by our new friends Jeff and Jourdan Johnson, hosts of the Open Spaces Podcast . They share their remarkable story — a journey marked by honesty, redemption, and deep faith. Jeff opens up about his decades-long battle with same-sex attraction and how bringing his struggle into the light marked the beginning of real freedom. From childhood trauma to seasons of br...
Oct 22, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 236
In this special episode, we’re sharing a powerful recorded teaching from Diane and Elizabeth at our 2024 Motherhood Retreat. This session dives deep into our God-given desire for connection — the longing to be seen, soothed, safe, and secure — and how that shapes our relationships with one another. Our female relationships can often feel complicated, yet Scripture reminds us that we were created for blessing and belonging. From Genesis to 2 Corinthians, we see that God blesses us so that we migh...
Oct 15, 2025•51 min•Ep. 235
In this Q+R episode, we’re tackling your questions about parenting through some of the more complex seasons — from helping phone-free tweens stay connected to navigating sibling rivalry and reflecting on what we might have done differently with our younger kids. We start with communication and technology, sharing practical ways to help teenagers connect with friends without giving them full phone access. From using your own devices intentionally to trying creative tools like the Gabb Watch, Gabb...
Oct 08, 2025•30 min
In this episode, we dive into what it looks like to raise kids in today’s clickbait culture. With endless information at our fingertips, outrage-driven headlines everywhere, and our children frequently walking through traumatic national events, it can be hard to know what’s real, what matters, and what doesn’t. No matter how many boundaries we put in place, outside voices are loud — and that makes it more important than ever to raise critical thinkers who can stand against the noise. Together, w...
Oct 01, 2025•52 min
In this Q+R episode, we dive into some real-life questions about family patterns, parenting decisions, and initiating difficult conversations. First, we talk about the fear of repeating unhealthy family patterns. How can we learn from our past while creating a different path for our own kids? And what do we do when we notice ourselves falling into the same habits? We share how naming those fears — sometimes even out loud to our kids — can strip them of their power. Recognizing patterns is half t...
Sep 24, 2025•51 min
This week, all four of us sit down for an honest and emotional conversation about trauma and crisis — how to respond when it strikes, and how to navigate it as a family. The reality is that at some point in life, you will walk through seasons of pain, and the question becomes: how do we carry each other’s burdens as Galatians 6:2 calls us to? Together, we share raw, personal stories of both acute trauma and ongoing struggles, reflecting on how presence in the middle of crisis can bring healing e...
Sep 17, 2025•1 hr 8 min
In this episode, we explore how generational sin, trauma, and family stories shape who we are — and how God invites us into healing and freedom. Scripture reminds us in Numbers 14:18 that the effects of sin can ripple through generations, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, those patterns don’t have to define us. We talk about epigenetics — how experiences like stress and trauma can actually impact us on a biological level — and why understanding our parents’ and grandparents’ stories matt...
Sep 10, 2025•53 min
This week, we are releasing one of the most-loved episodes from our Intentional Fatherhood podcast, all about knowing your story, facing generational sin, and trusting God to bless what’s broken. Note: This episode contains mature themes that may not be suitable for younger listeners. Please use discretion. We are storied people, living within the grand narrative of the kingdom of God. And as a father, you need to know your story. Not just the highlights or heroic moments — but the whole of it. ...
Sep 03, 2025•1 hr 19 min
As the school year begins, we’re diving into the hopes, pressures, and rhythms of this season. We start with the myth of “you only get 18 summers,” a phrase that can put unnecessary pressure on parents. Instead of viewing time with our kids through a lens of scarcity, Scripture reminds us that God’s kingdom is one of abundance (2 Corinthians 9:8). We also explore the power of words in shaping our children’s sense of identity. Casual comments like “I can’t wait for my kids to go back to school” m...
Aug 27, 2025•51 min
Parenting can feel confusing. Many of us grew up in homes focused on rules and behavior, while today, there’s more awareness around emotions and connection. Both matter — but what do we actually do about our kids’ behavior? In this episode, Brook, Elizabeth, and Diane talk about what discipline really is, why it’s important, and how to approach it with wisdom and love. Discipline isn’t punishment — it’s training and guidance. Our conversation touches on how approaches to parenting have shifted o...
Aug 20, 2025•57 min
This week, all four of us sit down to respond to your thoughtful questions about parenting and marriage. We start by exploring what to do when your parenting style differs from your spouse’s. Differences don’t have to be a problem — in fact, they can be a gift. But what about when the stakes are high, like deciding on the best schooling option for your child? We share how to find unity in your approach without erasing your unique perspectives. Next, we wrestle with this challenge: when your chil...
Aug 13, 2025•40 min
It’s no secret that we live in an anxious world — and we are raising an anxious generation. One in eight kids will be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and that number is rising. So how do we parent through this? What exactly does anxiety look like in our kids? How do we recognize it — especially when it hides under the surface? What tools can we use to respond? And what hope does Scripture offer us along the way? In this episode, we’re not speaking as experts or clinicians, but as parents — d...
Aug 06, 2025•51 min
We’re thrilled to introduce Sowing a Hidden Seed — a 31-day prayer devotional for parents faithfully planting spiritual seeds in their children’s lives, even when the fruit feels far off. Each day features Scripture, a meaningful quote, and a guided prayer, with flexible themes you can make your own. Right now, Sowing a Hidden Seed is available exclusively to monthly donors who give $25 or more. As a nonprofit, Intentional relies on monthly giving to sustain this work — it makes resources like t...
Aug 01, 2025•50 min
This week, Brook sits down with Andrew Damazio — pastor of Rose Church in Portland and author of My Heart Hurts: A Guide to the Theology of Pain and Suffering . After walking through deep, personal suffering — often multiple losses at once — Andrew emerged with a burden to help others navigate pain with both truth and tenderness. When enduring pain, he was either approached with a highly theological response void of care or a purely pastoral response void of biblical truths. What he wanted — and...
Jul 09, 2025•47 min
This week, Brook sits down with Tyler Staton — pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, author, husband, and father of three boys — for a profound, powerful conversation about mortality, margin, weakness, and prayer. Tyler shares his journey through an unexpected and grueling cancer diagnosis, offering a raw look into the spiritual refinement that comes when you’re suddenly faced with your own limitations and mortality. As he puts it, “You don’t know the prayers you’ll pray until someone says, ‘...
Jul 02, 2025•49 min
This week, all four of us sit down for another Marriage Q+R, diving into your questions about navigating tension and other difficult dynamics in marriage. We talk through when it might be wise to extend forgiveness face-to-face versus process it privately, and explore the nuance between sin in thought and sin in action — while remembering that all sin must ultimately be brought before God. We share practical ways to re-prioritize your marriage in the midst of busy seasons, especially when kids, ...
Jun 25, 2025•34 min
Fresh off the Intentional Marriage Retreat, we sit down for a special Q+R episode — answering your thoughtful questions about marriage. In this conversation, we discuss a variety of topics with a special focus on one overarching theme: growing in spiritual connection with your spouse. We talk about how to nurture spiritual intimacy in your marriage by creating space for regular, meaningful conversations about your faith. We also tackle some of the more challenging dynamics: how to lovingly invit...
Jun 18, 2025•44 min
