Do you ever feel stuck in a reactive cycle as a parent — responding in ways you wish you wouldn't, again and again? Like Paul in Romans 7:15, you might find yourself saying, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Here’s the good news: you’re not broken — you’re patterned. And patterns can be healed. In this episode, we unpack what it means to be shaped by behavioral patterns, where they come from, and how they show up in our parenting and marria...
Jun 11, 2025•50 min
This week, we’re getting honest about our inadequacies as parents — when all we can say is, “I can’t.” Inspired by The Fellowship of the Withered Hand, a concept from John Ortberg’s Steps , we explore how embracing our weaknesses can actually be a gateway to deeper healing and growth. Rather than hiding our shortcomings, what if we brought them into the light — to both God and to trusted community — and found strength in surrender? Rooted in the story from Mark 3 where Jesus heals a man’s wither...
Jun 04, 2025•54 min
This week, all four of us sit down for a meaningful conversation about everyday forgiveness — small, often-overlooked moments of hurt that show up in our closest relationships and call for repair. Whether it's with a spouse, parent, friend, or coworker, these minor offenses can quietly accumulate and widen the distance between us — unless we learn to close the gap before it becomes a chasm. Diane shares a personal story of a generational pattern of unforgiveness in her family of origin and how i...
May 28, 2025•56 min
This week, we’re thrilled to welcome back our dear friend A.J. Swoboda — author, professor, theologian, lay pastor, and fellow podcaster — for an honest conversation about what it means to parent while carrying our own scars. Like physical ones, emotional scars tell the story of pain endured and healing found. We talk about the reality that many of us are giving our kids something we never received — emotional health, spiritual guidance, or intentional presence. While that’s a beautiful gift, it...
May 21, 2025•43 min
Do you ever catch yourself wishing away the ordinary, mundane days of parenting — those moments that feel repetitive, exhausting, or spiritually dry? Maybe you carry guilt for not “praying enough,” or wonder when you’ll ever have space for deep spiritual encounters again. In this week’s episode, Brook and Elizabeth invite you to reimagine what prayer looks like in the midst of diapers, dishes, and daily routines. They explore the idea of praying the ordinary — cultivating an inner posture of att...
May 14, 2025•51 min
This week, Brook sits down once again with author, professor, theologian, lay pastor, and podcaster A.J. Swoboda to talk about the importance of having a teachable spirit in today’s world. Centered around his latest book, A Teachable Spirit , this episode invites listeners to see teachability not just as a personality trait, but as a deeply spiritual discipline. We begin by naming a sobering truth: “We have become a culture that demands repentance but shames people who actually do it.” In respon...
May 07, 2025•55 min
Do you ever find yourself at a loss when it comes to disciplining your children as they move beyond the toddler years? Do you wish you could instantly curb the pushback, mood swings, and moments of disrespect? This week, we discuss our Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Parenting resource, which reframes how we respond to our children’s behaviors by emphasizing both correction and connection. After all, God has hard-wired us all for connection — and this should dictate how we relate to our kids, no matter t...
Apr 30, 2025•57 min
This week, Brook sits down with actor, author, and producer Kirk Cameron for a powerful conversation about faith, marriage, and what it means to live as a man of God. While many remember Kirk from his prominent roles in the Growing Pains TV series and the Left Behind films, his story goes far beyond the screen. He shares how a shift from atheism to Christianity as a teenager altered the trajectory of his life, leading him to become a devoted husband, father of six, and now a grandfather. We talk...
Apr 16, 2025•53 min
This week, we explore procedural memory — the unconscious, long-term memory that drives us to perform actions automatically. Shaped by childhood experiences and behaviors modeled by our parents, procedural memory often feels like running on autopilot or slipping into default mode, especially in how we respond under pressure. It’s that reflexive reaction, internal or external, that surfaces when we’re provoked — sometimes leading to an action you once promised yourself you’d never repeat, perhaps...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 4 min
This week, Elizabeth and Diane make an exciting announcement: The Intentional Motherhood Retreat is BACK for 2025 — this time, in Portland, Oregon from October 23-25! They discuss what the retreat is all about, why you should come, and what to expect if you haven’t been before. As retreat speakers and hosts, Elizabeth and Diane reflect on the deep connections, vulnerability, and transformation experienced in past years — building anticipation for what’s to come in 2025. This retreat is for women...
Apr 02, 2025•24 min
This week, we’re diving into the topic of emotional intelligence — the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions in both ourselves and those around us. Developing emotional intelligence helps us navigate life with maturity and stability, while also equipping us to guide our children in naming and managing their emotions with confidence and care. At its core, emotional intelligence is built on four key components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship man...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 4 min
This week, the entire Intentional team sits down to respond to your questions, covering a range of topics, including emotional availability, attachment, overstimulation with kids, physical intimacy in marriage, and navigating emotional pain with our children. We discuss the difficult task of staying emotionally present with toddlers while tending to household responsibilities. Elizabeth unpacks common misconceptions about attachment, explaining that secure attachment isn’t about being constantly...
Mar 19, 2025•44 min
In this episode, the whole Intentional team comes together to unpack five essential practices for maintaining calm and regulation as parents — even in the midst of chaos. We explore how our response to our children must be rooted in humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and contentment. We discuss the fleshly desire to respond to heightened emotions and dysregulation in our kids by matching their intensity — and how that never works out well in the long run. Instead, we look to Jesus’ wor...
Mar 12, 2025•56 min
This week, we welcomed Sally Lemos, MS, LPC back on the show for a continued conversation around generational trauma, this time focused on the path to healing. Drawing from her own history of significant childhood trauma, Sally walked us through what it can look like to find healing and restoration, offering a raw account of her transition from denial and blame to naming and claiming. Sally’s healing process didn’t involve a clean, step-by-step checklist, but rather an openness to the One who sa...
Feb 26, 2025•56 min
Have you ever felt stuck in your decisions, as if changing your mind would mean admitting defeat? This week, we’re talking about the beauty and bravery of pivoting, whether it’s within your marriage, the way you parent your children, or other areas of life. We unpack the reasons we may have trouble granting ourselves permission to change, whether that’s worry, fear, pride, ignorance, identity, or even dynamics within our family of origin. Sometimes, the ideals we held before marriage or parentho...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 205
This week, we welcomed author, speaker, fellow podcaster, and overall inspiring, vibrant and magnetic human Annie F. Downs to the show. First, we highlighted the children’s book Annie co-wrote with her sister, ”Where Did TJ Go?” , which helps kids navigate grief and loss. The story was born from personal tragedy. After her sister’s family lost a baby, Annie wrote it for her nephew, Sam, to help him understand where his baby brother, TJ, had gone. What began as a heartfelt story for one child bec...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 3 min
This week on the podcast, all four of us (Brook, Elizabeth, Phil and Diane) sat down to respond to some questions centered on avoiding bitterness in your marriage while dealing with sickness and the unique challenges of parenting neurodiverse children alongside neurotypical children. We discussed the reality of living out the marriage vow, “in sickness and in health,” and how it requires a deep loyalty to one another, a shared sense of suffering and oneness, and a desperate dependence on God. We...
Feb 05, 2025•53 min
This week on the podcast, we welcomed back Ruth Chou Simons — author, artist, podcaster, and mom of six(!) boys — for an inspiring conversation about nurturing relationships with our kids. Ruth shared her wisdom on fighting for connection, especially during the teenage years, emphasizing the importance of leading with vulnerability. We explored the idea of viewing parenting as a journey rather than a destination, the importance of feeling empowered in our role as parents, the art of consistently...
Jan 29, 2025•50 min
In this episode, we take a heartfelt and insightful dive into the unique challenges and profound joys of parenting neurodivergent children. We acknowledge the emotional, spiritual, and practical complexities that come with raising children who experience the world differently, while also embracing the beauty and growth that can emerge from these experiences. Throughout our discussion, we explore how faith plays a vital role in navigating the uncertainties and trials that parents often face, offe...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Today on the show, Brook+Elizabeth and Phil+Diane answer your marriage-related questions, offering practical strategies and heartfelt wisdom for navigating the challenges and celebrations of married life. They tackle everything from difficult in-law dynamics and moments of overstimulation to prioritizing your spouse during the busiest or most exhausting seasons. With a focus on communication, respect, and prayer, this discussion is packed with advice, encouragement, laughter, and essential tools...
Jan 15, 2025•58 min
We wholeheartedly welcome back Sally Lemos, MS, LPC, to our show today to talk about trauma as it relates to families through generations. In this episode, we want to lay a foundation and start at the beginning by defining what trauma and abuse are and how they can show up in different ways in us, in our families, and how it’s passed down to future generations. Sally shares with us through the wisdom of her professional lens and her lived experience to teach us some tools to name the trauma, be ...
Jan 08, 2025•52 min
Merry Christmas! Welcome to our special Christmas episode! Today, Brook and Elizabeth, along with Phil and Diane, dive into the challenges of navigating interpersonal relationships, especially in a culture where it’s often easier—and even socially accepted—to cancel those who feel inconvenient. Together, they share eight essential principles for handling difficult relationships and explore the better, more compassionate way that Jesus teaches. Along the way, they open up about their own personal...
Dec 24, 2024•1 hr
In this episode, Brook+Elizabeth, and Phil+Diane tackle three insightful questions about navigating relationships and faith. They explore how to foster deeper connections with family members who struggle with vulnerability by modeling openness, inviting honest conversations, and listening without judgment. They also share how they have learned to support self-critical loved ones through the power of specific encouragement and patience while speaking the truth in love. Lastly, they share thoughts...
Dec 18, 2024•55 min
On the show today, Brook and Elizabeth and Phil and Diane talk about complaining. They unpack how complaining often masks deeper issues like grief, unmet expectations, or a lack of acceptance. True lament invites God into our pain, helping us process grief without getting stuck, while godliness with contentment reorients our perspective. By repenting of entitlement, embracing suffering as part of our calling, and teaching others, including our children, to lament with God, we grow in faith and re...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr
Conflict, conflict, conflict! We all have it, none of us really want it, and we usually don’t handle it well. What are we to do with the complexities of relational tension and dynamics in our closest relationship? What are some tried and true strategies that are effective now, and how do we heal the emotional wounds that come from conflict? What does the Bible say about this pivotal dynamic in our homes? Listen as Brook, Elizabeth, Phil, and Diane discuss this topic and share their hearts and fa...
Dec 03, 2024•57 min
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! On today’s show, Brook, Elizabeth, Phil, and Diane sit down to respond to some great questions you all sent in. They open with an important question: is cooking a turkey necessary at Thanksgiving? They also cover some questions like how to find a spiritual mentor, how to keep fighting for your spouse when your spouse is struggling with an addiction, and how to focus on our children's flaws as well as their strengths. We hope you have a great Thanksgiving, Enjoy! Scr...
Nov 27, 2024•48 min
On today’s show, we are so pleased to welcome Glenn Packiam. Glenn is a Pastor, author, podcast host, husband, and father of four. We are excited for you to get to know Glenn and the work he has been up to, not only as an author with the book he co-wrote with his wife, Holly but also to learn what God has been teaching him about fatherhood and his relationship with Jesus. Join us in this deep and encouraging conversation as we talk about what it means to have an Intentional year, to start new ha...
Nov 20, 2024•47 min
Join us today as Brook, Phil, and Diane discuss their best daily habits. Spoiler alert: it’s reading their Bibles each day. Some stories and reflections are shared today about how God has transformed each of them over the years by reading the scriptures daily. Reading the Bible is not meant to be legalistic; God’s heart is an invitation, wanting to bless, meet, and help you. To keep it simple, they break it down into five different ways to read the scriptures. Enjoy! 5 different ways to read the...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr
Today is all about marriage. Join Brook and Elizabeth as they share from a place of humble transparency how God has taught them to love one another. Brook and Elizabeth share crucial elements that have shifted their relationship, like care before criticism, being aware of the little foxes, and finding ways to encourage one another. They also discuss four things to try in your marriage to bring more care and life to your relationship. You are not alone if you find marriage hard, but it is worth t...
Nov 06, 2024•55 min
Today, we talk all about time! We cover different topics like letting our dreams die. What does that process look like? How do we accept the pain of life effectively and fruitfully? What do we do in the waiting when one season has not yet come but one season has already passed? What’s the right time to let something painful go? When is it time to conquer the next mountain? We cover many questions like this and even more. Enjoy! 4 Movements to help A time of waiting A time to turn A time to set o...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 4 min
