Christian Parenting Archives

10 Best Podcasts for Christian Moms

February 11, 2020 by Kristi 16 Comments

Are you turning a listening ear, looking for the best podcasts for Christian moms? Lean in, friend. We’ve got a list of 10 good, helpful, and encouraging podcasts just for you–ones targeted at Christian moms of all ages and experience. But some of these aren’t just for moms. They’re for those of us looking toward Jesus–all types of women.

Some of these may be familiar, others will be new. All have a place in the podcast world. Feel free to give your feedback and note your favorite podcasts in the comments. Enjoy!

1. Intentional Living Podcast

Sliding in here shamelessly at the beginning is the Intentional Living with Kristi Woods. Sound familiar? It should. 🙂

This podcast focuses on intentionality with our faith walk. Listen for your own faith growth, or pass the link along to others, including teens or older children.

Episodes: 6 total
Length: Approximately 30 minutes
Topics: Prayer, the Bible, Relationships, and more.

Intentional Living with Kristi Woods

Notepad, pen, glasses, and drink on a white surface with the title of this Christian podcast

2. Entitled Christian Children?

This episode of Faithful Life with Matt and Lisa Jacobson is called How to Free Your Kids From Feeling Entitled. In today’s times, moms might find this one helpful.

You might remember this Christian couple from last year’s book review. Most of their podcasts center on marriage, so peruse their listings to see if there are others you’d enjoy. But for this one, it’s all for the Christian mom and dad.

Faithful Life

Episodes: 1 (Many other topics & titles await at this podcast, however.)
Length: Approximately 35 minutes
Topics: Freeing Children from Entitlement

3. Are You Raising Kids On Your Knees?

Are you concerned with the destiny of your children? This Christian podcast is steeped in prayer and “real” discussion. Episodes are short, sweet, and encouraging. If you’re a mama whose confidence wobbles or you’d love a little new year encouragement, take a listen.

Raising Kids on Your Knees

Episodes: Many, but we’ll focus on one here
Length: Approximately 12 minutes
Topics: Various–This one focuses on shaping the destinies of our children

4. Podcasts for Moms and Women Short on Time

Many moms find themselves short on time. After all, mothering takes time and a crowd of arms at times, doesn’t it? Short podcasts come in handy for those busy schedules.

Your Daily Bible Verse from BibleStudyTools.com focuses on one Bible verse and a short discussion surrounding it. (This podcast is affiliated with Salem Web Network, as is the Intentional Living with Kristi Woods podcast.)

Episodes: Many
Length: Approximately 5 minutes
Topics: Bible verses and a short discussion/devo

Announcing the Faith Library - light green with gold

5. Mothering Children with Mental Illness

The By His Grace Podcast by Misty Phillips is FILLED with encouraging stories, ones that bolster our faith. Take some time and listen to several of these. You’ll find a friend here–and possibly hours of listening joy.

One episode called Parenting Mental Illness addresses very specifically Tammy Kennington’s story of parenting a child with mental illness. Mothers in similar trenches will find great encouragement here.

Episodes: Many
Length: 15-ish minutes
Topics: Various stories from Christian women

6. Podcast Stories to Encourage

At Home with Sally causes the listener to feel as though they’re sitting with Sally Clarkson in her home. It’s comfortable, conversational, and would be good to listen to while prepping dinner or delivering kids in the mama taxi. And if you’ve read any of her books or heard her speak, you know Sally has a beautiful heart for encouraging mamas in this all-important Kingdom role. The podcast is no different.

Try Nurturing God-Sized Dreams and let us know what you think.

At Home with Sally

Episodes: Many
Length: 25ish minutes
Topics: Various — centered on mothering and the home

7. An Oldie but Goodie

They’ve been on the radio for years. There’s a reason. Don’t forget to keep this podcast ready to play. Some are parenting-focused, but Focus on the Family’s broadcasts focus on marriage, social issues, and many aspects of the Christian life.

Answering Your Kids’ Tough Faith Questions is a useful tool for moms.

Focus on the Family

Episodes: Many
Length: 30 minutes
Topics: Parenting, Marriage, Social, Etc.

8. A Podcast for Moms of Teenagers

Endless Grace by Doug Hall Podcast offers an episode on understanding teenagers–from the perspective of a former high school administrator. You might find good insight and encouragement here.

Conversation with Daniel Patterson: Issues Facing Today’s Teenagers

Episodes: One (This podcast offers many others as well.)
Length: 40-ish minutes
Topics: Understanding Teens (Other topics and stories faith-wise are available for listening, too.)

9. Unsetting Goals Mama

Sounds a little odd, doesn’t it–unsetting goals. (Is unsetting even a word?!) There’s an episode from Life Repurposed that caught my attention that’s about this very thing. It’s called What’s on Your List of UN-Goals for this Year? Take a listen to this one from Michelle L Rayburn–she has a very comfortable podcast voice, by the way–as we venture into the new year.

Life Repurposed

Episodes: Many
Length: 20-ish minutes
Topics: Faith Focus on Women

10. Spiritual Podcasts for 2019 (Christian)

This is a revisit to last year’s list of Top Christian Podcasts. It’s a popular post with fifteen solid suggestions for any Christian. You’ll find The Verb, More than Smalltalk, and more listed here.

Top Christian Podcasts

Episodes: Many
Length: Vary
Topics: Vary

I hope you find a new favorite among this list of best podcasts for Christian moms–and others, too. Happy listening, friend.

Are You Praying These Powerful Prayers Over Your Kids?

June 10, 2019 by Kristi 4 Comments

Pink Flowers with words above — *(This post contains affiliate links. Clicking on these links doesn’t cost you a dime, but when purchasing items through the links, you help support the cost of this blog. Thank you.)*

Do you offer powerful prayers over your kids? When set before the Almighty, rest assured. Prayer remains a mighty weapon in the battle against evil.

But what if we flounder? Sometimes I find myself groping in the dark for words, direction, or Scripture.

I simply don’t know what to pray.

Prayer books (books containing prayers repeatable by readers) slide in as a helpful tool. I use them. What about you? Today’s review covers two.

Read more about praying for your college student.

The good news for those of us searching for powerful prayers? Both reads focus solely on words and topics for parents to pray over kids. And the couple authoring these two? They’re gems.

“Stranger “Danger”: How My Story Intersects with These Prayer Books

Allow me to give a little backstory first.

In 2015, I attended She Speaks, a Proverbs 31 Ministry conference for Christian women writers and speakers. Attendees flooded a Facebook group, listing flight numbers, days, and times in hopes of finding cost-share “buddies” for cab travels from the airport to the venue. (Conference costs add up fast!)

Two women flying in from different parts of the country were scheduled to land at similar times as me. Enter sweet Joanna Teigen and beautiful Grace. The three of us connected and shared the fare.

(As a mother, I’d be screeching “stranger danger!” right about now. After all, we met online. But this story unfolded in a beautiful way. I found a lasting friendship in these strangers named Grace and Joanna. I thank my Father for them.)

As we conversed, Joanna humbly mentioned writing a book. No fanfare. No “ta-da.” Just the fact that she wrote something on prayer. And that was it.

Favorite Prayer Books

It took a bit to add two and two, but when I did….viola! I realized this cab buddy authored one of my all-time favorite prayer books, a tool I found due to a review just like this one.

My mouth dropped.

Beside me sat one of my favorite authors, and I hadn’t a clue!

I giggle about how goofy I reacted (even if none of it showed on the outside), because Joanna is about as humble and genuine as they come. I love this woman and the spark she has for Christ. She and her husband, Rob, create practical tools to help parents and marrieds sit at the feet of Jesus.

They walk the talk.

I share this backstory so you’ll know my “friendship status” with Joanna. A bit of bias rests here. But I assure you, I’d give these books 5 stars–even without the friendship.

Two books with "Book Review" written above

Prayer Books as Powerful Tools

Both Powerful Prayers for Your Son and Powerful Prayers for Your Daughter enable readers to petition God for every part of our their child’s life.

These two books include prayers covering areas from salvation and pride, friendships, rejection, discontentedness, addiction, dating, and purity–and many more. Rob and Joanna invite us to use them as our own. I love that they list applicable scriptures as well.

(There’s power in God’s Word!)

The topics range wide, covering even hidden heart issues and ones we, as parents, may not consider such as the need for peace or giving.

These books are not surface-level prayer tools, they dive deep into the heart of matters. Thank you, Rob and Joanna, for arming us with these powerhouse prayers and Bible verses.

But prayers and scriptures aren’t the only gems found in these tools. Check out the “Prayer Story” portions. These words from other moms and dads encourage and put a real-life face on parenting and spiritual petition needs.

Threaded throughout we also find helpful insight from Rob and Joanna.

So go ahead, grab your copy of each of these books. Give them to new moms or consider one as a “graduation” gift for the parents. They fit a range of ages. After all, we’re never too young or old for prayer.

Find Powerful Prayers for Your Son/Daughter Here:

Christianbook.com (fantastic price as of the writing of this post)

Powerful Prayers for Your Daughter: Praying for Every Part of Her Life

Powerful Prayers for Your Son: Praying for Every Part of His Life

Rob and Joanna’s site
Other places where books are sold

The publisher supplied a free copy of these books in exchange for my honest review.

Do You Love a Good Children’s Bible? Giveaway!

November 27, 2018 by Kristi 14 Comments

Do you love a good children’s Bible?

As we head toward December, look for giving opportunities–gifts for you. Starting today and during several Tuesdays in December, readers will find FREE faith-bolstering items here at KristiWoods.net.
What’s not to love about giving during the giving season?
Grab these FREE goodies for personal, mentoring, or gifting use.
In addition, you’ll find gift-giving ideas for a Christmas that sizzles with faith, ideas to encourage recepients in their walk with Jesus. And even though some of the links to those products are affiliates and I may receive compensation if you puchase them, it won’t cost you an extra penny.

When our kids were young, I bought them several age-appropriate Bibles. No two were the same.

One of the most-used versions we set dove into regularly was The Beginner’s Bible. The kids loved it. Me too! And that was fifteen years ago.

We scoured and studied its pages at night as they slid under the covers and prepared for a good night’s sleep. We read it during the day sometimes as well. And the part I loved most is when I’d catch glimpse of one of the kids carting it around the house–usually Beka– then plopping on the sofa to flip through the pages and study the scenes.

Why did we love The Beginner’s Bible?

Its hard back holds up to eager hands.
The hard cover simply worked best for our crew of little fingers, kids eager to flip through pages and carry around their Bible. It’s solid for young hands.
The Beginner’s Bible contains attractive pages bursting with color.
Sure, black and white paints a picture, but there’s something about color that lights up the page…and draws a reader. Even if your kids don’t yet read, they’ll capture insight into the Bible story simply by studying the picture.
Both Old and New Testament stories find their way into this Bible.
From stories about creation and Elisha in the Old Testament to a New Testament filled with Jesus, this children’s Bible covers stories and people threaded throughout time.
It contains references to the Bible passages.
As a new Christian, I appreciated that The Beginner’s Bible included passage references for each story. This helpful feature allows opportunity to read the portion in an adult Bible before exploring it with the kids. (The children’s stories are not word-for-word translations. They are stories, snippets of that passage.) And sometimes reading the actual verses helps adults better understand the complete picture and prepares them for questions children ask.
The Beginner’s Bible is a great choice for beginning readers.
Young readers will call this one their own. Hence, the name “The Beginner’s Bible.” The words prove friendly for youngsters. A dictionary at the back of the Bible helps with unfamiliar ones. And if its reading level proves too high for your reader? Consider it an open opportunity for an adult to read to the child. Call it a win/win.

It's a #Christmas #Giveaway at KristiWoods.net. Stop by for your opportunity to win (1) of (2) copies of The Beginner's Bible. Click To Tweet

If you’re in the market this Christmas season to give a gift to a youngster, ages 4-8, considerThe Beginner’s Bible.

Today’s good news?

I’m giving away two copies of a brand new, 2005 version The Beginner’s Bible! (1 each to TWO different winners.)

Just in time for Christmas. (Never fear, if you don’t win, check out the link below to purchase The Beginner’s Bible. There are so.many.options.)

750136: The Beginner&quot;s Bible, New and Updated Edition 2016

The Beginner’s Bible, New and Updated Edition 2016
By Zondervan

Giveaway Specifics:

Ages 18+ to enter.
US addresses only, please.
Void where prohibited.
No purchase necessary.
To enter:
* Comment below for 1 entry (max 1x)
* Subscribe to KristiWoods.net for 2 entries (comment below that you’ve subscribed – max 1x)
* Pin a graphic to Pinterest for 1 entry (leave a comment below letting us know, max 1x)
* Tweet the above tweet for 1 entry (max 1x, comment below that you’ve tweeted)
This giveaway is in no way sponsored by or affiliated with Pinterest or Twitter.
Contest closes on Sunday, Dec. 2 at 6pm, central time.
My teens will help me pull a name out of a bowl–we’re real high-tech! Winner to be emailed (so make certain to leave your email address when prompted while commenting) and announced in the Tuesday, Dec. 4 post.
Packages will be mailed via USPS media mail.