What do you do when you and your children experience intense personal loss, like the unexpected death of a loved one? Eliza Huie helps us walk through a series of questions that parents wrestle with as they try to process shock and grief while also helping their children deal with tragedy. Listen as Eliza answers the following questions from Jay: H…

**Be sure to check out our new discussion guide to help you make the most out of this episode. Download it here. Research shows that the average adult makes over 35,000 decisions every day! We make a lot of choices, and many of our choices have a compounding effect as we repeat them day after day. Other choices are not as important but drain our en…

**Be sure to check out our new discussion guide to help you make the most out of this episode. Download it here. What does it mean to walk in the Spirit and live in the Spirit? This week I am joined by Dr. Don Love for a walk through Galatians 5 and a discussion of the Fruit of the Spirit in the life of a believer. We talk about how to discern the …

**Be sure to check out our new discussion guide to help you make the most out of this episode. >> https://bit.ly/3Hilh2R Character changes destiny, and character changes culture. Dr. Kathy Koch helps define the core character qualities we want to instill in our children to help them honor Christ, even when no one is looking. As we learn to parent f…

Today Jay revisits his very favorite interviews from 2023. He also celebrates the fruitful year for The 127 Project, including production of Let’s Parent on Purpose and Stories of Hope with Dr. Samuel Thomas, the building and remodeling of three Hope Homes in India, and supporting a pioneering church planter in Nepal. Be sure to check out the full …

The beginning of a new year is a great time to think through resolutions, habits, and goals. Today Jay takes you far beyond setting resolutions that will likely fail by February. He walks through his process for starting with determining your specific goals for five aspects of your life: Spiritual, Family, Professional, Financial, and Physical. Onc…

Jay walks us through Ephesians 5 and 6 to point out a key truth: the greatest section of the Bible on family and interpersonal relationships is right next to the greatest section of the Bible on spiritual warfare. Today we look at the reality of spiritual warfare in our homes, and how we are called to remember that our family members are not the en…

Why does Scripture compare the husband-wife relationship to that of Christ and the church? How does a marriage reflect Jesus and His bride? Today Jay walks through the commands of Ephesians 5:22-33 and then expands on the greater story of redemption in the gospel. He shares the larger story of the Bible from the viewpoint of creation, sabbath rest,…

Dr. Gary Chapman brings his 30+ years of biblical wisdom and counseling expertise to help identify the core traits of a healthy family. In this episode we unpack what each trait looks like and how to progress towards health if you are not there yet. Listen as Dr. Chapman describes: Families who Serve Husbands and Wives Who Relate Intimately Parents…

Our lives are shot through with sacred purpose even when, especially when, we are too busy or too caught up in our busyness to notice. Jay’s guest Douglas McKelvey has spent the last several years penning beautiful prayers to help us bring Christ into the mundane parts of our lives. As Jay and Douglas discuss the Every Moment Holy series, you’ll di…

Every parent following Jesus hopes their children will continue to love and follow Jesus beyond their youth group years. Sadly, a large percentage of people leave the church and leave the faith in their young adult years. Brad Griffin joins Jay today to share Fuller Youth Institute’s years of research on the key habits of ministries and families to…

Every season of our parenting journey is fleeting, and we often miss the joy that God presents us while wishing away our current challenges. Today Jay talks with Jeanette Tapley about the importance of living in the joy of every season of life. They discuss the guilt that many working moms feel over not being a stay at home mom, the need for flexib…

Enjoy this sneak peak into the Stories of Hope with Dr. Samuel Thomas Podcast! Dr. Samuel Thomas of Hopegivers International paints the heartbreaking picture of the life of a street child in India. Without a stable home or a mother and father to care for them, children are forced to scrap, beg, or steal. Many of them are trafficked, forced to take …

This is the second of a two-part series on gender with Christine Sneeringer, a ministry leader who specializes in sexuality and gender issues. Her own personal journey to overcome more than two decades of gender dysphoria informs her belief that it can be resolved without medical interventions. Because gender dysphoria is a psychological challenge,…

This is the first of a two-part series on gender with Christine Sneeringer, a ministry leader who specializes in sexuality and gender issues. Growing up, Christine knew all too well the distress and hardship of not feeling at home in her female body. More than anything she longed to be a boy. Looking back, Christine now realizes how her abuse histo…

More children and teens wrestle with anxiety than ever before. Sometimes moms and dads feel powerless to help their children escape the grip of chronic anxiety. Today our guest Hannah Conway shares several simple, practical strategies that can deescalate the general level of worry, tension, and anxiety your children experience. As we continue to cr…

14, 8, 6, 5 years old when I started Thanks Christian Parenting, Covenant Fellowship, Listeners, My wife and kids In the past 7 years Jay has released 350 episodes and interviewed over 120 different people for Let’s Parent on Purpose. Today Jay shares his biggest personal insights from the years of being a learner behind the microphone. To commemor…

Every community is going to experience conflict. The way we navigate these conflicts will either break our community or make it stronger. Today Jay shares important truths to help you grow personally and relationally as you encounter conflict in your various communities. This is an episode that is very helpful for parents in their personal lives as…

As a Division 1 college soccer player, Craig Hettlinger was living many young men’s dream. A fateful decision to partake in a controlled substance after a win started a 16-year collapse into addiction and destruction. Craig shares his story of addiction, failed attempts at sobriety, and his ultimate recovery and deliverance through God’s power. Cra…

There’s a simple action you can take that has profound theological and neurological significance in your household… smile. Jay shares the correlation between smiling and the blessing of God from Numbers 6. A core facet of God’s blessing upon his people was the shining face of God looking upon them. In a similar way, we bless the members of our hous…

Jay shares a powerful set of words that can help rewire your household to get past the blame game and start working towards making things right. “It doesn’t have to be your fault to be your responsibility” is a concept we see through the teachings of Scripture (The Good Samaritan, Galatians 6, the incarnation of Jesus). As we start to incorporate t…

“Our past hurts mixed with our present pressure often dictate our future fear.” Counselor and author Sissy Goff has watched this reality play out hundreds of times through the decades as she councils chidden as well as their moms and dads. So often parents are willing to get help for their anxious children while not addressing their own anxieties. …

Do your kids know beyond shadow of a doubt, if they see pornography on the school bus, they can come home and tell you? Today’s guest Nick Liberto introduces us to an incredible resource that will help equip mom and dad to be THE expert on sex in their child’s life. The current average age of exposure to hardcore pornography is 8 years old. As pare…

What if your family’s pursuit of Jesus takes you in the opposite direction of The American Dream? Josh Gardner and family sought to obey Jesus by intentionally moving closer to a lower income housing development, befriending their community, and becoming an incarnation model of the gospel of Christ. Josh and his family had been serving in a traditi…

Jennifer Love longed to experience the life of Christ and the transformational power of prayer like she was reading in the Bible. As she sought the Lord asking for this life, He began to answer her. Through a series of experiences with her prayer group in church and on a mission trip, Jennifer began to see spiritual breakthrough in her prayer life.…

What if the Holy Spirit truly served as the Comforter and Counselor? When we read our Bibles, that what we would expect. However, when we live our lives, the transforming power of the Holy Spirit is often diminished, and we carry wounds and hurts for decades. While serving as a biblical professor at a large Evangelical University, Dr. Don love bega…

Many moms and dads are shocked to find out how disorienting it is to parent their young adult children. Our 18-25 year old children still need parenting, but the relational dynamics are very different during these years. Pastor and author Jim Ramos has navigated these years with three of his own children, and shares insights he learned from parenti…

There are times in our lives when we know we’ve made a terrible decision. Sometimes our choice was blatant sin and rebellion, and other times the choice might have just been totally foolish. We know it’s not God’s will for us to sin and it’s not God’s will for us to make foolish decisions. So how do we recover when we know we’ve blown a major decis…

Where the Bible is clear about God’s will, we must obey. But what about the thousands of choices we have in life where there doesn’t seem to be specific clarity in God’s Word? Do we pause and wait to hear the voice of the Lord? What about the people who seem to constantly say “God told me this?” Are we not walking with Jesus because we don’t have a…

One of the great paradoxes of life is that more choices don’t always lead to a happier life. Never ending choices can be paralyzing. Additionally, many choices give the illusion of freedom on the front end but ultimately lead to entrapment, slavery, and devastating consequences. As we continue our series on Knowing and Doing God’s Will, today Jay t…

One of the most common questions for a follower of Jesus is “How do I know God’s will for my life?” Often, these questions revolve around a few major decisions, such as where should I go to school, what should I do for a job, and who should I marry? As we continue our series “Knowing and Doing God’s Will”, Jay lays out the Path of Wisdom for how to…

Today Jay begins a series on Knowing and Doing God’s will. In this opening episode Jay shares a powerful prayer from Colossians 1 that explains the lifelong connection between knowing God’s will and knowing God. The reality is that God often calls us to follow Him before we know him deeply. It can be hard to trust God enough to obey, but it’s in th…

Many moms and dads are shocked to find out how disorienting it is to parent their young adult children. Our 18-25 year old children still need parenting, but the relational dynamics are very different during these years. Pastor and author Jim Ramos has navigated these years with three of his own children, and shares insights he learned from parenti…

Parents can often feel burdened that discipleship is just one more thing to add to a list of tasks they are already doing poorly. My guest Caesar Kalinowski helps us walk through a framework for discipleship that takes advantage of six regular rhythms of life that are already happening in each of our lives. Listen as Caesar explains how we might di…

At the beginning of 2023 most parents had never heard of Chat GPT, and had given very little thought to how artificial intelligence might affect their parenting. But in just a few short months Chat GPT has amassed over 100 million users. Artificial Intelligence is going to change the landscape on a scale similar to the introduction of the iPhone or…

There are currently six adult generations living and working together in the United States! Today Jay is joined by Dr. Jean M. Twenge, author of the brand new book Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents – and What They Mean for America’s Future. Dr. Twenge brings insights from analyzing over 38 mil…

At best you’ll get around 18 summers before your children are out of the house. Today Jay shares fun and creative ideas for how to make the most out of your summer by creating a summer theme. With a summer theme, you can focus on a particular area of discipleship in creative ways that will deepen your family’s faith while making sweet memories. Wit…

In this episode, Jay interviews Janine McNally, founder and director of Grace4Kidz, about the latest generation to hit the scene, Generation Alpha. Janine shares insights into the unique characteristics of this generation, how they differ from previous generations, and how parents can best understand and relate to them. Janine describes Generation …

Jesus calls us to make disciples, and the first disciples we should seek to make are the members of our own household. Rene Christensen has over 24 years of obeying Jesus’ command with her seven children. Through the years she has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience of how to simplify and normalize discipleship practices that will grow our …

It can often feel like our teenagers hear the exact opposite message from what we intend. Teens are likewise frustrated that their parents don’t understand them. Jay shares insights that can help you bridge the gap with your teen and enhance true communication. We don’t want to just exchange words, we want to understand and be understood. Our discu…

One of the greatest ways to increase the security and stability of our children is to invest in our marriage. If mom and dad love and enjoy one another, children feel safe. Today Jay shares a number or regular habits each couple can make to increase the quality and security of their marriage. By committing to these regular and public habits, you no…

Youth sports have become a multibillion dollar business in the United States. In search of the tantalizing promise of a college scholarship, many parents sacrifice years and thousands of dollars to keep their child competitive on sports teams. Even the casual sporting family must make difficult decisions on how much they are willing to commit to sp…

Can you recognize the warning signs of substance abuse in your child? How do you broach the conversation if you suspect your child has gotten involved with alcohol, vaping, marijuana, or other substances? What can you do to help convince your child that pot is a big deal on a developing brain? My guest Richard Capriola joins me once again to discus…

What if you could lower some of the sources of anxiety in your children’s lives and build a greater sense of stability and connection? My guest Terra Mattson rejoins me today for a conversation on the digital drivers of anxiety in our children, especially our young ladies. In this episode, you will learn about The science behind the wiring of male …

We all have those days when we feel like we are a terrible parent. Sometimes it’s because we blow a moment or decision. Other times it's because we compare ourselves to the best parts of other people’s lives. And sometimes it’s because we are fooled into thinking the false presentation of our friends on social media is true. Whatever your reason fo…

No relationship has more impact on the spiritual direction of a child or teen than mom and dad. But every parent needs a community to raise a disciple. Today Jay is joined once again by Pastor Josh Luecht. Between the two of them they have over 40 years of student ministry experience. Jay and Josh share the best ways parents can engage with their c…

Dr. Tim McKnight, a missions and evangelism expert, reveals the potential for Gen Z to make a kingdom impact if parents can shepherd them well. You will learn: 1. How is Generation Z different from previous generations, and what unique potential do they have to make a kingdom impact? 2. What is the role of technology in shaping and influencing Gene…

When Jeremy Pryor discovers that God designed families to be teams on mission, not nests for individual success, he embarks on a journey to challenge the idol of individualism and bring his family closer together. You will learn how to strengthen family identity through everyday responsibilities with Jeremy Pryor's unique approach. In this episode,…

Discover how to unlock spiritual growth and maturity through the power of relationship and identity. "Relationship inspires behavior, and gives us motivation for obedience.” Pastor Jon Price has been in ministry for 35 years and is a speaker, trainer, author and coach. He lives in north Georgia with his wife of 26 years and has two grown children a…

Generation Z is the most unchurched and unreached generation alive today. At the same time, research shows that the vast majority of people who put their faith in Jesus do so before the age of 18. Pastor Josh Leucht joins Jay for a conversation on the difference approach we need to take in sharing the gospel with Generation Z. Their discussion incl…