The Durenda Wilson Podcast

Homeschooling Through a Crisis (Podcast 11)

We never know what God is going to call us or our children to, but as we walk our faith out before our kids, we show them what kind of God we serve.

As moms, we want to fix things. We want to make everything okay and it HURTS when we can’t.
But the truth is that life is messy and it’s hard and even though we want to spare our children of its pains, we would be doing them a disfavor.
The very best thing (even though it can be SO hard) is to walk through the pain WITH them, looking and pointing out where we see God’s presence and pointing them back to the cross.

Our youngest son was born with a major heart defect and spent the first 2 months of his life in the hospital. A little over 4 years ago, our first grandson went to be with Jesus unexpectedly, just hours before birth. As our family walked through these and other crisis together, we were NEVER more glad that we homeschooled.

We had the opportunity to point our kids back to God and to where we saw His presence over and over again. But this took time, patience and understanding...something we could give them because we homeschooled. These experiences impacted them for a lifetime...more than that, for eternity.

In this week's podcast, I share what it looks like to homeschool through a crisis and how God can use what feels really yucky to do His deepest and greatest work in our hearts and the hearts of our children.  We learn what it feels like to experience His grace and watch Him bind our families together through difficulty. (Scriptures used in the podcast are listed on the blog post at durendawilson.com)
Song at the end of the podcast is called "Hold Us Together" by Matt Maher

Protecting Our Kids From Media (Podcast 10)

Moms, we are the ones our kids will look to the most to find out if God is really good. We spend the largest amount of time with them during their formative years. We are the ones who help them interpret the world around them. We want our kids to walk in TRUTH. We need to make sure that truth is being conveyed...in other words that they are not misinterpreting what’s going on around them.
As parents, we are our kids' main advocates and the ones who should be defending their childhood.
In this week's podcast, I am talking specifically about protecting our kids from the media. There are images flashing in so many places that our kids simply are not ready for. We have the privilege, but also the responsibility to shelter our kids in the ways that God leads us to so that they will be able to see what a good God we serve!
Please share this podcast with other moms! (Scripture references and related posts are shared on my blog under Protecting Our Kids From Media, durendawilson.com)

Anxiety and Technology (Podcast 9)

Technology has exploded in the last several years. There are no long term studies that have been done because of how quickly it is accelerating, but the short term ones already show that technology is impacting our anxiety levels.  We need to navigate this area of our lives with wisdom and discernment that only God can give us.

Our daughter, Jenna is joining us! She is married to Sam and has an almost 3 yr old, Avi.
You will get perspectives from 2 generations AND a homeschool graduate...plus Jenna is a whole lot of fun!

We will talk about what it looks like to use discernment, discuss potential fallout, how to know and yield to God's boundaries, and ways to unplug.

I hope you will take the time to listen to this podcast! You won't want to miss it and you will probably want to share it with a friend!

Overcoming Anxiety: How What Makes Us Panic Can Help Us (Podcast 8)

This is the second part of our series on Overcoming Anxiety. It's a series that is for any woman, mom or homeschooling mom, so please share and don't forget to listen all the way to the end of this podcast. There's a song waiting for you there. Close your eyes and let the Holy Spirit wash over you and refresh your spirit!

Anxiety can be debilitating or, at the very least, distracting. God wants us to find courage in Him and the good things He has for us. I firmly believe that He uses anxiety to get our attention and as we slow our hearts to listen to Him, He begins to bring redemption to many areas of our lives.

As we remember His great love for us and yield to His plan for our lives, we have the privilege of watching Him give beauty for ashes.
Go to this post on my blog to read the show notes, Scripture references, and lyrics to the song (Beauty for Ashes by Chris McClarney)

Overcoming Anxiety: Self Induced Turbulence (Podcast 7)

Anxiety is becoming an epidemic, yet those of us who struggle with it feel alone.  What does God have to say about anxiety? Where might my anxiety be coming from? (NO it's NOT wrong to feel anxious)

These are just a few questions we are going to tackle as we unpack the part that anxiety seems to play in so many of our lives. We will hold it up to the Word while addressing the practicalities that go along with it.

Scriptures shared: Matthew 6:25-34 (NLT),Philippians 4:4-7 (NLT), Proverbs 14:8 (NLT), Psalm 16:5,6 (NIV)

Song shared at the end of the podcast is called Hurricane by Natalie Grant:
You're spinning out of control again
Your life feels like a sinking ship
You're wondering how it came to this
Is it too late?
Is it too far?
For Him to reach you
And come to where you are
Step out on the edge
Don't be afraid of it
And when you feel the rain
Call His name
He'll find you in the hurricane
You're in the wreckage underneath
Your hope is buried somewhere deep
You're wondering how long it will keep?
It's never too late
Never too far
For you to reach out
And take a hold of love
Step out on the edge
Don't be afraid of it
And when you feel the rain
Call His name
He'll find you in the hurricane
Don't back down from the fight
He'll shelter you tonight
Just hold on for the change
Call His name
He'll find you in the hurricane
There's a place, there's a place you can run
When you fall, and it's all come undone
You'll be safe in the raging storm
So just let go
'Cause you are held in His arms
Step out on the edge
Don't be afraid of it
And when you feel the rain
Call His name
He'll find you in the hurricane
Oh oh
And when you feel the rain
Call His name
He'll find you in a hurricane

The Inward Battle (Podcast 6)

We know that God wants us to slow down, to take a more unhurried heart into our homeschooling days, but that doesn't always change the fact that we have an inward battle to overcome! In this podcast, I will talk about what the battle REALLY is and how to overcome! I share tons of powerful scripture that I encourage you to go read and study for yourself. You can find those and any other references in the show notes on my blog!

Learning to Trust Your Instincts (Podcast 5)

It's important that we don't just educate our kids' minds, but that we nurture and educate the WHOLE child. Today I'm going to talk about learning to trust your instincts as homeschooling parents and some of the nuances of that. I have more notes as well as resources on this post at my blog, durendawilson.com Thanks for being here!

Are We Foolish Homeschoolers? (Podcast 4)

I am just going to be straight up honest with you.  This podcast message came so clearly from the Lord, I would be a fool to say otherwise.  Sometimes He just does that and this is one of those times.  I was supposed to cover chapter 3 of my book, but what God laid on my heartfelt so urgent and flowed so well with chapter 4 (How We Homeschooled) that I am doing that chapter this week and will cover chapter 3 next week.

Moms, this is a message of freedom.  "Whom the Son has set free is FREE INDEED!!"  This is also a message of love from God to you.

Here's a question for all of us:  Are we willing to look foolish in order to walk in obedience to God's plan for our families?

What if part of looking foolish for the sake of the cross is raising and educating our kids in a way that seems very different from the world?  This is the heart of what I am sharing today! (Resources and scripture I mention in this podcast are listed on the coordinating blog post)

Why We Need to Slow Down (Podcast 3)

Could we be running past the work God is giving us because we have a hurried, narrow vision of what we're "supposed" to be doing?
Does my pace feel like a gentle breeze or more like a hurricane?
Why is slowing down so beneficial in homeschooling our kids and how does it relate to us and our relationship with God?
These are questions we need to ask ourselves if we really want to cultivate a more authentically unhurried life with our families.  In this podcast, we will also talk about how love really is NOT hurried, what that actually looks like and how to recognize the enemy's tactics so we can defeat his attempts to discourage us!

Am I Yielded (Podcast 2)

We make many sacrifices as moms and homeschool moms, but are we actually yielding to God's plan for us?
(If you go to my blog, you will find a list of the resources I mention here):)