We all want to be the healthiest version of ourselves possible, but what happens when we fall into destructive patterns with exercise or eating? And what can we do when we see a loved one struggling with the same thing?
Today, therapist Angela Schaffner joins Karen and Sunny in the studio to answer your questions about struggling with eating disorders, uncovering the reasons behind our damaging behaviors, and setting an example for our children.
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There's no way around it, motherhood changes a woman's body. Whether it's stretch marks from giving birth, or a stretched schedule that allows little time for exercise, there's a new normal once kids are a part of your daily routine.
Today Sunny and Karen answer your questions about making time to work out, giving yourself grace, and ultimately, making peace with the beautiful and capable body God has given you.
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Is it okay that my 7 year old prefers to spend time with our family over other kids? How can I teach my son to be a good friend at school? How do I handle “tricky” friends - ones who look good on paper but who are secretly doing all the things I don’t want my teenage son involved in?
On today’s show we’re tackling questions about your kids and their peer relationships. Tune in to hear this far-ranging discussion and stay tuned until the end for the verse Karen wants us to meditate on as we relinquish control over this arena of our children’s lives.
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Blue mommas, today is all about YOU. You love order, routine, and nothing makes you smile quite like fresh vacuum lines on a rug. So often times the chaos of mom life drives you nuts! Today Karen and Sunny are tackling your questions on how to carve out time to restore your peace, how to let go of the mile-long to-do list in your mind and just enjoy your kids, and how to communicate your needs to your spouse or kids.
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Grief doesn't make exceptions or take a time out because you're a mom. Whether you're dealing with the loss of a parent or pregnancy, an unexpected diagnosis or the death of a dream, grief touches us all at some point along our journey of motherhood. On today's episode Karen speaks with reverend Judy Wolfe on how we can navigate the complex emotion of grief and how we can help our children process grief when it intersects with their lives as well.
If you've ever wondered how you're supposed to keep driving carpool and checking homework while walking through the valley of grief, we hope you'll tune in today and be encouraged. You are not alone, momma.
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On today’s episode Karen and Sunny answer questions from moms with high school seniors getting ready for graduation! We cover enjoying this last summer at home with your child, how often is too often to “check in”, what to expect on move-in day and even how to handle visits home now that your child is living independently at school.
Enjoying Wire Talk? Subscribe and leave us a review in iTunes! For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, visit www.birdsaonawiremoms.com
Red moms, this is the episode you've been waiting for! Today Karen tackles your questions and talks about both the positives and the negatives that come along with being a red mom. We discuss anger, identity, and what happens when a red mom and a red child face off.
Like what you heard? Subscribe and leave a review iTunes. For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, subscribe and receive Karen's weekly Tips on Motherhood every Tuesday in your inbox!
Today we're wrapping up our three part series by answering your questions on what discipline looks like as our kids move into adolescence. Karen explains the key principle that as moms, these are the years when we need to let consequences play out in our kids' lives. We answer questions about a lying daughter, how to address arrogant attitudes, and the role men can play in our sons' life during high school. Plus, find out why a pair of AirPods might just be the thing you need to make it through these years without losing your mind.
Loving Wire Talk? Leave us a review and subscribe in iTunes! For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, sign up to receive Karen's weekly Tips on Motherhood email.
How do you discipline in the middle years when time outs aren't an effective option any more and your kids are rapidly closing in on adolescence? Tune in to hear Karen's philosophy on the purpose of discipline in these years and hear your questions answered about the discipline situations you are facing with your 6 to 12 year olds.
Loving Wire Talk? Leave us a review and subscribe in iTunes! For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, sign up to receive Karen's weekly Tips on Motherhood email.
What do you do when time outs just aren't cutting it anymore? Join Karen and Sunny today for the first discussion in a three part mini-series all about discipline. We talk about the why behind the how, explain what Karen means when she talks about a child's "currency," and even take a deep dive into the topic of spanking. We hope this episode is a little refresher course on the purpose of discipline and helps you understand the importance of laying a solid foundation during the early years.
Like what you heard? Subscribe and leave us a review in iTunes! For more resources on motherhood and parenting, visit www.birdsonawiremoms.com
We all know establishing boundaries is important, but we don't always understand how to communicate those boundaries to those around us. On today's show, Karen helps us understand how to communicate our family boundaries to our children, how to deal with toxic relationships in extended families, and how to stand your ground without feeling guilty. Plus Sunny shares a great tip for taking the pressure off of your child as far as keeping your rules when they head to a friend's home.
Mommas, we hope this episode brings you great freedom as you parent this week!
For more resources on motherhood and parenting, visit www.birdsonawiremoms.com
We're talking personalities again today, but this time we're discussing YOUR personality, and specifically answering questions from our tender and peace-loving GREEN mamas. Listen to hear the advice Karen has for a green mom worn out by her red and yellow kids, how green moms can thrive in a rainbow of competing family members, and stay tuned to hear Karen share a text she receives in the middle of recording with exciting news about her son! :)
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For more information on Birds on a Wire and to find all our episodes in an easily searchable format, visit us online at www.birdsonawiremoms.com/podcast
Do your bickering kids drive you nuts some days? You're in good company, momma! On today's episode Karen and Sunny answer your questions all about sibling relationships, rivalry, and the inevitable run-ins that happen when you have more than one child in your family.
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For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, visit us at www.birdsonawiremoms.com
How do you know when your family is complete? On today's episode of Wire Talk Karen and Sunny answer questions about family planning, infertility, and what it looks like to seek God in prayer when it comes to His plans for your future family.
Love Wire Talk? Leave a review so that more moms can find us and be encouraged!
Find more encouragement on your journey of motherhood by visiting www.birdsonawiremoms.com
Today Greg Stubbs joins Karen in the studio to talk about how they navigated dating relationships during their children's teenage years. They discuss the boundaries they set for their kids during the dating years, how they handled boyfriends and girlfriends they didn't like, and how they kept the lines of communication open during these important years.
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After being married for a while, it's easy to get stuck in a rut. Especially in the busy years between having kids and becoming empty nesters, it’s easy for our weeks to become a blur of dividing kid duties. This week on Wire Talk, Sunny and Karen talk about getting creative for date night, how to find great babysitters and why we should even bother!
Encouraged by this conversation? Share Wire Talk with a friend and leave us a five-star review in iTunes.
For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, visit www.birdsonawiremoms.com
Dr. Michelle Harding joins Sunny and Karen in the studio today to share her professional wisdom and personal experience with postpartum depression. We answer your questions about how to recognize PPD, what to do if you're going through PPD, and how we can be good friends to moms around us walking through a season of postpartum depression. As always, we hope you are encouraged by this conversation!
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For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, visit www.birdsonawiremoms.com/email to get Karen's practical tips in your inbox each Tuesday.
We all walk down the aisle with hearts full of hope, but a few years and a kid or two down the road, we often discover marriage is more work than we thought it would be.
On today's episode Karen and Sunny answer questions from moms struggling in their marriages in different ways; wondering how to stay content, how to get on the same page with their spouse, and even what to do when they aren't sure their marriage will survive. We hope this conversation encourages you to choose joy and fight for your marriage, especially when it feels like the hardest thing to do.
Like what you heard? Subscribe in iTunes so you never miss an episode. For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, sign up for Karen's weekly email, Notes from the Nest!
Yellow kids are bubbly, affectionate, fun loving...and they can be exhausting! Today we're wrapping up our series on the four personality temperaments by answering questions all about "yellow" kids. If you've ever wished your child would just stop talking, this is an episode you don't want to skip.
For more advice from Karen on the other personality types, listen to episodes 121, 132 and 136.
Read all of our blog posts specific to the personality colors HERE.
Like what you heard? Subscribe in iTunes so you never miss an episode! And if you'd like more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, sign up for our weekly email at www.boaw.mom/email.
These days moms work more hours than ever and are usually the primary keepers of the family schedule. Grocery shopping, doctor's appointments, preparing dinner, driving carpool, buying birthday gifts, folding laundry and oh yeah, for many of us there's a little thing called work, too. We're often looking at our calendars and scratching our heads, wondering how we can control them instead of being controlled by them.
On today's show, Karen and Sunny answer questions about routine, schedules and managing the busyness that accompanies family life. We hope you're encouraged by a tip to help calm the chaos and as always, reminded that you are not alone!
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Did you know moms all over the U.S. and even across the world gather together weekly or monthly in small groups to learn from Birds on a Wire studies together? On today's Wire Talk we're answering questions from moms who host BOAW groups. Everything from, "how do I get a new group going?" and "how can I get moms to open up?" to "what do I do when I need a break from leading but don't want the group to end?" Tune in to hear the advice Karen has for our BOAW host moms - maybe you'll be inspired to host a BOAW group yourself!
Like what you heard? Learn more about Birds on a Wire small groups here: www.birdsonawiremoms.com/groups.
For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, subscribe to receive Karen's weekly Tips on Motherhood email
It’s our last episode of 2018 and this year we are doing something we have never done before. Wire Talk is taking some time off! We wanted to take the advice we are always giving moms, and take a break from our usual routine so we can spend the time in between Christmas and New Year's Day resting and enjoying our families. Enjoy this episode all about the holidays and we'll see you back here in 2019!
Did you enjoy this episode? Leave us a review and let us know! For more encouragement and advice for your journey of motherhood, visit www.birdsonawiremoms.com/weeklyemail and subscribe to receive Karen's Tips on Motherhood email each Tuesday.
Being on the same page with your spouse is never simple, and when one spouse is frequently away from home, things get even more complicated. On Wire Talk today, Karen and Sunny answer questions about how to squash resentment, smooth out the re-entry process, and even get dinner on the table when you're flying solo.
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For more encouragement on your journey of motherhood, head over to www.birdsonawiremoms.com/weeklyemail to get Karen's Tips on Motherhood delivered directly to your inbox each Tuesday.
Maybe your teenage daughter suddenly bursts into tears at the drop of a hat or maybe your 9 year old son is constantly slamming the door over math homework. The variety of emotions our kids express in one afternoon can leave us confused and exhausted.
David Thomas, one of our most popular break-out speakers at this year's Soar conference, joins Sunny today to address the questions so many of us have when it comes to our kids' emotional needs. We cover when to lean in and when to back off, how to discern what is hormones and what is normal behavior and David gives loads of practical tips to help you navigate the outbursts. Whether you're dealing with anger, sadness, anxiety or frustration, we think you'll hear something in this episode that equips you to respond with grace.
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Meal times, temper tantrums, their constant desire for your undivided attention ... it seems we can't do enough episodes on how to survive the toddler years! Many of you are asking, how can we survive the chaos and maybe even enjoy a little bit of these fleeting years? Today Sunny and Karen are addressing your questions and hopefully giving you hope that you CAN do this!
If you enjoyed what you heard, head to www.birdsonawiremoms.com for more encouragement on your daily journey of motherhood. And don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes!