253: Q&A: Marriage vs. Singleness, Helicopter parents, LGBTQ Family | Laurie & Matt

Happy New Year! We’re kicking off the year by diving into your thoughtful questions, including: How do we find the courage to speak truth with love? How can I love a gay friend well when they enter a same-sex relationship? How can a same-sex attracted man discern between marriage and singleness? How do I navigate pornography and masturbation conversations in a mixed-faith marriage? What healthy boundaries can we set for our kids when it comes to preventing sexual abuse without becoming “helicopter” parents? How do we engage and disciple our kids when family members identify as gay or trans? Thanks for bringing the content! We’re so glad you are here. Next Steps: Live podcast here. Raising Kids Video Series here. Our book here. Fight the New Drug Link here. Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. Ask Laurie a Q on IG here.

We’ve got author, pastor, and therapist Chuck DeGroat in the house—and he brought at least one of us to good tears. In this episode of the Hole in My Heart Podcast, we talk about healing the wound within and explore: Why so many of us swing from an anxious go-go-go pace into depression How we can begin looking inward—beyond simply calling a therapist The difference between solitary suffering and plain-old suffering Why boundaries matter… and where they can become a problem It’s tender, practical, and deeply hopeful. Join us?   | Next Steps | Get his book here. Visit his site here. Snag the LIVE podcast link here. Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. Ask Laurie a Q on IG here.

It’s another Q and A! You ask, and we are thinking it through with you. What did you ask? “My husband is gay and left our family to be with a man. How do I talk with my kids about this?” “My son wants to paint his nails, play with dolls, or wear a dress. How do I lead him?” “My transitioning cousin is coming to the holidays. How do I engage them and lead my kids? “How do I know what is age appropriate to teach my kids about God’s vision for marriage and gender?” “How did you overcome your struggle with wanting to end your life, Laurie?” | Next Step Resources |   Link to our book here.  Link to our launch team here. Ask more questions on IG here. Join the HIMH FB Group here.

People have 70,000 thoughts per day and about 80% of them are negative. What is that doing to our emotional health? What is that doing to our actions? How is that affecting our very DNA? Global bestselling author and pastor, Max Lucado, is here to help us understand not only the science behind our thoughts but the heart beneath them.  How can we “take every thought captive?” How does something like anxiety and depression factor in? Is this just plastering a smile on a bad day or a rough life? Let’s talk about it all. | Highlights | • “Everybody else says ‘do,’ but Jesus says ‘done.’” —Max Lucado • “Just because you have a thought does not mean you have to think it.” —Max Lucado • “Thought management can also be called unceasing prayer.” —Max Lucado | Next Steps | • Get his latest book here.   • Check out his site here.  • Join the HIMH Pod FB group here.  • Find Laurie on IG here.

How can we walk with others—our kids or those we are called to disciple— if we are wounded by our own parents? We need to be fathered by the Father first. Today, author and popular YouTuber, Glen Henry, helps us understand his journey of being fathered by God as he walks with his own kids. | Highlights | “When you have a child, you are collaborating with God on a masterpiece.” “I will fail my children. It’s not if I do but when I do.” “Our children and our spouses are our biggest assets. The biggest stage you will ever stand on is in your living room. | Next Steps |  Join HIMH Live!   Get Glen’s book here.  Check out Glen’s site here. Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. Ask Laurie a Q on IG here.  Let us know what you think about the podcast here.

We don’t just follow a biblical sexuality We surrender our sexuality. What does that mean? Today we have Authentic Intimacy co-founder, author, and psychologist, Juli Slattery, back on the show to help us understand the difference as well as:  What do we do if we feel stuck in our broken sexuality and shame? How do we love people who want to fight us? How do you invite someone into bringing their full selves to Jesus? What if we don’t want to do this ministry work anymore? | Highlights | “Most Christians have a saving knowledge of Christ, but they don’t have an ongoing intimacy with Jesus that changes anything.” “The idea of offering your body to God when you have been sexually traumatized is terrifying. It could be helpful to remember that although God has every right to pull rank, He never does that. He is always inviting. He gives, and He invites.” “When I wake up and my job every day is to engage in sexual issues, I have no energy for that. Honestly. I don’t like it. When I wake up and I see that my calling is to engage people on the spiritual issues that sexually often represent, boy do I get energized.” | Next Steps | Join us in GR in November.  Join HIMH Live!  Get Juli's book here. Check out Juli's site here. Hear our convo on her pod here. Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. Follow Laurie on IG here.    

You aren’t making it easy for us today! Today, Laurie and Matt take YOUR questions including: + How should we navigate attraction—when it’s not to toward our spouses? (Single people, there is is stuff in this one for you especially when we speak generally about friendship/intimacy in friendships) + Is it hard to be married to someone who experiences same-sex attractions? + How do you protect your kids from violence while keeping them informed? + How did we talk with our kids about the shooting at Annunciation by someone identifying as transgender, and how did we talk with our kids about Charlie Kirk? (We recorded this before the funeral, FYI.) + How should we engage someone who attends our church and cross-dresses?   Find Out More: • The Nov 7-8 Raising Kids Event here.   • The Jan 31 HIMH Live Podcast Event Info coming soon!! • Preorder the Kriegs’ book here.  • Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. • Ask Laurie a Q on IG here. 

Many of us know that we were not made to be alone, but what if we don’t have good friends?  What if we don’t have friends who we can rely on in not just the good times but the hard?   Today, ministry leader, speaker, and author Toni Collier is back to help us understand why we need godly community and how to get it as well as: What if I feel too disappointed in God to even talk to him as my friend? What if I don’t access my emotions well enough to share with others? What if I’m an introvert?   Find Out More: • Get Toni’s book here.   • Check out her site here.  • Watch the last episode with Toni here. • Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. • Ask Laurie a Q on IG here.  

It’s hard to meet a parent of young kids today who isn’t desperately wondering how to equip their kids for this sexually broken world.   Thankfully, God is calling people to resource parents to equip their kids with a gospel vision for human sexuality, including a massive parenting discipleship project.   It is called Christian Sexuality: Raising Kids, and you can hear the behind-the-scenes details with friend, author, and theologian Dr. Preston Sprinkle today on the podcast!   Next Steps: • Preorder the series here. • Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. • Laurie’s IG here. • Watch here.      

Burnout. Maybe you’ve experienced it—or maybe you’re in it right now and can’t quite name it yet. All we see is: 1 . Emotional exhaustion 2. Autopilot living or cynicism 3. Loss of fulfillment Yup. That’s burnout. How can we heal from it? How does it affect our relationship with God? And how can we move forward with hope?   | Next Steps |  • Forbes article (with a quiz) here. • Psychology Today article here. • The app Steve mentioned here. • Join the HIMH Pod FB group here. • Connect with Laurie here.