I want to introduce you to Tina Yeager. She’s a mental health professional, coach, speaker, and podcaster. In this episode, she helps me tackle some tough topics that are affecting families these days. There’s so much tension, anxiety, and depression affecting our kids and it just continues to trend upwards. She helps us understand how to help our kids find identity in Christ in this crazy world.
In this episode Tina and I discuss:
How we are being systematically distracted from connecting with one another and the priority of the urgent.
How screens are dehumanizing our kids and leading to violent behavior.
How kids are looking for acceptance and approval and that must come first from God.
How parents can handle their own stresses and still keep a watchful eye on their kids.
Learning to put the important first over the urgent and make connections with your kids.
Making time to connect with God and letting the Holy Spirit be the manager of your time.
How to overcome developmental and academic delays caused by the disruptions of the last few years.
How the best things you can do are free and not extravagant.
The need for firm safety guidelines for your kids so they are not bullied or manipulated.
Instilling the understanding of finding identity in Christ in your kids
I hope you’ve been encouraged and equipped by these thoughts and tips from Tina. As you start a new school year with your kids, I challenge you to help your kids find identity in Christ and to work towards building solid relationships with them.
About Tina Yeager
Award-winning author, inspirational speaker, and life coach, Tina also hosts the Flourish-Meant podcast and publishes Inkspirations Online, a weekly devotional for writers. She has won over thirty writing awards, including a 2020 Golden Scroll Award and 2013 FCWC Writer of the Year. Her fiction and nonfiction strive to clarify how we might relate better to others, to ourselves, and to God. Licensed as a counselor since 2005, she has over twenty years of experience teaching parenting to at-risk families, writing skills, communications, inner healing, and spiritual growth. She has counseled and taught adults, teens, and children in academic, clinical, and faith-based settings. Tina enjoys working with diverse populations and has practiced in community mental health settings and private practice since 2000. She specializes in ADHD, stress management, purpose definition, abuse recovery, and esteem-building, and currently runs an online life coaching practice, Divine Encouragement, LLC. Yeager holds a BA in creative writing and an MA in counseling. Yeager serves on the steering committee of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, as director of traditional groups with Word Weavers International, and as an active member of the Christian Authors Network and Christian Women in Media Association. Her courses on Subdue Stress and Anxiety, Psyched Characters and Kindle your Creative Spark are available online. Though currently a life coach, author, speaker, and podcast host, Yeager is also familiar with shame’s oppression at a personal level. Tina wrestled with isolation from peers, body image, and low self-esteem issues, even trending into eating disordered behavior. The Lord sustained Tina through a desert-like journey of character transformation, training, and effort.
It’s that time of year again – the start of a new school year! Whether you’re a seasoned parent or you have a new kindergartener, the mixed feelings of nervousness, excitement, and anxiety are likely familiar. In this episode, we are going to talk about transitioning smoothly into a new school year and the importance of easing kids back into school.
Let’s just first acknowledge now that there’s a bit of upheaval that happens at back-to-school time. Your kids are learning new things and adjusting to new schedules. Be mentally prepared for this.
Easing into the School Year
Here are my suggestions for ways of easing your kids back into school and setting them up for a great year:
Be sure to talk to your kids about any anxiety they may have.
This might be anxiety about the challenges of new things or it might be social challenges. Connect with your kids about how to process their emotions. Temper your expectations of your children, and yourself.
Be prepared and reduce stress by meal planning.
Having the groceries in the house and at least a rough plan of what you’re going to cook will make your days run more smoothly. Don’t forget to think about nutrition! Your child’s brain is developing rapidly and they need healthy fats and proteins in addition to good carbs. Set consistent meal times and set your day by working backward to make sure that meals happen on time and avoid children becoming hangry.
Help your kids develop good study habits and related routines.
Show them how to focus. Give them a space in which to study. Provide organizational systems and skills.
Include physical exercise and free play in your days.
Create margin in the schedule for these activities. Don’t give up this time in order to get other things done!
Create an atmosphere in your home that your children will want to remember.
An atmosphere of warmth, excitement, and enthusiasm is contagious. Write down the words you want your kids to use to describe your home after they’ve left your home as adults. Be and do the things needed to embody those words.
Remove distractions and provide the resources they need to be successful.
What is in the way of your child achieving their goals? Determine what is needed of you to reach those goals? What is keeping you from being available for your child?
Make It a Great Year
Every school year brings its own set of unique joys and excitements and challenges. I hope your children look back on this school year as a year of blessings and call it a great year!
Do you worry? Seems like every time you turn around, there’s another headline that strikes fear and causes worry these days. What about your kids? Do you worry about them? Do you worry you will ruin them? Do you worry about the things they will have to face? What can you do about worry? Well, Keri Eichberger is with me in this episode to talk about these big issues surrounding worry. Keri offers encouraging insights and reminds us of the power of God’s truth in conquering worry and finding peace in all seasons of life. You can win over worry!
In this episode, Keri and I discuss:
Keri’s family dynamics with five children and how that lends itself to an environment of worrying
How you can help someone if you are just one step ahead of them
The distinction between genuine concern and worry
Understanding the root fears behind worry, which often include a fear of helplessness and a fear of being unloved or unworthy
Understanding God’s unconditional love and his power
Overcoming worry by seeking God’s truth, turning to prayer, embracing community, studying the Bible, and other spiritual practices
Acknowledging that some individuals may be more predisposed to worry due to their wiring, but still emphasizing the same things work for those people
Keri’s example of a fear of flying and trusting God
Worry is common and we all face it. But, worry is not from God and you can overcome it through the power of God who lives in you!
About Keri Eichberger
Keri Eichberger lives just outside of Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband Mike and their five kids. Her own roller coaster of life trials, redeemed by a relationship with the Lord, fueled her desire to help others discover and experience the fullness of life found in Jesus. After years of writing for an online audience, she became ordained through Southeast Christian Church, giving her life to full-time ministry. She continues to follow her calling to bring faith-filled encouragement to others around the world through her social media influence, devotionals, Faith Fueled podcast, and Christian nonfiction books.
The new school year is upon us. If you’re like most families, there’s some upheaval going on as you figure out new routines and rhythms for meals and bedtime, and more. As you work on getting everyone back into the swing of things again, developing resilience is key to smooth days. What is resiliency and why is it important?
I’m asked frequently when I travel and speak about routines and rhythms. I speak regularly about developing resilience and being resourceful. It doesn’t matter if you’re a public, private, or homeschooler, everyone goes through an adjustment period at the beginning of a new school year.
What’s the goal? What’s the schedule? I’m not personally one that plans comprehensively because by 8:05 am my plans had gone out the window, but, I do like having order. During this adjustment period, it is helpful for you to manage your expectations of your kids and help manage their expectations.
Your children need to learn that when needed, they should pivot and adjust. This is being resilient. When you get knocked down, you get back up. It’s learning how to figure things out and overcome obstacles. Some of your kids are naturally resilient. When something happens, they stay positive and optimistic. Other children are leveled when something doesn’t go right and they have a hard time figuring out how to cope. These kids need a little more support in learning how to be resilient.
Remember that we’re talking about your child’s life. You can’t fix every situation for them, nor should you. As their parent, you should help, guide, and lead them. Help them develop problem-solving skills. Also remeber that choosing your words carefully in these situations also improves your relationship with them.
Communication is key and relationship is the end goal. You want to be the voice that your child seeks out when they face set backs. Developing resilience in them now will stick with them well into adulthood.
As I’ve traveled this summer, I’ve heard many people talk about being tired and overwhelmed. Just like you, I can’t get everything on my list done in a day! As a part of a recent conference, I participated in a retreat. So today I’m sharing with you the importance of retreating, just as Jesus did in the Bible. There is an urgent need to retreat! Let’s talk about this need for finding quietness and rest amidst the chaos of life and how retreating can provide strength, joy, and a renewed connection with God.
Sometimes quiet is something that we have to make happen. This act of retreating keeps us steady in the midst of chaos and near the heart of God.
“In quietness and rest is your strength.” – Isaiah 30:15
I’ve learned that if we don’t make time for this quiet and stillness, sometimes it is thrust upon us. It is vital that we retreat so we have the needed quiet to allow our minds to be still. God provides strength to us when we retreat. Rest moves us from burnout to breakthrough. Our lives are so busy, and these things are robbing us of the time that we need to be in God’s presence.
When I say retreat, I’m not talking about activities that require money or days away. I’m referring to the simple daily time alone with God.
In Genesis, God modeled the practice of rest after He finished creating. In the Gospels, Jesus modeled getting away from the crowds. If God Himself rested and retreated, it seems that we should follow His example. It is a lifeline for us!
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16
Exactly how you do this will look a little different from another person. Maybe you do this by taking a walk, sitting on the porch, or a chair where you can sit alone. You might be able to retreat for a minute or ten minutes or an hour.
Also, remember that your children are watching you. They will see how you take this time away with God and how you make spending that time a priority.
Things to consider:
Where can you retreat?
How long can you retreat?
What does God want to say to you?
More Verses to Ponder:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28
“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” – Psalm 23:2-3
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” – Psalm 37:7
“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'” – Mark 6:31
“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” – Psalm 116:7
“The Lord replied, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'” – Exodus 33:14
As the fall season approaches, I encourage you to incorporate retreating into your daily lives. I challenge you to add a time of retreat to your calendar. Guard that time like you do taking your children to their various activities. By carving out moments for stillness and communion with God, we can find strength, joy, and direction in the midst of life’s chaos.
