Episode 87: Losing Our Religion Rebroadcast

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Episode 87: Losing Our Religion Rebroadcast

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness."

We sang the lyrics, believed that Jesus was everything, and then proceeded to stack up our own good works. We built our hope on our good behavior and choices, which tanked our spiritual lives and found us in a faith dead-end. 

This is our story:  How we found our 7-week-old baby in a coma, an event that led to a massive overhaul in our marriage, our parenting, and ultimately, our faith in Christ. That sickly baby boy was just the beginning; there would be harder trials and far more refining ahead. 

If you are wondering why your own faith feels stagnant or the Christian life joyless, join us as we share what unlocked the self-made prison doors and caused us to lose our religion but find a deeper, more glorious faith in the power of the cross!

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Episode 84: Christ in the Chaos Rebroadcast

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Episode 84: Christ in the Chaos Rebroadcast

It's time for a season break so Fletch and Kendra can get to work on our next season of Homeschooling in Real Life episodes! 

In this first rebroadcast of the most popular episodes of 2015, Kimm Crandall shares her story of chasing the perfect homeschooling dream. In the midst of the chaos of mothering and life, Kimm hits a wall that forces her to face the truth: she's replaced the freedom of the gospel with the chains of self-righteousness.

There's a reason this interview has been listened to by thousands. It's poignant, touching, and full of the hope of Jesus Christ!

You can find the original post and show notes for Episode 34: Christ in the Chaos here.

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Episode 81: Hope Shifting

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Episode 81: Hope Shifting

For the past two years, Fletch and Kendra have been talking about "hope shifting" on every episode of Homeschooling in Real Life. What exactly do they mean?

Join us and pastor Jim Applegate on this episode to explore the ways in which we all, homeschooling or not, shift our hope to almost everything but the cross, every single day. Reminding ourselves of Whose we are and what He's done for us is a total game-changer!

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Episode 80: Raising Kids, Losing Yourself

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Episode 80: Raising Kids, Losing Yourself

Do you ever feel like there is never enough time for you to take a break? Develop a skill? Work on a hobby? It's very easy to lose ourselves in the overwhelming tasks of parenting and homeschooling, and it's often made worse by a "try harder, do more" mentality that makes us believe we're selfish for wanting to.

This episode of Homeschooling in Real Life was inspired by a listener who asked, "Is there time for my own growth in the years of homeschooling?" What do you think?

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Episode 76: Surviving the Holidays: Family Feud

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Episode 76: Surviving the Holidays: Family Feud

Oh, how the holidays can bring out the best and the worst in families. Let's get real together and talk about how to deal with the negative comments that fly our way, the tension that arises from differing opinions, and the hurt that biting words can cause in our hearts. 

But let's not just leave it there. Let's bring the gospel in to shine a spotlight and create healing where it's needed most: right in the middle of our family feud.

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Episode 75: Surviving the Holidays: Financial Strain

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Episode 75: Surviving the Holidays: Financial Strain

In this first of our series on surviving the holidays, we're talking all about the financial strain that occurs from November through January every year. When you're already struggling to make ends meet, how do you celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas without killing your budget and making life far more stressful than it has to be? 

Join us and financial planner Bill Kenoyer for Surviving the Holidays: Financial Strain.

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Episode 65: Adoption and the Homeschooling Family, Part Two

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Episode 65: Adoption and the Homeschooling Family, Part Two

Join us for part two of Adoption and the Homeschooling Family, where we continue our interview with Jeremy and Michele White. In this episode, we discuss when adoption doesn't turn out the way parents might have dreamed it would. It's a touching conversation that we hope encourages and equips any family considering adoption.

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Episode 64: Adoption and the Homeschooling Family, Part One

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Episode 64: Adoption and the Homeschooling Family, Part One

Because several Homeschooling in Real Life listeners have asked us to address the topic of adoption, we are dedicating two episodes to discussing the ins and outs of adoption and its impact on the homeschooling family. While it would be really easy for us to produce a podcast explaining how to adopt and the benefits involved when a family adopts, we wanted to tackle all of the issues a family might be experiencing when choosing to adopt a child. 

In the first of this two-part series, we sit down with our good friends in real life, Jeremy and Michele White, for a serious discussion about adoption. The Whites tell us about the beginning of their adoption journey, what led them to adopt, and how adoption ultimately changed their family and their homeschooling. We hope this story is a blessing and an encouragement to everyone who listens.

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Episode 62: Can We Afford to Homeschool?

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Episode 62: Can We Afford to Homeschool?

Can you afford to homeschoool? What if your budget is already at its max, and you feel you're barely scraping by just to provide the basics for your family?

Join us and CPA Carol Topp for a lively and quick discussion of how to make homeschooling work on a small or non-existent budget, the realities and expenses of homeschooling older kids, and the need to examine our hearts when it comes to finances and what God is calling us to do.

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Episode 60: Depression and the Homeschooling Mom

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Episode 60: Depression and the Homeschooling Mom

Some subjects are difficult to talk about, especially if we're feeling pressure to show the world that everything is going well at home. For moms battling depression, the homeschool community can feel like an unsafe environment because that pressure to have everything all together seems even more acute.

Join us and Christian psychologist Dr. Melanie Wilson (a homeschooling mom of 6 herself) as we discuss the signs of depression, how to find help, and how to minister to the struggling mom.

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Episode 59: My Spouse Doesn't Want Me to Homeschool

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Episode 59: My Spouse Doesn't Want Me to Homeschool

We love episodes that are created in response to listener questions and feedback. On this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life, Fletch and Kendra respond to a listener who asked about the best way to respond to her skeptical and non-supportive spouse.

Answering in a way that provides both the practical and the hopeful, we think you'll be encouraged to seek God and listen for what He has in store for your family.

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Episode 51: Celebrating 50 Episodes!

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Episode 51: Celebrating 50 Episodes!

Come celebrate our past 50 episodes with us! We're taking a brief tour through the best of the Homeschooling in Real Life podcast. It's fun, deep, interesting, and will bring a smile to your face. 

If you want your friends to know why you love the podcast, share this episode with them. You'll either get them hooked or scare them far, far away from the biggest homeschool whack jobs you know - Fletch and Kendra, of course! 

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Episode 48: The Real Marriage Podcast

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Episode 48: The Real Marriage Podcast

On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL To Go, we're catching up with one of our favorite couples. Barrett and Jenifer Johnson have been married for 24 years and have raised/are raising 5 kids, from age 22 down to 7. They recently wrapped up 25 years of ministry to their local church and have begun INFO For Families, a ministry geared toward newlyweds, marriages at mid-life, and parents who want to help their kids enter marriage without a ton of sexual and relational baggage.

It was a late night when we Skyped with the Johnsons, and the four of us got a little silly. It's a fun episode, but we hope you'll come away feeling as if you know the Johnsons and can glean from their years of counseling experience!

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Episode 45: Losing Our Religion

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Episode 45: Losing Our Religion

For the past 44 episodes of Homeschooling in Real Life, we have been telling the stories of other homeschooling families and talking about shifting our hope to anything but the hope of the gospel, the real hope of Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished for us.

Now it's time to tell our story. In the summer of 2008, we found our 7-week-old baby in a coma, an event that led to a massive overhaul in our marriage, our parenting, and ultimately, our faith in Christ. That sickly baby boy was just the beginning; there would be harder trials and far more refining ahead. 

If you are wondering why your own faith feels stagnant or the Christian life joyless, join us as we share what unlocked the self-made prison doors and caused us to lose our religion but find a deeper, more glorious faith in the power of the cross!

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Episode 41: Some Dads Have All the Fun

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Episode 41: Some Dads Have All the Fun

It's a lament we hear often: "I'm the homeschooling mom who makes sure we do all the stuff we have to do, and then dad gets home and the kids are all over him with joy because he gets to do the fun stuff."

And while we love that our kids are thrilled to see dad (or mom, if the situation is reversed), it can sometimes feel crummy to always be the "have to" parent.

Join us as we chat with Rachael and Davis Carman about being "have to" and "get to" parents. The Carmans know how sometimes there seems to be imbalance as they've homeschooled and raised 7 children in their home.

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Episode 34: Christ in the Chaos

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Episode 34: Christ in the Chaos

Kimm Crandall was the model homeschooling mom: she had her curriculum chosen for its strong Biblical core, her children lined up quietly and obediently in the church pew, and her home-ground wheat bread delivered piping hot from her oven. 

She was doing it "right". And yet, God seemed angry with her, as if nothing she did or produced would appease Him. As she polished up the outside, she was dying on the inside, bound up by her good works and suffocating under the lack of grace within the homeschooling community surrounding her. 

It's a poignant interview, peppered with humor and self-effacing realism. But the golden nugget here is that Kimm boldly and bravely points us back to the One who redeems every mess, every moment, and every bit of chaos.

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Episode 33: I Love Homeschooling But I'm Not a Good Teacher

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Episode 33: I Love Homeschooling But I'm Not a Good Teacher

In the beginning, we choose to homeschool for academic reasons, or for a chance to impart our faith, or because we can't afford the private school options, or because we live jetsetter lives that take our kids around the globe. Okay, maybe not that last one, but there are any number of reasons parents choose to educate their kids at home, and in the beginning, we set out like gangbusters.

And then reality sets in. Maybe it's the lesson planning or the day-to-day drudgery that gets us. Or maybe we realize that we just aren't the best teachers. Now what?

Join us for the last in our "I Love Homeschooling But . . ." series as we discuss what it means to homeschool when we aren't the best teachers around. How to improve? Where to get help? What to do now? It's an episode full of encouragement and grace.

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Episode 30: I Love Homeschooling But My Kids Are With Me All the Time

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Episode 30: I Love Homeschooling But My Kids Are With Me All the Time

Hooray for homeschooling! So many terrific days to spend with our kids, capturing the greatest moments and the best hours of their days. That's what we say in homeschooling circles, isn't it?

And for the most part, it's totally true. But there are moments - days - weeks? - when being with the kids from the minute they wake up until their heads hit their pillows feels like one long marathon race with an extra mile thrown in for good measure. 

If you're that weary homeschooling parent who longs for a slow morning to sip your coffee and use the bathroom without a kid asking where the cereal is, if you're feeling frustrated with the lack of time to focus on a project for more than 3.7 seconds, if you're just needing a break from the kids, this episode is for you.

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Episode 26: Is Courtship Fundamentally Flawed?

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Episode 26: Is Courtship Fundamentally Flawed?

Courtship or dating? It's a hot button issue for many homeschooling or conservative Christian families. On the one hand, we see promiscuity and casual relationships embitter lives; on the other hand, we see "uncourted" women remaining single well past the age they expected to be married and young men hiding real issues beneath the surface as they strive to impress a father rather than a daughter. 

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Episode 20 - Ask Us Anything You Want

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Episode 20 - Ask Us Anything You Want

We've created 20 episodes and now we're letting you take command!

Ask Us Anything You Want means just that - anything. HIRLers from all over the nation contributed their questions to the mix and we're answering with our usual honesty and candor. Was anything off limits? You'll just have to listen to find out!

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