Elevating Motherhood

Latest Episodes:

165. Downsizing Christmas: Less Stuff, More Meaning Dec 10, 2024

Show notes

We’ve known and seen how consumerism, materialism, and sugar have taken over Christmas. We see it, know it, and understand it…and we’re still influenced and affected by it, even when we “know better.”

I know many parents who are wanting to step out of the holiday spending swirl and get their kids less stuff this stuff this year. But many (myself included at times) are conflicted because we don’t want to let our kids down by giving them less than previous years. And yet the need for change and simplification can’t be ignored. So how do we make peace with downsizing Christmas this year?

We’ve got to get to a place where we feel confident and calm about our decision to simplify Christmas and get/give less stuff.

Listen to the full episode for tips, suggestions, and idea for how to confidently downsize Christmas gracefully with grace.

Merry Christmas! I appreciate you!

www.elevatingmotherhood.com

IG: @loribethauldridge

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164. Finding Rest in the Lifelong Ministry of Motherhood with Jenny Hedrick Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

Burnout, frustration, exhaustion…as moms, these feelings rear their ugly heads more often than we’d like. We’re human. We only have so much capacity. We get touched out, noised out, and just need a break. Whether these emotions creep up daily or just occasionally isn’t as important as how we handle them when they do arise. Jenny Hedrick, host of The Super Simple Homeschool Podcast, is here today to share her tips and thoughts on how to find rest in the lifelong ministry that is motherhood. While Jenny’s podcast is about homeschool, my podcast is about motherhood in general. This conversation is for all moms, not just homeschoolers. So if you’re looking for strategies, ideas, and biblically sound solutions to finding rest as a mom, this episode is for you.

Jenny’s Bio: Jenny Hedrick is a homeschool mom who works as a mental health therapist and relationship intelligence coach. She is a licensed clinical social worker and certified Core Strengths facilitator. Jenny also has a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Jenny lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and their 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 axolotls, chickens and honeybees. Jenny is a professional speaker and trainer with experience in virtual webinars, retreats and full-day trainings. She started the Super Simple Homeschool podcast and website in 2024 to help inspire moms to homeschool simply and purposefully.

In this episode Jenny & I talk about:

· Jenny’s podcast: The Super Simple Homeschool Podcast

· How she has homeschooled for 8 years

· She’s a mental health therapist

· Dealing with mental health in practical and biblical ways

· How loud the internet is right now

· The spiritual side of healing and trauma is often ignored

· How mental health practices can be humanistic in our culture, especially motherhood

· The self focus of motherhood

· The definition of “self care”

· The sacrificial nature of motherhood

· Can Jesus relate to mothers? Jenny shows us the connection

· How did Jesus take care of himself? He spent time alone in prayer

· Jesus had a three year ministry that changed the course of history

· Moms have a life long ministry

· Jesus is sufficient for our needs

· How we view rest

· Take every thought captive

· Busyness & hurry in motherhood

· The story of Mary & Martha

· Distractions of the enemy

· Praying for discernment as mothers

· Productivity as an idol

· You don’t have to keep working so hard to earn your place with Jesus

· Receive instead of do & produce

· Eryn Lynum’s new book coming this Spring

· The habit of sabbath

· The pressure to fill our down times with productivity

· Learning to just sit

· Allowing everyone in the family space to rest

· Life is about togetherness and community

· How sabbath spilled over into her relationships

· Is there resentment in my heart as a mom?

· Learning how to be self-reflective as a mom

· When psychology reflects scripture

· Where to find a good Christian therapist

163. Sick Kid? 3 Tips to Help You Help Them Nov 06, 2024

Show notes

Winter is upon us...and so are so many common childhood sicknesses.

In this episode, I'll help you:

1. Teach your child how to swallow pills (starting at age 3!)

2. Teach them how to barf (without drama)

3. Share my top 3 basics I always have on hand before sickness strikes (spoiler alert: they are NAC, activated charcoal, & hot tea)

Listen, like, subscribe, & leave a 5 star review if this episode is helpful to you!

www.elevatingmotherhood.com

162. PDA: Pathological Demand Avoidance in Children with Casey Ehrlich Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

Ever heard of PDA? Pathological Demand Avoidance? It's a nervous system disability that falls on the autism spectrum. It's often confused with ODD.

In this episode, Casey and I talk about: * What PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) is

* PDA awareness & caregiver strategies

* Traumatic birth and PDA

* Symptoms & Sign of PDA

* How a diagnosis of PDA happens

* The fact that PDA isn’t new, our awareness is deepening

* The anxiety driven need for control

* Trauma healing and nervous system regulation

* And SO MUCH MORE!

Casey’s Bio: Casey Ehrlich, Ph.D. is a social scientist, parent coach and educator, and the CEO and founder of At Peace Parents, LLC. Casey brings 15 years of work experience and expertise in social science methodology to help parents and therapists understand how to connect with and accommodate PDA Autistic children. She is currently working on empirical research with the University of Michigan Medical School on Pathological Demand Avoidance in children and teens. She helps parents radically accept the constraints of raising a child with a nervous system disability so they can find peace on their parenting journey.

More Podcasts: www.elevatingmotherhood.com

Homeschool Support: www.elevatinghomeschool.com

161. Next Year’s Mother’s Day is Tied to This Year’s Father’s Day May 30, 2024

Show notes

Be Honest: How was your Mother's Day?

In this episode, I talk about:

* The importance of reflecting on what went well (and what didn’t) during this year’s Mother’s Day

* How my Mother’s Day this year ACTUALLY went

* Setting up everyone for success on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

* Checking in with my husband before Father’s Day about what he wants and needs that weekend (and in his everyday life)

* Making Mother’s Day and Father’s Day a whole weekend celebration instead of just a day

* Taking time on Saturday to be by yourself before Mother’s Day

* Giving him time alone on Saturday before celebrating together on Father’s Day

* Meeting needs before celebrating and using frustrations as growing points instead of just frustration points

Join me at this year’s FOCUS Retreat! To find out more and register, go to: www.thefocusretreat.com

160. The Emotional Roller Coaster of Mother’s Day May 11, 2024

Show notes

Mother’s Day brings with it a roller coaster of emotions…and there are some complex reasons for that. Heaven forbid we feel disappointed on Mother’s Day because we feel like we can’t express that and feel guilty for even feeling that way or explode from trying to keep those “negative” emotions inside for too long. Add in things like loss, longing, grief, infertility, work, the craziness of the calendar in May…and it’s no wonder many moms get overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time on Mother’s Day. Chris took the kids out for the morning and I wanted to process this Mother’s Day with you while I have a minute to reflect. This is a heavy one for me since it’s my first one without either of my grandmas. Mother’s Day expectations are on our minds as the big day approaches…most of us are in charge of balancing the family calendar and most celebration details and this holiday is one that supposedly is for us, not by us and, and, well, that’s hard. I have a few thoughts, ideas, and stories to share with you in this episode. Here are a few highlights: * Grace upon grace upon grace *Your emotions are valid *10/10 recommend time alone the day BEFORE Mother’s Day *Feeling disappointed on Mother’s Day is more common than you think *Clear communication about what I want on actual Mother’s Day as a way to avoid disappointment or hurt feelings will go a long way! More episodes and info available at: www.elevatingmotherhood.com

159. Does Your Husband Feel the Same? A Husband’s Perspective on Current Marriage Culture Apr 09, 2024

Show notes

A rare appearance from my husband Chris who courageously shows up today in a raw, candid conversation with me about marriage, expectations, and who needs to do more. It’s really hard to talk about marriage in a public forum because it can be easily be misinterpreted as “advice” …and we want to reassure you that today’s episode is not intended to be marriage advice, it’s not about anyone in particular, it’s us seeing a common thread all around us (even online and in shows!) and pulling that thread to see where it leads us. Our hope is that this episode is a conversation starter for you and your spouse—a perspective that leads to deeper growth and conversation. We hope it’s an example of how two people in a marriage can view things differently and not have those differences be a hinderance or cause hurt to the other. These are incomplete thoughts—observations rather than conclusions. Will you see yourself in this episode? Will you see your marriage in this episode? Will your husband? We don’t know. Marriages have similarities and differences across the board. We’ll be curious to hear your thoughts at the end. Thanks for listening and for your gentleness and respect as we pull at this new thread in a public and unscripted way. In this episode Chris and I talk about: · Martyrdom · Husbands not doing enough · Financial trials in our current culture · Our current economy · Tensions in marriage · Man dogging culture · Allowing time for transitions · Looking for creative ways to bring in more money · Answering the call to do more · Having patience with transitions · Ideals · Starting over · How it’s hard to find the motivation to do more for less · Skewed expectations of what we are bringing to the table · Are women growing & changing at a faster rate than men? · Dads not being on board with homeschool and why · Jealousy in our roles · Living a scheduled life when your family doesn’t · Moms researching parenting · Fair expectations · Happiness and rest for both spouses · Respecting each other’s perspectives · Man hating culture is trickling into marriage culture · Actions speak louder than words · Men feel emotions like stress and jealousy too · What do you believe about your husband? · What do you believe about your marriage? · What is the undercurrent in your marriage? Christian Business Women! This is for you: www.thefocusretreat.com

158. Raising Boys to Men with Durenda Wilson Mar 10, 2024

Show notes

This is a high energy conversation. For some reason it’s highly political at the moment to talk about boys, men, gender, and masculinity. And here we are as moms, right smack dab the middle of the over-politicized nonsense, trying to have meaningful marriages with our husbands and raise our sons well in a world that bashes boys and men.

We need to talk about the tension—both the undercurrent in our culture and the outright hatred toward men. We need to stand up for our sons and raise them up at the same time. In this interview you’ll hear me tell the story about how when I found out I was pregnant at 40, I knew I was going to have a son. I knew I was going to be called to speak out about the war on men happening in our current culture.

My guest today is Durenda Wilson…she is a friend of mine but also a brilliant writer and podcaster. I look to her a lot for homeschool and parenting advice. She speaks out on this subject with so much grace and encouragement. Her perspective really takes the charge off our current cultural messaging and puts tools and encouragement back in the hands and hearts of moms so we can show up well in our marriages and in our motherhood.

You’ll leave this conversation feeling equipped as a boy mom and have a better understanding of what true masculinity is.

Durenda Bio: Durenda Wilson has been married to Darryl for 34 years. He wanted two children and she wanted ten. They compromised at eight. Durenda has over 30 years of homeschool experience. She also has 11 grandchildren (7 are boys) who are also being homeschooled. During her years of experience in home education, she has seen first hand how kids learn naturally and effectively when they are given time and space along with encouragement to trust their own learning processes. She wants to take this hard-earned wisdom and mentor moms—she believes an encouraged mom is always a better mom. Durenda began The Durenda Wilson Podcast for this purpose back in July 2017 which grew quickly and gained recognition with both families and leaders in the homeschool community. Durenda has over 500 episodes to choose from and boasts over 3 million downloads!

FULL SHOW NOTES AT: WWW.ELEVATINGMOTHERHOOD.COM

Durenda's Links:

Buy Her Book: https://a.co/d/3lEu5J4 Website: www.durendawilson.com

Instagram: @durendaleewilson

Today’s Sponsor: The Focus Retreat

www.thefocusretreat.com

157. This Week on the Internet Loses Its Mind: Ballerina Farms & Twerking Fourth Graders Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

Well, it's been another week of the internet going crazy. But so many friends and followers sent me two of the same posts this week and I felt called to share my thoughts on them because to me they are incredibly related: 1. Hannah of Ballerina Farms is competing in the Mrs. World Pageant and the internet has decided she is dangerous and setting a bad example (oooooookay…) 2. The teacher calling for parents to take phones away from kids and stop letting phones raise their children because 4th graders are bullying, body shaming, and twerking on the playground. What Do I Think the REAL Issues Are? We have some thinking to do as parents. We can do better as moms (& no, that's not shaming) The need for more self-awareness Parenting our own children The real danger: peer-oriented culture Mom shaming Toxic postpartum messaging Bullying (by grown-ups and kids) Who are the bullies? Cattiness & Meanness The over-sexualization of everything Ease and convenience over depth and meaning Healthy boundaries with internet use Parents need to ask themselves Allowing sensationalism to trump the real lessons As moms, we need to strive to do better by our kids The call to strive “Am I smiling and laughing at strangers entertaining me on my phone more than I’m looking at my kids and smiling and laughing because they are bringing me joy in my every day?” -Lori Beth Auldridge No ad spots today because I wanted to get right to the message. But check out all our sponsors at www.elevatingmotherhood.com

156. My Word for 2024: Endurance Jan 01, 2024

Show notes

Hebrews 10:1 “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

Happy 2024, Mamas! We're grateful for 2023 and ready to move forward with confidence into 2024! 💜

In this episode I talk about:

* The continued need to pray for Maui

* Our move to the mainland

* Our family’s 2023 trials and wins

* Travel recap: we went to 19 states in 2023!

* Seeking comfort and ease…and then shifting away from that goal

* Trusting God’s timing

* Working on humility

* The spiritual ease that has come from moving to a Christian community

* Word of the year: Endurance

* How the word “endurance” has changed me on every level in just a few days

* Abandoning American hustle culture

* Self-control

* Fruits of the Spirit

* Following the path that God sets out for us

* “planning” and “goal setting” vs. acts of obedience

* The gift of aging and maturity and experience

* How fantastic it feels to grow up

* Following the shift in our path

* Understanding that God has a path laid out for us

* Count it all joy…even the hardships

* Going into 2024 with enthusiasm

* Ending 2023 with gratitude

* Endurance for a very specific purpose

* Following God’s path for me

* The ability to handle hardships

* Praying for you and your family in the new year!

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