Parents Take Five

Happy New Year, Take Five friends! This new year has been long awaited and anticipated. But with it comes new stuff...and not so new stuff. Listen in with Jen about how we continue to keep ourselves grounded and thankful as we enter 2021. 

In today's episode, Jen's family joins her for a few minutes of reflection on the Christmas story and even more laughs. Merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of us on this side of the podcast!

Welcome to week three of our 2020 Advent series with Rev. Anne Russ of Doubting Believer! Anne and Jen have been partnering on episodes to talk us through Advent and this preparation season. Today they talk about ways families can change up their "regular" spaces to create some holy space for Christmas and Anne gives us all the permission to do whatever our heart and souls need us to do (or not do) this holiday season.   Doubting Believer: www.doubtingbeliever.com Parents Take Five: www.parentstakefive.com 

We're back with the second week of Advent episodes! Today, Anne and Jen talk about the grief that's going to come with this holiday season. For some kids, it'll be the first Thanksgiving or Christmas without their grandparents or cousins. For parents, this will be equally, if not more, painful for them to watch their kids miss out on these experiences. In the midst of all that grief though, Jen and Anne bring the reassurance that yes, everything is a little chaotic and everything was a little chaotic when Jesus was born. He still came then and he will still come now. 

Welcome to our 2020 Advent series with Rev. Anne Russ of Doubting Believer! Over the next few episodes, Anne and Jen will be partnering on episodes to talk us through Advent and this preparation season. They're also introducing their Advent calendar they've partnered on! This Advent calendar has been made with busy parents and families in mind and is available on the Doubting Believer website and the new Parents Take Five website. We hope it helps prepare your heart and soul for the coming of Christmas.    Doubting Believer: www.doubtingbeliever.com Parents Take Five: www.parentstakefive.com 

Today, Rev. Jen talks a little bit about Thanksgiving. A holiday that, back in April or May, we couldn't imagine would be affected by COVID. She talks about ways to keep the familiar and comforting parts of our holidays as well as ways to break in the new and different to accompany this new and different world we're living in. Make sure you listen all the way to the end for news about our Advent episodes and an exciting announcement about Parents Take Five. 

These are unprecedented times we live in. And to process them, sometimes we need to take a step back and look inside. We hope this episode brings some tangible ways to process our current world. 

Today, Rev. Jen touches on the one subject on all of our minds right now...politics. She reminds us that our children are watching, listening, feeling, and processing during this time. So what will we be modeling for them?

We're back with a second episode from American actor, comedian, and television personality, DJ Pryor. Last week, Jen and DJ chatted about his early life and how he's learned what to do and what not to do as a father. This week they touch on how to keep on parenting even when they're "pluckin' our nerves" and ways he models faith for his own children.    To learn more about DJ, and to check out the first half of this awesome conversation, go back and take a listen to episode 59, "Dadfluencer with DJ Pryor". 

We are so excited to welcome DJ Pryor to the Parents Take Five podcast! DJ is an American actor, comedian, and television personality who's quickly becoming one of the most energizing and in-demand voices. With a gift of relatable expression, he has appeared on The Steve Harvey Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show and has opened for legendary gospel singer Fred Hammond just to name a few. DJ also helped all of us welcome in the New Year with NBC’s Toast to 2020 and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. One of Mr. Pryor’s latest endeavors is a partnership with multiple non-profits such as Harvard University and United Way, focus on Mental Health and motivational speaking, just to name a couple of his passions.   Over the next few episodes, we'll be sharing Jen's conversation with DJ. Today, they chat about DJ's early life and how he's learned what to do and what not to do as a father. One of this biggest goals as a parent is not to just be a present dad but to be an active dad.

The news has been a less than uniting place recently. There is so, so much division in our society and in our culture right now. In the midst of so much division, how do we model to our kids the values we find to be so important and so faith-based? Rev. Jen takes a few minutes today to talk with us about Paul's words and how we model love in our families. 

Welcome to the second part of Jen's amazing conversation with Katy Stenta! In this, she wraps up her thoughts around parenting children with special needs and talks a bit about her writings and the prayers for this pandemic world she's been Tweeting.  For more about Katy, check out the bio in episode fifty-six. 

Katy Stenta is a solo pastor and a full-time mom, reader of fantasy and creator. She basically talks all the time...sometimes it’s to God, sometimes it’s through a blog, sometimes it’s to nonexistent book characters and sometimes it’s out loud. Today we have the first of a two-part episode with Katy where Jen chats with her about parenting special needs children, Katy's writing, her own personal theology, and so much more. Make sure you come back next time for the rest of Jen and Katy's conversation. 

In today's episode, Jen is back to talk about kindness. Something so simple, yet something we see so little of in our social media lives right now. Jen suggests a book on kindness you can read with your kids at the end of the episode. Head over to the Parents Take Five Facebook page to learn more. 

Traci Smith is an ordained minister, mother of three, and author. Traci's passion is helping families find times for connection and spiritual nourishment amid the hustle and bustle of daily life. What began as a quest to help her own family has provided valuable insight for thousands of others. Traci believes faith practices should be simple, authentic, and repeatable. Today, Jen chat specifically about Traci's book "Prayers for Faithful Families" and the valuable ways we pray with our children. To find more of Traci's resources, including her weekly Treasure Box Tuesday newsletter, check out www.traci-smith.com.

Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and is currently the executive presbyter of the Greater Atlanta Presbytery (a network of 92 churches and over 400 clergy). Aisha is also a proud mom and a heck of a singer. Today, she talks with Rev. Jen about what parents need to hear and need to remember in this time of uncertainty and constant hard decisions. 

Along with all the newness that's accompanying our new normal, there are also a lot of big feelings coming along with it. We think that as parents we aren't allowed to feel or show these big feelings. Even more, we can sometimes forget that our little ones are feeling big things as well. In today's episode, Jen acknowledges those big feelings and talks through how to sit with those big, intense, and sometimes scary feelings. 

Today we welcome back licensed therapist JC McDaniel to talk about his List of 5. This is a concept JC came up with in his marriage and something that Jen swears by in her own marriage. To hear more from JC, make sure to check out episode 50 "Who's the Heavy Lifter" as well. 

In today's episode, Jen sits down with licensed therapist, JC McDaniel. JC uses his own experiences as a father and husband to talk about the benefit of recognizing that this parenting thing was always hard even without the curve ball of COVID-19, how putting a new schedule in place within your family helps you all respond a little easier to life right now, and who happens to be the heavy lifter in your partnerships. 

Today, Jen talks with us about, oddly enough, how maybe right now we don't need to be doing even more. Perhaps we need to be doing a little less and taking the time to recognize ourselves and our own hearts.