Made for Hope: Conversations for Christian Wome‪n‬ Sara R. Ward

Let’s face it, parenting is hard.

When you’re in the trenches of parenting, you need all the help you can get. Sometimes we get stuck just trying to survive the day when we know we should be more intentional in our parenting.

But how do we do that?

In this episode you'll learn:


what to teach your kids, how to do it, and what ultimately matters
more about family mantras—crafting a list of values and statements for your family
checking in with your spouse for family meetings
making fun a priority

Listen as Katy Epling and Sara R.Ward dive into a conversation on what intentional parenting is and how to take small steps toward being more intentional with your kids.

We include books, resources and great conversation starters for you and your whole family.

Episode Links:

Grace-based Parenting Tim Kimmel

Parenting: 14 Gospel principles Paul David Tripp

Christ-centered Parenting: Russell Moore and Phillip Bethancourt

Sara’s book: Made for Hope

https://www.amazon.com/Made-Hope-Discovering-Unexpected-Brokenness/dp/1733411003/

Katy’s book: Life on Purpose

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Purpose-Days-Listening-Calls/dp/1736259202/

Catch up on past episodes: https://sararward.com/made-for-hope-podcast/




---

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-r-ward/support

Being intentional in your marriage is challenging no matter whether you’ve been married one year or fifty.

Today's guest is Laura Thomas, who is an author of both romantic suspense novels and Christian nonfiction (and many more). She is passionate about working on her marriage and writing love stories in her romantic suspense novels.

We want to help you build a marriage you can celebrate and rest in. Listen in as Laura shares:


how to work on your marriage in all seasons
her best marriage advice (which is spot on!)
how to have date nights when you don’t have money or time
how to honor and love your husband well
who you should surround yourself with to encourage your marriage (hint: it might surprise you!)

Bonus: She also shares her favorite love stories!

Listen to this show and let us know what your favorite marriage advice is. 

Find us on social media at @sararward and @katyepling

Episode Links:

Laura’s website: 

laurathomasauthor.com.

Laura’s Books: 

https://laurathomasauthor.com/books/

Free Novella from Sara (Pen name: Grace Worthington): 

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/5g2pxlo1by

Sara’s website: 

SaraRWard.com

Katy’s books:

 https://www.katyepling.com/shop

Catch up on the previous episodes: 

https://sararward.com/made-for-hope-podcast/

Episode page:

https://sararward.com/made-for-hope-podcast-episode-22-keys-to-building-a-strong-marriage/


---

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-r-ward/support

If you’ve struggled to stick with a Bible reading habit, or you want to know how to start, today we’re talking about practical tips for incorporating it into our schedules all year long.

Our guest today is Eva Kubasiak. She is passionate about breaking down the barriers to Bible study so beginners can learn and love God's Word.

We talk about:

—how to find time for a new habit

—the difference between Bible reading and study

—what to do if you’ve fallen off the wagon with your reading goal

—how to read through the Bible in a year.

This episode is packed with good tips, great resources and sticking with a habit that's vital to our faith: reading God's Word.



Episode Links

Knowing God Through the Word Journal

https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-God-Through-Word-Scripture/dp/1734350016

Eva has created a page with Bible reading resources to help you including her free pdf: 7 Days to a Successful Bible Reading Habit: evakubasiak.com/madeforhope

Sara’s FREE How to Study the Bible Guide:

https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5f637fe2384d146a9ca131de

Podcast Home: sararward.com


---

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-r-ward/support

We’re talking about managing your mental health in the new year and how you can take care of yourself and focus more on Jesus this year.

BIG NEWS: I’ve got a new co-host who’s joining me on the Made for Hope Podcast. Katy Epling is a mom to three, including a son with down syndrome. You can hear her interview on Episode 12.

In this episode about mental health, my co-host and I talk about common mental health struggles in the pandemic, the importance of community, how God's Word can help us, and discovering healthy rhythms in your life.

Get some inspiration that will help you deal with your own personal mindset and mental health this year. 

If you want to find more purpose in your life and fill your heart with encouragement, Katy has a new book out called  Life on Purpose: 30 days of reading and reflecting on God’s Word. 

To order Life on Purpose:

https://www.katyepling.com/a/40920/PWMLfzD9

Relevant Magazine Article: Is Social Media Silencing Our Souls During The Pandemic? by Katy Epling

https://www.relevantmagazine.com/life5/is-social-media-silencing-our-souls-during-the-pandemic/

Catch all the episodes: madeforhopepodcast.com

Episode Page: https://sararward.com/made-for-hope-podcast-episode-20-how-to-improve-your-mental-health/


---

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-r-ward/support

How do you approach a new year without knowing what the year holds? Can you plan for the new year without having goals? You sure can!

Today, I’ll be sharing some inspiring tips that I’ve found useful for the new year including:

—How to set a spiritual focus for the year

—What works better than goal-setting

—The secret sauce for making progress

—The one thing you really need this year

These ideas will give you a fresh perspective on how to approach the new year and can help you to have hope in the midst of your everyday.

Links:

The planner I like:

mybrilliantwritingplanner.com

Catch up on the Made for Hope Podcast:

madeforhopepodcast.com




---

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-r-ward/support

Are you looking for ways to create smaller, more memorable holiday traditions this year? Today, I have ten ways for you to create a meaningful Christmas in the midst of a different kind of holiday season.

This is the year to discover new traditions or revitalize old ones. Instead of seeing what you can’t do, we can see the birth of Christ in a new way and make special memories with our families.

These 10 ideas are meant to help you think about the why behind your own traditions and give you a new focus on hope this year.

Here are 10 ideas to help you create a memorable Christmas including:


How we can pivot our traditions or make new ones
Managing expectations when things don’t go as expected
How to keep your sense of humor over the holidays
How to reframe the season
Keeping your focus on Jesus and my favorite Advent resources.

Episode links

What is the Jesse tree?

https://sararward.com/new-ideas-meaningful-holiday-traditions/

Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp

https://www.amazon.com/Unwrapping-Greatest-Gift-Celebration-Christmas/dp/1414397542/

Family Advent Guide: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5f5a18da36c9eadb831c1b50

The book I’m reading for Advent: Remarkable Advent by Shauna Letellier

https://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Advent-Extraordinary-through-Ordinary/dp/1734137401/

Episode Link

https://sararward.com/made-for-hope-podcast-episode-18/


---

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-r-ward/support