Pardon the Mess with Courtney DeFeo Christian Parenting

Happy July 4th!

This week’s story features my friend, Stacey Morgan, who is an astronaut’s wife! Her life is truly fascinating. Her family is currently living in the Marshall Islands which is 5 hours south of Hawaii. 

Stacey honestly shares the truth about loneliness. She has had to start over multiple times as a military spouse. I love her hard truth about loneliness: we have to make the first move. She also shares how her kids are thriving as they were uprooted from the cultural norm in Texas, and now live on an island with 1,200 people total. They are learning valuable life lessons about what’s most important.

My favorite part is at the very end when she talks about her top learning as a mom of over 20 years. Her encouragement to “let go” was really timely for me. I am having trouble letting go of my oldest who is a rising senior. I need that reminder over and over again. 

In this episode, we chat about:
How to navigate marriage when you are both strong leadersHow to start over when you move into a new city (or island! :)Why community matters in motherhoodHow to make friends as an adult woman What to do when you’re deeply lonelyChapters
00:00
Introduction and Background
02:47
Moving to the Marshall Islands
05:58
Supporting a Spouse's Career
11:04
Living in a Small Community
15:01
Transition and Loneliness
23:57
Supporting Military Spouses and Moms
26:30
The Importance of Community for Military Families
31:16
MomCo: Supporting Military Moms
39:19
Lessons in Trust and Letting Go
44:28
The Power of Grace and Understanding in Parenting

Connect with Pardon The Mess:
Christian Parenting
Pardon The Mess 
Courtney DeFeo

Get your 2024-2025 prayer journal, A Life of Faith


Resources from today’s show:

Stacey Morgan’s site 

Stacey’s Instagram

Stacey’s Book: The Astronaut’s Wife

MomCo - Military Meetups

How to start an online MomCo group


Pardon the Mess is part of The Christian Parenting Podcast Network. As a donor funded ministry, we rely on generous supporters like you to keep this show going. If you enjoy this podcast, please consider giving a gift today. Join the Christian Parenting Legacy Builders community




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If she wasn’t one of my best friends, I don’t know if I would believe this story. However, it is true and real and incredibly powerful. My friend, Kylie White, was fully healed from near blindness. Her story and her miracle has exploded my faith the last several years. It has given me courage to pray bigger prayers. 

I will never be over what God did for Kylie. Even though I’ve heard this story many times, I heard even more details during this conversation which exploded my faith yet again. God is so good. I’m truly excited for us all to have this reminder today through Kylie’s story.

My favorite part is hearing how she got to the miracle day. Listen closely as she shares the years leading up to her miracle. Lean into what God was pressing on her heart. And let’s lean into what God wants to say to you through her story. What is He asking you to release and surrender? What miracle do you believe is too far gone? 

In this episode, we chat about:
Kylie’s miracle story and healing How we can trust God and lean in when we don’t understand the full storyHow to parent the pain endured with adoptionHow to love our kids unconditionally 
Don’t forget to share the Summer of Stories with your friends - so that they can also be reminded that: God is good. You are not alone. And He is with you during life’s hardest moments.

Chapters
00:00
Introduction and Catching Up
03:35
Adoption and Navigating Challenges
06:45
Parenting and Unconditional Love
09:40
Experiencing a Modern-Day Miracle
28:13
Asking for Healing
30:14
Miraculous Healing
35:23
Confirmation of Healing
39:26
Orphan Prevention and Untold
42:19
Lessons Learned as a Parent

Connect with Pardon The Mess:
Christian Parenting
Pardon The Mess 
Courtney DeFeo

Pardon the Mess is part of The Christian Parenting Podcast Network. As a donor funded ministry, we rely on generous supporters like you to keep this show going. If you enjoy this podcast, please consider giving a gift today. Become a Christian Parenting Legacy Builder

Resources from today’s show:
Kylie’s Instagram
Kylie’s blog
Untold - Nonprofit Kylie supports
Father’s House - Bible study by Rachel


Our Sponsors:
* Check out Seed and use my code 25MESS for a great deal: seed.com


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Welcome to Week 3 of our Summer of Stories series! For the next 10 weeks, you will hear one powerful story after another. We are featuring 10 stories of incredible moms that have endured significant challenges. Through these stories, we pray you will remember that God is faithful and always with you through life’s most challenging moments.

I need everyone to take a massive deep breath before listening. And listen to the entire episode, not just the first few minutes. This is not a political episode. This is a story of one incredible mom, Amy Ford, that chose to keep her baby boy after an unplanned pregnancy and the God-sized story that followed. 

My favorite part is when she shares about her love for the women that walk with the shame of abortion. She is for all women and all stories. And she walks closely with women who have endured every part of the unplanned pregnancy journey. 

I am praying deeply that this story reaches an untold number of women and heals their hearts in a special way. And that we may join together and support women with unplanned pregnancies in the way God would. That we would love them deeply. 

Don't forget to share this episode with women in your community that need encouragement and healing around unplanned pregnancies.

In this episode we chat about: 
Amy’s unplanned pregnancy Amy’s encouragement for those who live with shame of abortionHow to create a safe and supportive church environment with unplanned pregnanciesHow to turn towards God in some of life’s biggest mistakes or struggles
Chapters
00:00
Introduction and Amy's Family
03:34
The Love Box and Volunteer Opportunities
06:08
The Rejection from a Pastor and the Healing Journey
09:21
The Impact of Amy's Story on Her Son
14:35
Creating a Safe and Supportive Church Environment
19:28
Healing and Hope After Abortion
22:26
Creating Safe Spaces in Churches for Unexpected Pregnancies
26:34
Taking Small Steps of Obedience
29:15
Celebrating Women Who Turn Towards God

Connect with Pardon The Mess:
Christian Parenting
Pardon The Mess 
Courtney DeFeo

Become a Christian Parenting donor

Resources from today’s show:
Amy Ford
Embrace Grace
A Bump In Life
Love Box
Support After Abortion



Our Sponsors:
* Check out Seed and use my code 25MESS for a great deal: seed.com


Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For our Summer of Stories, I got the pleasure of interviewing a dear friend Rachel Faulkner Brown about her incredibly hard and beautiful life. In the first half of this episode, we talk about her journey with losing two husbands and walking that grief journey twice. She shares so much wisdom for other widows as well as practical tips for all of us enduring life’s toughest pain.

In the second half of our chat, Rachel bravely shares about their family’s most recent struggle - an eating disorder that quickly took a grip on her daughter. She provides invaluable insight and practical advice from the deeply painful journey they have walked.

My favorite part of the interview is when she shares honestly about the shame we can feel as mothers. As she watched her daughter walk through the hardest season of her life - she was also faced with a choice to hold onto that control or release her to God. We all have these moments in parenting and we can learn so much from Rachel’s incredible faith journey.

I’m so thrilled for you to get to know Rachel. She is a dear friend and a woman that has experienced God’s goodness throughout some of the deepest pain in her life. You will be inspired by her calling to pass on the love of God and hope to others’ in their darkest days.

In this episode, we chat about:
How to practically move forward when you lose your spouseHow to wrestle with God when horribly hard things happenHow to lean into God when life is upside downHow to love our kids when it’s hard and you must release controlHow to parent a child with an eating disorder
Chapters
00:00
Introduction and Background
10:46
The Importance of Honesty and Community
30:28
The Need for Aggressive Treatment
39:07
The Healing Journey and Future Hope
48:17
Prayer and Encouragement for Mothers

Connect with Pardon The Mess:
Christian Parenting
Pardon The Mess 
Courtney DeFeo

Resources from today’s show:

Never Alone Widows 

Father's House Bible Study

There is More podcast 

Podcast with Rachel’s daughter about her eating disorder - Part 1

Podcast with Rachel’s daughter about her eating disorder - Part 1

Reverend Joanne Moody

St. Teresa of Avila Quote

Healing prayer - resource 1

Healing prayer - resource 2


Our Sponsors:
* Check out Seed and use my code 25MESS for a great deal: seed.com


Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to week 1 of our Summer of Stories series! For the next 10 weeks, you will hear one powerful story after another. We are featuring 10 stories of incredible moms that have endured significant challenges. Through these stories, we pray you will remember that God is faithful and always with you through life’s most challenging moments.

Today’s guest is my dear friend, Joy Phenix, who bravely shares her journey of losing her amazing son. Her story of loss and indescribable grief is so very hard to hear but oddly peaceful and sacred. 

My favorite part is when she encourages us to be a student of others’ grief journey. Every single person grieves at different times and in different ways. We cannot judge our friends or family members on that journey. This takes patience and grace and understanding. 

This episode is for anyone walking in grief - not just the loss of a child. All of us have seasons of tragedy and unthinkable hard times. We want to know how to trust God again and how to move forward in the midst of the pain. Joy will touch your heart in a profound way. I am deeply thankful for her willingness to share her story to help others. 

In this episode we chat about: 
How to endure the indescribable journey of losing a childHow we can help and support friends in their grief How to remember each person grieves differently and at unique timesHow to normalize talking about grief through the process 
00:00
Introduction and Catching Up
09:16
The Power of Community in Times of Loss
15:30
Finding Hope and Healing Through Faith
28:25
Cherishing Memories and Finding Healing
34:38
Vulnerability and Trust in Difficult Times

Enjoy!

Connect with Pardon The Mess:
Christian Parenting
Pardon The Mess 
Courtney DeFeo

Resources from today’s show:
Josh’s Celebration Service
Joy’s Instagram
Body Keeps The Score


Our Sponsors:
* Check out Seed and use my code 25MESS for a great deal: seed.com


Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Comedian Michael Jr went from living in his car to one of the most influential and talented comedians in the country. In fact, he used to open the show for Jerry Seinfeld and went on to headline his own shows. He is now sharing the stage with his wife, Ebony, as they focus on strengthening marriages across the country.

This engaging couple shares many great pieces of wisdom and insight during our episode, but I really enjoyed how they speak about conflict. It’s so easy to avoid conflict at all costs. They encourage us to utilize conflict for the greatness of marriage 

My favorite part (or least favorite) was when Michael Jr. asked me to share honestly about a recent disagreement I had with Ron. He went through the list of the fruit of the Spirit to see how I was handling a specific situation. And I bombed his test. It was embarrassing, but really challenged me on how I handle conflict. I love their hearts for marriage. They have a passion to remind couples that marriage is GOOD and it does work.

In this episode, we discuss:
How easy it is to drift in marriage when kids are in the homeHow to keep your marriage a priority and intentionally connectHow to utilize conflict instead of avoiding it
Chapters
00:00
Introduction and Family Background
04:04
Letting Go and Trusting God with Our Children
08:54
Faith as a Consistent and Visible Part of Family Life
23:53
Merging Talents to Help Couples Find Joy in Marriage
29:19
Revealing Areas of Freedom Through Conflict

Connect with Pardon The Mess:
Christian Parenting
Pardon The Mess 
Courtney DeFeo

Resources from today’s show:
Funny How Marriage Works
Assessment for your conflict resolution 
Emotions Wheel
Funny How Marriage Works Tour


Our Sponsors:
* Check out Seed and use my code 25MESS for a great deal: seed.com


Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy