Open Conversations for LDS Moms

Sherylee

I help, encourage and inspire LDS women to find peace and connection with their adult children. How to love God and trust in his plan

  1. 5d ago

    The Natural Man Response When Your Child Leaves The Church

    If this episode resonates with your heart and you are carrying pain, fear, or distance in your relationship with your child, I would love to invite you to a free Connection & Peace Call with me. You do not have to walk this alone. Schedule your free call here: https://calendly.com/sherylee-kartchner/25min Episode 20: The Natural Man Response When Your Child Leaves The Church What happens in the brain when your child tells you they no longer believe in the Church? Why do loving, faithful LDS moms sometimes react from fear, urgency, panic, control, or heartbreak during hard conversations with their adult children? And how do we stay connected without letting fear lead the relationship? In this powerful episode, we dive into the motivational triad, the primitive brain, the higher brain, emotional regulation, and what the scriptures call the “natural man.” You’ll learn why your nervous system reacts so strongly when your child’s choices no longer align with the values you raised them with, and how to move from survival mode into peace, connection, and intentional motherhood. This episode will help you: • Understand why fear and emotional reactivity happen • Learn the difference between the lower brain and higher brain • Stop responding from panic, urgency, or control • Feel your feelings without becoming consumed by them • Rewrite fear-based stories and thoughts • Stay connected to your child while honoring agency • Strengthen relationships instead of creating distance • Find peace even when motherhood feels heartbreaking If you are an LDS mom struggling with an adult child leaving the Church, faith transitions, family tension, fear about eternal families, or emotional overwhelm, this episode will help you better understand your brain, your emotions, and how to respond with more love, regulation, peace, and connection. Your story is not over. And God is still aware of both you and your child. If this episode touched your heart, please share it with another mom who may need it too. And if you would like personal support as you walk through these hard conversations and emotions, I would love to meet with you. Schedule your free Connection & Peace Call here: https://calendly.com/sherylee-kartchner/25min

    24 min
  2. May 19

    The Picture of Your Family Changed, Now What?

    Episode 19: The Picture of Your Family Changed, Now What? If you’re an LDS mom struggling because your child has stepped away from the Church, changed beliefs, or chosen a different path than the one you imagined this episode is for you. Book a free coaching call with me here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84270157732 You raised your children with faith. Family Home Evening. Seminary. Prayer. Church every Sunday. You thought you knew what your family story would look like. Then one day the picture changed. In this episode, we’re talking about the grief, fear, confusion, and self-blame many Christian and LDS mothers feel when life no longer matches the picture they carried in their heads. We’ll talk about: Why “families are forever” can suddenly feel complicatedWhat happens when your child leaves the Church or believes differentlyWhy many moms quietly feel like they failedThe pressure LDS women often carry around creating the “perfect eternal family”What it actually means to trust God when life feels uncertainHow to stop seeing your family as brokenFinding peace when your child’s choices are different than what you plannedThis episode also explores how familiar gospel truths can become so common that we stop really seeing them until something painful moves the picture. If you’ve ever thought: “What did I do wrong?” “How did we get here?” “Why does this hurt so much?” “Can I still trust God with my family?” You are not alone. This conversation will help you feel more grounded, more hopeful, and less afraid while navigating faith transitions, mixed-faith families, adult children leaving religion, and the emotional pain that comes with unmet expectations. You’ll walk away with a new perspective on eternal families, trust in God, grief, agency, and what it means to love your family without panic. You are allowed to stop measuring your family against a picture in your head. The picture may have changed. The promises haven’t. If this episode helped you, please share it with another mom who needs it today.

    20 min
  3. May 12

    What Happened vs What You’re Making It Mean

    “Don’t tell me this is neutral when it’s breaking my heart.” If you’ve ever thought that, this episode is for you. When your child makes a choice that goes against everything you taught them, it doesn’t feel neutral. It feels heavy. It feels personal. It feels like everything is unraveling. It feels wrong. In this episode, I’m walking you through the difference between what actually happened and the story your brain is building around it. Because those are not the same thing. We’re talking about real situations LDS moms face every day:  A daughter who is pregnant  A son choosing not to serve a mission  A child stepping away from church  A child living with a partner  A family that suddenly doesn’t look like what you pictured I’ll show you how your thoughts about these situations can quietly add layers of shame, fear, and suffering and how to start separating that out so you can feel more confident, more clear, and more like yourself again. This is not about pretending things are okay.  This is about stopping the extra pain you don’t need to carry. You’re allowed to feel sad.  And you’re also allowed to stay whole. If your child’s choices are keeping you up at night or weighing on your heart, you don’t have to figure this out alone. 👉 Schedule a free call with me and let’s talk about what’s going on for you: https://calendly.com/sherylee-kartchner/25min I’ll help you come back to yourself… while still loving them deeply.

    17 min
  4. Apr 28

    Who Am I Now? Finding Yourself When Motherhood Feels Heavy

    Have you ever looked at your life and thought, this is not how I thought motherhood would go? Maybe your children’s choices, struggles, distance from faith, or life decisions have left you carrying grief, confusion, worry, or even shame. And somewhere in the middle of loving them, helping them, and hurting for them you started losing you. In this episode, we’re talking about identity and the truth that your child’s choices do not erase who you are. You are more than your role as a mother. You are more than outcomes, appearances, or expectations. You are still a beloved daughter of Heavenly Parents, still valuable, still growing, and still becoming. Inside this episode we talk about:  Why so many moms lose themselves in motherhood  How to stop tying your worth to your child’s choices  The difference between true identity and “lie-dentity”  What God says about your worth  How to reconnect with yourself in this season  Why you are still allowed to dream, grow, heal, and become If motherhood feels heavy right now, this episode will feel like a deep breath and a reminder that you have not lost yourself. You may simply need to come home to who you’ve always been. Ready for more support? If you’re tired of feeling emotionally hijacked by your child’s choices and want more peace, connection, and clarity, I’d love to help. Book your Free Connection + Peace Call here If this episode resonated with you, please share it with another mom who needs this reminder today.

    20 min
  5. Apr 14

    Judgement Feels Real But it’s Not the Truth

    Feeling judged at church because your child’s choices don’t match the picture you thought your family would be? You do not have to carry that pain alone. If you’re tired of overthinking every conversation, feeling like you don’t belong, or making their choices mean something about you, let’s talk. Book a free call with me and let’s help you feel steady, clear, and at peace again. In this powerful episode, we’re talking about the silent weight so many LDS moms carry when a child chooses a different path. Maybe they stepped away from the Church. Maybe they came home early from a mission. Maybe life simply doesn’t look like the “brochure family” you thought it would. And now church feels different. Even when people are kind, it feels awkward. Even when no one says anything, it feels loud. Even when you know better, judgment feels real. But what if the judgment you feel isn’t the truth? In this episode, we talk about: • Why church can feel painful when your family doesn’t look how you hoped • The difference between real judgment and self-judgment • How moms make their child’s choices mean something about their worth • Why joy and sorrow can exist at the same time • How to stop carrying pain that was never yours to carry • What it looks like to trust God with outcomes and reclaim your peace This episode will help you see judgment in a new way, think clearer, and remember that your worth never changes.  If you’ve been bracing yourself every Sunday, if you feel stuck between loving your child and grieving the life you pictured, if you’re exhausted from carrying this alone, book a free Connection and Peace call with me. We’ll sort through what’s weighing you down and help you find peace, confidence, and hope again.

    18 min
  6. Apr 7

    LDS Moms: How to Feel Peace When Your Child’s Choices Don’t Align With Your Faith

    https://calendly.com/sherylee-kartchner/25min If you’ve been doing everything you know to do, praying, showing up, trying to stay strong as a mom, and it still feels heavy, this episode will meet you right where you are. In this episode, we’re talking directly to LDS moms who love their children deeply, but feel heartache when their child’s choices don’t align with their faith. If you’ve ever felt sadness, shame, worry, or even quiet disappointment that lingers in the background of your life, you are not alone, and nothing has gone wrong. This conversation will gently shift the way you understand your emotions. You’ll learn why those heavy feelings are not a sign of failure, but part of your divine human experience. We talk about what it really means to feel your feelings in a way that brings you closer to God, not further away. You’ll also learn the powerful difference between clean pain and dirty pain. Clean pain is the natural grief, sadness, and love that comes from caring deeply. It softens you, refines you, and connects you to God. Dirty pain is the extra layer, the thoughts like “I failed,” “this shouldn’t be happening,” or “what did I do wrong?” that keep you stuck and overwhelmed. When you understand this distinction, everything begins to change. This episode will walk you through a simple, practical tool you can use in real time called “name it to tame it and feel it to heal it.” You’ll learn how to sit with your emotions without letting them take over, so you can feel peace even when your situation hasn’t changed. We also anchor this conversation in faith, with powerful reminders from scripture and church leaders that nothing about your experience disqualifies you. You are still a good mom. You are still worthy. You are still doing better than you think. If you’ve been carrying this quietly, wondering if you’re the only one who feels this way, this episode will remind you that you are not alone, and that peace is possible right here, in the middle of your real life. You don’t need your child to change.  You don’t need your situation to change.  You just need a new way to experience what’s already here. And that is something you can learn. If you’re ready to take this work deeper, I offer free 25-minute Connection and Peace Calls where we look at your specific situation and help you start feeling relief right away. https://calendly.com/sherylee-kartchner/25min You are allowed to feel sadness and still be a good mom.  You are allowed to feel fear and still trust God.  You are allowed to be in the middle of this and still feel peace. I’m so glad you’re here.

    24 min
5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

I help, encourage and inspire LDS women to find peace and connection with their adult children. How to love God and trust in his plan

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