The Durenda Wilson Podcast

Most would say it can't be done, but with God all things are possible. Today Darryl and I share the story of how we raised a family of 10 (yes, we count the parents) and recently paid cash for our home and a second small home that generates income as an Airbnb. We hope that as we share our story and some money saving tips, that you will be encouraged!

My husband and I are often asked how in the WORLD we ended up with EIGHT kids!In today's podcast, my husband joins me in telling the story of how we went from wanting 2 kids to having 8!It's a God story for sure, especially when you consider we had ALL of our children via C-section!

My new devotional written just for moms launched yesterday! I am sharing one of the devotions from the book here today to give you a taste of Unhurried Grace for a Mom's Heart!This devotional was written from many, many years in God's Word with very practical application for moms and homeschool moms! This 31-day devotional could be used several times throughout the year.You can find the book on Amazon for a promotional price of $6.99 until the end of January. (Regular price as of February 1 is $8.99)That means you can receive both The Unhurried Homeschooler AND Unhurried Grace for just $12.98 total (both on Amazon).

Are you waiting on God for any area of your life...something in your marriage, with your kids, friends?  Maybe it's a job or a move? We are typically not very good at waiting, but often God calls us to do just that.  It can be frustrating and discouraging.  It can even take a toll on our faith.  So why in the world would God require us to do it? Is it just a waste of time?   What good might He have in all of it? (all references in the podcast are listed on my blog(durendawilson.com) associated with this episode)

Overwhelmed. Every mom experiences it.  Most of us experience it on a daily basis. It can feel pretty gross. It can steal our joy. It can rob our peace.  It seems to just be a part of life.  As Believing moms, we know deep down inside that God may have something better for us in all of it, but what could that possibly be?  Listen in and be encouraged!

My friend Terrie and her family were on their way home from a family trip. A quick stop at the rest area would prove to be life-changing.  Terrie's husband, Greg, was shot in the back and ultimately paralyzed from the waist down. I had the opportunity to sit down with Terrie and have her share the story from that night and how she experienced God in the midst of a crisis.When we recorded this, Terrie and Greg were just days away from testifying in the trial that would hopefully bring one of the perpetrators to justice. As of today, they are still sitting through court proceedings, so prayers would be much appreciated. (Scriptures and links to Terrie's website and books are on associated post at my blog, durendawilson.com)

Navigating technology and screen time with our kids is one of our biggest challenges as parents.  We are moving into what is called the "Smart Technology" age and quite frankly, it's intimidating!  Technology and screen time have been my arch nemesis for years.  I've prayed through and done the best I can, but I think we all could use some clarification, direction, and a plan! Help is on the way! Today I am talking with Leah Nieman who has been speaking for the past 8 years to parents, homeschooling groups, and teens about technology, social media, and parenting. She is going to share with us some ideas on how we can raise kids with a healthy perspective of technology and social media. I think you will be inspired and encouraged!(All resources mentioned are the blog post associated with this episode...durendawilson.com)

One of the keys in homeschooling boys is moving them from a place of dependency to a place of ownership.  If our boys OWN what they are doing, we won't be needing to push or cajole.  In fact, it may be all we can do to keep up with them!  The conquering spirit of boys is quite the sight to behold and it's an exciting, powerful thing to be a part of! What exactly is ownership?  Tim Elmore describes it like this: Ownership is the antithesis of entitlement. It’s the idea that my life is my own, which entails both freedom and responsibility: …For the decisions I make. …For the challenges I face. …For the money I spend or save. …For the people I choose to hang around. …For the future I prepare for. …For the mistakes I make. Today I'm sharing ways we can encourage our boys to OWN both their life and their education.  College isn't for everyone and is, in fact, becoming less and less relevant.  I'm sharing some great alternatives.  These suggestions aren't an exhaustive list, but they will hopefully give you hope and a vision for something that may be a better fit for your boys! (There are links to the resources I share in the podcast on this post at my blog)

In this podcast, I'm talking more about our boys and what they really need!  We will be focusing specifically on Jr.High/High School ages.  There are lots of practical ideas, but more than anything, I want you, as moms, to be encouraged. They say the mom's heart is the child's classroom and this is why I often spend time speaking to that.   If your hearts are thriving, your children and your homeschooling will be thriving as well!  God's principles are timeless and hold true across the board, but the method to walk in obedience to those principles can vary from family to family. Please listen in, I think you are going find that God has, in fact, been speaking to your heart about your boys. My prayer is that this podcast will give help give you the courage to move forward in faith for their hearts and yours! (Resources mentioned in the podcast are listed on the post on my blog durendawilson.com)

Today I'm talking about homeschooling boys:  what they really need, understanding some of the ways that they tend to be wired and specifically what we have done as we homeschooled our 5 boys who are now 22, 20, 19, 17, and 13. Raising boys can be challenging.  Homeschooling them can bring the best mom/teacher to her knees (or tears), but OH the joy of boys!  I love our boys to the moon and back, but part of being able to enjoy our homeschooling journey required me to give up some of my ideal thoughts about what it was supposed to look like.  I had to decide whether I was going to insist that they measure up to what I felt like and now know are ridiculous and unnatural expectations or if I was going to encourage them to be everything that GOD made them to be!  It was one of the best decisions I ever made (more than once over the years) and I would do it all over again!(All sources mentioned are on my blog at durendawilson.com)

Our culture wants to blur the line between boys and girls, but just about any mom can tell you that there IS a difference.  There are sliding scales of differences, but still, differences. Instead of denying these unique qualities, it's important to recognize and APPRECIATE them.  We have a Creator who is intentional and very innovative in the ways that He knit us together.  As moms, we have an opportunity to not only help direct the amazing qualities that boys possess, but also to help them find confidence in who God has called them to be. The Art of Manliness (website mentioned)

Not one of us is in the EXACT same situation as someone else. We live in certain cultures, sub cultures, have different backgrounds, different children, are in different seasons of life, and so much more! It makes sense that each our homeschooling journeys would have a different flavor as well!In this podcast, our grown daughters and I will be talking about homeschooling confidently from WHERE YOU ARE!  God has very intentionally placed each of us in our specific circumstances and He has a plan and a purpose in how that affects our homeschooling experience! The girls and I will share what our homeschooling looked like because of our specific set of boundaries.You'll get my perspective AND theirs because I believe it's important for you to see how our imperfect homeschooling experience was perfect for US...and yours will be too!Let your friends know about it so they can listen as well and get ready to find FREEDOM in your homeschooling!(Song at the end: Casting Crowns, Here's My Heart Lord)

This week's podcast is a must listen!  I'm talking to my friend, Yvette!  She and her husband and girls are traveling the country filming a documentary on homeschooling that will help debunk the myths that often surround what we are doing at home with our kids! It will be a great encouragement to those who already homeschool, show those who are considering it, just how doable it is AND reveal to the naysayers what a legitimate option it really is! I believe this film will transform our culture's view of homeschooling and encourage so many more Christian families to step out in faith and begin their homeschooling journey as well.  It will also be very helpful for homeschooling families to pass on to the people in their lives who give them grief over their choice to home educate.  I like to call it "educating the non-home educator"! (It's also a great reminder of why we are homeschooling!)

We never know what God is going to call us or our children to, but as we walk our faith out before our kids, we show them what kind of God we serve. As moms, we want to fix things. We want to make everything okay and it HURTS when we can’t.But the truth is that life is messy and it’s hard and even though we want to spare our children of its pains, we would be doing them a disfavor.The very best thing (even though it can be SO hard) is to walk through the pain WITH them, looking and pointing out where we see God’s presence and pointing them back to the cross. Our youngest son was born with a major heart defect and spent the first 2 months of his life in the hospital. A little over 4 years ago, our first grandson went to be with Jesus unexpectedly, just hours before birth. As our family walked through these and other crisis together, we were NEVER more glad that we homeschooled. We had the opportunity to point our kids back to God and to where we saw His presence over and over again. But this took time, patience and understanding...something we could give them because we homeschooled. These experiences impacted them for a lifetime...more than that, for eternity. In this week's podcast, I share what it looks like to homeschool through a crisis and how God can use what feels really yucky to do His deepest and greatest work in our hearts and the hearts of our children.  We learn what it feels like to experience His grace and watch Him bind our families together through difficulty. (Scriptures used in the podcast are listed on the blog post at durendawilson.com)Song at the end of the podcast is called "Hold Us Together" by Matt Maher

Moms, we are the ones our kids will look to the most to find out if God is really good. We spend the largest amount of time with them during their formative years. We are the ones who help them interpret the world around them. We want our kids to walk in TRUTH. We need to make sure that truth is being conveyed...in other words that they are not misinterpreting what’s going on around them.As parents, we are our kids' main advocates and the ones who should be defending their childhood.In this week's podcast, I am talking specifically about protecting our kids from the media. There are images flashing in so many places that our kids simply are not ready for. We have the privilege, but also the responsibility to shelter our kids in the ways that God leads us to so that they will be able to see what a good God we serve!Please share this podcast with other moms! (Scripture references and related posts are shared on my blog under Protecting Our Kids From Media, durendawilson.com)