License to Parent with Trace Embry

While parents complain about these things, do they consider how they can help teens transform our culture? Let’s say a large number of public schools truly are as unhealthy as I’ve already mentioned. Let’s say that public schools truly are Junior’s only educational option. And let’s say that taking God and prayer out of schools really was the beginning of the end for America’s once stellar public education system. If this is the case, then let’s ask ourselves what, if anything, we can be doing—and equipping our kids to be doing—to transform it. Jordan Whitmer is the Founder and CEO of the #HowToLife movement. Jordan was raised in a passionate Christian family and chose to own his faith as a leader and to share Jesus with his generation. The movement Jordan started, #HowToLife, has now had 27 completely teen-led events in 10 states around the country, and the movement continues to expand rapidly. Jordan is a graduate of Liberty University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies. Why Christian Parents Must Be Active and Willing to Help Teens Transform Our Culture I have to be frank with you all. Even though I definitely think there is a point to be made, I get a little weary of hearing Christians moaning the blues about our government taking God and prayer out of the public school system and then doing little to nothing about it themselves. I’m not saying that nobody has attempted to do anything, because today’s guest is a great example of someone who actually is doing something. But with the infrastructure the church has had—and still has—here in America, I think, collectively, as the body of Christ, we could be doing a lot more. Beyond just being allowed to pray in school, I’m talking about bringing Christ more to the forefront of the hearts and minds of our citizenry as a whole. I think we got complacent, comfortable, and—as much as I hate to say it—lazy. We equated being an American with being a Christian. Today, we are seeing how that has been working out for us. But thank God for young people like today’s guest to help get things turned around. Today, Jordan Whitmer and I discuss young people, our culture, and the #HowtoLife movement as we cover the following topics: Who is Jordan Whitmer, and what is the #HowtoLife movement? Is Generation Z lost? 1 example of how a teen-led event sparked a movement. How is social media being used by teens for good? How can parents get involved? Examples of hope for this up and coming generation. Picture provided by: Tech. Sgt. Kelly Goonan

To the postmodern and relativistic thinker, the definition of what it means to be human could vary dramatically. Because the very foundation for how we treat and interact with other people first demands that we understand what a person actually is, we need to establish and maintain that foundation with our kids early and often. Confusing? Well, we will sort it all out for you as we discuss who we are in Jesus Christ. Evangelist Alveda King is a former college professor and a former representative in the Georgia State House of Representatives. She currently serves as a Pastoral Associate and Director of Civil Rights for the Unborn. She is also a voice for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, sharing her testimony of two abortions, God’s forgiveness, and healing. The daughter of the late civil rights activist Rev. A.D. King and his wife Naomi Barber King, Alveda grew up in the civil rights movement led by her uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Her family home in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed, as was her father’s church office in Louisville, Kentucky. Alveda was jailed during the open housing movement. She sees the pro-life movement as a continuation of the civil rights struggle. The Founder of Alveda King Ministries, Alveda has served on several boards, including Heartbeat International, Georgia Right to Life, MLK Center, Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, and Abortion Recovery International (ARIN). She is also a member of the National Black Pro-life Coalition (NBPC) and is a Senior Fellow with the Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society. Alveda King is a bestselling author; among her books are King Rules: Ten Truths for You, Your Family, and Our Nation to Prosper, How Can the Dream Survive if We Murder the Children?, and I Don’t Want Your Man, I Want My Own. She is also a regular columnist for the “Newsmax Insiders” section on Newsmax.com and a Fox News contributor. How Building Biblical Foundations Provides Moral Points of Reference The redefinition of terms is not only often the root of much of the conflict and confusion we see in America today, but it is also largely responsible for the communication break-down in the parent/child relationship. It is hard to agree on anything when common terms are commonly misunderstood, misrepresented, and misapplied to virtually everything these days—particularly when it comes to common terms like God, man, love, hate, truth, good, evil, marriage, family, faith, grace, peace, freedom, or even what it means to be human. I could go on and on with good and godly terms that are too often defined with the devil’s dictionary. Think about this: The distortion of what it actually means to be “human”—for example—was one way that Americans actually justified and legalized slavery in the 19th century! Isn’t this how we have justified and legalized abortion in the 20th century and even up to this very day? In the 19th century our Supreme Court defined African Americans as only three-fifths of a human. Today, unborn babies are called fetuses. Murder is euthanasia. Disagreement is on par with hate, bigotry, or racism. Our kids have to be made aware of this postmodern insanity or we are going to continue to implode our families and implode our nation. So where should our point of reference be for all moral truth? Where do we go for child-rearing principles and to find out what it actually means to be human? Well, hopefully that is what today’s guest is going to help us get sorted out. Evangelist Alveda King and I discuss faith, biblical foundations, and pro-life perspectives as we cover the following topics: Who is Alveda King? Who shaped Martin Luther King Jr.’s worldview? Does there really need to be an absolute point of reference? What shapes Alveda King’s perspective on abortion? What is Alveda’s experience with modeling her faith to her family? Picture provided by: pxhere.com

This is in motion picture and in living color, totaling to 14 thousand images by the end of the year. Much of it will be branded in their brains for for the duration of their lives—and that’s if they shut off the line of visual sewage immediately. But because of the addictive nature of pornography, it’s likely going to require some help. Kevin Kurtz has worked in counseling-related fields for 30 years. He spent 10 years working in a hospital for the mentally challenged and served as chaplain and pastoral counselor for 20 years in the corporate arena. Kevin has a private practice caring for clients who are dealing with mood disorders, addiction, anger, and other mental health issues. Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree in counseling and a minor in pastoral ministries at Toccoa Falls College. He earned his master’s degree in professional counseling from Liberty University. Kevin is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Christian Counselor, and a Certified Anger Management Specialist. He has also received special training in the areas of trauma and sexual addiction. Presently, Kevin is a counselor and the clinical director at Shepherds Hill Academy. He has been married 39 years, and he and his wife have two children and seven grandchildren. How Easy Access to Pornography Affects Teens In American Culture Arguably, there may be no greater scourge on our teen population than pornography. It seems to be so entrenched in every area of life that—even for our younger kids—there just seems to be no escaping it these days. The proliferation of this stuff only fuels the addictive nature of it. Being a teenager growing up in America today is like being an alcoholic and having every drinking fountain, soda machine, river, pond, and lake stocked with Budweiser or Jack Daniels instead of water. Madison Avenue uses skin to sell everything from clothing to hamburgers and from cologne to cars. It’s in the music, movies, TV, and social media that our kids consume. If all that isn’t enough, our kids have been desensitized to it to the point that they produce their own amateur pornography on their smartphones—addictive devices that teens shouldn’t have in the first place, by the way. As most of us know, this descent into lasciviousness has now become a way of life for so many of our young people today. What many of us may not know is that it’s destroying our kids’ ability to truly enjoy a genuine and intimate relationship with a future spouse that is based on the love, truth, and the commitment required for a legitimate and lasting marriage as God has ordained it. Pornography has got a whole lot to do with why so many marriages aren’t making it today. And, of course, when marriage is attacked, so goes the downfall of any civil society. We’re “sure as shooting” seeing that happening here in America as we speak. Today, Kevin Kurtz and I discuss the how pornography negatively affects teens as we cover the following topics: Why is pornography such a big deal? Hasn’t it been around since the dawn of time? How does pornography affect the brain of my teen? The root of your child’s pornography habits may begin with tolerance. Why you must be approachable in communicating on the topic of pornography. How desensitisation can affect marriage. The difference between your brain and your teen’s brain. How to be aware of signs that indicate your teen is accessing pornography. Should I discipline my child if they are accessing pornography? Picture provided by: pxhere.com

This means that 8 million American kids will be on some kind of prescription medication by the time they reach adulthood. In America, $1,100 per second is spent on medication. At the same time, America uses 80% of the world’s Ritalin supply! So what is really going on here? Could it be that we are needlessly medicating our kids for problems and behaviors that are largely caused simply by virtue of growing up in today’s toxic American culture? Tina Marie Griffin has worked as a news reporter, runway model, writer, film director, missionary, and public speaker. Through her show Hollywood Exposed, she has built a reputation as a leading media expert on how popular culture affects children. Besides acting in many Hollywood movies, Tina has worked on TV shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, Young and the Restless, 90210, Ally McBeal, Lizzie Mcguire, Drake and Josh, and Malcolm in the Middle. Tina has been featured on ABC’s Dr. Keith Ablow Show, and she has been a guest on The Alan Colmes Show. Tina holds a Film and Television Broadcasting Degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and she currently has a monthly pop culture update segment on Stand Up for the Truth Radio. Her highest priorities are her husband Luke and her energetic children Jacob, Levi, Eden, and Stella. Tina loves to homeschool her kids, and she teaches classes at a homeschool co-op in her community. How Some Aspects of American Culture Can Help Create Dysfunction At Shepherds Hill Academy, we recognize that regular exposure to love, truth, wisdom, and righteous living by godly and morally upright people can help bring health and restoration to young people who have acted rebellious or have struggled emotionally or mentally. Beyond this, we observe that this path toward health is more easily traveled when the negative parts of our culture—the parts that help create and exacerbate various dysfunctions and disorders—are condemned and revealed for what they are. What kind of negative things am I talking about? Allow me to list a few. I mean questionable medical conclusions that are based on bad science and the practice of over-prescribing unnecessary medication. I mean how our culture misuses digital technology and how the media spreads false information. I mean sexual immorality, video game violence, social pressures, and the influence of music, television, and films. Parents must keep in mind that all of these things have the potential to distort the truth and pervert what is right and good. Today, Tina Marie Griffin and I discuss the influence of our culture as we cover the following topics: Tina’s experience with parents. What is the role of videogames and violence? How the culture is influencing your teen. Why Jay-Z and Beyonce’s iconic symbols displayed during tour are intentional. How your kid can help transform the culture. Picture provided by: Matt H. Wade

Who or what should parents turn to for help and hope if their child is diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder or another similar disorder? Do our children really need even a fraction of the medications being prescribed to them today? Could it be that postmodern stimuli and the “new morality” that are systemic to today’s American culture are actually affecting our kids moods and behaviors far more than we realize? Dr. Charles Hodges is a family physician practicing in Indianapolis, IN. He is the Executive Director of Vision of Hope, a residential treatment facility for young women with emotional struggles. Dr. Hodges is a Fellow in the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, an instructor and counselor with Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry in Lafayette, IN, and the author of Good Mood Bad Mood: Help and Hope for Depression and Bipolar Disorder. Dr Hodges has been married to his wife Helen Kay for 46 years and has four children and 13 grandchildren. How Shepherds Hill Academy Equips Teens Who Are Diagnosed With Depression or Bipolar Disorder Teens come to Shepherds Hill Academy (SHA) with various diagnoses. Of these, two disorders that we see consistently are bipolar disorder and depression. Why do these various struggles and disorders, particularly depression and bipolar disorder, seem to be diagnosed so often in young people today? Shepherds Hill Academy is known for providing help for teens who come to us with a wide range of diagnoses. We work with teens who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression all the time. However, in some cases, I am a little skeptical of the diagnoses that our students bring with them when they come to SHA—specifically when it comes to bipolar disorder and depression. Why? Because 70% of the teens who enter our program diagnosed with a disorder and taking prescription medication complete our year-long program without the need for a prescription. These results do not come about because we are anti-medication or because we want to boost our stats with impressive results. These results come about because our students begin to realize that they are able to regulate their mental and emotional health by controlling what they expose themselves to, interact with, and obsess about. They learn that they can have some control over their responses to difficulty in their lives. At SHA, it is our conviction that there is a paramount spiritual component to emotional and mental health. The sad truth is that many teens today are not being raised in a cultural climate that nurtures spiritual growth and maturity, particularly growth facilitated by the Holy Spirit. Today, Dr. Charles Hodges and I discuss young people, parenting, and mental health as we cover the following topics: Why did Dr. Hodges write this particular book? What is the DSM? What is the difference between bipolar and depression? Does sleep deprivation contribute to a possible misdiagnosis? Why would teens be misdiagnosed with depression if they are not depressed? Picture provided by: Nick Youngson