License to Parent with Trace Embry

As a result of this, we have to use the term “traditional” in front of term “family” in order to convey its same historic meaning. But is the traditional family really any healthier or legitimate than other combination of human beings living under the same roof? Others in our society today would say that the traditional family is not any healthier—nor more legitimate—than any other definition of family. If this is true, why should preserving the traditional family be a priority for the citizenry of the United States—or for any other nation for that matter? Tim Wildmon is president of American Family Association (AFA) and American Family Radio (AFR). Tim is the co-host of Today’s Issues, a daily radio program that offers a Christian response to issues of the day. He is also co-host of Christian Worldview This Week, a weekly program that examines social and political issues for Christians and considers how they can become involved. Both programs air on American Family Radio stations across the country. Tim has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. He has been quoted in national newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and numerous other media outlets. He is also frequently quoted by Family News in Focus, WorldNetDaily, SRN News, and USA Radio News. Tim is a frequent guest on local and national radio programs. How Postmodernism Has Impacted the Traditional Family Concept As we have discussed many times before on License to Parent, common sense can’t be common when a society has no common set of standards on which the vast majority of its citizenry can agree. If everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes, which is basically the mantra of the postmodern thought that pervades American thinking today, then, logically speaking, how can you have common sense? Within the greater American culture, common sense can’t exist—unless, of course, we consider the common terms and values among the enclaves or subcultures within the greater American culture. Our own Christian subculture is one example. Some Native Americans or Muslims would have their own common sense values as well. And there are many others. But what is common sense to them may not always be common sense to you and me. So, for the most part, “common sense” for our greater American culture is virtually gone. That has been true in this country ever since the lens of a predominantly Biblical worldview slowly began being exchanged for a lens of a postmodern worldview 50 years ago. We can see what this has done for the definition of family in recent years. I’m looking forward to hearing what our guest has to say about all this. Today, Tim Wildmon and I discuss the definition of “family” as we cover the following subjects: What is the AFA? What is the culture’s definition of a family? How should parents define family? How should parents address their teen’s argument against marriage? The importance of taking “sin” seriously. How do we return to a traditional home? Picture provided by: Virginia State Parks

It’s argued that all of God’s children have intelligences to offer the world. Knowing how to nurture the God-given gifts, strengths, and intelligences of children can help parents raise them in, what Scripture calls,“the way they should go.” This is the way that will bring them contentment, significance, identity, belonging, joy and the emotional and spiritual well-being to glorify God and benefit everyone they encounter. Now, that’s a recipe for a successful life. Dr. Kathy Koch, the Founder and President of Celebrate Kids, has influenced thousands of parents, teachers, and children in 30 countries through keynote messages, seminars, assemblies, and other events. Dr. Kathy is a popular guest on Focus on the Family radio and other radio talk-shows. She is also an author of six books, including four published by Moody Publishers and two published by Celebrate Kids. Her best sellers are Teens and Screens: Connecting with Our Kids in a Wireless World and 8 Great Smarts: Discover and Nurture Your Child’s Intelligences. Dr. Kathy earned a doctorate in reading and educational psychology from Purdue University in 1984. She was a tenured associate professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, a teacher of second graders, a middle school coach, and a school board member before founding Celebrate Kids and becoming a full-time conference and keynote speaker in 1991. How Understanding the Various Intelligences of Children Can Help Them Find Their Calling I was in my mid-thirties when Beth and I first felt called to ministry. At the time, the thought of Bible college made Hell feel like a vacation in the Caribbean. The only reason that I was even close to being an average student back in high school was because I had taken classes like drafting, power mechanics, machine shop, and typing. Other than those kinds of classes and sports, I hated every minute of school. So, when, at the age of 34, I had to take an aptitude test to get into Bible college, I scored far, far below sea level. In other words, I had no altitude to my aptitude. In fact, I was so far below sea level that I had to look up to find the ocean floor—and that was covered with whale dung. That’s how bad I scored. It was not only disappointing, it was beyond humiliating. Here I was, telling people that God Himself had called me to ministry, yet according to the way my aptitude was measured, I should actually be in a therapeutic school and program right now, certainly not running one. If it weren’t for a God who measures qualification for His work by a totally different standard and my pastor who saw something in me that I didn’t even see in me, I might be bagging your groceries right now or preparing your hamburgers—not that there’s anything wrong with either of those things. I’ve done both—and pretty well, I might add. Despite my humiliating college aptitude scores and the fact that Beth and I were both working to support our three kids and pay our own way through college, by God’s grace, I managed to be on the dean's list every semester I was in school! I don’t say that to brag. I say that to demonstrate to our listeners and our guest, Dr. Kathy Koch, that what we’ll be discussing today is evidenced in the very guy who will be asking the lion’s share of the questions. Her book is spot on! I just wish my parents and I had access to it about 40 or 50 years earlier. Dr. Kathy Koch and I discuss the various intelligences of children as we cover the following topics: What is Celebrate Kids? What do I do if my child is not making A’s in his classes? How can I cultivate my child’s strengths? How do I train my child to be wise? Why application of truth is so crucial. What are the “8 smarts?” Picture provided by: maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com

Cannibalism isn’t one of the systemic problems in American culture. A penchant for the seven deadly sins and a subjective spin on truth and reality, however, are. Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth—having been around forever—arguably stem from the even greater problem of that idolatrous and delusional pursuit of self-worship that is systemic to American culture today. When sin actually becomes the end-game and delusion becomes the norm for the adults of any culture, how can the children of that culture really be expected to stem the insanity on their own? Is there a systemic “Snapping of the American Mind” that has led our kids to appear troubled when they are actually reacting normally to a society in crisis? David Kupelian is an award-winning American journalist, vice president and managing editor of online news giant WorldNetDaily (WND.com), editor of Whistleblower Magazine, and a widely read columnist. He is also the bestselling author of three influential books: The Marketing of Evil, How Evil Works, and, most recently, The Snapping of the American Mind: Healing a Nation Broken by a Lawless Government and Godless Culture. Kupelian has been interviewed by Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Neil Cavuto, and many other TV and radio hosts. How Some Systemic Problems in American Culture Have Developed Since the 1960s I frequently discuss systemic problems in American culture. Some of the cultural problems that arose in the 1960s have gotten a stronger and stronger grip on children through the years. Despite the fact that some aspects of the cultural rebellion that took place in the 1960s were legitimate in theory, it can be argued that, in practice, some of these things also contributed to new problems. If we consider the mental health of people these days, it appears that emotional, psychological, and spiritual conditions are worse now for families than they were in the 1960s. In some areas, we have switched one bunch of grievous problems in our culture with a batch of fresh ones. Unfortunately, many people today are tricked, intoxicated, and mislead by a set of untrue premises and flat out falsehoods. They do not understand what you are saying when you put forth a line of reasoning that involves logic, data, factual statements, scientific thought, historical analysis, and real-world experience. David Kupelian and I discuss dangerous systemic problems in American culture and their consequences as we cover the following topics: What is The Snapping of the American Mind? The difference between today’s America and the America in the 50s. Why parents must be honest and transparent to their kids. One dangerous aspect of social media. The addictive nature of smartphones and social media. Why are teens so anxious today? One problem with colleges. Picture provided by: Tumisu

Deadlines, quotas, meetings, emails, text messages, and myriad other things can make it so easy to confuse the urgent with the important. We may even neglect spending time with our children. As the saying goes, if the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy—a fact that we can all be blind to. Looking at life through the eyes of our children can be their gift of insight to us, as parents. Ainsley Earhardt is currently a journalist and co-host of Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends. Previously, she served as co-host of Fox & Friends First and regularly contributed to Hannity with her own segment called “Ainsley Across America.” Additionally, she has co-hosted Outnumbered, Fox & Friends Weekend, Fox’s All-American New Year’s Eve, and America’s News Headquarters. She has also been a panelist on The Live Desk and appeared on Greg Gutfeld’s Red Eye. Earhardt is the author of Take Heart, My Child: A Mother’s Dream. She donated a portion of the proceeds from this book to Folds of Honor, an organization that provides scholarships and assistance to the spouses and children of soldiers who have fallen in service to America. Earhardt’s latest book is called Through Your Eyes: My Child’s Gift to Me. How Spending Time With Our Children Benefits Their Spiritual Development It is hard for our children to learn from us and for us to learn from them if we don’t spend enough time together. And I don’t mean only spending quality time with your kids when it is convenient or expected. If we don’t actually slow down and intentionally invest extended periods of time with our kids, it is pretty hard to share much real quality time. Parents, there will always be more money for you to make, but you can’t make new time to spend with your kids. One of the greatest benefits of spending time with our children is being able to view things through their perspective. Parents will learn things about the way their children see the world. This will help parents gain understanding into the motivations, thoughts, and actions of their children. Kids will benefit from this meeting of perspectives too! This type of communication will build the relationship between parent and child. Additionally, it gives children a feeling of safety and connection that will benefit their emotional and spiritual health. The connection between children and their parents is deeply spiritual. And, although many people would prefer to ignore this concept or refuse to believe it, professionals in the mental health field from schools such as Harvard, Yale, Emory, Chapel Hill, UCLA, and others would agree with me. Ainsley Earhardt and I discuss the relationship between parents and children as we cover the following topics: Ainsley’s new book Through Your Eyes: My Child’s Gift to Me. What age should I begin introducing TV to my newborn? What lessons have Ainsley’s learned in raising her child? The importance of paying attention to the details. How your reactions to emergencies will help develop character in your child. How parenting provides us with glimpses of God’s love for us. The catch to Proverbs’ wisdom in raising kids. Picture provided by : Nathaniel D. Ether

Stump Living There are scripture verses that speak about the sins of the fathers and many would agree that these verses also apply to the sins of the mothers. Whether you are a mom or a dad, even Godly parents are not immune from the shame, grief, and guilt, that can often accompany the secret sins of our past. These past sins and the emotions that stem from them can adversely affect the way that we raise our kids. They can even do damage to our parent-child relationships in the process. Adding insult to injury, the children of shame and guilt-ridden parents find themselves struggling with many of the same traits and issues that they did not know about their self-loathing parents. We need to get past the past for the sake of our kids today because you can’t live on a stump. Discussing Mistakes with Dr. Harold Rhoades Dr. Harold Rhoades is a counseling psychologist. He was an intelligence officer in the US Army and he was also the head of counseling programs at Emmanuel College and Reagent University. He is the founder and director of Healing Springs Retreat Ministry. Dr. Rhoades is the author of the book “You Can’t Live on a Stump.” Dr. Rhoades and his wife live just down the road from Shepherd's Hill Academy. Episode Highlights: How does your past life negatively impact your child-rearing? How does your past life positively impact your child-rearing? What is one of the main things people struggle with in regard to their pasts? Why did Dr. Rhoades decide to reveal his own past mistakes in his book? What is the most important thing you can communicate to your children about mistakes? Image from Canva