Mystery of Parenthood

103 F.I.R.E.: Faith

On Tuesday, October 1, Trey and Stephanie spoke about their recent experience giving a talk at the Together in Holiness Conference. They spoke about an acronym from a previous episode, F.I.R.E. (faith, integration, relationship and evangelization), and in this episode, focused in on faith and ways in which you can cultivate it into your daily life. Remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you, and He will!

102 Arland Nichols: Parenting the Emotions

On Tuesday, September 24, Trey spoke with Arland Nichols of the St. John Paul II Foundation. In the first part of the show, Arland talked about the marriage enrichment conference, Together in Holiness of the St. JPII Foundation that took place in the Houston area on September 28th. To learn more Together in Holiness, and for a conference schedule, click HERE! In the second part of the show, Arland talked about how we form and deal with the emotions of our children in molding the whole person. How do we govern our emotions as spouses, as parents, and how do we teach our children to deal with theirs properly? We are called to strive in every area of our lives to mirror Christ, emotions included. Remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you, and He will!

101 Dr. Sarah Bartel: Mirroring God’s Prodigal Love in Our Families

On Tuesday, September 17, Trey spoke with Dr. Sarah Bartel, co-founder with her husband of Cana Feast—a ministry for married or engaged couples to grow closer to God and to each other. Sarah and Trey talked about last Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke - the shepherd’s lost sheep, the widow’s lost coin, and the father’s lost son. What can parents learn from these stories about God's love for his earthly children in order to properly raise their own children? God leaves the 99 sheep to go looking for the 1, He rejoices when a “lost coin” is found, and He welcomes us with open arms when we come home to Him after going astray. In other words, “heaven rejoices I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance (Lk. 15:7)." Parents should strive to show their children the same graces God gives us! Listen to this episode to hear Trey and Dr. Bartel dive into this gospel reading and make it applicable to parenting today. And be sure to check out canafeast.com to learn how you can grow closer to your spouse and to God! Remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you, and He will!

100 Setting our Families Ablaze

On Tuesday, September 10, Trey and Stephanie talked about the four keys to “setting our families ablaze”, F.I.R.E. (faith, integration, relationship and evangelization). Faith - Trey and Stephanie said if parents tell their children they are going to do something, they must do it, so their children will have faith that they will do what they promise, just as God the Father keeps His word. Integration – Trey and Stephanie said parents must be integrated in their children’s lives in order to know how they can be helped in growing in their own personal relationship with Jesus. Relationship – Trey and Stephanie said to go after the heart of your children, as we are made for relationships and we are meant to build them. Establishing a good relationship with your children is vital to earning their trust. Evangelization – We are meant to spread the Good News of Jesus, and Trey and Stephanie say you shouldn’t try to evangelize until you have established a solid relationship. They paralleled Jesus and his disciples, as Jesus became very close with his 12, and then told them to go out and spread the gospel and similarly. Ultimately, parents are to reflect the love of our Heavenly Father in their families, and if they integrate F.I.R.E. into their lives, they will set their families ablaze! Remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you, and He will!

099 Monica Ashour: The Best Kept Secret of Catholicism

On Tuesday, September 2, Trey brought back long-time guest, Monica Ashour, co-founder of TOBET (Theology of the Body Evangelization Team), which tries to promote St. John Paull II’s vision of the Theology of the Body. Monica joined the show to talk about “the best kept secret of Catholicism”, the sacraments. Few people emphasize the sacraments to the extent they deserve, so Monica believes in instilling them early on in children’s lives. Trey and Monica talked about how the sacraments of the Catholic Church lead us to encounter God. As Catholics, we should understand what sacraments are, what they do, and who they involve. The sacraments are a way for us to experience the supernatural through the natural (The Eucharist, Confession, etc.). Monica said that, in a way, marriage is the blueprint for all the other sacraments. In marriage, you give to and receive from your spouse, and with that, fruitfulness abounds. Similarly, in the other sacraments, Jesus gives to us, we receive, we reciprocate and then our lives bear fruitfulness. Listen to this episode to dive deeper into the significance and meaning of the sacraments and check out tobet.org to learn more about their mission! Remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you, because He will!

098 Adam Arehart: Tradition in the Domestic Church

On Tuesday, August 13, Trey brought back regular MOP guest, Adam Arehart to talk about T(t)radition, in the Church and within the family. Through Scripture and Tradition, we can receive the Divine Word of God. Scripture even points out in several places that Jesus gave us tradition pointing back to Him. Adam and Trey talk about how parents can pass on tradition to their children in the way they live their lives. Tradition isn’t all about words or doing things a certain way, but genuinely living out the traditions you believe in. Incorporating the rhythms of the Church year into family life through rituals, feast days, cuisine, prayers, and the Liturgy of the Hours are all possibilities. Tune in to hear Adam and Trey talk about how we can make our families "tradition-minded" and gain from the Tradition of the Church and Scripture.

097 Dr. Joseph White: God's Pedagogy

On Tuesday, August 6, Trey welcomed Dr. Joseph White, who works for Our SundayVisitor Publishing as the Director of Catechetical Resources. He has a background in child and family psychology. They discuss the pedagogy of God – the way that God teaches and what He does for us, and how we can emulate that through a family. As we look at how God teaches us, Dr. White says we should be continually applying that to how we hand on our faith to others. Our number one mission as the Church is to hand on our faith, to lead people to Christ so that we all can be in heaven together. They talk about how God’s pedagogy (the way God teaches) has five attributes. It is 1) invitational and welcoming, 2) incarnational 3) communal 4) structured, systematic and comprehensive and 5) perpetual. We are to mirror these aspects in the way we hand on the faith to our children within the family. Listen in to learn the details about the way God teaches us with his pedagogy! And you can check out more from Dr. Joseph White at his website, sharingcatholicfaith.com.

096 Shaun & Jessica McAfee: Culture of Childlessness

On Tuesday, July 30, Trey Cashion spoke with Shaun and Jessica McAfee all the way from Vicenza, Italy, about a recent article in The Atlantic titled The Future of the City is Childless, that talks about how families are becoming smaller because couples are having fewer children. (Read the full article here.) They talk about how today younger, urban Americans have the tendency to see children as a burden or something that is going to stop them from chasing their career dreams or prevent them from being able to pay off college loans, etc. In reality, children are blessings from God and should be treated as such. The comparison between being a parent who loves their children shows us just a glimpse of how much God the Father loves us, His children. And He doesn't love one child more than another, He loves us all the same. They also talk about how having children with your spouse makes you a more selfless person because you make sacrifices for your spouse and your children in order to care for them and give them the best, which in turn, makes you an overall better person. Listen to this episode to hear more about the childless culture we're in, and how in our own choices and sacrifices we can be a counterpoint to the culture of childlessness by being open to life. Enjoy the episode and remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

095 Dr. Sarah Bartel: Cana Feast

On Tuesday July 9, Trey brought back frequent guest Dr. Sarah Bartel. Dr. Bartel and her husband have been preparing engaged couples for marriage for nearly 10 years. Now they have a new online ministry, Cana Feast - "a new way to grow closer to each other and to God". Cana Feast explores the riches of Catholic teaching on marriage and brings the best of marriage enrichment straight to you at canafeast.com!  Sarah says that Cana Feast's goal is to give strong support, inspiration, and encouragement to couples in the  theology of marriage, spirituality, couple prayer, and even figuring out fertility! Cana Feast is the perfect resource for engaged or married couples. So listen in to hear Dr. Sarah Bartel discuss the benefits of this unique marriage resource. Enjoy the episode and remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

094 "Offer It Up"

On Tuesday, July 2, hosts Trey and Stephanie Cashion dive into what it truly means to “offer it up” to God, no matter what season of life we are in. Trey opens with an excerpt from a document from the Second Vatican Council, paragraph #34 in Lumen Gentium, which talks about all parts of our lives being sacrifices to God if done in the Spirit. When we attend Mass we are essentially offering all of those sacrifices up to God right before Communion. The Cashions discuss how being holy is an ongoing decision we make in our lives. We should choose it deliberately in everything, whether it’s work, rest, or entertainment. If we give it back to God, it is an act of worship. If we as parents live this out as an example for our children, it will overflow their lives, as we teach them that there is nothing in their entire lives that cannot be offered up to God. The Cashions also talk about the importance of quality time in the family and how examining our lives to see what is thriving, or what could maybe use some work, is a good discipline to step into. Listen now to see what you can do to “offer it up” to God! Enjoy the episode and remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!