Discover even more places to enjoy Truth.Love.Parent.TranscriptIntroduction
I’m your host AMBrewster, and welcome to the beginning of Truth.Love.Parent.’s 7th year, 24th Season, and 504th episode.
It has been an enormous honor to be allowed to join your families and walk alongside your parenting journey for the past six years. If your children were infants when we met, they’re almost seven years old. If you had elementary schoolers when this journey started, they’re in high school now. In fact, some of them may be graduating soon. And for those who tuned in at the very beginning because you were having difficulty parenting your teens, they may well have given you grandchildren by now. And if you’re new to the show, it will be my honor to walk alongside you as we learn together how to worship God with our parenting. When I published the first episode, my son was 9 and my daughter was almost 7. Of course, I also had a home full of young men ages 12 to 22. Yes, I no longer work at Victory Academy for Boys, but some of the boys who lived under my roof for those years have allowed me to become an honorary grandfather, and my own kids are 15 and almost 13 — both young adults. But I’m not done worshipping God with my parenting, and you’re not either. So wether you’ve been with us from the beginning or you’re just joining us, we still have a lot of work to do. However, before we get into that work today, I would be honored if you would do three things for me. 1. Please share this biblical parenting resource with your friends and families. Tell your pastors and share it with your fellow church members. We have over 500 audio resources and tons of links for the best in Christ-honoring parenting. Why keep it to yourself? Share it with everyone you can! 2. Especially if you’ve been with us for a while, will you please rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and — if you’re on Facebook — do it there too. Let me tell you how helpful they are. Some people believe they boost our reach and downloads, and others are pretty sure reviews have no direct affect on those numbers. By my concerns go far beyond that. Listen to the last three reviews we’ve received: Kevin from Heaven wrote, “AMBrewster and his guests really give amazing parenting advice. I love the encouragement and biblical truths that are shared in this podcast. We need more podcasts like this! A fantastic podcast that really addresses relevant Christian parenting needs. If you’re interested in honoring God with your family, then this is an essential podcast for you.” Hanalaska said, “This is hands-down the best parenting podcast I’ve ever heard. Each episode is solid biblical, convicting, yet still so encouraging. I cannot recommend it enough. We have even listened to some of the episodes with our kids and had wonderful discussions with them.” And GBLMS wrote, “This podcast has been invaluable to our family. We listen every week and are so thankful for the input and guidance that is helping us parent biblically. It is really a blessing to see the changes taking place that are daily bringing more and more glory to God! Also, the personal help that is available when needed is a treasure. I pray that this ministry can continue on as it is the best resource I have found in my 30 years of parenting.” Here’s why 5-star reviews like this are so amazing. First, they are an incredible blessing to my soul. Podcasting is lonely work. You stare at a computer all day long while you’re creating and recording and posting . . . and I receive practically no feedback with the exception of the occasional review or email. It is such a balm to my soul to know that what we’re doing here is making a difference for the kingdom of God. But second, isn’t the podcast they described the kind of podcast to which you’d want to listen? Well, guess what, other followers of Christ who are serious about worshipping God with their parenting can feel confident about what they’ll encounter on an episode of Truth.Love.Parent. when people like you leave reviews like that. It’s not so much about numbers, it’s about having an impact on lives. And your rating and review can do just that. 1. Please share this podcast. 2. Please rate and review this podcast. And the last request I have for you is inspired by the final sentence of that last review: “I pray that this ministry can continue on as it is the best resource I have found in my 30 years of parenting.” A couple times over the past year I’ve taken a moment to be transparent with you about the financial security of this ministry. From a human perspective, we’re not making it. We have just enough to cover our monthly bills, but my paycheck is only $500 a month. I’m sure you can imagine that providing for a family of four on that income is impossible. In fact, if you’re interested in how the Lord has kept our family above water despite only making $500 a month, I’ll tell the story at the end of today’s show. But even though God has been providing for my family’s basic needs, I know this is not a sustainable option. Therefore, many times over the past year I have wondered if it were time for me to walk away from this ministry in order to procure some consistent income, but I don’t believe the time is right for that . . . not yet. I’m willing to keep pouring into this ministry. I’m willing to continue working and praying and ministering. But I’m asking you to partner with us. Will you please become a monthly donor? If we had only 100 faithful donors who gave between $50 and $100 a month . . . not only could that provide me and my family a living salary, but it would allow Truth.Love.Family. to expand and reach so many more dads and moms, sons and daughters. I have so many plans for the future of Truth.Love.Family. and our podcast, Truth.Love.Parent., but we’re going to need your help. This is not a health and wealth, prosperity ministry where we promise that you will be blessed if you give. Instead, I can promise you that your giving will be a blessing to others — others like Kevin, Hanalaska, GBLMS, and our thousands of subscribers across over a 100 countries. Like I’ve said before, there are enough of you, but if everyone is assuming that everyone else will chip in . . . nothing will happen. So, forget everyone else for a moment. Will you partner with us? All you have to do is click the link in the description of this episode or visit TruthLoveParent.com/donate. 1. Please share this podcast. 2. Please rate and review this podcast. 3. Please support this podcast. And now let’s take a look at our plans for Season 24. Topic
Every now and then I find myself quoting a much beloved line from the classic movie, Hook. After having a most devious idea, Smee tells Captain Hook, “I’ve just had an apostrophe. Lightning has just struck my brain.”
Well, I too recently had one such apostrophe, and — no doubt — the electrified particles of my brain are still smoldering, but I’m very excited to announce that Season 24 will be unlike any other Season. Starting next week, and Lord Willing, I will be doing a nine part series called A Family Unified in God. As a biblical counselor, I have personally worked with families of every conceivable compilation. Single parents, married parents, biological, foster, adopted, blended, grandparents rearing grandkids, Americans, Australians, Asians, and Europeans, broken, thriving, barely surviving, and they all have the same thing in common. In their darkest moments they are not unified in any way that really matters. They’re fragmented, splintered, divided, and as our Lord and Savior so perfectly taught, such a house cannot stand. My biggest goal in family counseling is always — inevitably — that they would be united. But that my friends is a confusing suggestion. Everyone from churches to political parties to entertainers are calling for unity . . . but unity around what, in what, and for what? What does it mean to have a unified family, and what will it take? Well, my friends, God’s Word has the answers, and I look forward to sharing with you a study that I have been working on for years and years. God first used this Pauline letter to turn my world upside down, and by His grace, He has allowed me to serve numerous families by sharing His truth in His love. And now I’m going to share it with all of you. Now, the sad news is that — unlike our normal 12-13 episode Season — we’re only going to have 10 episodes between now and November 8th. November 8th will be our last episode until Season 25 which means that we’ll be taking a short three week break. It will be the first time in seven years that we will deliberately not post any episode of any kind. But we’re doing so in order that we can set up Season 25 for success. We’re planning a 12 part series called Biblical Parenting Essentials that will collect and systematize the 12 most important biblical parenting lessons to which we all must submit if we’re going to truly worship God with our parenting. My mind is already whirling as to which truths will make the cut and in what order they’ll be presented, but you can be sure it will be carefully curated. Wow, I didn’t pan to do this, but you not only got a Season 24 preview, but you also received a Season 25 preview! I hope you’re excited. Conclusion
Now, let me remind you.
Please subscribe to this show on your favorite podcast directory, and share Truth.Love.Family. and this podcast, Truth.Love.Parent. with everyone who loves the Lord and ministers to children. Also be sure to rate and review us anywhere you can — the more the merrier! And please partner with us. Help this ministry remain faithful to the Lord and families all over the globe. The more of God’s people who give, the more free resources we can create, and the better chances I have of being able to do this full time and provide for my family. Now, if you’re still with me because you’d like to know how to care for a family of four on a monthly income of $500, I’ll give you the short of it now. I’m not. Yes, I receive $500 a month from TLP, but the Lord has seen fit to use two other groups to provide for the Brewster family. The first group is my parents. When we moved from Victory Academy at the end of 2019, my parents allowed my family to invade their three-bedroom home in NC. Knowing that it would take my full-time effort to start this non-profit, my parents graciously allow us to live with them rent and utilities free. They even pay for our phones. Of course, even my full-time efforts didn’t do much as we fought to survive the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. It’s really hard to schedule speaking opportunities when the world believes it’s going to die if people spend time in the same room together. But the other group the Lord has used to keep my family afloat is the Transylvania County Social Services. Since our income is so low, all of our medical care and food is provided for by the state as well as a couple local food pantries. All of this to say, if either of those two groups weren’t pouring into us and — by extension — into you and your family, this wouldn’t be working. And I have to believe that God is glorified by what we’re doing. Now imagine what could happen if we had the resources to multiply our impact? Well, honestly, I’d just be happy being able to afford the monthly loan payments to send my kids to college. But that’s another story. Please share this episode on your favorite social media outlets and join us next time as we once again open God’s Word to discover how to best worship God with our parenting. To that end, we’ll be introducing how you can have a Family United in God.
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