M Is for Mama Podcast

Today’s show is all about Baby Halberstadt #11!

I’m answering your FAQs (how I feel, when I’m due, how big our age gap will be, etc.) and chatting about what it’s like to be pregnant at 44.

I’m also discussing a couple of things I’m doing differently this time around. I hope you find these helpful! 

It’s certainly a different experience being pregnant in my forties in many ways than our other pregnancies (I care way less about people’s opinions, for o...

If the concept of giving your child a firm theological foundation in God’s Word feels overwhelming, today’s episode is for you! 

Trevin Wax, author of The Gospel Way Catechism for Kids, helps break down the essentials of topics to discuss with your children, ages 8-12, and how to approach them biblically.

We also address how to catechize our elementary-middle school children in a way that makes the gospel come alive. 

Be encouraged you have great influence, and there are lots of great resour...

Our current culture gives us every reason to make excuses for our lack of capacity: circumstances, trauma, personality, etc. 

But what if we truly believed that God’s Word and power truly have everything we need for life and godliness and that we truly can do so much more than we feel capable of—not because we are great but because Christ is. 

In this episode, I talk about the link between choosing contentment and growing capacity, backed by Paul’s famous, “I can do all things through Christ who streng...

Bestselling children’s author + illustrator, Tabitha Paige joins me on this episode to talk about her precious new book, I’ve Loved You From the Start. 

She shares the deeply personal story behind its creation (inspired by her special needs son, Ducky) and gives so much encouragement in motherhood, Christian perseverance, and joy through struggle. 

I loved this conversation, and I know you will too! 

Guest Info:

Tabitha Paige is a bestselling children’s author, illustrator, artist, speech-language pathologist, and mothe...

If you know one thing about me, it’s that I think you should read your Bible. A lot. And then read it some more. 

And this episode’s guest agrees with me!

Raechel Myers, co-founder of She Reads Truth, joins me to talk about how busy Christian women can incorporate Bible reading into their everyday lives, the impact our faithfulness to God’s Word can have on the rest of our family, and the importance of doing whatever it takes to minimize distractions that lead us away from Bible r...

If you have questions about sleep training, this is the show for you! 

Not only is Jessie Martin a pediatric sleep specialist who has helped numerous clients find the best plan for optimizing sleep in their individual homes, but she’s also a Bible-believing Christian who desires to honor God with her work. 

Sleep training has become a hotly debated topic, especially on social media. It’s common to find opposing groups of thoughts passionately debating (aka: screaming at each other about) their views. 

But the...

We’re back with another round of Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, podcast style after a long break! 

This episode, I’m tackling your questions about teen dating guidelines, how to move forward after a friendship breakup, how to foster great sibling relationships, and more! 

It’s always fun to do a catchup episode with you, dear listeners. Enjoy! 

Sponsor Info:

Voetberg Music Academy

Voetberg Music Academy provides online, at-home, shareable lessons so that your kids can...

Today’s show welcomes Dr. Ben Carson who shares with us about how the Lord grabbed ahold of his life in his teens and had guided him ever since—through an illustrious medical career, influential positions in government, and writing bestselling books. 

Through it all, he emphasizes personal responsibility and returning to the roots of our nation’s Christian faith. 

Be encouraged that you have so much agency to direct your children toward Truth and hard work. Dr. Carson credits his mother with greatly influencing his growth and success and with...

If you’ve ever struggled with how to convey deep theological concepts in a simple way to your toddlers, this episode is for you! 

In it, we talk about the common obstacles that keep parents of young children from engaging with and catechizing them. So often, it’s less about a lack of desire and more about feeling intimidated and not knowing where to start.

Lauren Groves has written a series called Toddler Theology to address this pain point for parents. I can personally attest to how much my littl...

My twin girls, Evy and Nola, are some of the most delightful humans I know, and they join me on the show to chat all things Double Delights (the baking book they wrote with me).

We talk about how much we learned in the process of writing this book, how it came to be in the first place, and which recipes we love the most.

I know you’ll love hearing from Evy and Nola as much as I loved having them on the show!

...

We’re back with season 4 of the M is for Mama podcast, and we’re kicking it off with one of my favorite people, Jennifer Flanders. 

In this episode, we chat about all things “village” in motherhood.

It’s no secret that moms need help, but the ultimate question is from where? And what do we do when we’re in seasons of little or no help from our community?

We tackle these questions (and lots more) with personal experience and, so much more importantly...

In our Part 1 of this series, we answered common questions about Catholicism from the Catholic perspective with help from a Catholic priest. In Part 2, we’re sharing answers from a Protestant viewpoint.The number one question I get asked from Catholics is, “We seem so aligned on a lot of topics, so why aren’t you Catholic?”We answer this question and so many more in this episode—particularly focusing on the biblical passages on which we are basing our beliefs and convictions. (You’ll find all those references below!)We also highlight the key theological differences that mean our answers...

You asked, we’re answering! After months of receiving questions about Catholicism, I decided it was time to dive in. 

I’ve invited Wit (my pastor) to join me as we address FAQs about Catholicism from Protestants (Part 1) and answer questions about Protestants from Catholics (Part 2). 

For Part 1, Wit interviewed a local Catholic priest, Father Gavin, to ensure that our answers accurately reflect the Catholic perspective. Any answers he gives in this episode either come directly from Father Gavin’s responses or from other sources accepted by the Catholic Church. ...

We know we’re supposed to read the Bible with our kids. But sometimes, we overlook the why of its importance. In this episode, Melissa and Michael Kruger approach the topic of family devotionals in a way that makes it seem doable—because it is! It’s not about perfection but instead intention. And with their new book. The Good News Family Devotional, they’ve created a resource that walks parents through the process of teaching God’s Word (in this case, the gospel of Mark) to our children. Our best advice? Just start somewhere, and then stay the course, tr...

If you’ve ever wondered how you’ll survive your boys’ energy and verve for life, if you’ve been concerned the walls might not be standing by the time they leave the house, and if you’ve racked your brain for productive ways to channel their zeal for life, this episode is for you.

Rebekah Lovell is a boy mom of two, and she joins me (mom of seven males) to talk about the wild, wonderful world of boyhood and why it’s so important to steward our boys’ masculine traits for the glory of God.<...

Are we willing our young adults for success as they go out into the world, and are we even defining success correctly?

These questions are just two of the many I tackle with my guest, Jonathan Brush from Unbound Ministries.

With multiple decades of working with youth and young adults under his belt, Jonathan approaches helping them thrive in a world full of pitfalls and opportunities for failure in a refreshing, practical, and approachable way. 

Be encouraged, parents, that, in Christ, you have what i...

In our last Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday episode of this podcast season, I share several tidbits of exciting news from our family (hint: Europe 2.0, baby!), answer your burning questions about toddlers, and so much more!

I’m so glad you enjoy these long-form answer-style episodes as much as I enjoy making them!

If you have a WWKW question for me, you can always submit it for consideration to [email protected]

Sponsor Info:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Voetberg Music Academy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Voetberg Music Academy provides online, at home, share...

Postpartum is such a special time in every mom’s life, but it can also has its fair share of challenges: hormonal shifts, sleepless nights, and physical recovery, to name a few. 

Our guest Anne Marie Williams is here to encourage moms to be proactive with their postpartum, actively pursuing ways to get help, think ahead, and manage their expectations. 

We chat about everything from meal prep to different postpartum syndromes to getting back into exercise—all with the goal of bringing more joy and peace to the postpartum mom’s...

If you’ve ever wondered whether your child’s desire to have a lemonade stand is an indication of future financial stewardship or a glimmer of true entrepreneurial spirit, you’ll love this episode! 

Bryant Greening has taken his own childhood (then adult) propensities for building businesses and translated them into a resource for kids called The Piggybank Playbook. 

Part vision casting, part practical record-keeping practice, the Piggybank Playbook helps parents take their child’s interests and transform them into something actionable and even charitable. 

If you’ve...

What if we truly believe our contentment were not linked to our circumstances—that we really do have the ability to give thanks in all circumstances, as we’re exhorted to do by Scripture?

What would it change?

For the Christian woman mired in bitterness and comparison, the answer just might be “everything.”

In this conversation with Tilly Dillehay, we explore the influences in modern culture that drive Christian women to consider themselves short-changed by their husbands, their children, and, ultimately, God. 

Every week, on Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, I get asked for tips for picky eaters, how to get kids in the kitchen (without losing your mind), and teaching kids about healthy eating choices. 

In this episode, we tackle all of these topics and more with Katie Kimble from Raising Healthy Families. 

She provides lots of practical suggestions for overwhelmed moms, gives great insight on how to equip kids to take agency for their contributions at home (and in the kitchen, specifically), and helps demystify the struggle to feed kids he...

If you had asked me if I had finding acreage and building another house on my bingo card for 2026, my answer would have been a resounding NO! 

And yet, here we are! 

In this episode, I’m tackling a bunch of your FAQs about how this came to be, the plan for our current house, and what we’re hoping to keep the same/change in the new build. 

We’re excited (and a little nervous) to embark on this adventure and hope you’ll enjoy co...

Homeschool moms, you’re in for a treat as I chat today with Mandy Davis, a former public school administrator turned homeschool educator. 

In this episode, we talk about her unlikely journey to homeschooling as well as what made her keep going once she arrived.

Woven throughout are so many tidbits and practical tips for new and seasoned homeschool moms.

Not only that, but Mandy’s created a resource for all homeschooling families capped The Homeschool Bible—with the goal of comprehensively answering the most co...

On today’s show, Abbie and Abbey talk all things grace, mom guilt, and perseverance in motherhood.

In a world that can swing from extremes such as try-hard motherhood perfectionism to the “hot mess express” mom, finding our center on the truth of the completed work of Christ for us as moms can feel almost impossible.

I’m thankful for grounded voices like Abbey’s who help moms to discern Scripture rightly and remind them of their worth in Christ as well as the high calling they have received to raise u...

If you’re a Christian and a mother (or soon to become one), this episode is for you!

Dannette McGrew, certified birth doula, is on the podcast today to talk about Christians and birth. We discuss everything from hypnobirthing to the best place to give birth (spoiler: it’s wherever the Lord leads you).

Everything that Dannette shares is rooted in a desire to compare birthing practices to the Word of God and approach birth in a way that honors the Giver of life. 

Regar...

If you’ve ever found yourself mumbling about what you’re doing in the pantry or asking yourself why you walked into the garage and flipped on the lights, then you’re probably well-versed in the art of talking to yourself. 

The science behind it is obvious: As we vocalize our thoughts out loud, we help our brains process better. 

So, what if we applied this truth to our spiritual lives and began “talking back” to the lies our brains try to sell us sometimes? This exact practice of preaching tr...

Today’s episode is extra-special since I have my 15-year-old daughter Della joining me to chat and answer your questions. 

We talk about what it’s like to be the oldest girl in a large family, how to navigate sibling conflict, what she’s looking forward to in her future and so much more!

I hope you enjoy hearing from Della’s much as I enjoyed chatting with her! She’s truly a gem of a human being. 

Sponsor Info:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

In a world that tells every parent of young children, “Just you wait until they’re teens. Then you’ll really know how bad parenting can be,” RuthAnn Zimmerman and I are here to call hog wash. 

Yes, teens are a unique challenge and need to be treated with kindness and discernment. Yes, teen struggles can  feel much bigger and scarier than toddler meltdowns. 

But teenagers also can be delightful, funny, and thoughtful. 

In this show, we debunk the myth that the teen stage has to be mi...

One of my biggest FAQs involves questions about chores, kids’ responsibilities, and teaching children self-discipline. 

On this episode, I invite my friend RuthAnn Zimmerman to share her wisdom about intentionally facilitating responsibility and stewardship in children through hard work, discipline, and appropriate expectations. 

She talks about how they chose to take on animals and tasks for the sake of giving their children meaningful work, how we as moms should be “working ourselves out of a job”—at least for a time— and why our idolization of childhood can actually hold our chi...

Today’s episode has a rare treat—an appearance from my husband, Shaun.

We tackle some of your burning questions, most notably how to stay connected in seasons of stress, busyness, small children, or all of the above. 

We hope you’ll glean some helpful tidbits from this marriage chat and that you’ll be encouraged to invest faithfully in your own marriage each and every day.

Sponsor Info:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tighten Your Tinkler⁠⁠⁠

Tighten Your Tinkler was created so women could...

Sometimes, you meet someone with whom you instantly click, and it feels like you’ve known each other for decades. 

That’s how it felt when I found my friend Kat online. We started chatting via DMs, and a couple of years later, we got the chance to hang out face-to-face when she came to stay at our house for my book launch party for You Bet Your Stretch Marks. 

Our conversations during our time together ranged from the ridiculous to the deeply theological (and everything in between). 

What if we truly believed God’s power gave us everything we need for life and godliness? That His power really is made perfect in our weakness? That His grace is actually sufficient for every circumstance we encounter?

In this episode, we dive into the kind of thought patterns that keep us stuck in resentment + bitterness, instead of contentment (“must be nice” and “if I had what she had, I’d be able to…” are big ones!). And we talk about practical ways to reshape our thoughts to align with Truth from God’s Word. 

Y’all asked, and I’m delivering! So many of you wanted a dedicated episode on why “be a blessing” is our family motto and how we practically apply it in our home and community at large. 

As always, we go back to Scripture as our guide for any phrases or intentions we choose to focus on, and there are plenty of examples of what it means to look outside ourselves for the purpose of blessing others all throughout God’s Word. 

I pray this episode helps you to think throug...

Welcome to Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday podcast-style in 2026!

In this episode, we’re tackling everything from chores as discipline to whether you can homeschool without a co-op to how to move forward with peace when you’ve gone through multiple miscarriages. 

As always, my goal is to give you practical helps based on biblical principles, rather than teach you to do anything “Abbie-style.” 

May this episode encourage you to seek the Lord’s wisdom in every area!

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One of my favorite things when I have guests on is when they combine biblical principles with actionable steps for more peace, joy, and order in our homes. 

Arlene Pelicane does this so well in today’s episode in which we discuss the biblical principles that undergird family interactions in areas that span everything from technology to marriage.

I know you’ll be encouraged to stay the course (or maybe recalibrate your approach) as you hear Arlene’s articulate, passionate, and encouraging arguments for approaching everything in our homes with Go...

Have you ever wondered why you can’t seem to get as much done as you used to? Or, conversely, why something that used to feel overwhelming now seems like not as big a deal? 

The answer, in a word, might be capacity.

Human beings are seasonal creatures, and there will be times in our life when we are simply capable of more (or less), thanks to a variety of factors. 

Join me as we chat about how to approach capacity in a God-honoring way...

All right, friends! We’re answering all things Christmas in this episode. A few years back, I did a Christmas series you guys loved, but it felt like a good time to do a follow up.

We talk gifts, keeping Jesus the focus, what to do about Santa Claus, and favorite traditions—all in one jam-packed Christmassy show!

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Me First! Gameshow Buzzers

Awana Advent Devotional

Episode 45: Let's Talk Christmas Part 1

If you’ve ever struggled to find the line between teaching your children life skills while also not putting them in dangerous situations, then this episode is for you. 

In it, we explore what the true purpose of promoting autonomy in our kids is from a biblical perspective and how we can do that while fulfilling our God-given parental roles of protecting and discipling.

Practicing discernment in parenting is hard in lots of areas—but especially ones in which there is so much noise about the psychological ramifications of we do...

During the Christmas season, joy can feel like something we *should* have, even while we struggle to stay afloat with everyday life plus the responsibilities of making magical memories for our children. 

But what if joy were so much more than a feeling—were instead an assurance of something weighty and eternal that can never be taken away? 

I wrote The Joyfulness Challenge to explore these exact themes, and we’re chatting about both the particulars of the challenge and practical, daily ways we can choose joy, even when our ci...

Join in as I answer your burning questions about everything from my favorite Thanksgiving foods to how to handle snarky comments about your family size to how I deal with exhausted days to what I think of all of the speculation swirling around Charlie Kirk’s death. 

As always, it’s a mix of fun, lighthearted topics, and deeper cultural issues. And as always, my goal is to answer in a way that aligns with God’s Word and brings glory to Him.

Mentions:

Amare H...