The Intentional Parents Podcast

What do we actually want our girls to know about being a woman? Join us for a conversation between Elizabeth and Diane, where we draw on our experience raising daughters to explore what God needs to form in us first so we can pass it on to them. We look at what Scripture says a woman is and share what we wish we’d done differently. We push back on the lie that there’s one right way to be a woman, and talk about coming alongside our daughters rather than telling them who to be. That begins with two foundations: becoming aware of our own woundedness, and listening to the Spirit, who knows our daughters better than any parenting book or Instagram reel ever could.From there, we begin walking through three things to teach our daughters. The first is her design. From Genesis 1–3, we unpack the idea of the “ezer” and the woman as a giver of life. Even if she never marries, she is an ezer, and even if she never becomes a mother, she is a giver of life. That identity in Christ doesn’t change. The second is to have a voice and use it with wisdom. Her voice matters, she doesn’t have to stay silent, and she can speak with graciousness.The third is a healthy theology of work. We add context to the Proverbs 31 woman, a passage often used to pressure women, and point out that women have always worked, though rarely without a village around them. We want to give our daughters the freedom to pursue hobbies, passions, and careers, and to be honest with them that work and motherhood collide in messy ways. God cares more about our formation than about labels like stay-at-home mom or successful career woman. This conversation was so rich and full that we’re saving the last two points for a part two, coming soon.Scripture Mentioned: Genesis 1–3, Proverbs 18:21, Proverbs 21:9 + Proverbs 31Book Mentioned: Hearing God by Dallas WillardPrevious Podcast Episode Mentioned: Walking With Kids Through Grief, Good News in Sad Stories + Singleness in Church (Interview with Annie F. Downs) (Apple Podcasts, Spotify + YouTube)Diane’s Substack: A Quiet PlaceSowing a Hidden Seed: Marriage Edition is currently available as our thank you gift to Legacy Builders, Intentional’s monthly giving community. Learn more at intentionalparents.org/devotional.Intentional Motherhood Retreat: October 15-17, 2026 in Portland, ORIntentional Fatherhood Retreat: November 12-14, 2026 in Austin, TXSubmit Questions: Send a voice recording to [email protected], mentioning your name and where you’re from.Sowing a Hidden Seed: Parenting EditionJoin Our Legacy BuildersWatch on YouTubeFollow Us on Instagram: @intentional_parents @brookmosser@emosserFREE Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Parenting PDFFREE Text Message Daily DevotionalRaising Passionate Jesus FollowersThe Intentional Film Series

What if there's someone better out there? Why is marriage so hard? In this final episode of our Stay in Your Cell series, we name that forbidden thought for what it is: a lie. We start with our own story, including the struggles in our marriage, because we're still in process ourselves.Paul warns that anyone who marries will face trouble. Every marriage has it, from deep heartache and betrayal to the mundane difficulties of daily life. Marriage is also a mirror that reflects who we really are, and the pressure cooker of marriage and kids only makes that mirror bigger. The lie says life would be easier and happier with someone else. But what if, instead of running, you stayed in the pain long enough to find joy in the life you already have? The Desert Mothers and Fathers taught that if you stay in your cell, it will teach you everything you need to know. Staying means accepting the spouse you actually married, not the idealized version we can endlessly edit in our minds. If you feel broken right now, God is with you, and this is not the end of your story.Here are four practices for staying:Name the marriage you're comparing yours to. Then ask what you believe that marriage would give you that you're longing for.Own your side of the street. Each spouse can ask: What is mine to own? What is mine to do? What is mine to release?Practice turning toward one another. When you want to withdraw, make one move toward your spouse.Renew your yes. Tell each other that you still choose them.When we do our own healing, we bring healing to the next generation too. God gives grace to the humble, and since we can't control our spouse's formation, each of us has to humble ourselves and invite Jesus into the desperate places. Our first yes was said with hope; our later yes is said with knowledge. So maybe the better question is: what if you stay long enough to let God use your spouse to make you the kind of person He wants you to be?Scripture Mentioned: 1 Corinthians 7:28, Genesis 24, Colossians 3:13, John 15:4, James 4:6 + Matthew 5:3Book Mentioned: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene PetersonSowing a Hidden Seed: Marriage Edition is currently available as our thank you gift to Legacy Builders, Intentional’s monthly giving community. Learn more at intentionalparents.org/devotional.Intentional Motherhood Retreat: October 15-17, 2026 in Portland, ORIntentional Fatherhood Retreat: November 12-14, 2026 in Austin, TXSubmit Questions: Send a voice recording to [email protected], mentioning your name and where you’re from.Sowing a Hidden Seed: Parenting EditionJoin Our Legacy BuildersWatch on YouTubeFollow Us on Instagram: @intentional_parents @brookmosser@emosserFREE Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Parenting PDFFREE Text Message Daily DevotionalRaising Passionate Jesus FollowersThe Intentional Film Series

We're kicking off a new series called "Stay in Your Cell," and it starts with a question we've both been sitting with: why can't we stay where we are, in the current life we actually have?Before we get there, we share an update on the last eight weeks: Elizabeth's ongoing chronic back pain, and how it's shaping the honesty we're bringing into this conversation. We're in this with you, frustrations and all.The series title comes from a saying attributed to the Desert Mothers and Fathers: “Stay in your cell, and it will teach you everything.” Your cell is your home, your job, your community, the actual life in front of you, not the one you're imagining somewhere else. We talk about the difference between being called away from a place and simply being unable to remain in one, and why our generation in particular struggles to stay: bigger houses, nicer cars, a different kid, a different spouse, or just the quiet pull of a screen that makes escape easier than it's ever been. We're honest that escaping doesn't require leaving. Sometimes it's just a phone in your hand while your actual life waits in the next room, and even if you did leave, the same root discontentment would follow you.We land on four practices for learning to stay: naming your escape fantasy (finishing the sentence "if ________ changed, things would be better"), practicing receiving your actual life, building a rule of life for the season you're really in, and refusing to make big decisions out of temporary restlessness. Grounded in Philippians 4 and Romans 5, this episode is an honest, hope-anchored conversation on contentment, perseverance, and the ordinary life you've been given to actually live.Scripture Mentioned: Philippians 4:11-13 + Romans 5:3-5Books Mentioned: What Grows in Weary Lands by Tish Harrison Warren + Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison WarrenPrevious Episode Mentioned: 20 Years From Now: What You'll Wish You Focused On As a Parent (w/ Sally Lemos, MS, LPC) (Spotify, Apple Podcasts + YouTube)Sowing a Hidden Seed: Marriage Edition is currently available as our thank you gift to Legacy Builders, Intentional’s monthly giving community. Learn more at intentionalparents.org/devotional.Intentional Motherhood Retreat: October 15-17, 2026 in Portland, ORIntentional Fatherhood Retreat: November 12-14, 2026 in Austin, TXSubmit Questions: Send a voice recording to [email protected], mentioning your name and where you’re from.Sowing a Hidden Seed: Parenting EditionJoin Our Legacy BuildersWatch on YouTubeFollow Us on Instagram: @intentional_parents @brookmosser@emosserFREE Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Parenting PDFFREE Text Message Daily DevotionalRaising Passionate Jesus FollowersThe Intentional Film Series