Is technology a tool or a toy, good or bad? What role does the arts play in technology? Can technology play a part in restoring homes?  Ryan Collins, president of Bethel Tech, joins Jennifer in Episode 62 to answer these questions and so much more. There is a place for connection over video games, and the arts are the bedrock to a career in technology, just as they are for other aspects of a child's development into a well rounded human. Ryan also brings to the podcast a passion for righteous...

One of the values of restoration is creativity. Architecture is creativity, making a budget go farther than you thought is creativity, cooking a beautiful meal, scheduling your day so you have time for what is important to you, and so much more require creative actions. At the root of creativity is "create", which means "to make or bring into existence something new". Creativity is producing something which is not obvious or already there.  While creativity can range from perfecting...

I was recently in San Francisco, and I drove from the airport to Poplar Beach in Half Moon Bay. The change as I moved closer to the ocean, the expanses of green, the hills, the empty space, I could feel myself starting to breathe again. You might not be fortunate enough to live in an area where you can walk barefoot on the beach in December, but no matter what climate you live in, Episode 59 is full of beautiful ways to enjoy and observe the quiet and rest found in nature across the Holiday...

Welcome to Episode 58! Jennifer Pepito talks with Audrey Roloff about nurturing marriage and living with vision. They chat about the power of marriage mentors, a written vision, and letters to encourage your spouse. We loved learning about nurturing a marriage in this episode.    Episode sponsored by the Peaceful Press! Check out the Christmas Guide Vol 1 or Vol 2. Use the Unearthing Wonder Advent Guide to set aside time to encounter God this holiday season. Check out our newest holiday...

Welcome to Episode 57! Jennifer Pepito and Emelie Pepito answer questions from our Peaceful Press and Restoration Home Community.  They covers ideas for beginner homemakers, applying the Charlotte Mason Education to a stress free holiday season, and much more. We loved your questions and the conversation they inspired in this episode.    Episode sponsored by the Peaceful Press! Check out the Christmas Guide Vol 1 or Vol 2. Use the Unearthing Wonder Advent Guide to set aside time to encounter...

As deep cold and long nights approach, the painted turtle burrows deep, stills its breathing, and disappears into quietude for 6 months. It was the story of the Painted Turtle's waiting period that first inspired Gayle Boss to create the All Creation Waits book that inspired the Peaceful Press's Unearthing Wonder Advent Guide.  Now we welcome Gayle Boss onto Restoration Home for a conversation about the inspiration and birth of "All Creation Waits". Gayle talks about waiting, about seasonal...

In this episode, Jennifer Pepito and Emelie Pepito have a mother-daughter conversation about parenting. As a family, Scott and Jennifer practiced and researched many parenting approaches across 30 years and 7 children. While the parenting methods may have changed, their love for their children, and their intentionality were steadfast.  Episode 55 is a deep, personal, and tender look at what parenting is and isn't and how to seek restoration rather than perfection for ourselves and our...

Cameras clicking, children laughing, turkey roasting, presents yet to be wrapped, quietude of "silent night, holy night". The holidays are a magical moment of our year, where we set aside time and energy to celebrate, remember, enjoy, and connect with family and friends. Yet in all that beauty, it's often a time when stress, past hurt, present pain, the desire to create something magical for our spouse, children, loved ones, and dirty laundry can become a monumental practice exacerbating lies...

Abbie Halberstadt is the author of M is for Mama and Hard is Not the Same as Bad joins Jennifer Pepito for a timely conversation about "hard": hard family relations, hard pasts, hard parenting days, and doing "hard" in a culture that wants easy.   Often we are looking for ways to minimise or fix our life, so that it's simple, organised, smooth, life giving, wholesome, or brings us joy. But there are many hard things we cannot change, like the people we work with, stressful holiday...

Autumn colours are coming into their full beauty, and we're getting close to the Holiday Season! So, join Jennifer Pepito for a beautiful work along on how to plan and enjoy the Holiday Season in a way that brings restoration, peace, and pure joy. In Ep. 52, Jennifer leads you through her Holiday Planner to create a simple, and enjoyable game plan to take the stress out of the holidays. Finally, in the second part of the episode, Jennifer takes us deep into her own story of seeing God...

Living with purpose isn't easy, but when we make a decision to live a vision and go after it whole heartedly, we create a legacy.  Join Jennifer and Mary Heffernan author of The Hands On Ranch Book as they talk about Mary and Brian's vision and dedication to building Five Mary’s Farm with their four daughters.  The podcast covers the ins and outs of an extreme big vision, like selling out of your Silicon Valley lifestyle and heading for a ranch. But Mary combines her experience, and the gift...

Meltdowns around the Christmas tree or heart melting home scenes? Christmas carolling, and a long winter evening with your family, or shuttling, and bustling from place to place?  Why do we celebrate, what do we celebrate, how do we celebrate?  When God gave the Israelites feasts, He gave them whys and hows. As a family, Jennifer and Scott Pepito spent time as their family grew and changed to create intentional sacred holidays that fueled family connection, time with God, and life giving...

Failure can breed in us a deep despondency, disappointment, and become a breeding ground for lies about our identity, the goodness of God, our authority, and the possibility for us to try again to achieve a seemingly impossible dream.  But God. Be brave, be bold, and be humble.  Rachel G. Scott, author and podcaster, joins Jennifer Pepito for a beautiful conversation about dissapointment, heartache, and the beauty of falling into the hands of a good God and Father when we have come to the...

What makes great literature? Is Harry Potter great literature? What about Farenheit 451? Why are we at Restoration Home and The Peaceful Press so passionate about living stories, and how with all of these stories do we know what output to look for that assures us our child is learning??  Have you ever asked any of these questions? In Episode 48, join Jennifer and Emelie, as they have a really fantastic conversation that engages all of these questions and much more. While this conversation is...

Celebrations and traditions are ways we connect and remember the goodness of God in our lives. For all of time, cultures have built feasts and parties around significant events. As Christians, many of us find profound enjoyment and beauty in celebrations like Easter and Christmas as we remember Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. And then we have cultural holidays, like Thanksgiving in America or Guy Fawkes in the UK. Most of us have family traditions we celebrate, and the memories and...

With school starting, we start to see more and more queries at the Peaceful Press about how much is enough. Enthusiastic moms and concerned moms want to be sure they are doing the utmost for their child's future well-being and education.  In Episode 46 we have Durenda Wilson of the Durenda Wilson Podcast join Jennifer Pepito to talk about manage home schooling. What is too much, what is enough, what are the objectives we're looking for? Maybe providing an education is simpler than we think,...

Welcome to Episode 45! Crystal Paine of the Money Saving Mom joins Jennifer Pepito to talk about creating a peaceful home. Drawing from her most recent book, Crystal walks us through her personal four P's: prayer, priorities, planning and prepping.  It's a beautiful episode that continues our theme of self, home, and life management as we continue to transition into a new season, school starting, life changes, and all that the rest of 2023 holds.  Episode sponsored by the Peaceful Press! The...

Welcome to Episode 44, a new series on Managing the many aspects of becoming a restoration family. Jennifer and Emelie talk about the importance of managing our emotions and not burdening our children with big emotions. Many of you felt like you had to parent your parents, but you can stop the cycle.  It’s okay to process out loud, but always leave your children with a hopeful statement like, “mommy is feeling overwhelmed right not, but I know God will carry us through”. Then, take those big...

Welcome to Episode 43. Jennifer Pepito and good friend Rachel Kovac have an engaging and light conversation about the joy and ease of experimenting and creating family rhythm. Rachel brings a beautiful perspective on the opportunities provided by homeschooling and the fun of figuring out a family rhythm.  We can experiment, mix it up, find what brings us joy, vary it by seasons, and still have an adherence to a family rule for the sake of restoration, connection, and wholeness. In all of...

In our family, Emelie's journey with anorexia was the first indicator that having a Family Rule did not create a 1+1=2 journey. In some seasons, your family rules, and the boundaries and stability we put into place to foster godly, joy filled children will look like it's failing. But is the family rule failing, or is God too good to allow "goodness" to replace "holiness".  Goodness is simply good behaviour, holiness is when we've allowed ourselves to be sanctified from the inside out, nothing...

Have you ever wondered what makes a great family? We have too. It's easy to wonder who has the secret, or what formula produces a happy, holy family. But maybe it isn't like that, maybe parenting is many paths to creating connected families. Maybe it's simple.  Join Jennifer and Ginny Yurich of the podcast and movement 1000 Hours Outside for an incredible discussion about creating family rule around who you are as individuals and the unique dreams and identity that God has placed in you....

Do you ever have golden dreams for how your homeschool day will go, but feel like you're constantly ending it weary and disappointed in another day that was overwhelming, chaotic, too full, or simply lacked any sort of order? If you can resonate with any of that, then episode 40 is perfect for you. Jennifer takes you through planning a daily rhythm and highlights resources, systems, ideas, and strategies for making sure that we feel less steamrolled at the end of the day. Yet, sometimes no...

Building a rule of life is about the practical culmination of the last 10 months into a vision board for how to take what you're learning, and make it your own. A huge part of the ongoing struggle we face in doing so is comparison and becoming sidetracked by other people's "spaces". Or maybe you're building a family vision and you're not being sidetracked by other people, but you are making a plan that is contained and measured by your limitations, fears, and vows. In doing so, are you...

For the last 9 months of the Restoration Home Podcast, we have explored the disciplines of hospitality, order, prayer, stability and much more. We have loved having these conversations and understanding the way embracing them through enjoyment of God rather than religion can encourage restoration in our lives, our families and into our community. But with all this information, where do we go next?  Join Jennifer and Emelie for the beginning of a four part series on the "how to" of creating a...

Whether your child is 3, 5, 9, 13 or 17, you are probably already confronted with, "But Sally gets to stay up late, eat this, do that, go here, fill in the blank." And I'm sure your response has ranged across permissive, mature, and full on authoritarian as you wage the war of parenthood against the world to raise children whose young and growing minds are protected, nurtured, strengthened and prepared to thrive in every aspect of their lives. But in this fight to raise Godly children, are...