TOPIC & GUEST This week we are discussing “How Suffering Builds Worth” with Jamie Winship PAIN POINT Understanding our worth as single parents is essential because it shapes how we navigate every aspect of life, from the way we see ourselves to the relationships we build. When we don’t recognize our worth, it can lead to self-doubt, unhealthy boundaries, and feelings of isolation. But knowing our worth helps us set the right tone in our homes, make confident decisions, and build...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing Practical Tips on Rebuilding Self-Worth. PAIN POINT So often, single parents are starting from a deficit when it comes to self-worth. It could be due to an unhealthy relationship or simply our experiences as a single parent. Whatever the reason, our self-worth often declines drastically when we become a single parent. When we’re starting from a deficit, where do we even start the journey to self-worth? How can we rebuild our self-worth in actionable, practical...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing Balancing Your Needs and the Needs of Your Kids. PAIN POINT Our kids are demanding and need so much … because they’re kids. And we have the habit of putting our kids’ needs above everything else, including our own needs—especially as single parents when all the responsibility lies on us. How do we live in a way that balances our needs and the needs of our kids? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) How solo parents get burned out 2) Types and...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing How To Deal With Drama as a Single Parent. PAIN POINT Turns out drama doesn’t hit its peak in high school; it continues on throughout our life for as long as we are in relationship with others. Whether we want to or not, solo parents often lead a dramatic life due to being on our own amidst the many life transitions, responsibilities, and relationship dynamics present in our everyday lives. How can we minimize any potential drama that comes up and respond to...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing Coming Back From Burnout. PAIN POINT Single parent burnout is real and it can hurt all aspects of your home, work, and social life—as well as emotionally, physically, and mentally. Most of all, it affects how we, as single parents, parent our kids. What causes burnout—and is there a way out of it? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1. How solo parents get burned out 2. Types and stages of burnout 3. Managing and overcoming burnout LINK TO...

TOPIC & GUEST This week we’re discussing “Becoming Mama-Dad” with Marissa Lee. PAIN POINT There are many single parents who don’t have a co-parent involved in the lives of their kids. That means one parent needs to take on two very important roles. Today we’re talking about balancing the enormous roles of mom and dad as a single parent, and we’re so excited to discuss the book “Becoming Mama-Dad: How God Fathers Through Single Mothers” written by our very own Solo Parent contributor,...

TOPIC & GUEST This week we’re discussing FINDING HEALING AFTER BETRAYAL with JILL SAVAGE. PAIN POINT There is no easy fix for betrayal. When someone we trust betrays us, our entire world is upended. Betrayal is an earthquake that catastrophically upheaves the foundation of our entire life and leaves us broken and trembling in the aftershock. Suddenly, everything we knew to be true is no longer true, leaving us to question everyone and everything. How do you come back from something...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing They Won’t Forgive Me…Now What? PAIN POINT If forgiveness was an easy thing to do, our lives would be much less complicated. But, forgiveness is hard. It takes work. It’s so much more than a casual “I’m sorry.” When we do take steps toward being forgiven, how do we live in the tension of doing the work and still showing up … even when someone won’t forgive us? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) Analyzing the apology 2)...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing Benefits of The Relationship Between Justice and Forgiveness PAIN POINT We know we’re supposed to love one another. But, does that mean we just ignore how others hurt us and we continue experiencing pain? Many of us may think if we forgive, then we are not supposed to seek justice—in other words, forgive and forget. But what does it look like to forgive and seek justice simultaneously? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) Forgiveness and a...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing How to Become a Forgiving Person PAIN POINT We aren’t born with a natural propensity toward forgiveness; it’s a trait that we have to develop because it runs counter to our instincts. As single parents, we often have significant trauma, pain, and obstacles that make forgiveness especially hard—it seems there are often more reasons to not forgive than to actually forgive. How can we become a more forgiving person? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three...

This week we’re discussing Benefits of Self Forgiveness (SoloCon Live 2024). PAIN POINT We’ve all made mistakes. Every single one of us. Yet when it comes to forgiveness, it feels much easier to forgive others than to forgive ourselves, which leaves us feeling stuck and unable to move forward into healing. How can we take steps to self-forgiveness? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) Challenges of Self-Forgiveness 2) The Four R’s of Self-Forgiveness 3) What...

TOPIC & GUEST This week we’re discussing Moving Forward With Courage with Annie F. Downs. PAIN POINT When we become single parents we experience loss of a relationship, spouse, or our envisioned future, and with that often comes the loss of courage. We get stuck and don’t know how to keep going, much less face the challenges ahead. How do we find the courage to move forward toward living our fullest life? GUEST BIO Annie F. Downs is a bestselling author, sought-after speaker, and...

TOPIC & GUEST This week we’re discussing Living Fearless with author Jamie Winship PAIN POINT It’s always inspiring to hear someone confidently say, “This is what I am called to do” or “This is who I am.” Yet, many of us aren’t sure what our true identity is. Instead, without even realizing it, we function in a false identity created by fear, shame, trauma, or negative perception. How do we come fully into our true selves to courageously live on purpose? GUEST BIO Jamie Winship...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing Courage To Doubt. We often think of doubt as something negative—as a weakness or a lack of certainty. And if we’re doubting our beliefs and they’re wrapped in our identity, it can be especially scary. Yet, doubt can actually be a positive thing. How can we encourage our kids to have a healthy relationship with doubt? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) Viewing doubt as either “good” or “bad” (*only spending a short amount of time on this point,...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing Courage to Have Difficult Conversations with Our Kids PAIN POINT There are certain conversations dealing with challenging, confusing, traumatizing, or sensitive topics that some of us would rather avoid talking about with our kids, for a variety of reasons. But the reality is that we cannot always shelter our kids from the difficulties of our world today—and the ability to talk about tough stuff is a skill that we, as parents, need to have. How can we find...

TOPIC & GUEST This week we’re discussing Creating Safe and Secure Connections with Relationship Expert Julie Menanno PAIN POINT We are all born with a need to connect and form bonds. We want secure relationships that are full of deep trust, safety, comfort, and confidence. But often, our relationships are not what we imagined they would be. Enter: Attachment theory. It refers to the emotional bond between people—and how we give and receive love, beginning at infancy. Our attachment style...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing How Codependency Ruins Relationships. PAIN POINT The things we do as codependents is all about trying to protect a relationship and develop deeper connections—but in actuality, codependency keeps us outside of a true relationship. How does codependency ruin relationships and how can we break free from these unhealthy patterns? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) The five core symptoms of codependency 2) The backward logic of codependency 3)...

TOPIC & GUEST This week we’re discussing Building Healthy Relationships with Our Kids (Featuring Solo Kids Colton & Zara) PAIN POINT As single parents, we all want healthy relationships with our kids. And, as any parent knows, it’s not as easy as it sounds and there’s certainly not a cut-and-dry way of doing this. But are there some good practices to put into place to cultivate openness, mutual respect, trust, and connection? GUEST BIO Colton Lee is the oldest son of regular...

TOPIC & GUEST This week we’re discussing Using Loneliness to Your Advantage with Dr. Chip Dodd PAIN POINT If there is one word to describe single parenting, it’s “loneliness.” We are reminded throughout the day—in big and small ways—that we don’t have a partner for companionship. Loneliness hits when we miss our kids if we’re co-parenting. And we’re always keenly aware there’s no one to share the responsibilities, experiences, decision-making, and mental load with; no one to laugh (or...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing Building Authentic Relationships When You Don’t Have Time PAIN POINT We crave deep and authentic relationships with other people but developing them takes time and emotional availability. How do we build authentic relationships when we’re running scarce on time or energy? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) Who are we giving our time to? 2) Quality vs. quantity 3) Making friendship the new romance LINK TO SHOWNOTES For all the detailed show...

ROUNDTABLE FORMAT TOPIC Today we are discussing Finding Peace in Singleness PAIN POINT As a single parent, the topic of singleness brings up all sorts of hopes, fears, and emotions. Can we make peace with being single while still wanting or being open to romantic love? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: The importance of self-reflection and being single Making peace with not getting what you want Not settling for “less than” LINK TO SHOWNOTES For all the detailed show notes,...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing “Making Peace with Letting Someone Down” PAIN POINT It’s easy to think making peace is “avoiding conflict” or “not standing up for yourself” because things do appear peaceful, but a lot of times, getting to a place of peace requires conflict or boundaries—and it’s really hard to do. How do we make peace with letting someone down? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) The difficulty of letting someone down 2) What it looks like when you care too...

TOPIC This week we’re discussing “Is It Peace or Denial” PAIN POINT We thought we had forgiven the person who hurt us, but our feelings don’t reflect it. We were expecting to stop feeling angry and hurt after we forgave. We’re expecting peace and relief. But the pain remains. Does this mean we didn’t truly forgive them? How do we know if we’ve really forgiven? 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points: 1) Defining denial and its attributes 2) What peace feels like 3) Moving from...

This week we’re discussing How to Begin Healthy Tech Practices in Your Family with Andy Crouch In the past 20 years, technology has advanced at an outstanding, often overwhelming rate. It’s ubiquitous; we use it at work, classrooms, homes, and churches. We use it to communicate, be entertained, interact with others, perform household tasks, navigate, wake us up, and countless other uses. It’s at our beck and call 24/7. For all its positive and life-changing attributes, it also has incredibly...