In today’s rapidly changing culture, many parents feel caught between two extremes: withdrawing from the world or being swept away by it. How can we raise kids who stay grounded in truth while engaging culture with wisdom, courage, and hope?
In this episode of Upside-Down Parenting, we’re joined by Sarah Stonestreet to explore how families can cultivate resilient, faith-filled kids in a post-Christian world. Together, we discuss what true biblical strength looks like, why meekness is actually power under control, and how simple daily rhythms of prayer and Scripture can shape lasting faith.
You’ll be encouraged and equipped with practical insights on:
• Raising hopeful kids without fear
• Teaching biblical character in a competitive culture
• Building spiritual resilience through everyday habits
• Staying engaged with culture while rooted in truth
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing enough as a parent — or felt overwhelmed by the world your kids are growing up in — this conversation will remind you that faithful parenting is about consistent formation, not perfection.
👍 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share with another parent who needs encouragement today.
Episode 32: Summary & Transcription
Disclaimer: Please note that this is an automatically generated transcript. Although the transcription is largely accurate, it may be incomplete or inaccurate in some cases due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.
Episode Summary
In this episode, Matt and Janel interview Sarah Stonestreet about general parenting topics from a Christian perspective. Sarah shares her background and family life, emphasizing that her own parenting journey was most influenced by observing and learning from older, wiser parents in her community. Key topics discussed include the challenge of raising children to be in the world but not of the world, which she reframes as a call to be “kingdom builders” in the time and place God has appointed. She contrasts the world’s definition of strength with a biblical view of meekness and faithfulness in small things. The conversation also covers the importance of the church community in shaping families against culture’s rival rhythms, the impact of technology on relationships, and how parents who feel behind can start by modeling a growing faith and having curious conversations with their children.
Episode Transcript
Janel Greig (00:00):
Welcome to the Upside Down Parenting Podcast. Parenting can feel challenging and upside down, but you don’t have to do it alone. Here on the Upside Down Parenting podcast, we love to bring you practical tips, biblical wisdom and encouragement to help you guide your kids with a confident faith. Today we are thrilled to have Sarah Stonestreet with us to talk about some general parenting items. Sarah, welcome to the show. If you would start us off and give us a little bit of background about you, your family, and what drives you, we would love to hear.
Sarah Stonestreet (00:33):
Yes. Okay. First of all, Matt and Janel, thank you so much for having me. This is so fun. And all right, a little background about me. I have four kids. I’m married to John Stonestreet. So if your kids have been to Summit, they more than likely have heard John Stonestreet. If they haven’t…
Dr. Matt Jones (00:49):
They should.
Sarah Stonestreet (00:49):
They should. They should. They should. I agree. Go to break aways.
Dr. Matt Jones (00:52):
Especially his marriage talks. They’re great. Yes.
Sarah Stonestreet (00:54):
So good. So good. And he always jokes. He’s not telling you how to have a happy marriage. He’s saying, why is marriage important? But anyway. Okay. So marriage, John Stonestreet, and I’m so grateful for that. Then we have four kids. Our oldest Abigail is 20, she’s a junior in college. Our next is Anna. She’s 18 and she is a freshman in college, and they just so happen to go to the same college, which is so good for a mama because when I visit, I can visit both. It’s amazing.
Dr. Matt Jones (01:24):
And here’s the question, do they like that?
Sarah Stonestreet (01:26):
They love it.
Dr. Matt Jones (01:26):
Okay, good.
Sarah Stonestreet (01:27):
They love it. They’re fun and they’re great friends, and it’s so sweet to see them enjoy time together. And then my next is 16 and she’s a junior in high school, and then I’ve got a little surprise, Hunter, who is eight and a boy. So I feel like I’m a new parent all over again because boys and girls are so different. So that is my family.
Janel Greig (01:53):
I love it. I love it. Could you talk a little bit about what has fueled your passion with regards to speaking to parents?
Sarah Stonestreet (02:00):
Yes. Okay. Well, one, I would say the biggest way that I have grown in my parenting journey is not with parenting books, but it is watching other parents and how they talk to their kids, how they love their husbands and wives, whatever, their spouses and asking questions. And so I’ve had so many amazing parents pour into me as I’ve grown in my own parenting journey that I just love to share what God has taught me through them. Here’s this nugget from this person, but also just in my own family and relating to my own kids.
So I really love talking about it. I certainly do not feel like an expert because when I was a young mom, I thought maybe when I have teens, I’ll have it figured out. And then you realize, which is true in most of life, that the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. And you have to grow. So I actually love that though.
Dr. Matt Jones (03:09):
That’s great. I’m just curious, just briefly, how did those relationships form? Because I agree with you, we had an older couple invest in us, my wife and I before we had kids, and we watched and asked them questions. How did those relationships develop for you?
Sarah Stonestreet (03:22):
Yeah, I think just real early on, I got married young, I was 20, and so I really knew that I did not know. I knew I had a lot to learn, and I’m an only child, and so I didn’t have that sibling dynamic to learn from either. So thankfully we got married and lived in Dayton, Tennessee. Matt, I know you’ve spent some time there.
Dr. Matt Jones (03:47):
I spent some time, a lot of time there.
Sarah Stonestreet (03:49):
A lot of time.
Dr. Matt Jones (03:50):
That was seven years.
Sarah Stonestreet (03:52):
So John was teaching at Bryan College when we first got married, and we went to a sweet little church, Westminster Presbyterian, and there were just these amazing families that were in the next season up from me. And I just started watching them. And then I’d ask questions and sometimes I knew, okay, I have a funny story here. This really exposes me. But when I was pregnant with Abigail, I was nine months pregnant and well, not nine months. That would be having Abigail. I mean, I was close. Okay.
So John was traveling and I was having a freak out moment where I was like, oh my gosh, I’m going to be that kind of mom who totally neglects her kids. I just want to party with my husband. And then I was like, or oh my gosh, no, I’m going to be that kind of wife where I just take care of the kids in 20 years from now. Look at my husband. I’m like, who are you? And I was like, okay, I got to calm down now. It was nine o’clock at night. And so I started going, okay, what are the truths about scripture? Well, marriage was created by God to be good, and children are a blessing. So I need to hear from someone tangibly, so you may actually know this name. I called Sue Petit.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:11):
Yes, Bob and Sue Petit, right?
Sarah Stonestreet (05:13):
Ron.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:14):
Ron Petit. That’s right.
Sarah Stonestreet (05:15):
Yes, yes.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:16):
Registrar at Brian. Had the coolest goatee mustache combo that I’d ever seen as an 18-year-old.
Sarah Stonestreet (05:25):
Yes. Okay, you’re tracking. All right. So they went to our church.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:29):
Sue didn’t have the goatee mustache. Ron did.
Sarah Stonestreet (05:30):
Yes, good clarification.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:31):
I just needed to make that clarification. I’m sorry.
Sarah Stonestreet (05:35):
That would be a whole different kind of story. Okay.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:38):
Yes.
Sarah Stonestreet (05:39):
Okay. So they went to our church. They had girls that were older. I want to say their youngest was in college. Yeah. Okay. So here I am, just about to start this journey. Now, Sue, it was wonderful, but I didn’t have a deep relationship with her. I just had like, hey Sue, how’s it going? Oh, good, how are you, Sarah? See you next week. That kind of relationship. But I was watching her and I could tell that her kids respected the parents and loved them. They would come and sit with them. They were just sweet sisters together. And I knew she and Ron loved each other.
And so I literally called her at nine o’clock you guys at night, and I said, Hey, Sue, it’s Sarah. And she was like, oh, hey Sarah, how are you? I was like, well, here’s the thing. I’m kind of freaking out. And so I had never been vulnerable with her before, but I was like, I need to hear from you because I know these truths about scripture, but I need it tangibly, and you’re further down the road than I am. Can you look back and tell me that those truths are true? And she was like, absolutely. And she took about 20 minutes and just assured me that God is faithful and that he continues to be faithful throughout all that.
Dr. Matt Jones (06:52):
That’s awesome. And we want to, again, reinforce, you’re not designed to do parenting alone. No. We appreciate your example and humility in that because my wife and I learned we have our parents who invested in us, but you just got to get some other perspectives and some additional assistance. So appreciate you sharing that. And that comes into the next question.
Many parents kind of feel caught between these two extremes. Either avoid the world completely, or if you don’t avoid the world completely, if you get engaged in the world, you’re going to get overrun by it and your kids are going to become like the world. So you have this tension in scripture that says, hey, we’re supposed to be in the world, but not of the world. What are some key components or thoughts that you’ve had in engaging in your kids and with John and with others on this particular topic? Because I run across this a lot with the different populations that I interact with on this particular tension that a lot of people feel.
Sarah Stonestreet (07:50):
Right? No, I think that’s such a good question. And it’s a real struggle, especially right now where it does feel like, I think probably every generation feels like this at some level. Like, oh, it just feels like the evil side is winning or whatever. But I would say, let’s step back for just a second and recognize the truth about scripture, about ourselves and our kids, and that is that it’s not an accident that we are in this time and in this place.
Dr. Matt Jones (08:19):
That’s a great point.
Sarah Stonestreet (08:20):
And Paul tells, when he’s on Mars Hill and he’s looking at all the gods, he tells them, God has determined the place of your dwelling and the boundaries of that dwelling place and the time. I’m not saying it like Paul, but he basically says that, and I think that is so encouraging because we serve a God who doesn’t redeem us and then just plop us on the sidelines to go, yay. Look what Jesus is doing. He uses his people and you look through scripture and he doesn’t do things on his own, although he could, but he chooses to use.
I mean, even think about the five loaves and the two fish, he says, the disciples say, what are we supposed to do with all these people? And they need something to eat. And he says, what do we have? And Andrew’s like five loaves and two fish. And Christ goes with that. I just think that’s fun that he uses us and invites us to participate with him. Well, that’s true of us. That’s true of our kids.
And I want to say, how do we prepare them to be kingdom builders? And that helps me look at it differently because I’m not asking in Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, he says, I’m not asking that you take them out of the world. I’m asking that you keep them from the evil one.
(09:53):
And so in my prayers for my kids, I do throw in a, and please keep them safe, but that ultimately is not our goal. Ultimately, we want them to be kingdom builders because when Christ says, pray that thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, what he’s saying is you’re part of that. And our kids are part of that bringing God’s rule and reign to be recognized here on earth as it is in heaven.
And so I guess that is kind of a framework of how do we engage where we are? Well, we should because it’s not an accident that we’re here. And so I think John and I teach the Sunday school class at our church, which is so fun.
Dr. Matt Jones (10:44):
Do you like guys doing that together? Are you tag team or?
Sarah Stonestreet (10:48):
Well, okay. We are the youth directors, the youth group directors. So we split it up this way. John teaches on Sunday mornings, which is amazing. And then I do Bible study on Wednesday nights, which is so fun. But we start with, what have you seen? What have you heard this week that you want to talk about, that you have questions about whatever. And John’s so good on his feet with that. I mean, he’s living in that world all week long just thinking about those things.
And he just has a wonderful way of bringing it back to the big picture of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration, and placing our time in that and seeing our moment from the big story rather than the other way around. Where we get bogged down is when we’re in this moment and can’t, we’re trying to make sense of the bigger picture of life and God’s reality rather than starting from that God’s reality and seeing our moment as just that: a moment.
But anyway, we call it the problems of the world, but we want those kids to understand that Christianity has something to say about all of life. And that’s what John and I are really intentional about, not always winning, but really mindful of is probably what I should say is with our kids, is that Christianity has something to say about it. Now, if they have a question and we don’t know that is okay, because that doesn’t shake that there is truth. There is truth whether we’re there yet or not. We don’t have to be afraid to tackle some of those hard things.
Janel Greig (12:26):
I love that. And I love that kingdom perspective too, because it is our purpose as parents, what are we called to do? And I think that perspective of, build up where we’re at in God’s time, our kids for the kingdom, I think that’s the perspective that as parents, we need to keep. I guess on that note, what would you share with parents of the concept of how do you build that resistance in our kids in a culture that is telling lies, is pushing them to say such things as you have to be strong and you have to attack life. But I’ve heard you speak before on biblical meekness versus weakness and what that looks like. It’s upside down to what the world tells us.
Sarah Stonestreet (13:07):
Yes.
Janel Greig (13:07):
So how do we equip our kids or how have you guys equipped your kids? Well, from that perspective.
Sarah Stonestreet (13:13):
Well, I don’t know if I could say how we’ve equipped, well, because I’m not sure. It’s TBD. But I just closed down a podcast that I worked on for six years called the Strong Women Podcast. So good. And that is really the heart of your question is the heart of why I started the podcast. That was, I was watching, this is talking specifically about women, but this could apply to men as well.
Dr. Matt Jones (13:38):
Thank you. So glad.
Sarah Stonestreet (13:38):
I know, I’m not going to leave you out, Matt. That’s okay. It is. It’s so good. It transfers so beautifully. Yes. But I was watching the Women’s March in 2017. I was just watching clips of it. Trump had just been elected and these women were so angry and they were proclaiming what it means to be a strong woman. And I started to just put the pieces together.
What the world is telling me and my girls is that what it means to be a strong woman is to get rid of toxic people in your life. And that means anybody that doesn’t agree with you and pursue your own happiness, no matter the casualties, you are autonomous. You don’t need anybody else. You just pursue your own happiness.
I mean, since then of course, it’s like what even is a woman? Is there anything special? But what I asked my girls after I watched that they were earlier teens, I said, this is what is being told to us is strength. And I listed some of those bullet points and I said, what do you think about that? And they were like that. No, I don’t think that’s true.
(14:53):
And I said, let’s just think about some women in our own life who demonstrate what true strength and beauty is. And I didn’t have to say what I thought it was because they recognized it. And what was so beautiful is, they started naming old ladies in our church.
Janel Greig (15:13):
I love that.
Sarah Stonestreet (15:14):
And they said, for example, Ms. Lucia, who just died this past year, Ms. Lucia is a strong woman because she’s stayed faithful to her husband. They love each other. She’s at church no matter what. She has dealt with a bunch of health issues, but she still asks us every Sunday how we’re doing. And she listens. And I was like, oh my goodness, that is so beautiful. Because that is it. Our temptation is to think that we need to do something huge and big to make a difference, but it really is what is right in front of you.
Dr. Matt Jones (15:56):
Those are great. Yeah, go ahead.
Janel Greig (15:58):
I was just going to say, I love that point back to community too, because one where the modeling of the older generation or the generation ahead or even two or three generations ahead is so important for our kids to see and be a part of. So I love that story.
Sarah Stonestreet (16:13):
That’s great. And I would say that is so significant to the formation of ourselves and also our kids because, and not just any kind of community specifically church. And I’ve seen huge formation in my own heart and then now watching my kids who are launching into adulthood. I mean, I am not saying, are you going to church? Are you going to church? They are plugged in. I mean, Abigail started a choir, a children’s choir at her church. She taught Sunday school. I am just like, okay.
But yeah, I just think it’s James K. Smith in You Are What You Love. No, not that, sorry. It’s Carl Truman’s book, Strange New World. He says the communities that most of our loyalty are the ones that shape us the most. And so I think that’s something to really consider.
Dr. Matt Jones (17:14):
And I love whenever we’re at church and there’s that intergenerational integration to say, all right, I love it when the older folks used to come and our kids are almost out of the house now. They used to come and ask our kids questions and show interest. And I mean, it was just so important for our kids’ formation, not only to see older people cared about them, but them learning the skill of interacting with them because we wouldn’t let our kids, whenever an older person came up to them and said, how are you? We wouldn’t let them cower behind. You need to address them.
Sarah Stonestreet (17:51):
Yeah.
Dr. Matt Jones (17:51):
Now, we may have to pull them to a side, but you need to respond. And so many of them were faithful to wait and allow us to parent, to give them the opportunity to at least say hi or answer the question. So that’s so cool. Well, you talk about every moment holy, and having specific spiritual habits, because I’m a big fan of the word holiness. I think it’s a word that’s been lost in our culture. It actually shows up in the New American standard more times in the word love. And so I’m curious what you mean by every moment wholly and some of the practices that have come out of that line of thinking.
Sarah Stonestreet (18:34):
Okay. So I think that kind of back to that, every doing the next small thing, Mother Teresa says, do the next small thing with great love. And I’m to the age now where I see young moms and I can’t help myself. And I’m just like, it goes so fast. But I’m like, I hated it when people said that to me. Like, yep, thanks. Or you’re in it. Okay. I mean, what am I supposed to do with that little nugget?
Dr. Matt Jones (19:05):
Or, it’s okay. Speed it up.
Sarah Stonestreet (19:07):
Yeah, right.
Dr. Matt Jones (19:09):
I have got to get past the terrible twos. Please, Lord, get me through that.
Sarah Stonestreet (19:12):
Exactly.
Dr. Matt Jones (19:13):
Which I don’t think the twos were that terrible, but sometimes I was like, oh, good. Tell me that, because this, I just feel like I’m stuck in it. Let’s speed it up.
Sarah Stonestreet (19:21):
But I think what I’ve started to say to young moms now is looking back, I want to encourage you with just saying that everything you’re doing right now, all the little faithfulness, profoundly matters. The washing, the dishes, the doing the laundry, the things that seem like, oh, this is so mundane. They are the things that are shaping your heart. And we know that mothers and fathers shape their children’s hearts, but parenting shapes our hearts. And it’s not just, I mean, it’s those little faithfulness, those habits are what we’re called to because the world has its rival rhythms.
That’s the quote I was thinking about from James K. Smith’s book, You Are What You Love. Where are we aimed? Those habits and rhythms aim us somewhere, and the world says, this is the good life. Here’s the habits and rhythms that get there, and they’re assumed. So we just will fall right into those rhythms. If we’re not thinking about, well, where do we want to be aimed? And back to the church, I think the church is hugely significant in that. And it’s those little daily things and the ways that we posture ourselves towards being open to what the spirit is doing in ourselves and in our kids. Those are the ways that the Amos.
Dr. Matt Jones (20:52):
I’m just curious, what was one of the rival rhythms that stands out to you that our parents could be aware of?
Sarah Stonestreet (21:00):
Right now?
Dr. Matt Jones (21:02):
Or even just one of them, or even as you were raising your children, or are, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to speak in the past tense.
Sarah Stonestreet (21:10):
Yeah, I still have a long way to go. Okay. Two kind of stand out to me. One is that where our loyalties are being drawn and kind of back to the church thing, it’s not that church becomes our only community. I’m not saying that at all, but church is so significant, and it may not seem that way as you go each Sunday.
(21:37):
But it is, it’s doing things to your heart. It’s opening you up to the spirit. It’s kind of taking you off of the track that is on that rival rhythm, and it’s putting you on the track. It’s aiming your affections and aiming your heart in a different direction. And CS Lewis says in Mere Christianity that he talks about how we are an enemy occupied territory. The true king has returned, and going to church is listening in on the wireless of saying, here’s the activity going on.
And so that’s one thing is just like, don’t underestimate that there is a rival thing. The rival narrative is, well, it can be just me and Jesus. And thankfully we do have a personal relationship with Christ, but the truths proclaimed about Christ are universal. They’re public, whether you believe them or not, they’re there. But the second thing I would say is, and I’ve really realized this now that I have teens and older, is technology. And not just like smartphones are bad, but they have rewired us.
Janel Greig (22:45):
Absolutely.
Sarah Stonestreet (22:46):
Into a rival rhythm of relationships. And so thinking, one of the questions that my girls and I ask each other all the time is like, well, what is the human way to do things? For example, one of my daughters, she had a very good friend who was struggling, big time struggling, and actually dropped out of school for two weeks. And my daughter didn’t know what was going on. And so she’s like, I don’t know what to do. She’s not coming to school.
And I was like, well, what’s the human thing to do? Because the first reaction is maybe I should text her. And I said, why don’t you just go over there? So she did. And I said, now listen, it’s going to be awkward because we don’t know what’s happening. She doesn’t want to talk about it. And sure enough, my daughter went over there and it was awkward. But here’s my motto. Here’s a motto that you guys can all write down and use whenever you want.
Dr. Matt Jones (23:41):
No copyright on this one.
Sarah Stonestreet (23:42):
No, no. You can just, but put Sarah Stonestreet says this because it’s a good one. It’s, I will feel awkward about this later. And push through. That’s good that I’m telling you it comes in handy, right? I will push through this and feel awkward about it later. And so my daughter did, and we joked about that. I’ll feel awkward about it later.
And then she went back the next week and it was a little less awkward, and I’ll say, but both of us had really good conversations about it is the norm to just text or do something that doesn’t require a whole lot of us. But in this, what an opportunity to sit with a friend and represent Christ to her that you can’t do over a text. That’s beautiful. So yeah.
Janel Greig (24:29):
Can I ask one more question? Can we get one more question in here? Sorry. Are you good with that? We’re doing it and I think, go for it. This is one where I think a lot of parents might feel, well, a lot of parents do feel overwhelmed, but a few might feel behind, I have missed the boat on this. I haven’t been doing a good job of engaging. What’s a takeaway for those parents to hear? What’s a place they can start? Or even just a word of encouragement from you as a parent still in it to them?
Sarah Stonestreet (24:56):
Okay. I would say mom guilt is for real. I’m sure dads have it too.
Dr. Matt Jones (25:01):
No comment.
Sarah Stonestreet (25:03):
Yeah, you don’t feel guilty.
Dr. Matt Jones (25:03):
No. Yeah. I’ll ask my wife, should I feel guilty about this? And she’ll tell me yes. So sometimes it’s induced from somebody else. I don’t recognize it, but yes, we do. If we care, we will acknowledge. We blew it. We blew it.
Sarah Stonestreet (25:16):
Yeah. I know one time I told John, I was like, I’m just so afraid, and of course I’m sobbing. I’m just so afraid we’re going to screw up our kids. He was like, oh yeah, we are. And I was like, what? But anyway, mom guilt.
Dr. Matt Jones (25:28):
No, I remember that. I remember that he said, we are going to give our kids baggage, and we’ve talked about this. We said, you are going to give your kids baggage. And our goal is we’re going to make it as small as possible because they are going to unpack it. But you can’t expect to have a baggage free relationship. I mean, it’s just not realistic.
Sarah Stonestreet (25:45):
Well, and listen, we are two humans at different stages of life walking this. And so just as I forgive my kids, I ask them to forgive me all the time. But I would say, here’s a couple things that I would say. I really understand that that guilt runs deep. And the regret of just like, oh, shoot, I lost it. I can’t go back. And I would say, first start here, is that God’s kindness leads us to repentance.
And that there’s a difference between conviction and condemnation. And that is that condemnation the enemy wants to use to paralyze us, to stay looking inward, to stay quiet, to stay isolated, to stay paralyzed and engaging. And that’s not of the Lord, but conviction, you guys, conviction leads us to repentance. And repentance leads us to forgiveness and restored relationship and newness. And if you’re confused, am I feeling conviction or condemnation, ask the Holy Spirit because that’s his job.
And so I’d say start there and then start like God knows our story. You can be honest with your kids about it. I mean, I don’t know, depending on how old they are, you at some point have a conversation with them like, oh man, I wish I had had these conversations earlier. But I think it starts with just having curious conversations.
Janel Greig (27:18):
Absolutely. That’s great.
Sarah Stonestreet (27:19):
If they’re talking about a relationship, think, how can I bring this back to the truth about who they are and who God is and how God sees them and what would God have them interact with this person because this is another human being. I think you can just start asking questions. And like I said earlier, if you don’t know that’s a good place to start. Don’t stay there obviously, but don’t feel condemned that you don’t know. Go to Summit Ministries. Look up some of the speakers.
If your kids are asking questions that you feel are maybe feel logically not where you are yet, or even some of these questions about how do you interact with this particular thing going on in the world, well, listen, this is the time to engage with that because you’ve got Summit Ministries, you’ve got Colson Center resources, there’s so many good resources at your fingertips to, and if your kids are old enough, ask them to join you on that learning journey.
Dr. Matt Jones (28:20):
Explore together. And there are answers to a lot of these questions, and sometimes there are responses and sometimes there’s answers, and sometimes those responses build a foundation for working towards those answers. You mentioned technology and church, and I really do agree that these parents need to be thinking about developing a biblical worldview and potentially an upside down parenting approach because our society and parents are saying, well, there’s other things going on Sunday morning. Church doesn’t have to be that big a priority
(28:58):
Or technology. We need to be thinking about how to think more humanly about interactions. But if you could give parents one additional or one more mindset shift that could change how they approach raising their kids, what might it be?
Sarah Stonestreet (29:14):
Yeah. Okay. I would say.
Dr. Matt Jones (29:16):
And those other two were great. I was just thinking, is there another one for us to consider?
Sarah Stonestreet (29:20):
Yes.
Dr. Matt Jones (29:21):
Yeah.
Sarah Stonestreet (29:22):
Thank you for that affirmation.
Dr. Matt Jones (29:23):
You’re welcome.
Sarah Stonestreet (29:23):
Those two are great. Okay. So yes, I do have one more.
Dr. Matt Jones (29:27):
We’ll see if you come up with one better then. No pressure. No pressure.
Sarah Stonestreet (29:30):
I do have one. And I think it begins when they’re, well, it begins now for wherever you are in your parenting journey. And that is, I guess, how are you growing in your love and knowledge of God? And then share that. I think of Psalm 34, it’s like, come taste and see that the Lord is good. And that’s what I want my parenting to be, is not that I have all the answers, but that I’m saying, oh my goodness, come taste and see with me that the Lord that we serve is good. And so a mindset shift would be maybe see it more as a mentoring kind of instead of a declaring, this is right, this is wrong. It’s more of a taste see with me.
(30:29):
Which means that you are growing intentionally and that you are having those habits and rhythms in your life that are aiming your affections in the right direction because then you can say, oh, come try this out. Come do this with me. And then as they get older, it turns into a real legitimate mentoring slash friendship where then they’re actually sharing with you things that they’re doing that end up being very convicting and start to lead you in good ways too. So I would say don’t put too much pressure on yourself to know all the things, but grow in the love and knowledge of the Lord and be open to his spirit and how he is saying taste and see in this way and invite your kids to taste and see.
Dr. Matt Jones (31:17):
That’s awesome. Well, we really do. We want to encourage modeling a Christ-like faith for our kids.
Sarah Stonestreet (31:22):
Yeah.
Dr. Matt Jones (31:23):
And you mentioned your kids coming and sharing, here’s what I’m learning. My daughter is reading 12 Ways the Phone Is Changing You. And she comes home and she goes, these are some things that I’ve already changed as a result, and it caused my wife and I to go and get the book. And so we’re in the process of reading that right now. So thank you so much, Sarah, for being with us on the Upside Down Parenting Podcast.
Sarah Stonestreet (31:48):
Thank you.
Dr. Matt Jones (31:48):
This is my first time getting to interact with you at this level and in this amount of time. And we should talk more.
Sarah Stonestreet (31:54):
Let’s do it. Yeah. Let’s do it. You too.
Dr. Matt Jones (31:55):
So thank you all for joining us on the Upside Down Parenting Podcast today. Hopefully you got some tips and some insights to really think about, maybe just something as simple as exploring how to model your faith a little bit more intentionally before your children and your family, or thinking about church and technology. And so again, Sarah, thank you for joining us. God bless you all as we consider how to upside down parent in this society that doesn’t want us to do so. May God bless your endeavors as you love him and love others and invest in your kids. God bless.