Happy July 4th!

This week’s story features my friend, Stacey Morgan, who is an astronaut’s wife! Her life is truly fascinating. Her family is currently living in the Marshall Islands which is 5 hours south of Hawaii.

Stacey honestly shares the truth about loneliness. She has had to start over multiple times as a military spouse. I love her hard truth about loneliness: we have to make the first move. She also shares how her kids are thriving as they were uprooted from the cultural norm in Texas, and now live on an island with 1,200 people total. They are learning valuable life lessons about what’s most important.

My favorite part is at the very end when she talks about her top learning as a mom of over 20 years. Her encouragement to “let go” was really timely for me. I am having trouble letting go of my oldest who is a rising senior. I need that reminder over and over again.

In this episode, we chat about:

• How to navigate marriage when you are both strong leaders
• How to start over when you move into a new city (or island! :)
• Why community matters in motherhood
• How to make friends as an adult woman
• What to do when you’re deeply lonely

Chapters

00:00

Introduction and Background

02:47

Moving to the Marshall Islands

05:58

Supporting a Spouse's Career

11:04

Living in a Small Community

15:01

Transition and Loneliness

23:57

Supporting Military Spouses and Moms

26:30

The Importance of Community for Military Families

31:16

MomCo: Supporting Military Moms

39:19

Lessons in Trust and Letting Go

44:28

The Power of Grace and Understanding in Parenting

Connect with Pardon The Mess:

Christian Parenting

Pardon The Mess

Courtney DeFeo

Get your 2024-2025 prayer journal, A Life of Faith

Resources from today’s show:

Stacey Morgan’s site

Stacey’s Instagram

Stacey’s Book: The Astronaut’s Wife

MomCo - Military Meetups

How to start an online MomCo group

Pardon the Mess is part of The Christian Parenting Podcast Network. As a donor funded ministry, we rely on generous supporters like you to keep this show going. If you enjoy this podcast, please consider giving a gift today. Join the Christian Parenting Legacy Builders community

If she wasn’t one of my best friends, I don’t know if I would believe this story. However, it is true and real and incredibly powerful. My friend, Kylie White, was fully healed from near blindness. Her story and her miracle has exploded my faith the last several years. It has given me courage to pray bigger prayers.

I will never be over what God did for Kylie. Even though I’ve heard this story many times, I heard even more details during this conversation which exploded my faith yet again. God is so good. I’m truly excited for us all to have this reminder today through Kylie’s story.

My favorite part is hearing how she got to the miracle day. Listen closely as she shares the years leading up to her miracle. Lean into what God was pressing on her heart. And let’s lean into what God wants to say to you through her story. What is He asking you to release and surrender? What miracle do you believe is too far gone?

In this episode, we chat about:

• Kylie’s miracle story and healing
• How we can trust God and lean in when we don’t understand the full story
• How to parent the pain endured with adoption
• How to love our kids unconditionally

Don’t forget to share the Summer of Stories with your friends - so that they can also be reminded that: God is good. You are not alone. And He is with you during life’s hardest moments.

Chapters

00:00

Introduction and Catching Up

03:35

Adoption and Navigating Challenges

06:45

Parenting and Unconditional Love

09:40

Experiencing a Modern-Day Miracle

28:13

Asking for Healing

30:14

Miraculous Healing

35:23

Confirmation of Healing

39:26

Orphan Prevention and Untold

42:19

Lessons Learned as a Parent

Connect with Pardon The Mess:

Christian Parenting

Pardon The Mess

Courtney DeFeo

Pardon the Mess is part of The Christian Parenting Podcast Network. As a donor funded ministry, we rely on generous supporters like you to keep this show going. If you enjoy this podcast, please consider giving a gift today. Become a Christian Parenting Legacy Builder

Resources from today’s show:

Kylie’s Instagram

Kylie’s blog

Untold - Nonprofit Kylie supports

Father’s House - Bible study by Rachel

Welcome to Week 3 of our Summer of Stories series! For the next 10 weeks, you will hear one powerful story after another. We are featuring 10 stories of incredible moms that have endured significant challenges. Through these stories, we pray you will remember that God is faithful and always with you through life’s most challenging moments.

I need everyone to take a massive deep breath before listening. And listen to the entire episode, not just the first few minutes. This is not a political episode. This is a story of one incredible mom, Amy Ford, that chose to keep her baby boy after an unplanned pregnancy and the God-sized story that followed.

My favorite part is when she shares about her love for the women that walk with the shame of abortion. She is for all women and all stories. And she walks closely with women who have endured every part of the unplanned pregnancy journey.

I am praying deeply that this story reaches an untold number of women and heals their hearts in a special way. And that we may join together and support women with unplanned pregnancies in the way God would. That we would love them deeply.

Don't forget to share this episode with women in your community that need encouragement and healing around unplanned pregnancies.

In this episode we chat about:

• Amy’s unplanned pregnancy
• Amy’s encouragement for those who live with shame of abortion
• How to create a safe and supportive church environment with unplanned pregnancies
• How to turn towards God in some of life’s biggest mistakes or struggles

Chapters

00:00

Introduction and Amy's Family

03:34

The Love Box and Volunteer Opportunities

06:08

The Rejection from a Pastor and the Healing Journey

09:21

The Impact of Amy's Story on Her Son

14:35

Creating a Safe and Supportive Church Environment

19:28

Healing and Hope After Abortion

22:26

Creating Safe Spaces in Churches for Unexpected Pregnancies

26:34

Taking Small Steps of Obedience

29:15

Celebrating Women Who Turn Towards God

Connect with Pardon The Mess:

Christian Parenting

Pardon The Mess

Courtney DeFeo

Become a Christian Parenting donor

Resources from today’s show:

Amy Ford

Embrace Grace

A Bump In Life

Love Box

Support After Abortion