This episode is a really special one. I am delighted to introduce you to today’s guest, John Fort. John is the director of Be Broken Ministries, which exists to help individuals and families move from sexual brokenness to wholeness in Christ.

John is also the author of several books, including Honest Talk—a New Perspective on Talking to Your Kids About Sex, which we talk about today.

John vulnerably and courageously shares his story of sexual and pornography addiction and how God has redeemed his story to give him a purpose driven by hope and healing.

I loved talking with John!

He is full of wisdom, reassurance and, there’s that word again, hope. He encourages parents to be honest with their kids about their own sexual past and then shows us how to do it. I read his book cover to cover in a few days and I can’t encourage you enough to get your own copy. But start by listening to this episode and getting to know John better. You’ll be so glad you did!

Find John here:

Be Broken Ministries

Find John’s books here:

Honest Talk—a new perspective on talking to your kids about sex

Father-Son Accountability : Integrity Through Relationship

Some favorite quotes from today’s episode:

*”I was a little afraid to get into this work but God kept shutting all the other doors. It was like He said, “I didn’t bring you out of this for nothing.” John Fort

*”There is so much freedom in honesty.” Greta Eskridge

*”Look at what God did! He did it for me and He can do it for you.” Greta Eskridge

*”If parents would be brave enough to tell their own story then their kids would be able to say, ‘oh you do understand!’ and then they could talk.” John Fort

*”He realized at that moment that he was not too broken to be loved by his parents or by God. For the first time he felt a surge of hope that he had someone to talk to about sex and maybe his father could help him. That event , just hearing his father’s sexual story became the turning point for this young man to actively engage in his own journey to sexual wholeness.” John Fort

*”My problem had nothing to do with sex. I was using pornography and other sexual things to deal with emotions I didn’t know what to do with.” John Fort

*”The days I looked at pornography as a teenager were the days something bad happened and I didn’t know what to do with that.” John Fort

*”If in our house we never talk about body parts, we never talk about anything, that gives the silent message that it’s not OK to talk about these things.” John Fort

*”We surveyed a bunch of teenagers and asked why don’t you talk to your parents about sex. They had two answers: ‘I’m afraid my parents won’t understand my past’ or ‘I’ll get in trouble for what I say or even what I ask.’” John Fort

*”Your story is simply a way to show them it is OK to talk about these things.” John Fort

*”We can pretend its not happening or we can just talk about it.” Greta Eskridge

*”You don’t even know what your kids are dealing with until you ask. And the older they get the more often we have to ask them what they’re seeing and what they’re hearing.” John Fort

*”People are looking for help for their addictions and hope for their broken hearts. They want living water. If we run away or become judgmental or uncomfortable any time we see sexual pain, we will miss the greatest opportunities to enter the pain of their sexual brokenness and share the love of Jesus Christ.” Julie Slattery

*”Emotional resilience is connected to sexual wholeness.” Greta Eskridge

*“We think that telling our story is going to make our kids not respect us, but the opposite is true if we do it well.” John Fort

Thank you so much for listening and being a part of my show! I’d be so grateful if you’d leave a rating and review of the podcast if you haven’t already. I appreciate each one of you.

Keep chasing joy!

Greta

The Greta Eskridge Podcast is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. For more information visit www.ChristianParenting.org

I am so excited to welcome my friend Anjuli Paschall to my show! Anjuli is a real life friend of mine and this episode reflects that. We laugh and cry together easily, share stories, and if we had cups of tea or coffee in our hands, it would feel like you had joined us as we hung out together in a coffee shop.

One of the things I appreciate so much about Anjulu is that she doesn’t try to fix everything with some cliché sentiment. Instead she listens intently and asks how I feel, thus inviting me to take my feelings to God instead of pushing them away. She is also not afraid to be vulnerable and through that she invites me into intimacy with her again and again. She is the kind of friend you want on the other end of the phone, text or across the table.

Anjuli is a fellow author. She and I have walked through writing 3 books together! Her latestes book is called Feel—a Collection of Liturgies Offering Hope for Every Complicated Emotion. This book is like having a conversation with Anjuli. You’ll feel seen, heard, and loved as you go through the book. It is a beautiful book and unlike anything I have ever seen. Our conversation will give you a glimpse of the book and all it has to offer. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Where to find Anjuli:

Get Anjuli’s newest book, Feel, here

Find Anjuli on Instagram here

Find Anjuli’s website here

Finds Anjuli on Substack here

Get Every Moment Holy book here

Some of my favorite quotes from this episode:

“It takes time to look at your feelings, all of them, as an invitation to look at what your heart is trying to tell you.” AP

“Feelings are an invitation to wholeness, growth and intimacy.” AP

“The relationships that are the nearest and dearest to our are the ones where we can be vulnerable and share our true feelings.” AP

“God can hold it all.” GE

“God wants to be with us where we are.” AP

“He wants to heal us not to fix us—not just be better, do better, feel better.” AP

“God cares about what we feel, but He cares more that we become--whole, loving children of God who reflect His son.” AP

“We can hold both the good and the hard at the same time and they don’t cancel each other out!” GE

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.” Washington Irving

“God made us feelers and we don’t have to be afraid of the feelings that He put in us.” GE

I am so excited to share the final episode of my “Back to Home School” series with you today. (Don’t worry, though, there will be other home school episodes in the future. They’ll just be intermingled with other topics.) In this episode I am diving into some of the home schooling questions you asked me on Instagram. I couldn’t answer them all, but I covered quite a few. And I promise to come back and answer more some time soon!

Here are links to some of the things I mentioned in this episode.

I hope you find them helpful!

Want to have me speak at your event, conference, church, for your home school group, womens’ retreat or in some other capacity, get more information about booking me here

Find my Home School 101 Story Series on Instagram here

Find all the home school articles on my blog here

I talk about home schooling in high school and in college in episode 24. Listen to it here

Learn more about high school transcripts here

Learn more about Hamborg Academy of Art, in person and online art classes from one of our favorite art teachers here

Learn more about home schooling and dyslexia in episode 25. Listen here

Find Wild and Free bundles here

Sign up for legal protection with a membership with Home School Legal Defense Association here

Find Beautiful Feet Books curriculum guides here (they’re my absolute favorite!)

Find Ambleside Online booklists here

Read my book Adventuring Together to get fun back to school traditions (and lots of other ones as well) Get your copy here

Give your kids a back to school copy of 100 Days of Adventure and dream up a bunch of fun adventures you can do together in the coming year. Get your copy here

Read my blog post, The Early Years, here

Thank you so much for listening and being a part of my show! I appreciate each one of you.

Keep chasing joy!

Greta