The Intentional Parents Podcast

Live Q+R from the Motherhood Retreat: Fostering Vulnerability, Receiving Criticism + Parenting Without a Healthy Model

The Intentional Parents Podcast

Show Notes

Live from the Intentional Motherhood Retreat in Franklin, this episode is a candid Q&R conversation around marriage, communication, parenting, and healing from the past. We respond to questions from attendees about how to cultivate deeper vulnerability with your spouse and parenting when you don't have a healthy model to follow.

We talk about practical ways to help a spouse open up emotionally, including asking thoughtful questions like “What do you think about this?” instead of “How do you feel?” We also discuss the importance of paying attention to the environment, timing, and tone of hard conversations, recognizing how much those factors shape whether someone feels safe to engage.

We also explore what it looks like to stay honest and vulnerable in marriage when feedback is often heard as criticism. Encouragement and affirmation matter deeply, especially when your spouse’s story includes wounds from a lack of affirmation growing up. Knowing your spouse’s story helps you become an agent of healing rather than hurt.

The conversation closes with an honest discussion about parenting when you didn’t have healthy examples yourself. We talk about the importance of finding strong models, building a network of support, and acknowledging the pain you may have experienced in your own family before you can begin to relearn healthier patterns. Ultimately, we reflect on the importance of parenting the specific family God has entrusted to you in this season, while remaining open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit instead of trying to control every outcome.

Scripture Mentioned: James 1:19-20, 2 Corinthians 5:17 + 1 Corinthians 11:1

Submit Questions: Send a voice recording to [email protected], mentioning your name and where you’re from.

Sowing a Hidden Seed

Join Our Legacy Builders

Watch on YouTube

Follow Us on Instagram: @intentional_parents @brookmosser @emosser

FREE Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Parenting PDF

FREE Text Message Daily Devotional

Raising Passionate Jesus Followers

The Intentional Film Series

More from The Intentional Parents Podcast

Oct 20, 2026

This is a special, last-minute episode and an important one. In the wake of the Silver Rails shooting in our hometown of Bend, we sat down with our dear friend and therapist Sally Lemos, MS, LPC to talk about what to do when tragedy strikes close to home. Moments like this bring up our deepest fears as parents, and Sally shares biblical, therapeutic, and psychological wisdom for caring for ourselves and our kids. While this conversation was prompted by Silver Rails, it applies to any tragedy your family may face, big or small.

Oct 14, 2026

What do we actually want our girls to know about being a woman? Join us for a conversation between Elizabeth and Diane, where we draw on our experience raising daughters to explore what God needs to form in us first so we can pass it on to them. We look at what Scripture says a woman is and share what we wish we’d done differently. We push back on the lie that there’s one right way to be a woman, and talk about coming alongside our daughters rather than telling them who to be. That begins with two foundations: becoming aware of our own woundedness, and listening to the Spirit, who knows our daughters better than any parenting book or Instagram reel ever could.

Oct 7, 2026

In an age of cancel culture, estrangement and relational strain are touching more families than ever. In this episode, we explore humility as the antidote, looking at six marks of a humble person and how they can transform every relationship in your life, from staying teachable when we're corrected to being willing to move toward repair when there's been hurt.

Sep 30, 2026

What if there's someone better out there? Why is marriage so hard? In this final episode of our Stay in Your Cell series, we name that forbidden thought for what it is: a lie. We start with our own story, including the struggles in our marriage, because we're still in process ourselves.

Sep 23, 2026

As part of our “Stay In Your Cell” series, we pose the question: Why is it so hard to find community, and even harder to stay in it? When the family is growing and the calendar is full, it's easy to not send the text, not make the plan, and slowly drift away from the people in our lives. Plus, our culture hands us an easy exit whenever things get uncomfortable: we can unfollow, leave the group chat, or leave the church, and before long we become relationally aloof. And if you're a young family with no relatives nearby and you're struggling, it may be because you were never meant to do this life alone.

See all episodes →