How do we begin to help young children understand loss? What can we do to help little ones grieve while we are walking through it alongside them?

For author, speaker, and podcaster Annie F. Downs, these questions became real when her infant nephew, TJ, passed away from a severe medical condition less than two months after he was born. Wanting to help her sister, Tatum Green, and her young son, Sam, process through this loss, Annie did what she was uniquely gifted to do. She wrote Sam a book to help him as he tried to grasp the loss of his little brother. Once it was written, Annie and Tatum knew that this book needed to be offered to other families beyond theirs who were trying to figure out through how to walk young kids through unimaginable losses and so together, they created the final version, “Where did TJ Go? A Book for Kids on Grief and Loss”. In it, they help children ask the hard questions that can come when they lose someone they love and find hope through the Gospel.

In this honest conversation, Davey sits with Annie and Tatum to talk about how a loss impacts a whole family, the best ways we can show up for those we love in their grief, and what we learn about the mystery of God through the rawness of our struggles and questions.

If you or someone you love is trying to navigate how to guide a young child through loss, this episode will encourage you that while it can be hard and difficult, simply giving kids the space to ask tough questions and talk about what they are feeling is the first step in walking them through the pain of grief and finding hope along the way.

How do we help our kids navigate the most difficult parts of life? What role does connection play in making sure that we are who our kids come to when they are facing hard things?

Amy Betters-Midtvedt knows how hard it can be to help kids through the tough stuff. As a parent of five and an educator, Amy has worked with kids and adolescents for over twenty-five years and has seen the pain, the struggles, and the triumphs that kids and teens go through as they grow up. Navigating her own children's difficulties like mental health issues and an eating disorder taught her what kids need most from us as adults: connection and relationship. In her book, You’ll Make It (and they will too): Everything No One Talks About When You’re Parenting Teens, she shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about raising teens, especially with the challenges that can come in the digital age.

In this conversation, Aubrey and Amy talk about how to give teens what they need, the ways we can help kids navigate this digital world, and why it is important to learn the art of letting go.

If you are raising a teenager or love one, this episode will give you permission to take a deep breath and focus on what matters the most when it comes to helping kids grow and flourish.

How do we begin to experience the strength of God in the middle of our weaknesses? How can we allow the Creator of all to enter into our greatest place of need?

For author and podcaster Emily Jensen, walking through her son's medical challenges revealed weaknesses in her spirit that were unlike any she had faced before. The missed milestones, the extensive plans for intervention, and her own grief in the midst of it all revealed to her a need for God's strength where she felt the weakest. It was learning to navigate the waters of parenting a child with special needs that led her to a greater reliance on the Heavenly Father's power in her life. Through co-hosting the Risen Motherhood podcast and her recent book, He is Strong: Devotions for When You Feel Weak, Emily explores what it looks like to truly lean into the supernatural strength we all need when it comes to all the ways we experience brokenness this side of heaven.

In this honest conversation, Eric sits down with Emily to talk about the different kinds of weaknesses we can face, the challenges of parenting a child with special needs and how the gospel applies to all of our weaknesses.

If you've ever found yourself at the end of your own strength, this episode will serve as an encouragement that it is in that place that God's power is most magnified in your life.