Episode Summary:

Do you have grown up or adult children? Have you felt that parenting adult children offers different opportunities and challenges than parenting young children? What about the challenges of parenting wayward adult children or parenting adult children even when they choose a different path than you would have chosen for them? Join us for an insightful conversation about these unique challenges and opportunities with guest Mary DeMuth.

Watch on YouTube:

Quotables from the Episode:

• Part of the reason parenting adult children is so hard is because we haven’t been given good examples of parenting adult children.
• Make your conversations with your adult children rooted in curiosity to find a common ground without compromising your theology.
• When our adult children choose a different path than we would choose for them, we can either blame God or run to God.
• Shared grief with other parents who understand lessens our grief.
• God is a perfect parent who had the first rebellious adult children.
• God understands. He has empathy. He had adult wayward kids, too.
• I often go back to the book’s structure which is based on 1 Corinthians 13 where Paul unpacks what love is. Studying that has helped me truly connect with and love my adult kids.
• The enemy has victory when we have wayward children, so we have to determine that he will not have victory over us as well.
• You can still love your adult child but have a different opinion.
• Remember, someone else’s choices are not your fault.
• Prayer is a relationship and oxygen for our lives.
• If you’re struggling with a wayward adult kid, talk it through with a safe person.

Scripture References:

• 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 NLT Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Recommended Resources: (If there are affiliate links in this post, meaning, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no extra cost to you)).

• Love, Pray, Listen: Parenting Your Wayward Adult Kids with Joy by Mary DeMuth
• Resources on Parenting
• Can the Trajectory We Want for Our Children be Sabotaged?
• How to Raise Our Children to Have a Strong Foundation in Jesus
• Trusting Our Children to the Father’s Care
• How to Reinvent Yourself After the Empty Nest
• Moms Raising Sons to be Men by Rhonda Stoppe
• Empty Nest, Full Life by Jill Savage
• Today is Going to be a Good Day: 90 Promises from God to Start Your Day Off Right by Dr. Michelle Bengtson
• YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 1
• YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 2
• Revive & Thrive Women’s Online Conference
• Revive & Thrive Summit 2
• Trusting God through Cancer Summit 1
• Trusting God through Cancer Summit 2
• Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises by Dr. Michelle Bengtson
• Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Free Study Guide
• Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award
• Hope Prevails Bible Study by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award

Guest:

Mary DeMuth is an international speaker, a podcaster, and the author of over forty books, fiction and nonfiction, including The Day I Met Jesus. Through God’s healing, Mary has overcome a difficult past to become an authentic example of what it means to live a brand-new story. She loves to help others “re-story” their lives through the books she writes. Mary lives in Texas with her husband of 30 years and is Mom to three adult children.

Connect with Mary: Website / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Podcast

Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson
Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson