Parent Compass Radio

Trusting God through the trials of life has taken Madeline and Brian through the loss of their first born, a prodigal's return, and a near death experience with Covid. With two biological and two adopted children, their faith has grown through the challenges and joys! This family story is really God’s hand through the tough times. – Brian We are on the other side. We have come through. Is God going to give us more? God calls our family to hard things. He may call us to more. We are real people. These are real stories. We don’t do fake. – Madeline For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe. Grief comes in waves. – Madeline We were ecstatic. We were finally pregnant. – Brian Amelia is born. We could tell something was wrong. – Brian She was not gaining weight. Food hurt her. – Madeline We left the Mayo Clinic. She started to grow. – Brian Do you want to go to heaven and help the Lord pick out another baby for us? – Madeline We have walked quite a bit of hard together. – Madeline We weren’t sure even if my dad was going to make it. – Ana I need you to breathe into this as deeply as you can you are turning blue. – Brian It was very disheartening. – Brent Do you have a living will? – Brian And there was one point he was on the verge of death. – Brent They wouldn’t let me in. – Madeline I need you to send angels to my hospital room to get rid of this. – Brian In order to save her life we had to make a decision. – Madeline We had no choice. – Brian We don’t have a choice. – Madeline Getting into not so great things. – Blake Downward spiral. – Brent Getting into bad things. – Ana Bad choice after bad choice. – Brian I was mad at them. I did not want to talk to them. – Ana To know Jesus as your Savior, but also as your friend. – Madeline This family story is really God’s hand through the tough times. – Brian “I [Jesus] tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10 For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

While growing up comfortably, Alexcia's religion was her skin color. Shamoir grew up surrounded by drugs and gangs. Alexcia and Shamoir meet carpooling with the theater director 45 minutes each time to play practice. They discussed every major topic and were on opposite sides of them all. Working three jobs to make ends meet, Shamoir turns away lucrative job opportunities to go to school for ministry. Alexcia fights off family comments calling him a bum. The sacrifice brings joy as Shamoir and Alexcia have opportunities to tell others the lifesaving message of the love of God and salvation in Christ. Now ministering to others and raising three daughters, their journey has been filled with life altering miracles. My skin color was my religion. – Alexcia Pro black home. White people hated black people. We did not deal with white people in our class at all. – Alexcia From the hood in Jersey City. Grew up in a very dysfunctional environment. My mom struggled with severe drug addiction. – Shamoir I struggled with anger from the abandonment of my biological father. – Alexcia I fought a lot. I got kicked out of multiple schools. – Alexcia I resented God. I hated Him. – Shamoir Even though my mom struggled with drug addiction, she was a phenomenal mom when she was clean. When she wasn’t suffering from relapse, she was an outstanding mom. She was my best friend. That’s why it was so hard, I felt like my world was taken away from me, when she died. I did feel abandoned. I would cry about it. I would find places to isolate myself and I would just scream. ‘Cause I had to get it out. I resented God. I hated Him. – Shamoir I can no longer have this little girl watch me cry. – Alexcia The things I used to love doing; drinking, women, weed, started to just weigh on me so heavy. A really bad downward spiral for me. – Shamoir This Jesus that I am hearing about. I need Him. – Shamoir We just kind of sat in the back seat together. Never looked at each other once. I got out of the car as if he wasn’t even there. That is kinda how we met. – Alexcia That is where the story starts to collide. – Alexcia I was told Christianity was a white man’s religion. – Alexcia Stop trying to create God in your image, and understand, accept and believe that you are made in His. – Shamoir We are just trying to get it right. – Alexcia My mind was blown. I was like, “What? You changed your mind based on some facts and evidence that was presented to you?” And she was like, “Yeah.” And I fell in love with her right there. – Shamoir She had just gotten out of a really bad relationship and became a newly single mom. It was a hurdle for me. I had to ultimately alter my preferences a little bit and she had to alter her preferences a little bit for me too. My conduct had not been entirely conformed at the time we started getting together either. – Shamoir Our first date he told me, “I am looking for marriage and if you are not we need to stop the date right now.” Okay, I had never heard anyone say that before so I am going to stay right here. We are going to finish this date. – Alexcia We spoke about everything. Laying it all out there. I told her how many kids I wanted. The dynamic of my family that I wanted to structure and lead in a Christlike way. – Shamoir I remember he told me his life story and I cried. This was completely opposite of my story. Sometimes you think all black people have the same story. – Alexcia I was there and I didn’t want to be there. I would hold onto it for a while and I would pass it to the next person. No one noticed. – Shamoir No one is really paying attention until one day one of my friends did notice what I was doing. He said, “You haven’t smoked in a really long time. You are just taking it, holding it, and passing it.” I am like, “I am going to be honest with you, I don’t want to do this anymore.” When you live life for Christ, there is a separation that takes place in between like your family, like your friends you grew up knowing and loving where you had everything in common because you are from similar backgrounds and you do the same things. A huge chasm of difference grows inbetween you because I am called to live life this way and you are going that way. I started to grow in Christlikeness in that regard where I didn’t need it anymore...definitely feel liberated. – Shamoir She is off the deep end now. She’s going toward the white man’s religion. – Alexcia The rule in my house growing up was: Do as I say, not as I do. That leaves room for them to make all the mistakes that they want without taking accountability. But you just don’t do it. I can do what I want because I am adult. You are a child. You stay in your place and do as I say. I did not want to perpetuate that cycle of brokenness and dysfunction. – Shamoir I understand how important it is to have that father figure there, who is there every single day. Although he is not going to be perfect either, just to have his presence. I did not have that, but I knew how much I wanted that for me. So I was like, I am going to give that to my kids. – Shamoir I struggle with being a husband and a father. I am trying to be good at something that I have never witnessed. I have never seen firsthand. Yes, I have the representation of the ideal man in the form of Christ. But I think there are elements that come from experience. A lot of it was just trial and error. – Shamoir Our life is just riddled with brokenness, with chaos. – Shamoir I was struggling with the idea of embracing a child that wasn’t mine. I felt conviction. – Shamoir Love is not pain. Love does not hurt. It is a choice to sacrifice for someone else. – Alexcia I was in a really hard place spiritually. – Shamoir People were calling me a bum! – Shamoir He does have a real job. – Alexcia I am just in awe of the way the Lord moves that no one can ever tell me He is not real. – Alexcia To watch from where he came from to where he is now is nothing but a God thing. It is beautiful to see. – Alexcia Any affliction I went through in my life was healed the moment I surrendered my life at the cross. – Shamoir For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

Working three jobs to make ends meet, Shamoir turns away lucrative job opportunities to go to school for ministry. Alexcia fights off family comments calling him a bum. The sacrifice brings joy as Shamoir and Alexcia have opportunities to tell others the lifesaving message of the love of God and salvation in Christ. Our life is just riddled with brokenness, with chaos. – Shamoir I was struggling with the idea of embracing a child that wasn’t mine. I felt conviction. – Shamoir Love is not pain. Love does not hurt. It is a choice to sacrifice for someone else. – Alexcia I was in a really hard place spiritually. – Shamoir People were calling me a bum! – Shamoir He does have a real job. – Alexcia I am just in awe of the way the Lord moves that no one can ever tell me He is not real. – Alexcia To watch from where he came from to where he is now is nothing but a God thing. It is beautiful to see. – Alexcia It’s not perfect, but we share the same values. We have the same worldview. Ultimately, I believe, that is because of the unity that is provided to us in our respective relationships with Christ and also, our collective relationships with Christ. – Shamoir There were things we did not see eye to eye on, but we were able to speak about it in a constructive way. – Shamoir I think we both fill a void of the instability in regard to not having a father to trust and not having a mother to trust. So when we came together there was a hurdle to overcome initially. – Alexcia We are just serving in the most obedient way that we can even though it is hard, even though it gets ugly. It’s rough. Even on this floor we were sprawled out, crying out to the Lord saying where do you want us to go? What do you want us to do? The Lord always just opens up another door for us to love on people and show them who He is. – Alexcia Any affliction I went through in my life was healed the moment I surrendered my life at the cross. – Shamoir While growing up comfortably, Alexcia's religion was her skin color. Shamoir grew up surrounded by drugs and gangs. Now ministering to others and raising three daughters, their journey has been filled with life altering miracles. For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

The struggle is real, but can collision with the God of the Bible and commitment to Him and each other cause something beautiful? For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App. We are just trying to get it right. – Alexcia There have been times when we have bumped heads. – Shamoir I am jumping in this fight. We were just going back and forth. – Alexcia When you live life for Christ, there is a separation that takes place. – Shamoir I finally got the help that I asked for when I prayed about it that first day in my journal. My eyes were kind of opened to a new world. – Alexcia Then they got to politics. Now you have entered my reign. This is where I put on my boxing gloves and I am jumping in this fight. We were just going back and forth. He (Shamoir) was on one side and I was on the other side. – Alexcia We had one particular discussion. We did not agree with each other. I presented her some information. She came back to me at the next rehearsal and she said, “Hey, I went home and did some research about what we were talking about and you were right.” – Shamoir I am the type of person I need to research to myself. I would go home and I would research for myself about what we just debated about and I realized I was wrong. – Alexcia My mind was blown. I was like, “What? You changed your mind based on some facts and evidence that was presented to you?” And she was like, “Yeah.” And I fell in love with her right there. – Shamoir My eyes were kind of opened to a new world. I went rummaging through my stepfather’s library and found a Bible. – Alexcia She had just gotten out of a really bad relationship and became a newly single mom. It was a hurdle for me. I had to ultimately alter my preferences a little bit and she had to alter her preferences a little bit for me too. My conduct had not been entirely conformed at the time we started getting together either. – Shamoir Our first date he told me, “I am looking for marriage and if you are not we need to stop the date right now.” Okay, I had never heard anyone say that before so I am going to stay right here. We are going to finish this date. – Alexcia We spoke about everything. Laying it all out there. I told her how many kids I wanted. The dynamic of my family that I wanted to structure and lead in a Christlike way. – Shamoir I remember he told me his life story and I cried. This was completely opposite of my story. Sometimes you think all black people have the same story. – Alexcia I was there and I didn’t want to be there. I would hold onto it for a while and I would pass it to the next person. No one noticed. – Shamoir No one is really paying attention until one day one of my friends did notice what I was doing. He said, “You haven’t smoked in a really long time. You are just taking it, holding it, and passing it.” I am like, “I am going to be honest with you, I don’t want to do this anymore.” When you live life for Christ, there is a separation that takes place in between like your family, like your friends you grew up knowing and loving where you had everything in common because you are from similar backgrounds and you do the same things. A huge chasm of difference grows inbetween you because I am called to live life this way and you are going that way. I started to grow in Christlikeness in that regard where I didn’t need it anymore ... definitely feel liberated. – Shamoir She is off the deep end now. She’s going toward the white man’s religion. – Alexcia The rule in my house growing up was: Do as I say, not as I do. That leaves room for them to make all the mistakes that they want without taking accountability. But you just don’t do it. I can do what I want because I am adult. You are a child. You stay in your place and do as I say. I did not want to perpetuate that cycle of brokenness and dysfunction. – Shamoir I understand how important it is to have that father figure there, who is there every single day. Although he is not going to be perfect either, just to have his presence. I did not have that, but I knew how much I wanted that for me. So I was like, I am going to give that to my kids. – Shamoir I struggle with being a husband and a father. I am trying to be good at something that I have never witnessed. I have never seen firsthand. Yes, I have the representation of the ideal man in the form of Christ. But I think there are elements that come from experience. A lot of it was just trial and error. – Shamoir While growing up comfortably, Alexcia's religion was her skin color. Shamoir grew up surrounded by drugs and gangs. Now ministering to others and raising three daughters, their journey has been filled with life altering miracles. For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

Alexcia and Shamoir meet carpooling with the theater director 45 minutes to play practice. They discussed every major topic and were on opposite sides of them all. In this episode hear: I can no longer have this little girl watch me cry. – Alexcia The things I used to love doing; drinking, women, weed, started to just weigh on me so heavy. A really bad downward spiral for me. – Shamoir This Jesus that I am hearing about. I need Him. – Shamoir We would get into these discussions about things. Every topic you could think of ranging from politics, religion, history, everything. We would discuss on these long rides to the rehearsal. Me and Alexcia were on just totally opposite sides of every spectrum you can think of. – Shamoir We just kind of sat in the back seat together. Never looked at each other once. I got out of the car as if he wasn’t even there. That is kinda how we met. – Alexcia That is where the story starts to collide. – Alexcia I was told Christianity was a white man’s religion. – Alexcia Little puzzle pieces starting to at least come on to the board. They weren’t connecting, but they were on the board. – Alexcia Stop trying to create God in your image, and understand, accept and believe that you are made in His. – Shamoir While growing up comfortably, Alexcia's religion was her skin color. Shamoir grew up surrounded by drugs and gangs. Now ministering to others and raising three daughters, their journey has been filled with life altering miracles. For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

My skin color was my religion. – Alexcia Pro black home. White people hated black people. We did not deal with white people in our class at all. – Alexcia From the hood in Jersey City. Grew up in a very dysfunctional environment. My mom struggled with severe drug addiction. – Shamoir I struggled with anger from the abandonment of my biological father. – Alexcia I fought a lot. I got kicked out of multiple schools. – Alexcia I resented God. I hated Him. – Shamoir Even though my mom struggled with drug addiction, she was a phenomenal mom when she was clean. When she wasn’t suffering from relapse, she was an outstanding mom. She was my best friend. That’s why it was so hard, I felt like my world was taken away from me, when she died. I did feel abandoned. I would cry about it. I would find places to isolate myself and I would just scream. ‘Cause I had to get it out. I resented God. I hated Him. – Shamoir When I got to college my eyes were opened. You have the drinking, the parties. – Alexcia While growing up comfortably, Alexcia's religion was her skin color. Shamoir grew up surrounded by drugs and gangs. Now ministering to others and raising three daughters, their journey has been filled with life altering miracles. For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

Jean Thomason was one of the four women in the Women of Faith worship team that presented in its lifetime to over 5 million women. Each event packed 10,000 to 20,000 women to powerfully hear about incorporating God in their daily lives. During that time Jean saw the need to minister to children ages 6 and under and Miss PattyCake was born. Through song, the music and character of Miss PattyCake plants biblical truths, in toddler-size pieces, while helping equip parents lay a spiritual foundation. For more than 20 years, “Miss PattyCake” has given Jean opportunities to share God’s BIG love with LITTLE lives! Find out more at misspattycake.com for resources. Coordinate Miss PattyCake to come to your church! For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

Kind and articulate, Patti Garibay gives great advice and guidance on what parents can do in raising girls to be godly women in the midst of our generation. When Patti’s daughter was in Girls Scouts, the organization went against godly values. Patti ended up establishing a new Christian scouting club for girls that went national called American Heritage Girls. To join or start a troop go to https://americanheritagegirls.org/ For more insight on raising godly girls go to their blog raisinggodlygirls.org For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

Is it possible to parent well in today’s culture?... with kids spending over six hours on technology, with depression and suicide skyrocketing, and disrespect for parents and values seemingly promoted all around us? Steve Hines, author of the book, Salt, Light, & Kids tells us how we CAN parent well in today’s culture. Topics from the book that are discussed:- The perils of modern technology- Drugs / fentanyl crisis / alcohol- Friendships- Dating and marriage- Youth mental health- Importance of ongoing, healthy communication- Biblical applications for parenting Book SummarySalt, Light, & Kids: Parenting Well in Today's CultureARE YOU PARENTING OR ARE YOU PARENTING WELL?Raising kids today is more challenging than it has ever been. Technology, social media, and the ever-shifting standards of what is right and wrong can make parenting in modern-day culture difficult to navigate. If we want to win the battle as parents, we need to have the desire to truly parent well. If we want to parent well, we must resolve to make parenting more important than almost anything else and give it the effort and attention that’s required. With all the outside influences that kids are facing every single day, parenting well requires a heightened sense of commitment and discernment, as well as a willingness to lead by example. Most parents want to do the best job they can, and with much focus and effort can succeed in this very noble desire and responsibility. In Salt, Light, & Kids, Steve Hines helps parents train up their children to become the salt of the earth and the light of the world and to hear God’s voice above all the competing voices vying for their attention. “Whether you're expecting your first child or in the frontlines of the teen years, you will discover Salt, Light, & Kids to be an invaluable resource for your parenting journey.” – CHRIS HODGES, NY Times bestselling author and Senior Pastor of Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, AL For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App.

Hear how Derral Eves goes from facing the corner to The Chosen. Derral Eves is Executive Producer of The Chosen TV series and a YouTuber with billions of views. Yes, with a “b” billions. Constantly in trouble and standing facing the corner almost daily in the third grade. Then, a lot of friction when a teenager. Is there no hope? Or has God made this child for a good purpose no matter what it seems like? From Derral Eves’ story we can realize to continue in faith and guidance of the Lord, for there is hope as parents, even when we might feel like giving up. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 “My parents have been supportive from day 1 of trying to help me understand who I am; my relationship with God, also my relationship with others, and what I am meant to do here on earth. I can honestly say because of their mentorship and friendship I was able to discover Jesus and I was able to discover a world I didn't even know existed and it led to doing things that people said were impossible. It helped me establish a routine and a mindset that I could be used in different aspects to really build up the Lord's kingdom.” – Derral Eves “Little did I know being a teenager most of the friction was me. ‘Cause being a teenager I had no idea the world actually existed outside of Darrel Eves. It wasn't until having a couple life moments of discovering Jesus and realizing what Jesus has done for us and being redeemed and being put on a path of what it means to be a follower of Jesus that I discovered what type of parent I wanted to be.” – Derral Eves Hear the backstory behind The Chosen that broke the all-time crowdfunding record with 10 million dollars raised. The Chosen is a television series about the life of Jesus Christ where the viewer identifies with the Bible characters as if they were today. “Know this. If we are going to impact the world there is no way we can impact It ourselves. But together we can. I believe that is what The Chosen is. Yes, it is a TV show, but it is much more than a TV show. It’s a movement. A movement to discover Jesus. If there is ever a time in the world that we need Jesus, it is today.” – Derral Eves For shows and more subscribe at parentcompass.tv/subscribe or download the Parent Compass App. #TheChosen #ParentCompass #derraleves #parenting #parents #christian #christianparenting #derraleves #thechosen #Jesus #Christ #christianity