In This Together With Dr. Josh + Christi

What would happen if we could walk into any room bringing our identity, rather than getting our identity from it?   Following up our episode on giving kids joy permission comes an episode on how to experience joy as a byproduct of walking daily with Jesus in our true identity. When we’re not walking in our true identity, we’ll get it from one of three places:what we havewhat we door how we think other people see us.   In this episode, Steve Petermeyer, a coach with Identity Exchange, joins us to talk about how we can know our true identity, identify when we’re believing a lie about who we are, and how to invite Jesus into telling us the truth.  Steve also walks through questions we can ask in our faith communities to get us beyond small talk, go below the surface, and live out our unique identity. For example, what are you doing that God never asked you to do? Are there any lies that you’re believing? What is one fear you currently have?If, as Steve says, “More is caught than taught,” when it comes to raising

There are so many parenting debates happening right now in the culture at large. Screentime. Discipline. Anxiety.  But what if we’re focused on the wrong things?  Instead of trying to fix and manage the problems, what if we cultivated the solution?  What if the environment we cultivate is the very thing our children need?  In this episode, Josh talks about their current parenting journey, the two competing worldviews that influence how kids experience joy, and how we can give our kids joy permission.  Here are some highlights:  How two competing worldviews influence the amount of joy in our homeWhy we need joy permissionWhy resourcefulness is a cheat code for helping kids live joyful livesThe one way to step into joy this week as a family, no matter how difficult the season you find yourself in right nowShow Notes:  Focus on the Family Broadcast: Click here to listen to Encouraging Your Kids to Discuss Their Feelingshttps://www.focusonthefamily.com/episodes/broadcast/encouraging-your-kids-to-discuss-their-fee

One of our closest friends, Luke Smallbone, who is also one-half of the four-time Grammy award-winning duo For King & Country, joins Josh in the cabin to share stories from his own childhood, which are depicted in a brand new movie hitting theaters everywhere, called Unsung Hero.Unsung Hero is a true story about his family's adventure of coming to the States from Austrailia, and the ups and downs they experience along the way. In this epsiode, Luke shares how some of these heartfelt moments of prayer, faith, and miracles shaped who his family is today. Luke and Josh share plenty of laughs as Luke takes us behind-the-scenes of the making of the film, and how lessons from his own upbringing have influenced who he is today as a father. In this episode, Luke shares:A behind-the-scenes look at how the song Unsung Hero came about, and how it was then turned into a film.What it was like producing a movie about his own childhood.His most heartfelt, memorable moments as a boy from scenes in the film.Practical less

Pastor Max Lucado joins us to talk about his new children’s book Just in Case You Ever Feel Alone. Josh’s 9-year-old daughter, Kennedy, joins the show this week to interview Pastor Lucado. In this episode, Pastor Lucado describes the consequences of anyone’s given worldview, and how the framework we give to our children influences how they view God and consequently sets them up to handle loneliness.Pastor Lucado discusses: A framework for helping our children and grandchildren develop a biblical worldview.How screens are contributing to the epidemic levels of loneliness of children and teens.Why it’s important to take initiative to start conversations.An assignment we can all do to establish a culture that combats loneliness. Show Notes:  Get a copy of Just in Case You Ever Feel Alone by Pastor Max Lucado.https://amzn.to/4ctKDtj Ladies, sign up for Tender & Fierce Group Coaching Cohort with Christi! Begins April 4, 2024:https://www.famousathome.com/tenderandfierce Get a copy of the 10 Days of the Easter S

Christi joins us this week to walk through insights she's gaining from Isaiah 61. In doing so, she shares more about her heart behind and the process of Tender & Fierce. In Isaiah 61, Isaiah prophecies Jesus as the One to come and bind up all the broken pieces of our heart so that we can heal and live wholeheartedly. What does it mean to experience and walk in that freedom? In this episode Christi discusses with Josh: What it means to live freely, and the one way to know when we’re not walking in our freedom.The real reason Jesus wants to set us free and live out His identity for us.Why living with global high activation can be deceiving.A paradoxical definition of what it means to “run.”Show Notes: Ladies, sign up for Tender & Fierce Group Coaching Cohort with Christi! Begins April 1, 2024:https://www.famousathome.com/tenderandfierce Get a copy of the 10 Days of the Easter Story: A Family Experience Through the Feelings of Holy Week. https://amzn.to/3IDTmLI

Should we argue with our kids? How do we set boundaries with them? What kind of parent does it take to raise a strong and loving child? The President of Love & Logic Institute, Dr. Charles Fay joins us to talk about his new book, with colleague Dr. Daniel Amen, Raising Mentally Strong Kids. This might be one of the most light-hearted conversations we’ve ever had around what is arguably the most shaming role on the planet—parenting. Dr. Fay provides super practical insights on raising strong and loving kids.Here are some key quotes from this episode: On the goal of parenting: “We bond with people who are strong and loving. We don’t bond with people who are strong but they’re cold. And we don’t bond with people who are loving but they’re permissive and wishy washy. We want to, in the best way we can, emulate God. We want to be strong, and we want to be loving.” On cultural busyness: “Families don’t go off the rails because they do too many bad things; it’s because they do too many good things.” On sibling

As a parent, what are we truly aiming for? What really is the goal of all this stuff we put into a bucket called “parenting?” And, at a deeper level, have I thought about how my own spiritual journey influences how my children live out their faith and find purpose for how they live their lives? Does this matter to me as I think about how I’m engaging the task of “parenting?”In this episode, I (Josh) talk about what I'm learning from my own spiritual journey right now. From this, I propose a developmental spiritual growth model for fathers and mothers that moves us from a journey of being self-focused (fear) to others-focused (joy).I have seen these three stages of spiritual development come to light through my own spiritual growth in the past few years and would love to share them with you to see if, and how, you might resonate with them. They are:Becoming (internal healing and growth).Present (external presence where others feel seen).In community (inviting others into our journey).Show Notes: Ladies, sign

Christi introduces a phrase God gave her in prayer for what it means to grow into fullness of life as a woman, wife, and mother—tender and fierce. In this episode, she defines both words, describes their function, and talks about how we can reclaim tenderness where we lost it and fierceness where it’s gone sideways. Christi also talks about why tenderness is critical for loving others but has become rare in today’s world, and how we can embrace fierceness not as a weapon, but as a gift to love others and ourselves.What does it mean to be tender & fierce? What is the structure of her new group coaching program? We talk about this and more in this episode. All of the information about Tender & Fierce can be found by clicking here or visiting www.famousathome.com/tenderandfierceShow Notes: Ladies, sign up for Tender & Fierce Group Coaching Cohort with Christi! Begins April 1, 2024: https://www.famousathome.com/tenderandfierceThe MyKidsEQ Coaching Cohort launches March 4! Get first 8 weeks of KidsEQAc

Christi is back this week! Not only that, we have a new “studio” (check it out on Youtube). This week, Christi and I (Josh) sit down and talk about the lessons we’ve learned since God told us to “jump” last year and sell our house. The last six months have been a wild adventure. At first, we thought we’d be RV’ing the country. But, as God would have it, a different path was laid out before us. And on that path came lessons we may never have learned if we hadn't obeyed and jumped.In this episode, we talk about where we are now, why we pivoted, and the lessons we’re learning.God uniquely walks with each of us. We hope this episode is an encouragement to you that not only is He indeed walking alongside your family, but that He delights in it! We just have to be willing to listen and say yes.Show Notes: The MyKidsEQ Coaching Cohort launches March 4! Get first 8 weeks of KidsEQAcademy curriculum. Sign up here: https://www.famousathome.com/offers/7izP4Puk/checkout Ladies, sign up for Tender & Fierce Group Coa

Dr. Gary Oliver is a modern day Job. Though he holds some titles (theologian, psychologist, therapist), he is a Christ follower at heart, leading men and women into deeper walks with Jesus through Going Deeper Retreats. This episode is like free admission into a mastermind on life’s secrets to finding joy, coming from a man who’s lived through unbelievable loss and heartache. In the span of four years, Gary lost his entire nuclear family and half of his current family. If that weren’t enough, he battled 7 cancer surgeries during that time, lost 90% of his tongue, was told he’d never speak again, eat from a feeding tube, and was even told he had less than 3 months to live by one of the nation’s top cancer doctors. That was 13 years ago.What Gary discovered after years of serving God all over the world, writing books, and speaking to millions of men, was that God’s sovereign joy, in the moment, is what truly matters. He joins us this week to reveal beautiful, hard-earned lessons, to experience God’s joy every d

In 2011, Pastor Davey Blackburn moved from South Carolina to Indiana to plant a church with his wife, Amanda. By late 2015, coming back from a staff retreat, Davey and Amanda were feeling encouraged and seeing the church beginning to establish roots. A few days after that retreat, Amanda, who was also pregnant with their second child, was caught up in a home invasion and shot three times. Their son, Weston, who was in his crib at the time of the invasion, was left unharmed. Unfortunately, Amanda died the next day, four years to the day they planted the church.The details of how God showed up, and what emerged out of the pain, was remarkable.Davey joins the show this week to discuss the trauma he endured, his journey toward healing, and how his newly blended family prioritizes being famous at home.What came out of his story is a ministry called Nothing is Wasted. He shares how this ministry began and the purpose behind it: Helping people partner with God to take back their story to find purpose in their pain.

In our fast-paced Western culture, it’s too easy to run to the next “thing” and dismiss the meaning of the previous activity, event, or season. But is this healthy for our souls? Take breastfeeding, for example. Or sending your kids off to kindergarten. Or for your kids, leaving their grandparent's house after an extended vacation. Perhaps moving to a new house. Every one of these moments are beautiful, but also have an end, a transition that includes a goodbye. In this episode, theologian and professor Amy Davis Abdallah joins us to provide a framework for putting meaning to all of the life transitions we experience on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. The author of Meaning in the Moment: How Rituals Help Us Move Through Joy, Pain, and Everything in Between, Abdallah describes how rituals can shape our family and form the hearts of our kids.In this episode, Amy describes:The meaning and purpose of a ritualHow we’ve embraced cultural rituals, yet rarely think of them for our own lives Simple ways yo

This episode has so much purpose, content, and hope for families. It could even serve as a homeschooling study for your kids. Jordan Raynor says, “Most Christians spend more time thinking about a one-week vacation than they do thinking about eternity…but it inevitably will lead us to settle for these wishy-washy half-truths about heaven.” Raynor goes on to explain, “Here’s why it matters we as adults and parents get this (truths about heaven) right. If we get this right, our kids’ hope for the future will be so much more real and so much more concrete, and their purpose in the present will become so much richer.”If you want a theological education for your kids as it relates to finding their purpose, this episode is absolute gold.If you’re struggling with whether your work has eternal impact, this episode is for you.If you’re looking for a biblical framework for how to set a family vision for building for the Kingdom of God, Raynor provides the path forward.In Jordan’s new book, The Sacredness of Secular Work

We live such busy lives that we rarely take the time to evaluate how our kids are experiencing us, their parents, in the environment of our homes. In this episode, our two oldest kids join me (Josh), as I ask them questions about how they experience our parenting. As you listen, our hope isn't that you focus on the content as much as you do the essence of the conversation, so that you, too, can take its format and implement it with your own kids to see what you learn about they experience you.Here are some highlights:Our kids share where they see us doing well as parentsOur kids share where they see we could be doing betterWe also talk about Straub family rhythms, our current stressors, and insights into our weekly family meetingOur kids share with us what they most need from us as parentsBeyond the content of this episode, take the essence of it with you to ask similar questions of your own kidsShow Notes: Apply now for The Leader's Heart Men's Cohort, Feb. 26-29, 2023!https://www.famousathome.com/theleaders

In loving memory of our dear friend, mentor, and father figure, Bill Lokey, we're concluding our 4-part series on the Heart of Leadership (originally recorded in 2020). When we lead, we influence the culture. Whether the culture you're cultivating is at home with your kids, or it's at work, how you show up has a ripple effect on the environment around you.Bill Lokey joins Josh for the final episode in our 4-part series on the Heart of Leadership to talk about the heart of your environment: at home and at work. In part 4, Bill and Josh talk about:The game of spiritual mathematics in relationshipsWhy healthy culture starts with understandingHow we can enter into the stories of those we lead and loveThe multiplying power of making our world smallerWays to cultivate healthy culture both at home and work Show Notes: Apply now for The Leader's Heart Men's Cohort, Feb. 26-29, 2023!https://www.famousathome.com/theleadersheartSign up for MyKidsEQ Winter Cohort:https://www.famousathome.com/offers/7izP4Puk/checkoutInter

In loving memory of our friend, mentor, and father figure, Bill Lokey, we're in the middle of a four-part series, recorded in 2020, where Bill shares insights on leadership, connection, and trauma.In part 3 of our 4-part series, Bill talks about how trauma influences our heart, soul, and how we lead.Here are some highlights:Why we tend to feel like impostersThe definition of trauma and how it shows up in how we act toward othersThe subtle traumas we may have never labeled as suchHow trauma influences our relationshipsWhy we tend to medicate our trauma and what we use to medicateThe power of feelings in healing the pain from our pastWhy it's so difficult for us to face shame and trauma as an adultPractical ways to face our trauma and show up for those we leadShow Notes: Apply now for The Leader's Heart Men's Cohort, Feb. 26-29, 2023!https://www.famousathome.com/theleadersheartSign up for MyKidsEQ Winter Cohort:https://www.famousathome.com/offers/7izP4Puk/checkoutInterested in group coaching with Christi? Click

In loving memory of our friend, mentor, and father figure, Bill Lokey, we're releasing this four-part series, recorded in 2020, to share with you again Bill's insights on leadership, connection, and trauma.Bill joins Josh for part 2 of our 4-part series, and this week, we talk about something we all tend to struggle with: meaningful connection and how we show up with those we love.In part 2, Josh and Bill talk about:The barriers to meaningful connection and how we can overcome themShame as a bad motivator for changeHow to silence shame so we can connect deeply with othersHow self-medicators keep us from intimacyWhat it feels like to spend time with someone who really likes youHow to show up for someone you really like spending time withSpiritual disciplines for meaningful connection with GodShow Notes: Apply now for The Leader's Heart Men's Cohort, Feb. 26-29, 2023!https://www.famousathome.com/theleadersheartSign up for MyKidsEQ Winter Cohort:https://www.famousathome.com/offers/7izP4Puk/checkoutInterested in

This past year we lost one of our dearest friends and mentors, Bill Lokey. As we close out the year, we were listening back to some of his wisdom and gold nuggets and thought it would be a tremendous gift to re-release a series we did together in 2020. He was a gift to us, and his insights, wisdom, and influence will continue to echo across generations, no doubt. In his honor, we're releasing this four-part series, recorded in 2020, to share with you again his insights on leadership, connection, and trauma.In part 1 of the series, we begin with the heart of leadership. Because no matter our stage, we lead people. As a parent, you lead your kids. As a spouse, you lead your husband or wife. At work, you lead your employees, congregants, soldiers, clients, and teams.How would each person you lead describe your ability to connect to their reality? And how much do we pay attention to those realities versus focusing solely on our own? As Bill describes, the quality of how well we lead rises or falls on our inner wo

Did you know that the English word "priority," when it came into the English language, stayed singular for 500 years? Not until the 1900's did we make it plural. As Greg McKeown suggests, the result is quite dangerous. When everything is priority, nothing is priority.As we evaluate our overwhelmed schedule, this one simple exercise has helped us cut through the noise. What is the priority (singular)? This evaluation has led us to make some intentional adjustments, which Christi shares on this week's episode.Here are some takeaways:Practical ways to simplify an overwhelming scheduleHow to not only give yourself permission to do less, but other people around youThe preciousness of time and how we won't get these years back with our kidsWhy Christi is taking a step back and what that looks likeShow Notes: Apply now for The Leader's Heart Men's Cohort, February 26-29, 2024:https://www.famousathome.com/theleadersheartOrder a copy of 25 Days of the Christmas Story: An Advent Family Experiencehttps://amzn.to/47YdliY

In honor of Christi's birthday, Josh talks to her about what this milestone means and how she's processing the feeling of entering a new decade of life. Christi shares valuable lessons she's learned over the last several years, what she plans on leaving behind, and what she wants to bring with her into her 40's.Here are some takeaways:Christi's practice of learning to release a high achieving mindset and just let herself "be"How to discern if you're living in your true authentic self, or from your false selfHow refreshing it is for everyone around you, when you can be real and let go of what others think of you, or what you think others think of you.The upside down kingdom of God, and how He makes significant what the world finds unpopularShow Notes:Apply now for The Leader's Heart Men's Cohort:https://www.famousathome.com/theleadersheartOrder a copy of 25 Days of the Christmas Story: An Advent Family Experiencehttps://amzn.to/3R92zRdOrder a copy of Famous at Home by Dr. Josh and Christi:https://amzn.to/3y1jJ