Transcript

American Family Radio thanks sponsor, Preborn for supporting pro life advocacy

Dr. Jessica Peck: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, PreBorn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword BABY or visit preborn.com/AFR hello

 : and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show prescribing Hope for healthy families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there friends and welcome to my favorite time of day, getting to spend time with you, prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. It is fry. Yay. And I'm so happy that it's Friday. I don't care where you are, what kind of job you have, if Friday means anything to you or not, something, something about waking up on a Friday gives you a little bit of a different energy and being that it is Friday. It is Healthy Habits day. It is Ask doctor Nurse Mama day. It is Home Front headlines day, all the things. So we'll be diving right in now if you're a regular listener. And by the way, thank you so much to all of our regular listeners who contributed last week to share a thon was really exciting. So many of the volunteers came up and said when they asked what's your favorite show? You said this one. There's so many great shows. So I'm just grateful that you're listening in. Thank you so much. For those of you who are regular listeners and for those of you who are, we've been on a journey together since January. For those of you who are new, hey, join us. It's never too late to start a journey for healthy habits. We focus on building healthy, Christ centered family habits that will make your family more relationally strong, more resilient. These are science supported, research backed, faith informed habits. And the good news is in today's world where the problems seem really complex, we're looking for an instant fitness fix that somehow a life hack. The good news is that nothing has replaced the time, the, the test of time and that it is these simple disciplines that are what we need to do to make our families best equipped to navigate this world. So for the first four weeks we explored spiritual disciplines, prayer, scripture, going to church, music we listened to. And then we moved into six weeks of family rhythm. How we structure our life in ways that Practice peace and connection and spiritual growth. And now we're right in the middle of a season series on communication in the home, probably the most convicting series that will be in. Because how we speak is so important, we are forming identity, speaking words of identity over our spouses, over our children, over our loved ones, over our family. So so far, if you've missed it, what we've covered is listening with your face, giving your family the gift of your face, being fully present and attentive and emotionally engaged. We also talked about apologizing sincerely. I know this resonated lot of you, as it did with me, because it is hard to repair relationships with humility, accountability, grace in this cancel culture. But we must, we must do it. Last week at Shareathon, I talked about writing letters. How do we communicate love and encouragement and affirmation and truth? We've also talked about words of affirmation, how to be specific in your praise and to help build that into character, building language that is identity forming. So, because I talked about it, not on Friday, last week, but I want to do a little recap of writing letters, in case you're looking for that and saying, wait, what happened to last week's habit? We spent a significant time, talking about it, and really the response was pretty powerful. We even heard from Wesley Wildmon, one of the vice presidents at American Family association, who shared a really painfully plain cardboard box that keeps really extraordinary letters that he's gathered from listeners over almost a decade. And he has saved those. He has treasured those. We talked about a letter that my grandmother wrote to me. Just live in a culture where communication has shifted from slow, intentional and lasting messages, where people really thought about what they said, the art of conversation was cherished. They thought about what they wrote to. Now we have communication that is very fast, it is very fragmented, it is very disposable. And somehow with my children who are teens and young adult age, I'm accused of being mad at them. If I so much as dare to use, punctuation in my text messages. Yes. Are you mad at me? Why you're using punctuation? It's hard because we have this generation gap and most of our words today are not carefully formed in stillness. They're just rushed and reactive and just constantly competing for access. Let's take a look at this and see how communication has shifted because we used to write letters. I know when I first started dating my husband, even we, we were too poor for a phone card or collect calls. We just bought a, you know, stamp that was remarkably cheaper than it today and would mail letters back and forth. And now those are letters that I have that I cherish. But now we've got text messages and the, all ever favorite, the, the crowd favorite, the group chat. Everyone loves being in the group chat, right? Especially when it's hijacked by somebody who just won't end the group chat. These are rapid fire conversations that just get buried under hundreds and hundreds of messages that can happen. We also communicate by social media post and comments. Instead of someone sharing something with you as a friend, as a spouse, as a child, parent relationship, it's just public. These are just short public reactions that are shaped for speed and instant feedback. And we kind of want to have the most liked comment because now the comments are put up for judging. We also have content that disappears. So this really diminishes the impact of our words. Because this communication on, on platforms like Snapchat or other platforms, it is designed to vanish within a few hours or a day. There's permanent record that it even happened. We have voice notes, we have quick audio replies like just spoken words sent in motion. You may record it while you're on the move, while you're driving, which I don't recommend, or while you're multitasking. And we rarely go back and listen to those again. We have emails, we have digital work messages. They're functional and efficient, but nobody loves them. We have reaction based communication. Now we've just skipped past the words. We don't even want to deal with words. We just want to use emojis to have emotional expressions just like it. It used to be. You could just like, now we can love it, we can wow it, we can do all kinds of emojis. And one of my, the things that my husband tells me all the time, if I try to send him an emoji, he will just flat out tell me right back, I do not speak emoji. Please use words to make sure that I do not, unintentionally miscommunicate. And now with AI, we have algorithm driven feeds. These are conversations that are broken apart and then reshaped, resiggested by platforms that are prioritizing engagement over our wellbeing over real authentic connection. And even more importantly, a lot of this communication is happening while we are distracted. We're between meetings, we're driving, we're scrolling, we're juggling multitasking multiple tasks and we're patting ourselves on the back for that. And as a result, we're constantly communicating but we are rarely fully present in what we are saying or hearing. We have multiple screens up at one time and we, and we don't hear. And we hear people saying to us, you're not listening to me. But really, like, then you say, yes, I am. Because then you could kind of tell them what they said, but they are saying, I don't feel heard. Words are everywhere, but they mean less than they have the in the past. So the power of written words, of your handwriting, it is something. Your handwriting is, as unique as your fingerprint. There's something really special. I talked about last week about having a memory box at my kid's first birthday where I had invited friends and family members to put letters in the box and other mementos and to open that box on their 18th birthday and see their grandfather's hand writing on top, which we've recognized instantly. And he's passed away. There was something really special about that. And the written words, these letters, they don't disappear in a scroll. They don't get lost in a feed. They can be returned to in hard seasons. One of the most gratifying moments of my parenting history was just writing my kids little notes on note cards of encouragement and seeing, you know, you don't get that instant, oh, thank you, mom.

I encourage you to write something for your family 

You really changed my life. I really appreciate you doing that. Thanks for taking the time to do it. It really made me feel better. But you see it tacked up on their bulletin board and you know that it means something. These are tangible reminders of love and truth and encouragement and faithfulness. So I'm encouraging you to write something for your family. It could be as simple as a handwritten note on a post it note. Leave it on the coffee pot for your spouse. Leave it on their steering wheel as they go to work. Leave it on your kid's bathroom mirror. Just write a post it note on their door. Maybe you start a collection of post it notes on their door where you just write messages of affirmation. And each morning when they get up, they see a new post it note. You can write something to your kids, to your spouse, to your parents, and you can just start a tradition of writing a letter. I wanted to share with you really quickly. Part of the story of my husband's father's testimony is my husband writing him a letter after 9 11. A, handwritten letter that was mailed in the mail, talking about how he was concerned for his father's future, knowing that, yes, we wanted security here on Earth after 9 11, where the world Seemed more unsafe. But more importantly, he wanted to be together in heaven. And my husband didn't get a response to that letter for years and years and years. But when my father in law came to know the Lord, he pulled that letter, worn, creased, out of his wallet where he had carried it, treasured it, read over the word so many times and said, I've seen Christ transform your life and I want him to transform mine too. It's a powerful part of testimony. So I encourage you to write a letter. Now, a letter is just one method of communication that brings us to this week's habit, which is modeling your faith.

Modeling our faith is a communication issue because whether we realize it or not, we are constantly communicating 

So we're shifting from what we say to one of another to what our lives actually communicate every day. And fundamentally, modeling our faith is a communication issue because whether we realize it or not, we are constantly communicating to our families about what we really think about our faith, how important it really is to us, how it's integrated in our life, what we really trust in, not just what we say on Sunday mornings, but where we turn to in times of stress, what we believe holds us together when life is hard. We are constantly communicating that. And I want to encourage you and open your eyes to see that your faith is communicated far more through your everyday speech and behavior rather than those formal teaching moments. And children especially, they're going to be attentive to that consistency. They're looking for that congruence, that match between your what you say and what you do, what you say and how you live. And they're looking for these kinds of things. This is where our faith is really on display. And we're communicating to our kids how our faith is integrated into our worldview, how we respond to stress, whether we panic, whether we shut down, or do we turn to prayer? And do we turn to biblical perspective? How do we handle conflict? Do we escalate? Do we avoid? Or do we pursue humility and reconciliation as we're commanded to as Christ followers? What do we say when life falls apart? That instinctive language, whether it may be salty, it may be inappropriate, it may be pessimistic, it may just be angry, defeated, or is it hopeful? Is it gratitude based? Is it yes. But what do we say when our life falls apart? Where do we turn? first, in a crisis, when we hear that crisis hits, do we turn to a bottle? Do we turn to a drink? Do we turn to doom? M scrolling. Do we turn to ourselves and isolate? Or to prayer and problem solving with other people seeking wise counsel? Turning to the Lord, what tone do we use? When we're frustrated because if our words reflect anger, if they reflect that reactivity that I'm, irritated, I'm overwhelmed, or do they reflect grace? And how often are fate, how often is our faith actually referenced in our daily life? Or is this something that's just siloed and isolated for Sunday mornings or maybe Wednesday nights? How is our faith referenced in our daily life? Is it only for church settings? Are we living out those spiritual disciplines that we talked about, those rhythms that we talked about? Do your kids see you regularly having a habit of prayer? Do they see you reading your Bible? Do they see you turning to a devotional? And what do they see in your morning routine and your night routine? And they're looking to see is God just talked about but not really integrated into our life? Because we may just affirm that, yeah, we believe that, but we're not going to live it out. And that comes across and how we make our decisions, whether we are really going to integrate our biblical worldview or we're just going to try to relay on our own wisdom. And children are quickly picking up on this unspoken faith language. This, these unspoken acts of faith. They notice when faith is spoken but it's not practiced. They notice when God is acknowledged but not really dependent on. And they notice when there's a gap between what we believe and what we're actually doing at home. And over time, that disconnect can either create confusion and just feelings of apathy, or we can use this unspoken faith language to form a deeply authentic model of faith that feels real, that feels steadying, that feels life shaping. This is not about performance or pressure or religious appearance. I know you're thinking about those verses that said Jesus said to pray in private. It's not about being overly pious. It's not about trying to look spiritual. This is about communicating something deeply stabilizing to your family. You are communicating. We are not self reliant people. We are God dependent people. We trust God no matter what happens. It communicates security and a God who never changes. It communicates stability in a world that is constantly shifting and a framework for how do we process those tough things that come into our life. And that lived example of how faith actually works in real life is one of the most powerful forms of discipleship in your home. If it will reduce anxiety, it will build emotional safety, it will help you be more resilient during a crisis. And it normalizes prayer and scripture reading and seeking wise counsel is those first responses. When we come back. I'm going to Talk about some practical ways to communicate and model your faith in everyday life. What does that look like practically? And I'll have some home front headlines. I'll be right back after this break.

An ultrasound provided by preborn helped Candace hear her baby's heartbeat

 : Candace talks about finding out she was pregnant. Thankfully, an ultrasound provided by preborn allowed her to hear her baby's heartbeat. The sonogram sealed the deal for me. My baby was like this tiny little spectrum of hope and I saw his heart beating on the screen and knowing that there's life growing inside, I mean that sonogram changed my life. I went from just Candace to mom. Thank you. To everybody that has given these gifts. You guys are giving more than money. You guys are giving love.

 : Preborn currently has clinics that do not have ultrasound machines. Would you consider a leadership gift and sponsor a machine today? These life Saving machines cost $15,000 more than most centers can afford. Your donation will save countless lives for years to come. Dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby or go to preborn.com/AFR

Peace Be Still by Hope Darst: I don't want to be afraid every time I face the waves. I don't want to be afraid I don't want to be afraid and I don't want to fear the storm just because I hear it roar. I don't want to fear the storm I don't want to fear the storm. Peace be still say the word and I will set my feet upon the sea till I'm dancing in the deep. Peace be still. You are here so it is well even when my eyes can't see.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is peace be still by Hope Darst and and that is a mantra that we should take into everyday life. I'm not going to be afraid because there are so many things that are coming at us in modern life. It can feel overwhelming. We can feel the waves of culture just crashing over us with a new challenge every single day. But I'm here to give you some hope for healthy families. And today we're talking about this week's healthy habit. We're in a series on communication in the greater series of a year over what we're doing. If you've missed out, you can go back and listen to any Friday show or you can listen to the doctor, nurse, mama, coach, coaching minutes were 1 minute catch ups for that. And I'm right in the middle of talking about the communication and how you live out your faith in your home. Now this is verbal, it's non verbal but kids especially and your spouse, the people who are living with you are looking at you for how you're living out your faith. And can't you think of a time where someone lived out their faith in quiet ways that weren't looking for attention, that weren't in showy ways? It's not even in those leadership ways which are so great, you know, leading a Bible study at church or leading a prayer at church. But hey, in the quiet moments where no one sees, where I think, I'm by myself, I'm kneeling by my bed, I'm praying, but you can see little eyes peeking around the corner and seeing, hey, mom has kneeled by her bed, she's praying, she's talking to God right now. What a deeply settling experience. You can feel the same way in your marriage when you know that maybe your husband takes a few moments in the car before he comes in because he's praying for your family, he's praying for his actions, the transition that he's going to bring in, the energy in your home. Those kinds of things are powerful, powerful. That's powerful stuff. And so there's some practical ways that you can model your faith and communicate and you can think about how you're communicating to your family, your integration of what your authentic faith life looks like.

We talked about this year and every year, your prayer life

The first thing that we'll talk about is habit number one. We talked about this year and every year, your prayer life. Do you pray openly? Not performatively and not perfectly. Not like it's ready to air for the radio, but just naturally. I mean, sometimes. Is that just a prayer, a one sentence prayer of God, please help me today when you're overwhelmed, when you're frustrated? I used to pray those one sentence prayers in the days of toddlers. God help my kids not to be so frustrating. And then I hear their little voices echoing back. God help mommy not to be so frustrated. That is a beautiful example of modeling your faith. Do you pray with your kids before school, before mealtimes, before bedtime, as they're out of the car, carpool? What are those rhythms of prayer that you have in your life? Do your kids see that rhythm of prayer that you have? Do you pray when an ambulance goes by your car? Do you pray when someone asks you to pray for them? Do you just stop right there and just pray even if your children are watching? Do you pray on the phone when you're talking to a friend? Do you say things like, hey, let's pray about this before we decide? And then let them actually see you praying about it. Let them see that you've written it in a prayer journal that you have. And again, this is not about performative faith. This is about communicating, teaching our families in ways that they can live their faith out, in ways that faith is integrated. Let's talk about the habit number two we talked about this year, and that's engagement with Scripture. But this week, let's think about it in the context of how do we communicate that with our families? Do you read your Bible? Invisible, normal rhythms. Here's a question for you. Do your kids know where you keep your Bible? And here's a convicting thing. Okay, I won't tell anybody, but does it stay on the shelf after you get home from church on Sunday and then not get picked up until you go back to the church? Do the, the next week? Do your kids know where your Bible is? Do they see how you're reading that? I've heard so many testimonies of people saying, hey, I knew when I got up in the morning, my mom's Bible was going to be open on the, on the table as she was making breakfast. My dad's Bible was going to be open on his desk. How do you share those short reflections, what you're learning? Hey, I'm reading in this book, and it applies to this life situation that we have. It's not preaching, it's not lecturing. It's an invitation to communication. Here's what stood out to me. You know, I read this scripture today. I was just at a meeting for a mission trip that I'm preparing to go on, and one of the leaders said, I read this scripture in Isaiah, ah, about spending ourselves in mission and how we can be a light in the darkness. And I have not been able to stop thinking about that verse, thinking, where am I spending myself? Am I spending my time, my effort, my energy in this positive direction that the Lord has had? So prayer scripture, okay, number three, church. This is really convicting. Okay? But your kids, your spouse, they're going to see if you really prioritize, going to worship, letting your family see. It's not about we go to church in this family. Get in the car, we're going to church. It's just, hey, we're getting in the car and we're going. I'm going. I'm in a, Bible study. I'm plugged in. I'm in this volunteer, I'm in this ministry. You're kidding. Kids just see you going, that is communication. That is saying, this matters to me. I need this in my life. Do you speak positively about your church community, or do you come home and all they hear on Sunday afternoon is Just complaining about the. The music was too loud, it was too modern, the pastor was too long, he didn't have enough scriptures, the pews were just too lumpy, the air was too hot. We can sometimes communicate things about church where we're communicating those complaints which are natural and human at some times. But if you find yourself complaining about church more than you need to either check your heart or check your church, maybe you need a new church or maybe you need a new heart, posture toward that. I've been in both of those places for sure. But the bottom line is, do we treat spiritual community as essential and not optional? So how do they see you? Prayer, praying, reading the Bible, going to church. And then number four is processing life, life through the lens of faith. So kids are developing their ability to think abstractly, to have reasoning, to have judgment. That prefrontal cortex in their brain that's wired for good decision making and good logic, it's not there yet. They make decisions based on their amygdala, the downstairs brain, the fear based emotion center. And so we've got to talk through this out loud. Now it may feel really unnatural, at first, but talk through those hard decisions with, with spiritual grounding. So when you're talking through what should I do? What would be wise? What honors the Lord? How does scripture inform this? How, how long do you think we should pray about this? What, what should we pray? Modeling that dependence instead of panic or self reliance, like oh no, what are we going to do? Or okay, I got this, I got this, I'll take care of it, don't worry. How are we integrating faith through just the things in life that happen? Number five, seeking godly counsel soul. Now I am telling you there is a generation of children right now, Generation Alpha and who I think is going to be named generation Beta behind them, they're just now being born. These are infants and starting to be toddlers. I think they are going to see a generation of parents going straight to AI and chat for guidance over going to their pastor, going to the word of God, going to a spiritual mentor in their life. Because we used to go to Google first. Research shows about 85% of Americans, when you have a problem, you go straight to Google. Now we'll go straight to AI which has a who new host of concerns. But we need to normalize mentorship from real humans who are walking in real life and who are living out the messy parts of their faith. We need pastoral guidance, we need wise voices, we need to let our family see, hey, we don't make big decisions alone. We're going to seek godly counsel and ultimately we're going to do what the Lord convicts us to do. We'll make that decision as a family, but we are going to seek godly counsel. And as parents, often we push those voices out of our kids lives because we don't want our kids to tell anybody our dirty laundry. We don't want them seeking advice because if they need advice, then oh no, they know we have a problem. Well, news flash, everybody knows that everybody has problems. We need to normalize identifying specific trusted people. If you feel like you need advice, this is a safe, wise person to go to to talk to help our kids identify those. And number six, the last one is just that, everyday witness without lecturing. So often we think that our faith has to be in these formal times. Like we have to have a formal time, a family devotional, a formal time of prayer. We've talked about those things. Those are good. But there's so much more communication. You've all heard that communication is primarily non verbal. Non verbal communication is so much more powerful than verbal communication. And that's what's happening, how we're communicating, how we're living out our faith. Do we respond to strength, stress with prayer and hope instead of fear and doubt? Do we show forgiveness in real time even when it's hard? Do we admit when we don't have the answers? Do we let our faith just be seen and felt instead of forced? Those things are there now. I'm going to give you three starter steps to communicate an authentic faith at home. These are three things that you can start doing to model your faith at home. Number one, just start naming God naturally. And everyday moments, not just informal prayer, but just in real life language.

Let your family see your dependence on God in everyday conversations

Let's pray about this. Hey, I need God wisdom here. I'm asking the Lord for peace in this. I'm having an ongoing conversation with God about what he wants me to do. Here's the people he's put in my life. Here's how I'm thinking through this decision. Here's my fears about it, how I'm coping with that. Just, name God naturally in everyday moments, just when they're looking in the mirror. God made you beautifully. When you're walking in nature, speak scripture. Just make it natural conversation. Number two, let your family see your dependence on God. Don't worry about being that perfect parent. Don't worry about being that perfect spouse, that perfect kid. Just pray out loud when you're unsure, admit when you don't have the Answers, allow your kids to see you turn to God and not trying to fix everything yourself and your own power, your own resources, your own wisdom. And number three, bring faith into decision making conversations. When you connect your choices to your values, you pause and you say what is wise, what honors God, what aligns with scripture? Instead of just making decisions just based on urgency or emotion, you know, that whole add to cart thing, Listen, this is the powerful transformation that will happen. So name God naturally in conversation. Let your family see your dependence and bring faith into those decision making moments. When children see their parent is consistently depending on God, it is going to give them a very deep sense of security, more than what human strength can provide. Because if I know, okay, my dad loves me, me, well, I know other kids whose dad stopped loving them, but God never stops loving us. God is dependable. Even when humans fail, God does not. And so if I trust that my dad loves God enough to be obedient, that's more powerful than my dad loves me enough. He loves m. My dad loves me because God loves me. And those human qualities like competence or problem solving, I mean these things are valid, valuable, don't get me wrong. But they're limited and they are limited by stress or fatigue or circumstances. Children are eventually going to learn that parents are constant and that their presence, that that faith presence is something that can be relied upon and it will transition their dependence from their parent to that dependence on God. When a parent openly turns to God in real time, or a spouse, it communicates, hey, I believe in this foundation that doesn't shift, doesn't change, change doesn't fail. And that shifts your security from hey, my parent always has it together. They always have it together. But they know where to go when they don't. They know where to go when things fall apart. And over time you're going to build a steadier kind of peace. Because our ultimate trust is not in human perfection. It is in God's unchanging character who is working his perfect work through imperfect people. So sometimes the most powerful lessons in faith are not taught in sermons and lectures, in Sunday school lessons, yes, I will forever say Sunday school because I am old school, not apologetic for that. But these ordinary moments you're communicating at home. A quiet prayer that's overheard or seen, a Bible that's left open on the table, a parent kneeling by their child's door to pray at night. I heard a testimony of a man who said he opened the door and found his father on his knees outside his door begging God for help. In a situation they were facing and how much that's that stuck with him. When you choose peace instead of panic, a letter or note that just reaffirms that worldview. This is where modeling becomes discipleship. So the question for the week is simple but really pretty personal. What is your life communicating about who you trust? And if your family is only learning, learning faith by watching you, what are they learning? What are they seeing? How can you make your everyday rhythms just say, hey, we trust God for as me and my house we will serve the Lord and we've got to go to God for that wisdom because the world is certainly trying to feed us plenty of other messages and streams of wisdom. And that brings us to home front headlines where I'm answering questions about things that are going on in the news, telling you what I'm scanning, what I'm reading and what happened, why it matters for your family and how you should respond.

Americans increasingly turning to online platforms and AI tools for health information

Now I'm going to talk a lot about AI and shout out to Ron there who I met as a volunteer at Sharathon and he shared with me. He is a retiree. He lives in McFarland, Kansas, a small town. He said that he's an empty nester, but every Friday he glues in to find out about technology because it helps him to see the world in a different way and communicate with his kids and grandkids. So hey Ron out there we are talking about this first headline line is AI Online Information. We are seeking information about everything from faith to health to just practical map routes. And a recent report highlights a major shift especially in how people are seeking healthcare guidance. And Americans are increasingly turning to online platforms and AI tools for health information. Don't underestimate the power of big business here. There is a lot of money to be made in medical health AI systems. These are everything from symptom checkers to generative AI responses. These are first stop for health questions. These are things like chat, like chat gbt people are going and asking for health advice. I've even seen some mockups of things like imagine an ATM kiosk outside of a doctor's office and oh well, the health clinic is closed. But you can just go up to the the kiosk and it will take your temperature and scan some biometrics and take some health questions and dispense you a medication. Is this the Jetsons? Is this good or is this scary? The answer is both. With this rise in usage, most people admit they don't fully trust what they're reading. And let me tell you you shouldn't, you should not trust what you are seeing on AI about your health. And there's a growing tension between convenience and credibility. People are using digital tools but feeling uncertain about whether the answers are accurate or safe. I'll tell you how to navigate this AI health information on Homefront Headlines when we come back right after this break. Do you believe in the absolute inerrancy of God's holy word? Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to radically change lives and empower us to live like Christ? At Wesley Biblical Seminary, we believe God is raising up a movement of people across our nation and across the world who hold fast to the authority of the Bible and the hope of holiness. We are working today to equip tomorrow's pastors and Christian leaders through biblical and theological education in practical ministry. That's accredited, affordable, online and highly personal. Our programs include undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees, certificate programs, and even training for laypeople. So whatever your next step is in being equipped for ministry, we're here for you. And if you believe these are the kinds of pastors we need leading our churches in the future, we invite you to learn more about partnering with us through giving. Learn more about Wesley Biblical Seminary by visiting [email protected] today.

Speak To The Mountains by Chris McClarney: So I won't be shaken. I won't be moved My God is faithful. His promise is true. So I'll speak to the mountains Oh, it's time to move.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back on this Friday, friends, that's Speak to the mountains by Chris McClarney. And I'm speaking to you today about home front headlines. We are talking about things that are in the news that you need to know about what happened, why it matters for your family and how we should respond. And I was right in the middle of telling you about the rise of AI health information. now for me as a clinician, I'm going to be very honest with you. I find it very, very frustrating because again, there's a lot of money to be made, so there's a lot of products that are put out quickly without the best intent. I'm, just going to say it and put it out there. And what I would say to families is this matters because there is a quiet but significant shift in authority. There are a lot of ways in which organized medic has broken trust with the American people, which, you know, has been really talked about quite a bit. And there is some legitimate criticism as, there is of any, of any industry. But AI generated health information should not take the Place of a trusted healthcare provider in your life. Earlier this year I did a whole show on how do you pro, how do you find a primary care provider who you know and literally trust with your life to help make those decisions and health decisions that once began in a really trusted relationship, Much like we see with pastors who are local physicians, healthcare providers, nurse practitioners, physician associates who know you, who know your family, who you trust. They're often now those, those questions are starting with a search bar or a chatbot. And it means parents especially are ah, navigating medical concerns through a flood of information that is often incomplete, contradictory, not personalized to their child' actual condition. And I've seen some very dangerous and even life threatening situations emerge from that. So as much as we want to believe in the capability of AI, don't underestimate the power of a trained, experienced clinician who you trust, who you can partner with to make those important health care, those healthcare decisions that is really important. And so you need a digital discernment frame framework that AI and online tools can be help Helpful starting points like what are we looking at here? Like usually what would happen in my family? And every nurse I know, every nurse in the family, you all know who it is. You all have a nurse in your family who's on speed dial and when you stub your toe or you accidentally, you know, get some household chemical in your mouth, like you're calling that nurse, right? Saying what should I do? Because nurses are the most trusted profession and I hope that that is not replaced as much as I can get interesting phone calls or text mess now and then. But I, really encourage you make sure that you are pausing before you react to what information is given to you that you're verifying that you're consulting with real physicians, real nurses, nurse practitioners, all other kinds of healthcare providers, caregivers who know the person, not just the symptom. Wisdom is not just about access to information, knowing who to trust with that information. So just be very discerning and just go to that person. I think now more than ever it's so important to be connected in primary care, to have that person that you can go and ask who knows and respects and honors your worldview. That's really important.

Growing number of pastors are using artificial intelligence in their ministry work

Okay, so also for looking at, at healthcare providers, I've been saying that pastors, ministry leaders have faced these kind of similar, ah, challenges where a growing number of pastors are using artificial intelligence in their ministry work, using it for sermon outlines or study preparation or administrative tasks, communication support, much like Healthcare providers are trying to figure out what is responsible integration. Now thankfully in healthcare we don't have usually the the, the level of spiritual overlay, like where's the Holy Spirit and all of that. That is a whole nother subject. But we see pastors who are concerned about people likewise going for health advice. Not just physical health care, but spiritual health care. And we're starting to see the public already saying they trust, they trust AI more than they, they trust pastors or health or ministry leaders. And this is something that we really got to look at and do some deep thinking about. Because what is happening? Even when spiritual formation is automated by an algorithm, families rely on the church not just for information, but you're talking about relational discipleship with real people who are walking alongside you, living in your community, facing the same challenges that you are, who are walking with your kids, who are with your kids in sports and school and just working in the grocery store. This, they're also looking for that pastoral presence, someone who sees and knows your family. And I'm continuing to speak about, about my concern about algorithm related discipleship where we have content discipleship that's just this spiritual content that's just kind of overly standardized, that just has one voice. And faith formation is becoming more about content delivery rather than shepherding character development. So we've got to raise questions as parents about what is shaping our family's spiritual understanding. Is this human discipleship that is rooted in real relationship or is this machine generated religious language that really has no lived authority? Don't outsource your family's discipleship to machine generated religious language that is mimicking, that is, that is emulating what a spiritual advisor would say, but is not, is not biblical counsel. And so we got, it's not about rejection of tools, they're all bad, but putting wise boundaries around tools. AI can assist in spiritual formation, but it cannot, it must not replace spiritual leadership and pray, prayerful discernment or pastoral physical presence in your life. So churches and families need to affirm that, hey, discipleship happens in human relationship. Make sure that the primary place that your family is getting discipled is through humans who are living here on the earth. And it's not just algorithm driven. Now this can be really hard because one of the things that we see in human relationships is that they can be problematic. So I saw an article this week about emotional abuse in college sports. Now this is really important for us because if you grew up of a generation like Gen X or back Gen X, Boo Boomers, silent generation, Greatest generation. We all grew up in a generation that was pretty much a suck it up mentality. Like, hey, hard things happen. Dust yourself off, move on. Like, you know, boys, don't cry. Like, this whole generation, which has some benefits but also had some significant harms because what we treated as normal was actually traumatic. But what we know now about abuse is that emotional abuse and neglect is actually in some ways even more psychologically devastating than abuses that are physical or sexual abuse in nature. Because emotional abuse is so much harder to identify, it's so much harder to talk to people about, and it's so much more confusing if you were physically abused. If you say, hey, this physical, this specific act of physical abuse happened to me when I was a kid, people are going to generate sympathy. They're going to say, that's awful. I can't believe that happened. If you see, say, yeah, my mom just really wasn't there for me. And you know, did she give you a house? Yes. Did she give you food? Yes. Does she go to your games? Yes. Then what are you crying about? Like, I didn't, I didn't have a mom around that, but it's really hard. So some investigations into. There was a, there was a college, the college basketball girls who sued their coach for emotional abuse and they actually won. They were, it was a jury trial and they won. And this is the. Bringing renewed attention to emotional and psychological abuse within some sports programs. Especially now that we have the change on nil, the name, imaging and licensing, in college that really amplifies the earning potential for kids in college. So it increases pressure for younger kids to position themselves to be able to play in college and make money. But we have also now the other pressure. The other side of that is the coaches who recruit them are now pressured to perform because, hey, donors have invested a lot of money to get this kid come play. And they are banking on your bet, on your pick for this team. So let me say it a different way. So we've got coaches who are going out scouting athletes and sometimes that can happen from other countries, sometimes that can happen from underprivileged homes or sometimes that just happens, it happens all over everywhere. They're saying, hey, we'll pay you a lot of money to come and play. And then, oh, the pressure is on to play because if you don't perform my pick and is bad, I'm going to lose my job. So we're seeing more investigations into collegiate athletics, that are really talking about emotional and psychological abuse within some sports programs. It is real. And athletes are describing environments that are marked by extreme intimidation, even public humiliation, and this pressure that is really just marketed as performance coaching, but it's really just pressure and a bottle. And so while that physical training is expected in competitive sports, these reports and these recent trials are highlighting a deeper issue that emotional boundaries are crossed in the name of success. And we really have identity and worth just tied to performance and control. So this matters because this is really revealing this downstream effect of how easily achievement based sports environments can really distort a young person's understanding of who they are. And when performance becomes the primary measure of value, especially in sports, then sometimes we don't speak out about emotional harm. We really, justify it. Well, that's just the level that you're competing at. Well, that's just what you've got to take. Well, he's the best coach and you just got to stick with it because, yeah, that's bad. But you know, this is going to get you where you want to go. And I can tell you, I'm a pediatric nurse practitioner. I've worked with young student athletes for decades and decades. And I can't tell you how many times I've had an athlete sit in an exam room weeping or just bitter and angry and walking away from the sport and saying, I'm not going to play. And then their parents are devastated because now they've lost their identity. I know I'm going to pause here. I know this sounds really judgy and really preachy. It's a struggle for all of us, it really is. But we've really got to wake up because this is happening fast. And many stuff students don't recognize those unhealthy dynamics because we just taught them, hey, press on, take it, you're tough. And they now and then after they leave these environments, they have a mental health breakdown because they realize, like, okay, I've been carrying this for a really long time. And this is just reflecting a broader cultural pattern where we see pressure and to be excellent and to be visible, to be marketable, to be a product. And it just, overrides that. The more important things make sure athletes are safe physically, psychologically, emotionally and have a voice in that. So we've got to make families the places where identity is not performance based. There are a lot of kids who are really gifted and love engaging in sports. I have nieces and nephews who do that. my kids have been in sports. I get it. I understand that. I am not saying that that is all bad, but make sure that their identity is not grounded in their performance, but it's rooted in their intrinsic worth as a child of God. We've got to create some open space for open conversation about feeling emotionally safe, even when they're in high achievement environments. And sometimes you can just be so in pursuit of the goal that, you know, your kids, they may float something up just like a little bit, just to kind of see how it is like, you know, coach was really hard on me today. I'm not sure how I felt about it. Oh, I'm sure you added your best and know you, you just kind of, you just kind of sweep it under the rug. We need to pause and we need to really honor that voice there. And we've got to teach children the difference between healthy correction and what is harmful control, what is healthy coaching environment and what is crossing the line into exploitative or even abusive behavior. And again, just that all goes back to their identity in Christ.

New research indicates a correlation between active faith participation and stronger academic outcomes

Now one of the encouraging things is that's an new research this week, came out that indicates a correlation between active faith participation and stronger academic outcomes. So you want your kid to do better in school, get them involved in their faith community. So students who are involved in regular faith communities demonstrate higher levels of discipline, they can control their emotions better, they feel social support, and they are tying this to long term educational success. So the study didn't suggest causation, but there was a correlation, a consistent pattern that faith engagement makes a healthier developmental environment. And this matters because it reframes faith. It's not just a spiritual practice, but it is a shaping force in a child's development. And we see faith communities provide structure and mentorship and frameworks that help give perspective on who am I in light of all of these things that we are doing and these relational support systems that really extend beyond the home. And so we should see faith engagement as integrated formation. It's not an isolated activity. Again, all of these spiritual disciplines that we're going back to, pray for your family, speak scripture over your family, go to church as a family, listen to Christian music as a family, have a daily devotional, integrate these rhythms. These all are tied to academic outcomes and, and a last story, a, ah, shout out to all the firstborns out there. I am a firstborn minor myself. And recent studies suggest that firstborn children do show an early developmental advantage in language and thinking and academic readiness compared to the younger siblings. I know that was just a, shameless shout out there. But here's the thing. The, the we have more attention, we have more energy. We are talking more to our kids rather than talking to each other. But it matters because what happens, happens. It's so easy to compare kids and to compare and so often. I know, I heard this is the firstborn because I took a sinful sense of pride in this question. Why can't you be more like her? She's got it all together. Well, research shows now I have a developmental built in advantage and that's not fair to other kids. And we need to resist comparison, less language, especially with siblings, and lead into that intentional individualized connection. Hey, I'll pick up with this next time and talk more about developing confident, resilient kids, no matter what birth order they are. If you're the baby that makes everybody laugh. If you're the middle child who's shockingly well adjusted and just doesn't have nearly the sense of neuroticism that we do as the older kids. Hey, wherever you are and your birth order, only child or not, I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you on this beautiful Friday. I'll see you back here on Monday.

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Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.