Transcript

Hamilton: God has called us to be ambassadors even in this dark moment

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light. This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio. It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite, delivering people out of the bondage of mainstream media and the philosophies of this world. God has called you and me to be his ambassadors even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment. And now the Hamilton Corner. Good evening everyone.

Many of you are making transition from part time jobs to full time jobs

Welcome to the Hamilton Corner. Abraham Hamilton III here joined by producer extraordinaire, often imitated, never duplicated, the real J. Mac. And we're delighted that you have tuned into the program at this very moment. Many of you, if not most of you are making your transition from your part time jobs where you generate an income to your full time jobs where you cultivate an outcome. And yes, you heard me right, that was not, ah, a verbal fumble. I did describe our income generating capacity as our part time jobs. While it is exceedingly important, we all have responsibilities, we have bills, we have to pay. as you know, you've been following my show. I have six children. My wife and I, we have six children and they eat every day that N's and Y. You know, I'm trying to encouraging them concerning the virtues of fasting, you know, but some of them are quite tuned in. They'll say daddy, fasting shouldn't be a diet plan. Nor is it a budgetary maintenance tool as it, you got me, I'm just kidding. I don't ask my children to fast so we can save money. I do not. But it's not something we all have to do. But our culture works overtime to get us to conflict our identities with income generating. You know, if you think about it, when you interact with people, one of the first questions that's at that is asked is so, so what do you do? You know when that question is as asked, they're not asking you what's your favorite hobbies, they're not asking you what's your dinner plans or what do you have scheduled. They're asking you what do you do occupationally? What do you to do to generate revenue? That's what they're asking. Because in our society often identity is conflated with revenue generation capacities. But is that what it should be? Biblically, I would simply say no. So income generating is a part of what we do, but that's not synonymous with the totality of who we are and our full time engagement.

The home is a fulcrum for ministry. If you are married, your most immediate outpost is your spouse

If you are a member of God's eternal family is outcome cultivation. I use outcome cultivation as a synonym for Great Commission execution. And the most, I should say the most immediate outpost for Great Commission execution starts right in our own homes. If you are in the life stage and phase where you are married, as I am, my primary responsibility, my foremost and most immediate outpost, for ministerial engagement is with my wife. If you are a wife, your most immediate outpost is with your husband. My wife and I talk about this. I have a responsibility to minister to her before I get to my children. obviously, I don't want to neglect and ignore my children, but I certainly don't want to sacrifice my wife in an effort to serve my children. And one of the most important things I can do for my children is to love and serve their mother well. To model for my sons what a godly husband is, to model for my daughters what. What a godly husband is, and to demonstrate to them the priority that my wife has in my life. The same is true for wives. One of the foremost opportunities for ministerial impact is how you interact with your husband. Then it's to the children. Some of you are listening to me. You're in a different life stage. Ah, some, have spouses who have passed away. but the same is true. The home is a fulcrum for ministry. I reflect often on, our sister Rosaria Butterfield, and how she's explained that when she was the poster child for LGBTQIAP L, M, N, O, P Cricket letter. Cricket letter. I, cricket letter, crooked letter. The Lord broke through in her heart with the gospel through hospitality. She had a neighbor who was a pastor, and the pastor and his wife invited her over for dinner. Hundreds of times, hundreds of meals they shared together. And in the course of enjoying those meals together, God opens her heart for the gospel. And it began with her regeneration, being born again. And now she is a, powerful voice for the kingdom of God to explain the truth of God's word and being able to do so from a been there, done that disposition. You can't tell me nothing. This is what Rosaria Butterfield says, but I'm translating the ABE standard Version. You can't tell me nothing about being a, lesbian, because I've been there, done that, got the T shirt, took the picture, wrote a song about it, like, here it goes, you know, she said, that's a lie. I was living a lie, and God opened my eyes to the lie. That breakthrough happened through hospitality. And frankly, that is a grace and a ministerial outlet that we need to rediscover. Within the family of God. Once again, the ministry of hospitality. Ministry through hospitality. To the word of God we go. Proverbs chapter 8 is where we're going to begin the program today.

Proverbs chapter 8, verses 1 through 7 affirm that wisdom is available

Proverbs chapter 8, verses 1 through 7. It's one of the sources of Scripture that I rely upon consistently, to affirm the fact that if we lack wisdom, it doesn't have to stay that way. It doesn't have to stay that way. Proverbs 8, verses 1 through 7. Verse 1. Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice on the heights beside the way? At the crossroads she takes her stand Beside the gates in front of the town. At the entrance of the portal, she cries aloud to you, O men, I call. My cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence. Learn prudence. O fools, learn sense. Here, for I will speak noble things. From my lips will come what is right. For my mouth will utter truth. For my mouth will utter truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. The Lord reminds us over and over and over again in His Word that lacking wisdom does not have to be a perpetual condition. It does not have to be a perpetual deficiency. Here in Proverbs 8, wisdom is personified. And in that personification, the initial probative rhetorical question is presented. Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice, in other words, that wisdom and understanding are available and accessible to those of us who will hear, heed, and respond. I often talk about the biblical description, of the fool. That is not merely a pejorative, but it's the fool who says, in his heart there is no God. Well, the scripture tells us that being a fool is not a perpetual condition. Oh, simple ones, learn prudence. In verse five, it says, o fools, learn sense, Learn sense. The more I learn of the Lord, the more I follow the Lord, the more I realize I have so much to learn. and that recognition creates an appetite. And the learning is not really for mere intellectual stimulus. It's being captured by a person. The king of kings and the Lord of Lords. Wisdom, verse seven communicates, utters truth. Wickedness is an abomination to wisdom. As we grow in wisdom, wickedness becomes an abomination to us. We never want to get in this place, man, where we are just, you know, sociopolitical pugilists. We're just jousting and fighting and rumbling and tumbling because of this. And I don't like this. And we lose sight of what it means to be the Lord's servant. I explained my process. Before, I didn't know anything about political conservatism. All I knew is that God had saved me. The public positions I've taken have flowed downstream from the revelation of the Lord, first in saving faith, then in sanctification. But if we ever get to the place to where our commitment is to sociopolitical outcomes and we're estranged from the power and presence of our Lord, anchored by his holy word, illuminated to us by his spirit man, we are much to be pitied. When the scripture says, does wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? The resounding answer is, yes, they do. Wisdom calls, understanding raises her voice. The primary vehicle for enjoying the wisdom of God and embracing understanding is by having a constant habit of consuming his word. That it is our daily engagement. It is our daily engagement. When the scripture says, oh, simple ones learn prudence, old fools learn sense. What's being communicated is that being simple, being a, fool is not, doesn't have to be an enduring condition. Because as the text says, on the heights beside the way, at, ah, the crossroads, wisdom takes her stand beside the gates in front of the town, at, the entrance of the portals, Wisdom cries. The Lord is saying that wisdom is available. It's wisdom is on accessible purchase, invisible locations, readily available to us who will avail ourselves of wisdom. But what's often the case is that many have become comfortable with humanistic, quote, unquote wisdom, which the apostle James says, man, that's devilish, worldly wisdom is devilish, humanistic wisdom, devilish. The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. This is why I've been warning quite consistently against, godlessness amongst regressives and godlessness amongst people who would describe themselves as conservative. Because godlessness, regardless of political orientation at the genesis of, leads in the same direction. In the same direction. But wisdom is available to us. And I know I point this, and I want to point this out because here's a portion of the process that is often neglected. Verse 5 says, O simple ones, learn prudence. Oh, fools, learn sense. Verse 6 begins with saying, hear for I will speak noble things. In order for wisdom to be accessed, we have to hear, we have to take heed. We have to put into practice what it is that we're being confronted with, what it is that we're learning. We don't want to be the people who are ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of truth. We don't want to be like the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Acts chapter 17, who they had no interest in putting anything to practice. They had made sport, if you will, of intellectual stimulation. You know. Oh, Paul, come join us at the Areopagus. You're presenting some new teaching that we hadn't heard before. Come, we want to gain an audience with you. Oh, we're not planning to do anything with what you're presenting. We just want to hear some new idea. We just want to have a new post, if you will. But wisdom is ultimately actionable. You can put feet to wisdom. You can implement what wisdom requires and that's available to each and every one of us. So regardless of your background, wherever, whatever experiences that you've had to date. And man, God knows better than I can than I know, but as a human being, I know, man, we've all experienced and gone through all kinds of crazy stuff, but none of the stuff that we've gone through, none of it is sufficiently potent to keep you and me from receiving what God has for us right now. It's not what, ah, we have to access. One of the most immediate, readily available means of doing so is by making it your daily routine to consume God's word. And as you consume it, we don't merely want to read God's word, but we want to welcome God to read us by his spirit through his word. Presenting AFA Stream, an online platform that hosts all AFA produced video content, including documentaries, church curriculum, American family radio shows, and our Cultural Institute series.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: I would submit that we are a Christian nation and the proof of that is in our founding documents and in the US Constitution itself. Because our founders recognized for the first time in world history that our rights come from God our Creator, not our government.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: AFA Stream is a vital step that we are taking to fulfill our vision to be a leading organization in biblical worldview training for cultural transformation. You'll find top notch resources that address the issues of our day related to marriage, family, the sanctity of life, life and many others. Start streaming today. Stream.aca.net. Shining light into the darkness.

Dr. Jessica Peck hosts the Nurse Mama show on American Family Radio

This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio. Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. Abraham Hamilton III here and I'm delighted to have on the program Dr. Jessica Peck, host of the Dr. Nurse Mama show right here on American Family Radio that you can hear every single day. Dr. Peck is a pediatric nurse practitioner as well as a professor, author and mother of four. her program deals with all things concerning the family and she provides a biblical and holistic health perspective with the aim of bringing hope and healing to families in America and around the world. Dr. Peck thank you for joining me here on the Hamilton Corner.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Abe. So good to be with you. Thanks for having me.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh, it is truly my pleasure to have you on. I just love your presentation, your demeanor, the counsel that you're able to offer, for families, it really, really, really ministers so powerfully and poignantly in this hour where families are being really barraged on all fronts. And so I'm so grateful to you and the work that you do, on a daily basis.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: It is truly an honor to be in the radio lineup. And every afternoon at 2pm Central Time, I love being able to spend time listeners prescribing hope for healthy families because in this world of doom scrolling and bad news, we need good news. And I'm really just honored to be in the lineup providing that to AFR listeners.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Praise God for that.

Dr. Nurse Mama uses her nursing experience to prescribe hope for healthy families

Well, I want to jump right in because when people hear your show name, Dr. Nursemama, what should they understand, from your show's name and what they're positioning themselves to learn and to hear from when they tune in?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, first of all that I'm a little bit southern. I'm a Texan born and raised and hence the mama. But Dr. Nurse Mama is my professor brain, my hands on nursing experience and my heart as a mom to prescribe hope for healthy families. I do live in Texas and am blessed to be married to a rocket scientist, a real life rocket scientist who thinks it's really funny that people think I'm the smart one in the relationship. But we have four kids of our own. They are young adult down to a, teenage age. I have been through four teenagers that one time and loved it. Want to share that with everyone else? And honestly, Abe, you know, my personal story is that I came from a family that was a Christian family and I was raised in church and introduced to the Lord at an early age. But a lot of generational trauma, dysfunction, brokenness, a lot of pain in relationships. And I really feel like the Lord just called me to be a chain breaker, to be a cycle breaker. And that is really what I've been doing and working on. And I want to share that hope with other people.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That's so important because you know better than I can articulate it that a lot of those cycles and chains that we either endure or experience often repeat, you know, hence the expression cycles. so there is an enduring imprint that's made upon us in our familial formation. but the beauty of being in Christ is that he is the game changer. You know, no matter what those imprints might have been in the formative times, that in Christ all things become new and a new landscape can be forged.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, what's amazing is actually I learned in nurse practitioner school that trauma imprints itself down to the level of our DNA. It impacts the way that our DNA is read and transcribed through something called epigenetic changes. But the grace of God is that healing is passed on as well. And there is, you know, the Lord's mercies are new every single morning and that's how often we need them. And sometimes I have morning, a lot of times during the day. But God's mercies are new every morning. And there our God is a God of redemption, restoral, restoring, renewing. There is beauty from ashes. And I'm convinced that no family is beyond hope.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Amen. Amen. Amen to that point.

A lot of families express challenges with social media and busy schedules

lots of families, I was just at a, at a conference just last week speaking. a lot of families express challenges of many different sorts with, you know, the advent of social media, 20, four hour news cycles, busy schedules, having this gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go kind of lifestyle. there are often challenges in parents actually being able to access the hearts of their children. I just wanted to ask you, if you would just, weigh in a bit on what we as parents can do to try to nullify the kind of striation that happens in our family's lives that prohibit or impede our capacity to access our children at a heart level.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: You're so right, Abe. We are living at the speed of a smartphone. We are living in a world that is constantly on 24. 7. Access to information, access to more information than we've ever had in any generation in the history of time. And we're just running on overload. And I think Christian families would say if they were asked, of course our priority is character formation, is spiritual formation, is relationship connection. But if you look at your credit card statement, if you look at your calendar, if you look at your screen time, you'll see a pretty tough reality check on where your priorities really are and where we're investing our time. And here, especially in America, we're really, we're coached to pursue the American dream. So our kids need to get into the right school so they get into the right college, so they get the right jobs, they can get the right family, live in the right neighborhood so they can have 2.4 kids and then send those kids to the right school so they can go to the right college. And, and parents are spending a lot of money on, so, like sports and, you know, things that are inherently not wrong in and of themselves. But we are missing the relationship piece. And we see, especially in the aftermath of COVID we see a generation that is more digitally connected than ever, but more relationally disconnected than ever. And what people aren't talking about is the rise of loneliness. And we see that in digital silos and families. Everybody's streaming their own program, everybody's texting each other from a different room. We're fubbing our children, which is actually a scientific term, P H u B B I n g that we're using in research. It's a combination of the words phone and snubbing. We're phone snubbing our children. And it is impacting and disconnecting, accelerating that disconnected relationship. And so we have great opportunity though, Abe, because our kids, despite what you might think, that you can't get their face out of their phone, that one thing that they really long for is authentic connection and belonging in their families.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: So, so what are some things that we should, as parents look to, to not be convicted rightly of being fubbers.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Yes.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And, and because I don't, I don't believe any parent intentionally conducts, himself in a manner to where they'll be disconnected from, from their children. But they're. And I, and I think a part of it is why the Lord tells us in Romans 12, for example, not to be conformed to this world, but be, be transformed by the renewing of our minds because we so easily fall into the patterns of things that are happening around us. and so I think many parents are doing that very thing, not recognizing that I may be conducting myself in a manner that's contributing to the disconnect, that I'm experiencing. And I don't want that, but I don't know how to get out of it. What would you say to parents who would say that?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, what I would say is tune into my show on Fridays. Every Friday we do a series called 52 Habits for Healthy Families. And we walk through ways to connect with your family to strengthen your relationships. We started in January. We do this every year, but we started in January with core four spiritual disciplines. Praying, reading your Bible, going to church, and using Christian music as a discipleship tool and a thermostat for your home. Then we walked into some rhythms for your family, like having check in connection points, bedtime, morning routine, doing, daily devotionals together, reading God's word together. And then we've moved into Communication. So we're talking about learning how to say I'm sorry and you know, learning how to listen with your face and really prioritize your family time. You know, Abe, I'm convinced that this is a great piece of news because I think parents are overwhelmed today by just the constant new threats. And we live in this constant state of anxiety and fear. Like, oh, there's fentanyl and Halloween candy and oh, our kids are going to be trafficked and now there's this new threat and now we're afraid of the smartphone. And I think that we cannot be faith, we cannot be fear based. God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a power and love and a sound mind and we can be faith informed. And God has given us all the tools that we need for such a time as this. And it goes back to those basic things, those basic spiritual disciplines, basic spiritual formations. So I would say, you know, join us on that journey. We'd be glad to talk to you about it. And if you are just thinking, what can I do today? I would encourage people to think about the presence in their home, their physical presence, their emotional presence, their mental presence, and their spiritual presence. Kids need us in all of those four planes. They need us to be physically present in their lives, sitting at the dinner table, sitting at the soccer field, sitting at the end of their bed, looking at them, engaging them. They need us to be emotionally present, in tune with their emotions, see that little look of worry, cross their face and follow up on it and ask on it. They need our mental presence. They need us to be engaged, not distracted, not. Mom, mom, you're not listening. Did you hear what I just said? And they need us to be spiritually present as well, modeling our faith and having them walk alongside people who are going to emphasize a biblical worldview. That's a great place to start.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That is so good. And you refer to a concept that some may say. Wait, wait, run that back a little bit. What she say? Listening with your face. What does it mean to listen with your face?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, we spent a whole week on this habit. It is one of the most powerful things that you could do today. So it goes back fubbing what we're studying. And when you look at the scientific research on this, when you see a phone, whether it's between a parent and child in a marriage relationship, a dating relationship, a, you know, grown, a grandparent, grandchild, any relational dynamic, when you bring in a phone to that, conversation, to that dynamic, it automatically spikes anxiety, it causes indigestion. And one of the interesting things, Abe, that research shows is that when parents have a phone, when they're talking with their kids, the number one emotion that kids feel is disrespect, because they feel like you're not in this conversation. And so often we listen with our faces and our phones and we tell them, yeah, I heard what you said. And we repeat back to them, you go to any school event, any sporting event, any community event, somebody waiting to get their oil changed, everybody has texting neck, their faces are down in their phone. So what you need to do with the listen with your face is give your children the gift of your face. Now, I started doing this like, if I'm driving down the road and my kids are trying to tell me something that's important, if it's in a safe place and feasible, I'll say, hang on just a second, I need to pull over. I need to give you my face. This sounds important. Let me make sure I'm looking at you making eye contact. Because one of the beautiful ways that God designed our bodies is that when we make eye contact with someone for at least 20 seconds, our brain starts to release hormones and chemicals that are bond, that bond us to that person. It's a God given advantage that we have that lowers our kids defenses and makes them know, I'm safe, I'm here, I care about you. So I really encourage families, whatever that means. I actually talked to Wesley Wildmon about this when he co hosts with me for shareathon. And he's really trying to put his phone down for at least one hour when he walks in the door and he invites his kids to hold him accountable. And believe me, Abe, I know you know this as well as I do because you're a dad, if you invite your kids to hold you accountable, oh boy, will they. I mean, with gusto, for sure.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yes, absolutely right. Absolutely right. wow. Thank you so much, for sharing that one.

Young men are skewing more toward conservative political ideals, whereas younger women are not

Ah. Of the other things. You and I were talking about this a bit before we, we came on, that we're recognizing in our culture, as our young people are matriculating toward adulthood, that there's kind of been a recent divergence, a recent trend of divergence, I would say, to our younger men are skewing more toward, conservative political ideals, whereas younger women are not doing that so much. And as I see that happening, and I have, my oldest son is 15, you know, and my oldest child is 15. He's my son. in the not too distant future, you know, we're working with him to be, to be worthy of being a husband, you know, but I do think about that in terms of marriageable spouses. Obviously we trust the Lord. But when you see that divergence that's occurring, what are some of the things that you've observed as you've recognized this kind of divergence among, younger adults?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, generational science is super fascinating. So as far as this specifically, let's go to millennials. And there was a stereotype about the millennial man with the man bun and the merce, you know, the man purse. And, and we see this alongside you laughing because, you know, it's true that there was that stereotype, you know, that's, that's kind of, characterized, caricature that's there. And we saw this along with what many, ascribe to be feminization of the church. There are a lot of women Bible studies. You know, we sang a lot of, you know, touchy feely worship songs and, and there was just really kind of an exclusion of masculinity from that. Now enter Gen Z. And we see this really interesting trend where we see hyper masculine culture really coming onto the forefront. You see this through, through fashion, through hairstyles, through what is sold through, podcast platforms that are becoming really popular, that feature, you know, that hyper masculine Persona. At the same time, you see the emergence of trad wives, which is traditional wives. And this aspiration, like, it's cool again to want to be a wife and a mother. And then there's a lot of public debate that goes along that, you know, some, some people mock that and say that's a cult or that kind of thing. But I think that when we see what you talked about, your question was about, political affiliation. And we do see Gen Z really swinging back towards a conservative movement, much like Jen X did during the Reagan ears. But I think when you don't see women doing that, I think that there is a coarseness today to public discourse, to policy. There is language that is coarse, there's a demeanor that's coarse, and to be really simplistic about it. I think there's a lot of women who perceive some, conservative policies as mean or the way that they're presented, like it's unkind, it's unfeeling. Now some of this is just political discourse, you know, and kind of the branding of political parties to try to attract, people there. But I think that's what you're seeing. They're trying to reconcile like this. Okay, I want to be this trad wife, this, this traditional femininity. I want to embrace that. And yet that doesn't seem like that's congruent with that. And I think they're sitting with that kind of that discong ruance there.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And I presented it in terms of conservatism, but I don't mean to limit it to kind of a political orientation. I'm thinking in terms of the social implications as well because, with the heated discourse that often revolves around politics, it's the kind of thing like you had families who've disintegrated, you know, because of your political positions. I won't come over for dinner. And it's like what. That's one of the most absurd things. But the divergence is actually. And what I'm thinking about is young men finding suitable, spouses, young women, finally God finding godly husbands. And the impact of that, how that I should say it better, how that will be impacted as a result of having kind of this divergence, socio politically. but the disrespectful music has started. So I'd like to pick this up when we come up on the other side of the break. And then I'd also like to talk about the upcoming AFA Activate Summit because you will be one of the keynote speakers speakers there. And I'd like to give the audience a snapshot or a glimpse of what you. What they will get to experience when they come to hear you July 16th through the 18th. you're listening to and or watching the Hamilton Corner right here in American Family Radio. My guest is Dr. Jessica Peck, the host of the Dr. Nurse Mama Show. When we come back, we'll continue our conversation, but I want to remind you, you can hear her program every day at 2pm Central right here on American Family Radio. Stay with us.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: When dad passed away, in 07, he left an inheritance. And they had saved and saved through the years. I was just wondering what I could do with that money invested or whatever. I knew that I would like to help the Lord somehow in his work. And then I kept hearing about the charitable gift annuity and I thought, well, that really sounds good. And I knew that AFR would just be the best because they're in my home all day, all day long. And I kind of wanted to partner with the Lord through AFR and AFA and give back. And I just felt like. Like I knew that's what I wanted to do. Like I say, it's just so easy. I would just highly Recommend the foundation.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: The Hamilton quarter podcast and one minute comic book commentaries are available at afr.net, back to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Abraham Hamilton III asks Dr. Jessica Peck about social media trends regarding marriage

Welcome back to the Hamilton corner, Abraham Hamilton III. Here my guest is Dr. Jessica Peck, host of the M Dr. Nurse Mama show, heard every day here at 2pm Central on American Family Radio. Before we went to the break, I presented a question, in light of the current divergence between, younger men and younger women in terms of, sociopolitical orientation. And my question primarily was presented in light of my concern about young men finding suitable wives, young women finding marriageable godly husbands, and how that possibility is impacted by this divergence. and Dr. Peck, I opened the question. If you need me to expound even further, I can. But you also mentioned when we went to the break that you wanted to talk about banana bread baddies.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Yes, I did. Yes, I did.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That is a true ears for this. So I'll toss it to you wherever you want to start.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Okay.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Right ahead.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, this is so interesting because most, honestly, most of what you see on social media m is really not worth repeating. But this is a trend that actually made me smile. So we see in Gen Z, we start to, we're starting to see increased interest in marriage after a decline for the, the last, generation, you know, we saw less affinity toward that. Now people want to get married, they want to have families, they want to have a home, they want to have more traditional lives. And so I saw this social media trend where these men are saying, okay, where are all the women we're looking for? And they're saying, look, they're not in the bars, they're not in the clubs. Like, you're going to the wrong places you need to go. And they, so they started calling these girls banana bread baddies. Like, who is making good banana bread? Like, okay, you know where they are? They're in Bible study classes, they're at Whole Foods, they're at other places. And so that this kind of, this been this social media takeover of a girl who is domestic, who likes to m take care of her family, who wants to have kids, who wants to get married, who has a traditional mindset. And so when guys will see spot do a sighting of, hey, this is where you can go find banana bread baddies. They will get on and say like this church, this Bible study, you know, this online group, and I think it's really wholesome and I'm here for it.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh, that is hilarious. The banana bread baddy alert, you know,

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: yeah, that's exactly right. That's right. It's a girl worth pursuing.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yes, yes. And so there's going to be a new alert on, on the apps that's going to pop up. You know, like, you have waves and is there a gas station nearby? Here's a. Here's an entry. You press your button, button here, and you can pop up the, the triple B, the triple bb. If you know, you know.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: That's right. See, I can get on board with that, Abe. I'm like, I'm all for that. Go for the girl. Go. Go pursue her. And then they talk about. It's interesting because then they say, yeah, and you better ask her out and you better pay and you better open the door for her and you better talk to her parents. So, I am all on board as having children of marriageable age. I, I. Five stars. I recommend.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That is. That is funny.

The Activate Summit is July 16th through the 18th in Mississippi

All right, so let's talk about the Activate Summit for a little bit.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Okay.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: The Activate summit is July 16th through the 18th at the now Huntington Huntington bank arena in Tupelo, Mississippi. for information, you go to activate afa.net it's going to be a powerful, powerful time. Dr. Peck, you are one of the keynote speakers, at the conference, if you don't mind. And I don't want to give everything away, but would you just give the audience here a kind of a snapshot as to what they can expect to hear from you during the conference, July 16th through the 18th?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Yeah, Abe, I'd be glad to do that. I'm so honored to be in an incredible lineup of speakers. It is set to be a very dynamic, engaging, empowering event, and I'm really looking forward to it.

I am going to talk specifically about AI Now, I have to tell you a funny story

I am going to talk specifically about AI Now, I have to tell you a little funny story, Abe. So my mother, mother in law, she reads the paper, and I'm talking about, like, the paper. And AI is what's the paper? Yeah, like this, you know, like, what is paper? You gotta have that feeling in your hand.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: No, it's lots.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: That's right.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Box of chocolate.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Exactly. Well, she reads it as capital, a little L. And so she started asking me. She's like, who's this guy Al? Like, I keep reading about Al, and he's just like, it's messing everything up. It's AI Artificial intelligence. And it is not coming, Abe. It is here. It is absolutely here in everyone's home, in the palm of their hand and their smartphone. It's in your car. It's in the schools. It is Everywhere. It is already here. And AB and I were talking before the show that, you know, for generations now, we've been told technology is neutral, smartphone is neutral, it's not good or bad. And that's just not the case anymore. AI is anything but neutral. It is actively shaping this generation's worldview like nothing we've ever seen before. And it's happening right under parents noses. And so I hope to equip them to see how is it impacting them and what they can do about it.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh, I'm intrigued. I said I didn't want you to give everything away, but, I can

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: give a little more.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yes, please.

One of the most concerning things is the rise of AI chatbots

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, let's talk about how AI is in your home. AI is in streaming platforms and the goal. I actually interviewed a massively successful YouTuber named Justin Stuart. He went by the name J Stu. He had, I think, 3 million, 8 million subscribers, I think is what it was. And he's just walked away from it because he said social media has changed since he started in YouTube more than a decade ago. And now, the pressure on content creators to get people addicted to the platform is insane. And your attention, your children's attention is what's being marketed and sold to the highest bidder. And the more they have their attention, the less sleep they have. The more 24. 7 usage they have, the more they can create discontent. So then they can come in with a marketing need there. This comes through streaming platforms, which is autoplay. Like, oh, you like this? Here, take this, you know, try this show. No, there's no intention in curating the world around you. It's in toys. And actually, this last Christmas, Mattel pulled back on their AI launch of toys because they saw from their research and development this is clearly a risk we're not willing to take because it is storing your child's voice, their picture, their likeness in their most sacred space, which is their bedroom. It's in your car to tell you where to go. Everything is just crafted to you. One of the most, the most concerning things is the rise of AI chatbots. So these are what kids interact with on a daily basis. And most cases that I've done seen that have ended in a very bad way. Kids start talking with them about homework and they just say, hey, you know, I'm having this trouble with homework. Well, AI competes with parents in that its memory is perfect, it will remember everything you tell it. So if you tell it, oh, I have a test next week, AI can come back and ask you, how was the test? Oh, well, mom didn't ask me about the test. Mom forgot. Mom doesn't care. But this person cares because children are not developmentally capable of distinguishing between a robot and a person. And AI is sycophantic. I went to an ah, international conference, the Institute for Faith and Learning. And the word that I heard most used to describe AI is seductive. That's what people are saying. It's a very sycophantic. It's very. Oh, that was such a great question. Can you add another? And actually I'll end here with this, Abe. Yesterday I was talking to, a collaborator from Hope for the Heart, the president of Hope for the Heart, which is a counseling ministry, and pray.com and they developed an AI chatbot that is a closed system that only has approved curated resources in there. And he was talking about how, you know, AI can't pray for you because AI is not a person. And so if you ask this AI chatbot, can you pray for me? It will say, no, I can't pray for you. I'm not a person. And yet I went to an open AI platform and I said, can you pray for me? And it was like, sure. And it just started praying. Like not, but not praying because that wasn't really a prayer.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah, repeatedly, algorithmic information that it stored that said this is prayer language, so spew that out.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: That's exactly right. So parents got to wake up and pay attention, engage.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: You know, I did a show on that in the AI, chat bots. And some of the circumstances, as you mentioned and have ended pretty, pretty tragically. Yes, started with the children interacting with for homework. And several of them, the parents actually instructed the children to use it for homework.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Yeah, that's right.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Just not knowing what they were doing. And then the interactions with the chatbot devolved quite significantly. Behavioral, changes. Behavioral patterns changed, emotions, moods changed, hobbies changed, and parents didn't know why. And then you had tragedies on the other end. And it is one of those things that we cannot afford to be negligent concerning. We cannot downshift into neutral and seed our children and our families to this. And you know, but I would say though, that is something that we have to model in addition to, being intentional in terms of being aware of what's happening. Because as you mentioned before, while we're concerned about AI chatbots, do we have texting neck as you, you said earlier, m are we are our faces and our phones non stop. And it's a thing that's a challenge but it's a necessary challenge, and I really feel like a lot of it is really attacking our humanity, that we're made for interpersonal, kinetic interaction, and when that has been intercepted or impeded, the impact is deleterious, ultimately.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, social media really gave us a shift in how we handle relationships. Facebook unveiled the word unfriend in around 2008 is when that came out, and that concept carried over to our real relationships. When you have conflict with someone, hey, just unfriend them, ghost them. Like, there's all kinds of language to describe the normalization of just cutting off relationships. And I feel like AI is taking that to a next step, because AI is programmed to tell us what we want to hear, not the truth that we need to hear. And that's going to compete with parents. And that's where you and I were talking about the beginning, Abe. And all of this comes back down to authentic relationships. Our kids need to be connected with real people in real time who are modeling a real and authentic faith. It's not just about being the phone police and, you know, cutting off all technology and building a bunker and, you know, going back and living like it's a little House on the Prairie. We've got to provide them a compelling alternative. Hey, you want. You want to get off your phone? Let me make being with me more compelling than that. And it's really pretty simple. It's just, hey, you want to get off your phone and come do a puzzle with me? You want to get off your phone and come take a walk with me? Want to get off your phone and make some cookies with me? You want to get off your phone and take a drive with me? You'd be surprised at how much kids would say yes. Maybe not at first, but if you're faithful and you keep asking, you'd be surprised at the memories you can make. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy Abe. And I'm convinced that technology is the thief of time, and he is stealing the time that we have and wasting so much time. And I dread the day I stand before God and see how many times how many minutes I wasted on a dumb game on my phone rather than investing in the heart of my children.

The Activate Summit 2026 will take place July 16-18, 2026

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh, so well said, guys. You want to hear Dr. Peek in person? You have that opportunity at The Activate Summit 2026. Activate Summit. Go to activate.afa.net to register. That is activate.aca.net to register. The conference will be July 16th through the 18th, 2026, at the WAS Cadence Bank Arena. Now Huntington bank arena, and Conference center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Dr. Peck will be one of several speakers. she mentioned a dynamic lineup. But frankly, what you heard now, just now, in my view, is enough to come and hear what she has to say, because it will be, it will help you. The whole theme is activate. Not, just to kind of get information swirling around in your minds, but to give you something that is actionable, that you can take home and put into practice right away. You do not want to miss that. Activate.aca.net is the website.

Dr. Peck: Gen Z is being the first generation to push back on technology

Now, having said that, and we've talked about some of the things in kind of the negative sense. but what are some things that you are drawing encouragement from that have been encouraging to you, even if challenging, but in a good way for you, and that you're even looking forward to? Because as you were speaking a few moments ago, I immediately thought about Acts 17 and the fact that God in His divine providence, knowing AI, was on the horizon, knowing what was coming. But he's ordained us for the time that he's planted us in and he's done so so that men and women will seek Him. And so we don't have to be, casualties of our environment and our context, but we actually are called, really to be salt and light in the context that God has placed us in. So what are some of the things that are encouraging you as you are on the front lines, just as I am, as you're going forward, to be salt and light in your neck of the woods?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: That is a great question and one that I love to answer because I do see good news. And, you know, older generations kind of love to hate on younger generations and talk about their, you, know, undesirable characteristics. And there's a lot of talk, especially about Gen Z, that they're lazy, that they, you know, are unmotivated, they don't know what hard work is, all of these kinds of things. And that really, you know, kind of rubs me the wrong way because I have kids in Gen Z and every generation has their quirks. But the thing I see about Gen Z is two things that I see that are really encouraging. First, they are being the first generation to really push back on technology. My kids, I did not teach them this a, but my kids came to me and they say this all the time because it's what they say with their friends. Hang up and hang out, Mom. Hang up and hang out. You've been on your phone way too long. You need to take that app off of your phone and remove it as a temptation. And I start to hear all of these ways that they're pushing back. They're using digital cameras. They're not even using their phones as cameras because they want to be present in the moment. I just saw a, ah, church that hosted a, ah, no phone event where people would come with crafts or all those kinds of things. The second thing I would see that's really important, encouraging is the revival that is happening in Gen Z. You talk to any leader and they're all talking about revival happening in Gen Z.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That is encouraging.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: it is encouraging to me. It is very encouraging.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: It is encouraging. You don't want to miss it. The Activate Summit, July 16th through the 18th. Dr. Peek will be there bringing it as you heard her bring it here. You can hear her program the Doctor Nurse mama show daily right here in American family radio at 2:00pm central time. Dr. Peck, thank you so much for joining me today. I have got to have you back on the program again.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Thanks, Abe. Anytime. And same here. Love to have you back as well. See you at the summit.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: All righty. Well, you all have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day. By God's grace, we'll be back here next week.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American family Association or American family Radio Video.