Light Duties

Nov 21 2024 94 ep. 15 mins 14
Light Duties Podcast artwork

We all want to be good mums and we want to like doing motherhood. The trouble is, it's hard to work out what's good and harder still to be happy about it. This podcast is a long meditation on what Jesus has to say about what's good when we're raising children. It so happens that joy sneaks up on us when we get on with doing it.

  Kids & Family  Religion & Spirituality
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You're Invited! A monthly study group

Nov 21 2024 22 mins  
God built certain responsibilities into the parent/child relationship. If you are looking to grow in understanding and doing that role, then you might appreciate the monthly Charlotte Mason study group I host. This episode explains what that is all about. You can join the group via Patreon ($5 AUD per month). A reading schedule is available on the Light Duties website. Join anytime

The Bible's Costly Assumptions About Families

Sep 29 2024 17 mins  
First published August 2024 on the Australian Presbyterian website. For the full text, see the AP site or the Light Duties website. This article explores the disparity between the sentiments of the 2024-25 Women's Budget Statement and the Bible's vision of how children are raised. Instead of focusing on women's rights, I suggest we refocus by considering how our children are going

Think-Aloud Chat: Children's Books

Apr 22 2024 38 mins  
Following the How to Fill the Time episode, I've received questions about what kinds of children's books to read. Here is a response, to help you filter out many of the options and point you to some good springs. I mentioned: Biblioguides Vigen Guroian, "Tending the Heart of Virtue" (No affiliate link; I used the website that had the cheapest prices as of the date the episode was

"Bringing Forth Life" Book Review

Apr 01 2024 11 mins  
Jodie McIver is the Christian friend every expectant mum needs, especially in Australia. She understands the Bible, she understands midwifery and she understands the great variety of experiences faced by women who are becoming mothers. This is a review of her book, "Bringing Forth Life: God's Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth".

The Necessary Desperation {bonus}

Mar 31 2024 17 mins  
When we’ve been invested in giving good and restraining harm for our kids, the situations that bring them low can be bitter to us. But we and our children need these pains, lest we miss the best of comfort, especially as they become independent.

God Will Not Do What We Imagine {bonus}

Jan 06 2024 14 mins  
Our work in mothering is not going to achieve all that we imagine. Why bother when we don't know which way the ball will bounce? This episode is about the comfort we can count on.

#54. Stretched, Strained, Sustained

Sep 29 2023 9 mins  
How can these maternal duties be called "light" when they are so weighty in importance and difficulty?

Q&A: How to Fill the Time?

Jul 07 2023 45 mins  
A listener has asked, "What good things can I fill my time and the kids' time with before starting formal schooling?". This response was recorded while I was out and about (so it sounds a bit raw). It's a start in thinking about why we have trouble filling time with very young children (I propose that it is an oddity of our economic/social/historical context). I meander through som

#53. Ruined, Recycled, Restored

Jun 12 2023 12 mins  
Perhaps we find motherhood difficult because we haven’t given much thought to building a house? The thing is, we're all building from ruins, salvaging and restoring what we can. We have ideals, but none of us are working with ideal materials. Our splintered posts have meaning.

Affection Follows Attention

Mar 17 2023 16 mins  
In this think-aloud chat, we consider how our most basic form of treasure is our attention. And where our treasure is, there our heart will follow. Some thoughts on how we might come to love things we really don't like doing.