Ep. 3.3 - All the Feels

The Problem with Porn

Technology is a blessing - we’re more connected than we’ve ever been with more access to information than what should be reasonably possible. On the flip side, all that access opens us up ideas and images that we cannot unsee. Pornography use is rampant in our society. One study shows that 93% of teenage boys and 62% of teenage girls have already been exposed to internet pornography. Exposure to it opens us up to all kinds of issues - unhealthy expectations, addiction, and devaluing God’s design for sexuality and marriage. In addition, Porn use and sexual addiction comes with intense feelings of shame and regret. Awaken Founder Greg Oliver joins the conversation to help us understand how pornography use and sexual addictions grab hold and isolates us - and how there is hope. Parent U is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ep. 3.3 - All the Feels

Dealing with our own feelings is hard work. The degree of difficulty feels as if it ramps up exponentially when attempting to understand the feelings of your teenagers. Our feelings are God-given, to help us fully understand our need for Him and our place in His creation. When we begin to live out of authenticity, it allows us to demonstrate to our teenagers how to build significant relationships with others. Licensed counselor Rebecca Walker joins us from Nashville, TN to walk us through how to acknowledge, listen to and wrestle with our core feelings, as first coined by counselor and writer Chip Dodd, and how it has changed the way she understands feelings. ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ep. 3.2 - The Role of Relationship in Prevention

Prevention and education is the greatest way to combat substance abuse in teenagers, but when your child is already dealing with the consquences of parents often feel at a loss for where to turn. This is why the Shelby County Sheriff's Office created Compact, a task force created to prevent substance abuse amongst teenagers and assist families dealing with substance abuse to lead them back to substance free living outside of the juvenile system. Inv. Austin Brown and Inv. Ash Lightner join us from the Shelby County Sheriff's office to share that vision and help parent's understand today's challenges, what intervention looks like through Compact's services, and why community matters. ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ep. 3.1 - Addressing Depression in Teenagers

Depression is a serious mental illness, and it's likely touched each of our lives in some manner. Parent's so often just want to fix it, but often we choose counterproductive means to try to do it. OMPC's own Emily Walker, a licensed counselor at Calvert and Associate's and OMPC's Shepherding Care Coordinator joins us on the podcast to discuss depression in teenagers - the warning signs, the triggers, and how parents can respond to provide the best care to their teenagers or ourselves. ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ep. 2.8 - Boundaries

Establishing and keeping boundaries is difficult, especially when our teenagers are in need of more freedoms. Communicating clear expectations - rooted in the gospel can help parents discover new freedoms, as well. Rachel Gunn, of Seeds of Impact Ministry, stops by to discuss impact vs. impulse parenting and all things boundaries. ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Find out more at OMPC.org [http://ompc.org]