Parent Forward
Parent Forward: Where Parenting Meets Spiritual Formation
with Julie Ann Luse
Parenting is more than managing behavior — it’s sacred, formative work.
Parent Forward invites you to see raising kids through a new lens: as a holy journey of becoming, both for your children and for you. Join longtime ministry leader, mother of three, and spiritual formation guide Julie Ann Luse as she explores the everyday moments of parenting through the lens of faith, neuroscience, and soul-deep connection.
Through personal stories, research-backed insights, and biblical wisdom, Julie Ann helps parents move beyond quick fixes and behavior charts to embrace the slow, beautiful work of forming souls — including their own. Every episode offers gentle encouragement, honest reflections, and practical steps to help you cultivate a spiritually nurturing home where love, grace, and presence shape the next generation.
If you’re longing for deeper connection, tired of parenting tips that miss the heart, and hungry to weave your faith naturally into daily family life — Parent Forward is for you.
It’s not about perfection.
It’s not about performance.
It’s about becoming — one faithful step at a time.
Subscribe and begin moving forward today.
Parent Forward
The God Who Draws Near | Advent Series Episode 2
The holidays can feel like life on fast-forward: bright, loud, and strangely thin. We’re told to be present and grateful, yet our minds race and our senses pull inward to cope. This conversation slows the moment down and shows a kinder way forward—how quiet noticing interrupts overwhelm and makes room for gratitude that actually sticks.
We begin by naming what’s real: December pressures the nervous system to scan for problems, not beauty. From there we explore a gentler practice of attention—lingering for one breath when a small good thing appears. A laugh from the next room, the warmth of a mug, the way light rests on a wall. These aren’t big spiritual performances; they’re soft openings where gratitude starts. We draw on two anchors from Scripture: Mary being met in an ordinary day with the words you are highly favored, and Moses hearing God’s promise, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. The Hebrew panim—face—reminds us that presence is attention turned toward us, producing not mere relaxation but groundedness and courage.
You’ll hear simple, story-driven examples—a dad undone by a child’s quiet touch, a crowded evening interrupted by a single laugh—that illustrate how small sparks can reorient a tired heart. We offer a clear practice to try this week: choose one moment, only one, and let it land for the length of a breath. No striving, no checklist, just enough space to notice what’s quietly good. Along the way, we hold both ache and hope, honoring Advent as a season where longing and nearness live side by side.
If this resonates, take the practice with you and see what shifts. Subscribe for the next part of the series where we’ll learn how to treasure those small joys so they settle deeper. If today helped you breathe easier, share it with a friend and leave a review—what small mercy did you notice?
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