Beyond Good Intentions With Kristen Duke

I've been hinting at a new focus for the podcast, and it's here! This is a short introduction to how things are going to change, and WHY I felt so impressed to turn it to a new direction. There might be a few tears shed by myself as I explain how it all came to be. Thanks for being a part of this journey with me!

Hi friends! I'm back from my vacation and thoughts I'd just share a little brain dump of what's going on in my life. I'm in a little transitional phase with the podcast right now, and sharing some of those changes in this episode, along with some TEARS with behind the scenes thoughts on the goings on in my life.  Thanks for joining me in this journey and DM me on Instagram if you have thoughts about future topic ideas, who to interview, or responding to my thoughts I shared. @KristenDukeChats on IG or email me at kristenduke@gmail.com

This episode is very dear to my heart!  So much so that I am sharing a FREE e-book with the 13 points outlined, meant for discussion between parents and teens. In this podcast, I explore each point in depth with extra detail. Grab the e-book HERE: Teens and Social Media I also chatted about my AMAZON store in the episode: My favorite phone case and my daughters Air Pods. Grateful in advance for any shares of this episode, iTunes reviews, or just joining in the party on Instagram at @KristenDukeChats. 

Bonnie just birthed her NINTH child! I always love talking to people with big families, and it was a delight to hear her speak about her joyful chaos with 9 kids, ages 14 and under.  Check out our family favorites in our AMAZON STORE Thank you for the reviews, sharing episodes with your friends, and for joining in the community on Instagram at @KristenDukeChats!

I'm so very happy to share my interview with 16 year old Claire, who experiences mental illness. Her mom Cassidy is a dear friend from high school was my interview in episode #4, so listen to that if you haven't yet! Claire goes into detail about how she is happy to dispel the stigma that you don't talk about mental illness and I love her for that! She shares about some friends of hers wanting to go to therapy but their parents don't believe they are really struggling.  We talk about social media and her thoughts to parents who are hesitant to introduce social media to teens. LISTEN and SHARE with whomever will benefit.  PLEASE LEAVE AN iTunes review if you haven't yet and visit our Amazon store to help support this podcast.

Sarah loves teens as much as I do, and when I met her 6 months ago, I knew we were kindred spirits. She's right in the thick of things with her 3 teens + pre teen, just like me! She is a nurturer of teens, and it's clear when she shares that her teens friends come over for dinner, and confide in her. I love when she mentioned teens getting a bad rap, and how they deserve to be celebrated...YES! I thought... She shares home decor on her instagram @BlessedCrazyTXNest as well as ideas to throw parties for family and friends. So check that out for inspiration! To support this podcast, shop for anything you want on AMAZON by first clicking into our store of favorites.  Thanks for supporting this podcast through that as well as reviews, and shares when you love it!

Amber is a health coach at @Biceps.After.Babies and shares encouragement that you can choose to live a healthy lifestyle at any age. AND you don't have to sacrifice the foods you love either.  As part of Amber's business, she coaches people in macro counting and strength training, teaching that body confidence needs to start with loving ourselves, focusing on what we CAN do, and praising our efforts and our childrens. She and I also spoke on my teen podcast @FistBump.Podcast directly to my teen friends, so encourage your teens to listen!

Surviving childhood leukemia brought on a great deal of survivors guilt for Jamie. She felt like a disappointment, uncertain why she survived when she had known so many other cancer patients that she adored, who weren't so lucky. She was bullied in high school, felt angry towards her parents, and just didn't understand why she was so special to have survived. She speaks of her suicide attempts, wanting to quiet the voices in her head. As an adult, and coming through on the other side, she travels around teaching youth about the importance of talking to someone when they are in these dark places.  I was happy to hear her weigh in on Affirmations, because it's a HOT TOPIC right now. She spoke about the power behind the positive words we speak, when we start to believe them. Find Jamie at @SurvivingTheBubble on Instagram

Leigh is a therapist specializing in Women's health. In this episode, we talk a lot about self care as well as anxiety which plagues so many people young and adult alike.  She says, "Depletion is probably the largest pre cursor to depression and anxiety. Self Care is SO important!" When you're stressed, your body shuts down. Leigh introduced to me The Resiliency System: Self Awareness Self Compassion Self Talk--not all of your thoughts are accurate Self Care--having benevolent feelings about our bodies instead of frustration She shares about a program she is developing called Worrier to Warrior.  Leigh's Instagram: @TakeCareOfMom www.TakeCareOfMom.com   Books she mentioned: Brainstorm by Dan Seagull Antidote to Fear---TRUTH. We all have to search for those truths and those truths lead us to believe we can be resilience.  The 2 terrible thoughts: I'm not enough (the core of depression) Me or my loved one isn't going to be ok (anxiety) I do have what I need to thrive and get through hard things. Teach our k

My friend Rachelle is a very intentional parent, right in the thick of things with a handful of teens and tweens. Her oldest is about to graduate high school (just like mine) and I was eating up all of the amazing ideas she shared about being service minded and teaching her teens to look outside of themselves.  Find the ideas Rachelle shares on Instagram or drop her a note of gratitude at @KnowingLivingLoving Books Rachelle Recommended: The Parenting Breakthrough  Love and Logic for Teens Hold Me Tight How to Win Friends and Influence People 5 Love Languages for Teens See our family favorites on our AMAZON store. Share this episode with your friends if you love it, or leave a review on iTunes!

My friend Leigh Anne is here to share her wisdom today not only about parenting adult children, but some fun stories and tips from when her kids were younger and into the teen years.  My favorite parts: Talking about waiting to be asked for advice Supporting their decisions no matter what The gift she gave her daugthers-in-law Family Traditions Making Family Dinners Make sure you check my AMAZON STORE with my favorite dresses and clothes this season. Find Leigh Anne on her Website: YourHomeBasedMom.com and Instagram @YourHomebasedMom Make sure you sign up for her newsletter to get her weekly meal plan!

My youngest child, Cali, is 10 today and we are talking all things TWEEN! She has wanted to be interviewed on the podcast for a while, and I thought her birthday was the best day for that. You may enjoy the mother daughter back and forth chat we had, and you'll especially get a giggle about half way through as we visit the topic of how exactly the sperm gets to the egg.  I chatted about Our recent Amazon purchases Join the conversation on Instagram today, too!

Mar'Lee contacted me after she heard last weeks podcast episode with Erin sharing about her runaway teen. She said this to me in an email, "I have had the impression I needed to do this for awhile, share my story.  Tell Erin thank you.  I was other is gone and I have always wondered how my mother felt.  I came home eventually, and found my faith, but that was a subject we NEVER talked about."   She felt like her story needed to be told, and she shares with me, with us, in this episode. I'm so grateful for her willingness to be brave and share, because I know it will bless others. Others who are grappling for a shred of hope.  Please hop on over to Instagram and tell Mar'Lee thank you for sharing. I know it will mean so much to her.  Podcast instagram: @KristenJoyDuke We're also grateful for any podcast reviews on iTunes!  CLICK HERE Hit "view in itunes" Open in iTunes Hit Ratings and Reviews Write a Review  

I got an email recently from Erin saying that she loved listening to the podcast, but hoped to hear more interviews from people that were going through struggles with their kids. In her message she says, "It is depressing sometimes to listen to a podcast that's amazingly positive when you're having a hard time." I've said it before and I'll say it again...contact me or nominate someone who has a story that others can hear! Most don't feel comfortable sharing a challenge when they are in it, so let me know! "I don't have very many answers but maybe even I can offer something to your listeners," Erin shared. In our chat, she shares about how she adopted two brothers as toddlers, and in raising them, it's been much more of a challenge than anticipated. Her oldest ran away from home as a teen, cut off contact with his parents, and moved from place to place, and she has very minimal contact with him now.  Her guiding scripture: "Be Still and Know that I am God." I need that reminder that I can sit and be with my o

"Usually we think our communicating is with our words, but our non-verbal communication is so much more powerful." Alisa shared so many amazing tidbits of information in our chat, this has definitely become into one of my top 5 favorite interviews on the Beyond Good Intentions podcast. She is so knowledgeable on a topic that I'm striving for daily with my children. She is a researcher of CONNECTION, and she shares how we can be more connected with individual family members with 10 minutes a day of quality time, the sweet spot of connection. "Long enough to make it meaningful and short enough to make it do-able", she says. She came upon this concept years ago when chatting with a friend that asked, "How do I be a good parent in a nutshell?" She had to ask herself in her own parenting as she found real life practice didn't come as naturally as she thought, having all the research. She asked herself, "Where does the theory and research and real life converge?" The answer: Connection. The most important thing we

I'm delighted to share with you my chat with Reachel Bagley. We met 8 years ago at a park in Arizona, and haven't seen each other since, but we've interacted online, as she shares wardrobe strategies as she helps others clean out their closets and minds at @CardiganEmpire.  We talk about how she met her husband, adoption, surprise pregnancy, and how our job as parents is to create a safe environment for our children, as our children are pre-programmed with their own agenda. We also discussed the commitment of TIME for our children is so much more of a foundation than opportunities presented with money.  >>>Our episode this week is sponsored by Living Scriptures. A great online resource for streaming children's video and clean movies. Sign up for a month trial to see if it's for you! Reachel's favorite parenting books we discussed are: The Whole-Brain Child and Raising Human Beings 

Tawni is a long lost friend that I just discovered, and I'm so grateful I found her on instagram recently. We discuss our love of teenagers, and her podcast, Becoming for Teens, as well as her family life in this episode.  Tawni shares about her younger brother with special needs, and how he's captivated the hearts of the community. She also shares about how she met her husband, and parenting her 4 young children.  I titled this episode after something she said near the end, a hope for her children to Authentically Be Yourself.  >>>Our sponsor for this episode is AMAZON. Don't you just LOVE Amazon? I recently put together our family favorites from games to gadgets and gizmos, check out our favorites in my AMAZON STORE. When you purchase anything on Amazon within 24 hours of clicking that link, it sends a small percentage to me for being a referral. So THANK YOU for supporting this podcast.  Join us on Instagram @CapturingJoy.KristenDuke to discuss this and other episodes

I've got my big brother in the house, and you better believe we disect our childhood! You'll hear the stories of when we didn't get along, when we did, and how we've weathered the years as siblings. I look up to my brother Ryan a great deal, and am grateful he's willing to look past my shortcomings and sensitivities over the years.  We talked about groundings, over-reacting, electronics being a "comfort food", and seeing the positive in people. We referenced my podcast discussion with my dad, which you can find in EPISODE #6.  >>>This weeks sponsor is HomeAway. That is a link to the most recent home we rented. Our family LOVES to stay in homes when we travel, and even when we get together with extended family! Come continue the discussion over on Instagram! @CapturingJoy.KristenDuke is where you can find us.

"I don't care what my kids end up doing with their life, as long as they always feel that their place in our family is important." I'm so happy to share with you a chat with my dear friends Kelli and Kristi, twin sisters who grew up with 9 siblings, raising families of their own down the street from each other and within 3 miles of 7 of those siblings (one even next door to their parents)! We got tears flowing from each of them for various reasons throughout our chat, I love their willingness to be vulnerable and share their hearts in order to bless all of us. I met them through blogging 7 years ago, and I've been grateful for their friendship over the years, and they've got some parenting GOLD to share with you today!  HIGHLIGHTS: Teen fist fights, infertility, adoption, life threatening experiences, that's just the tip of the iceberg with todays episode. We spoke about them being a brat to their mom but now a best friend, the shame game, technology, the birds and the bee's, pornography, over-scheduling, we

The title of this episode stems from our chat about parenting AND social media. As a child, you want to feel heard by your parents, and of course as parents we want our kids to HEAR us! In social media, (and in parenting) we all need more connection and less isolation. Anna and I talk about all of this in our chat.  * Anna runs @KidsAreTheWorst which is a humor community of parents sharing, @ThingsAreTheWorst, and also shares media tips at @AnnaIsTheWorst  * >>>We talked about the e-book guides that she put together about media and cell phones, which they are great resources for parents. They are all about developing stronger, healthier relationships with the Internet and social media through guided discussions, information, and plans that everyone signs.  Get Smart: (Ages 3+)  Let's Talk: (Teens on social media)  CLICK HERE to read all about both books and purchase them.  * Lots of talk on technology! Our kids are saturated with screens.  Favorite parenting book (which is actually a business book): Never S