empty nest

October 14, 2022 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

Strategies to Help Your Kids Take Flight

When it comes to parenting, we often think about the early years. About the baby years. About the toddler years and the school years. And oh, those teen years. We rarely think about what happens after. After high school. After the kids leave home. After they launch and are on their own.

As a mom of adult kids, and younger kids, it doesn’t get any easier. It’s always hard to let our kids go. And it’s just as hard to figure out who we are as moms once they’re gone.

Marci says, “All of a sudden, the nest is empty. The birds have gone, and what had been a constant blur of activity is now nothing more than a few discarded feathers. Silence mutes all that was colorful, and it’s time to reestablish our significant place in this ever-changing world.”

Maybe some of you are in this empty nest season. And perhaps others of you are thinking ahead. Today, you’ll enjoy this podcast as Marci and I share what it was like to launch some of our kids. Also, Marci gives us hope for all the years to come.

I know you are going to be blessed by this interview.

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#WalkItOut Podcast 071: Jill Savage

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On today's #WalkItOut Podcast we're chatting with Jill Savage author book Empty Nest, Full Life — On today’s #WalkItOut Podcast we’re chatting with Jill Savage author book Empty Nest, Full Life

#WalkItOut Podcast 071: Jill Savage

What comes to mind when you hear the words “empty nest”? I have to admit, John and I are at a stage where we still have little kids at home, we have teenagers, we have young adult, and adult kids. I’m like “empty nest”? Yes, please! I just want to sleep in! But I’ve been there before. I know how hard it is to launch kids. Empty nest means transition. Empty nest can mean loss. It can mean so many things. Sometimes we worry about losing the relationship we have with our kids. During this time I have with my kids, I don’t want to have to think about the challenges that comes with an empty nest. There are challenges with an empty nest, and sometimes it’s with our minds and our hearts.

Today guest, Jill Savage, and I talk about all these things on toady’s episode. I know you are just going to love Jill. She has been doing Hearts at Home conferences for many years. She has written so many great books, and I’m so excited that she has written Empty Nest, Full Life. She shares the insights she has on an empty nest. We’re going to talk about good things, exciting things, but also tough things — like what do you do when your kid makes bad choices? Or how do you handle marriage struggles after your kids are grown?

Have fun getting to hear this conversation with Jill Savage. I know you will be blessed! You can listen above or on iTunes! I’d love it if you share this with your friends!

Links from the show

Empty Nest, Full Life
Empty Nest, Full Life Journal
No More Perfect Marriages
It’s a Slow Fade | Casting Crowns

This Week’s Walk It Out Scripture

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

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September 25, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 27 Comments

Choosing to Adopt: Our Story (Plus a Giveaway)

She said:
John and I always told ourselves it was a good thing we had kids while we were young, that way we’d still be young when they were out of the house. We made lot of plans, to travel, to enjoy quiet evenings together, to have a clean house not cluttered with toys.

Then I saw a magazine article about orphans, and that got me thinking about adding another child to our home. John wasn’t interested when I first mentioned it. I didn’t prod. Instead I just prayed. I didn’t know if it was God’s plan for our family that God would bring both of our hearts into agreement. He did. We didn’t get the China baby we first planned on, but we have three new Goyers in our home. We don’t travel as much as we like. We are exhausted during the evenings. And the house is cluttered with toys. But we stepped out and followed God’s call, and we couldn’t imagine life without these kids.

Looking forward to an empty nest? Maybe God is calling you to adopt. @TriciaGoyer

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He said:
We never had that empty nest feeling in our home. When Tricia and I started dating, there was already a baby in tow. Those “easy to get away for the weekend” adventures were something other people got to enjoy. I will admit I was looking forward to those days. I love the kids, but I really longed for the ease of the empty nest. Since we would be in our forties when the last one left for college, we would still be young enough to enjoy an easier life of a smaller home, smaller cars, and less to arrange when we want to play on the weekend.

Then I felt conviction about that attitude. God did not call me to a life of ease. We get one shot at this life, to make a difference in the lives of others. Following a hedonistic philosophy of pleasing myself does not honor God or the sacrifice he made for me. God placed a new desire in my heart. True worship is this: to care for the widow and the orphan. So now we have Tricia’s grandma in our home and three little ones. They are work, and they are joy, and they are an opportunity to share the love of the Father to those who need someone who will get out of their easy chair and love.

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Strategies to Help Your Kids Take Flight

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#WalkItOut Podcast 071: Jill Savage