Self-care is a common buzz word that every single parent has heard. We know we need to take care of ourselves so that we have something to give to our kids. Self-care is essential, but as advertised on social media and TV all around us, self-care seems to be more about treating ourselves to special things. It can seem more like numbing or a Band-Aid so that we can ignore our struggles.

But here's the thing, cultural narratives are way off base. What the world tells us about self-care is more about self-indulging because we deserve it or self-sufficiency. The idea of treating yourself to a spa day, or getting a manicure and pedicure, or even shopping are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves... but there's more to self-care that is being advertised. So for the next two weeks, we'll do our best to redefine what self-care might look like, breaking it into two sections. In this episode, we explore internal self-care, and next week will dive into external self-care. 

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As single parents, we are very, very acquainted with our shortcomings. It may have been a big indiscretion or mistake that we've made in our past, or maybe the day-to-day awareness that we're not doing everything perfectly. In either case, most of us carry around a low-grade sense of shame a lot of the time. It's hard to face head-on the fact that we fall short, but a significant part of moving towards health is embracing the good and bad in our lives. In those areas where we see ourselves as failing, having grace, and showing ourselves forgiveness are critical. So how do we do that? How do we face our weakness and show ourselves true grace as we move towards wholeness? 

Brad Schmitt spent 12 years writing a popular celebrity column for a major publication and was an entertainment reporter on TV. During his TV reporter days, Brad was convicted twice in three years for drunken driving. He got fired and went to jail and rehab before recovering from substance abuse in 2010. Since then, he has had a complete life change, leading others on the recovery path and becoming a single father by choice, raising a foster son. In this episode, we discuss what self-forgiveness looks like in his life.

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Solo Parent Society is brought to you in part by Talk About. Use Promo Code SOLOPARENT to get 1 month free at TalkAboutDiscipleship.com.

Why do we have to suffer if God can fix it? 

If God is all-powerful, why does He allow me and my kids to experience all this hurt? Why doesn't He step in? 

It's a natural thing to be angry with God. To be clear, God is not dependent on us forgiving him, but we know that he wants an authentic relationship with us, so he embraces our hurt, disappointment, and questions... even about Himself. So what do we do with these questions? What do we do with anger towards God?

Our guest is Rick Cua; he was a well-known Christian recording artist, songwriter, ordained minister, and author. Unfortunately, four short months before recording this episode, Rick tragically found his daughter dead. In this episode, we explore how to reconcile what God allows to tragically happen in our lives.

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What we are talking about this week is a big issue for so many of us single parents. We want to move towards health and even recognize our part in the toxic relationship we've come out of. Yet, despite what we do, our ex (or others) continues to exhibit behaviors and traits that continue to offend and hurt. We recognize that forgiveness benefits us more than anybody else, but how are we supposed to forgive the actions or offenses that just continue to happen? Ongoing hurts bring up new pain and echo old wounds. In this episode, we discuss forgiving repeat offenders and offer four very helpful tips.

For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit SoloParent.org

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Solo Parent Society is brought to you in part by Talk About. Use Promo Code SOLOPARENT to get 1 month free at TalkAboutDiscipleship.com.

As single parents, we've all been hurt. In some way, shape, or form, we have all been the recipient of an offense. Sometimes, our tendency is just to move on, wash our hands of a situation and try to pick up the pieces and move forward. Some of us get stuck on the offense, and as a result, we fall deeper into resentment and start defining ourselves as victims. We can start believing the story we tell ourselves that we are just destined to be taken advantage of, which ends up hurting us more. From a faith perspective, we've all heard the narrative of how important it is to forgive. But why is it important? Is forgiveness really necessary when sometimes it feels like the person that caused the offense is not worth our time, effort or grace.

For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit SoloParent.org

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