Solo Parent
This week we’re discussing The Three Phases of Solo Parenting Solo parenting does not move in straight lines. Some days you feel steady, and other days you are pulled right back into overwhelm. That is why naming where you are matters. When you understand the phases of triage, recovery, and wellness, you can recognize your progress and offer yourself compassion. This week, Robert and Elizabeth revisit a listener favorite featuring three Solo Parent group leaders whose stories bring clarity, honesty, and hope for anyone navigating this journey. Today, we cover three main points: What triage...
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This week we’re discussing Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships Healthy connection is something many solo parents long for, but most of us weren’t given a clear model of what it looks like. Between past trauma, unhealthy relational patterns, and the fear of repeating old mistakes, it can feel confusing to know when a relationship is safe, sustainable, or simply too costly for our emotional wellbeing. Today’s conversation with Licensed Professional Counselor, Laurie Lokey, matters because it gives practical ways to identify real health, real safety, and real growth within ourselves...
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This week we’re discussing When Christmas Comes Through Unlikely People Today, we cover three main points: • How God works through unlikely beginnings • Why your story still carries worth even when life feels heavy • How the message of Christmas offers hope to weary hearts Every solo parent knows what it feels like to wonder whether their life still has impact, especially in seasons filled with comparison, busyness, and unmet expectations. This conversation with Curtis “CZ” Zackery, author of Soul Rest and founder of Find Rest, matters because it reveals a truth many of us forget:...
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This week we’re discussing Rediscovering the Magic of Christmas For many solo parents, the holidays stir up more ache than wonder. What once felt magical can now feel heavy with reminders of loss, changed traditions, and the pressure to hold everything together for our kids. Hosts Robert and Elizabeth are joined by Marriage and Family Therapist, Amber Fuller, and together they unpack why this season can feel so complicated and why reconnecting with moments of sweetness, shared magic, and childlike awe matters more than ever. Today, we cover three main points: How to look for the sweetness...
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This week we’re discussing Conquering Loneliness During the Holidays. For solo parents, the holidays can magnify loneliness in surprising ways. Maybe you are watching your child leave for the other home on Christmas morning, sitting in a quiet house that used to feel full. Maybe you are surrounded by family and noise, yet painfully aware that you are the only one without a partner by your side. Maybe old traditions feel broken or impossible now, and you are not sure how to make new ones that actually feel like you. Today, we cover three main points: Naming and normalizing holiday...
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This week we’re discussing Learning to Protect Your Most Valuable Resources As solo parents, it can feel like our time, energy, money, and even our words are always up for grabs. We pour out for our kids, our work, our communities, and even good things like church or helping friends, until we suddenly realize we are running on empty. In this episode, we talk honestly about the pain of feeling constantly depleted, the resentment that can grow when we overgive, the guilt that surfaces when we try to say no, and the anxiety that comes from feeling like our money and schedule are always...
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This week we’re discussing The Truth We Don’t Want to Face. When betrayal, ongoing conflict, or a child’s escalating behavior keeps reopening old wounds, it’s easy to reduce people to their worst moments. That mindset feels protective, yet it shrinks our capacity for peace, models bitterness to our kids, and keeps us tethered to pain. Marissa Lee, author and single parent, joins Robert and Elizabeth to unpack how learning to separate a person’s worth from their actions helps us heal, set clearer boundaries, and stay grounded in dignity—ours and theirs. Today, we cover three...
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This week we’re discussing the idea that You’re Worth a Life Reimagined Divorce can make it feel like your story is over…like joy, purpose, and belonging are things of the past. The shame and stigma can convince you that you’re somehow disqualified from hope. But what if your worth didn’t end with that loss? What if you’re still fully capable of building something new, beautiful, and whole? Today, we cover three main points: How to reimagine a life you still deserve How to create belonging for your kids in a new season How the church can better support solo parents and those...
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This week we’re discussing Knowing Your Worth Even When You’re Broken Many single parents carry old stories that say you will never measure up. Those messages show up as shame from past failures, comparison to intact families, and a drive to perform or please. Left unchallenged, they shape how you parent, relate, and see yourself. In this episode, Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT), joins Robert and Elizabeth to unpack the distorted “cracked mirrors” we often look into, and how to start seeing ourselves through the truth of our worth....
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This week we’re discussing What to Do When Self-Care Seems Impossible Solo parents often feel squeezed by nonstop responsibilities, financial strain, cultural pressure to be endlessly strong, and isolation that makes help hard to ask for. “Self care” can even feel like a trigger when planning it adds guilt on top of exhaustion. These pain points matter because chasing idealized me time can keep us stuck. Reframing care as something we sometimes practice with our kids helps restore connection and models healthy boundaries in real life. Today, we cover three main points: Why me time...
info_outlineThis week we’re discussing The One Relationship That Could Be Key to Your Healing.
Too many of us were taught that trusting ourselves was dangerous. We were told our emotions couldn’t be trusted, our hearts were deceitful, and our instincts were too “fleshly” to follow. Especially for solo parents who have lived through trauma or spiritual manipulation, this message gets internalized early and reinforced often. We stop listening to our gut and outsource decisions to experts, church leaders, or even social media. But ignoring your inner voice only deepens confusion and disconnection. Therapist and podcast host Adam Young joins us this week to help unpack how we unlearn those harmful messages, rebuild trust in our bodies, and begin listening to the voice within.
Today, we cover three main points:
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Why you’ve learned not to trust yourself, and how to gently unlearn it.
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How to tell the difference between your true inner voice and trauma-driven urges.
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Practices to rebuild trust in your body and story.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
- Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Story With Kindness Changes Everything by Adam Young
- The Place We Find Ourselves hosted by Adam Young: A podcast focused on trauma, healing, attachment, and story work. Specifically mentioned is a two-part series on our relationship with our bodies.
- adamyoungcounseling.com: Find more about Adam’s work, resources, and podcast episodes.
We want to answer any Solo Parent questions you may have. Submit your listener questions HERE.