Empty Nest Guests

Need a positive start to your week?

I’d love to share
a Good Monday Morning ☀️
message with you.

Super short and encouraging, it will help start your week (and your in-box) off well.

Click on the link in my bio to sign up.

See you next Monday. 🌻

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/3PnVIpt

Today’s early coffee & devotional time was beautiful…inside and out. 🌅☕️

The sky was breathtaking and I loved the reminder in my scripture reading:

I so appreciated the reminder that an incredible gift for our life is tangible…He will teach us and remind us of everything He’s told us.

God’s gift to us: peace of mind and heart, through the Holy Spirit, is to be treasured.

Maundy Thursday is such a beautifully heavy part of the holy Easter week.

As Jesus celebrated the Passover with his best friends and washed their feet, He extraordinarily displayed humility and abounding love, knowing they would hurt Him, and even betray Him in the coming hours.

As He washed He said: “A new commandment, I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you,” John 13:34.

On this day, He offered spiritual life, the forgiveness of sins, and love to his enemies.

Today, He calls us to a higher standard of love, and to do the same.

I have much to work on in my life. Yet, on this day, I’m grateful to have His amazing example of how to love and live.

May your Easter week be full of reflection, restoration, resurrection and love.

I love football!

I especially love Super Bowl Sunday! 🏈🙌

I didn’t know much about “Mr. Irrelevant” San Francisco 49’ers QB, Brock Purdy.

Gordy told me he the very last pick of the draft, hence the nickname.

I came across this interview with him and wanted to share.

What an awesome young man of faith.

I’d say he’s pretty relevant now as is his testimony.

Happy Game Day all.
😊🏈👏🏼

49ers QB Brock Purdy at Super Bowl Opening Night talking faith in Christ Faith, Family, and God with 49ers QB Brock Purdy at Super Bowl Opening Night in Las Vegas Nevada. https://sportsspectrum.com/?s=brock+purdy

Here comes the sun!

Isn’t it a joy, after so many days of dreary, somber weather, to see sunshine today in Tulsa! ☀️

I’ve learned though that the bleak, cold and grey days do usher in a sense of rest, peace and a hushed quiet. They also me yearn for the bright joy-filled sunny days, and I treasure them when they finally arrive.

Hooray! It is a blessing to see those bright sun rays today!

“How sweet is the daylight, and how pleasant it is for someone’s eyes to behold the sunshine!” Ecclesiastes 11:7

Brrrr! Baby, it’s cold outside!
❄️⛄️💙

It’s a great day to start a Bible Plan.

I started the Bible Recap this new year by Tara-Leigh Cobble. It’s chronological and is so good!

I have four published YouVersion Bible plans and one of them may interest you.

Click on the link below to go to my author page in the YouVersion app.

I’m truly honored to be a content partner and hope these plans point others to Christ.

https://www.bible.com/organizations/7bb5e1e3-c872-4f0c-bea0-b1362ed7c418

Also, you may find another plan that’s perfect for your interests on the YouVersion Bible app.

Enjoy & happy reading!

Charlotte
❤️🌻

Happy New Year!

🎉🎉2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣🎉🎉

Gordy Guest and I wish you a wonderful start to your new year!

Our family is so thankful for our Christmas to remember.

We had 12 of us, ranging in age from 15 weeks to 85 years.

Emily Steward captured some special images for us that will be forever keepsakes.
Special kudos to Emily who stood in the rain while we stayed dry to take these.

Faith, family and friends are our greatest blessings.

We hope you have a blessed new year!

Thank you, too, to those of you friends who sent recipe suggestions. We ate well!

Thank you, James Murphy, for your masterpiece. Even though he’s only three years old, James captured much of what Christmas is all about.

When James’s mom, my friend Melanie, shared his art with me, I smiled, and thought “Jesus takes our dots.”

James had been sick and had a few dots on his face. His family prayed for him to be well and soon after, thankfully, he was. “No more dots or spots,” said little James. Soon after, he colored this picture.

Jesus’s mother, Mary, experienced her fair share of dots. As an unmarried teenage girl, Mary knew what it was like to feel shame, hurt, ridicule, scorn, and sadness.

Thankfully, she tucked the words from the angel Gabriel in her heart: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you.” Luke 1: 26-38. I wonder if she knew how many dots would come her way as she held Jesus in her arms?

Jesus’s life was full of dots. His hometown rejected Him. His close friends let Him down and betrayed Him. Crowds mocked and hurled insults at Him. We can hear His anguish as He cried out to His heavenly father “My God…why have You forsaken me?”

After all that, Jesus was nailed to a cross, nails piercing His hands and feet.” Matth. 27. Jesus knew as He took on all those dots, the weight of the world, we’d experience forgiveness and freedom. It’s why He came.

Thanks to a little artist named James, we can see that right from the beginning, as a little baby in the manger, Jesus took our dots. It’s why He was born.

Mess ups and mistakes pile up throughout the year. Have you given those dots to Him? How about your spots? Sometimes, we find ourselves in a tough spot in relationships, financially, physically, vocationally, or personally.

Life is full of dots and tough spots. Thankfully, we don’t have to carry them. Jesus will do that for us if we let Him.

The best gift you can give yourself this Christmas is to give those dots and spots to Jesus. He was born ready to receive them.

Merry Christmas week, family and friends. 🎄❤️🎁🙏🏼

With Love,
Charlotte

Hey Family and Friends,

Please share ideas of yummy things to fix for 12-14.

We are happy that we’ll have a full house this Christmas.

I’m not a good cook and any ideas will sure help me love my family well.

🎄❤️🍽️

When your UPS driver says “I wish I had a Santa hat…” you give him one. 🎅🏻

This may be my favorite gift I give this season.

Big thanks to Dennis and all the UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Walmart and other drivers who make gift giving and receiving possible.

🎅🏻🎁

Need a special stocking stuffer for your grandchildren or a special young person in your family?

My literary agent, Blythe McIntosh Daniel’s precious twins each have published a book.

William has written a fun joke book that will make your season jolly!

Calyn and Blythe co-authored a meaningful devotional book about young girls’ friendships.

Also, Blythe and her precious mother, Helen Brown McIntosh, wrote an insightful and special book, Mended, that helps restore the hearts of mothers and daughters.

I loved having Blythe & Helen on my podcast and learning from them: Empty Nest Guests.

Links to purchase the books are below:

🎁 William’s book:

https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Joking-Me-Jokes-Laughing/dp/080074134X/ref=asc_df_080074134X?nodl=1&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598243310553&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=815682417874424072&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9013747&hvtargid=pla-1708886232426&psc=1&mcid=1e46fecac8c5374d86ad84771796ede4&gclid=Cj0KCQiA35urBhDCARIsAOU7Qwnx1hoO5XHksdWFpy58ACJhL2oBMihjqPpnmAVqZcmdPS4mAZwjUGcaAgxVEALw_wcB&dplnkId=b2bd77ff-7814-440d-b2c8-01f73b078e44

🎁 Calyn & Blythe’s book:

https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Be-Friends-Devotional-Friendships/dp/0736988106?nodl=1&dplnkId=fa249f2f-3030-4eae-b984-1ab2611afc0f

🎁 Blythe & Helen’s book:

https://www.amazon.com/Mended-Restoring-Hearts-Mothers-Daughters/dp/0736973516

Click here to listen to my podcast with Blythe & Helen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empty-nest-guests/id1534634660?i=1000608805319

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for sharing this Diane Tritt Eaton.

Have an awesome day everyone.

🎄❤️🎅🏻⛄️

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

I loved seeing this today and hope it makes you smile.

🦃😊

I loved this today!

May it bring a smile to your face.

💳👓🔑📱

Here’s a funny…

Tonight we took fall decor down and were going to put up the Christmas tree or so I thought.

But…Gordy had a great point.

The tree actually needs to “fall out” a bit first.

Oh, and the Arkansas Razorbacks were on and Monday Night Football.

Better let that tree fall waaaay out. 😂

Go Hogs! & Happy Holidays!

Hey Family & Friends,

This is one of my favorite podcasts I’ve ever recorded.

Would you like to grow even as you age?

Listen in as best-selling author Alice Fryling and I discuss aging faithfully.

She’s 79 years young and is full of life, wisdom and wonderful words.

Aging IS a holy invitation to growing older.

We still have undiscovered country to experience in our later years.

Our golden years can be filled with fruit and life.

Listen in and hear:

• What is the difference between productive and fruitful as we age?

• How can empty nesters relate and respond to the fear of being useless?

• With less of us there is more of God. This is a beautiful way to look at our aging process.

Click here to listen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empty-nest-guests/id1534634660?i=1000634147771

Who needs a smile this Saturday? I sure do, today and each day. 😊

Thanks for this funny card Robin Terzian McCullough.

Gordy and I were supposed to leave Oct. 30 to spend two weeks in Israel.

Watching the war unfold on live TV is horrific and almost too much to bear.

As a Christian, I’ve always been taught (at home and in church) to revere, support and pray for Israel.

From God’s covenant with Abraham to the Cross to the Age to Come, Israel is central to God’s redemptive plan for all peoples.

Our support for Israel today is anchored in the absolute faithfulness of God to always keep His promises, including those He made to Israel.

The bible teaches us:

🇮🇱 to comfort Israel
(Isaiah 40:1-2)

🇮🇱 to bless Israel
(Genesis 12:3)

🇮🇱 and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul also encourages Gentile Christians to “show mercy” to the Jewish people (Romans 11:31-32), sharing that we are indebted to them for all the spiritual blessings we have received through Israel (Romans 15:26-27).

May we join together in our biblical calling to comfort Israel.

Let’s unite our hearts to pray for the people there…the hostages, the families and the soldiers.

Good news! Your role as a father isn't over, it's evolving.

Especially for empty nesting fathers, this podcast is for you.

Now that your children have grown and flown, are you wondering "What's next
regarding my role as a father?

Join me, Gordy, and Jim Burns from HomeWord as our
meaningful conversation explores the answers to these common questions:

* It feels like my "job" as a father and raising them is over now that they are out of the house. Is it?

* How do I involve myself without overstepping?

* How do I love my wife well as she misses the children?

* How do I affirm the now independent kids?

* What do healthy boundaries look like?

* How do I help heal (and break the curse of/from) father wounds?

* Dads and daughters/Dads and sons - what similar, what's different?

Thanks for tuning in. Spending time with you is special!

Remember...your Heavenly Father loves to father you and your adult children.

The more we are like Him, the better parents we are.

"And I will be your Father and you will be my sons and daughters, says the
Lord, Almighty."

2 Corin. 6:18

To reach Jim Burns: HomeWord | Helping Families
Succeed

To reach Charlotte: https://charlotteguest.com

Click here to listen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empty-nest-guests/id1534634660?i=1000629907290

It’s International Podcast Day! 🎉🎙

And, how FUN and special that I’m at the Spark Media Christian Podcast Conference this weekend in Houston, Texas.

It’s been SUCH an honor to be in the company of so many incredible faith-filled podcasters.

Thank you Misty Phillip and incredible Philip family for blessing us all with your hard work. I’m so honored to be affiliated with the Spark Collective.

All of us podcasters were reminded that our platforms have purpose, our messages matter and that our why is to point people to Christ, always.

I started Empty Nest Guests in 2020, during the pandemic.
My hope then was to point empty nesters to a full and fulfilling life.

It’s still my hope today.

Now, three years later, I’ve been so blessed to have had the opportunity to interview many incredible guests who encourage and inspire those of us in our encore years.

I love sharing the hope I learn from them and thank you for listening to the podcast.

I was a runner up for The Fan Award and was truly humbled to be in the company of people who have been podcasting a lot longer than I have.

Thank you to all who voted for me. I appreciate you!

In the coming days, I’ll post the names of the winning podcasts so you all can tune in!

There is SO MUCH encouragement and inspiration in the world of Christian podcasting.

Happy weekend!

And, to my new podcasting friends, I loved meeting you all!
Keep sparking. ✨❤️🙏🏼🎙

Saturday was great day for:

Serving - 💓🐾💙🐾

Gordy and I loved taking Fitz & Pearl to the St. Francis Children’s Hospital today for a therapy visit.

———

Slicing Shots - (me)
& Sinking Putts (Gordy)

Then, we played golf and…

———

SO FUNNY!!!

Snappin - 💛✔️

We are learning Snapchat.

It’s a great way to see fun pics of sweet Millie.

So we had NO idea how to use it and here’s how our signing on went down:

Grant: “Mom, can you and Dad get Snapchat? I can send you lots of pictures of Millie.”

Me: “Sure! We can try to figure it out.”

Gordy: “Why do we need Snapshot?

Me: “It’s Snapchat.”

Gordy: “It’s just pictures, right?”

Me: “You can add a message and chat it seems.”

Gordy: “Why is there a ghost?”

Me: “Well, the photos disappear.”

Gordy: “I think it should be called Snapshot and the pictures need to stick around.”

Me: “Maybe so but we need to download this to see more of Millie.”

Gordy: “Or…we could just text.”😂

Needless to say, we downloaded it, we’re learning and we are snappin!

It’s fun!

(It saves phone storage too.)

———

Empty Nesters, remember, we gotta learn new to use new-to-us stuff.

Sometimes, you CAN teach old dogs new tricks. ✔️

In honor our our son, Grant and his wife, Laken, our awesome daughter-in-law, having a baby girl THIS WEEK,
I wanted to share one of my favorite podcasts.

Mothers of adult sons,
as a son grows into a young man, he needs his mother’s love and, now, more than ever, her respect.

Click here to listen:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empty-nest-guests/id1534634660?i=1000585772927

This respect needs to be unconditional. We need to understand our son’s:
• masculine drives.
• their desire to achieve, provide and protect.
• and his need for friendship with us.

Listen in as George Stahnke, from Focus on the Family and I discuss some key points from Dr. Emerson
Eggerichs’ book entitled: Mother and Son – The Respect Effect.

Your son does want to connect with you, but on his own terms. “Men do not fear transparency,” says Eggerichs, “they fear shame, disapproval or a lecture. They fear disrespect.”

George and I dive in to unveil helpful understandings of your son and his need for your respect to establish
deeper levels of trust in your relationship.

Listen in to hear how to do life “shoulder to shoulder” with your son and more.

Other topics discussed include:
• What to do when your son does not deserve respect.
• What to say during times of conflict.
• How to handle when your son is angry with you.
• How to honor their family unit.
• How our need to ask our son’s advice is important.
• Listen more than you talk.
• Let your son see that you have your own life.
• Affirm him and his dreams.

As we mothers believe in our sons and the person God made them to be, we can get through difficult seasons and enjoy the blessings found in good times together.

Special thanks to George for his time and his own wise
insight.

Dear friends whose nest is emptying,

It’s hard.

It’s new.

It’s an adjustment.

It’s exciting,
for you and your adult kids.

Honestly, it’s a million things.

There aren’t enough descriptions as everyone processes the empty nest uniquely and differently.

Whether you’ve just moved your kids to college, are about to or have had an empty nest for a while, this podcast and Bible plan can be helpful.

Empty Nest Guests, the podcast, is full of insightful and inspiring encouragement from best-selling authors and professionals.

There are 42 episodes and topics include:

🌻 Common emotions of the empty nest

🌻 Family dynamics
- Marriage Help
- Parenting Adult Kids
- Honoring Aging Adults

🌻 Finding Your Purpose

🌻 Friendships

🌻 Hardships

🌻 Health & Wellness

🌻 & More

Tune in and be blessed with wisdom from great people who hope to encourage you in your encore years.

I hope you’ll enjoy this Bible plan, too. It’s a great way to start your first quiet mornings, after the kids have grown and flown.

I wish you all the best in your nest. 🙏🏼 😊

🌻 Click here to listen to the podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empty-nest-guests/id1534634660?i=1000493690608

🌻 To read the Bible plan, click here:

The Blessed Empty Nest: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/25254

Scripture and creation sometimes are like a warm embrace. 🌅🌱🍅

I appreciated the verse from Isaiah in my morning reading, thankful that God promises to satisfy our needs during this sun-scorched weather and guide us, always.

Yesterday, on my morning walk with our dogs, I noticed our neighbor’s ripe tomato vine. This tomato, almost ripe for picking, was dangling outside the fence, as if to say, “pick me.”

Psalm 85:12 says “The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.”

The Lord does give what is good. Yet, I wondered how many times I’ve “missed the tomato.”

Sometimes, there is a beautiful gift on the other side of the fence. If we look past what’s familiar and step outside our comfort zone, we’ll see it, dangling, ripe and ready for us to enjoy.

I wonder what God has in store for you today on the other side of your fence? Take a look and see.

Stay cool everyone. Perhaps, together, we can pray for some refreshing rain. 🙏🏼🌧
‭‭

My podcast guest Jim Burns shared thar funny illustration on Facebook and it made me smile.

He is a best-selling author and is the president of HomeWord.

Jim’s books and organization share awesome tips about doing life with your adult kids.

On our podcast, Jim answers several questions including:

• How can offering unsolicited advice to my adult child backfire?

• What does the term “emerging adult” mean?
How is this different from other generations?

• What do I do when my child is violating my values? What about cohabitation?

• We have differing political views. What do I do?

• My child has strayed from faith. How can I help them come back to God?

• How can grandparents influence grandchildren?

• How can we leave the best legacy?

Click on this link to listen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empty-nest-guests/id1534634660?i=1000525658794

Hello!

Did you know that 1 in 4 Americans are estranged from their families—roughly 67 million people.

This is the subject of my latest podcast.

Listen in as Aimee Palmer and I discuss the topic:

Parents of Estranged Adult Children.

Estranged from her daughter, on and off for five years, Aimee Palmer has walked a long, confusing, hard and hurtful road.

So have countless other parents whose children have walked away from a relationship with them.

All too often, a rejected parent or parents often don't know what they did wrong to warrant this type of treatment.

Many times, that same child has walked away from faith, everyone in the family and from connectivity with those who love them most.

When an adult child rejects or abandons a parent, common feelings arise like:

Anger
Despair
Failure
Guilt
Isolation
Shame
And More

Aimee founded the international support group PEAC – Parents of Estranged Adult Children to bring hurting parents together.

On her website: Parents Of Estranged Adult Children Support Group (peacinternational.org), https://peacinternational.org, you’ll find helpful resources and links for online meetings where you can surround yourself with others who are estranged from their children.

If you are experiencing alienation, a strain in your relationship with your adult child or are completely estranged from them, this podcast is for you.

Aimee shares helpful tips to survive and thrive as you are experiencing estrangement.

In community there is courage, strength, and hope. As Aimee shares, “When we share common pain and goals...there is healing.”

If you are estranged from your adult child, I hope this podcast will encourage and bless you.

If you have a friend or someone you love in this position, please share this podcast with them.

Make the most of every moment with those you love. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empty-nest-guests/id1534634660?i=1000622138690