Empty nester wisdom with Susan Peterson (world-changing faith, embracing sadness and finding community in this new season)
Pardon the Mess with Scarlet Hiltibidal - Christian Motherhood, Biblical Parenting, Raising Christian Kids
Scarlet Hiltibidal and Christian Parenting
4.9 • 850 Ratings
🗓️ 26 June 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We have a rock star mom on the podcast today! Susan Peterson is a mom I have looked up to for years. She’s the co-founder of Relish, board member for Young Life and longtime volunteer serving Passion City Church and Illuminations. And fun little fact, she is the reason my little “ABC Scripture Cards” hit the market over 13 years ago.
There are many parts of this I want every mom to hear, but make sure you hear her approach to the emotions of the empty nest stage. She didn’t think she would be sad when her kids left the home and was surprised by the mourning. She gives us permission to stop and feel it. Don't miss her advice to take the time to ask God what is next and take the time to mourn the season that you loved so much. I also loved her challenge to stop and thank God for the gift of being a mom and having kids in your home.
Susan’s family has always traveled the globe serving God. As you will hear towards the end, she said that getting her kids out of their country was one of the best decisions they made. They were able to see God at work in the world. It changed each of them. So inspiring!
I know you will absolutely enjoy this jewel of a human. Susan is a treasure and I’m delighted to share her words with you today. Praying you feel Jesus pour right through every minute.
Enjoy,
Courtney
(00:55) The State of Bible Translation
(03:09) Navigating the Empty Nest
(06:12) Finding Identity After Parenting
(08:56) The Balance of Parenting and Faith
(14:03) Lessons Learned from Parenting
(18:02) Encouragement for Younger Moms
(22:04) Final Thoughts and Resources
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Resources from today’s show:
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First episode with Jennifer on PTM
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Christian Parenting. |
| 0:03.0 | Christian Parenting |
| 0:05.0 | Part of the Best is part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network, which is a group of 29 shows |
| 0:14.0 | to help you let go of perfection and embrace the perfectly imperfect parent God created you to be. |
| 0:20.0 | Raising kids to know and love Jesus isn't |
| 0:22.4 | easy and we're not meant to do it alone. That's why this network exists. It's to be your |
| 0:27.0 | digital village full of encouragement, export advice, and a few laughs along the way. Over the last |
| 0:32.2 | year, our podcasts have been downloaded five million times, but that kind of impact only happens |
| 0:37.4 | because of generous |
| 0:38.3 | listeners like you. Christian Parenting is a nonprofit in every resource is funded by people |
| 0:43.5 | who believe in this mission. If this show has encouraged you, would you consider giving back? |
| 0:48.1 | Head on over to cpgiv.org to donate today. That's cpgiv.org. |
| 1:07.4 | Hey friends, welcome back to Pardon the Mess. I'm your host, Courtney Defeo, and we are continuing on in a series called Em nester wisdom. So whether you have little kids or |
| 1:12.2 | grown kids or you're new to the empty nester phase, I think we can all learn from moms all around us, |
| 1:17.7 | whether they've written a book, whether they're your neighbor, whether you've met them at the |
| 1:20.7 | grocery store. Everyone has a story. And I just love this. This is what I would be doing in my normal |
| 1:25.8 | life is having lunch with people like Susan Peterson and then gleaning that wisdom and taking note and put it in my heart. But I love |
| 1:32.3 | that I have a podcast. I love that I get to share people like Susan with you. And so I would just |
| 1:36.3 | challenge you to do the same thing around your own town. Like there's probably people right in your |
| 1:40.2 | own neighborhood or church that are just thinking, do I have anything to offer? And you're like, yes, you do. |
| 1:44.9 | You've been a mom before me. |
| 1:46.0 | So tell me what you learned. |
... |
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