Raising a teen who loves the performing arts is a wild ride - from audition anticipation to exhausting rehearsal schedules to the adrenaline of tech week, all culminating in a whirlwind series of shows… If you know, you know!

This week’s episode in our Meet the Artists series is an interview with cohost Jennifer’s daughter. Now a high school freshman, Lucy shares with Gretchen and her mom how early exposure to the arts helped shape her aesthetic tastes. Some of her earliest memories include attending local performances of the Nutcracker ballet, traveling Broadway shows including Annie and The Sound of Music, and creating miniature performances at home with handmade clay figurines.

Although her first musical theater performance wasn’t until age nine, Lucy had a knack for captivating audiences since toddlerhood. Whether at family gatherings, homeschool functions, or cul-de-sac performances with the neighbors, the world has always been her stage.

As Lucy’s passion for performing grew, so did her awareness of the emotional complexities that come with it. How do you handle disappointment in casting decisions? What’s it like to hold personal excitement in one hand and a friend’s sadness and confusion in the other? Where is the intersection between theater and reality? Lucy opens up with listeners about her personal encounters with these scenarios and much more.

Whether you love being in the audience, backstage, or in the spotlight, this conversation levels the field with honesty, encouragement, and a healthy perspective on ideals and everyday life. Lucy’s childhood has been enriched by the undeniable spirit of community theater, and if you’re a parent and you’re wondering how to support the artistic pursuits of your children, she has words of wisdom for you. If you’re a young person who desires a life of performance and creativity, you'll feel encouraged to keep reaching for the stars! We hope you’ll find a moment to listen!

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/artists

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From physician to interior designer, this episode with our friend Dr. Kricia Palmer explores the purpose and power of creativity in every season of life.

Our conversation traces the intersection of personality, creative gifts, professional ambition, personal healing, and the evolving stages of family life.

Parents will find particular encouragement as Kricia reflects on how playfulness and a spirit of fun became essential ingredients in nurturing creativity within her children. She also shares the deeply personal story of how a complex medical diagnosis for one of her children prompted her to reconsider her path as a physician and ultimately reshaped her professional endeavors.

No matter your creative preferences or stage of life, this conversation will move you and remind you that artistic expression can be enjoyed by the masses, but it can also bring quiet healing to the one who creates. We hope you’ll find a moment to listen.

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/artists

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If you’ve ever been curious about the inner workings of a young artist’s mind, this episode is for you. Meet our friend Simon Wood, who shares some of his earliest childhood memories as an artist and musician, and how those experiences have shaped who he is and what he hopes to pursue in the future.

This would also be a great episode to share with young people in your home. Simon offers practical, relatable experiences and advice for artists who may be hindered by fear of failure or making mistakes. Interestingly, his perspective on mistakes applies not only to the arts but to all areas of life.

While Simon is an accomplished drummer, pianist, guitarist, and saxophonist, his favorite instrument is vocals. He recently won a songwriting contest through Lipscomb University and shares the process of writing that particular song in this episode.

We hope you’ll find a moment to listen and be equipped, encouraged, and inspired in your pursuit of creativity and beauty.

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/artists

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Are you raising children with hopes of inspiring a love of art and beauty? How do we cultivate a child's aesthetic appetite in a way that enriches the whole person and builds confidence for artistic expression?

We had the pleasure of welcoming Amelia Ford for our first interview episode in the latest series, Meet the Artists. At 17 years old, she offers a youthful voice to a conversation that deserves generational diversity and different perspectives.

Amelia shares about how her experiences from a young age helped drive her desire to create and experiment with various media and materials. While visiting ballets, symphonies, and art exhibits were part of those early exposures, having easy access to a variety of art supplies at home made creativity both safe and accessible.

Her long-term ideals include a well-stocked studio and plenty of time to create, but today's everyday life as a busy student offers pockets of time and whatever supplies are within arm's reach.

If you’re curious about how to cultivate a passion for beauty and artistic expression in your own family, this episode will be eye-opening and hopeful, no matter what stage of life you find yourself. We hope you’ll find a moment to listen and be encouraged!

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/artists

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Meet the Artists is a new series exploring the purpose and mystery of art woven throughout human history. From ancient pottery and paintings to landscaping, cooking, sewing, and countless other disciplines, artistic expression has always been part of what it means to be human.

In our opening episode, we reflect on why creativity persists across the ages. We consider how our impulse to create, bring beauty, and restore order points to something deeper within us. Art is not only enrichment; it is a necessary thread in the fabric of daily life. Choosing to cultivate beauty in ordinary moments truly matters to us personally and to those with whom we live.

After this introduction, we’ll sit down each week of the series with a local artist to hear how art shapes their story, their work, and their understanding of the world. We hope you’ll find a moment to join us for the conversation.

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/artists

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What does faithful observance of Lent involve? Is it a necessary practice for a believer, or is it optional?

In this standalone episode, Gretchen and Jennifer discuss the purpose and spirit of the Lenten season as we move towards Resurrection Day.

Intentional fasting, contemplation, self-examination, confession, and prayer are just a few of the spiritual disciplines that can bring about the restoration of our hearts and minds during this 40-day wilderness journey.

Whether you’re new to observing Lent or it’s an annual practice for you, we hope you’ll find a moment to listen to this conversation for resources, encouragement, and a reminder that your everyday life matters.

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/lent

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What does compassion look like when someone in our lives is suffering? Are there both practical and meaningful ways that we might care for a loved one in their season of grief?

This episode is the second half of our conversation with our friend, Catherine Fitzgerald. After her brother suddenly passed away, her pain was multiplied by an unexpected loss of community. Over the course of her healing journey, she dove headlong into self-education, with an insatiable appetite for research on how trauma affects the brain and body. Spiritually, Catherine found her faith to be more refined and purified as a result, less focused on easy answers and more rooted in honest presence with pain.

She also became keenly aware that our culture often lacks the confidence to respond to suffering with compassion. From this realization, Catherine began to articulate a vision of grief as something that must be companion­ed and witnessed, not fixed or rushed through. She speaks to the power of the ministry of presence: having the courage to walk alongside someone, to stay, to listen, and to offer simple, practical care when words fall short. Grief is so deeply personal and unique, which can also lead to isolation… because no one really understands. For this reason, what heals is not advice, but people willing to show up, again and again.

In this episode, Catherine invites us to rethink how we care for one another in loss, and what it truly means to love someone well in their season of grief. Her recommendations for books and resources are thorough and broad, so please check our show notes for those as well. We hope you’ll find a moment to listen and learn how to enter someone else’s dark season with tenderness and love.

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/suffering

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Grieving a loved one is an experience shared by all of humanity. And yet, while grief acquaints itself with each of us, we find ourselves uncertain when someone close to us suffers.

We aren’t sure what to say…

We don’t want to bring up the pain…

We want to fix the hurt and relieve the sorrow…

So we end up saying nothing.

This is precisely why we want you to meet our dear friend, Catherine Fitzgerald. Our two-part conversation will reveal a heart laid bare, confessing the rawness of her brother's death, a journey through a dark night of the soul, and then the process of rebuilding her heart, mind, and soul towards wholeness.

Her story will give you the courage to enter into your own healing journey and to be better equipped to offer compassionate witness and love to those who suffer. Catherine has courageously undertaken the transformative work of self education and spiritual healing, and by giving her pain a purpose, her story testifies that, with Christ, nothing indeed is wasted.

Show Notes: www.medicinemotherhood.com/blog/suffering

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