How to Pray for Teen Boys & Teen Girls w/ Brooke McGlothlin & Stacey Thacker

Welcome to a very special Mother’s Day episode of the Collide Kids Podcast! Host Christen Clark is joined by two incredible guests—Brooke McGlothlin, founder of Million Praying Moms and author of Praying for Teen Boys, and Stacey Thacker, writer, speaker, and author of Praying for Teen Girls. These two moms share candid stories and heartfelt wisdom about the power of prayer in parenting, reminding listeners that prayer isn’t a last resort—it’s the first and best thing we can do for our kids.

Brooke and Stacey talk about their new books geared specifically for parenting teen boys and girls, sharing why boys and girls need unique prayers and support. They open up about tough parenting moments, how God sometimes says “no” for a greater purpose, and why letting go and trusting God is the ultimate act of faith in motherhood.

Don’t miss this encouraging and hope-filled episode—perfect for moms, dads, and anyone wanting to leave a legacy of faith. Happy Mother’s Day!

LINKS: 

www.millionprayingmoms.com

https://brookemcglothlin.net/

http://staceythacker.com/

Clip Finder:

Viral Topic: The Hidden Value of Motherhood: "Those little faithful things you're doing right now with your little ones, if that's you... those little faithful steps of obedience that you're taking, God sees them and they matter. They truly matter."
— Stacey Thacker [00:18:11 → 00:18:17]

Title: The Power of Faithful Routine  
Quote: "He does not despise the ministry of the small things. And step by step and day by day, as you show up in our faithful, with your family and doing the things God has called you to do, he will work that ministry out, because that's something that he is."
— Stacey Thacker [00:18:19 → 00:18:31]

Viral Topic: The Importance of Recognizing Gender Differences in Parenting  
"We're actually making a statement that we think that there's differences and those differences matter. Especially when you're getting into the nitty gritty of praying for their hearts and their walks with God and their futures and their hurts and their hopes."
— Stacey Thacker [00:20:34 → 00:20:47]

When God Says No: "I do believe when God says no, it's a mercy and I don't always have the explanation."
— Stacey Thacker [00:33:08 → 00:33:12]

The Power of a Mother's Prayers: "Her faithfulness to pray has just, you know, I am the fruit of those prayers and what God has done in my life and through my life."
— Stacey Thacker [00:35:23 → 00:35:30]

Generational Impact of Prayer: "if we could just get moms praying that literally God could use it to change generations."
— Brooke McGlothlin [00:15:00 → 00:15:05]

Viral Topic: The Power of Prayer in Parenting: "But I think that our prayer lives is this unique way that God has given only to believers that we can literally partner with him for the hearts of our kids."
— Brooke McGlothlin [00:23:04 → 00:23:16]

Viral Topic: The Power of Prayer in Parenting: "stand up, because prayer is th

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Transcript

Christen Clark [00:00:29]:

Hey, y' all. Welcome to the Collide Kids Podcast. I'm your host, Christen Clark. The Collide Kids Podcast is a show for kids and families where we learn together how life and faith collide. I am so glad that you're listening today. I hope you're enjoying this episode with your family. And hey, if you think of someone while you're listening today that needs to hear this, why don't you share this with them? Let them know why you love listening to this podcast. It's such a great way to let other people in on all the fun, right? And, hey, we are just a few days away from the end of our giveaway, so we just recently celebrated our 200th episode and we have two giveaways.

Christen Clark [00:01:04]:

One is for families. It's a great resource. Lots of books and a fun gift card. Maybe to Chick Fil A. I don't know. Sounds fun to me. And there's also one for kids ministry leaders. So if you have someone in your church who's a great leader, volunteer kids pastor, family pastor.

Christen Clark [00:01:19]:

I've gathered some amazing resources from some of my really great friends who want to give these to that kids ministry leader. And you can nominate them on our social media. So don't. So head over to the 200th episode post on our social media where you can learn more details about how you could win one of these amazing prize packs. Well, before we dive into today's episode, I have a quick reminder for you, and that is that Mother's Day is just around the corner. That's right. This Sunday is Mother's Day. If you didn't know, mark your calendars because it's coming up.

Christen Clark [00:01:51]:

So I thought we would play a fun game called Mom Superpowers. And here's how you play the game. I'm going to read off some of these mom superpowers and you shout yes. And if your mom has any of these, and if she is not sitting next to you or near you to hear you shout yes, maybe take note and remind your mom this Mother's Day of all the superpowers she has. Okay, here we go. Here's some mom superpowers. Finding lost stuff like a boss, right? Making snacks appear out of nowhere. Giving the best hugs in the world.

Christen Clark [00:02:29]:

Knowing when something is wrong, even if you don't say anything. Moms have that holy spirit radar, don't they? Yeah. How about instantly knowing when you're faking? Sick moms are so good at that. Moms can cook dinner, fold laundry, answer a phone call all at the same time. Maybe your mom has eyes in the back of her head. She sees everything. Or turns into a cheerleader at your game or performance. Gives the best pep talks when you're nervous, can translate baby babble like a pro.

Christen Clark [00:03:06]:

She knows exactly what that baby is saying, doesn't she? Does your mom make up silly songs on the spot? I think I do that for my kids. Or knows how to pray the perfect prayer when you're having a hard day. Can your mom tell when you need a hug even before you realize it, detects lies faster than a lie detector test? And somehow knows what you need at target even before you ask? Moms are good like that. Can your mom put on the mom look that stops bad behavior in its tracks? All the moms are doing the look right now. We're practicing. And turns regular moments into magical memories. Well, if you shouted yes to any of those mom superpowers, then you have a pretty super mom. So don't forget to remind her this Sunday how amazing she is.

Christen Clark [00:04:02]:

Well, speaking of moms, I'm really excited to welcome our guests today. We have two very special guests. Brooke McGlothlin and Stacey Thacker. Brooke is the co founder of Million Praying Moms and the author of eight books, including Prayer for Teen Boys and Praying Mom. She's a wife and mom of two teenage boys and calls the mountains of southwestern Virginia her home. We're also welcoming Stacey Thacker. She is a writer, speaker, and the women's ministry director at First Orlando. She's the author of nine books, including Praying for Teen Girls and the mom to four daughters.

Christen Clark [00:04:36]:

Stacey also coaches, writes, and runs a creative consulting business, all while keeping coffee close by and her heart grounded in God's word. If you are a mom or you have a mom or you know of a mom, I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation with my friends, Brooke McGlothlin and Stacey Thacker. Brooke and Stacey, I am so excited to have you on the Collide Kids podcast today.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:05:10]:

Thank you for having us.

Stacey Thacker [00:05:11]:

Yeah, it's going to be a great conversation. I'm really glad to be here.

Christen Clark [00:05:14]:

Yeah. This is so fun. So this is our big Mother's Day episode. So what better way to talk about moms than to have two wonderful moms? Moms here today? Would you guys just introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do?

Brooke McGlothlin [00:05:28]:

Absolutely. So my name is Brooke McGlothlin and I am the founder of Million Praying Moms, which is an organization that's designed to help moms see prayer not as a last resort, but as the first and best response to the challenges of motherhood. Really? Honestly, Christen, like all challenges that we face today as believers, it just happens that we talk about it within the frame of motherhood. So that's been a joy. I have two teenage boys, actually, we have. They're just days away from turning 18 and 20, so we are really kind of on the other side of the teenage years here at our home. But the lessons still apply to young adulthood. I will say that right up.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:06:08]:

I've been married to my husband Corey for, let's see, 23 years this summer.

Christen Clark [00:06:13]:

Awesome.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:06:13]:

And we live in the mountains of Virginia. So that's a little bit about me.

Stacey Thacker [00:06:17]:

Okay. Well, I'm Stacey and I'm really glad to be here. I am a writer. I've been writing online. Brooke and I met. Mm. This is a test. I think we met like about 14 or 15 years ago online.

Stacey Thacker [00:06:30]:

We met on Twitter. We always tell people that we met on Twitter before. I love that in the day. And so that's how we connected. God has been really sweet in that friendship. But my everyday life, my husband Mike and I have been married for, coming up, 31 years next week, if we can believe it. We were just having the conversation, what are we gonna do on the anniversary? So I think we decided on Mexican going out for some Mexican food. So that's coming up.

Stacey Thacker [00:06:55]:

We have four daughters, ages 25, 22, 18, almost 19 and 15. And so we are an all girl household except dad and the crazy dog. So we love getting to invest in those girls. They're our favorites in the entire world. In my everyday life, I work full time at my church. I'm the director of women's ministry and I've been doing that for a couple years. And so I get to pour into women all day long. It's my job and I love doing that.

Stacey Thacker [00:07:24]:

It's a gift.

Christen Clark [00:07:24]:

Very cool. I love this. Well, I am so excited to talk to both of you, you about what you're doing and about some great resources you have for families. But before we do that, because this is a show for kids, I always make my guests tell me a joke or something funny. So I'm going to put you on the spot. Do you have a joke you want to share with us?

Brooke McGlothlin [00:07:41]:

Okay, I'm going to share a dad joke. Even though this is like a Mom show, right? Or it's Mother's Day. Like, it's the best I could do. So the children and the men in my home are way funnier than I am. They always tell me, brooke, you're kind of funny when you're not trying to be. So that's my specialty. I'm trying. So what do dentists call X rays?

Christen Clark [00:08:02]:

Ooh, I don't know.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:08:03]:

Toothpicks.

Christen Clark [00:08:05]:

Toothpicks. That's good. I like that one.

Stacey Thacker [00:08:08]:

We need, like, a little drum sound.

Christen Clark [00:08:09]:

I think we should take, like, the dad joke thing for this show. It's a mom joke. That's a mom joke. There you go.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:08:15]:

I love it.

Christen Clark [00:08:15]:

I love it. All right, Stacey, what have you got?

Stacey Thacker [00:08:18]:

Well, mine is just a personal, funny story. Something that happened to me this week. I was at work, and I went to lunch with a friend and got a kid's meal. Cause Chick Fil A kids meals are my favorite. And when they said, hey, do you want an ice cream? I'm like, yes. So I got the Chick Fil A kids meal and the ice cream with no toy and went back to work, ate my kids meal. And I didn't get. They didn't give me a spoon.

Stacey Thacker [00:08:41]:

So I went into our conference room, where we gather as a team. My team and I walked in, and my entire team was sitting there in a meeting. And I forgot the meeting. And I was standing there with my Chick Fil A ice cream, and I said, did we have a meeting? And they said, yeah, it started, like, 10 minutes ago. And I was just horrified. And I said, well, let me grab my computer. And so I sat and ate my ice cream. I was so embarrassed.

Stacey Thacker [00:09:07]:

It was such. I just thought, what is wrong with me? Like, it just. And y' all. And I'm. I want to say it wasn't on my calendar, but my phone was giving me mess like, alerts. Still missed it.

Christen Clark [00:09:17]:

Hey, you know, maybe the Lord ordained that bag to not have a sink spoon in it so that you would get to your meeting.

Stacey Thacker [00:09:24]:

I would have been more than 10 minutes late had it not been really focused on for making sure I was in the right place at the right time.

Christen Clark [00:09:33]:

That's right. That's so good. I love that. And the Chick Fil A ice cream is so good. You can't miss that.

Stacey Thacker [00:09:38]:

It's. And it's the right portion in the kids meal. Like, it's just a little bit. Oh, it's perfect.

Christen Clark [00:09:43]:

All you need.

Stacey Thacker [00:09:44]:

That's right.

Christen Clark [00:09:44]:

I love it.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:09:45]:

They have some new lemonades, too. Like, they're like, I know we're not trying to do a chick fil A ad right now.

Christen Clark [00:09:49]:

Let's do it.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:09:51]:

So they have some new flavor lemonades that are just amazing right now.

Christen Clark [00:09:55]:

The key lime. Have you tried the key lime?

Brooke McGlothlin [00:09:57]:

I have not. Mine was, like, the pomegranate something, maybe, I think, or maybe it was. I don't know. They're all good. So let's just say that they're really good.

Christen Clark [00:10:05]:

Okay. I might go there after this. Cause it's making me hungry. All right, well, first, I'd love to hear from you guys about prayer. Because I know that's something that's very important, especially to you, Brooke. Cause you started a whole ministry about it. Tell us a little bit about Million Praying Moms and why prayer is so important.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:10:22]:

Well, there's a couple different ways I could answer this question. Prayer is important because God says it is. Like, that's. You know, that's the bottom line. For. For those of us who have spent any amount of time in scripture, it's pretty clear in there that God expects us. He tells us to be praying, right? He doesn't tell us we always have to understand why we're praying. He doesn't always tell us that he's gonna give us exactly what we ask for.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:10:44]:

But somehow he uses our prayers to partner with him for the kingdom, for the greater kingdom. And that's a privilege, and that's an honor. And that, in a nutshell, is why we should be doing it. But for me, prayer became a. I wanna say, a lifeline. It became a foundational, formational part of my deepening relationship with Christ, with my deepening understanding of the scriptures. And it really is what God used to. To sanctify me, if you will.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:11:18]:

There's this. First of all, part of what we do at Million Praying Moms is not just teach moms to pray, but we specifically ask moms and lead moms in learning to pray Scripture. That's what I started to do early on in my own experience. And there is this, like, backdoor kind of thing that happens when you start to go to the Word and look for things to pray for other people. Like, I went to the Word because I was like, God, I need you to do something about these boys in my home. And praying God's word. Word seemed really holy and really good. And like, okay, Lord, I believe your word is living and active and that it.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:11:54]:

It can divide the human heart. And I believe that it doesn't return void. And I believe that it's true. I've banked my whole life on the fact that your Word is true. So what else could there be to pray that's any better? But my. My reasons for starting were a bit selfish, like, lord, can you just do something to these boys? Or about these boys that are in my home? Because they were very rambunctious, kind of wild boys. And what happened was that God changed me in the process. So going to His Word and looking for what to pray for somebody else engaged me in His Word in a whole new way.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:12:29]:

And it shaped my theology. It changed my mind. I've always said if what God's word says is true and what I believe is true are two different things, then I'm the one that's wrong. And so I was confronted with ways that I was wrong over the years. And God used that, as he does, to shape me and mold me, such that now, you know, in the early years of my parenting, I would have. I lamented often that I wasn't the kind of mom I wanted to be. Now I'm still not there. None of us will ever arrive.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:13:01]:

But I look a whole lot more like the mom I wanted to be back then. Because God has sanctified me in His Word and changed my perspective and given me a new way to look at what he's doing, not just in my own life, not just in the world, but in the hearts of my children.

Christen Clark [00:13:17]:

I love that, and I love this idea. We've actually talked about this a couple of times on different episodes recently on my show about prayer and praying the Scriptures, because I think there's some people that they might have been a Christian for a really long time, but they still don't know how to pray, what to say, and so we can go to God's Word. And I love that the scripture reminds us that we can be honest with God and we can really, really get to know him as we're talking to Him. And so I love that that's how that happened for you. Can you explain why you chose the name Million Praying Moms? Like, why not 1000? Why not 10,000? Why million?

Brooke McGlothlin [00:13:53]:

It feels lofty, doesn't it? I think when we chose Million Praying Moms, first of all, it kind of rolls off the tongue nicely. And when you're. When you're looking to name something, you want it to not be, like, 25 words long that somebody has to remember. So. So there is an element of just trying to pick something that. That. That really adequately expl. To accomplish within the title.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:14:13]:

But I also think we wanted to Produce something that was bigger. We were asking the Lord to produce or do something that was bigger than what we could accomplish on our own. And we really wanted to reach a million moms or more about prayer because we believed it was generational work. Like, that's exciting to me, that me getting one or God using me to get one mom praying his Word, that wasn't doing it before, that's gonna change her. And by definition then that is going to change her children, that is going to change her family, that could change her grandchildren and her great grandchildren. And that is just. That has always been so exciting to me to think that if we could just get moms praying that literally God could use it to change generations. So that's where that kind of came from.

Christen Clark [00:15:07]:

I love that. That's so good. And it does roll off the tongue. You're right. It very easy. Stacey, I'd love to hear a little bit from you about what inspired you to start working in the church and what inspired you to start working with women.

Stacey Thacker [00:15:18]:

Well, you know, it's crazy. I had a ministry mindset in college and kind of felt that calling from the Lord during that time. And my husband and I served in a non denominational evangelical ministry for years. But really kind of in the midst of all that, I was home raising my girls. You know, I was home and we were doing all sorts of things to point them to Jesus and I was reading them the stories and we were in the Word and we were taking them to church and all the, all those things. And I found myself, you know, as a lot of times moms do who are stay at home moms, even work working moms, you have those years, you're the lonely years where you're really struggling just to hold on for dear life. And so as I began to study the Word and write and all sorts of things, just the ministry that poured out of me, kind of what I would say really in the nooks and crannies of my life, because my focus was raising my girls. This, this outpouring, this calling kind of showed up, you know, was still there.

Stacey Thacker [00:16:15]:

And I know that God has called me to disciple women. Like, I knew that in college. I knew that at, you know, probably at the age of 20, that God had called me to disciple women. And here I had four little women in my house that were my primary audience. But even with that, God began to, to move me in a way. I've always led Bible studies. I've always just kind of met up with women for coffee and different things. And always I've served pretty much in every area of my church and then just kind of transitioning to the church worker, so to speak, really just happened in the past couple years.

Stacey Thacker [00:16:46]:

My girls are older, my family needs changed and shifted, and it suddenly became necessary for me to be in a more full time position. And with that, still doing the writing, still doing the speaking, all that along with it. But my church has just become really just the focus of my ministry in these past few years and I'm really happy to be there. And they're so supportive of all the other things that God has called me to do as well. They've been really, really great to serve and work alongside.

Christen Clark [00:17:14]:

I love that. You know, on the Collide Kids podcast, I get to interview lots of people about their jobs. And so I'm always interested, like how you get started. And I think it's really cool too, how you know something that started in your heart a long time ago, it didn't happen right away. So sometimes there's things that God places on us and we're like, why do I feel this strong desire to do this? But I can't. I don't have the bandwidth, I don't have the time. And yet God still puts that in your heart and gives you the opportunity later when it is the right time.

Stacey Thacker [00:17:41]:

And I think sometimes too, sometimes moms need to hear that. When you're faithful in the small things, and so often in those little years when your kids are taking naps and maybe they're going to preschool or just in those little years, sometimes you feel very unseen. But I've always, God has been so sweet to remind me that he sees us, especially in those years that we think are hidden. Those little faithful things you're doing right now with your little ones, if that's you. I know we're talking about teens this year, but right now, but in those small years, those little faithful steps of obedience that you're taking, God sees them and they matter. They truly matter. And so don't. God does not.

Stacey Thacker [00:18:19]:

He does not despise the ministry of the small things. And step by step and day by day, as you show up in our faithful, with your family and doing the things God has called you to do, he will work that ministry out, because that's something that he is. His purpose for you is to image him wherever you are, whether that's in the car line at school, picking up, if that's at your house, at the kitchen table, while you're making dinner, whatever, or if you are called to More of an outward ministry where other people are gonna see do in the day to day.

Christen Clark [00:18:46]:

Yeah, absolutely. And you can serve God wherever you are. You can serve God while you're washing dishes. You can serve God while you're dropping your kids off in car line. Like, there's so many ways that we can minister and. And be a light in a. In a dark place, even if that place is our home. And so.

Christen Clark [00:19:02]:

Yeah, so I think that's great encouragement. So let's shift gears a little bit and talk about your books. That's why we're here today is to talk about these two great books. Praying for Teen Boys and Praying for Teen Girls. So, Brooke, you wrote a book all about teen boys. Cause you have boys. That makes sense. And then now, why did you guys not put these books together and just say praying for Teens?

Brooke McGlothlin [00:19:22]:

Yeah, I think that's a great question. Cause we could have. We've written books together before. We're familiar with how that works. And we're good at it. We do it well together. What? I don't mean to say we're fantastic writers. I just mean to say we're good at working together well together.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:19:36]:

We bring out the best in each other, and that's a gift that God's given us. But for this particular set of topics, we really felt like there was enough nuanced content that needed to give teen boys and teen girls their own space. So, you know, they are very different. And also, I think there was a. I don't know if you thought of this, Stacey, but I thought of it as well. And I don't even know if we've ever really talked about it. But there was a part of me, too, that wanted to affirm God's design that boys are important and girls are important all by themselves individually, without lumping them together in one big pot. That it's important for us to distinguish and recognize that God has unique giftings and challenges and things like that for both of them.

Stacey Thacker [00:20:22]:

Yeah, I would agree with that. I think even in the current culture that we're living in, I do remember kind of in the very beginning, Brooke saying to me, you know, just even by us bringing out a Praying for Teen Girls and a Praying for Teen Boys book, we're actually making a statement that we think that there's differences and those differences matter. Especially when you're getting into the nitty gritty of praying for their hearts and their walks with God and their futures and their hurts and their hopes. You know, I am not a boy, Mom. I don't have boys. And I guess I could probably surmise what to pray for a teen boy, but I don't. I don't have that knowledge intuitively. Right.

Stacey Thacker [00:21:00]:

So I could probably guess. And I know that most people like yourself have a boy and a girl. I get square one of each. And Brooke and I, just. Because we. And this is just too funny, is that we both have. She has all boys, I have all girls. So we always say that the temperature in our home is elevated in those.

Stacey Thacker [00:21:18]:

In those different distinctions that we have. We're very girl and they're very boy, and so we get that. And I think God has been really generous to allow us the opportunity to write towards that in these books because we. We get those things. But also, whereas I might say that the words in this book would work whether your daughter is 10 or 18, I think that age is not as critical with this somewhat. But it's just. They're not the same as the prayers of Brookhart. They're.

Stacey Thacker [00:21:47]:

They're complimentary, and we love how they fit together. We really think someone like yourself who has one of each is going to get the best of both worlds because they're going to go together so beautifully. But they're very different, and that's true.

Christen Clark [00:21:58]:

They are so different. Like raising one of each. Everything that I do for my daughter, I can't always do for my son, and vice versa. So there's a lot of nuances there. And. And I think that is a little bit countercultural, too, because culture today, like, you know, there's lots of different political things and feminism and all that's trying to be equal and the same, but there's so many nuances with being a girl and being a boy, and we don't need to try to blend together. We need to celebrate the uniqueness. So tell me a little bit about the content of these books.

Christen Clark [00:22:28]:

Like, why is it so important that I'm praying for? I mean, I know I should pray for my kids, but why is this so important that you guys felt you should write a book about it?

Stacey Thacker [00:22:35]:

It.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:22:36]:

I've always said that prayer is. I think prayer is one of the most overlooked parts of Christian parenting today. There's lots of books out there on, you know, how to discipline your children. There's books out there on how to, you know, try to shepherd their hearts. There's. There's books on development and how that impacts the way your children can understand and discern the world. And. And there's a lot of them that are written from a.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:23:01]:

Of you know, biblical perspective, and that's great. But I think that our prayer lives is this unique way that God has given only to believers that we can literally partner with him for the hearts of our kids. And that's actually the subtitle of both books. Partner with God for the heart of your son. Partner with God for the heart of your daughter. It is something that God has invited us to do. And if you stop and think about that, that's kind of amazing that, you know, like, God doesn't really need us. He doesn't need us to accomplish the things that he wants to accomplish.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:23:38]:

He's God. If he needed us, he would be less of who he is. He doesn't need us, but he chooses us. He chooses to use us. It's the way that he planned it. It's the way he orchestrated it. And so when the God of the universe, like, I don't know about you guys, but there have been so many times, so many times over the last almost 20 years of parenting when I have said God, I have no idea. I have no clue what to do in this situation.

Christen Clark [00:24:08]:

Amen Tuesday.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:24:10]:

Yeah. Three of them today. No, but, like, I think most certainly there's this element of especially, let's just be honest, especially the world that our kids are being raised in today, it is not the same as at least what Stacey and I were raised in. It is very definitely not the same. And so there have been lots of times when I have had to realize and be okay with the fact that I need something outside of myself in order to help me do this. Well, and that's the really cool thing about God. He says, hey, ask me for wisdom. Ask me and I'll give it to you.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:24:49]:

And I won't just give it to you a little bit. I'll give it to you liberally. I'll let you bathe in the pool of wisdom that I will offer you. The scriptures say that wisdom is calling for us on. It's screaming for us on the tops of buildings. And, I mean, it's clear God's wisdom is out there, and he says, would you please ask me for it? And when the God of the universe does that, there is something special about it. And I have just never wanted to miss out on that. I can't do it by myself.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:25:21]:

I just, for me, prayer was coming to understand that I can't. Not only can I not do this parenting thing by myself, but I don't want to. I want God's way. It's better than mine. And that's really? The end of the story?

Christen Clark [00:25:35]:

Yeah. That's good.

Stacey Thacker [00:25:37]:

Well, I just wanna say I'm taking notes over here, and I always tell Brooke my favorite thing to hear talk about is prayer. So I'm just over here jotting down notes, just. Amen. It's so good. It's so good. I think, you know, when Brooke talks about that coming to the end of yourself, like, here's what I think is sometimes we look at pray as a last resort, and we think, oh, all I can do is pray. I want to tell you that it's okay to be desperate, and it's okay to be at that point where you don't know what your. What to say, what to do.

Stacey Thacker [00:26:07]:

Some of my best parenting has come after I've admitted that I don't know what to do. Because when we lean into that relationship, which is what prayer is, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us, and we have his word to direct us. And there's gonna be a point. This is a news flash. Maybe you're not there yet, but there's gonna be a point in your parenting where you do not know what to do. Like, this is bigger than you. This is harder than you. And every time I hit that, I think, oh, goodness, this is one of the reasons I need Jesus so much, is because he makes a way when we don't have a way or understanding.

Stacey Thacker [00:26:39]:

And then he answers in the most extraordinary ways. And we think, oh, even though this might be hard, this is his will and it's his plan. And it's. And especially. Especially when you're dealing with other human beings that you're responsible for.

Christen Clark [00:26:51]:

Right?

Stacey Thacker [00:26:52]:

This is a big deal. And so when you get to that point of saying, yeah, I'm at the end of myself, God says, okay, now we can really get started, and we can partner together and you can get on my page. Instead of coming to me and tell me what your page looks like, I'm going to show you my page. And I have amazing plans for your kids, and I have a heart for them. All those things are true. And I think, as Brooke, to agree with what she said in that place of prayer, we just. It's such an opportunity that we have to love God and then love him and pray to him and bring our parenting, you know, our parenting selves to him. In that position of humility, that's when God really does amazing things and it's okay to be there.

Stacey Thacker [00:27:33]:

And I'm just gonna say here, if you're fighting that, if you're holding, if you're white knuckling it right now. Stop. Just go to him and say, I need you right now, Lord. I don't have this. I can't fix this. I can't imagine what you're gonna do in this situation. Just the white knuckling. It's gonna exhaust you, and they're not gonna get the best of you.

Stacey Thacker [00:27:50]:

And so go to him now and just say, I don't know what to do. And I guarantee you, in that place of humility, that's where he meets you.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:27:56]:

I will just say, to finish that analogy of, like, if you're holding on at the end of the rope, like, you're hanging on by a thread, your nails are broken and jagged because you're gripping it with everything you have. Just let go. Like, the scriptures are clear that God's going to catch you. God is not going to. He upholds you with his mighty right hand. So you can let go. Just let go. You don't have to ruin your manicure anymore.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:28:20]:

Just let go and let him catch you because his plans are better.

Christen Clark [00:28:25]:

Yeah, that's good. Would you guys be willing to share maybe a personal story or something that you learned through writing this book as you're interacting with your kids and how this. This came out in your book?

Brooke McGlothlin [00:28:35]:

I'll tell a quick story about something that maybe happened while I was writing the book. That was a poignant lesson for me. You would think that I had learned this lesson before, being that. Being that I do have a whole ministry on prayer, but no, no, I'm still very much learning. My oldest son came home from school for a break. He was on break or something from college. And for whatever reason, we had a knockdown, drag out. Yes, I do still have, you know, moody teenagers.

Christen Clark [00:29:05]:

Oh, no.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:29:06]:

And we do still have some back and forth over it. And we really. This particular time, we really had a difficult, challenge, heated discussion. And I walked away from that conversation just feeling kind of broken because he's almost 20 years old. And I remember going to the Lord and being like, lord, like, when is he gonna get it over this particular issue? Like, I have not moved on this for 20 years, and you have not moved on this since forever. And so, like, when is he gonna get it? And then I began to feel this sense of failure. Like, maybe my prayers are not enough. Maybe this thing that I have banked not only my career on, but my.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:29:55]:

My parenting, my whole parenting style on is not enough. And maybe it's not going to work. And maybe I'm now responsible, you know, a few Minutes ago when I told you. It's been one of the greatest privileges of my life to be able to lead moms in believing that prayer is something they should be doing. What if I'm wr. What if, like, the enemy was just throwing fiery darts at me in that moment? And I almost. If you could almost, like, have this picture of a woman just hunkered down in the floor with the darts just, you know, being thrown at her. And I feel like in that moment, the Lord met me and said to some degree, stand up, because prayer is the long game.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:30:38]:

Like I think God said to me in that moment. How long did it take you to get this? Have you arrived, or am I still working on you in certain ways?

Christen Clark [00:30:48]:

That's right.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:30:49]:

Clearly, I still have a long way to go. But God doesn't always allow us to see the answers to our prayers right away. And I just think that's important for moms to know. Sometimes God will say no, and sometimes he will say not yet. And both of those are legitimate answers to prayer. And we have to be willing to say, God, I trust you in what I can't say more than what I can trust with my own eyes.

Christen Clark [00:31:18]:

That's good. I like that. What about you, Stacey?

Stacey Thacker [00:31:21]:

You know, recently and since writing the books, you know, God is. He's so kind to let us experience these things, because then it comes from a place of authenticity, and we, you know, we get to speak from experience. As Brooke was saying, I walked with my daughter through something in the past six or eight months, and she'd really. There was something she wanted, something she was praying for, and we were praying for it, and we were taking steps to see God move in this particular area. And then the no came, and it was a hard no now. It wasn't like a life or death situation. It was just something she wanted. And I've been telling her, you know, the Lord, he loves to.

Stacey Thacker [00:31:57]:

If it's his will, he loves to give you the desires of your heart, like he loves to give you good things. And it was a. It was a kind of a rite of passage sort of thing. And so when it came back as a no, and it came back laced with rejection, and she was really hurting over it. She was really broken. And I remember thinking, oh, my goodness, did I lead her wrong? And, Lord, I don't understand. I thought we were moving in the right direction. And so it's just so hard.

Stacey Thacker [00:32:20]:

It's so hard to walk with your bigger kids through hard seasons. It's just like you just want to Rip your heart out and just be like, take mine, you know. And so we walked through that and she mourned this thing. And then a couple months later, the reason God said no became apparent when God invited her into a new opportunity that she said to me, mom, had God said yes before, I would not be able to say yes to this thing, which is clearly number one, a better situation. And it serves my needs in a much better way. It's a much sweeter way. Plus I'm gonna be able to be encouraging to these other people in this situation as well. Like she saw that full circle moment and I remember in those moments telling her, you know, I do believe when God says no, it's a mercy and I don't always have the explanation.

Stacey Thacker [00:33:13]:

But God is not, he's not a tight fisted father who doesn't want to give us the things that we desire. He has perspective and knowledge and is working all these situations out and he knows what's coming down the lane. And when she said that, I was like, yes, yes, Jesus. And it was such a good reminder for me too for her to voice that. You know, I can say it all day long, but watching her go through it was even sweeter from where I was sitting. That's good.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:33:39]:

Yeah, I just took a bunch of notes on that, Stacey. So very good.

Christen Clark [00:33:43]:

That's good. You know, it reminds me too of, of, you know, all the miracles that Jesus did. You know, when we read the gospel, we see all the amazing things God did through Jesus and all the miracles he performed, but they all started with suffering. And I think had they not been through the suffering, they couldn't see how God could work. And so a lot of times as parents, we're so trying so hard to protect our kids from going through suffering. But when God allows that to happen in their life, it's heartbreaking. Like you said, it just rips your heart, heart out. But you also get to see how God shows himself to them in such a powerful way.

Christen Clark [00:34:17]:

And so we don't. Not that we want to pray for suffering, but we want to learn that God can do something beautiful through that. Well, this has been so great talking with you guys today. I'm so excited about your books. Can you tell our listeners where to find your resources and where to find these books?

Brooke McGlothlin [00:34:32]:

Yeah, the books are available any, anywhere books are sold. So you can find Praying for Teen Girls or Praying for Teen Boys anywhere. You can also find them at my website, which is brooke mclaughlin.com teens. You can find us talking about them on social Media, I'm millionpraying moms. Stacey isn't Stacey Thacker. And yeah, we're just talking about them all over the place right now. So hopefully you'll be able to find what you need.

Christen Clark [00:34:56]:

Well, before I let you go, I always ask my guests to tell me a memory from when they were a kid. So I'm excited to hear what you guys have to share.

Stacey Thacker [00:35:03]:

You know, since this is a Mother's Day podcast, got to give a nod to my mom and her prayer life. I woke up every day that I remember. I will just go back as far back as high school. I'm sure it was happening before, but then, you know, when I was actually aware seeing my mom sit with her bible and her notepad of prayer requests that she would pray through every morning. Her faithfulness to pray has just, you know, I am the fruit of those prayers and what God has done in my life and through my life. She still prays for me. In fact, a couple weeks ago we were talking, we were talking through some things about and some things my girls were going through. And my mom, I kid, you know, she doesn't live locally, she lives out of state.

Stacey Thacker [00:35:41]:

And she pulled out her prayer journal and read to me what she's praying for my girls. And I was weeping the whole time. And so just having a mom who prays matters. You're the faith of your mom. I heard this recently, just very quickly. This is 63% of Americans say this. The faith their mother had when they were 11 years old is the faith that they have today. And so your faith as a mom matters.

Stacey Thacker [00:36:07]:

And I am a direct result of having not only my mom praying, but her now praying for my girls.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:36:12]:

So that's beautiful.

Christen Clark [00:36:13]:

I love that.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:36:13]:

Yeah. So mine will be. It's a little different, but it's of a similar vein. When I was 12, my grandfather who has been passed, he's been in heaven for a long time now. But it was over Thanksgiving and I was there at their house with all of my family, my cousins, all of that. We stayed at my grandparents house when my cousins would come in and my little granddaddy would go out and sleep in a camper, little tiny camper, so that it freed up one more bed for somebody in his family. It was very precious. But that particular night was very cold and he had a little space heater in the camper and it exploded and it burned him over most of his body.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:36:54]:

He had first degree burns. He ended up at the UVA burn center for months. I don't Remember how many months he was there? It was a long time. And we nearly lost him multiple times. They brought the family in multiple times to say, we think this is it. And for whatever reason, God still had a plan for him. And he ended up living beyond that for another couple decades. But.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:37:17]:

So we're grateful for that. But during that time when he was in the hospital, my mom and I would drive to. My mom's sister lived just outside of the Charlottesville area where UVA Hospital is. And so we would go up and stay with her with her sister and my cousins, who are very close in age to me. And I loved it. I thought it was great. I got to go up and hang out with my cousins and at 12 years old, was slightly unaware of just how serious things were with. I knew it was bad, but I didn't know exactly how bad it was with my granddaddy.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:37:50]:

But I remember one night while I was there with my cousins, I had to get up and go to the bathroom. And so in the middle of the night. So I got up, and when I was walking to the bathroom, there was a light on in one of the bedrooms. So I peeked around. It was odd. It was like, you know, in the middle of the night, two, three o'clock in the morning. And so I peeked my head in there to see what was happening. And my grandmother and my mom and my aunt were all literally on their knees, face down on the floor in the bedroom, praying and crying out to the Lord for my grandfather.

Christen Clark [00:38:25]:

Wow.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:38:25]:

And sorry, I didn't plan on crying, but that has stuck with me that that is who I get to come from. That's my privilege of coming from women who believed in the power of prayer. And when my grandmother passed, I got her Bible and there are prayers for me by name written in her Bible.

Christen Clark [00:38:48]:

Wow.

Brooke McGlothlin [00:38:49]:

And that's one reason that I always tell people, don't sit on your phone in church. Don't read your Bible on your phone in Chur. As a rule, like, it's okay every once in a while, but you're not going to be able to pass down a phone to your grandkids that have prayers for them. And that is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Christen Clark [00:39:09]:

Oh, that's beautiful. I love that so much. Well, thank you guys so much for being on the show today. This is so great. And I love that you've provided this resource for teen parents, because I know they need all the support they can get, and so they need to start with prayer and end with prayer. That's where it needs to go. So we'll definitely put links to all the books and all the information on our show notes. So thank you guys for being here today.

Christen Clark [00:39:41]:

Wasn't that so good? And such good encouragement to not always read our Bibles from our phones because like she said, we can't pass down our phones to our kids, but we can pass down our Bible with our notes and our prayer journals and all those things. I love, love that she has that from her grandmother. That's so special. This conversation was such an encouragement to me to pray more often and to pray God's word. I love when Brooke said that prayer is important because God says it is. And that's so true. Stacey reminded us that the little faithful things you're doing, the obedient steps that you're taking each day, God sees those and those things matter just as much as the big things. Brooke also reminded us that prayer is the most overlooked part of Christian parenting.

Christen Clark [00:40:23]:

Today we can partner with God for the hearts of our kids. He doesn't need us because he's God, but he chooses to use us in the lives of our children. That is so special. And I love when Stacey said that when God says no, it's his mercy. He sees the circumstances and he knows what's coming in the future. And maybe that no in your life means he's going to give you a better yes later. Isn't that good? I love that if you have teenagers or tweens or kids that are getting close to those teen years, I think you're really going to enjoy these books by Stacey and Brooke. So we've got Praying for Teen Girls by Stacey Thacker and Praying for Teen boys by Brooke McGlothlin.

Christen Clark [00:41:04]:

You can find them wherever books are sold. And we'll definitely be sure to put some links in our show notes so that you can find those. And check out Million Praying Moms for some great encouragement and prayer resources. All right, now it's time for one of my favorite parts of the show, our family discussion segment. This is where we ask a few fun and thoughtful questions to help you keep the conversation going after today's interview. So you can pause after each question to talk about it together right now or listen to all three questions and chat about it later. Whatever works best for your family. So let's talk about it.

Christen Clark [00:41:40]:

Here's the first one. What is one thing your mom says all the time that makes you laugh? Or something that you always remember? Number two, why do you think God wants us to pray even though he already knows everything. Everything. And number three, what do you do when you pray and you don't see anything happen right away? Well, I hope those questions spark some great conversations with your family. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow us on social media for more faith filled fun and encouragement and share this episode with someone who might need to hear it. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram at @CollideKidsPod and We're also on YouTube so you can follow us there and subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch the full length interview for today's episode. You can also head over to our website for resources, past episodes, and ways your family can grow together in faith. So check us out@kaleidkidspodcast.com we'd love to connect with you and we send out a monthly newsletter so you can subscribe to that there.

Christen Clark [00:42:44]:

And if you're interested in supporting the podcast, there's a a few ways you can do that. You can leave a rating and a review on your podcast app that lets other people know why you love the show. You can also use our Amazon affiliate link. So head over to collidekidspodcast.com and click the Amazon link and a small portion of your purchase helps keep the show going with no cost to you. And anytime you think about it, I always appreciate your prayer support as well. Well, I hope you guys have an amazing rest of your week. Don't forget about about Mother's Day on Sunday. And in case no one has told you today, I would love to be the first to remind you that God loves you so much.

Christen Clark [00:43:21]:

Thanks for listening.