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Episode #42 with Kim Fredrickson
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This Week's Encouraging Episode with Kim!
Parenting with Compassion — & Leaving a Legacy!
Today’s episode is extra special to me. I got to know Kim Fredrickson many years ago. Kim is one of the licensed therapists who taught a marriage class at our church in northern California. Steve and I were newly married at the time and learned so much from her. She was a real hero to me all those years ago. More recently, Kim and I reconnected through our literary agency's Facebook group.
Kim’s new book, Give Your Kids a Break, has an interesting backstory. Most people write books to share with an unknown audience. Kim began writing this intentionally for her children and for her future grandchildren. It is the outpouring of all her 30+ years as a marriage and family therapist and her own parenting experiences — all written to pass on her wisdom and passion for building family unity when she is no longer around to do so herself.
We all know our time on this earth is limited, however, Kim has an even greater sense of urgency after being diagnosed with a terminal lung disease. I’ll let her share more of that story on the show.
This is a powerful episode! We’re going to talk about parenting and leaving a legacy. We’re going to laugh and cry. Please don’t miss this one. In fact, I ask that you share this episode with as many other families as you can. I also want to ask you to pray for a miracle for Kim! There is power in prayer. God is a God who can heal…even the impossible.
So, what would you do if you were told you only had a few years to live? What kind of legacy would you try to leave behind for your family? Listen in and hear Kim’s perspective. I know that you are going to be so blessed by her words of wisdom.
Get ready for a great interview — get your own Simply Joyful Podcast mug HERE!
Highlights from the Show
Here are a few fun quotes from this episode. Please feel free to “click to tweet” (below) or share the images below on social media.
- Kim shares how her new book, Give Your Kids a Break, came to be — and we both got pretty choked up chatting about it.
- Kim's gets very real about her struggle with getting her diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis immediately after battling breast cancer.
- It was sweet to hear that Kim's kids were open to her turning her parenting advice that she'd been compiling for them into a book to share with others.
- Due to the time that traditional publishing typically takes, Kim decided to self-publish Give Your Kids a Break in order to ensure she was able to promote it while she still had the strength to do so.
- Kim's new book is truly one of the best parenting books I've ever read! She cram-packing this book with the most incredible advice and practical application possible!
- One of the key components of Kim's book is teaching parents to be compassionate with themselves. Kim talks more about why we tend to be so hard on ourselves.
- She shares about where the motivation for her first book, Give Yourself a Break, came from.
- Kim points out how our critical nature affects our relationship with the Lord.
- It was fun to hear a story of forgiveness that isn't in the book. It's like being able to get the inside scoop.
- Since I had a professional therapist on the podcast, I decided to glean all I could! I asked her about how to balance forgiveness and consequences.
- We occasionally have family meetings with our kids. However, I think we might need to start having more regular “family meetings” after hearing from Kim about the importance of them.
- There were TOO many amazing things for Kim and me to cover from her book, but one big thing that I wanted to make sure we discussed was how to build emotional closeness with your kids.
- In a culture when so many of us have our eyes on devices (both parents and kids), Kim shared about why eye contact with our kids is so important.
- More parenting advice gold — Tips on how to get our kids to listen. What?!! Yes!! She has some great advice…and then MORE great advice on it in the guest post she wrote for me: HERE!
- I mentioned how much Kim's story makes me think about Nichole Nordeman's song, Legacy. {Nichole was a guest on the podcast, too. You can listen to episode #40 to hear from her.}
- With a diagnosis of a terminal illness can make a person think about a clicking clock. Kim and I talked about how vital it is to treasure every moment we've been given by the Lord. Life is a gift.
We love our children. We want to do a good job. —Kim FredricksonClick To Tweet
We're not taught to love ourselves. —Kim FredricksonClick To Tweet
Being connected at a heart level is more important than anything. —Kim FredricksonClick To Tweet
Also Mentioned — Other “Mentor Mom” episodes on the Simply Joyful Podcast:
Books Mentioned…
…& don't forget to grab yourself a mug!
Whether you are a coffee or tea drinker, you will love this adorable Simply Joyful Mug! The back is equally inspiring with Nehemiah 8:10 written out. When you get your Simply Joyful Podcast mug, be sure to take a picture of it and use #SimplyJoyfulPodcast or #SimplyJoyfulMug. I'd love to see them!
Check them out HERE!
Help Get the Word Out…
My prayer is that this podcast would be a blessing to all who hear it. If you enjoy this podcast, it would be such a blessing to have you “Subscribe” to this podcast on iTunes or Stitcher and leave me a rating and review. This helps the podcast to rank in iTunes and be more “visible” for people searching for new podcasts to listen to. If you wanted to share this episode with friends or on social media, I've created several great images that are share-worthy. Thanks!
How to Listen to The Simply Joyful Podcast!
If you are new to the concept of listening to podcasts, then “Wow!” are you in for a treat. It's kind of like an OnDemand radio station. They are so easy to listen to when you are on the go running errands or shuttling kids or just getting projects done around the house. My favorite time to listen to my favorite podcasts is while I'm out for a walk or folding laundry.
1) Subscribe to the Podcast! You won't miss an episode when you subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. You can always access the podcast from either of these venues by searching for “Simply Joyful Podcast.”
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2) Listen on your Phone! This is my preferred method of listening. If you have an iDevice (iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch), then you can listen on Apple's purple podcast app that comes on your device. If you have a non-iDevice, then Stitcher Radio is great to use. You can easily search for podcasts, subscribe, and — my favorite part — speed up the audio.
3) Listen right here on my Website! Super simple! All you have to do is just click on the play button on the podcast player located at the top of this post.
A Special Thanks to…
Rend Collective for allowing me to use their incredible song “The Joy of the Lord is My Strength.” This song has so much special meaning to me and it highlights the theme verse for my podcast — Nehemiah 8:10. Be sure to check out their music! They are such a fun band to listen to…and to see live.
Let's Connect!
Connect with Kim Fredrickson…
Kim Fredrickson is a licensed marriage and family therapist of thirty-plus years. She loves to teach others about the power of self-compassion from a faith perspective. She is the author of Give Yourself a Break: Turning Your Inner Critic into a Compassionate Friend and Give Your Kids a Break: Parenting with Compassion for You and Your Children. She recently retired from her counseling practice when diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a terminal lung disease that developed as a rare complication from the chemotherapy and radiation she received for breast cancer.
After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, she decided to write this book as a way to have a positive influence in the lives of her adult children and their future grandchildren. Kim wanted to help them with the challenges of parenting, when the time came. She knew she wouldn’t be around to hold her grandbabies, and help her children raise them in person. Originally it was only going to be for them. As Kim wrote, she thought others might benefit as well, so decided to self-publish it.
Kim has been married to her husband, Dave for thirty-nine years and they have two grown children. Learn more and read her blog at www.kimfredrickson.com She also writes a weekly patient column for Pulmonary Fibrosis News, Just Breathe…Compassionate Help for the PF Journey. Thousands of patients and their loved ones read her column all over the world.
You can check out Kim's books HERE on Amazon! Be sure to visit her site as well at www.kimfredrickson.com.
Connect with Kristi…
I hope you enjoyed this week's podcast! My prayer is always that you will be blessed and encouraged by each episode.
Blessings and joy,
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