The Journey: PCA Parent Podcast

PCA Alumna Cesia Rodriguez

 

Parents, at least once a year, I want to share with our parents an episode from our alumni podcast called LifeTalk for a couple of reasons: first, to let you hear how valuable PCA is to our students especially after they leave our halls and enter the “real world,” but also to remind you that our “journey” with our PCA students and families continues even after a student graduates!

 

This episode is a conversation with our PCA Alumni Director Veronica Erickson, PCA alumna Cesia Rodriguez (class of 2015) and myself. I found the story fascinating because of how PCA was introduced to Cesia and her family - through our PCA minimester program! Cesia was born and raised in Cuba - her father was a pastor and got connected with Dr. Larry and Delinda Taylor on a minimester trip - which resulted in Cesia’s entire family moving to Dallas and her attending PCA!

 

Listen to Cesia tell about the vast differences between her memories of Cuba and their lack of religious freedom to the experiences she had here in America and at PCA.

 

Cesia continues to share her love for the Lord and her passion to help people by doing missions and connecting her degree in nursing with those trips. She attended John Brown University (JBU) and did some medical missions through the college as well! Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a PCA alumni minimester trip - someone needs to work on that!

 

Cesia went on some medical mission trips with a group called Dustin’s Dream - check out their website to learn more about this incredible medical missions group.

 

Let’s all be praying for Cesia as she continues to share the Gospel through medical missions - and be praying about how God could use YOU to advance the Kingdom as well! PCA loves our alumni and we love having them back on campus sharing the stories of what God is doing in and through their lives. Thanks for taking the time to listen to Cesia’s testimony!

Special shout out to Jared Wood for allowing us to use his music - check him out at JaredWoodMusic!

Freedom 2023 with JMick and AV

 

FREEDOM Week is February 1, 3-5, 8

 

Jason Mick (JMick) and Anthony Vargas (AV) will walk us through everything we need to know to get our students registered and ready for Freedom 2023!

 

Prestonwood Students exists to REACH our community, the nation, the world, and every generation with the Gospel; to LEARN to grow in an authentic and visible faith; to LOVE those around us with a biblically based devotion to Jesus; and to MULTIPLY what God has done in our lives into the lives of others.

 

Freedom begins with a Wednesday night kick-off on each campus followed by the Friday-Sunday activities and then another Wednesday evening celebration session.

 

Check out all the information about Freedom at Prestonwood Students.

 

Freedom 2023 will feature breakout sessions addressing a variety of topics and the main speakers include Clayton King, Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, Marquise Cox, Rob Wilton, Tasha Calvert, and Mike Taylor.

Parents, get connected with the Parent Resources available on the Prestonwood Students website - also reach out to Johnny Farr at the Plano campus or James McKinney at the North campus. Also, in preparation for Freedom, model for your students what the authentic Christian walk looks like - be in the Word building your personal faith, in church growing and developing your community, and sharing your faith with others.

 

Parents, there is also a parent training session on Saturday, February 4th at 1 pm in the SMB.

 

Parents, you can get involved and help out with so many different opportunities at Freedom and beyond! There is also an opportunity to give financially to help students who can’t afford to attend.

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.

 

National Adoption Month with Bryant and Kyndall Forshee

November is National Adoption Month - Bryant and Kyndall Forshee were so gracious to let us join them in their journey of adoption so that we can listen and learn...as well as encourage and support them and others on their adoption journey. This is a great episode to listen to over Thanksgiving - hope you are encouraged and inspired by Bryant and Kyndall's faith journey in the adoption process.

 

Bryant is the PBC Junior High Pastor, Plano campus

Kyndall teaches 4th grade at a local elementary school

 

Prestonwood has a ministry that highlights and encourages foster care and adoption called CHOSEN - which stands for Christ’s Hope for Orphans: Supporting, Embracing, and Nurturing

 

“Closed” vs. “Open” Adoptions

• A closed adoption is when the adoptive papers are sealed and children are not told who their biological parents are - adoptive parents have a choice if and when they tell their child that they are adopted

• An open adoption is when the adoptive parents maintain an open relationship with the biological parents, adoptive parents maintain legal custody of their children, but visitations with biological parents are encouraged and can be mandated by the courts

 

Forshees went through a typical adoption process, which includes a “home study” - a very in depth evaluation of the “quality” of your marriage and home life!

• Big questions that needed to be addressed is about the community that the Forshees have around them to be supportive during difficult times

• Open adoptions can require the adoptive parents to make annual visits to the biological parents - something that the Forshees have to consider in this selection process

 

How can you support the Forshees or another family looking to adopt?

• Financial support

• The Forshees actually did set up a Venmo account where people can give to help them financially, check it out @forsheefor3

• Prayer - don’t just say it, do it!

• Look for other opportunities to encourage adoption and walk alongside those who are interested

• Learn more about adoption - check out the adoption agency that the Forshees used called LifeLine Children’s Services

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.

 

PCA Counselors

Parents, we hope that you listen and learn about the incredible group of PCA counselors that we have on staff at both the Plano and North campus locations. If you only want to listen to the information that relates to the campus where your students are, please see the times listed below and you can simply listen to the time slot for your preferred campus:

PCA Plano campus (podcast from :00 - 18:07)

LS - Dr. Clayr Schreiner - cshreiner@prestonwoodchristian.org

MS - Denise Thornton - dthornton@prestonwoodchristian.org

US - Tamara Addis - taddis@prestonwoodchristia.org

 

PCA North campus (podcast from 18:08 - 26:48)

Kristin Dysart - kdysart@prestonwoodchristian.org

 

PCA counselors provide counseling for students, parents, and faculty dealing with a variety of issues that stem from both academic issues or general life issues such as anxiety and depression, peer pressure, divorce care, etc.

 

Counselors in LS, MS, and US see many of the same issues, but as students get older there are “age-specific” issues that students face - puberty and body development issues are most common for middle school students.

 

PCA Plano started a program called Link Crew to help new students get connected and adjust to the new environment.

 

Remember that communications and conversations with PCA are kept confidential, as per legal guidelines.

 

There is constant training dealing with mental health issues happening at PCA for students, parents, and faculty.

 

PCA North campus offers the opportunity to connect with a program called Cookies with the Counselor - so be on the lookout for that!

 

Please keep our PCA counselors in prayer and send them a note of encouragement and thanks for the wonderful job they are doing!

 

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.

 

BWi Debrief with Allen Parr

Guest: Allen Parr

 

PCA’s Biblical Worldview Institute (BWi) theme this year was Anchored in the Faith and was a response to the primary reasons that people give for “deconstructing” (walking away from) their faith. The conference was held on Nov. 1-2 and featured plenary sessions from the following speakers: Dr. Sean McDowell, Alisa Childers, Dr. Scott Stripling, Dr. Craig Evans, Dr. Randy Guliuzza (with ICR), and Allen Parr. Over 3000 individuals attended the conference including students from 25 different schools across 9 different states - and the conference was available to be viewed on a live stream as well.

 

The BWi conference was sponsored by several different organizations including our new Title Sponsor for this year’s conference which was Logos Bible Software. Platinum sponsors for the conference included Boyce College, Charleston Southern University, Criswell College, Ouachita Baptist University, John Brown University, and Lee Strobel Ministries.

Allen Parr is a Bible teacher and national speaker whose passion lies in helping people grow spiritually through providing clear and relevant teaching of God’s word. His purpose is to equip believers with the tools, training and teaching they need to live a victorious life and fulfill their God-given purpose. His weekly YouTube channel, The BEAT, reaches hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide each week. He is also a proud graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary where he earned his Master of Theology degree. Most of all, he loves Jesus Christ and is happily married to his beautiful wife Jennifer and is the proud father to his daughter Anaiah and his son Micah. Find out more about Allen at his website allenparr.com

Understanding the Importance of VOTING

Guest: Scott Turner, Associate Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church

 

Scott - voting is paramount and has to be a priority! Get EDUCATED on those who are running for office - and vote to advance your worldview!

 

Who represents me - check out this website, put in your address, find out who your current representatives are.

 

Mid-term General Election Dates

• Early voting - Monday, October 24 - Friday, November 4
• Election date - Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Politics is about policies, which are about principles, which affect people.

 

Primary Election - multiple people running to be the one candidate from each political party (usually held in March of each election cycle)

 

General Election - one person from each party running to serve as the representative for that political office (usually held in November of each election cycle)

 

Also remember that there are election cycles for federal, state, county, and local governmental positions. Election cycles may differ, especially for “municipal” or city elections.

 

As Christians, we also have the responsibility and opportunity to PRAY for our leaders - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

 

When the righteous rule, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

 

To find out where candidates stand on the issues, check out iVoterGuide.com

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.

BWI Prep with Sean McDowell

Guest: Sean McDowell

 

PCA’s Biblical Worldview Institute theme this year is Anchored in the Faith and is a response to the primary reasons that people give for “deconstructing” (walking away from) their faith. This incredible conference will be held Tuesday, Nov. 1st and Wednesday, Nov. 2nd. Doors open at 8 am and the main sessions are held in the worship center at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX.  Sean McDowell will be speaking on Tuesday morning for his plenary session and Tuesday afternoon for the breakout sessions.  For more information or to register, visit the PCA website.

Sean has a new book out that you’ll also want to get - A Rebel’s Manifesto: Choosing Truth, Real Justice, and Love amid the Noise of Today’s World

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.

BWi Prep with the Institute for Creation Research (ICR)

Guest: Institute for Creation Research (ICR)

PCA’s Biblical Worldview Institute theme this year is Anchored in the Faith and is a response to the primary reasons that people give for “deconstructing” (walking away from) their faith. This incredible conference will be held Tuesday, Nov. 1st and Wednesday, Nov. 2nd. Dr. Randy Guliuzza will be speaking on Wednesday morning for his plenary session and Tuesday afternoon for the breakout sessions.  For more information or to register, visit the PCA website.

Who is ICR?

At the Institute for Creation Research, we want you to know God’s Word can be trusted with everything it speaks about—from how and why we were made, to how the universe was formed, to how we can know God and receive all He has planned for us.

That’s why ICR scientists have spent more than 50 years researching scientific evidence that refutes evolutionary philosophy and confirms the Bible’s account of a recent and special creation. We regularly receive testimonies from around the world about how ICR’s cutting-edge work has impacted thousands of people with God’s creation truth.You’ll find faith-building science articles in Acts & Facts, our bimonthly science news magazine, and spiritual insight and encouragement from Days of Praise, our quarterly devotional booklet. Sign up for FREE at ICR.org/subscriptions.

Our radio programs, podcasts, online videos, and wide range of social media offerings will keep you up to date on the latest creation news and announcements. Get connected at ICR.org.

We offer creation science books, DVDs, and other resources for every age and stage at ICR.org/store.

Learn how you can attend or host a biblical creation event at ICR.org/events.

Discover how science confirms the Bible at our Dallas museum, the ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History. Plan your visit at ICRdiscoverycenter.org.

Dr. Brian Thomas, Research Scientist at ICR, specializing in Dinosaurs (specifically dinosaur proteins, soft tissue), Problems with Evolution, Human Origins

• Where is the “defensible science” that explains macro evolution - the apparent changes from one species to another, from ape to man, etc…?
• ICR has scientists from a wide variety of scientific disciplines - Dr. Jeff Tomkins (Genetics), Dr. Tim Clarey (Geologist), Dr. Jake Hebert (Physics), Dr. James Johnson (Forensic Science), Frank Sherwin (Zoology), and Dr. Randy Guliuzza (Engineering Science).

 

ICR Discovery Center

• Located at 1830 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75229 (Royal and Luna), open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am-5pm.
• Exhibit Hall and Planetarium (Deep Space and the Solar System and the Ocean)
• Give yourself a couple hours to walk through the Exhibit Hall - you can go through a little faster with younger children, but with older children you’ll want to stop, read, digest, and converse about all the different displays
• Discovery Center mini-tour on YouTube

 

ICR YouTube/Podcast

 

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.

BWI Prep with Alisa Childers

Guest: Alisa Childers

PCA’s Biblical Worldview Institute theme this year is Anchored in the Faith and is a response to the primary reasons that people give for “deconstructing” (walking away from) their faith. This incredible conference will be held Tuesday, Nov. 1st and Wednesday, Nov. 2nd. Alisa Childers will be speaking on Tuesday morning for her plenary session and Tuesday afternoon for the breakout sessions.  For more information or to register, visit the PCA website.

 

Alisa Childers is a wife, a mom, an author, a blogger, a speaker, and a worship leader. She was a member of the award-winning CCM recording group ZOEgirl. She is a popular speaker at apologetics and Christian worldview conferences, including reThink. She has been published at The Gospel Coalition, Crosswalk, the Stream, For Every Mom, Decision magazine, and The Christian Post. Her blog post “Girl, Wash Your Face? What Rachel Hollis Gets Right . . . and Wrong” received more than one million views. You can connect with Alisa online at alisachilders.com.

 

Alisa Childers’ Books:

Another Gospel: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity

 

Live Your Truth (and Other Lies): Exposing Popular Deceptions That Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed

 

Alisa - Christianity is very “counter-cultural” - the dominant worldview of the culture is not based on the Bible!

 

Alisa - Truth is true regardless of how many people follow or believe it!

 

Alisa - the battle over truth is the greatest battle our kids are facing today.

 

Alisa - what approach will you take as a parent…Alisa encourages you as a parent to expose your child to “bad” or “false” ideas - research shows that the FIRST person to introduce an idea to a person becomes the “expert” on that issue - so we want, as parents, to introduce ideas to our children before the world does - within reasonable and age appropriate limits. But the idea that we can “shelter” our children from the false ideas of the world can be dangerous - especially when your children first hear of things when they are outside of your home and don’t have the foundation and support structure of a good family and biblically-solid Christian community around them.

 

Alisa - consistency and discipleship are essential to the spiritual health and growth of your children.

 

Alisa - it’s NOT too late to do a “reset” with your kids - tell them what mistakes you’ve made, let them see godly repentance - and then put the spiritual health of your family as your top priority.

 

Alisa - we’re on a spiritual journey together - be open to questions that your children are wrestling with and go on the journey of exploration together to find the truth!

 

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.

Deconstructionism Discussion with Alycia Wood

Guest: Alycia Wood

Alycia Wood spoke to our students during the 2017 Biblical Worldview Institute - check out her presentation titled Engaging Your Mind.

PCA’s Biblical Worldview Institute (BWi) theme this year is "Anchored in the Faith" and is a response to the primary reasons that people give for “deconstructing” (walking away from) their faith. This incredible conference will be held Tuesday, Nov. 1st and Wednesday, Nov. 2nd. For more information or to register, visit the PCA website.

Reasons why people are giving for walking away from their faith:

1. Not enough evidence for the Bible, resurrection, etc.
2. Personal morality conflict with Biblical morality - sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.
3. The Christians I know are hypocrites so their God must be fake, too.
4. Christianity and science are at odds with each other.

There are two parts of deconstructionism - one negative, one positive. If a person throws off ideas just because others believe it, that can be a positive element of a person making their own personal faith. Reconstruction is as important as the deconstruction concept.

 

God isn’t afraid of your questions. The problem comes when a person can’t make some “puzzle pieces” of life fit, so they leave it unfinished and walk away from the table.

Excellent resources to consider:

The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man by J. Budziszewski

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Dr. Carl Trueman

Thank you to Jared Wood for allowing The Journey to use his incredible musical gifts and talents as our intro and outro for this podcast. Check out his music at JaredWoodMusic.