The Journey: PCA Parent Podcast

2025 Zig Ziglar Servant Leadership Award Recipient: Dr. O.S. Hawkins

Guest: Dr. O.S. Hawkins, PhD, Chancellor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, President Emeritus, GuideStone Financial Resources.

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

To learn more about Dr. Hawkins, you can visit his website at OSHawkins.com

 

What an honor to sit down to record with Dr. O.S. Hawkins, the 2025 Zig Ziglar Servant Leadership Award recipient. Pastor and author of more than 50 books, Dr. Hawkins has been serving the Lord in a variety of capacities for years. The proceeds and royalties from his books in the “Code Series” benefit Mission: Dignity, a ministry of GuideStone started under Hawkins’ tenure that assists retired ministers and their widows who are in need.

 

The Zig Ziglar banquet is coming up Sunday, April 27th and will be located at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, TX. Art reception opens at 5:00 pm and the dinner begins at 6:00 pm. Attire for the evening is “evening wear.”

Important Texas Legislative Update, February 2025

Guest: The Honorable Matt Shaheen, Texas State Representative, District 66

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

We had the opportunity to sit down and catch up with State Representative Matt Shaheen after he returned from the oral arguments at the Supreme Court on his bill (HB 1181) that requires age verification to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate material on the Internet. The case involves some complex issues including digital privacy rights, states’ rights, the protection of minors, and the regulation of online content. To learn more about this bill and the Supreme Court case please read the Texas Policy Research article as well as the press release from the Texas Attorney General’s office on the Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton case.

 

We also discussed several major initiatives that will be addressed and debated in the 2025 Texas Legislative Session including school choice (ESA, Educational Savings Accounts), gambling, gender ideology, and pro-life issues.

Sophomore Year: Which Path Will You Pursue?

Guests: Sevyn Trogdon, Emerson Seal, and Elizabeth Teague, PCA sophomores at the Plano campus 

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

In this episode, we spend a little time talking about their journey toward wisdom during their sophomore year at PCA and the events and activities that help keep them on the right track! The girls talk about activities like Freedom Weekend, the Texas Stomp, Minimester, the Zig Ziglar Servant Award banquet, and their journey with their academics and athletics. The girls are also excited about some of the upcoming opportunities like Beach Camp (June 8-13) and the Choir Mission Trip to the United Kingdom. So many outstanding resources, activities, and events to help students grow in their faith journey and their love for Jesus Christ!

 

The Next Generation of Leaders and Learners

Guest: Amanda Henderson, LS Counselor

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

Enjoy this conversation with Amanda Henderson as we contemplate the future of learning and education. Mrs. Henderson is a favorite of students and faculty alike in the Lower School with her warmth and gentleness coupled with her stuffed animal puppets that provide a sense of security and humor. Mrs. Henderson is optimistic about the future of learning because she is confident that God is on His throne and in control - so no matter what the future holds, AI, VR, etc, she knows in whose hands the future lies.

 

In the Know: Re-enrollment at PCA

 

Guest: Angie Gray, Chief Enrollment and Marketing Officer for PCA

 

Re-enrollment opens January 15th and goes through the 31st for existing PCA families in good standing. After that time, available spots will be made available to students and families not currently enrolled at PCA for the following year.

 

The small percentage increase in tuition is passed on to support the pay increase for PCA’s incredible faculty and staff as tuition accounts for around 70% of the entire PCA budget. Also, parents please take the time to fill out the re-enrollment questionnaire as your responses help PCA address areas of concern to our parents.

 

Shout out to Holly Hamilton who is the new voice for The Journey’s intro and outro! Go Holly!

 

If you have any questions about re-enrollment as a current PCA family or wish to learn more about enrolling your child(ren) at PCA in the future, please contact Angie Gray, Chief Enrollment and Marketing Officer at 972-930-4007 or via email at agray@prestonwoodchristian.org

Loving Your Child AND Your Christian School: One Dad's POV

Guests: Jason Spodnik, President and Head of School, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (Cuyahoga Falls, OH)

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

Parents, here is some wisdom from a guy who has been in the private Christian education world for many years:

1. There is so much to learn, so don’t let pride get in the way as we look to steward the incredible gifts of our children for the greatest good of advancing the Kingdom!
2. Parenting by Paul David Tripp is a great reminder that God fashions Himself as a parent so He can not only relate to us as parents, but He models the way for us in this amazing endeavor!
3. God used Christian education to move Jason from Christianity as a religion to a relationship - such an incredible journey!
4. More is “caught” than “taught” - how we interact with students is even more important than what we are “teaching” them in terms of curriculum - students will learn from how you say things, not just what you say…

 

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

 

Christmas Traditions: The Desire to Keep Christ in Christmas for Your Family

Guests: Amy Petrof, Kristin Dysart, and Gabe Boyd

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

We hope you enjoy this fun conversation with some PCA parents about their holiday traditions as they desire to keep Christ in the middle of Christmas!

 

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

Executive Functioning: What You Need to Know to Help Your Student Grow!

Guests: Dr. J’Aime Balogh, Jenitta Eskew, and Nena Graham

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

Executive Functioning - are all of the cognitive skills necessary to regulate your thinking, feelings/emotions, and behaviors to reach a goal.

 

Executive Functioning skills are necessary for all of the other cognitive functions - these are the primary functions that make up what we call “executive functioning”:

• Memory
• Attention
• Motor Skills
• Verbalizing
• Visualizing
• Completing Learning Tasks

 

Executive functioning skills include

• Task initiation - starting and stopping tasks
• Response inhibition - keeping yourself from responding impulsively
• Focus - how to stay on task and not get distracted
• Time management - planning good use of your time and avoiding procrastination
• Working memory - holding information in your mind long enough to do something with it
• Flexibility - being able to shift ideas and plans
• Self-regulation - being able to reflect on your actions and make changes
• Emotional self-control - managing your emotions and reflecting on your emotions
• Task completion - sustaining levels of task and attention to complete a task

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

Gladiator II Review: The Power of a "Good Name"

Guests: Stephen Bryant, Chris Housewright, Mike Thornberry

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

First of all, just a reminder that Gladiator II is Rated R, which means that you’ll want to proceed with caution - a great place to learn more about why movies receive their ratings is either PluggedInOnline (from Focus on the Family) or MovieGuide.

 

Next, it is wise to look for “lessons” from every source to use as teachable moments with your children so that they are not just “consumers” of entertainment, but are able to watch and listen with discernment. What messages are being extolled, what virtues are being promoted, and are these good, right, and true?

 

Watch or listen to our conversation about Gladiator II to learn more about some of the things that we took away from the movie - and leave some comments on our YouTube page about what you learned as well.

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

What Do I Say When? Parent Book Discussion

Guests: Amy Petrof, Kristin Dysart, and Gabe Boyd

 

If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page.

 

Parents, you'll want to get this valuable resource that will equip you to have meaningful and age appropriate conversations with your children on a variety of important topics including human dignity, abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, technology, and politics. Authors Andrew Walker and his wife Christian do a great job of presenting a brief, but very informative, overview on these issues then give you some general biblical principles that you can introduce to your children depending on this age and maturity level - as they mature, the depth and complexity of the information you supply as well as the questions that you ask increases to match.

 

Two important reminders after reading this book and having a wonderful conversation with Amy Petrof, Kristin Dysart, and Gabe Boyd - first, you want to make sure that you’re raising your children to see you as the “expert” on cultural issues - not because you are the first to introduce the subject to them or because you know all the latest information and lingo, but because you resource God’s Word as The Source of Truth on all issues - you need to know God’s Word and ground your conversations with your children in Scripture. Second, this book isn’t about gaining information so that you can win arguments and look smart, it’s about being able to present truth in a loving and winsome manner to those who are lost and hurting in need of God’s mercy and grace. Remember that as you engage with others on these controversial topics - the goal is to win people to Christ, not to your opinion.

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