In Totality with Megan Ashley

Episode 85: Parenting – Replacing Anxiety with Urgency
Date: August 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and practical solo episode, host Megan Ashley invites listeners into her early-morning reflections on parenting at the start of a new school year. Sharing her real-life anxieties and hopes as her children each enter significant milestones, Megan unpacks what it means to disciple your children “in totality”—through both words and daily living. Drawing deeply on Deuteronomy 6 and other biblical passages, she encourages Christian parents to replace anxiety about their children’s future with an urgency for daily, organic discipleship and delight in the Lord. With vulnerability, humor, and biblical wisdom, Megan reassures listeners that God is sovereign and calls parents simply to faithful stewardship—the rest is His.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context: Changes, Transitions & Parental Anxieties

Timestamps: 02:34 – 09:50

• Megan sets the stage: It’s early morning, her kids are waking up, and the house is bustling—mirroring the episode’s theme of real-life parenting.
• She reflects on the big transitions for her kids (starting high school, entering final year of elementary, etc.), the emotional weight of these milestones, and the feeling that time is moving quickly.
• Growing up as a millennial in the Midwest, she remarks on changing school calendars and muses about differences in school start times across the U.S.
• This all triggers the annual “parental anxiety”—worrying, “Did I do enough?” as a mom.

Megan Ashley [06:19]:
“I am not a parenting expert. I have failed in so many ways as a parent... there are ways in which God has graced me to do things in the way that is pleasing to Him. My prayer is always to continue to be obedient to the Lord and do things that please Him in how I raise my children.”

2. Biblical Foundation: Deuteronomy 6 & Discipleship "In Totality"

Timestamps: 09:50 – 16:45

• Megan turns to Deuteronomy 6, where Moses delivers the greatest commandment:
  • “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
  • Repeats the instruction: to “repeat them [God’s words] to your children... when you sit, when you walk, when you lie down, and when you get up.”
• She explains the term “merism” (using opposites to indicate totality), and how this fits her show’s message: living for God “in totality.”
• Through this, Megan feels God shift her anxiety about her children into an urgency for discipleship—not out of fear, but out of love.

Megan Ashley [16:18]:
“The Lord was placing my anxieties right with urgency. Because the Lord says, cast all your cares, cast all your anxieties on the Lord… At the end of the day, I love you and I love those boys. I love those boys more than you do. They’re mine. I have entrusted you with them, but they belong to Me.”

3. From Rules to Relationship: Modeling Delight in God

Timestamps: 16:45 – 23:36

• Megan stresses that Christian parenting is not about instilling a fear-based or performance-driven faith, but nurturing a delight and affection for the Lord that overflows to children.
• She shares stories of her own mother as a model—not only by teaching, but by living out her faith authentically in front of her kids:
  • Praying openly, showing faith in adversity, redirecting conversations to be more God-honoring.
  • Hilarious story of her mother laying hands on her for pink eye, and how those moments of faith stuck with her.

Megan Ashley [19:33]:
“Discipleship is important because it’s not just in the ways that you say things or you instruct, but it’s also in the way that you live... My mom didn’t sit and teach me everything, but I saw her live it out for real.”

• She describes discipleship as all-of-life: not church-on-Sundays, but everyday moments, ordinary routines, and even what music you play at home or how you respond in tough situations.

4. Humility, Repentance & Transparency in Parenting

Timestamps: 23:36 – 29:56

• Megan recalls the powerful impact of her mother apologizing and repenting to her as a child, acknowledging mistakes.
• She urges parents to demonstrate humility and repentance with their children—not just demanding obedience, but modeling what it looks like to seek forgiveness and recalibrate when you get it wrong.
• Everyday life—how you behave in traffic, at the grocery store, or in the Chick-fil-A line—is all part of discipling your children.

Megan Ashley [24:05]:
“Your children aren’t beneath you repenting to. That’s part of discipleship—even you being humble enough to repent to them is discipleship.”

5. The Weight and Freedom of Parental Responsibility

Timestamps: 29:56 – 34:25

• Megan addresses the anxiety many parents feel about “doing it right,” especially if they are new or returning to faith.
• She references Proverbs 22:6 (“train up a child...”), but also brings nuance: Proverbs are principles, not guarantees, and even God—the perfect Father—had disobedient children in Israel.
• Freedom for parents: release yourself from the burden of control over your children’s salvation or choices. “The weight of their eternity is on the Lord,” not on you.

Megan Ashley [32:37]:
“Your kids are not going to be perfect. You’re not perfect. Don’t put the totality of their salvation as a burden to you. That is—the weight of their eternity is on the Lord.”

6. Practical Discipleship Tips & Personal Parenting Examples

Timestamps: 34:25 – 45:50

• Megan talks about practical ways to disciple at home:
  • Visible scriptures in the house (on gallery walls, in kids’ rooms).
  • Memorizing a scripture-of-the-week together.
  • Letting children “catch” her in spiritual disciplines—seeing her pray, study, or have godly conversations.
  • Encouraging her children to pray themselves, not just listening to her.
  • Being mindful of influences (YouTube, music, etc.) at home.
• She responds to questions about co-parenting in faith and doing her best while trusting God with the rest.
• Discusses how children imitate their parents, using the funny example of “misophonia” and how she picked up quirks from her mom.
• Observing children helps recognize what you’re “really” teaching through your example.
• Cites Jesus prioritizing discipleship and stresses: your first mission field is your home.

Megan Ashley [42:26]:
“Your children will always imitate your passion. Whatever you’re passionate about, it comes out, and your kids will imitate that... Even when you don’t think that you’re discipling them, your lives are discipling them.“

7. Living with Urgency, Not Anxiety: Encouragement for a New School Year

Timestamps: 45:50 – 47:17

• As school starts, replace fear about the world and your children’s future with faithful urgency to disciple them.
• Prioritize their spiritual gifts alongside academics and sports.
• Prayer for parents for wisdom, delight in God, and for their households to overflow with God’s glory and peace.
• Ends with the John Piper quote:

Megan Ashley [46:53]:
“The Lord is most glorified when we are the most satisfied in Him... It starts with us as parents, and then it trickles down to our children. What gets in the head gets in the body.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On not being a perfect parent:

  “I am bringing you in on my process. … The Lord is developing me and training me and gracing me and helping me be a good steward over the children he has given me.” (04:50)

• On delight, not duty:

  “It’s our love for the Lord that should drive our obedience, not coming from a place of fear… If we are not coming from a place of delight, and we’re coming from a place of fear, then we raise our children up like that.” (16:55)

• On vulnerability in parenting:

  “I remember on multiple occasions, my mom repenting to me. I remember her saying, ‘Mommy was wrong for that. I shouldn’t have reacted in that way.’ … looking back now as an adult, I’m like, wow, that was so powerful.” (23:36)

• On trusting God with your kids:

  “God’s perfect. And the Israelites were constantly disobedient. So I just want to take off … Just release yourself of that burden. … The weight of their eternity is on the Lord.” (32:45)

• On family discipleship:

  “It’s not, ‘Oh, they’re in school so they don’t have to read their words...’ That’s just as a priority. We’re going to steward our schoolwork and we’re also going to steward our spiritual lives. We’re going to make an importance on both.” (45:05)

• Jonah’s list of priorities (lighthearted memorable moment):

  “I said, Jonah, how much do you love me? He said, ‘Oh mom, it’s Jesus. And then you.’ … I was like, take me down the list. He said, ‘Jesus, you, my dogs.’” (44:20)

Segment Timestamps Reference

| Segment Description | Start | End | |----------------------------------------------------|---------|---------| | Introduction & Early-Morning Family Context | 02:34 | 09:50 | | Deuteronomy 6 – Parenting with Biblical Urgency | 09:50 | 16:45 | | Modeling Faith: From Delight, Not Fear | 16:45 | 23:36 | | Repentance, Humility & Everyday Discipleship | 23:36 | 29:56 | | Anxiety, Salvation, & Parental Freedom | 29:56 | 34:25 | | Practical Discipleship at Home | 34:25 | 45:50 | | Concluding Encouragement & Prayer | 45:50 | 47:17 |

Recap & Takeaways

• Parenting “in totality” means making faith part of every aspect of life, not just set-apart moments.
• Let love for God—not anxiety—fuel urgency in discipling your children.
• Kids learn most from what they see modeled, not just what they’re told.
• Repentance, humility, and honest conversation are powerful discipleship tools.
• Trust God with your children’s future and spiritual journey; do your part with faithfulness and leave the rest to Him.
• Prioritize discipleship alongside all the other “urgencies” of parenthood—academics, sports, and beyond.

A must-listen for Christian parents seeking honest encouragement as they send their kids back to school and wonder, “Am I doing enough?” Megan reminds us: release anxiety, embrace urgency, and disciple your kids with love, authenticity, and dependence on God.