1KHO 544: We Have to Protect Our Children | Heather Thompson Day, Can I Sit Here?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast
Episode: 1KHO 544: We Have to Protect Our Children | Heather Thompson Day, Can I Sit Here?
Release Date: August 8, 2025

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Introduction and Background

In the premiere episode of "The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast," host Jenny Yurtz welcomes returning guest Heather Thompson Day to discuss critical issues surrounding childhood development, faith, and the newly released children's book, Can I Sit Here?

Jenny Yurtz ([00:30]):
"Childhood is finite at just shy of 9.5 million minutes. We only get one shot at it."

Heather Thompson Day ([00:39]):
"We are back, baby. I'm so happy to be with my Michigan girl."

The conversation kicks off with a personal anecdote about a challenging night involving lice, highlighting the unpredictable nature of parenting and the importance of a supportive community.

Discussion on Prayer Journals and Faith

Heather shares her profound practice of maintaining a prayer journal, where she documents prayers and their corresponding answers. This practice has deepened her faith and provided tangible evidence of God's faithfulness.

Heather Thompson Day ([03:12]):
"God keeps anniversaries with us that we have long since forgot... God pays attention to every prayer, even the ones refreshed years later."

She elaborates on her unique method of using rocks to symbolize answered prayers, creating a physical representation of faith that serves as a daily reminder of divine support.

Jenny Yurtz ([06:45]):
"Place the rock into the basket. That basket sits by my fireplace... It adds anticipation and expectation into your life."

London’s Book Can I Sit Here? and Bullying

The heart of the episode revolves around Heather's daughter, London, and her poignant children's book, Can I Sit Here?, which addresses the painful topic of exclusion and bullying in schools.

Heather Thompson Day ([07:46]):
"On my 11th birthday, I cried saying, 'I'm never gonna be a writer.' Years later, my daughter fulfilled that dream, turning her painful experiences into a book that others desperately need."

The book narrates London's personal experiences with bullying, emphasizing the emotional and psychological toll such behavior can have on children. It serves as both a therapeutic outlet for London and a vital resource for other children facing similar struggles.

The Seriousness of Bullying and Its Long-term Effects

Jenny underscores the gravity of bullying, noting its potential to lead to severe emotional distress and even suicidal thoughts among children.

Jenny Yurtz ([09:52]):
"Bullying can affect you for your whole life. It can even lead to attempts to end your life."

Heather shares her daughter's harrowing experiences, including physical confrontations and the lack of adequate support from the school, which ultimately led to their family relocating to protect London.

Heather Thompson Day ([10:03]):
"They kidnapped her trust by telling her, 'You're not being dramatic. It really happened,' and we had to remove her from that environment, even at great personal cost."

Empowering Children and Family-Based Solutions

The conversation shifts to empowering children to recognize and address feelings of loneliness, embarrassment, and exclusion. Heather emphasizes the importance of teaching children to seek out friendships and support actively.

Heather Thompson Day ([29:09]):
"We can control who we offer our hand towards. We need to stop looking in and start reaching out."

Jenny highlights how the book provides children with the vocabulary to express their emotions and encourages proactive empathy towards peers.

Jenny Yurtz ([28:28]):
"If you ever feel lonely or embarrassed or left out, you can be brave even when you're scared. You don't have to have friends to be friendly."

Personal Stories and Real-life Examples

Both Jenny and Heather share personal stories that illustrate the long-lasting impact of bullying and the critical role of supportive adults in mitigating its effects.

Jenny Yurtz ([23:29]):
"There was a kid who made fun of me in sixth grade, and it's burned in there. It stays with you your whole life."

Heather Thompson Day ([40:47]):
"Mrs. Juliet Horton saw my kid and bought her art supplies to support her. That simple act changed London's life, and she dedicated the book to her."

These anecdotes underscore the necessity of vigilance and proactive intervention by adults to protect children from harm and foster environments where empathy and support are paramount.

Conclusion and Future Steps

The episode concludes with a celebration of London's book launch and an affirmation of the ongoing mission to protect and empower children both at home and in educational settings.

Heather Thompson Day ([54:22]):
"We're so proud of it. This is just the beginning because this is such needed content and so fantastic for family."

Jenny echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the book’s role in equipping families with tools to navigate and address bullying, ultimately fostering healthier and more resilient children.

Jenny Yurtz ([54:41]):
"Huge congrats to the both of you. This is just the beginning."

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Notable Quotes

• Jenny Yurtz ([00:30]):
  "Childhood is finite at just shy of 9.5 million minutes. We only get one shot at it."

• Heather Thompson Day ([03:12]):
  "God keeps anniversaries with us that we have long since forgot..."

• Jenny Yurtz ([09:52]):
  "Bullying can affect you for your whole life. It can even lead to attempts to end your life."

• Heather Thompson Day ([29:09]):
  "We can control who we offer our hand towards. We need to stop looking in and start reaching out."

• Heather Thompson Day ([54:22]):
  "We're so proud of it. This is just the beginning because this is such needed content and so fantastic for family."

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Conclusion

Episode 1KHO 544 of "The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast" delves deep into the pressing issue of bullying, its enduring impact on children, and the vital role of faith and proactive parenting in fostering resilient, empathetic young individuals. Through heartfelt personal stories and the introduction of London's book, Can I Sit Here?, Heather Thompson Day and Jenny Yurtz provide invaluable insights and resources for families navigating the complexities of childhood development in today's world.

Transcript

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[Jenny Yurtz]

Welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Jenny Yurtz. I'm the founder of 1000 Hours Outside, and I'm so excited that Heather Thompson Day is back. Welcome, Heather.

[Heather Thompson Day]

We are back, baby. I'm so happy to be with my Michigan girl.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yes. Okay, so last time, this is the story. So we had recorded and then I'm pretty sure. I don't know if these are the exact specifics, but I'm pretty sure that that night we found license.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

So it was like lice night. You know, this happens and they're like, oh, like someone's got lice. So I was. I edit. Currently I'm editing the podcast. And so anyways, I was dealing with lice for hours, which I actually have determined that I really like. Like, it's kind of fun. Do that comb. And you know, I was like, oh, I could. I could go into business, actually. My oldest daughter, it was only one kid had it, and my oldest daughter, we dealt with it together. So. So we were like, we could have a business. We could call ourselves the Nitwits. We're into this. But anyway, this is so random, but I had very little time that night to edit a podcast. And, you know, I have this somewhat of a schedule. And you and I had just recorded earlier that day.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

And I thought, oh, my goodness, I'm gonna. I need one that's easy to edit, someone that's really good at communicating, someone that's just gonna, like, straight fly through it. I was like, who could it be? And it was you.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

And I was so grateful.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I was so grateful because you have such a good community. I had so many people reach out to me after that episode. So I am endeared to this show and this community that you've built.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah, I'm endeared to you. You, like, saved me. You saved me in this life moment. So. And the art, the. I said the article, the podcast was so deep. And actually there was something that we didn't talk about from your book that I wanted because. Oh, My goodness. And Heather, I was so bummed about it. I had it, like, bolded in my notes, and it end. Ended, and I was like, oh, I didn't get a chance to bring this up. But then we have another one.

[Heather Thompson Day]

We circle back.

[Jenny Yurtz]

So I was like, great, great. Okay, so in your book, you talked about building, and we're gonna be talking about your daughter's book. So.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes. Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Your daughter has a book that's out. It's called Can I Sit Here? It's phenomenal. It is a phenomenal children's book. So that's what we're gonna be talking about mainly. But I wanted to kick it off. This is from. From what if I'm wrong? Navigating the waves of fear and failure. You. You talked about keeping track. You talked about a basket of rocks. Oh, and I wanted to talk about that because you're talking about God's faithfulness and even. This is such a cool story. Your daughter has this book. You wanted to be a child author. It didn't happen for you, but this would be in the basket of rocks. That. Here comes the next generation. And at the same age, she gets the opportunity. You know, you wanted it, but she gets the opportunity to do it. So can you just talk before we dive into the book?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

You say, I don't question whether God is real because I have pages and pages of notes of God's involvement in my life.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah. So I'm. You know, I'm a writer, and I try to track. I started doing this, I mean, years ago, probably 12 or 13 years ago, writing down prayers. And I think I actually started over my nephews. I was praying a prayer for my nephews, and I saw God answer it within, like, three weeks. And I said, oh, I want to start tracking this so that. Because it's not usually three weeks. You know what I mean? Usually for. In my experience, I might pray over things for years and years, and then I'll forget that I had even been praying for it by the time that God answers. So what I do is when I'm going through something that feels big, either in my life or in the life of somebody I care about, I have this little prayer journal where I write down what the prayer is, and then I put the date at the top. And then if God answers that prayer, I put the date that he answered it. And so then what I added to that practice. So wait, by the way, what I wanted to tell people is what I personally discovered. And I would love for you guys to check this out. Test it on your own. What I discovered is that God keeps anniversaries with us that we have long since forgot. And I'll just give you, I, I mean, I could give so many examples. But what I discovered as I started keeping track was, oh, my goodness, God will answer prayers seven years to the day. In one of my cases, it was 12 years to the day, three months to the day, three weeks to the day, literally to the day of when I first started praying that thing. And so now not only do I look backwards, I look forwards. So right now, I am coming to four years of a prayer that I first started. Actually, when I first started these rocks, it was four years ago that I started that in September. I think it was September 6th. And so in my calendar, looking ahead, I have September 6th. God, will I see you? So I. When I like to look forward and backward, watching God. So what I added to the prayer journal was I started writing my prayers on a rock. It would just be like a key word of whatever that prayer is or a Bible text of the whatever. I, I was reading my scripture and I felt like God was saying, hey, this is. I pay attention to this. This is for you. I would put that on a rock. And then I put the date I started praying and the date that got answered, and then I put that rock into a basket. And the reason I do that is because it can be really easy when you're facing a new obstacle or discouragement to say, well, God, where are you? And you've forgotten me and you don't remember me. Now I don't even do that. Cause I'll go and I'll take out my basket. I'll sit down on the living room floor and I'll just pull out rocks. And at this point, it's been four years. I have. I don't know, I haven't counted them, but I mean, at least 20 fry rocks of fairly significant prayers that were either for me or somebody that I love that God has answered. And when I. For me to attach that physical thing, right, it's not a metaphorical idea. It's like, no, I'm. I am holding this rock in my hand of God's faithfulness in my life. Now I am able to look at whatever present circumstance with gratitude of who God has already been. So what I tell the Lord is, hey, I am going to build you an altar. These rocks are me building you an altar. And I, like, I pray that one day I have this massive stack of rocks that I can put in the backyard or something. And show somebody, like, I would love to, like, need a, you know, like a forklift to put these rocks in and have people come over and just, if my kids. I do it with my daughter or my son, if they say, oh, I don't. What if God doesn't hear me? Or what. I'm like, no, come here. Let me show you God's faithfulness in this family. And you're a part of this. And you could add your rocks in. Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Wow, Heather, it's so powerful. It's in the book. What if I'm wrong? It's such a good book.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Thank you.

[Jenny Yurtz]

You say, place the rock into the basket. That basket sits by my fireplace. You see it regularly, and so does everyone else who comes inside. And I had chills about the date thing, because that adds anticipation into your life. It adds an expectation. And that's in the Bible, right? It says, in the morning, I lay my request before you, and I wait in expectation.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Wait. And so that's what you're doing. And this is what happens with your daughter. So your daughter, London has come out with a book this week, the week that we're recording this called Can I Sit Here? It is a phenomenal children's book. It's about being excluded. And this is something that a lot of kids go through bullying. It is such a wonderful book. We're going to talk about it. But the really cool part is that you prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed yourself to be a child author, and it never happened. But God did answer the prayer because London became a child author.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes. I need to say I remember distinctly on my 11th birthday, I was a very strange kid. But on my 11th birthday, I went to bed that night crying because I would query. I would sit as a kid and, like, query publishing houses with my manuscripts, and nobody ever, of course, wrote me back. And I cried myself to sleep my 11th birthday, saying, I'm never gonna be a writer. And so all throughout my life, I thought, oh, those prayers were delayed into my adulthood. And then when my daughter had a publisher come up to me at a conference and say, have you ever thought about doing a children's book? And I said, oh, actually, I have, because my daughter had just at that point, gone through this experience, and we had talked about writing it down one day and titling it. Can I sit here? And so I just told it to them in passing. And anyway, when my daughter signed the contract, she was 11 years old, and I remember all. And I had not thought about that prayer. And I mean, guys, I Don't think about it at all anymore. And I just felt like this jolt in my body of, like, the spirit saying, I remembered. And I just sat in awe.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Annie F. Down said that she said that she had a prayer that got answered, and it was maybe something like 20 years. It was a really long time. And she said she felt God say to her, you know, I never forget any prayer that you've prayed. And so what a powerful thing. And to go along with your story about the dates 11 and 11. So this book comes out and it's really needed. Let's talk about bullying in general. We've had some really rough bullying experiences. Oh, awful.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I'm sorry about that.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Actually, at church, of all places. But we did find some really good resources from Kim John Payne. And I think sometimes it's something that we brush off. And bullying can show up in a lot of ways. So exclusion is one. This is what Kim Jong Un Payne. He has a book called Emotionally Resilient Tweens and Teens. I think every family should have it because you don't know when it's going to happen. Your kid is going to experience this. You don't know what day it's going to be. And so then you. I. I felt like this came out of the blue. And I've got a book on my shelf. I've got resources. Same thing with this book. You start with your kids. Can I sit here when they're really little so they can start to verbalize?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

But bullying really can affect you for your whole life. It can even affect you to the point where you attempt to end your life. Sometimes you do. So can we just talk about the seriousness? I mean, this book is really needed.

[Unknown]

Can I sit here?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes. I do want to just sit in this for a second. What's interesting, I did a podcast interview with my daughter yesterday, and the guy said to her, what is something. If you could sit next to your third grade self, just knee to knee and face her and hold her hands, what would you say? And my daughter said, I would tell her, you're not being dramatic. This really happened. Oh, it's making me tear up. So, like, this is, you know, she's 13 now, so this is so many years later, and she still needs to validate that. Oh, this happened to me. Right. There's a part of her brain that's still processing those experiences. And I will say, as awesome as she is and how much growth that she's in, she still is not the same person. She developed pretty severe anxiety after that. That she never had before. And maybe it's just with adolescence, but it feels as though it was connected to that prolonged experience that she had of targeting and hers. In the book we just tell the one story of her putting her tray down at school because I felt like that was a story that, you know, a five year old could digest. But there was so. It was so much worse than that. Lots of comments about, you know, her body and different things. And it ended when I finally decided to actually remove her from the school. Which was difficult for us because my husband was a pastor and the school was connected to the church. So it was. He almost lost his job over. I mean, it was a big deal that we made that you were like in his contract, he has to support the school. So for us to pull her out was. It came with a lot of ramifications and we ended up having to move actually, but it was a big deal. And when she got into my car that last day, she's sobbing and when I look at her, she has cuts and scrapes all over. And I was like, what happened? And she said that they had told her, we're gonna play a game with you where we're gonna blindfold you and we'll tell you, like, trust us and we'll tell you where to step. And I guess they walked her into a brick wall. And it must have been, she must have been going fast. Cause it was scrapes all over her face and arms. And I don't want to bash the institution, but nobody called me, right? So I didn't have any alert. I pick her up and I see scrapes and stuff all over my kid. And she's saying, please don't make me go back here. This is my nine year old child. You know, and so we didn't, we didn't.

[Jenny Yurtz]

And there was all those ramifications for your family. But you know, I think the point is, is that this is really serious. It's a really big deal and it can start really young. As an adult, you think about a nine year old, you're like, well, he was shocked. Yeah, they're still probably playing Barbies, you know, or whatever. But it, it does, it starts really young. It can be early elementary and there are ramifications. And the book from Kim John Payne, he basically says no one's going to be able to fix it. You have, you know, you have to be able to walk your kids through. And what was interesting to me was that there were so many forms of bullying that I wouldn't have considered. So you Think about bullying as like, well, you're ugly. You have an ugly face. Sure. All this verbal stuff. But exclusion is one.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

There's a lot of them. And then obviously there's cyberbullying. And so you go through. One of the things I really love about this book. Can I sit here? Is you go through the feelings. Oh, it's so relatable. Like, you talk about, what is it? What does embarrassment feel like?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

What does being left out feel like? What does it feel like when you're lonely? It's so good, Heather, because it starts to give kids, they need to be empowered to be able to use the vocabulary that's happening. So the situation that you go through in the book is that. And. And this is. Oh, it's like you feel it as a parent. Sometimes you move or your kid's about to start school for the first time, and you. They're nervous. They're nervous. And your job as a parent is to sort of like, pump it up and be like, it might. And I. And I just so felt this. It might be a great day. Like, you're saying, you know, and the kid is thinking. Because the parents. Pumping it up and, you know, they're saying, well, right. Gonna be good and I'm gonna make all these friends. And you have this beautiful anticipation, like we talked about earlier about God, you have this beautiful anticipation of, like, what it could be. And then her hopes get so dashed and she goes. She's looking around. Everybody can feel it. I just recently was at a conference with Lisa Harper, and I didn't know anybody. And I related to this, you know, lonely feels like, is someone gonna sit by me? Like, I mean, I'm in my 40s, you know, like, all these people already know each other. This is a community. And I walk. And so I related to the feelings in this book, but you can't even imagine. She takes her tray, there's an open seat, she sits down. Now you think that's gonna be like, well, the kids didn't talk to her. Okay, well, that's one thing. It's not that they didn't even talk to her. It's that they all got up immediately.

[Heather Thompson Day]

And left her sitting by herself.

[Jenny Yurtz]

At a Christian school.

[Heather Thompson Day]

At a Christian school. This is. I have. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. I didn't grow up in, like, the 70s and 60s, but I have to think that some of this is technology related, that kids are seeing examples of this type of behavior. Because I could not fathom when she came home Sobbing telling me this. I could not, could not fathom that a group of nine year olds would even have the capability of being so mean. I actually felt like I am missing something. And so this is. I started documenting and I documented everything. Multiple instances, you know, along the way before we finally decided to pull her out and contacting the teacher. And I remember the teacher said, well, would you want to come into the room and do like a lecture or seminar on bullying? And I was just like, what? That was, that was one of her suggestions of how to fix the problem. Would you like to come in and teach the kids? I was like, no. I want you, you know, to create an environment that's inclusive. Not that it's all the teachers, because kids are going to be kids. I know that and I know that they're watching, you know, who knows what on YouTube of different situations that I think then they try to emulate. But yeah, could not believe that this happened to her.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yes. And it's just like everyone's losing empathy. We're losing empathy for the kids and they're losing empathy for each other. So a book like this is really powerful and I've not seen another one like it. I mean, I think this is like one where you read it every day.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Oh, thank you.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Every day you read it, right? It's part of your sort of daily. You know, everybody has books like that read it every day. Can I sit here by London Marie Day? It's by the both of you together, which is so beautiful.

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[Jenny Yurtz]

Down, I've been thinking ahead, refreshing my.

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[Jenny Yurtz]

Lonely feels like. And so this is part of the book. It's hard to be lonely. Oh, and this is so good, Heather. Especially when there are people around because then it feels even worse, you know.

[Heather Thompson Day]

So yesterday somebody tagged us on a reel. He was, was reading the book with his daughter and he said, hey, so have you ever experienced this? And the little girl, she's probably three, she said, yeah, it's like when I go, she must be in daycare or something when I show up and everybody's already playing and I don't have a place. I mean, this is a three year old putting vocabulary to yes. She said. He said, is that what London experienced? She said, yes, that's what happened to London. It was so. And I just felt like this is the point, right? Is that kids are learning to develop language around their experiences so that we can be resilient through them and navigate through them.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah. And it helps you just feel more normal. And it's so comprehensive, like for a kid's book. It's written like a kid's book. It's got adorable illustrations.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah, she did such a good job.

[Jenny Yurtz]

The illustrations are fantastic. And then even in the front cover, there's stuff in the front cover with illustrations. Like it's little thought bubbles, like maybe, maybe this first day is going to be good. So it's just very engaging for a kid's book. But so deep. Lonely feels like sitting by yourself and wishing someone would sit with you.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Right. Because that's what the book's about. No one. Everyone got up and leave. Left. But then you go further. Lonely also feels like missing your friends and your old house and your favorite ice cream shop. Lonely also feels like being somewhere new where no one knows your name. There's a lot of ways to feel lonely.

[Heather Thompson Day]

To me, I'm just thinking, like, think about kids who go through life, you know, in Healthy Dynamics. Kids go through life at home where they're like the star of the show. You literally wake up. And so I, for me, when I'm, hey, sleepy head.

[Jenny Yurtz]

There she.

[Heather Thompson Day]

You walk out into a hallway and everyone's like, there she is. And so for the first time, I'm walking into this new environment where, oh my, nobody's calling my name and maybe nobody's even saving me a seat. Nobody. I mean, imagine the dynamic and the shock to a system for a child. And then I always think about this, how I just think we as adults, with all of our resources and all the books that I've read and all of the, you know, therapy that I've been in and just different resources that I have, I would not stay in an environment where I am harassed. I would not.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Right.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Definitely physically, I'm not going back. And yet I feel like often as parents, we will put our kids, oh, well, it's not a big dealer. This is just kids. And we'll keep sending them back to situations in which they are being harassed, excluded, maybe even physically hurt. I just. If you as an adult with all of your resources would not stay in that situation, I think that that might be a good time to slow down and say, should I send my kid back to that situation? I had a mom write me on Instagram this week and say, I pulled my kid out too. And then three months later, that same bully had, who had been targeting her child, broke the clavicle of another of a special needs student. And I, you know what? I'm like, this is these. The ramification of that on a kid. You may never get over that. Right. Your kids just kind of carry it through.

[Jenny Yurtz]

You won't.

[Heather Thompson Day]

And figure out how to adapt.

[Jenny Yurtz]

It's a part. It's a part of your. I could tell you it's part of who you are. Yeah. I could tell you the people that made fun of me in elementary school, in sixth grade, and I'm in my 40s.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

There was a kid that was like, who dresses you still? Your mom, you know, I was like.

[Heather Thompson Day]

In the sixth grade and it's burned in there.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah. I was like, yep, bingo. That's all right. But then I was like, well, shoot, who else should I get to just be. I don't know, you know, I was like, yeah, you remember, it stays with you your whole life. I talked to. His name is Stephen Miller. He's like this incredible realtor in Tennessee. And they're on YouTube. They've got this thing called the Miller Famous just showcasing their family. And they've got adopted kids and Millers. The Millers, they're fantastic, right? And he talks about how work, like workaholism, stems back to being made fun of as a kid. And even still, he talks about it in his book. Like, even still, it's something that he struggles with. And so the bullying matters. And to your point, can you imagine as an adult if you went and your co workers, you went to go sit down with your co workers at lunch. And they literally got up and left. And then they had you walk into a brick wall while blindfolded thinking it's funny, Right. Would you stay in that job for one more?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Right.

[Jenny Yurtz]

No, you would flee. I feel you almost like throwing up thinking about being treated like that.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I. Yeah. So let's just apply those things to kids who have far less. So this is a totally different story, but it's just around the same idea of kids with little social agency. My son was like attacked by one of the lunch ladies. Is a totally separate incident, totally separate school. But she like picked him up by the collar. She thought boys were making fun of her and he happened to go throw his lunch away. And I think because he was standing with them, she just picked him and targeted him, Picked him up by his collar and held him up in the air and yelled something at him. And can I tell you, I watched the video footage. Not one adult in that room went up to this lunch lady. My kid goes running over to his teacher and says, she just grabbed me. She just grabbed me. So I go into the school and they say to me, well, we didn't know what to do. I said, if Mrs. So and so, right? If Mrs. Valerie. This is a fake name. If Mrs. Valerie had the lunch lady grab her by the collar, would you suddenly know what to. Or did you not know what to do? Because it was a child who had no social agency and so then you didn't feel compelled to have to act or do anything in that situation. If it happened to an adult, everybody, I guarantee you a man in that room would have gotten up and went up to that lunch lady and said, don't touch her, Stop. We're calling the police. When it happens to a child, suddenly we're like, oh, it's fine, he'll be okay. People who have less agency, we need to stand up and fill those gaps and, and speak into those spaces. It's so important.

[Jenny Yurtz]

And that is so biblical. Better than a millstone. So I mean, we've got our own experiences. Like you got a pedophile on your staff at church. And we sent in letters that we were concerned about his behavior. Now, they didn't know he's a pedophile, but like, you know, you send in these letters. We got kicked out, got kicked out of church. The whole church revoked our membership.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Why?

[Jenny Yurtz]

And turns out he's a pedophile trying to be with 15 year old boys as a 40 something year old man.

[Heather Thompson Day]

And this. But Jenny, like I really, I'M not saying that this happens all the time. Okay.

[Jenny Yurtz]

It happens too much, though.

[Heather Thompson Day]

But it happens too much. And people are just silenced.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yes, they are. They're silenced.

[Heather Thompson Day]

This is. I was expelled. I was expelled from a school because I said the teacher kept taking me into a room. He would close all the blinds and make me hold his hand and say, you're so pretty. Why do you have to be so bad? And I. At that time, I was always more vocal. And I said, you're. You're a pedophile. I said it out loud. And they expelled me for, like, making up gossip. Christian gossip. Rumors.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Oh, yeah. That's what they said for us, too. We were gossip. Yep. They use a gossip. Yeah. Yep. But better a millstone. That's what. That's what? Better a millstone be tied around your neck and you be thrown to the depths of the sea. And a millstone. I looked it up. A millstone is like thousands of pounds.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

It's like the size of a child. It's like four foot tall. Better than you cause a child to stumble.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

A stumble isn't even a fall.

[Heather Thompson Day]

We have to protect our children.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah. Yeah. And a book like this helps. Yes, A book like this helps because it is empowering. Like you said, it's already empowering parents to normalize. Leaving. Leave.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

If you would leave because you were treating that way as an adult, leave. Find something else. God will provide for you. God will provide a path. And also, it's helping to have these conversations in your home so you can start to talk about these feelings. Because kids do take their lives. And it's not super common, but it does happen. It happens more than it ever should. And so you gotta be able to have these conversations going. So you're talking about being lonely. Lonely can feel like all sorts of different things. You're talking about being embarrassed. What does embarrassed feel like? Embarrassed feels like wanting to hide so no one can see you.

[Heather Thompson Day]

You.

[Jenny Yurtz]

That's so important. And you talk about how that was happening to her. It happens to a lot of kids.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

This is how Kim John Payne puts it. He says they have mean fun. It's mean fun.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

So this is what embarrassed feels like. And then you talk about being left out. And the illustrations on this page, I just absolutely loved. It's like, you see this group of kids and they're all playing and they're all having a great time, or they're telling secrets, and you got the little girl over on the sides, like, just looking on. It's not A hopeless book, though.

[Heather Thompson Day]

No.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Because what you do is like, you help the child create empathy for the situation and then can you look out? Is there someone else that feels lonely?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Is there someone else that seems like they might be embarrassed? Is there someone else that seems left out? And this is the whole point is like, seek out what you don't have.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes. This is like what I call kingdom economics. Yeah. Make withdrawals while you're waiting on your deposit. You know, whatever it is, I. I genuinely go through life saying whatever it is I feel like I'm not receiving. How do I put that clearly? That is an indicator to me that this is missing because I'm feeling the pain point of it. How do I put that? How do I deposit that into the world so that somebody else isn't experiencing it? And so I want to teach our kids how do we choose to be a friend? Even if no one is offering us friendship, who can I then offer friendship to? We can never control who won't hold our hand. We can control who we offer our hand towards. And so how do we stop looking in? And it's okay to process our emotions. Right. And deal with that. But then how do I say, okay, because I've gone through this experience because I know what lonely feels like. I can I see that in this classroom for somebody else and make an effort to step into that gap.

[Jenny Yurtz]

It's so good. I want to read it.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Then London saw a girl sitting alone.

[Unknown]

On the swing set.

[Jenny Yurtz]

London didn't know if the girl would be kind, but London decided, I can be brave. Hi. London waved at the girl. Hi. The girl smiled and kicked the ground with her shoe. My name is London. London said. My name is Hope. The girl said, this is so beautiful. It's like this is how childhood friendships start. It's how all friendships start. London looked at the empty swing next to Hope. Can I sit here? London asked. And I love this part. Sure. Hope said, I saved you a seat. I love that part. You know, it's like they. It's like they both understood.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes. And how do we teach our kids, right, to go to school and say, hey, you can sit with us? Like just reading this book, I promise you, your kid is going to now be more aware.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yes.

[Heather Thompson Day]

And they're going to go into their classroom environment and if they see somebody standing with a tray, say, oh, come over here. Oh, we're playing, playing blocks over here. Come join us. Be that person. We call them in communication. We call them connectors. Be a connector. And I personally think people who have experienced loneliness and exclusion. I really think that those are the natural connectors because you're sensitive to it. You see it when it's in a room because you know what it feels like.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Oh, it's so powerful. So remember, if you ever feel lonely or embarrassed or left out, you can be brave even when you're scared. You don't have to have friends to be friendly. You can love someone like God loves them. You can look for someone. What a difference. What a difference to look out. Because I think so often we look out and we. We see the kids playing and we're not invited. We hear that we're being made fun of. That's what we look out and see. But it's like, look for something different. You can look for someone who needs a friend and ask, can I sit here?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

What a difference that this one was. I saved you. It's a very powerful. It's such a deep kids book.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I think.

[Jenny Yurtz]

So, so good. Yes. And it's so unbelievably needed. And then you have a QR code in the back. Resources to help kids thrive.

[Unknown]

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[Jenny Yurtz]

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[Jenny Yurtz]

Built for business by American Express let's talk about the spiritual part of it. You also are teaching your kids God always likes you, even on your worst days.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah, yeah, because I so that came from this. In the book we tell this story and that was a true experience for us in this time because I saw my kid kind of who used to be gregarious and outgoing and always able to make a friend at a park. She just slowly started to shut down throughout the period of these six months. And so I started doing this activity where at night I would say, I want you to tell me three things that you like about yourself. And so one day I go into a room and I'm like, I want you to tell me three things that you like about yourself. And she said, I can't, I can't think of anything. And that was a moment for me as a parent where I said, oh, this is getting really bad. She is losing her identity. She is losing her self concept. And so then we I told her things that I liked about her. But from that literally every night my daughter goes to bed. She's now going into eighth grade, she's 13. Before she goes to bed, she says, mom, what's one thing you're proud of me for? This is still from that third grade experience when we started doing this. And so every night before she goes to bed, I see still tell her one thing that I'm proud of her for doing. And it doesn't have to be, you know, it might just be trying, you know, even if you failed, I'm proud of you that you tried doing this today.

[Jenny Yurtz]

I keep going back to this Kim Jong Payne book just because it was really instrumental for our Family.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Because when it happens, you also, you often are lost. You're so lost you don't know what to do. And the whole premise of the book, which I was actually surprised. So this is a book about bullying. So there's a lot of role play in there. There's a lot of stories of older kids who navigated situations and what did they do? Because he says you cannot depend on the adults often at all. You know, they're just. Whether they. They may care, but they're too slow to implement. It's too tricky. No one really knows what's going on because it's all kind of. It's often like underground. You know, the kids are so sneaky.

[Heather Thompson Day]

That's true.

[Jenny Yurtz]

With the things they've learned that like, they've learned to be super sneaky. So you're in this situation, what do you do? In the premise of the book, which I thought this is too simple, like, but we tried it, he says you strengthen the family based. And it really was this whole point that as a family unit, you're so much more powerful than you might know. Hmm. And that's what you're doing.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Someone would be like, oh, come on, you're the mom, so you're going to tell her something you're proud of every night. How could that possibly make a difference? But it does.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah. So I'm a big proponent. And this goes back to exactly what you're saying in that book when I would have students, because I taught college for almost 15 years and so I had tons, I mean, countless 18 to 22 year old kids still dealing. Especially because for the first time now they're living in an apartment space with people and they go through all different types of things. And often a common occurrence would be that they come and they sit in my office and they tell me my friends are leaving me out or my boyfriend's drifting from me, or all these different things, or my dad hasn't come to see me. All these different places where they were realizing they couldn't lean as they're going through this new traumatic experience of being at college for the first time. And I would tell them, so your brain, this is from communication research, your brain is actually wired in the negative and it's a good thing. It's to help you survive. Right. So you're looking for threats so that you can survive. So your brain is not going to tell you the positive things about your. Your brain is actually never going to tell you what you like about yourself. That's why I asked London to say it. If she. Her brain is only when she goes to bed, going to run through all the horrible things that happen that day. So I want all of us as adults can do this. And statistics show that this reduces depression, reduces anxiety. When you name at night three things that went well that day, you are telling your brain to focus on the positive. When a student sits my office and tells me, you know, these people are leaving me out. My roommate's doing this, I say, okay, you know where you can't lean? Your brain is telling you where you can't lean. Where can you lean? You're going to have to tell your brain. You're going to have to respond to those negative thoughts by telling it where you can. So your dad has not shown up, right? He's not returning your calls, whatever. Can you call your mom? And then I want you to tell your brain, yeah, my dad is not being a great dad to me, but I, man, I have such a good mom or my parents aren't great parents to me, but, man, I have this best friend, right? Tell. Always tell your brain where you can lean because it's not going to tell it to you.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah, and that's a powerful story that comes through here because you end up depending on your family or your, you know, aunts and uncles or grandparents. And that's needed. It's really needed. Yes, it is wild how there are some parts of childhood that only are dealt with in childhood. And then there's these other topics like bullying that can extend all the way through. And Kim, John Payne said he has people that are in their 30s and their 40s and their 50s, and they reach out and they say, the skills I learned from this book have helped me in the workplace because there's workplace bullies or there's different bosses that aren't treating you well. But we've talked about some of these sort of abhorrent adults. But you debt, you dedicate the book. You and London dedicate the book to a wonderful adult. So I love. Let's talk about the one talking about being wired to the negative. Let's talk about some wonderful adults. Let's talk about Mrs. Juliet.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Let's shout out a Michigan school teacher, because this is. This is a teacher in Michigan. Her name is Mrs. Juliet Horton. And she saw my kid. She would buy her like, like little art supplies so that. Because London is a pretty good drawer. And so she saw that, and she would buy her art supplies so she could keep drawing. Literally, her birthday one year was on a Saturday and she Wasn't even London's teacher anymore. And she called my phone on a Saturday to sing Happy Birthday to my kid and that I just threw. I looked at my husband. I was like, I could not believe that there was a teacher doing this.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Wow.

[Heather Thompson Day]

And she literally changed London's life. And so London dedicated the book to her. And we are. You know, I been a teacher most of my life. I am a big advocate that teachers have a ministry in the classroom to see these kids and to support them and create positive, inclusive environments. And when teachers do that, you remember it for the rest of your life.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah, that's right.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Can you remember the name of, like, your second or third grade teacher?

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah, oh, absolutely.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Isn't that wild?

[Jenny Yurtz]

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. You remember these? Just little touch points.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah. And what a beautiful thing London writes about her. You always made space for me, even long after I was gone.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Mm. Mrs. Horton, that's a big deal.

[Jenny Yurtz]

That's a big deal because they. They move on to this other set of students. And so that's one that really cared. And there's a lot. There are a lot that care so much and make a huge difference. And so I love. I mean, that's what the book kicks off with, is dedicated to Mrs. Juliet Horton. And it's just a reminder that as adults, whatever space that we are in, we have a big choice. You know, are you going to be the one that grabs the kid by the scruff of the neck? You know, are you going to be the one that pets the kid's hand in a closet? You know, are you going to be the one that. Yeah. Is a youth pastor pedophile? I mean, it's awful. Are you going to be the. The people that are above that person, that kicks the person out, who raises the red flag and call them a gossip? You know, I mean, these are big choices that we have to make for our kids. It's. It's wild how rampant it is that there are people doing it wrong. But I do love focusing on the ones that are doing it right. And there are a lot that are doing it right.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes. This is a very biblical teaching. Going to John, chapter 10. Jesus talks about, I am the good shepherd, okay? If you see two people, this is the story he tells. If you see two people out in a pasture holding sheep and they're both petting sheep and cleaning the sheep's nails and feeding the sheep, Jesus says, the only way you will know who is the shepherd and who is the hireling is when a wolf is coming, a hireling when he sees a wolf, will leave the sheep and run to save himself. But a shepherd will stand between the wolf and the sheep and lay down his life. The shepherd always lays down his life for the sheep. So. So for all of us that are adults that are in charge of little people or sometimes if you're a college professor and it's big people, please be a shepherd. You do not protect the wolf. You protect the sheep. And I just think it's fascinating, you actually don't know who you are until the complaint comes in that I think that this youth pastor is inappropriate.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Who.

[Heather Thompson Day]

How you respond to that complaint. That's how we now know who you are. You may think, but I'm caring for sheep. I'm petting them, I'm feeding them. No, no, no. Jesus says, you know who you are. When you see a wolf is coming, what do you do? Who do you save? Who do you protect? Who do you put resources behind? That's who you are.

[Jenny Yurtz]

It's so powerful. And these are things that we need to know about because there's pornography everywhere.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yep.

[Jenny Yurtz]

This man was on an account called Grindr. So it's about, you know, finding different partners. Young, young. He'd been on it for years, and he's there working with high school, middle school kids. And so I think we have to be. I learned that I need to be more aware.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

I learned that we should have left a long time ago, is what I learned. We should have. You leave at the first sign. Right.

[Heather Thompson Day]

But, Jenny, how many people are listening to you? I. I guarantee it. Right now, somebody's in their car and they're saying, oh, my goodness. And they're recognizing themselves in your story. And so you. Whatever, delay God. In kingdom economics, God will just multiply. People who won't delay because of your story.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah. And that's what we say. You know, we. We feel like this will be a generational safety for our family because now we know. Now we know to pay attention for. But the. The whole point is, you have to pay attention to the adults that are around. And if you notice that they are ineffective, and you've got kids that are walking into brick walls because the other kids, other 9 year olds are telling them to do it, and they don't even call the parents. You might want to up and leave, even if. And so could you talk us through? Because this is the thing there. It's layered. It's so layered when we make these big decisions. But you did it. That was such a layered thing. And here you are. You're still kicking. It didn't derail your whole life. As much as I'm sure it was a completely painful upheaval, you're still here. You're still writing these incredible books. What was it like to make such a large choice like that to leave?

[Heather Thompson Day]

So I am really lucky that my husband, if anybody knows the Enneagram, my husband's an Enneagram. One in the sense that justice for him is like, he can't get over it. It's very, very important. So even if for him, if it meant costing him his job, it was like a no brainer, because justice for him is. What do you mean you guys are. You're not gonna protect my kid? The teacher, when I was complaining about this incident, she told. She told London, oh, well, they're your friends and sometimes friends, you know her. And I just said, no. Like, I've taught. I've taught seminars on what friendship is.

[Jenny Yurtz]

What a simple thing to teach a child. Sometimes friends have you walk into a brick wall. No, this is.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I do not. And I wrote a letter to the school board saying, like, I. This is one of the reasons I really pulled her out is when I saw it was not being remedied at any level. I don't want my kid to grow up to go the rest of her life thinking that's what friendship is. Because it's not. By the way. Friendship is a relationship that is mutually productive and characterized by mutual positive regard. That's the definition of friendship. Words mean things. Friendship is a relationship that is mutually productive. We are making each other better people. And characterized by mutual positive regard. You love me and I love you, and we want to see each other win. That's friendship. It.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yep.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I want my daughter to know that I would rather her have one friend. Right. Than 10 people who are actually hurting her and making her less safe and more insecure. And you know what I mean, Struggling because she thinks that she's trying to force this relationship into friendship. That it's not. They're not even defining the term of what friendship is.

[Jenny Yurtz]

No. And the teacher, what a confusing thing.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Sometimes friends do that. No, that is not mutual positive regard. That's having mean fun at yours.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes. Mean fun. I love that term.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Mean fun. Yeah. That's what's actually happening. Can you remember, back to being 11, what you wanted to write about?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Oh, my goodness. So back then, fiction.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Okay, okay. So it wasn't a book like this.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Not at all.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Isn't it interesting? Isn't that interesting? So at 11, she comes up with this book. This is a book that the whole world needs based off of a topic that was incredibly difficult to walk through.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah. Yeah. Someone just asked me, how did you know that it was, like, emotionally okay for her to, like, go back and tell the story? Like, how did you know she was far enough past it. And I really thought about that. Cause I was like, I don't know. I just. We. I asked her, is this a story that you feel comfortable telling? And her immediate response was because she. It does. Like, when she does interview, she does feel. It makes her sad still to talk about, but she does say, I just want other kids to know that it's. That it wasn't just them. Right. That this is a thing that happens. Because, of course, it feels very isolating and it feels like nobody else understands what I'm going through. It's healthy to know there's other kids who have gone through similar things. And now I get to be a connector.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

And I think it really is bringing up the point that simply standing up from a table and walking away is awful.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Like, I. There would be some people that would be like, oh, it's not big of a deal. But this is what Kim Jong Payne says. He says disregarding someone is a subtle form of disrespecting them and needs to be seen for exactly what it is. Feeling unappreciated can be more damaging than most people realize. And that being friendly to an overlooked person can be a bigger difference to them than we could ever realize.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Never underestimate the power of having just one person in our lives who values us. I mean, you. You're getting at all of these. That's what I'm saying. Like, so this man is. I mean, he was worked with kids. He's, you know, he's older. He's, like, been working with families and therapy and all of this for, like, decades and decades. And you're getting to these key.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Key concepts in a child's book. Can I sit here and giving them the words to say, you know, I was overlooked, I was ignored. And then telling them it matters. And then you're learning, like, how can you get your confidence back and how can you deal with this biblically? And I just think that's one of the most wonderful kids books out there.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Oh, I love you. Thank you so much. We're so proud of it.

[Jenny Yurtz]

We're so proud of it. How's London doing with a book launch?

[Heather Thompson Day]

Is she.

[Jenny Yurtz]

I mean, it's so interesting to think about it through the eyes of A kid.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Did you see her story or did you see. I posted that. So we had her book launch, which was just for our book. Book launch people. Yeah. So there was like 65 people that were a part of the team launching the book. And so when we did the zoom launch party, only one person.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Oh, I did.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I did see only one person, which I was prepared for because I've been in this game a long time. You and I, Jenny, we don't.

[Jenny Yurtz]

I've been. I've been doing signings where no one comes but your family, but for her.

[Heather Thompson Day]

So that was her first taste of it. But it was good because the girl who got on it was just so sweet because the girl was like a 22 year old girl and she got on because she had experienced bullying really bad at a church. Church. And she said that she used to go. She would take her dad's old cell phone, which wasn't even active, but she would take it to the youth group and she would delete contacts so it would look like she was texting or talking to somebody, she said. And I would just sit there by myself because nobody's talked to me. And so she shares this story with London and was just like, I'm just so proud of you and I want you to know, like, I'm 22 and I still remember that feeling. And so it was beautiful that there was only one person. However, it was somebody who understood and was able to speak hope and light and future and promise into London is the right person. The right person.

[Jenny Yurtz]

And what an awful thing. Can we stop letting people bring phones to youth group? I mean, I guess in that place it kind of helped her feel a little bit better. But in general, I do think that that happens too. You feel left out and excluded because everyone is either laughing about the same thing or they're just looking down at their phones and it's harder to find friends to be with. And so like, I guess in that person's case it like helped them to know to have something.

[Heather Thompson Day]

You and I could roll together though, because I was. I did a tr. A group of pastors and one of them was saying like, well, what do I do about the phones? Because they just bring them. So now we just use them as a part of the activity. And I was like, in my classroom there's. We don't do electronics. Because I understand human brains are wired to be in social environments. Like we actually have to. It's a need. It's a biological need. This is true of evolutionary biology and Christianity. You are Wired to exist in relationship with other people. We have got to get FaceTime with people without technological devices. So I agree with you.

[Jenny Yurtz]

And it's like so all of the adults could help with that. Whether you're a church leadership or school leadership, you can help with that. You know, I think that this will help kids as they move through all sorts of real life struggles. There's lots of real life struggles that you deal with as a kid and it's going to help kids to verbalize it and it's going to help them to just have those conversations. I would imagine that this book. Book you are going to get. So I know you already are. But so much feedback on it.

[Heather Thompson Day]

We have. And it's only been a couple days.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Two days.

[Heather Thompson Day]

It's been two days by. By the amount of people that have written.

[Jenny Yurtz]

I'm not because. And I think it will just continue to snowball because it's rampant and there are not really resources for children.

[Heather Thompson Day]

And that's. So I was worried when we did this because I thought ah, do, do this is four or five to eight year olds. I thought do five to eight year olds, do they really experience it in the same way that you know, I was originally picturing doing something for middle grade. Right. For middle school kids. But we've gotten a lot of feedback.

[Jenny Yurtz]

I. Well, I mean, I don't know. I'm sure your mind is already spinning. You're like, well, the next, the next generation is probably that. Right. I mean you. That you then you have it for all of them. The all of the grades and all the ages. But I think you need it early.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah.

[Jenny Yurtz]

You need it young. I mean this is a book I would read all the way through middle school. You're supposed to read picture books throughout their childhood anyway. But you start young because they need to know how to look out for it. And they also then can start building the skills of how to build good friendships young so that there's not like if they already have the skills on how to build friendships and how to look out for it. Maybe they have stronger friendships going into those years when the bullying increases is they're not quite as at risk.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Yeah. We're building the home base like you said earlier.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Yeah. Strengthening the family base camp and building their foundations. Yeah. It's so good. And just a. A beautiful thing about sometimes our hopes are dashed and really dashed both for the child and the parent. You really hope they're going to have a good first day. Off they go. All these hopes and dreams we have for our kids, all the hopes and dreams they have for themselves. And I think we can be shocked how awry that can go. Completely shocked. Our kids are so damaged from being kicked out of church. They're so damaged, they still cry about it. It's been over a year. They talk about the friendships they lost. They talk about that they're struggling with forgiveness. It's a lot these things can really damage. And I think to have a book in your home that helps you walk through the really hard things that kids go through and gives you words to use and conversation starters is very, very, very powerful, especially today, because I think kids walk through really hard things, and it just seems to be getting a little bit worse. So I'm so glad, you know, it's like, in some ways, you're like, I'm so glad God didn't answer your prayer. And he answered it in this way, or, you know, he did answer your prayer. I'm so glad that God answered your prayer in this way.

[Heather Thompson Day]

In this way. Thank you.

[Jenny Yurtz]

This is what's needed.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Needed. Yes.

[Jenny Yurtz]

Needed. So huge congrats. Huge congrats to the both of you. Wrote a book with your daughter. This is just the beginning.

[Heather Thompson Day]

I hope so.

[Jenny Yurtz]

No, it is. It's just the beginning because this is such needed content and so fantastic for family. So honored to have another conversation with you.

[Heather Thompson Day]

Thank you, Jenny. My honor to be here.