← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
7.30.25 Washington Wednesday trade deals and peace, Iranian crackdown on Christian converts, and aid for parents in discussing gender and sexuality
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- [00:06]
Lindsay Mast
Good morning. Trade deals, ceasefires and the American electorate.
- [00:10]
Mary Reichert
That's all ahead on Washington Wednesday and our conversation with World Opinion's Hunter Baker. Also today, a world tour special report on life for Christians in Iran. And in a culture full of mixed messages about identity, how do you raise kids who know who they are and whose they are?
- [00:28]
Dr. Kathy Cook
Handle being uncomfortable for a little bit and you most likely will grow out of that if you don't give in and give out.
- [00:35]
Mary Reichert
We have a conversation about that with Dr. Kathy Cook.
- [00:44]
Lindsay Mast
It's Wednesday, July 30th. This is the World and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [00:51]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichert. Good morning.
- [00:55]
Lindsay Mast
Up next, Kent Covington has today's news.
- [01:02]
Kent Covington
Tsunami warning sirens sounding in Japan after a powerful earthquake hit Russia's Far East. Modest tsunami waves of up to 2ft were reported in Japan, but waves of up to 13ft struck Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake also triggered tsunami warnings for Hawaii and the entire west coast of North America. But as of about 3am this morning, no real damaging waves had been reported in any US States. Hawaii Governor Josh Green, so far, so good. We had a couple fender benders on the highway, but that's all an excellent outcome if we don't end up having a serious tsunami like we did in past decades. But authorities urged residents to stay away from the shoreline, warning that the danger could last for more than a day. Air Force One touched down near the nation's capital Tuesday. President Trump returning from a fruitful trip to Scotland, where he secured a new trade deal with the European Union.
- [02:01]
Donald Trump
We just signed a very big deal, as you know, with the European Union, but also with the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was a week before, and it's a very big deal and a great deal for the country.
- [02:14]
Kent Covington
But Democrats in Washington slammed that trade deal with the EU, which will see a 15% tariff on most European imports. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer when you.
- [02:24]
Scott Besant
Raise tariffs, the American families pay for it. $90 billion tax on American families.
- [02:31]
Kent Covington
Numerous countries have also worked out new trade deals with the US Including Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. But to many other countries, the Trump administration has been sending out letters letting each of them know what the new tariff rate will soon be on the products they sell in the US that is, if they do not strike a deal by the Friday deadline, that rate will be set individually between 15 and 50%. And in Sweden, US and Chinese officials met once again Tuesday to talk trade. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant Here you have.
- [03:03]
Scott Besant
The two largest economies in negotiation and as I've said before, and we reiterated to them we don't want to decouple. We just need to de risk with certain strategic industries.
- [03:18]
Kent Covington
Beijing's top trade officials said the two sides have agreed to work toward extending a trade truce that is set to expire in less than two weeks. That would buy more time to try and reach a larger deal. U.S. officials say they did talk about an extension, but nothing's been decided just yet. Besant added that the US Raised its top trade concerns with China once more.
- [03:39]
Scott Besant
We expressed our concern about Chinese overcapacity globally and what that might mean for this year, for the next few years.
- [03:49]
Kent Covington
Washington says China is flooding the market with overproduction of things like electric vehicles, solar products and steel, throwing off the balance of global trade. Beijing is demanding, among other things, looser US export controls on high tech items. Bank pipes heard in the streets of New York City as the remains of NYPD officer Diderol Islam were transported for burial. He was one of four people killed when a gunman opened fire in a Manhattan skyscraper Monday before taking his own life. The officer was off duty at the time, working security. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says the 27 year old suspect, Shane Tamura, left a suicide note suggesting he targeted the building because the NFL's headquarters are located there.
- [04:38]
Mary Reichert
In that note, Mr. Tamura claimed to be suffering from CTE, possibly from playing high school football, and he blamed the NFL. He also writes, study my brain. I'm sorry.
- [04:49]
Kent Covington
CTE is a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports like football. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says investigators believe the gunman wanted to target the NFL's offices but entered the wrong elevator. The FDA is warning parents, school boards and others about a synthetic opioid being sold across the country and things like specialized sodas and gummies, even in products easily available to kids. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makari says he has visited vape shops to see firsthand products containing a substance known as 7oh sold over the counter.
- [05:30]
Scott Besant
I've been surprised that the candies and gummies and drinks and ice cream cones. Here's one drink with 7oh in it. Do we understand what 7oh is?
- [05:41]
Kent Covington
At public health scale, 7oh is a byproduct of the Kratom leaf, but a synthetic version is being added to products. It is already illegal to add the substance to food or supplements under existing FDA rules, but the agency now wants to classify it as a Schedule 1 illicit substance. Extreme heat is scorching the southeastern US breaking at least one record with Tampa international airport hitting 100 degrees for the first time. Peter Mulanax with the National Weather Service says the heat wave is carving a large path from New Orleans on north, even as far north as St. Louis down through northern Florida that would even also end up including places like the Tampa Bay metro and Orlando metro areas. Authorities are urging residents to limit time outside if possible and to stay well hydrated. The heat is expected to let up at least somewhat heading into the weekend. And rain in the forecast today in some parts of the region could provide some welcomed relief. A non profit law firm is asking the U.S. supreme Court to take up the case of a Christian monk who was jailed for silently praying outside of a Michigan abortion facility. World's Christina Grube has more.
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Christina Grube
Matthew Connolly is serving nearly three months in jail on top of a fine. His crime was silently preying on public property outside an abortion facility that bars quote, annoying public behavior. And local authorities said Connally violated that ordinance by kneeling in prayer near the facility. The nonprofit law firm Advocates for Faith and Freedom are now petitioning the Supreme Court to step in. They the firm argues that the ordinance's language, criminalizing unspecified annoying behavior, is unconstitutionally vague. For WORLD I'm Christina Grube.
- [07:33]
Kent Covington
I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, Washington Wednesday with Hunter Baker. Plus, a special report on Christians in Iran. This is the world and everything in it.
- [07:59]
Mary Reichert
It's Wednesday, the 30th of July. This is World Radio and we're so glad you've joined us today. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichert.
- [08:06]
Lindsay Mast
And I'm Lindsay Mast. Time now for Washington Wednesday. President Trump is back in Washington after a long weekend in the UK and.
- [08:16]
Donald Trump
We'Re going to make all of our countries strong and great and really wonderful again. And that's happening and it's happening very fast.
- [08:23]
Lindsay Mast
Back in July, President Trump extended the deadline for new trade deals to avoid higher tariffs. With the August 1 deadline looming, the White House has far to go but has landed deals with major allies, including Japan and the 27 nation bloc of the European Union. Here's Trump announcing the deal with EU President Ursula von der Leyen.
- [08:43]
Scott Besant
Indeed. Basically the European market is open.
- [08:46]
Lindsay Mast
It's 450 million people. So it's a good deal. It's a huge deal.
- [08:54]
Mary Reichert
Joining us now to talk about this and other political stories of the week is Hunter Baker. He's a political philosopher and world opinions contributor and provost at North Greenville University.
- [09:05]
Lindsay Mast
Hunter Good morning.
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Scott Besant
Good morning, Hunter.
- [09:07]
Lindsay Mast
There's a lot to discuss with these trade deals and what they mean for the US and the president. But what stands out most to you?
- [09:15]
Scott Besant
Well, Donald Trump took a huge risk when he came out with his Liberation Day announcement with these just almost crazy seeming tariff levels that he was setting for various nations around the world. I think that some people were bemused by it. I think that some people were freaked out by it. We may all remember that our 401ks plunged there for a while as everyone reacted to the financial uncertainty. But really, the president did not look good in that moment. I think even the people who were his allies in this were kind of shocked by that opening volley that he fired. But now we're a few months on the other side of that, and he is looking pretty good. I mean, you know, he now has major deal with Japan, major deal with Europe, or at least that's final kind of being finalized. That's going to put pressure on others, for example, South Korea, not to get left out in the cold, not to get a worse deal than, say, Japan gets. The simple fact is, is that his strategy is beginning to look a lot less like chaos and a lot more like a success for this presidency.
- [10:37]
Lindsay Mast
I think it's notable that a Wall Street Journal opinions piece said this, and I'm paraphrasing here. Even if you don't approve of Mr. Trump's trade policy, there's something to be learned here. Other presidents have tried to get America's allies to share more of the burden and open up their markets to American goods and haven't gotten anywhere. Now, I don't think it's unfair to say that this does feel different, seeing an American president so active and even dominant in international affairs, not something that happened in the four years prior. So what did the president's successes in the last few weeks say about the capacity still for America's influence on the world stage?
- [11:14]
Scott Besant
Well, the influence is being exerted in a different way. In the past, I think that we acted more like we had to be kind of the benevolent power, stabilizing Asia, stabilizing Europe, making deals that were favorable to them. A lot of that stuff sort of left over from our need to counter the Soviet Union. And now we have an American president who is basically just looking out for American interests in a very straightforward way. And it's the kind of thing that we have seen China do. I mean, China has been flexing its muscles for years, basically saying to people, if you want access to our markets, then you're going to make the following concessions. And Donald Trump, recognizing that the American economy is a behemoth on the world stage, is saying, if you want access to these markets, you're going to make deals that are more favorable for the United States.
- [12:12]
Mary Reichert
Adding on to that, Hunter, another story is that President Trump used trade negotiations to help broker a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. Here's Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
- [12:24]
Anwar Ibrahim
Prime Minister Hun Manet and Acting Prime Minister Phomtan Buchayachai have expressed their positions and willingness to immediate for immediate ceasefire. Immediate ceasefire and return to normalcy. The United States President Donald J. Trump, has been in contact with the leaders of both countries, urging the leaders to find peaceful resolution to the conflict.
- [12:53]
Mary Reichert
Now, this is one of several peace deals that President Trump has helped to broker over both of his terms in office. How central would you say peace is to Trump's legacy?
- [13:04]
Scott Besant
I think it's very big for him. I think that he recognizes, as have other American presidents, that being a peacemaker on the world stage is a key to being remembered well, to being thought of as a great president. You know, you think about Jimmy Carter, his presidency didn't turn out all that well, but people still remember the Camp David Accords as a major achievement for him. And I think that Trump is highly conscious of that. And he's decided to put some of that muscle into the peace process. And very appropriately for someone who leads the way he does by including trade as part of the incentive.
- [13:48]
Lindsay Mast
Well, one area where peace seems impossible is in Gaza. I'm sure you've seen many of the images coming out of Palestinians holding out bowls for food and headlines talking about starvation and famine. Reporters in the UK Asked President Trump if he agrees with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there is no starvation in Gaza.
- [14:07]
Donald Trump
I don't know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because children look very hungry, but we're giving a lot of money and a lot of food.
- [14:15]
Lindsay Mast
But, Hunter, there are reports that images of at least one child portrayed as being a victim of starvation is actually suffering from health issues unrelated to malnutrition. Should knowing details like that change how we view images like those coming out of a war zone?
- [14:30]
Scott Besant
Well, so the first thing to say is that this is a tremendously complex situation. We don't have just sort of two powers that have a disagreement. There's a reason that the Israel Palestine conflict has been enduring for decades upon decades and never seems to be solved. And that's in part because there are many, including Hamas, who say Israel has no right to exist, that it must be removed from the map so you don't have just ordinary negotiations with someone who takes that kind of a position. So Israel can't just kind of let their guard down and deal in a more reasonable manner. There's a reason that they're so vigilant, but that complicates these kinds of things where they are reluctant to let others bring in supplies, they are reluctant for anything to happen that Hamas might be able to abuse or use against them, and that badly exacerbates the humanitarian situation. And, yes, what you've pointed out, different images that are used. There's been, you know, kind of a secondary war fought on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube of people trying to influence the way people think about this conflict. And we are all going to have to become a lot more savvy and careful, and journalists are gonna have to do a tremendous job to help us all to understand what's really going on.
- [16:02]
Mary Reichert
Well, before we started to record, you mentioned an article about a different kind of tribalism in the U.S. tell us about that and how President Trump has influenced the political landscape.
- [16:14]
Scott Besant
Yeah. So it's really interesting. There's a sort of a new political tribe study that's been done by Echelon Insights. And while we tend to think of Americans as kind of left and right or extreme left and extreme right, they have identified something more like 10 to 12 different tribes of people in the United States and sort of emphasizing what their different beliefs are. But the thing that we sort of having kind of a coherence around something kind of like fiscal liberalism and social conservatism. Now, when I say social conservative, don't think pro life, because we're not exactly winning there, but we're winning in other ways. And Americans are kind of starting to go for this thing, maybe influenced by Donald Trump a little bit. That is big government combined with more of a social conservatism. In other words, sort of resisting the progressive vanguard with things like human sexuality and having male athletes in female sports and things like that. But it's just a tremendous study that sort of gives you a sense of how complex the American political landscape has become.
- [17:30]
Lindsay Mast
Is there anything else you can extrapolate or predict from that about the future of the political gridlock we've seen over the past several years?
- [17:38]
Scott Besant
I think there's a couple of things. I think that we are. We are really kind of seeing the final unraveling of the Cold War. I think that the Cold War set our political camps for a long time. And slowly but surely the impact of having that one major enemy on American politics has kind of washed away. And now we have different things that we're really focused on, and that's what we're starting to see.
- [18:06]
Mary Reichert
And just wrapping up. Hunter, is there anything else that you're watching as we head into August?
- [18:11]
Scott Besant
Yeah, the big thing I would say is that everybody is focused on the midterms, but they need to remember that the midterms are not until 2026. So there's a long way to go. Donald Trump is doing better in opinion polls than he did in his first term. And I suspect that if he continues to make good trade deals, if he has any success in rolling back deficits, and if we continue to have a strong economy, then he may have a chance of doing better in the midterms than a president has done in a long time. We'll see.
- [18:48]
Lindsay Mast
Hunter Baker is provost of North Greenville University and writes on politics and culture for World Opinions. Hunter, thanks so much for your time.
- [18:55]
Scott Besant
Thank you.
- [19:04]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from Water's Edge Kingdom Investments, personal investments that build churches 5.05% APY on a three month term. Watersedge.com invest from Ambassadors impact Network, providing faith driven entrepreneurs the opportunity to apply for funding that aligns with their values. More at Ambassadors Investors. And From Nicaea Conference 2025, a historic gathering of church leaders from every inhabited continent. More@nicaeaconference.com.
- [19:54]
Lindsay Mast
Well, everybody likes a love story, right? Well, this fall, thousands of hairy eight legged romantics will leave their burrows in search of a mate. Yeah, tarantulas. You might spot them across the southwest. And Mary, even in your state. Turns out the Texas brown tarantula likes that Missouri hospitality.
- [20:12]
Mary Reichert
Okay, I'm turning that off right now.
- [20:14]
Lindsay Mast
Probably wise. Experts say they are gentle and shy. Really not that into you. I'll take their word for it unless you are a female tarantula. So if one wanders into your vicinity, just give it a nudge and wish it well on its dating journey.
- [20:29]
Mary Reichert
Love is a many legged thing or something like that.
- [20:33]
Lindsay Mast
It's the world and everything in it. Coming up next on THE World and Everything In It. Christians in Iran. Yesterday we reported on Iranian Christians seeking asylum in the US but what about those still inside the repressive nation?
- [20:56]
Mary Reichert
Recent reports suggest last month's US Strike against Iran's nuclear sites only destroyed one of the three targets. Even so, Iranian leaders have escalated their crackdown not just on dissent, but on religious minorities and their own people. World's global desk chief Jennielynn Schmidt has today's World tour special report.
- [21:18]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
In the days immediately following US strikes, nearly 1,000 people were arrested and charged with spying for Israel. With little to no evidence the regime is trying to squelch any opposition momentum created by the attacks. At the same time, it wants to show it has uncovered an Israeli spy network.
- [21:38]
Anwar Ibrahim
It seems like they're trying to develop very horrible cases for these protesters.
- [21:41]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Some of those who've gone missing or who have been arrested since June are human rights activists, but most are average citizens. Jonathan Saya is an Iran expert at the foundation for Defense of Democracies.
- [21:54]
Anwar Ibrahim
They may have been following a social media account related to an Israeli or they may have posted something on social media saying this is not our war, this is the Islamic Republic versus Israel's war. We don't want to be complicated in this.
- [22:06]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Many of the people arrested are members of religious minorities, particularly Christians and members of the Baha' I faith. But new in this wave of repressions is a crackdown on Iran's Jewish community, which numbers about 15,000.
- [22:20]
Anwar Ibrahim
So the Islamic Republic for the longest time has argued that they're not anti Semitic, they're anti Israel. They don't have a problem with Jews, quote, unquote, but they have a problem with Israeli Zionism. But now this new wave of crackdown shows that of course they cannot distinguish between the two.
- [22:33]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
People have been arrested for as little as making a phone call to a relative in Israel. Most of the Christians arrested are new converts to the faith. Iran distinguishes between historic Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities and people who convert to Christianity from Islam.
- [22:51]
Anwar Ibrahim
So the latter is perhaps the most persecuted because according to the Islamic Republic's penal code that is very clearly punishable by death and they do not hesitate to execute Christian converts and people who are actually converting Christians as well.
- [23:06]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
I corresponded with one Iranian pastor who I'll call Arash Ariyah. He now lives in a neighboring country and continues to shepherd his flock inside Iran. Here is more from a translated message to world this is not his voice.
- [23:22]
Anwar Ibrahim
Since the war, persecution against Christian believers has increased terribly. They arrest them under the pretense of espionage. During this time many of our friends have been arrested in different cities and sadly no one knows anything about their condition.
- [23:38]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Many political prisoners, including Christians who were held in even prison, were transferred elsewhere after Israeli airstrikes damaged it last month. Haida Nayaflou is a 43 year old mother of two imprisoned in Karchak prison for Christian activities. In this recorded phone call, Naya Flew says 62 women prisoners from Avin were transferred to Karchak. Where they lack clean water, food and sanitation, many prisoners are still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, the regime is ramping up its already high execution rate. On July 17, the head of the Iranian judiciary announced officials will expedite trials for those arrested for espionage since the war. The government crackdowns highlight the evil of the regime.
- [24:32]
Jonathan Saya
They continue to execute and imprison countless innocent Persians. And as usual, no one inside the country can do anything to stop it.
- [24:40]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Leila is a Christian in Iran who runs an online ministry. She gets messages every day with questions about the Gospel and even more since the war. She says people are hungry for the truth and many are coming to Christ. Layla isn't her real name. To further guard her identity, we asked someone else to read her message for us.
- [25:02]
Jonathan Saya
Help must come from outside Iran because we are unarmed. The regime has every tool and weapon they need to crush the people. People are still hoping that Israel will resume its attacks against the regime. The authorities are arresting innocent people and accusing them of being agents of Mossad. While they are unable to arrest the real agents.
- [25:23]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Opposition simmers just below the surface. Four weeks ago, government forces shot two men at a checkpoint, Mehdi Abayi and Alireza Karbazi. At their funeral on July 3, mourners marched and chanted slogans. They're saying, down with the oppressor and the enemy is right here. They lie when they say it's America. Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi condemned the murders and called for Iranians to rise in protest against the regime. Pahlavi is the son of the shah, deposed in 1979. He leads an Iranian opposition movement from exile, and many think he is the only viable option to lead a transitional government if and when the Islamic regime collapses. Jonathan Saya, Once again, if you say.
- [26:18]
Anwar Ibrahim
Anything remotely in support of whether a potential constitutional monarchy or true regime change, immediately get executed. No trial, nothing. So for us to expect such a regime to allow some sort of a, quote, unquote, organic, homegrown opposition to take place, that's just. It's just not practical. It's not feasible.
- [26:36]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Pahlavi has spent most of his life in Western democracies and says he doesn't want to be a monarch.
- [26:42]
Anwar Ibrahim
But you need a safe transition phase to get there, to prevent chaos. And Pahlavi is well equipped to lead that transition at least.
- [26:50]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Iran's population of 90 million is young. 60% of Iranians are under 30. They have access to the Internet, and they know about the outside world. They also have a positive view of the Pahlavi dynasty and the freedoms of the past. How much pressure the international community is willing to put on Iran's regime will will determine what they do next.
- [27:13]
Anwar Ibrahim
The main leverage against the regime continues to be the Iranian people. Of course, with sanctions and maximum pressure, you can push this regime closer and closer to its collapse.
- [27:23]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Meanwhile, Christians pray and long for freedom.
- [27:27]
Jonathan Saya
I truly hope that President Trump and his team won't have to learn this lesson the hard way, but will instead come to their senses and stop trying to be nice to these terrorists. This regime is evil and as long as it remains in power, it will continue to commit evil not only against Persians, but also against the entire non Muslim world.
- [27:49]
Jenny Lynn Schmidt
Reporting for World Tour Special Report, I'm Jenny Lynn Schmidt.
- [28:13]
Lindsay Mast
Today is Wednesday, July 30th. Thank you for turning to world radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [28:20]
Mary Reichert
And I'm Mary Reichard. Coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it, Gender, kids, and a culture of confusion. Many parents see the necessity of talking to their kids about gender, but wonder how to do it with truth, love and with confidence.
- [28:35]
Lindsay Mast
Our guest today says parents have more influence than they think. Kathy Cook holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and is an expert in child development and biblical parenting. She's co authored a new book with Jeff Myers titled Raising Gender Confident Helping Kids Embrace Their God Given Design. She's known to many as Dr. Kathy and that's how I address her in our conversation. Dr. Kathy, I want to ask, I think it's appropriate because we are on a podcast. I found your story about your voice really compelling in the book. Could you tell the listeners a little bit about what you feel like your experience would have been like were you a child now?
- [29:14]
Dr. Kathy Cook
Yes. Thanks for asking. The a reason I go by Dr. Kathy and I'm grateful it's a feminine name. I am fully female. I was born, you know, a woman, born a girl, born a woman. And I still am. And yet I'm called sir a lot. My voice is low. Now, some people say it's not that low, but it is low. And Lindsay, one of the things that I know to be true is that if I was young today, being called sir because of my low voice, I might wonder if my voice was right and everything else was wrong. And then I begin to question and because our culture is loud and I think the liar is loud, there's any number of places where I could have found answers and I might have been affirmed. Oh yeah, just go be a man. Clearly God wanted you to be a man and what's very compelling, I think, about my voice is I've been told by many people I have a perfect radio voice, and my voice is recognizable. And so I have compassion. But my story is that I know my creator is a perfect creator. I know my creator is intentional, strategic, loving, and personally invested in us. He doesn't just throw us together. He thinks us into created beings. And he wanted my voice to be this voice. And when we know, in the knowing of our knowing, we've been fearfully and wonderfully created, and we can stand in the authority of God's intent for us, it changes everything. Handle being uncomfortable for a little bit, and you most likely will grow out of that if you don't give in and give up.
- [30:42]
Lindsay Mast
You talk in the book about five core needs you've identified that children have when developing identity. Can you briefly walk us through those needs and maybe give us an example of what it looks like when a parent either meets or misses one of them?
- [30:56]
Dr. Kathy Cook
Our first need is for security. Who can I trust? So we need to be available, responsible, trustworthy. We need to apologize, ask to be forgiven, answer their questions, work with them to get answers. If we don't have answers, and it's okay to not have answers. You know, culture's chaotic, and these are new ideas. So security is first, and it's found in people, not in our own selves. And then identity is next. Who am I? If children don't know where they can turn when they have questions, then they will struggle with who they are. So identity is who am I? Not who was I? And again, being available, answering their questions, making sure that they know who they are intellectually, socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually. And we would go on record to say that your spiritual identity is first and foremost and will rule you if you allow it to. So I'm created in Christ. I'm complete in Christ. I was created male and female in the image of God, according to Genesis 1:27. Let's teach our children that. Chosen, adopted, beloved, all those kinds of things. They need to know who God says they are so that they can hear the liar in social media, in the lyrics they listen to, et cetera. Then we get to belonging. Who wants me? If I have security in people and I know who I am, then I will know who wants me. One of the reasons that young people are choosing to attempt to change their gender is that they are isolated. They don't feel like they've got good, strong, deep connections. And so they're looking for intimacy. And we need to show Them. God, of course, wants them for who they are. And then we need to want them as well. Too many kids say to me, well, my parents love me. They have to. I wish they liked me. I wish my dad said, hey, do you want to throw the ball around? I'm always the one having to suggest hanging out with my dad so we can get better, I think, at helping them with a solid belonging at home and at church and in a soccer team and all those kinds of things. Then we get to purpose. Why am I alive? Well, we're alive to put God's goodness on display. We're alive to become who he created us to be. We're alive to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. And we do those things when we believe in the believing of our believing that we are who we are supposed to be. And that comes again from security. Who am I listening to? Identity. Do I want to be who God created me to be? The people I hang out with? And then we have purpose and the lack of purpose. Leading cause of suicide. So giving your kids a vision for their tomorrows is critically important. And you know, because you're a boy, you'll be able to do this. Or because, like, I'm also tall and so people can see me from the back of the room. And those are the kinds of things that we can help our kids understand. And if you live long enough, you'll figure it out. And then we get to competence. What do I do well? And the cry of every person is to be able to do things well. And Lindsay, it only happens if the first four are met in healthy ways. If we don't have security, identity, belonging and purpose, we won't know what we could do well, and we won't think there's any reason to do anything well. So apathy, satisfaction with average young people who just isolate on their devices and hang out in their room alone in the dark. Those are children without competence because they don't think they need any. But when you give them people to serve and a purpose to fulfill, then they're going to want competence. And when you help them discover their gifting, like you're a creative writer and you're a fast runner and you love the elderly. Well, when you give them a vision for competence, you give them a vision for purpose. And now they want to live long and be strong and figure out how life works. So all, all five of those matter. It's not as complex as it may sound. We just have to pay attention.
- [34:24]
Lindsay Mast
Dr. Cathy, if you could encourage every parent listening with just one step to start with. Say, this coming week. What would it be?
- [34:32]
Dr. Kathy Cook
Wow. Help your children handle being uncomfortable. Help them learn that being uncomfortable in a season is reality. You can't run from it. You can't hide from it. You live through it and walk through it. We tell the story in the book of a girl with braces and glasses and hair she didn't like and someone said to her, one day your braces will come off, one day you could get contacts and one day you will figure out how to handle your hair. And right now you're learning your character and can you handle this well and walk through this well and trust us to guide you. So let's help kids handle being uncomfortable and let's be available to their concerns and let's help them acknowledge when they're improving, affirm them and teach them that it'll be better tomorrow.
- [35:20]
Lindsay Mast
Kathy Cook holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and is the co author of a new book with Jeff Myers. It's titled Raising Gender Confident Helping Kids Embrace Their God Given Design. This was an edited version of a longer conversation. We will be airing that this weekend on the World and Everything in it feed wherever you get your podcasts.
- [35:46]
Mary Reichert
Tomorrow. Abortion advocates claim that pro life state laws are triggering a health care exodus. Is it true? We'll break it down and new technology solving old crimes. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichert.
- [36:00]
Lindsay Mast
And I'm Lindsay Mast. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World Mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The psalmist writes, vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me. Test my heart and my mind, for your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. Verses 1 through 3 of Psalm chapter 26 go now in grace and peace.