April 28, 2025 • 9 mins
Laine Lawson Craft is the mother of three former prodigals. She shares the biblical strategies that helped her win the spiritual battle for her children. In her powerful new book Warfare Parenting: A Daily Battle Plan to Fight for Your Child, Laine shares the battle-tested system that ultimately rescued her children from the depths of despair. With hope-filled insights, biblical encouragement, and transformative prayers, she shares about the restoration of her family and how you can do the same. CLICK HERE to learn more.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:03):
Laine Larson Craft is the author of a book called
Warfare Parenting A Daily Battle Plan to Fight for Your Child.
She's a mom of three former prodigals, and she shares
biblical strategies that helped her win the spiritual battle for
her children. And there is a battle that's raging right now. Laine,
thank you for so much for joining us on mornings
with Tom and Tommy.
S2 (00:23):
Good morning, and thank you so much for having me
and and touching on this very urgent message for parents today.
S1 (00:30):
Yeah. I think sometimes we default to just practical things
that we need to do. How do I create boundaries?
How do I make sure that I hold people accountable?
All of the tangible things that we need to do
as a parent. But as followers of Christ, there is
an overarching umbrella, a spiritual battle that's raging over our
children each and every day.
S2 (00:49):
Absolutely. But I don't think we really realize it until
the battle begins. You know, we bring our kids home
after we have them in the hospital or adopt them.
And and we think, oh, they're going to be a doctor,
a lawyer, a pastor. We have all these dreams and expectations.
And then we, you know, we have this world that
we live in, that media and our culture really does
(01:12):
not align with these biblical principles. And so you really
as a parent and of course, I was with three,
I had 3 in 3 years, uh, when I started
getting these teenagers, I realized, man, I'm not fighting with
this rebellious teen. I'm fighting with this enemy that's out
to seek, kill and destroy them.
S1 (01:32):
Yeah. You're hearing from Elaine Lawson craft. Elaine, thank you
so much for just pointing that in there, because sometimes
as a parent, you want to tear your hair out
because you see the manifestation of what's going on and
you want to go and take care of it from
a physical point of view as well. But, um, you
had 3 in 3 years. Uh, just bless you, my child.
Well done. But three prodigals, um, that you had to
(01:55):
pray over. Just share a little bit of your story
and your journey.
S2 (02:00):
Sure. And listen, two of the three were self-destructive choices. Alcohol.
Those kind of things that were very incongruent into what
we hoped and dreamed for them. And of course, God's plan.
You know, they were not in God's plan. And and
it was it was really tough. My eldest was 15 years.
He took the longest to turn his life around, and
(02:21):
Lawson was about six years. And Kaylee, I love to
share her testimony. I didn't realize at that point how
powerful it would be, but she, about 17 or 18,
said that to a friend. She confessed to a friend
after a Bible study hey, listen, bawling, crying, saying, I
hear voices in my head that say life would be
(02:42):
better without me in it. I just cannot believe that.
But so thank God. Her friend grabbed her hands and
they began to pray. And Kaylee said there was a
presence of God because her tears dried up and there
was a warmth from head to toe. And from that
point on, she helped others until this day, many years later,
is helping others. And, you know, anxiety and depression is
(03:04):
really high today.
S1 (03:06):
Elaine Lawson Kraft is here with us, and she has
written a resources called Warfare Parenting A Daily Battle Plan
to Fight for Your Child. Elaine, you shared a little
bit about the journey of your family and your kids.
You're realizing that you had to take this battle up
a notch. Uh, more of a spiritual battle. And just
to share a little bit about why you realize that
(03:27):
that was the essential key to victory in this area
in parenting.
S2 (03:31):
Well, yeah, I think really, it came side by side.
I was in the secular world for most of my
life with the advertising agency, but God came in and
resurrected my dead marriage. And I mentioned that because once
that happened, the Lord asked me to be a messenger
of hope. From that point on. So I felt like, Tom,
I was at the pinnacle of what God had handed
(03:53):
me to be. I felt like I was fully in
my purpose. There was a magazine in every bookstore in
America and Canada that I published that was faith based
with Dolly Parton and Kathie Lee Gifford and all these
famous people. And yet my three prodigals were drowning in
the lure of the darkness of the world. So when
I realized that I'm not in battle with them, but
I was in battle with the enemy, I upped my
(04:16):
prayer game. And what I mean by that. No more. Oh, father. This,
you know, be with them. It was. I started pleading
the blood of Jesus. I'm just going to tell you,
I in the parents battle, plan Warfare Strategies to Win
Back Your Prodigal, which was the 2023 Non-fiction book of
the year. I go into detail about how I would,
in my mind, take a paintbrush and dip it at
(04:39):
at the at the cross and get Jesus blood. And
I would paint that cross on the back of all
three of my prodigals and say, father, in the name
of Jesus and the blood of Christ, I would ask
first to protect them. Father, please protect them. Because, Tom,
I found out boys particularly do not get their frontal lobe,
(05:00):
which is the good decision place of your brain until
they're 25. So here they were, you know, 15, 17, 19, 21,
flipping cars under alcohol, doing cocaine, you know, doing these things.
And so I would pray, father, protect them until they
get to 25. And then I ask for his wisdom
(05:20):
to they would that he would touch them with his wisdom,
because I knew if if he would touch them with
their with his wisdom, they would turn their lives around.
So again, what happened was I began to pray in
a way I never had, and it really was with
the blood of Christ, because I know that with the
blood of Christ all things are possible.
S1 (05:41):
Yeah, the the blood that covers all of our sins,
but also it is available for it is healing as well.
It is truly beautiful when you pray that kind of
a prayer instead of just God bless Johnny. God bless Janie.
It's going to battle for them. You're still praying blessing
over them, but it is a it's more of a
frontal attack against the enemy rather than a defensive posture.
(06:04):
Because if you take a look at our armor of God,
it's all frontal, right? We got to be moving forward
in this battle if we're going to have success at all.
And I love that you say that you came to
Faith a little bit later and you just had a
regular prayer life. So it's not like you have spent
like 30 years really preparing for this moment to have prodigals.
We're just regular people praying the blood of Christ over people.
(06:27):
So for me, that gives hope.
S2 (06:30):
Well, yeah. And also it should give everyone hope and
break them from shame. Listen, I mean, here I was
literally on a national platform, going everywhere with the most
famous people in our country and everywhere else, you know, decorating, decorating,
the power of God and miracle signs and wonders. And
yet my own three kids were in the pit, so
(06:52):
I hope that breaks free. Some people that listen, that
just shows you and indicates the war level that our
children are under in this world we're in today.
S1 (07:02):
Maybe you've got a prodigal in your life, maybe you
have more than one and you're feeling defeated, maybe covered
in shame because of this, and you really don't know
what to do. You've tried confronting and you've done the
physical confrontation, but you need to realize that it's not
just this confrontation between the two of you. There's a
spiritual battle that's raging right now. Lane loss and craft
(07:25):
is with us. And she's written a resource called Warfare
Parenting A Daily Battle Plan to Fight for Your child. And, Lane,
you've gone through this three times. Three different prodigals in
your life, three children, three years, all on their own journeys.
But you began to pray, and you've been able to
pray the blood of Jesus over them and watch Jesus
move on their behalf. And so somebody's listening right now.
(07:47):
They don't even know where to start. What is Um,
one thing they can do a starting place for somebody
who's desperate.
S2 (07:54):
Yes. Well, I would first say I get it. I
get where you are. Again, it wasn't 15 weeks, 15 months,
15 years. I waited for my child that was doing
cocaine and all kinds of terrible things, uh, to turn
his life around. So I want to tell you, I
validate what you're in and. And listen, I know you're
weary and you're tired. And so the biggest thing I
(08:14):
would tell you is run to God. Isn't it funny
in life when things get messed up, chaotic and not, uh,
where you feel like you're in control, you run from God.
So the first thing I would do is run to God.
And that's where these resources come in that I did
the parents battle plan Warfare Strategies to Win Back your
prodigal was literally a real life step by step. What
(08:36):
we can do, what are the strategies? How can we
build better boundaries as Christian parents? How can we not
enable them? There's so many things. But most importantly was
this warfare parenting time. Tom, because I know personally when
you're in the battle, you get tired, you get disappointed
and discouraged. And what's great about it is it gives
(08:57):
you a scripture, a devotion, and a prayer. So it
kind of goes back to what I'm saying. It gives
you a place to start with God in the battle
if you haven't been doing it in this way, adding
that spiritual element which really and truly brings out the
windows of heaven to you and your children and your
prodigals and your family. So, um, that's what I would say.
(09:21):
Run to God, get these books, man. We need to
encourage each other and build a community. And listen, I
have tons of free resources at Lane Loss and craft.com.
You can read the first ten devotions free. You can
read the first chapter free and the Parents Battle plan.
So many other things because I know firsthand how it is.
(09:42):
And I want to equip you and empower you and
give you the authority to bring your prodigal home.
Laine Larson Craft is the author of a book called
Warfare Parenting A Daily Battle Plan to Fight for Your Child.
She's a mom of three former prodigals, and she shares
biblical strategies that helped her win the spiritual battle for
her children. And there is a battle that's raging right now. Laine,
thank you for so much for joining us on mornings
with Tom and Tommy.
S2 (00:23):
Good morning, and thank you so much for having me
and and touching on this very urgent message for parents today.
S1 (00:30):
Yeah. I think sometimes we default to just practical things
that we need to do. How do I create boundaries?
How do I make sure that I hold people accountable?
All of the tangible things that we need to do
as a parent. But as followers of Christ, there is
an overarching umbrella, a spiritual battle that's raging over our
children each and every day.
S2 (00:49):
Absolutely. But I don't think we really realize it until
the battle begins. You know, we bring our kids home
after we have them in the hospital or adopt them.
And and we think, oh, they're going to be a doctor,
a lawyer, a pastor. We have all these dreams and expectations.
And then we, you know, we have this world that
we live in, that media and our culture really does
(01:12):
not align with these biblical principles. And so you really
as a parent and of course, I was with three,
I had 3 in 3 years, uh, when I started
getting these teenagers, I realized, man, I'm not fighting with
this rebellious teen. I'm fighting with this enemy that's out
to seek, kill and destroy them.
S1 (01:32):
Yeah. You're hearing from Elaine Lawson craft. Elaine, thank you
so much for just pointing that in there, because sometimes
as a parent, you want to tear your hair out
because you see the manifestation of what's going on and
you want to go and take care of it from
a physical point of view as well. But, um, you
had 3 in 3 years. Uh, just bless you, my child.
Well done. But three prodigals, um, that you had to
(01:55):
pray over. Just share a little bit of your story
and your journey.
S2 (02:00):
Sure. And listen, two of the three were self-destructive choices. Alcohol.
Those kind of things that were very incongruent into what
we hoped and dreamed for them. And of course, God's plan.
You know, they were not in God's plan. And and
it was it was really tough. My eldest was 15 years.
He took the longest to turn his life around, and
(02:21):
Lawson was about six years. And Kaylee, I love to
share her testimony. I didn't realize at that point how
powerful it would be, but she, about 17 or 18,
said that to a friend. She confessed to a friend
after a Bible study hey, listen, bawling, crying, saying, I
hear voices in my head that say life would be
(02:42):
better without me in it. I just cannot believe that.
But so thank God. Her friend grabbed her hands and
they began to pray. And Kaylee said there was a
presence of God because her tears dried up and there
was a warmth from head to toe. And from that
point on, she helped others until this day, many years later,
is helping others. And, you know, anxiety and depression is
(03:04):
really high today.
S1 (03:06):
Elaine Lawson Kraft is here with us, and she has
written a resources called Warfare Parenting A Daily Battle Plan
to Fight for Your Child. Elaine, you shared a little
bit about the journey of your family and your kids.
You're realizing that you had to take this battle up
a notch. Uh, more of a spiritual battle. And just
to share a little bit about why you realize that
(03:27):
that was the essential key to victory in this area
in parenting.
S2 (03:31):
Well, yeah, I think really, it came side by side.
I was in the secular world for most of my
life with the advertising agency, but God came in and
resurrected my dead marriage. And I mentioned that because once
that happened, the Lord asked me to be a messenger
of hope. From that point on. So I felt like, Tom,
I was at the pinnacle of what God had handed
(03:53):
me to be. I felt like I was fully in
my purpose. There was a magazine in every bookstore in
America and Canada that I published that was faith based
with Dolly Parton and Kathie Lee Gifford and all these
famous people. And yet my three prodigals were drowning in
the lure of the darkness of the world. So when
I realized that I'm not in battle with them, but
I was in battle with the enemy, I upped my
(04:16):
prayer game. And what I mean by that. No more. Oh, father. This,
you know, be with them. It was. I started pleading
the blood of Jesus. I'm just going to tell you,
I in the parents battle, plan Warfare Strategies to Win
Back Your Prodigal, which was the 2023 Non-fiction book of
the year. I go into detail about how I would,
in my mind, take a paintbrush and dip it at
(04:39):
at the at the cross and get Jesus blood. And
I would paint that cross on the back of all
three of my prodigals and say, father, in the name
of Jesus and the blood of Christ, I would ask
first to protect them. Father, please protect them. Because, Tom,
I found out boys particularly do not get their frontal lobe,
(05:00):
which is the good decision place of your brain until
they're 25. So here they were, you know, 15, 17, 19, 21,
flipping cars under alcohol, doing cocaine, you know, doing these things.
And so I would pray, father, protect them until they
get to 25. And then I ask for his wisdom
(05:20):
to they would that he would touch them with his wisdom,
because I knew if if he would touch them with
their with his wisdom, they would turn their lives around.
So again, what happened was I began to pray in
a way I never had, and it really was with
the blood of Christ, because I know that with the
blood of Christ all things are possible.
S1 (05:41):
Yeah, the the blood that covers all of our sins,
but also it is available for it is healing as well.
It is truly beautiful when you pray that kind of
a prayer instead of just God bless Johnny. God bless Janie.
It's going to battle for them. You're still praying blessing
over them, but it is a it's more of a
frontal attack against the enemy rather than a defensive posture.
(06:04):
Because if you take a look at our armor of God,
it's all frontal, right? We got to be moving forward
in this battle if we're going to have success at all.
And I love that you say that you came to
Faith a little bit later and you just had a
regular prayer life. So it's not like you have spent
like 30 years really preparing for this moment to have prodigals.
We're just regular people praying the blood of Christ over people.
(06:27):
So for me, that gives hope.
S2 (06:30):
Well, yeah. And also it should give everyone hope and
break them from shame. Listen, I mean, here I was
literally on a national platform, going everywhere with the most
famous people in our country and everywhere else, you know, decorating, decorating,
the power of God and miracle signs and wonders. And
yet my own three kids were in the pit, so
(06:52):
I hope that breaks free. Some people that listen, that
just shows you and indicates the war level that our
children are under in this world we're in today.
S1 (07:02):
Maybe you've got a prodigal in your life, maybe you
have more than one and you're feeling defeated, maybe covered
in shame because of this, and you really don't know
what to do. You've tried confronting and you've done the
physical confrontation, but you need to realize that it's not
just this confrontation between the two of you. There's a
spiritual battle that's raging right now. Lane loss and craft
(07:25):
is with us. And she's written a resource called Warfare
Parenting A Daily Battle Plan to Fight for Your child. And, Lane,
you've gone through this three times. Three different prodigals in
your life, three children, three years, all on their own journeys.
But you began to pray, and you've been able to
pray the blood of Jesus over them and watch Jesus
move on their behalf. And so somebody's listening right now.
(07:47):
They don't even know where to start. What is Um,
one thing they can do a starting place for somebody
who's desperate.
S2 (07:54):
Yes. Well, I would first say I get it. I
get where you are. Again, it wasn't 15 weeks, 15 months,
15 years. I waited for my child that was doing
cocaine and all kinds of terrible things, uh, to turn
his life around. So I want to tell you, I
validate what you're in and. And listen, I know you're
weary and you're tired. And so the biggest thing I
(08:14):
would tell you is run to God. Isn't it funny
in life when things get messed up, chaotic and not, uh,
where you feel like you're in control, you run from God.
So the first thing I would do is run to God.
And that's where these resources come in that I did
the parents battle plan Warfare Strategies to Win Back your
prodigal was literally a real life step by step. What
(08:36):
we can do, what are the strategies? How can we
build better boundaries as Christian parents? How can we not
enable them? There's so many things. But most importantly was
this warfare parenting time. Tom, because I know personally when
you're in the battle, you get tired, you get disappointed
and discouraged. And what's great about it is it gives
(08:57):
you a scripture, a devotion, and a prayer. So it
kind of goes back to what I'm saying. It gives
you a place to start with God in the battle
if you haven't been doing it in this way, adding
that spiritual element which really and truly brings out the
windows of heaven to you and your children and your
prodigals and your family. So, um, that's what I would say.
(09:21):
Run to God, get these books, man. We need to
encourage each other and build a community. And listen, I
have tons of free resources at Lane Loss and craft.com.
You can read the first ten devotions free. You can
read the first chapter free and the Parents Battle plan.
So many other things because I know firsthand how it is.
(09:42):
And I want to equip you and empower you and
give you the authority to bring your prodigal home.
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