PART 1: “Parenting Through Grace, Not Projection”

🎙️ Resilient Faith Podcast Miniseries: Built on the Rock

EPISODE 3, PART 1: “Parenting Through Grace, Not Projection”

Hosted by Carrie Davis | Featuring Michael D. Davis-Thomas

Produced by MDDTSpeaks Ministries Description Parenting is sacred—but it’s also sanctifying. It exposes our deepest wounds, mirrors our unhealed places, and confronts us with the uncomfortable truth: we may be projecting our own pain onto the very people we’re called to protect. In Episode 3, Part 1 of Built on the Rock, Carrie Davis and Michael D. Davis-Thomas open a necessary, raw, and revelatory conversation on what it means to parent through grace—not projection. This episode pulls back the curtain on generational trauma, survival-mode parenting, control disguised as discipline, and the emotional scars left when parents operate from unprocessed pain. Carrie vulnerably shares her own journey as a mother navigating triggers, blended family dynamics, and emotional fatigue, while Michael offers lived experience, biblical insight, and a powerful reminder: “Your child shouldn’t have to heal from the version of you they met when you weren’t healed yet.” Together, they wrestle with the tough questions:

• What do we say to the child inside us who never received grace?
• How do we disciple our children without dominating them?
• What if we’re co-parenting in chaos, but still trying to walk in Christ?

From spiritual insight to practical truth, this episode is not about perfect parenting—it’s about surrendered parenting. It’s a call to lay down ego, learn how God parents us, and begin again, even if we weren’t shown how.

Key Themes & Segment Highlights

🔹 Opening Reflection — “What Broke You?”

Michael and Carrie explore how survival, trauma, and past dysfunction often influence how we show up as parents. They ask listeners to examine: Are you parenting from wisdom… or woundedness?

🔹 Discipline Without Damage

Together with a surprise guest, the hosts unpack the difference between healthy correction and toxic control. They challenge listeners to reject culturally normalized harshness and return to parenting led by grace, not fear.

🔹 Co-Parenting in Chaos

When the family dynamic is fractured, the call to Christlike parenting doesn’t disappear—it deepens. Michael reminds us, “You’re not God—your job is to model Him.” From setting boundaries to releasing bitterness, this section equips those navigating complex co-parenting realities.

Key Scriptures & Reflections

• 📖 Proverbs 22:6 — Align your child to their God-given purpose, not your unresolved expectations.
• 📖 Deuteronomy 6:6–7 — Are you impressing faith… or fear?
• 📖 Colossians 3:21 — Don’t break your child’s spirit in the name of correction. Spiritual & Practical Takeaways 

📝 Journaling Prompts

• What parts of my parenting are shaped by my trauma—not my faith?
• When I discipline, am I correcting… or controlling?
• What would it look like to parent more like God parents me?

🙏🏽 Prayer Focus

• Lord, help me unlearn what no longer honors You.
• Heal the wounded places in me that keep trying to parent from pain.
• Teach me how to love my child as Yours—not my possession.

🪞 Reflection Challenge

• Watch your tone more than your child’s behavior this week.
• Write a letter (you’ll never send) to the person you're co-parenting with—just to release what’s been weighing you down.

Real Talk Quote of the Episode “Your child shouldn’t have to heal from the version of you they met when you weren’t healed yet.”

About the Hosts 

🗣️ Carrie Davis brings wisdom, warmth, and realness as she opens up about the struggle and beauty of parenting in a blended, high-responsibility world.

🗣️ Michael D. Davis-Thomas, Founder of MDDTSpeaks and Host of Resilient Faith, brings years of experience working with youth, deep biblical study, and raw reflections from his own journey through trauma, healing, and redemption.

Listen Now on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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