At the end of 2020, coming out of the Year of Crazy, we stepped into a small adventure that became JUST ASK YOUR MOM. As we’ve mentioned on the pod before, my (Bonnie’s) daughter at the time had been listening to some mom-podcasts and suggested that we probably had some helpful things to say, with a particular worldview. Had we ever considered doing a podcast?
Well, no. No we hadn’t. But that day, at the kitchen counter, we fired off a whole page of topics we could cover and even spontaneously came up with our intro (We’re 2 Southern moms…). Make a website, find a hosting platform, get a logo and some snazzy intro music and badda-bing! Just Ask Your Mom was born. (It was midwifery…lots of helpers.)
Since the start of 2021, when we launched the podcast, we’ve aired 250+ episodes, one each Monday for five years. Many of those were the two of us 50-something been-there, done-that empty nest moms giving our two cents (nickel’s worth?) on raising kids, marriage, and topics that meant something to us.
We also had the privilege of talking to our guests, who gave up their time to share their experiences and wisdom, often their very personal tragedies and struggles, to encourage someone else who might be listening and thinking “me, too.”
One very cool thing behind the scenes of a podcast is that we get the stats of episodes, so we know where it’s been heard. It didn’t take long before –with the magic of the internet—JAM had been heard in all 50 states and over 90 countries. (!!!!)
As 2025 is coming to a close, we’re reflecting back on the past five years, top episodes and our favorite parts. Like one of those Year-End Recaps, a Spotify Wrapped for JAM.
If you’ve missed any of these, maybe they’ll spark your interest and you can go back in the show and hit them.
Starting at the beginning, top episodes (determined by listeners/downloads) for 2021were:
Sex Talk, #boymom, #What’s Up with the Mommy Juice, and When Your Baby Has a Baby.
Our top listener episodes are not always OUR top episodes…it’s surprising what gets picked up sometimes.
BONNIE: My personal favs in 2021 were our very first episode (when everything’s not ok) b/c we were setting the stage/tone for the whole shebang. We wanted to be encouraging and real and honest about this motherhood gig, and I think that episode did it. It can be lonely and hard and we have to be honest with ourselves and our spouses about that so we aren’t just left flailing and struggling in the pit.
Also loved our conversation with Katie Frazier about struggling with Infertility (1:15). She was so honest & open in that pod & it really taught me a lot about the issue itself and how it hits people who’re dealing with it. Update: five years later, after over a decade of this reality & adopting their sweet daughter, selling off their crib, they’re expecting a baby in a few months.
And the Mommy Juice episode with Samantha Perkins. I appreciated her frankness about a subject that seemed really taboo. She wrote the book ALIVE AF & has since gone on to be a speaker & coach to others.
RENEE: As the editor of the recordings, I can say that one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of the launch of JAM is how we sounded like we were recording inside of a tin can! Yikes! We really embodied the saying Better Done Than Perfect.
But seriously, the first episode is also what came to my mind from 2021: it felt very vulnerable to admit to an audience (who or where they were, I could only imagine!) how hard it was becoming a mom. But it set the tone for the podcast: being honest about living life, making mistakes, and learning lessons.
You know I’m going to choose the 10 Reasons Not to Homeschool episode where I got to reflect on our homeschooling journey… who knew that Covid would be the catalyst for a homeschooling surge! According to the National Home Education Research Institute, there were about 2.5 million homeschoolers in 2019 and by 2021 there were 3.1 million! To give you an idea of that jump, when I was homeschooling (2005-2018), there were just under 2 million homeschoolers, so it was a sloooow and minimal time of growth up to 2019.
I am glad that many more parents are considering homeschooling as an option, and we have several other episodes that talk about it in addition to that first one in June of 2021.
I also have to mention the interview with Emma in September of that year, where we talked through the transition of her becoming a mom and me becoming a grandma.
And finally, I LOVED the praying with your kids episode in November of 2021 where we interview two moms who I think have done a spectacular job praying for their kids, yes, but also teaching them HOW to pray in so many creative ways.
Top episodes (determined by listeners/downloads) for 2022 were:
What Teens Wish Their Parents Knew (Matthew Houser), Youth Minister’s Top Tips for Parents (David Skidmore), Paying for College (Brad Baldrige), and the Blue Temperament
BONNIE: Matthew Houser & David Skidmore side by side were awesome. I also loved our series on Kids & Technology (April/may) because I still think it’s the bottom line #1 issue parents are figuring out how to deal with in this generation. And What Teachers Want Parents to Know (August)… I have so much respect for our nation’s teachers, and what they have to deal with as the culture and expectations change.
If you liked the Paying for College episode, you should also go listen to the one about Student Loans (Sept 9, 2024)!
RENEE: I KNEW you were going to choose kids and technology! It has been your passion for many years now, and I think you have blessed our listeners by bringing this forward again and again (don’t look away!) so that they can face the TRUTH about this topic. Your research has given moms so many good resources so that they’re equipped to help their family deal with technology in way wiser ways than we did.
For 2022, you know I’m choosing the Kids & Food three-part series! I’ll say it again one more time for the people in the back: learning to eat is a skill, just like learning to swim or tie your shoe! The French culture has so much wisdom and experience in this area that we can use as moms. No snacking, no kid food, and no power struggles over eating things they don’t like (Maybe you’ll learn to like it when you’re older…) yay! Check out those episodes if you have a picky eater or if you have a not-so-great relationship with food.
I also loved our episodes on hospitality (March), potty training (April), moms by the decade (September), and the Cultivate series that we began in November of 2022.
Top episodes (determined by listeners/downloads) for 2023 were:
The One Thing That will Destroy Your Home (Meg Wallace), HOME series with Tiffany Mangrum, and HOME series with Daisy Montgomery & Melissa Skidmore, TLC from and OMT (Chelsea Madison).
BONNIE: I agreed with listeners on this one—loved the 8-part HOME series! On & off over several months that series covered all aspects of HOME: what’s it for, place for rest & refuge, place for creativity & beauty, where we learn to love, it’s a reflection of eternity, what it’s like to lose your home, how we choose a home, and where we learn to eat. Good stuff in there! Home is such holy ground, really, and we so often take it for granted. If you have a place where you can leave your mask at the door, breathe deep, and love & be loved, that is holy. That’s kingdom stuff right there, and we should probably take off our shoes in its presence.
Runner up for me also was our series on Grandparenting. So much wisdom here and I loved talking with women in the stage above me!
RENEE: Yes and yes! I loved Meg Wallace (still want to meet her in person!), the 8-part home series (may go back and listen to those again myself) and the interviews with grandparents, my mom in particular.
The left brain/right brain episode from March was also a fave because I have been slowly awakening to the dominance that the Western world has placed on the left brain and how much poorer we are for that. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist is a book that explores the profound differences between the brain’s left and right hemispheres, arguing that the right hemisphere (the “Master”) provides a broader, more holistic understanding of the world, while the left hemisphere (the “Emissary”) focuses on details and manipulation. McGilchrist uses neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy to show how the left hemisphere’s increasing dominance in Western culture has led to a mechanistic, fragmented view of reality, with potentially disastrous consequences
The interview with Doug Smith, author of Unintentional: How Screens Secretly Shape Your Desires and How You Can Break Free, also stands out (May). We are ALL shaped by screens and when we fail to question our relationship with technology, we can be assured that its use has become an integrated part of our worldview. I think wise people will continually return to this topic and take the reins back from the runaway wagon that is technology.
Of course, I also loved our interview with Marissa Bailey and my amazing daughter in law, Katelyn, about raising kids in another culture. I am always fascinated by Kate’s perspective on life, which was very much informed by growing up in a culture so very different from the US.
And I have to also mention interviewing Dr Alex Loyd in October of 2023, whose work in energy psychology and healing, gave me the breakthrough I so badly needed to meditate and pray! I am forever grateful to him for his work.
Top episodes (determined by listeners/downloads) for 2024 were:
Kinkeeping, Day in the Life of a Day Care (BJ Smith), Discipline and Punishment, and part 1 of Confidence (Kelly McCasland).
BONNIE: Idk why the kinkeeping hit so hard, but it was wayyy out on top as number 1 last year. My favs were our episodes on Being a Nanny (4/15) and the Birth Order series we did in July of 24. Both of those were topics I knew little about, so our conversation with Merri Aydelott and Mary Hill about their nanny experiences was very educational for me. The birth order pods were just fun—since I come from a big family, it was interesting applying that perspective to all of us.
RENEE: I was not surprised that our daycare episode was so popular. It’s such a controversial topic among moms and the conversations can be heated. I appreciated BJ’s frankness about the pros and cons of using daycare, and I pray it was helpful for moms looking to make that decision.
I also loved organizing your home with Gabri Goodwyn (Feb 2024). I have been the recipient of her expertise and I have used several of her tips to keep my home more tidy and organized. Confession: I always thought that the kids were the culprit for my closets and drawers that needed continual attention, but I now realize that this is just LIFE. So moms, don’t blame your kids for all the mess! They may be part of it, but keeping an organized home is also a numbers game: something comes in means something must also go out!
Our interview with Sarah Bryson (March) was a top one for me because it dovetails into the prayer with kids episode from Dec 2021. She had a lot of wisdom for helping your child connect to Jesus in prayer – like ancient spiritual director kind of stuff that we all need!
Also from March was the interview with Jamie Jackson, one of the finest, strongest, most courageous women I know, was a top one for me. She walked our listeners through her diagnosis of colon cancer as a mom to three young girls. She stewarded her suffering so, so well, and our listeners could do no better than to sit at her feet (virtually!) and be taught by her.
Also the NDE interview with LaDonna Brown (May) will forever be in my top five of all time. She’s the mom of my childhood best friend, Jana, and can that woman give a testimony! She is the epitome of grace and truth, and she has been to the other side and come back to tell us some comforting things, that are already in Scripture of course, but I just love it!
The daughter-in-law episode (June) was a fave for me because I have tried to be a student of the in-law world since I became one myself in 1992. These relationships are stereotyped as strained and combative for a reason: many times they are! So thanks to the listener who wrote in their question.
The two-part interview with Traci Condra (July) called When Marriage is Tough is a banger… she fought in prayer for 17years of marriage and refused to walk away. I admire her tenacity and intentionality in praying for God to move in her husband’s life. We count the Condras as dear friends now and their testimony is well worth the listen!
And personally, the Four Habits of Joy-Filled People series (August) from Dr Marcus Warner’s book by the same name, is some of the most practical advise that has changed my own life. Between this and the practices Dr. Alex Loyd taught in the Healing Codes, I have been re-wiring my brain for connection to others and God and for the ability to have emotional “bounce” in upsetting and frightening situations. Please, please, please listen to these podcasts or read these guys!
Top episodes (determined by listeners/downloads) for 2025 were:
Parents of Grown Children (Kathy Cunningham), Healthy Mothering (Karen Johnson), What Do I Want to Be When They Grow Up (Karen Johnson), and Travel Hacking (Ben & Alaina).
BONNIE: Kathy Cunningham for the win. I loved this episode so much and her encouragement was invaluable. It’s totally about where I am in my own life, so I’m sure that’s why it resonated…learning how to let go, be quiet, and trust…all lessons I continue to learn in this phase with adult kids.
And of course I loved the Travel Hacking with Ben & Alaina because I got to see a little more of the behind-the-scenes of their year of world travel.
RENEE: Interestingly, all of these top episodes were interviews! Are people getting tired of us??? Joke.
You know I’m gonna say that I loved our February interview with my husband, David, about how to help your child get ahead financially. We had interviewed him before about money, and I think that this is one of the things we got right when raising our kids. This topic is simple in theory and tougher in practice, but with over 2,000 verses about money in Scripture, I think it’s pretty important to get this right so that it’s not a hindrance to our fellowship with God.
And a surprising one for me was the PFT interview with Jenny Archer. The French make sure that every woman who gives birth is offered PFT postpartum, but we in the barbaric USA hardly know what that is! I strongly encourage every mom to listen to that one (Feb 24th!) even if it has been 30 years since you gave birth… it’s never too late to get help and healing.
Jeanine Mouchawar, Better Relationships with your Teen (August), was excellent in my opinion. Her advice on how to listen and respond to your kids in tough situations is great advice for all of us in so many of our relationships.
And the interview with Kent Darcie about adult children of divorced parents (Sept) was full of wisdom! We can wish that half of us weren’t in that category, but we are. And even though divorce is like the funeral that never ends, Kent gives wise advice for how to recognize patterns of behavior that you developed to cope with your parents divorce as well as ways to seek your own healing.
And shout out to Misa Pignataro for the interview about picky eaters… lots of help that dovetails into that 3-part series about food we did years before.
So, here we are, with five years of JAM behind us. It’s been more than just “generating content” for us. Our goal has always been encouragement, insights, and fun. (WE think we’re fun..!)
Also, there’s that bit in Titus 2:3-5 where older women are urged to teach the next generation, to pass along wisdom and model decency. Looking in the mirror, we are now “older women,” and rather than fading into the woodwork & becoming irrelevant, we wanted to rise to that challenge.
BEST PARTS
An obvious consequence of airing a new episode each week has been that we’ve had to regularly BE with each other, which has been 100% an unintended blessing b/c we don’t just sit down and grind out material. (We’re not THAT professional…guests who’ve been to our “fancy studio” are well aware!) There’s always talk (& sometimes lunch) before and after. Over these five years, there’s been cackling laughter (wish we had a blooper reel or stuff from the audio file floor), buckets of tears, and the privilege of deepening our friendship from time spent.
We’ve also been able to think and chat and share with others about real, rubber-meets-the-road kinds of things people deal with daily. That’s been a gift. We’ve learned, considered, changed. Hearing from some of you when an episode really hit home and resonated has meant the world and sent encouragement right back at us.
For 2026, we are taking stock and heading in some new directions. Family, new opportunities, and other work mean that we don’t have the time it takes to produce weekly podcast episodes. Our platform will remain up for at least the next year so you can forward and listen to past episodes, but we are saying “yes” to some other avenues.
OUTRO:
THANK YOU so much for listening to the pod, for sharing it, rating it, forwarding it to your friends and downloading what we’ve aired.
We really hope it’s been an encouragement and a bright spot for families. You can still email us at justaskyourmompodcast@gmail.com and reach content through our website justaskyourmom.com and your favorite podcast platforms.