In this first episode of the new year, Tilly and Abigail mainly just catch up. Some big things happening in Abigail's world (we won't spoil it!) and Tilly's recent experience with the young folks at Cross Con. Also a goodish amount of talk about rivers, old buildings, and the ICE Troubles in Minneapolis.

In this super practical conversation, Tilly interviews Katie Voetburg from Now That We're a Family Podcast and The Get It All Done Club. They talk about meal prepping, the 80/20 rule, to-do lists, three kinds of work/rest days, identifying "prime movers" in your home, eliminating friction around small tasks, and how Katie organizes clothing and socks/shoes with six children 8 and under.

From the wonder of children's joy in the season to stockings, stuffing, turkeys, and spreadsheets, Tilly and Abigail talk about all things holiday prep. Listen along for hosting tips and reminders of how we can grow young and new inwardly, even as we get older.

In this episode, author and Camperdown MFA Director Christine Cohen comes on to talk about story--writing it, watching it, and reading it. Tilly and Christine take a deep dive into story structure and some of the challenges of bringing a character to life. What are some of the differences between writing for the screen and writing for print? Does a basic knowledge of basic story structure help us to be more appreciative and aware as consumers of story?

Jenni Naselli is back on Home Fires! After a brief update on her past year of life and the many changes it has brought, she and Abigail spend some time talking about the benefits of collaborative hospitality. How can you partner with others in order to accomplish more than you could alone? What resources can you bring to the table to share with others—whether your hard work, your support, your home, your expertise, your service? God has good work for us all and boy is it fun to work together!

Are you a smothering mother? Tilly and Abigail use an article by Michael Clary to jumpstart their conversation on overprotective mothers. What are the root causes of overprotectiveness? How does it look as your children grow older? How might overprotectiveness harm daughters, not just sons? The good news is, there is grace ready to help us walk by faith as moms and act toward our children as free women raising confident, free, Christian people.

This past month has put believers in contact with the death of several saints. Tilly and Abigail talk about how to respond to the news of these deaths, particularly Charlie Kirk's assassination. They discuss Erika Kirk's example of godly womanhood, why we're prone to grab at the arms of our men when they're entering the arena, and the mercy poured out on our country through God's word being proclaimed in the public square. How can we evaluate our lives in light of our mortality? What do we want to do differently as wives and mothers and Christian women? How is God humbling us through these events? And most importantly, if your life were to end soon, are you eager and ready to be in the presence of the Lord?