August 9, 2026 — Episode #134

Nearly 24 million American families are headed by a single parent — and Lisa Reasons knows that world firsthand, both as a single mother of four and as the adoption agency director who now helps other families navigate it.

Continuing their series on single parenting, Jerry and Becky welcome back Lisa Reasons, director of the adoption agency at Birth Choice, to talk candidly about what it actually takes to heal and hold steady as a single parent. Lisa shares how prayer led her to Christian therapy, and unpacks EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) — including lesser-known variations like attachment-focused and pre-verbal EMDR, which address trauma from before a child could even speak. The conversation turns to the importance of seeking out a Christian counselor, the value of processing painful events from the past rather than pushing past them, and the loneliness Lisa felt when she was shunned by people in her own church after her divorce. Jerry and Becky share statistics on single-parent households and press the point that churches need real, visible support systems — not judgment — for the parents and kids living this reality. They close with a preview of next week’s continuation of the series, this time from a woman’s perspective.

Topics discussed:

• Statistics on single-parent households in America
• Finding and choosing a Christian therapist
• EMDR, attachment-focused EMDR, and pre-verbal EMDR for processing trauma
• Why processing the past matters instead of only moving forward
• Feeling shunned by a church community after divorce
• What churches can do to support single parents without judgment
• Helping children of single parents process what they’ve been through
• Preview of next week: single parenting from a woman’s viewpoint

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