Entrusted, Not Owned: Parenting with Open Hands

Your kids don't belong to you. They're entrusted to you and there's a world of difference between those two things.

In this episode of the Open Hands mini-series, Jaclyn shares the most personal surrender of her life: her children. From a kitchen-floor moment of panic at twenty-two, to a prayer that reframed parenting as leadership, to the night a tragedy in their church-planting community forced her to answer the question underneath every parenting philosophy - do I actually believe God is good?

Along the way, she opens up the practical framework she and Michael built over eighteen years: defining a family target, connecting correction to values instead of rules, meaning what you say the first time, and shifting from boundaries to conversations as your kids grow. Rules without roots don't survive independence, this episode is about planting roots.

Whether your kids are toddlers, teenagers, or already out of the house, this one's for you. It's never too late to parent with intention and open hands.

In this episode:

• Why parenting is the longest, most consequential leadership assignment you'll ever hold
• The one question every intentional parent has to answer: what kind of adult do you want to send into the world?
• The Lepien Family Values and how to define your own
• "Consider Abraham" — trusting the Gardener with the fruit
• Four practical steps to start this week, no matter your kids' ages

Ready to define your family's target? Download our free Family Values Worksheet

#LepienLife #PrunedToFlourish