Jeanine has been married to her husband Juan, a senior pastor in Austin, Texas, for 36 years and has raised 5 daughters who are still walking with Jesus. She and Juan learned a great deal along the way, and they put it into their book, Reaching Your Child’s Heart: A Practical Guide to Faithful Parenting.

In this episode, Jeanine talks honestly about the difference between managing behavior and reaching a child’s heart. She and David also discuss reconciling with an angry teenager, how the authority of the parent changes as children age, and why church was a non-negotiable in the Sanchez home.

If you’ve ever worried that you’re doing it all wrong, this conversation will remind you where your hope belongs.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why your kids need to watch you repent
• The difference between heart engagement and behavior management
• How grace and mercy work together with correction
• Simple ways to build Scripture and catechism into routines you already have
• How to reconcile with a teenager who isn’t ready to talk yet
• Why fear makes a poor foundation for parenting and the damage of being a chronically angry parent
• How freedoms should grow with responsibility as kids approach moving out
• How to receive feedback from your kids about how they see you as a parent

Memorable quotes:

“Our kids don’t need perfect parents, because they’re not going to get that anyway. What they really need is a perfect Savior.” — Jeanine Sanchez

“If you deny and justify and explain and sweep it under the rug, that’s what your kids are going to learn to do.” — David Swarbrick

“As long as that child has breath in their lungs, there is hope.” — Jeanine Sanchez

“Quality time is born out of quantity time.” — Jeanine Sanchez

Resources mentioned:

• Reaching Your Child’s Heart: A Practical Guide to Faithful Parenting by Juan and Jeanine Sanchez (New Growth Press), also available in Spanish

Scripture referenced:
Proverbs 1:5, Psalm 139:14, Deuteronomy 6, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:1, Proverbs 3, Matthew 18:22, Matthew 12:43–45, Psalm 103:12, Galatians 6:9, Ezekiel 36:26, Philippians 2:12, Hebrews 12:2, Isaiah 55:11

Chapters:
00:00:00 Welcome and introductions
00:01:01 Six daughters and a life in ministry
00:02:28 Why parenting stereotypes don’t help
00:07:00 Writing Reaching Your Child’s Heart
00:12:35 God’s desire for godly offspring

00:15:19 Kids need a perfect Savior
00:16:34 Letting your kids see you repent

00:20:32 Transparency and kids leaving faith
00:22:07 Holding justice and mercy together
00:28:38 Reaching the heart, not just behavior
00:34:39 How we harden our kids’ hearts
00:37:10 Positive biblical instruction
00:41:26 Building Scripture into daily routines
00:44:55 Catechism and the mental warehouse
00:46:32 Having uncomfortable conversations
00:48:22 Spanking as one tool among many
00:52:40 Reconciling with an angry teenager
00:58:08 Choosing fun over fear
01:03:03 From command to counsel
01:06:31 Freedom to fail and launching well

01:10:12 Raising worshipers, not just believers
01:12:59 Why church was non-negotiable
01:15:49 Praying for what only God can do
01:16:43 I don’t agree, but I trust you
01:20:06 Anger destroys relationships
01:20:40 Quality time needs quantity time
01:23:35 Hope in Jesus alone

01:26:26 Wrap-up

If this episode encourages you, subscribe so you don’t miss the next one, and share it with a parent who needs a little hope today.

Parenting Against the Current is a podcast built on a simple belief: there are things you can do that make a real difference. Each episode, we sit down with parents who've launched kids who still walk with Jesus, and adults who grew up in believing homes and kept the faith. Real stories. Wins, failures, joys, heartaches.

Pull up a chair, be encouraged, and learn how to resist the pull of the world so the picture in your head can become real.