Forming Healthy Family Habits and Rhythms with Justin Whitmel Earley

Your children are already being discipled. The question is: by whom?

In today’s fast-paced, screen-saturated culture, spiritual formation is happening all the time—often invisibly. Our habits shape what we love, and what we love forms who we become. For Christian parents, that makes the ordinary rhythms of the home deeply sacred ground.

In this first episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, host Sarah Cowan Johnson speaks with Justin Whitmel Earley. Justin is a business lawyer, a father of four, and the author of The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction, Habits of the Household, and most recently, The Common Rule Youth Edition: Growing Your Faith in a Distracted World. In this episode, he shares how a mental health crisis early in his legal career led him to discover the power of intentional habits—and why those same rhythms are vital for the spiritual formation of our children.

Justin shares how simple but intentional rhythms—such as morning prayers at the front door, phone-free dinners, and Sabbath rest—aren’t just good parenting practices. They’re spiritual formation in real time. In this conversation, Justin offers a rich blend of theological insight and down-to-earth practices that equip parents to resist the pull of a culture driven by speed, screens, and self.

Together, Sarah and Justin explore why discipleship must move beyond information. It must be practiced, embodied, and lived, because it’s not just what our kids hear from parents that shapes their faith—it’s what they see, feel, and do alongside us.

Formation is always happening. Make the intentional choice as a parent or caregiver to guide that formation instead of leaving it to the culture or other influences in your children’s lives.

This episode highlights the following themes:
✅ How spiritual formation begins with ordinary habits
✅ Why parents are the most influential disciplers in their kids’ lives
✅Practical rhythms that reshape home life toward Christ

Links from the episode:
✅ Learn more about Justin Whitmel Earley (www.justinwhitmelearley.com/)
✅ Read Justin Whitmel Earley’s books, The Common Rule (ivpress.com/the-common-rule) and The Common Rule, Youth Edition (ivpress.com/the-common-rule-youth-edition)
✅ Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson (www.ivpress.com/sarah-cowan-johnson)
✅ Read Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowan Johnson (ivpress.com/teach-your-children-well)
✅ Read the transcript here (drive.google.com/file/d/1QKNJEK-TvOmOwXITcq2S7ypu-sfNHhWQ/view)

Credits
✅Special offer: Visit ivpress.com (ivpress.com) and use the code IVPTEACH25 for 25% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.
✅Producers: Helen Lee, Kaitlin Borek, and Travis Albritton
✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts (honestpodcasts.com/)
✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne
✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard
✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

=== Time Stamps ===

00:00 – Introduction
03:15 – About Justin Whitmel Earley
06:00 – Spiritual Formation
08:31 – Your Kids Are Already Being Formed by Someone
10:09 – The Parenting Wake-Up Call
13:04 – Why Secular Liturgy Matters
15:40 – Key Habits That Reframe the Home
19:04 – Being Different in a Post-Christian Culture
20:25 – Rhythms of Sabbath, Screens, and Meals
29:11 – How Habits Form Faith in Every Stage of Childhood
32:35 – Repentance and Repair
33:19 – Practical Prayer at the Front Door
37:52 – Listener Question: What If I Don’t Know the Answer?

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.