Eyres On The Road

The word that has been the overall title for the last few episodes (and for the accompanying articles at https://latterdaysaintmag.com/living-a-familycentric-life/) suggests that if we can put our families at the center of our lives and view both our circumstances and our opportunities through a familycentric lens...we will begin to find more meaning and more fulfillment in everything we do. Hear the Eyres conclusion to this series in this episode.

On this episode, the Eyres talk about the incredibly deceptive world we live in today--where AI can make it appear that someone we know and trust said something he never said at all. How do we combat deception, and how do we teach our kids to do so? How do we recognize a wolf in sheep's clothing? Is there a spiritual power we can tap into that discerns truth from error. For more, see https://latterdaysaintmag.com/discernment-in-a-time-of-deception/.

In this episode, the Eyres review a current article they wrote at latterdaysaintmag.com on the factors that influence couples in deciding whether to try to become pregnant and have a child; and then Richard and Linda expand the discussion to what declining fertility means to the economies and cultures of developed countries around the world.

The Eyres dive deep in this episode into the question of declining birth rates and the seeming inability of developed countries around the world to replace their populations and maintain their work forces. The macro societal question of "demographic winter" is also a personal question for many couples who are trying to decide whether or not to have children. Also see cover story this weekend at latterdaysaintmag.com

Richard and Linda talk about a different kind of gifts on this episode--spiritual gifts in the form of new insights and eternal truths that they believe were part of a "Restoration" that occurred to start the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A God-initiated restoration is very different than a man-originated reformation and the Eyres discuss that difference today. (Corresponds to a current magazine cover, just google "Meridian Magazine")

Linda and Richard are in Phoenix this week and involved in discussions about how all parents worry about Social Media and Screen-Time, but not enough of us know about all the good and family-prioritizing influencers that are out there. How do we find the "good stuff" online, even as we are trying to protect from the bad? Then the Eyres turn to Christmas, and shifting the family focus from Santa to Jesus.

Today the Eyres do a deep dive into the questions of ageing, of relevance, of diversity, and of the enormous and growing (but undervalued and underused) asset of those who are over 70. If you are a senior, how do you stay relevant in your family, in your church, in your community? And if you are younger, how to you honor and tap in to the wisdom? Maybe, as in sports, we call the older divisions "Masters."

On the morning after Thanksgiving, Richard and Linda talk about their day of gratitude with their family and the guest family of refugees from Guatemala who joined them for the holiday. Is gratitude inversely related to how much we have? Why do those with less blessings seem to appreciate them more? Two of the Eyres' grandkids join them for part of the podcast.

In the Eyre family, R&SCF stands for Relationship and Spiritual Creation Facilitation. Richard and Linda have adopted a deliberate goal of getting their grown children away from their normal routine and responsibility for short R&SCF adult trips where communication and goal setting (spiritual creation) is fostered and facilitated. They are on a R&SCF trip at an ancient hacienda in central Mexico where they cast from today.

Richard and Linda Eyre are world traveling family coaches. Their common-sense approach to parenting brings hope and encouragement to parents everywhere. A production of BYUradio.

Richard and Linda Eyre are world traveling family coaches. Their common-sense approach to parenting brings hope and encouragement to parents everywhere. A production of BYUradio.

Casting from Las Vegas today, the Eyres finish a discussion they started last episode about the 3-letter lesson ALM referring to the acts of mercy and compassion that Jesus called alms. An act of service or lifting is called an "almdeed" in the New Testament. They then juxtaposition that word with the 3-letter lesson WIN which is a blessing when we make it a win-win, and a curse when we make it a win-lose.

As the Eyres celebrate Richard's 80th birthday, their minds are on memories, traditions, and the coming holiday season. So instead of getting to their three-letter lesson of ALM, they merely introduce it for next week and spend the podcast talking about how family traditions are the glue that holds families together, and discussing how traditions actually ripen and grow with age.

On today's episode, Richard and Linda cast from Jackson Hole where they have spent the week with all nine of their children celebrating Richard's BIG birthday. As the party breaks up, they sit down with Saren to discuss her work with family and parent coaching and her extensive website PowerofFamilies.com.

On this episode, Linda and Richard, in the midst of gathering with all of their children for Richard's birthday, reflect on how much parenting, particularly mothering, has changed. 30 years ago, when Joy School was at its peak, being a "stay at home mom" was the norm in many places. Was that the best way? Or with technology and working remotely can moms do as much for their kids today but in a very different way?

(Re-run from 12/11/2021) The Eyre's are in New York City today, and start the show with some of the reasons they love the city and their long history there. Then Richard and Linda start a new mini-series for Eyre's on the Road called Three Letter Lessons--short words that symbolize a principle or attitude or behavior we should adopt. "Eye" is about seeing people spiritually rather than physically--looking at people's eyes and using your own eye as a shutter to take an empathy picture.

On today's episode, Richard and Linda are joined by their son Eli for a discussion of the power and value of friendships. They share a family discussion they recently had about talking to our children about how to be a good friend, and they refer to a YouTube video featuring Trevor Noah and Simon Sinec that you can watch at https://youtu.be/CNBxIhxHHxM.

This week's 3-Letter Lesson is a warning and a caution--about how Taking For Granted (TFG) can undermine our happiness, eliminate our wonder and awe, and sedate us into missing out on all the little and big joys that life offers us. Richard and Linda explore why our minds default so often to a sense of entitlement or of taking things for granted instead of to the antidote of gratitude, awareness, and praise.

After 12 episodes exploring a "new lens" for viewing Church and family, the Eyres get back to their ongoing series on "3-Letter Lessons"--little word-pegs that remind us of perspectives and attitudes we want to embrace. Today the word is AGE, and Richard and Linda advocate that age and its wisdom and perspective should be valued, respected, tapped-into, and even cherished-- much more so than it is in western society today.

(Re-run from 10/30/2020) Lincoln said "Sometimes I am driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have no place else to go." As parents, we often feel this same feeling. Parenting is hard, children are complicated, the world is dangerous and confusing, particularly in this pandemic--and we are driven to our knees because we have nowhere else to go. And this can be a GOOD THING, because an earthly parent praying to a Heavenly Parent about a child that they share can create some of the most fervent, effectual prayers ever uttered. And it can generate answers that we would never find anywhere else. On today's show, the Eyres talk about parental prayer and how we can all make it a more important part of our lives.