WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.919 And happy Mother's Day today to all the moms in the house. 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:07.200 Can we give it up for all our moms that are in the room right now? 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:20.239 Today, and uh myself and my beautiful bride Emily here are gonna have a conversation about motherhood. 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:26.399 We this is actually the first time that we're doing anything like this in 15 years of me being a pastor. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:30.559 Um, and so I'm grateful for my beautiful bride for joining me today. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:38.799 And uh this is Emily, and uh she is uh a pharmacist full-time, um, and so she's actually Dr. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:39.600 Emily. 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:53.200 And yeah, um, and she's an amazing mom to uh our kids, and I'm thankful that we're gonna get to um share some with you today. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:01:02.560 You know, uh when you think about Mother's Day, um you may think about a picture like this, uh, but this is completely fake, okay? 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:17.519 These are paid people, actors, who went someplace with the photographers, they got all made up, uh, they got makeup and everything, and they have somebody saying, okay, hold the flowers in just that right spot, and y'all kiss them on one, two, three. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:19.359 Like, who even knows if they're even a family or not? 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:20.560 We don't even know. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:22.719 But uh, this is not real life. 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:26.799 And so if your mother's day has not started like this, join the club, okay? 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:32.319 Um not sure exactly how your mother's day is is is off, but uh that is not real life. 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:42.079 What is real life is that our families, we are, as our families, it it's it's in some ways, it's an everyday battle with our families. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:53.280 Um it's it's uh a battlefield for the heart, for the lives of our homes, and I know that because we have an enemy that wants to steal, kill, and destroy us. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.159 It wants to still kill and destroy our homes. 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:01.760 And so we're jumping into a series that we're gonna be going through the next few weeks called Family Feud. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:09.840 And the the Family Feud and what we're gonna do in the next few weeks is try to equip our families for the battle that's ahead. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:17.120 That we're gonna forge families that are fit for the fight that we have, that sometimes those fights are happening inside our families. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:22.319 Sometimes those are the external pressures and even the enemy that wants to steal from us. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:25.280 And so I asked Emily to join me today. 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:29.120 We have had some amazing examples of godly mothers. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.879 And uh Emily and I, we have been Christians the same amount of time. 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:40.080 We were baptized on the same Sunday as kids at our church, but Emily has been a better Christian this entire time than me. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:52.319 Um and uh we've been married going on 14 years uh this year, but we have had some amazing examples of godly women and mothers in our lives, haven't we? 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:53.840 Absolutely, yes, we have. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:57.599 And I'm here um not as a model mother. 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:02.479 Um, if you know me or have met my very normal children, you know that. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:16.159 Um, but I am grateful to be able to share, um, like Forrest said, a little bit about the good moms who were very faithful and godly, and just to be a good steward of the good example that we've had. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:18.240 And tell them a little bit our kinos. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:20.240 Yes, these are our girls. 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:25.280 Um we have Ember, who's four and a half, Magnolia, who is almost two. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:32.800 They are the wild women of our house, and um we have we have a lot of fun and they keep us on our toes. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:46.159 Um, but if today with this many people here in the room and this many families and different expressions of families that are represented, I know that um today is probably one of joy for a lot of people. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:48.879 My sister is here celebrating her first Mother's Day. 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:53.039 If that's you, we celebrate with you and are excited for you. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.639 Um, but know that probably that's not everybody. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:07.759 Um, maybe today is a new first for you and it's the first Mother's Day without your mom, or a first Mother's Day where you thought a baby was going to be here that isn't yet. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.479 Um maybe there's some grief mixed in. 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:19.360 Maybe you like us have a normal family that has um some wild dynamics and things sometimes get complicated. 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:27.360 So if you are feeling guilt, regret, um, joy, anything in between, just know that today. 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:33.360 Um, there's space for that, and that is allowed, and I believe that God wants to meet you right where you are. 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:35.199 Yeah, that's good. 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:40.639 Um, like Emily said a second ago, and I can double down on the fact there are no perfect parents. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:41.839 Can I get an amen? 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:45.040 There are no perfect parents. 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:48.079 Uh and uh here's the thing. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.519 Um, we're all gonna mess our kids up a little bit. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:05:02.480 The goal is just to mess your kids up a little bit less than your parents messed you up, and then you're just a little bit ahead of the game for the next generation. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:03.600 Here's the thing. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:08.240 Um, what's certain about parenthood is it's filled with uncertainty. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:57.040 And we're gonna take a look today at a passage of scripture where Jesus speaks specifically to uncertainty, to worry, to fear, and take a look at what that looks like for us as we're walking out our life with Jesus, also for uh the mothers that are in the room, your motherhood, your parenthood, you as a family, and just to set the stage for this passage, in Luke chapter 10, Jesus is speaking to this large crowd, and he speaks to them about hypocrisy, and a few verses later he uh he ends by giving them this warning uh against having uh stored up earthly wealth while at the same time not having a rich relationship with God. 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:10.000 And then after he gives this teaching, he turns directly to his disciples and he gives them some extra nuggets and he says this to them, starting in verse 22, and Emily's gonna read it for us. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:20.319 Then turning to his disciples, Jesus said, That is why I tell you not to worry about every day, everyday life, whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:23.680 For life is more than food, and your body is more than clothing. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:24.879 Look at the ravens. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:32.639 They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them, and you are far more valuable to him than any birds. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.600 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:41.040 And if worry can't accomplish a little thing like that, what's the use of worrying over bigger things? 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:43.279 Look at the lilies and how they grow. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:49.839 They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon, in all of his glory, was not dressed as beautifully as these. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:58.240 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.959 Why do you have such little faith? 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:04.000 And don't be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:06.079 Don't worry about such things. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:11.439 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your father already knows your needs. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:16.160 Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:22.800 So don't be afraid, little flock, for it gives your father great happiness to give you the kingdom. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:23.920 Amen. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:24.879 Thank you, babe. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:29.199 Uh there, this passage, wow, there's a lot in here, right? 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:38.399 Jesus is telling us and connecting the worries of these lives and of this life, and he even says, Why do you have so little faith? 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:42.959 He connects it to our faith in him, the worries that creep in. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:46.160 And even to the point of talking about what's dominating your thoughts. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:48.480 What's dominating your thoughts today? 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:50.720 What dominates your thoughts regularly? 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.720 What dominates your thoughts as a mother? 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:03.600 Because Jesus in this passage, he says, hey, if you're worrying about this life, if you're worrying about your kids, it's like you're an unbeliever. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:04.560 Woo, man. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.959 Come on, Jesus, lighten up a little bit. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:14.240 You know, he says, you know, uh, God already knows what we need. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:16.240 Will we just trust him? 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:20.319 Jesus is giving us this word. 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:33.039 And Emily and I, we were talking uh earlier this week about, and I asked her what surprised her most about motherhood thus far, and she shared with me fear. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:36.080 And so, Emily, will you tell us more about that? 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:47.039 Yeah, you know, before becoming a mom, I would not have described myself as an anxious person or a worrier or somebody who is, you know, very fearful. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:53.600 And then they put this beautiful, perfect little baby in my arms, and you know, she got a whole life ahead of her. 00:08:53.679 --> 00:09:01.919 She's just full of potential and possibilities and opportunities, um, but also just nothing but uncertainty. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:08.720 And I looked at her and I saw a a million ways that I could fail and mess her up. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:13.279 And boom, fear in my life, here to stay what it felt like. 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:23.679 And um, I I don't think I'm the only one in the room who can say as moms, like we can worry about anything, like we can we can figure out big or small. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:29.840 And um, our kids, they are still little, so they're not even making those like important life decisions. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.600 Um, you know, they're gonna have consequences for years to come. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:42.960 But some of you are, some of you are walking with your kids as they are choosing colleges and they are choosing spouses and becoming parents in in their own right. 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:49.840 And um, you know, the scripture says, like, don't worry about if you have enough to eat, and don't worry about what you eat or what you wear. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:58.000 Um, but it even in our few years of parenting, I have spent lots of time worrying about well, are they eating enough? 00:09:58.159 --> 00:09:59.279 And is it healthy? 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:01.919 And what about the dyes and the processed foods? 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:06.080 And if they don't eat kale at three, will they eat it at 33? 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:09.039 And you know, all of that. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:22.159 Um, but even, you know, just being more honest when I think about what are the the thoughts and the worries that dominate my mind, um, it's it's definitely a level deeper than that. 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:40.240 And and taking stock of of my family and knowing that, you know, we have several generations of people and women in particular who have struggled with with body image, with weight, with, you know, where does our value come from? 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:48.000 And um, and I really I don't I don't want to pass that to my girls. 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:58.559 And I worry, like, are they gonna be um are they gonna struggle with shame and fight with shame the same way that I have experienced? 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:03.200 Or is God gonna help me to break that cycle for me and for them? 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:11.440 Or am I gonna be so hyper focused on their behavior that uh I miss grace and I misrepresent God's heart for them? 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:23.200 And of course, you know better than anybody how quickly and easily I can get into that zone where I'm just paralyzed by fear and convinced that like every little decision is make or break. 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:30.480 It reminds me the scripture in 1 John 4.18. 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:32.879 It's talking about the love of God. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:38.399 And it says it says that such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:41.440 Some translations say casts out all fear. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:12:03.919 And so what that means and what that says to us is that as we receive God's love, that he wants to generously shower on us, that as he's showering his love, as the love of God comes in, the fears of this life they flow out because it's his perfect love that's gonna expel that fear, that's gonna cast it out. 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:12.399 And you think about when you get into that moment or that that that feeling of being afraid, and you know, Emily, how do you feel when our kids are afraid like that? 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:13.519 Well, I hate it. 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:13.919 Right. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:15.679 It's not but I don't like it. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:21.759 I don't like to see them be afraid, and even just like a week like this week, you know, it's stormed almost every night. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:30.240 And I I know that I can't control, you can't control the the storms and the thunder and whatever it is that is making them feel fear. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:40.720 Um, but I want them to have comfort in my presence and to feel safe because I'm right there with them and nothing's gonna get them. 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:44.159 Who knows that God wants to do the same thing for you? 00:12:45.759 --> 00:13:01.200 God sees you as a son or a daughter and doesn't want to see you paralyzed or stuck in a place of fear, of worry, of doubt, and he wants to come to you with his presence and bring peace with it alongside and with you. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:12.799 Now, now I know from everything that we just read in the passage that of the words of Jesus, everything that we just talked about is easier said than done. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:14.000 Right? 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:16.639 Much easier said than done. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:33.200 Think of the lilies in the field all together, and how their clothes, it's it's it's one of those things where it's like, okay, God, I'm hearing you and what you're saying, and I know that your love is sufficient for me, but how in the world do I do this? 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:35.279 How could I possibly do that? 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:42.080 And Emily and I, we've had the gift of having godly women and mothers in our life. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:52.399 And so, um, Emily, speak to what's an example of faith in the midst of uncertainty and in the midst of the unknown that you have looked to? 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:58.399 I have two very clear memories that just immediately come to mind. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:24.240 And the first was um sitting and talking with my grandmother during the time that I was applying for pharmacy school and just going through all that process, taking the the entrance exam, and telling her, like, I really wanted to go to UK, but um was thinking about not even applying because I was so afraid that I wouldn't get in and didn't know if I could handle the rejection of my grace not being good enough or not interviewing well enough or whatever. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:44.240 And I'll never forget her looking me just straight in the eye with so much confidence, just saying, Emily, if you are walking with Jesus, if you are endeavoring to be obedient, there is nothing in heaven or on earth that could keep that could close a door that God has opened for you. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:52.799 And um she was just so confident of God's goodness toward me and of his activity in my life. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:15:02.000 And another example that I think of is of my mom, and um, you know, to this day, come in in the morning and you can count. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:06.399 In fact, she's gonna be sitting in her chair with her Bible, with her prayer journal open. 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:11.039 And um in the, you know, that was a constant of my childhood. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:14.080 I'm grateful that they, you know, raised us in church. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.639 Um, but in 2000, the crash of 2008, my parents lost everything. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:27.519 Um they moved from a 5,000 square foot home to a two-bedroom apartment, and uh their their world was upended. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:43.840 Um had to auction off our family possessions, and um in the face of a very uncertain future that looked so different than what they had built for many years. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:16:00.559 Um they had two kids out of the house, I was in college, Rebecca was in middle school, and even then she could come out in the morning, and my mom was gonna be sitting in her chair with her Bible on her lap and her prayer journal open, probably tears running down her face. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:12.399 Um but I saw her fight for her faith and fight to figure out if she really believed that God is who he said he was. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.279 And she had she used to make these no cards. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:25.039 Um, she would write scriptures out and she would have a stack on her nightstand and a stack in uh in the bathroom where she would get ready and one in her purse so she could have him on the go. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:39.840 And I saw her very intentionally fix her eyes on Jesus and fix her eyes on the truth and remind herself of that truth in the midst of things being not just uncertain but feeling hopeless. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:44.000 Yeah, isn't it so important to implant the promises of God in our heart? 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:47.679 And I want to I want to speak a promise over you right now. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:49.360 This is Isaiah 26, 3. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:56.960 It says, You will keep you will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:09.599 God is is promising to us that he will keep us in perfect peace if we are in the trusting relationship with God and our thoughts are fixed on him always. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:19.440 Uh, I want to do something real quick, just humor me for a second, if you wouldn't mind to stand to your feet and give your neighbor a high five, maybe one or two high fives, and then grab a seat once you've done that. 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:28.559 You can say happy Mother's Day to somebody if it's a happy Mother's Day and then grab a seat. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:46.880 Now it's it's safe for me to assume that not one of you just now worried when you sat back down if that chair was gonna hold you up when you sat down. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:49.599 Because you'd already been sitting in that seat. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:53.599 You already trusted it to do the job that it was going to do. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:56.400 And I don't think anybody's chairbroken here, hopefully. 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:04.559 But you were thinking about it because you already had the trust that that chair was gonna do what it was supposed to do in the same way. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:07.440 Our trust in God is moment by moment. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:12.480 As we're trusting him to do what only he can do. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:34.960 And we're walking out in this life with our God, with the promises that he gives us implanted into our hearts, knowing that those promises are true, and being just as confident as you were a second ago to plop right down into his hands, into his lap of our God and our godly Father. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:54.960 I I will uh ask you, Emily, and thinking about the trust moment by moment, and as you are walking out your relationship with Jesus, with motherhood, how how has your discipleship, your walking with Jesus, how has it been influenced with your motherhood? 00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:14.240 You know, as I face certain situations, uncertainties, um, triggers, there are definitely times that I've I've learned that my knee-jerk reaction is to become close-fisted and to try to control everyone and everything around me so that I will feel more secure, feel more in control. 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:41.599 And so walking with Jesus in the midst of being a mom and now having two more people who I also can't control is it has been a continual process of like reopening my hands to relinquish the control that I never had in the first place, um, and remembering that like I have to fix my thoughts on him or I will be dominated by fear. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:51.839 And um it is also I think one thing that's that has surprised me is just how much I would be thinking about my own identity as a child of God. 00:19:51.920 --> 00:20:05.759 You know, I have these two beautiful examples in front of me of childlike faith, of just pure delight and wonder, and and it has reminded me um that like I get to do that too with with God. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:09.119 And I also feel the weight as a mom of discipline. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:16.000 Like my girls, I have to show up and do my job to discipline them, or they very likely won't be who God has called them to be. 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:16.880 Amen. 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.960 And it makes me think about Proverbs 3.12. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:28.799 It says, for the the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:37.119 And the reality is that I know that I know that as a mom, like I correct my kids because I love them and I want them to be, you know, profitable members of society. 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:45.920 Um, but also like God corrects me because he loves me, he disciplines me because he loves me, he delights in me because he loves me. 00:20:46.240 --> 00:21:00.400 And it it has been um honestly a sweet process of embracing that reality again, um, that discipleship is is both discipline and delight. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:00.799 Right. 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:03.680 And I I get to be the kid full of wonder. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:06.319 I get to be the kid with the childlike faith. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:18.720 And probably the scripture that I think about most when I'm thinking about, you know, being a mom or what the Lord requires of me, and that encourages me the most is Galatians 6 9. 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:23.680 It says, so let's not get tired of doing what is good at just the right time. 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:27.359 We will reap a harvest a blessing if we don't give up. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:35.519 And um, we're in the saying things thousands of times, hoping that it will sink in a territory. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:37.359 Maybe, maybe it gets better, maybe it doesn't. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:38.640 Don't tell me if it doesn't. 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:47.279 Um, but what I know is that my discipl my discipleship and motherhood is a continuation of the journey that I've already been on with Jesus. 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:50.480 And, you know, God was faithful to me. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:53.200 He's only ever been faithful to me. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:58.640 He was faithful to me in middle school and high school when I was terribly lonely. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:06.559 He was Faithful to me in the midst of a lot of brokenness in college and just a lot of wrestling. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:14.000 He was faithful to me in the early days of our marriage and through all the transitions of moving, I think, 10 times. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.440 That's a lot. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:23.599 In the grind of pharmacy school and in the panic and insecurity of unemployment that followed that. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:35.519 If he was faithful and present in all of those highs and lows, he will most certainly be faithful to me in motherhood. 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:38.400 And I know that because I've walked with him. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:42.160 And that because of that, I can have confidence. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:46.480 Do not grow weary in doing this good work because the the reward will come. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:47.359 Right. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:50.960 Definitely as you shared that, and thank you for sharing what you just shared. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:23:13.279 Um if you had an encouragement that you would give to those that are right now that are in our church or here today who are moms, they want to be moms, desire to be moms, or they're serving in that role in someone's life, grandmothers, um, uh foster parents, or uh what whichever role, what encouragement would you have for them? 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:18.400 I would say to not underestimate the power of your prayer. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:21.680 And that doesn't mean that you have to be a particularly good prayer. 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:28.079 You don't have to be eloquent or fancy, but the power is in the God that we pray to. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:43.920 And not only is there power in what he can do in our circumstances, in the lives of our children, but there's also a lot of power in just going to him in prayer, especially in those times of worry, um, you know, to look back to him. 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:55.519 And um, you know, we I I personally subscribe to the um Persistent Widow school of prayer, which is basically the squeaky wheel gets the oil. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:02.319 And you know, God may say no to me, but he's gonna know exactly what I'm asking for because he will have heard it enough times. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:13.759 Um, but um I would encourage you to figure out a way to weave prayer with and for your kids into the rhythms and fabric of your life. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:20.640 Um, sometimes we we call this like hanging prayer on hooks, and a hook is just a trigger to remind you to pray. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:20.880 Right. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:36.720 Um, an example for us is we have a four-minute drive from our house to 2nd Street, and um, so in the morning we pray, and my girls know the very not fancy and repetitive prayer that they are in for, and I am going to pray. 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:39.759 Um, I'm gonna thank God for our family and our church family. 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:41.440 We thank God for you every day. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.799 Um, we are going to pray for their teachers by names. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:25:04.480 I'm going to ask that God would show him, show them his true character, that they would grow to know him, to love him in his church, that he would save them, fill them with his Holy Spirit, that he would give them irrepressible joy that would point people to him, that they would get to go on a wild adventure with Jesus. 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:07.519 And again, it's not fancy. 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:10.160 Sometimes we pray, Lord, would you please fix all of our attitudes? 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:12.400 Like we just have to start there, you know? 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:15.920 But Ember, you know, she's only four. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:19.759 And when we're praying for her teachers, you know, she may think, Oh, mommy, Miss Tasha is sick. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:20.400 We should pray for her. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:22.720 And I'll say, Ember, God loves it when you pray to him. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:24.000 God loves it when you talk to him. 00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:25.440 Why don't you pray for Miss Tasha? 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:26.319 And she will. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:35.279 And so even just getting to teach them and to reinforce, okay, like God loves, God loves it when you talk to him, just like I love it when you talk to me. 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:41.440 And um thinking back to the example of of my grandma and and my mom. 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:47.680 My grandma, she uh also had her, hers was a leopard print chair that she would sit in and do her quiet time. 00:25:47.839 --> 00:26:04.000 And um, she just is a notorious like card and notewriter, and she's an underliner, you know, like she'll underline the words that she really wants you to know, like she means that for you, and would write scriptures out and um just think about all the encouragement that has come. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:09.279 I have a box of them of cards from her that have encouraged me. 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:11.200 And um, think about my mom. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:22.079 And my mom, she still will send me pictures of handwritten prayers in her prayer journal saying, daughter, this is what I'm praying for you and for your family today. 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:37.920 And even though I'm not under her roof anymore and haven't been for a long time, she is still, God is still using her to point me to Jesus and to remind me to fix my eyes on him and that I can do it and he has equipped me and she believes in me. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.720 And sometimes I have to borrow her confidence. 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:52.559 Um but I I I want to encourage you if you're a mom, grandma, you are a co-mom and are investing in somebody else's kids, we've got some of those in our life. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:57.279 Um if there if there's breath in your lungs, you are on the clock. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:06.799 And God still wants to use you powerfully in the lives of the people and the children around you, even if they're grown children. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:12.079 Um, so so stay engaged and don't underestimate what God can do through you. 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:25.519 Yeah, Emily, as you're describing this and you're talking about the prayers and and and the legacy of faith, we we are keenly aware of the fact that this may be a completely different world than what you grew up in. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:41.680 I know that in our church there are people that that as we talk about a mother that's filled with faith and the word and and prayer, there's so many people who are in our church that didn't grow up in a Christian home or had a different expression, and and and things looked different. 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:49.279 And what I want to encourage you is, I want to encourage you with is that you can write a different story. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:53.519 You can write a different story for your children, for your grandchildren. 00:27:53.839 --> 00:28:02.960 You can turn the page and and and begin to uh walk out your motherhood, your parenthood in in partnership with God. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:09.119 Just to do the simplest things that Emily was just describing and talking about. 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:13.519 And that that can be that can be through and with the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:15.200 You're not doing it on your on your own. 00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:20.480 Now, Emily and I, we we have had that experience, and the scripture says, too much is given, much is required. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:27.920 And so we have had that legacy of faith, and so we that much more uh need to be walking out that faith together. 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:31.599 And that looks very similar for my upbringing in my home. 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:54.480 I uh have lots of memories of my mom in our living room sitting in her blue chair with her pink uh women's uh study bible open in her in her lap, hard back, all torn to pieces in the binding, and her reading the word, her praying for me, her praying for our family. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:58.880 My mom, she led by example in our home. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:02.400 Uh, she was much less of the uh teaching type. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:03.920 It was my dad that was the Mr. 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:10.880 Teachable Moment guy, and all the lessons that needed to be said and taught to you, you know, as we're doing yard work. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:17.920 Uh but my mom, her example was in a lot of ways just a quiet stability. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:32.720 And I even think about, and our family went through a tough time as my dad was struggling with the bottle and alcohol early when we were kids, and my mom, as an angel, kept our family together, rooted in God's word and his church. 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:40.720 And I'm so thankful for my mom and her example of faith and her encouragement that she still gives to me today. 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:48.000 And as we are talking about these these passages, and Jesus is telling us, don't worry. 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:53.839 But not just don't worry, but don't grow weary either. 00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:56.880 Don't worry and don't grow weary. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:59.680 Emily read Galatians 6 9 earlier. 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:02.559 So let's not get tired of doing what is good. 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:09.440 At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:17.519 And to think about that and how that plays out in our week to week. 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:25.599 And what I know about worry and fear is that it's a sneak attack. 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:29.039 Like I'm pretty sure that none of you can over. 00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:30.400 I'm gonna put it on your calendar. 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:37.279 Okay, 12 o'clock to the description, I'm gonna worry about my kids and refunding incidents, I'm gonna make a little time, I'm gonna sit around, I'm just gonna worry. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:38.640 Let me just put it on the calendar. 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:40.000 Let's not have my words, remember? 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:56.640 Instead, the enemy wants to sneak attack you with worry, with fear, with being paralyzed, and it's in those moments that we have the choice to trust right now. 00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:05.759 See, to push that back, to not grow, to not be worried, and to not grow weary is a right now decision. 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:22.480 And I and I want to I want you to get this that if you do the right thing right now, at the right time, you will reap a reward of righteousness. 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:25.279 What that pastor just told us. 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:32.799 The right thing right now, at just the right time, you're gonna reap a reward. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:32:17.759 And I think about all the families that are represented in this space, in this place, and it just makes me burdened, and also just a feeling of determination for our church, that we would recognize that worry is for the world, and that faith is for family, we would leave the worry behind us because ultimately we have a God that gets it, doesn't he? 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:19.119 He does. 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:31.279 I I love uh verse 32 um the Luke passage that says, So don't be afraid, little flock, for it gives your father great happiness to give you the kingdom. 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:35.920 And parents don't don't we know doesn't it give us great happiness? 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:38.559 Don't we want to give our kids the kingdom? 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:42.880 Yeah and to me that just it just reminds me like hey, God gets it. 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:44.559 He knows how to be a good dad. 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:50.160 I've experienced him as a good dad, and I want my kids to know that too. 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:51.680 I want you to know that too. 00:32:51.839 --> 00:33:00.559 If you don't know him as a good dad and he loves you, he wants to give you the kingdom, it makes him happy to give you the kingdom. 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:10.799 In those moments of worry and of doubt, what if, what if we trusted the fact that God wanted to give us the keys to the kingdom? 00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:22.960 What if in those moments, what if our heart and those worry, and that that right now decision that we turn to God and we say, God, you're good. 00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:33.359 I know that you want to nothing more than to give me your kingdom, your goodness here on this earth and into eternity. 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:42.240 And I'm wondering today, is there anybody in the room that maybe you've come in today and life has been going a different direction? 00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:57.039 You've not yet received the keys of the kingdom that Jesus bought and paid for you on the cross to die for you, so that you and as a mom, that you could be free. 00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:08.960 That you could be free, that you can be forgiven, that you could have the kings, the keys to the kingdom to walk from this life into eternity new with God, with Jesus. 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:15.760 I wonder if there's anybody that needs to take on that mindset, take on that truth today. 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:19.199 I believe there may be, will you bow your heads and pray with me now? 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:26.480 God, I pray right now over every single person that's here in every home that's represented, in every family that is represented here today. 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:31.519 God, I pray specifically for our moms and for grandmothers. 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:35.039 Lord, I pray, Father, a blessing over them right now. 00:34:36.320 --> 00:34:52.000 God, I pray, God, for, Lord, them to turn their hearts towards you in moments of worry and of fear and of doubt, Lord, that God, their right now decision would be to trust you fully. 00:34:52.559 --> 00:35:26.159 God, I pray right now all across the room, Father, there's anybody in this place who has not trusted you as Savior, has not received you as savior, has not trusted in and taken your finished work on the cross, your death, burial, and resurrection, walking out of the grave alive, so that they too could be alive, so that they could be saved, so that they could be in heaven with you, so that they could get the kings of the kingdom right now, starting today, and and and follow right into the kingdom in heaven. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:32.800 So, Father, if there's anybody in the room that they have not yet made that decision, today would be the day, God, that they do, God. 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:35.440 I pray that it will, that they would pray this, Jesus, save me. 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:37.599 If this is you, pray this from your heart and mind. 00:35:37.760 --> 00:35:38.800 Jesus, save me. 00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:43.280 I believe that you are the Son of God and that you are alive. 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:45.440 Forgive me. 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:55.599 Let me walk in freedom so that I can be in your kingdom now and forevermore. 00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:59.519 Cleanse me, wash me. 00:36:00.239 --> 00:36:05.039 I give my life to you as you gave your life for mine. 00:36:05.519 --> 00:36:07.360 Thank you for saving me. 00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:17.599 No one looking around today was the day that you prayed for you to receive the finished work of the cross, for you to cross from death to life, for you to be a citizen of heaven. 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:21.039 And today you prayed that in your heart and your mind from a genuine place. 00:36:21.199 --> 00:36:23.119 I want to acknowledge you. 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:24.400 I want to pray for you. 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:29.920 If that's you today, I'm gonna ask you to take action and for you to raise your hand towards heaven when I count to three. 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:32.880 If that's you today, and I want to lock eyes with you, if that's you. 00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:33.679 Ready? 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:35.280 One, two, three. 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:36.960 Anyone in the room? 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:48.559 Father, I pray today, God, for those in this room that God need to turn their heart and their life towards you, need to receive your finished work. 00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:52.239 That God, you would seal it. 00:36:53.280 --> 00:36:54.960 God, you would save. 00:36:55.199 --> 00:37:02.159 And Father, we pray for all the families, God, all the mothers today, a blessing over them. 00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:09.519 Father, of love, of your love, your perfect love that casts out fear and freedom in Christ. 00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:10.639 In Jesus' name. 00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:12.239 Everybody said, Amen. 00:37:12.400 --> 00:37:14.000 Church, we stand together as we sing.