Happy Mother's Day! The purpose of this podcast is to encourage all of you Christian moms raising your children for the Lord... so how could we not take a little time to remind you how important all your efforts are to your Savior?! We are replaying one of our very first episodes to tell you that every little again matters! We hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day and even if it's less than a relaxing day off, may you feel deep rest in your soul because you feel seen by Him!

There are the joyful agains our children shout on the swings,

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the exhausting agains of dishes,

cooking, and laundry, and the

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difficult agains of discipline.

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So much of what we do

as mothers is on repeat.

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So what if we could trust

this repetition was adding up?

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What if we woke up with clarity,

knowing which agains we were called to?

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and went to bed believing we are

faithful in what matters most.

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We believe focusing on the agains in

God's word and a to be list over a to

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do list is the way to untangle from

the confusion and overwhelm we feel.

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Let's look up together to embrace a

motherhood full of freedom and joy.

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Happy mother's day.

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welcome to a special episode

of the again, podcast.

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My name is Stephanie Hickox.

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And I'm your host.

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And today I am going to

replay an episode that.

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Confirms all the, again that

you do on a daily basis.

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Our onto the Lord.

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That he is.

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Absolutely honored by your service

to your children, to your husband.

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To your family.

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And to.

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Courage us, whether our children rise up

and call us blessed tomorrow Or whether

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the day is not quite what we had hoped.

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For rest and relaxation.

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Showering and appreciation.

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That you know, That the Lord

is honored by your service.

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Let's continue to lay

our hearts at his feet.

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And serve just as our savior.

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Did.

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And before we get to our interview.

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I would encourage you

to share this episode.

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With any friends that you have

that, need to be reminded that

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all of their against matter.

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Thanks for spreading the word.

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Steph: Today I'm joined by Betsy Corning.

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The founder and director of

Entrusted Ministries and the author

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of Entrusted with a Child's Heart.

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And also today we have Jen

Freckman and Emily Deyo.

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Two amazing moms who are fully

devoted to their children.

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To the Lord and love

pouring into other moms.

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We really hope that

you'll be blessed today.

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As you're reminded that every sacrifice

you make in your home as you serve

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your family matters to the Lord.

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Charles Spurgeon.

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The infamous pastor said you are as

much serving God in looking after your

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own children and training them up in

God's fear and minding the house and

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making your household a church for God.

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As you would be if you had

been called to lead an army to

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battle for the Lord of hosts.

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We hope you believe that by the end

of this episode and make sure you

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listen to the end for a good laugh.

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Jen.

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I know you have such a heart to

minister, to moms and to make sure that

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they know that the Lord is delighted

in their faithfulness in the home.

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But this idea is so

counter-cultural right now.

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So I'm wondering how do you see that

women need to be encouraged in this area?

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Jen: For sure.

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I think that in today's world, stay

at home moms might feel a little

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unseen and living anonymously in

their homes with their children.

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I think even sometimes pastors

are neglecting to encourage that

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stay at home mom role almost outta

fear of offending the working mom.

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And I think that they've kind of

lost sight a little bit of that.

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High and holy calling and how

sometimes it can feel lonely and it

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can feel like day in and day out.

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You're doing this work as unto

the Lord and no one notices.

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And so knowing that we

serve a God who sees matters

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I'm reminded about a book

that I read once by JC Ryle.

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It's in his book, holiness, and it

says, holiness is the habit of being

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of one Mind with God, the habit of

agreeing in God's judgment, hating what

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he hates, and loving what he loves.

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And measuring everything in this

world by the standard of his word.

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And in his word, he talks

about how us moms are to be

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the one at home busy at home.

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And so working at home, day

in, day out, caring for those

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children's needs, it matters to him.

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And it's a high and a holy calling.

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And I don't think that it's a lesser than.

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I think that it's

something that God desires.

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He knew what he was doing

when he put families together.

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He could have placed us down

in this earth without a family.

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But he didn't.

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He gave us a mom and a dad and a

role for each of them, and he did

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that for a reason, knowing that

they can help us to disciple.

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Us into who we're supposed

to be in the Lord.

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And that's the role of a parent is to

disciple, is to bring that child up into

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the fear and admonition of the Lord and

to Cultivate in them a heart for the Lord

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and to teach him and her, the, the value

of his word and what his word says and how

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to be a good human, how to be less of a

sinner and to work through those things.

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And it's a high and holy calling.

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In Isaiah 40 11, it

says, the Lord helps us.

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He will tend to flock like a shepherd.

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He will gather the lambs in his arms

and he will carry them in his bosom and

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gently lead those who are with young.

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And that's, that's US moms.

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He's gently leading us.

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It's not something that

we can do on our own.

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But we often need that encouragement

that we're not doing it alone.

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Betsy: moms get caught up in the

mundane and they think that nobody

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understands how they're feeling,

that they're alone in the world.

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Probably because there's not

a lot of adults around them

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when they're doing this.

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Magnificent work as unto the

Lord with their small children.

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But I think all of those seemingly

trivial, mundane things are so

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substantial, they're so building into

the child knowing that you are there,

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that you're a security for them, that

you provide for them, you know, we

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talk in Entrusted so many ways about

how your touch is significant in the

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life

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of a child.

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and they really long for it.

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That little child that sees you come

to the nursery to pick them up, you're

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the one, you are the one, no other

mother's gonna do it that point.

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And it's just a really precious thing.

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And I think that it's

just kind of being lost.

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Mothers feel that what they're

doing isn't necessarily so

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significant, but we know that it is.

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The Bible tells us that it is.

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So a verse that's so difficult

to understand is First

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Timothy two, and it is verse.

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13 and 14.

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I will just read it here first.

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For it was Adam who was first created

and then Eve, and it was not Adam

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who was deceived, but the woman being

deceived fell into transgression.

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But women will be preserved through

the bearing of children if they

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continue in faith, in love, and.

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Sanctity was self-restraint.

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Well, that's a whopper.

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This is definitely one of

those verses that you say what

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Steph: Okay.

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I'm excited to

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Emily: hear I

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Jen: me too.

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Betsy: It's something

that women struggle with.

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They might not necessarily

understand, well, we know that

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that doesn't refer to salvation.

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It's that the dignity of womanhood

is being lifted up it is saying

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that the woman's dignity is

preserved through the bearing of her

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children and that she is elevated

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From the very b eginning, she

was the first to be deceived.

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The Lord is saying, I will elevate

you in the preserving and the bearing

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of children, and also in the way that

you bring them up in faith and love

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and sanctity with self-restraint.

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So, It's a really precious promise

of the Lord that we don't have to

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think of women in one particular way.

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God has redeemed the view of women.

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It just doesn't seem to be a really

apparent in our culture though, does It

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It seems.

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That women have to be

highlighted, celebrated in

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a, you know, self celebrated.

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I'm not saying that we don't

celebrate women, right?

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We certainly do.

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We celebrate motherhood.

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We celebrate daughters, we

celebrate all of these things,

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but there's such a way that it's.

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Self elevation, self-promotion, that we

have a difficulty not being celebrated.

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In fact, that's what the

word celebrity comes from.

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You know, a person that is

celebrated and I feel like I

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can be celebrated by my family.

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I can be celebrated by the Lord.

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What I think of as, I think of Jesus

and Jen, you made me think of this

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thought, that when Jesus came to

earth, he didn't come to be celebrated.

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He came incognito and I really

meditate on that sometimes,

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that he did what he came to do.

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He did what the father called him to do.

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He's surrendered his will.

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He came humbly and he did this.

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Now, that's the first coming of Jesus.

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We know the second coming

will be quite different.

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The whole world will know.

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Imagine when he came the first time

and he, he did so many things for

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people and they just didn't see it.

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That will not be the case the second time.

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The first time he came incognito,

and sometimes we feel that way as

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mothers, but what we can identify

with Christ and our service unto him

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doesn't have to be seen by everybody.

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It will be recognized by the Lord also.

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Jen: Oh, for sure.

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I think that that is so sanctifying

for us as moms though, because we,

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we see in our hearts that desire to

get that promotion or to get that

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praise or to have that Mother or

mother-in-law say to you, well done.

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Good job.

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You're doing good with that.

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And when we don't get that and we

have children who are running around

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being their sinful little selves and

we're dealing with that day in and day

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out, and we feel our selves and our

hearts being faithful and not seeing

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the fruit, we don't see it right away.

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We won't see it for oftentimes, it maybe

even we won't see it on this earth.

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But that we are doing this as

a service as unto the Lord, and

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this is our holy and high calling.

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I'm reminded of a quote in the book by

j r Miller called Secrets of Happy Home

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Life, and it says, A mother is one of

the holiest secrets of home happiness.

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God sends many beautiful blessings in

this world, but no blessing is richer

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than that which he bestows in a mother.

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Who has learned loves less and well,

and has realized something of the

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meaning of her sacred and high calling.

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When we moms understand that this

is not just babysitting children,

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but we are actually involved in the

spiritual and developmental wellbeing

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of our children's souls, that puts

a whole new perspective on being a

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mom and

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a stay at home mom.

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Mm-hmm.

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I know with our family, we

decided to homeschool because.

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It gave so many more

opportunities for discipleship.

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So many more, so much more time, as in

Deuteronomy six, about when you sit in

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your house, when you walk, by the way,

when you rise up and all those things.

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It was like, oh, we'd have so much

more time doing that if they were

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home with us all the the time.

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And so being able to do that.

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It helps you to see that

this is a holy calling.

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This is not just sending them

off somewhere where someone can

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take care of their wellbeing.

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One of my favorite verses

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I will most gladly spend and be

spent for the sake of your souls.

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That's why we do this for

the sake of their souls.

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I wanna spend myself, I wanna be

spent at the end of the night.

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I wanna go to bed exhausted.

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Not because I cleaned the house well,

or whatever work on this earth well,

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but because of the sake of their souls,

I was redirecting their affections

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towards the Lord day in, day out.

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I wanna be exhausted in that.

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Betsy: I agree.

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That's

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awesome.

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Steph: Mm-hmm.

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I think in our culture where there's

so much instant gratification, it's

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very hard to not be tempted by that.

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My mentor in college had a two year old

and then a baby, and her husband was the

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campus minister's and she needed to step

back as she was raising her children.

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And so she put a picture of

a cathedral in her kitchen.

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Just to remind her that

I'm building something.

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I'm building something that I

might never see, just like the

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builders of the cathedrals.

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And I thought that was so neat that

she had it so prominently placed in her

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home as that constant reminder, even

as she turned the stairs to go change

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every diaper, she knew this all counts.

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Jen: I love that there's a

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quote by J r R Tolkien that says,

my own dear mother was a martyr.

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Indeed, and it is not to everybody

that God grants so easy away to his

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great gifts, as he did to Hillary

and myself, giving us a mother who

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killed herself with labor and trouble

to ensure us keeping the faith.

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I

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love

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Emily: Mm.

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Steph: Absolutely.

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And though we know that there's

no prescription for this, right?

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Mm-hmm.

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Every child will someday make a decision.

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But what a joy to be able to look back and

know that we laid it all out there, right?

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That we left

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it all on the

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field,

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that we left nothing unsaid that we wanted

to say that we took every opportunity

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Betsy: That's even why we call the

Ministry Entrusted Ministries because

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it

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means

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held for safekeeping and we

are stewards of those children.

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They don't really truly belong to us.

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It says in Ezekiel, all souls

belong to God, and in that little

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shape of the little body that we

get presented when they're born.

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Such a wonderful.

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Awesome moment in life, and then

we get to train them up to love the

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Lord and give their lives to him.

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It's a stewardship.

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It's

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like we are really raising

them on his behalf.

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Well, how would

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the

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king want his children

to be raised and his

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behalf?

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Mm-hmm.

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It's such a wonderful responsibility,

but it gives you a, a joy in doing it

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like the Lord, you're with me in this.

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You see me

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when I

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stick

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my head in the dryer.

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And you know what?

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You know what I like about doing laundry

is because my thoughts get to be my own.

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I look

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at

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my

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husband

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and he has to go to work and he has

to talk to people about all these

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different things and different

clients and different numbers and

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all this, and I think, you know what?

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I get to think about the Lord.

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I get to think about a Bible verse.

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I get to.

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Really concentrate and

dwell on what's holy, right.

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Pure, perfect.

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Yes.

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And what I'm dealing with

and what I'm making for lunch

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and all that for the kids.

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But it's more your own thoughts that

you get and you get to bring your

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thoughts captive to the things of the

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Emily: Mm-hmm.

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Steph: Emily.

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I know we've talked a little

bit about homeschool here.

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But I truly respect you for how

intentional you are with your children.

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When they're home, you really know their

needs and you're available to meet them.

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And we're not trying to paint

a one size fits all here.

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We don't think homeschooling is

the only way for discipleship.

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We think that the lord calls us to

many things and so can you speak

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to that a little bit about what

it looks like in your home for you

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to be faithful in your parenting

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Emily: it looks like being very

intentional for us, as Jen was

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reading the quotes about being holy.

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They're so sweet, and I think as a

young mom, that word really scared me.

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Being holy is something so unattainable

and it's left for the Lord only, but.

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But as I've grown in the Lord in

sanctification, he has shown me that

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holy doesn't have to be hard and

it doesn't have to be unattainable.

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It's something that we're daily

striving towards in our homes for him.

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And I was also thinking as we pour

into our children, our girls are

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watching and as we model this, so will

they also model for their children.

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So being intentional in our home

and pouring into our kids it matters

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every moment that we're folding the

laundry, doing the dishes it all

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counts and the Lord will sanctify

it and make it good for his glory.

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Jen: And that's funny that you

said that you often felt like you

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could think through your thoughts.

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There are so many times in the day where

I am like, I just want to think my own

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thoughts.

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I'm thinking so much for you.

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There's a quote by Sophia Loren that

says, when you're a mother, you are

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never really alone in your thoughts.

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A mother always

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has

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to think twice, once for

herself and once for her child.

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so I feel like at times I.

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But that's why I think it's so important

that as moms we get away to have a quiet

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time of our own, that we put a high and

holy priority on spending time alone

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with the Lord to be able to hear

those thoughts, to be able to stop

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and think and be like, what are

you speaking to me about, Lord,

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how can I train up this child?

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What is it in my own life that you.

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See that is not bringing you glory.

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And so being in the word every

single day and hearing what he

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has for that day, for that moment,

for me, has been so important.

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Because I feel like sometimes those

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thoughts, I'm

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like,

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I don't

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even

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know

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what

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Betsy: I

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Yes.

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my husband says

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the

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world

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will

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give you its thoughts

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constantly.

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Yeah.

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And so we have to get alone like Jesus

did and have our thoughts be his thoughts.

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So maybe that's why I stuck my head in the

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dryer

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Because there is no place in

the house you can go where

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they can't, try and

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find

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you.

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And especially when you think you're gonna

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Emily: mm-hmm.

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run

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to

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the

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Betsy: restroom for.

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10 seconds.

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Emily: Yes.

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Betsy: Mom.

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Steph: I know.

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I think it's so funny when in Entrusted

when you talk about the best 15 minutes

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of the day, my kids, all four of them.

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It's the moment I need alone.

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That's

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Emily: Yes.

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They best

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Steph: of minutes.

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Huh?

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Mom's not here right now.

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I think I'll find her.

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Betsy: Yes.

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Emily: Yes.

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I do think it's so hard, it's

actually quite impossible to

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pour from an empty vessel.

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And so when we're not taking

time away we can't pour what

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we need to in our children.

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And so whatever that means for you.

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You're of course, your devotion time

and your bible time, but also, you

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know, what books are you reading?

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What podcasts are you listening to?

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What friends are you listening

as they pour into you?

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Who surrounds you?

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Who are your children's friend?

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It all matters And all

of that disciples us.

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Our calendars disciple us because what

we make time for is what we grow in.

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So it all matters.

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Jen: Hmm.

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Steph: Absolutely.

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And I'm sure that there are

some moms out there saying, I.

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I'm called to work or, or

I am working right now.

400

And, and we obviously would leave

that up to you and the Lord,

401

whether that's really something the

Lord's put on your heart or whether

402

that's a choice that you've chosen.

403

And so we trust you to work

that out in your own home.

404

I know for me personally part of

me being faithful to my family

405

and to the Lord is to take on

part of a provider role right now.

406

My children are getting a little bit older

and I continue to homeschool them so that

407

the discipleship role is still a key area

that I'm involved in, in their lives.

408

But I think when we really let the

Lord order our days, it's amazing how

409

our to-do list becomes his to-do list.

410

And you can start out being so overwhelmed

and thinking, how can I pour into my

411

children when I have this much to-do?

412

But if we're really doing what the

Lord's called us to, I think it's

413

amazing how he provides teachable

moments, those silver platter moments,

414

and you can really have their heart,

regardless of your circumstance, because

415

you know that whatever the Lord has

called you to, he will provide for

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what's truly important and on his heart.

417

So if you're listening and

you're thinking, oh, that's not

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quite my situation right now.

419

We just would ask you to prayerfully seek

the Lord about how to order your days.

420

I love in Psalms that it says, teach

us to number our days, so we may gain

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a heart of wisdom, and I really believe

that's available to each one of us.

422

Regardless of the situation.

423

God is so faithful to meet us where we're

at, and to help us invest in our children.

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Emily: I'd to jump in and go

425

back to a thought

426

that we mentioned earlier.

427

Stephanie and about their

428

choice for homeschool

and discipleship and,

429

Whatever route you choose

430

to educate your child, you need to always

understand that education is discipleship.

431

They're, they're in the

institution, whether

432

it's

433

at

434

home or at school and

435

they are being taught and discipled.

436

Whatever is

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being.

438

Put into them daily

439

so you

440

don't surrender discipleship

to the school that they go to.

441

Whatever your school choice is.

442

We do have our children in a

443

Christian school,

444

and a phenomenal school.

445

We love,

446

we love it.

447

However, we aren't

448

leaving the discipleship at the door of.

449

The Christian institution,

we're bringing it home

450

and we're asking

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them what they're school and what

they're being taught, curriculum asking

452

them to explain it in their own words

so that we can talk through that.

453

Whatever they're learning, we

454

can talk through it

455

together.

456

My daughter

457

came home

458

one day and she said,

459

mom, we're studying the book

460

of Revelation

461

and it

462

says in Revelation

463

that we just be in We be worshiping

464

All day

465

long.

466

And an

467

incredible opportunity

then to just talk about it.

468

And so

469

we

470

often

471

miss

472

the

473

discipleship moments

474

because

475

we're too busy going to the

476

Jen: doing

477

Emily: laundry and putting the meal on,

478

on the stove.

479

And so

480

the opportunities

481

for

482

discipleship us.

483

But I

484

have loved this thought that education

is discipleship and that we choose

485

what poured our children daily.

486

Jen: Yeah, that's a great word.

487

Steph: And it's neat to see

how the Lord makes disciples.

488

He's so faithful to take

children from every path, right?

489

And I'm sure sitting at this table,

we've all had different experiences and

490

it's neat to see the faithfulness of

God as you look back over your life.

491

So we understand that.

492

He certainly calls us to

many different things.

493

In Colossians 3 23, it says,

whatever you do, work heartily

494

as for the Lord and not for men.

495

Knowing that from the Lord, you'll

receive the inheritance as your reward.

496

You are serving the Lord Christ.

497

what an honor we have.

498

To really serve our Lord with

each, apple, you cut each shoe

499

you tie each diaper, you change.

500

We have so many opportunities

to show the Lord honor.

501

And you know, I was struck recently, I was

studying in First John and how many times

502

we are commanded to love one another, love

503

one another, Like, Lord, am I loving you?

504

Not if I'm not loving others.

505

And I was really struck by the fact.

506

That it's so frequently says to

love others because by loving

507

others, we are loving God.

508

And it very infrequently

commands us to love god

509

so we know that that is the

greatest commandment to love God.

510

Right.

511

And that it says it often in the

old Testament and that Jesus,

512

again, quoted it in the gospels.

513

But it was really amazed by the fact

that that command is not repeated very

514

much after we have Christ's example.

515

And so I thought, you know, once we

see the love of Jesus, And display

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on the cross and how he loved on this

earth we don't have to be commanded

517

to do it as much because it's such

a delight and honor to serve the

518

savior who went before us by serving

519

And I think if, His service and his

selflessness continues to be our

520

model for how we serve our children.

521

We will overflow with that

delight in it instead of.

522

This hunger for affirmation in it.

523

We won't be looking at our children

as walking progress reports.

524

Mm-hmm.

525

Please tell me, am I doing a good job?

526

Okay.

527

Maybe I'll feel good about it

when they graduate high school.

528

Maybe I'll feel good about it when, you

know, they start to read or ride a bike

529

then I'll feel good about what I've done.

530

That's not what we're to do.

531

We can go to sleep knowing

we've done our best.

532

And I'm talking to myself

right now just so you know.

533

We can go to sleep knowing that we laid it

all out there and trusting the Lord that

534

we're faithful to do our part, but , he's

faithful, to do so much more with it.

535

And so we don't need to be

looking to our children either

536

to, to give us that affirmation.

537

So,

538

Jen: Yeah, for sure.

539

And I think even, it's interesting

cuz you were talking about love

540

and and loving others and he asked

the question, do you love me?

541

And well, yes, I love you.

542

Well then feed my Sheep, tend my lambs

543

the way that we can show him we

love him is by bringing up that

544

next generation and tending to his

flack and tending to them and loving

545

them and showing others the love.

546

I think that was beautiful.

547

Steph: We hope that you feel valued

encouraged and renewed that your

548

sacrifices and your service in your home.

549

Truly matter to the Lord.

550

This is just part one.

551

Of the pep talk next week, we're

going to return and we're going to dig

552

into a couple passages of scripture.

553

That show just how much are against matter

554

and just in case we came across

a little bit too serious today.

555

We've put one of our favorite outtakes.

556

From recording at the end of the episode.

557

Enjoy

558

We know you're busy, Mama, so

we are truly grateful you joined

559

us for this episode of Again.

560

If you're looking for more information

about building your home on the

561

foundation of Jesus Christ, head to www.

562

EntrustedMinistries.

563

com to learn more about our study for

moms, Entrusted with a Child's Heart.

564

This scripture saturated study

has blessed families around the

565

world, and we want it for you, too.

566

Before you go, I want to pray

this benediction over you

567

from 2 Thessalonians 1, 11 12.

568

We're rooting for you.

569

To this end, we always pray for you,

that our God may make you worthy of His

570

calling, and may fulfill every resolve

for good, and every work of faith by

571

His power, so that the name of our Lord

Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in

572

Him, according to the grace of our God.

573

And the Lord Jesus Christ.

574

Amen.

575

Until we meet again.

576

All right, Emily, what

is your drink of choice?

577

Coffee, tea, or something else?

578

Well, coffee in the morning

because it's very necessary.

579

And I find myself drinking

tea more in the winter.

580

So I guess I'm a seasonal drinker.

581

laughter laughter laughter

laughter laughter laughter

582

laughter laughter