Again might not be the first word you think of to describe motherhood--or even Christian parenting--but we think it fits perfectly. Join us to untangle from the confusion and overwhelm you feel as we share the heart of Again from Entrusted Ministries (the ministry that brought you Entrusted with a Child's Heart). The Bible truly is the way to find peace and joy in your parenting. Let's look to Him together.

They're the joyful agains our children shout on the swings, the

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exhausting agains of cooking and laundry,

and the 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 woke up with clarity,

knowing which agains we were called

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to, and went to bed believing we

are faithful in what matters most?

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We believe God's Word is

the key to untangle from the

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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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Welcome to the again, podcast.

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I'm your host, Stephanie Hickox.

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And as always, this is brought

to you by entrusted ministries.

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In case you're new around here, or

haven't heard our very first episode.

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Why, again, we're replaying it

so that you can be clear about

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what we're hoping to offer you.

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If you've ever thought.

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Hm.

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Again, that's an interesting

name for a podcast.

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You'll get absolute

clarity from this episode.

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It's a quick listen, but we hope it

reveals just how much you are loved.

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And prayed for.

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You might be thinking, Why "again"?

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But to me, it's motherhood in a word.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox on behalf of

Entrusted Ministries, and you've

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been on our heart for a long time.

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Deuteronomy six, six and seven is

probably the most commonly quoted

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passage of Scripture on parenting.

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And these words that I command

you today shall be on your heart.

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You shall teach them diligently

to your children and shall talk of

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them when you sit in your house,

when you walk by the way, when

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you lie down and when you rise up.

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The Lord is saying, tell your

children about my faithfulness

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again and again over and over.

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And I find this idea in Scripture

repeated Often we are to be faithful.

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We are to faithfully pray faithfully,

serve faithfully, love, and forgive.

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When the idea of, again, came to me, I

wasn't thinking just of those biblical

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again, but also of the mundane agains,

the things that we do every day over

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and over, like the constant cooking and

the cleaning up of the food that we just

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cooked that is now on the table and on

the floor and on our children's clothes.

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And then we do the dishes that result

from the food that we just cooked.

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And then we stain treat the

clothes that the food just stained.

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And we do loads and loads and loads of

laundry over and over again and again.

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And then there are of course the difficult

again of parenting too, disciplining

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often without seeing fruit researching

and second guessing ourselves again,

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losing our patience and apologizing again.

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Comparing ourselves because it seems

someone's always doing it better.

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But then there are also the joys of again.

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I hear my children on the

swings "Again, Mommy, Again!"

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They want me to push them over and over,

even after they've learned to pump or

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it's reading their favorite book and

they want me to read it over and over.

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It's the tickles and the giggles and the

snuggles, and they want it all repeated,

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and I do just as much as they do.

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This word again sums up much of

motherhood, and I find that when

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I'm steadfast in the agains, in

God's Word, that I know matter to

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him, that I can lay my head on my

pillow at night and have peace.

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I can trust that it's all adding

up and that really these children

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are entrusted to me and he caress

for them even more than I do.

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Honestly, I can say that many

days I do get tangled up in the

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necessary things, and even more so

the standards I have for myself that

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maybe the Lord doesn't have for me.

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So whatever it is that you need

to break free from the things that

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entangle you in your motherhood,

whether it's comparison, fear of man,

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getting wrapped up in faulty theology

and empty promises and quick fixes.

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Feeling alone, overwhelmed

and discouraged.

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Feeling like you just don't know if it's

working and you don't even know if you're

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doing what God is calling you to do.

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There are so many things grasping

for our attention and so many people

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promising that they have the way

to do it, but I hope that this can

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be a place where freedom is gained.

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The little girl in the picture,

she doesn't just represent the

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children that we push on our swings.

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She represents us.

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She's free.

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She's happy.

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And she's not perfect, but she's

in the moment enjoying herself.

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And that's my hope for each of you,

that as you listen, you feel called to

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something high and holy, and at the same

time rest in the joys of the moment,

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knowing that the Lord is delighted in

you and that he's meeting you in it.

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So whether it's the joyful, again,

the mundane agains, the difficult

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against, or being faithful in our

responsibilities presented in scripture.

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We hope to continually point you to the

principles and God's word and encourage

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you to stay faithful and persevere.

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Now that I've told you the heart of

again, I'd like to tell you a little

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bit about the format of the show.

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I'm Stephanie, and I'll be hosting

each episode, but I'll be joined

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by either one, two, or three of the

following Wonderful ladies each week.

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First, Betsy Corning is the

director of Entrusted Ministries.

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She wrote a life-changing study and

parenting and biblical family life

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called entrusted with the Child's

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for mothers to understand what the

word of God says about parenting.

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To not hear the opinions of the

world, but to really be rooted

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in the truth of scripture.

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And her goal is to encourage

mothers every step of the way.

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And she's incredible at it.

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She's truly in touch with what young

mothers need, and even after years of

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working with her, every time I hear

her speak to mothers, I'm amazed at the

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healing balm that comes from her mouth.

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She knows that we need to be encouraged,

and she has the perspective of being a

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little bit farther down the road with

three children and 10 grandchildren.

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She's seen the principles in

God's word truly bear fruit.

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She's also spent a lifetime

pouring into God's word.

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The fruit of it is incredibly evident.

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She has so much wisdom.

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And then we have Jen Reman.

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Jen is so well researched and smart,

and she will tell you a natural

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remedy for just about everything.

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She's incredibly well read and you

will hear the fruit of her voracious

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reading with her many quotes that

point us to the heart of God.

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She's also an amazing

problem solver in her home.

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She thinks of many creative

solutions, and I find myself

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inspired every time I talk to her.

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She loves her children, and she is

a devoted mother and an intentional

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encourager to those around her.

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Last, but certainly not least,

Emily Dio, she is a treasure.

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This podcast would not

be happening without her.

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She's servant hearted and has an

amazing desire for community, for

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moms to feel seen and known and loved.

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But when you put a mic in front of her,

so much value comes out and she just

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overflows with truth from God's word.

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She's a wordsmith and she's

continually thinking about how she

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can encourage others, and she's

a truly attentive, loving mother.

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And what about me?

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Why do I feel called to this?

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I have to tell you that even as a

little girl, the greatest desire of

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my heart was to follow Jesus and to

have a family that glorified him.

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And so I followed that plan.

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I found a man who was extremely committed

to following God and who couldn't

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wait to be a husband and father.

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But shortly after we got married,

there was a lot of change.

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I wouldn't know until about 10

years later that much of the change

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was due to a medical diagnosis.

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And I have to be honest.

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My real is not my ideal.

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Every day of my life, I am impacted

by medical, financial, and relational

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struggles, and yet, God's faithfulness has

been incredible to me and to my family.

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And I'm here to say, no matter

how differently your family looks

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than how you intended or how you

wanted it to be, God is faithful.

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I think so many of us have

circumstances that are not the way

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we planned and do we keep walking

in it, believing that God is good.

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We want you to know that none

of us have it all together.

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None of us have done it.

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All right.

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We've blown it.

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We've lost our patience.

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We've gone to bed crying.

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We've dealt with sickness in our

children, our husbands and ourselves.

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We've had diagnoses and special

needs, financial struggles, job

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loss, family members who disapproved

of us and of our parenting.

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We've had friends and neighbors who

probably think we're crazy and might

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even wonder how We have podcasts.

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We've been to marriage counseling.

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We've had broken bones and stitches and

accidents, and we've needed the Lord

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more than we ever realized we would.

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The longer I parent, the more I understand

that Jesus has no interest in making me

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a mother that doesn't need him daily.

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Did you know that the hymn I need,

Thee Every Hour was written by Annie

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Hawks, a Housewife and Mother of three?

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I find such comfort in her words.

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My savior isn't asking me to be a

mother who has it all figured out.

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He's asking me to be a mother who has

complete reliance upon and faith in him.

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It's when we look to him and focus

on his faithfulness that we find

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true joy and peace in our motherhood.

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And so I ask that you join me, not

for perfection, not because we have

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it all together, but because we know

where to look to become untangled.

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The answers you're looking for,

for freedom and joy in your

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motherhood are in scripture.

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Jesus is the one whose yoke

is easy and burden is light.

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Let's look to him together.

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We're so grateful you're here.