May 29, 2025 • 23 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
hello friend, welcome back to grace from my home.
I'm audrey mccracken and I'm soglad to be back with you again
this week.
I hope that you're doing well.
Just a little update um, what'sgoing on in our lives?
Um, getting ready for summer atthe coffee shop.
Summer has a different vibe atthe coffee shop.
(00:23):
I didn't realize how big summerwould be for us when we first
opened up the shop about twoyears ago.
You know, I kind of thoughtsummer may be the quiet time
because it's coffee, right, andwho wants coffee in the summer?
Well, everybody wants coffee inthe summer.
We do a lot of frappes, a lotof smoothies and a lot of cold
brew and iced lattes, and I justI had no idea.
(00:48):
All the kids are off fromschool and we've become a little
hangout place for them, whichwe love.
We have some older kids thatwill be off from school and
actually helping us, somejuniors and seniors that we've
hired for the summer and youknow, young people bring life.
We're also working on oursummer drinks and that's the fun
part of running a coffee shopis you get to think of these new
(01:09):
cool drinks, and that's usuallya team effort, like we've got
several different people whohelp us with that and, you know,
love to do the taste testingand come up with ideas, and so
we're getting ready for summerat the coffee shop and having
the younger people, like I said,it just brings a different vibe
.
It also gives our regularemployees some time to take off,
(01:30):
to do vacations, spend timewith their kids while their kids
are off for summer break.
So so, yeah, that's what wehave going on right now.
If you've been listening, thenyou know that we're in the
middle of a five-week replayseries where I'm sharing some of
my most listened to episodes,and there's a few reasons why
(01:51):
I'm doing this.
One of those reasons is I havea lot more listeners now than
when these first aired and theyhave been some of my most
popular, and I want to givepeople an opportunity to listen
to them who haven't, and if youhave, hopefully they'll be just
as good the second time andthere'll be an encouragement to
you.
(02:12):
Also, this summer I'm takingsome time to work on some
projects that I really want toget started on, but I just
haven't been able to make muchtraction on.
One is my second book.
Back in October, I released myfirst book, which was a book of
prayers for moms and it's calledCovered in Prayer 31 Prayers to
(02:34):
Cover you and your Children inGod's Grace, and you can find
that on Amazon if you'reinterested.
But I have another book thatI've been working on and it's a
devotional.
So I'm another book that I'vebeen working on and it's a
devotional, so I'm working onthat.
Also, it's in my heart to starta second podcast, a daily
devotional about five or tenminutes to help you get your day
started.
So I'm working on trying to getthat created and launched.
(02:57):
And also I've got some Biblestudies that I want to work on,
so I want to get some tractionon those things, so they're not
just ideas and they're actuallyin this world, in the real world
.
So this summer that's what I'mconcentrating on, for a few
weeks at least, but I am stillaround.
I'm blogging every week.
You can check that out atgraceformyhomecom.
(03:20):
I'm sending out weeklynewsletters.
If you have not signed up, goto the show notes and you can
sign up there, or you can go tomy blog, graceformyhomecom, and
sign up there, and that's oneway to stay in touch with me.
Also, in the show notes thereis a link where you can send me
a text and I'd love to hear fromyou.
(03:40):
I'd love to hear from you.
Every time I hear from alistener, it excites me, it's
like, oh, somebody's listeningand I love that.
So please go to the show notes.
You know, follow me on social.
Let's get connected.
Tell me about yourself, tell meabout your kids.
Today's episode first aired backin February of 2024, and it's
(04:05):
called Like a Tree Planted byLiving Waters.
It's a reminder that our faithdoesn't have to be flashy to be
powerful.
You know, sometimes the mostspiritual thing we can do is to
stay rooted, to stay close toJesus, to stay in his word and
to stay faithful during theseasons when nobody's looking
(04:28):
and nobody sees us.
You know, our life can be anencouragement, an example for
other people when we livefaithfully and we can become
like that tree planted by theliving waters.
So I hope that you'reencouraged by today's message.
Let's listen.
Hello everyone, welcome back toGrace.
(04:49):
For my home, the temperature iswarming up here in South
Carolina.
It is a beautiful day today andit's starting to feel like
spring.
It's not spring, but it'sstarting to feel like spring.
It's still a little chilly, butthere's hope in the air.
I went for a walk yesterday andit was so nice and I just I'm
(05:12):
so excited about the springweather coming because, well, I
just love change of season, butI especially love the spring.
You know, the spring is likenew hope.
Everything's been dead,everything's been cold,
everything's been brown and,just, you know, just kind of
yucky.
(05:33):
And now with the spring newthings are starting to pop up
and that's exciting.
So here it's starting to justbe beautiful outside.
I don't look forward to thepollen, but you have to take the
good with the bad right.
Just to give you a little recapof what's going on around here,
(05:55):
our boys are starting to getready for spring sports.
We have one who is he'spracticing soccer.
Right now they're in soccerpractice.
I have another one who, um, heis, his head is all into
football.
So right now for the springhe's doing track, he's training
with the track team and he hasreally enjoyed that.
(06:18):
But the whole point of it ishe's getting ready for football.
He thinks that track will helphim be faster and more agile and
so that's why he's doing that.
And then we are getting readyfor the summer, thinking about
what we're going to do thissummer as far as travel and
those kind of things, and myhusband.
(06:40):
He travels a lot during thesummer and sometimes I get to go
with him and sometimes I don't.
Now that I'm managing thecoffee shop, I'm not able to go
with him as much, and that'sokay, but it just kind of.
You know, we're just trying tofigure all that out right now.
I had a scripture on my mind andon my heart today actually two
(07:02):
and I thought that this would betwo good scriptures to share
with you today.
The first one is Psalm 1.
I had my children, when we werehomeschooling, memorize Psalm 1
, and it's such a good scripture.
I'm going to read Psalm 1 toyou out of the NIV right now.
(07:23):
It says or stand in the way ofsinners or sit in the company of
mockers, but whose delight isin the law of the Lord and who
meditates in his law day andnight, that person is like a
(07:43):
tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in
season and whose leaf does notwither.
Whatever they do prospers, notso the wicked.
They are like shaft that thewind has driven away.
Therefore, the wicked will notstand in judgment, nor sinners
in the assembly of the righteous, for the Lord watches over the
(08:07):
way of the righteous, but theway of the wicked leads to
destruction.
And, like I said, when my boyswere younger, we memorized this
together because I just thinkit's so important to see the
contrast, that there is adifference between those who
serve the Lord and those whodon't, and we all have that
(08:30):
choice.
That is a choice that everyperson has to make.
How are we going to walk?
And I wanted them to seeclearly from the very beginning
that there is a distinction,because this world will tell you
there's really no bigdifference between Christians
(08:50):
and non-Christians.
There's really no bigdifference between those who
believe in God and those whodon't, no big difference between
those who believe in God andthose who don't.
But there is, and sometimes youknow at the beginning, you may
see two people, you know thebeginning of life, and one is a
believer and one is not.
And it may not look like awhole lot of difference between
those two, but as the years goon, as time passes, and they
(09:14):
make more and more decisionsabout their lives.
The person who has built hishome, his life, on the rock of
Jesus, who has decided to liverightly, who has decided to do
the right things, even when itdoesn't seem like it matters.
That person's life will look alot different 20, 30, 40 years
(09:38):
down the road, because thedifferences they start off small
, but they grow exponentially.
And that's what it's like for aperson who builds his house on
the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
We are those who delight in thelaw of the Lord, who meditate on
(10:03):
his law day and night.
We don't stand in the way ofsinners, we don't sit in the
company of mockers, we don'twalk with the wicked, and it
makes a huge difference in ourlives.
We become like a tree plantedby streams of water, and what
that means is, when there's adrought, we are beside the river
(10:26):
, even if you don't see thewater in the riverbed.
We have roots that go down deepand we have a stream.
We have a source that the worldcan't see, and it sustains us
in hard times.
We have a leaf that doesn'twither.
Now we have fruit in the seasonwhen we're supposed to have
(10:49):
fruit, because whatever we doprospers, because our prosperity
is not based on our own ability, but the fact that God watches
over us, the fact that we dothose things that please him,
and so, even when on the outsideit doesn't look like there's a
big difference between the onewho serves Jesus and the one who
(11:12):
doesn't.
In the long run, it makes allthe difference, and we as
Christian moms, as Christianparents, we are the ones that
have to show that to ourchildren early, so that they see
that there is a reward forserving God, there is a reason
to serve God, and there will bea day of judgment.
(11:37):
There will be a day where westand before Jesus and we give
account of all the things we'vedone in our lives.
And you know, we may do thingshere on earth that make people
scratch their heads.
We may do things that the worldjust can't understand.
Why would you give?
Why would you give when you'reyourself struggling?
(12:03):
Why would you reach out andhelp other people when you're
not rich yourself?
Because there's a reward,because I look after my brother
and my sister, because I'm likemy father, I see and I love to
bless, and so there is a hiddencurrent that flows through God's
children, that brings blessingeverywhere it goes, and it's not
(12:25):
always financial blessings.
Many times it doesn't haveanything to do with money.
There is a blessing that flows.
There's a joy, there's astrength, there's a support,
there's a happiness that goesdeeper than money, that a lot of
people can't see, because tothem that's what blessed means
(12:47):
is it means finances.
Can't see because to themthat's what blessed means is it
means finances, and I'm thankfulthat our finances, that our
needs, our financial needs aremet.
But the blessing of God is somuch more than financial, and
God is showing us here in Psalm1 that there is a distinction
between he who walks after Godand he who does not.
(13:10):
The implication is be the onewho walks after God, be the
righteous one, be the one whodoes right when nobody else is
watching, because it matters.
Send those roots down deep sothat when the storm comes, that
tree doesn't topple over and Godwill supply all that you need.
(13:33):
I also want to read anotherscripture that is over in
Matthew.
It says in Matthew 13, startingin verse 31, talking about
Jesus, he presented anotherparable to them, saying the
kingdom of heaven is like amustard seed which a man took
(13:54):
and sowed in his field, and thisis smaller than all other seeds
, but when it is full grown, itis larger than the garden plants
and becomes a tree, so that thebirds of the air come and nest
in its branches.
So Jesus is talking about thekingdom of God and it's like a
(14:18):
mustard seed and you know hesaid in another section, he said
another place, that if you havefaith as a mustard seed, then
you can say to a mountain, bemoved and cast into the sea and
it will obey you.
But he's talking here.
The kingdom of God is like thatmustard seed it's small but
(14:39):
once you plant it and it grows,it becomes bigger than any of
the other plants in your garden,so big that it's a tree where
the birds can come and makenests and find safe haven, find
a protected place, and I seethat a lot like Psalm 1.
(15:00):
As we grow in our faith, as welearn how to walk with Jesus, as
we become more and more likehim, we become a safe place, we
become a stable person.
We spread out our branches andmake a place for other people to
(15:21):
come and to hear and to be safeand to learn about God.
And as moms, that's who we'recalled to be.
We're called to be men andwomen of faith where others can
come into our branches, becausewe've stood the test of time,
(15:43):
because we've stood through thestorms, because we've grown in
our faith because we've allowedour roots to go down deep and
our branches to go up high.
We can make a place for otherpeople who need a break from the
storm, for other people whoneed to come into the protection
(16:04):
of our faith so that they canlearn, so they can grow, so they
can be inspired, so they canhave an example of how to walk
with God.
And that's what our faith islike.
As our faith grows, it producesa place where other people can
(16:24):
grow too, and our homes are likethat can grow too, and our
homes are like that.
Your children, they need lots ofthings, right, they need a lot
of stuff, but most of all, theyneed you to be an example of
walking with Jesus, of what itmeans to walk by faith, of what
(16:52):
it means to love God, of what itmeans to enjoy God, of what it
means to hold on when we don'tfeel like holding on anymore.
You know that is taught.
That is one of those thingsthat we don't think that that is
important.
It doesn't seem like, you know,one of the big things that we
need to be training our children, but that is so foundational
(17:13):
that it's one of those thingsthat they will absorb from us as
we walk in hard places and theyknow when we're walking in hard
places.
But as we walk in hard placesand we still trust God and we
still pray and we still forgivepeople who hurt us and we still
strive to please God in hardplaces, they may not verbally
(17:38):
say I see that, but it goes downdeep and years later, when
they're going through their ownsituations, their own
circumstances where it wouldseem a lot easier just to just
to strike the rock and just sayforget this.
It'd be a lot easier just towalk away or do what feels good
(18:00):
to them at the moment, they willhave a picture of of mama,
believing, praying, worshipingin hard places, and that is
worth its weight in gold, mama.
Now, that's one of those thingsthat you can't buy it, you can't
manufacture it.
(18:21):
It's a faith walk and itmatters.
It matters a great deal.
And if you don't, if you feellike you're failing all the way
around, okay, if you feel likeyou know I didn't get this right
and I didn't get that right andI didn't get that right, you
just keep walking with Jesus andyour very walk with him will be
(18:43):
a testimony to your childrenthat we serve Jesus, even when
it's hard, that we walk afterGod, even when nobody else sees
it, because we believe andthat's what faith is.
It starts off as a little seedand we keep walking with them,
and walking with them, andwalking with them, and before we
(19:03):
know it, we are a tree plantedby the rivers of water that
brings protection and a place ofrest for those who live under
our roof and for others thatwill come alongside that the
Lord will send to walk alongwith us, and it's so worth it.
It's so worth it.
And he sends us times ofrefreshing.
(19:25):
There are seasons, like I saidwhen I opened up, there are
seasons.
There are seasons that it feelsdark, there are seasons that it
feels just really yucky andhard and cold, and then there
are times when the sun comes outand the spring comes and the
birds start singing again andit's like the sap starts running
through our veins again andwe're reminded that serving
(19:50):
Jesus is the best life there isAmen.
I do want to let you know that Iam going to take a few weeks
off from the podcast.
I am spending a few weekspraying, just seeking the Lord
for direction for my life andfor my family, and I love doing
(20:15):
the podcast and I willdefinitely be back, but I do
want to be serious about seekingthe Lord's direction and,
instead of trying to come upwith a message, I want to hear
from the Lord during this nextprobably about two to three
weeks and so just want to letyou know, so you don't think
(20:35):
that I have given up or that I'mnot coming back, but I am going
to take a few weeks off just toclear my mind and hear from the
Lord.
So if you would pray for methat I would hear direction from
the Lord, that would be great.
So, just so, just to let youknow, father, I pray right now
(20:55):
for these mamas that arelistening, lord.
I pray that they would feel youmoving in their spirits today,
that they would feel the saprunning again, lord, that, lord,
new life is on that, lord,spring is coming and new life is
on the way.
And, lord, I ask you, lord,that they would feel you as
their strength inside of them.
Lord, for all that, they needGod, we are a resource to our
(21:20):
family.
They're constantly pulling fromus, constantly coming to us for
wisdom.
God, give us your wisdom forthem.
And, lord, I just ask you forstrength in our hearts and our
minds, and, lord, we give youall the glory and we just honor
you in Jesus name, amen.
hello friend, welcome back to grace from my home.
I'm audrey mccracken and I'm soglad to be back with you again
this week.
I hope that you're doing well.
Just a little update um, what'sgoing on in our lives?
Um, getting ready for summer atthe coffee shop.
Summer has a different vibe atthe coffee shop.
(00:23):
I didn't realize how big summerwould be for us when we first
opened up the shop about twoyears ago.
You know, I kind of thoughtsummer may be the quiet time
because it's coffee, right, andwho wants coffee in the summer?
Well, everybody wants coffee inthe summer.
We do a lot of frappes, a lotof smoothies and a lot of cold
brew and iced lattes, and I justI had no idea.
(00:48):
All the kids are off fromschool and we've become a little
hangout place for them, whichwe love.
We have some older kids thatwill be off from school and
actually helping us, somejuniors and seniors that we've
hired for the summer and youknow, young people bring life.
We're also working on oursummer drinks and that's the fun
part of running a coffee shopis you get to think of these new
(01:09):
cool drinks, and that's usuallya team effort, like we've got
several different people whohelp us with that and, you know,
love to do the taste testingand come up with ideas, and so
we're getting ready for summerat the coffee shop and having
the younger people, like I said,it just brings a different vibe
.
It also gives our regularemployees some time to take off,
(01:30):
to do vacations, spend timewith their kids while their kids
are off for summer break.
So so, yeah, that's what wehave going on right now.
If you've been listening, thenyou know that we're in the
middle of a five-week replayseries where I'm sharing some of
my most listened to episodes,and there's a few reasons why
(01:51):
I'm doing this.
One of those reasons is I havea lot more listeners now than
when these first aired and theyhave been some of my most
popular, and I want to givepeople an opportunity to listen
to them who haven't, and if youhave, hopefully they'll be just
as good the second time andthere'll be an encouragement to
you.
(02:12):
Also, this summer I'm takingsome time to work on some
projects that I really want toget started on, but I just
haven't been able to make muchtraction on.
One is my second book.
Back in October, I released myfirst book, which was a book of
prayers for moms and it's calledCovered in Prayer 31 Prayers to
(02:34):
Cover you and your Children inGod's Grace, and you can find
that on Amazon if you'reinterested.
But I have another book thatI've been working on and it's a
devotional.
So I'm another book that I'vebeen working on and it's a
devotional, so I'm working onthat.
Also, it's in my heart to starta second podcast, a daily
devotional about five or tenminutes to help you get your day
started.
So I'm working on trying to getthat created and launched.
(02:57):
And also I've got some Biblestudies that I want to work on,
so I want to get some tractionon those things, so they're not
just ideas and they're actuallyin this world, in the real world
.
So this summer that's what I'mconcentrating on, for a few
weeks at least, but I am stillaround.
I'm blogging every week.
You can check that out atgraceformyhomecom.
(03:20):
I'm sending out weeklynewsletters.
If you have not signed up, goto the show notes and you can
sign up there, or you can go tomy blog, graceformyhomecom, and
sign up there, and that's oneway to stay in touch with me.
Also, in the show notes thereis a link where you can send me
a text and I'd love to hear fromyou.
(03:40):
I'd love to hear from you.
Every time I hear from alistener, it excites me, it's
like, oh, somebody's listeningand I love that.
So please go to the show notes.
You know, follow me on social.
Let's get connected.
Tell me about yourself, tell meabout your kids.
Today's episode first aired backin February of 2024, and it's
(04:05):
called Like a Tree Planted byLiving Waters.
It's a reminder that our faithdoesn't have to be flashy to be
powerful.
You know, sometimes the mostspiritual thing we can do is to
stay rooted, to stay close toJesus, to stay in his word and
to stay faithful during theseasons when nobody's looking
(04:28):
and nobody sees us.
You know, our life can be anencouragement, an example for
other people when we livefaithfully and we can become
like that tree planted by theliving waters.
So I hope that you'reencouraged by today's message.
Let's listen.
Hello everyone, welcome back toGrace.
(04:49):
For my home, the temperature iswarming up here in South
Carolina.
It is a beautiful day today andit's starting to feel like
spring.
It's not spring, but it'sstarting to feel like spring.
It's still a little chilly, butthere's hope in the air.
I went for a walk yesterday andit was so nice and I just I'm
(05:12):
so excited about the springweather coming because, well, I
just love change of season, butI especially love the spring.
You know, the spring is likenew hope.
Everything's been dead,everything's been cold,
everything's been brown and,just, you know, just kind of
yucky.
(05:33):
And now with the spring newthings are starting to pop up
and that's exciting.
So here it's starting to justbe beautiful outside.
I don't look forward to thepollen, but you have to take the
good with the bad right.
Just to give you a little recapof what's going on around here,
(05:55):
our boys are starting to getready for spring sports.
We have one who is he'spracticing soccer.
Right now they're in soccerpractice.
I have another one who, um, heis, his head is all into
football.
So right now for the springhe's doing track, he's training
with the track team and he hasreally enjoyed that.
(06:18):
But the whole point of it ishe's getting ready for football.
He thinks that track will helphim be faster and more agile and
so that's why he's doing that.
And then we are getting readyfor the summer, thinking about
what we're going to do thissummer as far as travel and
those kind of things, and myhusband.
(06:40):
He travels a lot during thesummer and sometimes I get to go
with him and sometimes I don't.
Now that I'm managing thecoffee shop, I'm not able to go
with him as much, and that'sokay, but it just kind of.
You know, we're just trying tofigure all that out right now.
I had a scripture on my mind andon my heart today actually two
(07:02):
and I thought that this would betwo good scriptures to share
with you today.
The first one is Psalm 1.
I had my children, when we werehomeschooling, memorize Psalm 1
, and it's such a good scripture.
I'm going to read Psalm 1 toyou out of the NIV right now.
(07:23):
It says or stand in the way ofsinners or sit in the company of
mockers, but whose delight isin the law of the Lord and who
meditates in his law day andnight, that person is like a
(07:43):
tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in
season and whose leaf does notwither.
Whatever they do prospers, notso the wicked.
They are like shaft that thewind has driven away.
Therefore, the wicked will notstand in judgment, nor sinners
in the assembly of the righteous, for the Lord watches over the
(08:07):
way of the righteous, but theway of the wicked leads to
destruction.
And, like I said, when my boyswere younger, we memorized this
together because I just thinkit's so important to see the
contrast, that there is adifference between those who
serve the Lord and those whodon't, and we all have that
(08:30):
choice.
That is a choice that everyperson has to make.
How are we going to walk?
And I wanted them to seeclearly from the very beginning
that there is a distinction,because this world will tell you
there's really no bigdifference between Christians
(08:50):
and non-Christians.
There's really no bigdifference between those who
believe in God and those whodon't, no big difference between
those who believe in God andthose who don't.
But there is, and sometimes youknow at the beginning, you may
see two people, you know thebeginning of life, and one is a
believer and one is not.
And it may not look like awhole lot of difference between
those two, but as the years goon, as time passes, and they
(09:14):
make more and more decisionsabout their lives.
The person who has built hishome, his life, on the rock of
Jesus, who has decided to liverightly, who has decided to do
the right things, even when itdoesn't seem like it matters.
That person's life will look alot different 20, 30, 40 years
(09:38):
down the road, because thedifferences they start off small
, but they grow exponentially.
And that's what it's like for aperson who builds his house on
the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
We are those who delight in thelaw of the Lord, who meditate on
(10:03):
his law day and night.
We don't stand in the way ofsinners, we don't sit in the
company of mockers, we don'twalk with the wicked, and it
makes a huge difference in ourlives.
We become like a tree plantedby streams of water, and what
that means is, when there's adrought, we are beside the river
(10:26):
, even if you don't see thewater in the riverbed.
We have roots that go down deepand we have a stream.
We have a source that the worldcan't see, and it sustains us
in hard times.
We have a leaf that doesn'twither.
Now we have fruit in the seasonwhen we're supposed to have
(10:49):
fruit, because whatever we doprospers, because our prosperity
is not based on our own ability, but the fact that God watches
over us, the fact that we dothose things that please him,
and so, even when on the outsideit doesn't look like there's a
big difference between the onewho serves Jesus and the one who
(11:12):
doesn't.
In the long run, it makes allthe difference, and we as
Christian moms, as Christianparents, we are the ones that
have to show that to ourchildren early, so that they see
that there is a reward forserving God, there is a reason
to serve God, and there will bea day of judgment.
(11:37):
There will be a day where westand before Jesus and we give
account of all the things we'vedone in our lives.
And you know, we may do thingshere on earth that make people
scratch their heads.
We may do things that the worldjust can't understand.
Why would you give?
Why would you give when you'reyourself struggling?
(12:03):
Why would you reach out andhelp other people when you're
not rich yourself?
Because there's a reward,because I look after my brother
and my sister, because I'm likemy father, I see and I love to
bless, and so there is a hiddencurrent that flows through God's
children, that brings blessingeverywhere it goes, and it's not
(12:25):
always financial blessings.
Many times it doesn't haveanything to do with money.
There is a blessing that flows.
There's a joy, there's astrength, there's a support,
there's a happiness that goesdeeper than money, that a lot of
people can't see, because tothem that's what blessed means
(12:47):
is it means finances.
Can't see because to themthat's what blessed means is it
means finances, and I'm thankfulthat our finances, that our
needs, our financial needs aremet.
But the blessing of God is somuch more than financial, and
God is showing us here in Psalm1 that there is a distinction
between he who walks after Godand he who does not.
(13:10):
The implication is be the onewho walks after God, be the
righteous one, be the one whodoes right when nobody else is
watching, because it matters.
Send those roots down deep sothat when the storm comes, that
tree doesn't topple over and Godwill supply all that you need.
(13:33):
I also want to read anotherscripture that is over in
Matthew.
It says in Matthew 13, startingin verse 31, talking about
Jesus, he presented anotherparable to them, saying the
kingdom of heaven is like amustard seed which a man took
(13:54):
and sowed in his field, and thisis smaller than all other seeds
, but when it is full grown, itis larger than the garden plants
and becomes a tree, so that thebirds of the air come and nest
in its branches.
So Jesus is talking about thekingdom of God and it's like a
(14:18):
mustard seed and you know hesaid in another section, he said
another place, that if you havefaith as a mustard seed, then
you can say to a mountain, bemoved and cast into the sea and
it will obey you.
But he's talking here.
The kingdom of God is like thatmustard seed it's small but
(14:39):
once you plant it and it grows,it becomes bigger than any of
the other plants in your garden,so big that it's a tree where
the birds can come and makenests and find safe haven, find
a protected place, and I seethat a lot like Psalm 1.
(15:00):
As we grow in our faith, as welearn how to walk with Jesus, as
we become more and more likehim, we become a safe place, we
become a stable person.
We spread out our branches andmake a place for other people to
(15:21):
come and to hear and to be safeand to learn about God.
And as moms, that's who we'recalled to be.
We're called to be men andwomen of faith where others can
come into our branches, becausewe've stood the test of time,
(15:43):
because we've stood through thestorms, because we've grown in
our faith because we've allowedour roots to go down deep and
our branches to go up high.
We can make a place for otherpeople who need a break from the
storm, for other people whoneed to come into the protection
(16:04):
of our faith so that they canlearn, so they can grow, so they
can be inspired, so they canhave an example of how to walk
with God.
And that's what our faith islike.
As our faith grows, it producesa place where other people can
(16:24):
grow too, and our homes are likethat can grow too, and our
homes are like that.
Your children, they need lots ofthings, right, they need a lot
of stuff, but most of all, theyneed you to be an example of
walking with Jesus, of what itmeans to walk by faith, of what
(16:52):
it means to love God, of what itmeans to enjoy God, of what it
means to hold on when we don'tfeel like holding on anymore.
You know that is taught.
That is one of those thingsthat we don't think that that is
important.
It doesn't seem like, you know,one of the big things that we
need to be training our children, but that is so foundational
(17:13):
that it's one of those thingsthat they will absorb from us as
we walk in hard places and theyknow when we're walking in hard
places.
But as we walk in hard placesand we still trust God and we
still pray and we still forgivepeople who hurt us and we still
strive to please God in hardplaces, they may not verbally
(17:38):
say I see that, but it goes downdeep and years later, when
they're going through their ownsituations, their own
circumstances where it wouldseem a lot easier just to just
to strike the rock and just sayforget this.
It'd be a lot easier just towalk away or do what feels good
(18:00):
to them at the moment, they willhave a picture of of mama,
believing, praying, worshipingin hard places, and that is
worth its weight in gold, mama.
Now, that's one of those thingsthat you can't buy it, you can't
manufacture it.
(18:21):
It's a faith walk and itmatters.
It matters a great deal.
And if you don't, if you feellike you're failing all the way
around, okay, if you feel likeyou know I didn't get this right
and I didn't get that right andI didn't get that right, you
just keep walking with Jesus andyour very walk with him will be
(18:43):
a testimony to your childrenthat we serve Jesus, even when
it's hard, that we walk afterGod, even when nobody else sees
it, because we believe andthat's what faith is.
It starts off as a little seedand we keep walking with them,
and walking with them, andwalking with them, and before we
(19:03):
know it, we are a tree plantedby the rivers of water that
brings protection and a place ofrest for those who live under
our roof and for others thatwill come alongside that the
Lord will send to walk alongwith us, and it's so worth it.
It's so worth it.
And he sends us times ofrefreshing.
(19:25):
There are seasons, like I saidwhen I opened up, there are
seasons.
There are seasons that it feelsdark, there are seasons that it
feels just really yucky andhard and cold, and then there
are times when the sun comes outand the spring comes and the
birds start singing again andit's like the sap starts running
through our veins again andwe're reminded that serving
(19:50):
Jesus is the best life there isAmen.
I do want to let you know that Iam going to take a few weeks
off from the podcast.
I am spending a few weekspraying, just seeking the Lord
for direction for my life andfor my family, and I love doing
(20:15):
the podcast and I willdefinitely be back, but I do
want to be serious about seekingthe Lord's direction and,
instead of trying to come upwith a message, I want to hear
from the Lord during this nextprobably about two to three
weeks and so just want to letyou know, so you don't think
(20:35):
that I have given up or that I'mnot coming back, but I am going
to take a few weeks off just toclear my mind and hear from the
Lord.
So if you would pray for methat I would hear direction from
the Lord, that would be great.
So, just so, just to let youknow, father, I pray right now
(20:55):
for these mamas that arelistening, lord.
I pray that they would feel youmoving in their spirits today,
that they would feel the saprunning again, lord, that, lord,
new life is on that, lord,spring is coming and new life is
on the way.
And, lord, I ask you, lord,that they would feel you as
their strength inside of them.
Lord, for all that, they needGod, we are a resource to our
(21:20):
family.
They're constantly pulling fromus, constantly coming to us for
wisdom.
God, give us your wisdom forthem.
And, lord, I just ask you forstrength in our hearts and our
minds, and, lord, we give youall the glory and we just honor
you in Jesus name, amen.
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