"It's important that children understand, not only the exaltation of His word, but exalting Him in our lives." ~ Maria Hamilton
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Meeke Addison sits down with Maria Hamilton to explore the significance of teaching apologetics to our children. Maria shares her personal testimony and the story of how a passion for true biblical understanding shaped her approach to homeschooling and discipling her children. Together, they discuss practical ways to instill a biblical worldview in kids and the importance of relying on the Holy Spirit's guidance. Tune in for a discussion that will challenge and inspire you to raise your kids with a strong, reasoned faith in God.
Join us next week on the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast, as Yvette Hampton sits down with Dr. Renton Rathbun to explore why so many are "deconstructing" and walking away from Christianity. Dr. Rathbun shares powerful advice for parents wanting to build a solid biblical worldview in their children and establish them for a faithful Christian Walk
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Abraham Hamilton, III - Reviving Discipleship: The Church’s Role in Family, Culture, and Education
Abraham Hamilton III - Real Family Discipleship, Part 1
Abraham Hamilton, III - Real Family Discipleship, Part 2
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I want them to understand from little bitty that the Word of
God is reliable, it is consistent, it aligns with what
we find in history and in science.
I want them to understand that the Word of God is not a
spiritual fairy tale like the world wants to say.
And so if that is true, then thecall of the believer starting at
(00:25):
3:00 and 4:00 and little is OK, then this is what my life, this
is what I'm going to base my life upon.
Hey, everyone, welcome back to the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I am Miki Addison and we are back with my guest, Maria
Hamilton. We had an incredible
conversation last week talking about apologetics and defense of
the faith, but also faithfulnessinside our homes.
(00:46):
If you didn't get an opportunityto hear it, you should go back
and check that episode out. We're going to pick up this week
and talking about what our rolesare and how we maintain those
roles inside our homes for the glory of God.
Even in the midst of all of the stress and all of the strain, He
is worthy to be exalted in everyway that we live.
Before we get into today's content, want to say thank you
(01:08):
to our sponsor for this episode,CTC Math.
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(01:52):
start start your free trial. That's CTC math ctcmath.com math
made easy. All right, Maria, thank you so
much for joining me again this week so we can have an
incredible conversation about our roles and the opportunity
that God has given us inside ourhomes.
(02:13):
Talk first of all about how you see your role as a wife and a
mother. What has been your biblical
foundation for how you are called to operate inside your
home? So the Lord calls us helpers
intentionally, you know, and it's a beautiful thing.
I feel like the our culture downgrades that as if it's
(02:34):
something small. But to be my husband's helper is
to understand the the vision andthe mission that he has given us
as a unit and do what I am called to do my position, man,
my lane, if you will, on route to the goal that God has for us.
So I need to fully understand and embrace what God has called
(02:57):
us to as a as a family. Part of that is training up our
children, right, Like we have. We have lots of hats to wear.
My husband and I, I mean, you know, ministry outside and all
the things that happened, but inside the home, God has
instructed us to be those that are poured out for his glory to
(03:19):
do what the Lord calls us to do.We have moved states because God
has said, OK, you're done here. Let's move to another place.
And so, and so we, we embrace the leading of the Holy Spirit
and we desire to obey him. And so as his helper, I need to
do. And again, something that falls
short of this. And so the Lord continues to
grow me and mature me and praiseGod for that and correct me.
(03:41):
How is it that I am to help him?And it's important when you and
I talked about this a little while back, how God calls us to
be helpers of our husbands, not helpers generally of men, right?
That's right. My husband needs a unique
helper. And I'm like, Lord, help me to
be that helper. You know, and and to and and
help means, you know, sometimes it's going to be addressing
(04:01):
something that I see that's wrong in in him or in US or in
our, you know, our pursuits and things.
Sometimes it's going to be encouragement and say, man,
let's keep going. This is going right and and been
being in tune with the Holy Spirit and not doing it out out
of my own preferences or my own flesh right.
And so, yeah, I I take that veryseriously.
I feel like the the call to be ahelper as the Holy Spirit is our
(04:22):
helper is is is great. And then from that being my
children's primary educator, it was was very intimidating for me
and it is no longer intimidatingbecause the not because I've
gotten to a place of, you know, I'm so wise, but the you get to
a place where you realize wait. Being their educator does not
(04:44):
solely mean make sure that they know calculus if.
I can't do that by the way. So I will fault you right there.
My goal my the calling to be their primary instructor.
We think academics, but when youare instructing and you're
training and you're teaching doctrine and you're teaching the
math and all the things, all of that, I see like a pretty
(05:04):
package. It's not pretty at times, but
it's a package where you say, OK, Lord, help me to because you
anointed me. I trust you that you placed me
as their mother, right, like youcalled me to be you.
You blessed me with these children and so help me to be
who they need me to be as their instructor, as their trainer in
spiritual matters as well as natural matters, right.
(05:26):
When we are learning math and we're learning history and we're
learning. Let's funnel it through who God
is and those subjects or disciplines are are they are
supplementary. They support the fact that God
is and that he's sovereign and that he's creator of all things
and that he has revealed himselfto us and desires a relationship
with us, has died on the cross for our sins and rescued us from
(05:48):
hell. So those disciplines aid in
that. The spiritual training is
extremely important a lot of thetimes and some of us, let's just
be honest, based on being involved in the homeschooling
world, we think that all we are called to do is make sure that
they get math and reading and science and they can get to a
good college and make good money.
That is not that falls short. We are called to be their
(06:11):
spiritual instructors to shape their hearts and to and to teach
them who God is. And again, that is not a
formula. That is I'm not saying that
because I do that my children will be like the great, you
know, evangelists and martyrs ofour time.
If the Lord calls him to do that, praise God.
That's not, I can't parent them with that solely in mind.
(06:32):
I want them, I want to lay a foundation for who God is and I
want to prevent as many roadblocks of my flesh and my
upbringing, my baggage in their lives so that God can do what he
does with all of us and, and capture their hearts.
So I got to lay that foundation and that is work and it is great
work. And we got to do that.
We got to be intentional about it.
(06:53):
There are a couple things that you said that I kind of want to
back up to and, and then kind ofmaybe get a little bit of like,
have you unpacked that just a little bit so that we could
maybe glean some, hopefully glean, glean some wisdom from
from what you've experienced in light of what you know to be
true of God's word when you talkabout being a helper to your
husband, you know, and, and we think about this in total as a,
(07:13):
as a wife, our role in the home is so vital.
It's a, it's a role that has been entrusted to us, not
flippantly by the Lord. Our culture has done just, you
know, a terrible job of actuallycommunicating what the role of a
wife is, right. And we've brought that into our
homes. Unfortunately, we've taken the
world's definition and then kindof applied that excluding God's
(07:37):
word. But when you think about what
God envisions as we see it laid out in Scripture and we come to
understand what it is to be one who comes alongside so as to
give vital aid, right, a helper to our husband.
When there are things that you feel like, OK, husband, maybe
(07:58):
maybe we need to talk about that.
Like maybe that that's a problem.
You know, how do you find the balance between glorifying God
in your role as the helper, one who because of closeness and
nearness can give vital aid likethere's no one else in our
husband's lives that are closer,that will be closer to them than
(08:18):
we are, right? How do you find the balance of
giving that vital aid and also not being a nag?
Like you don't want to be a constant drip.
You want to to bear with your husband.
You know, you want to both buildup and also point out maybe
that's not the best view of that.
How has the Lord LED you to be able to do those things?
(08:41):
So one, one thing that comes to my mind first, I have two of
them, but one is dependence uponthe Holy Spirit to form our our
heart, right? So not only because not only is
understanding our role as as helpers and not leaders, that's
important, right, that distinction, but as helpers,
(09:02):
understanding that we have to depend upon the Holy Spirit to
form our words properly, to havethe right heart behind it, which
is to help. And I say that to him.
I'm like I'm trying to help you like.
Help. It's.
Help, it's help. I'm not trying to leave him.
It's helping, but it's genuinelyhelping.
Like I'm not trying to leave, you know, honestly don't want to
like I don't want that role, butbut in helping there is a there
(09:25):
it they come to confrontations sometimes, you know, it comes
from a place of I, I sense the Holy Spirit and honestly, like
man for us to abuse and say the Holy Spirit said, and we're and
we're just in our flesh. That's very sinful.
Like that's right. I got to give an account for
that, you know, So but genuinelysay man, I sense like the Holy
Spirit is saying this, or have you considered this?
Because I feel like God is saying this, but before I even
(09:46):
come to him, I have to come to God and say, Lord, is this you?
Is this just me because it's my preference or the way I would do
it or my comfort zone, or is it truly that you are impressing
upon me? And we know as we continue to
walk with the God, with the Lord, we know when it's us and
when it's the Lord and we're like, OK, Lord, you're not
leaving me alone in this. Like you're, this is you, like
(10:07):
you're pressing. And so then you, you take the
time and you and you talk and I talk to him and, and there are
times when I feel like, you know, he's, he's in his ways or
he's, you know, thinking that this is the way, way to go.
And and there and, and at times I have to say, OK, Lord, I know
you're showing me this. He's not he may not be receiving
it right now or or he's just notthere right now or whatever it
(10:27):
is respecting him and honoring him as my husband and the whole
like God has given him to say, Lord, I'm going to follow him.
I know we follow you. Yes.
And if if he needs to know this and he's not receiving it yet,
show him. Amen.
Like God, he hears your voice. Yes, yes, yes, you know.
(10:48):
Like I I married him. Like I know hears your voice.
I trust him hearing your voice so and, and he, he will repent
if it is he needs to repent or if it is humility, whatever it
is, you know, God will show him.And and I'm, I'm grateful for
that, that I can that I can takethat to the bank, you know?
Yeah. And then knowing my husband like
I have to know him. Like you said, the person
closest to them is us as their wives.
(11:10):
So I need to know him. I need to know.
What areas? And I'm not talking about egg
shells. I'm talking about what areas you
need to just understand that there is either a weakness or a
flaw or an insecurity or anything like that and say, OK,
gentleness here, you know, and for areas where you say, OK, I
need to lay it to you straight because I love you.
And this is the way to do that. And, and I, I don't get it right
(11:32):
every time. You know, there are times where
we're like, oh Lord, Jesus, OK, wait, let's go back, you know,
and it ain't right, you know, and that's real because we're
different people, you know, but always going back to OK, Lord,
help my heart to be right. Like I do not want to act out in
my flesh and, or make moves based on my preference because
as you well know, Nikki, my husband and I are very, very
(11:54):
different. And so it's easy for me to be
like, that's wrong because this and because I'm this and, and
it's all me, you know, and, and he's like, well, you don't know
because you know, and he can go to his and he'll win.
Let me tell you, because he, he's a wordsmith.
And so, you know, and we can go,we can go at it in the flesh all
day long. And it is not productive.
First, it doesn't honor God, which we should work for.
(12:14):
And 2nd, we end up going around in circles and it's horrible.
And so, so no, we need to and doright.
And so that's mainly the main two things.
I would say dependence upon God in our hearts 1st and in the
words that we form in the way that we express our help to them
and knowing them, like knowing them and, and, and be entrusted
with their hearts, like we are entrusted with our husbands
(12:36):
hearts. And that comes with insecurities
and flaws and weaknesses and strengths and great attributes,
you know, and, and so all of that, we got to be interested
with that. If we use that to harm them,
then we are really dishonouring God.
So it's not to do that. Yeah.
I want to grab a break. And then on the other side, I
kind of want to stay here just alittle bit longer because
there's something you said that I thought was really insightful
(12:56):
and I kind of want to pick up onthat.
And we'll do that on the other side of this quick break.
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OK, Maria, so we were talking about being a helper to our
husband and knowing our husband and discerning the Lord's voice
(14:25):
and and not using any of those things to manipulate.
But there was something that yousaid that I thought, man,
that's, that's really keen insight, right?
Because we can in our attempts to help, if we're not careful,
we can find find ourselves kind of over in that lane of leading.
And it's when we don't trust theLord, like if we don't trust the
Lord that he has really spoken. Like, say that you've been
(14:47):
praying for a situation, you've got a decision to make in the
family. Maybe both you and, and your
husband are praying about it andyou really sense that.
OK, I, I think, I think I have asense about what we ought to do.
Like the Lord gives you wisdom. So if you bring that to your
husband, but but your husband says, no, I, I think we ought to
do this. There is that fine line.
(15:07):
There's that moment where the enemy wants to kind of get into
that situation, right. And So what he wants is I think
he wants the wife to no longer seek the Lord to be glorified,
but seek her own will Wait. No, I want you to go in the
direction I want you to go. And that's when it goes into
control. That's when it goes into
leadership and that self interested admonition like I
(15:30):
think you ought to. And if you don't, but what is
glorifying to God is the abilityto say, you know, this is what I
sensed in prayer. But I trust that the Lord's
going to lead you that if this is true, he will confirm it.
He will make it plain. That's where the humility comes
in. And that's where the the
objective, first and foremost toglorify God comes in.
(15:51):
Amen. Amen.
And that trust in God is huge. So at times, especially when
it's areas where he's weak and I'm strong, and then he could
probably has the same argument on the flip side, like I'm weak
and he's strong. He's like, no, but I know best,
right? In those areas, I feel like the
enemy will come in, right? Because it's sometimes where I'm
like, no, but I know that I know, hey, like I know.
(16:12):
And so I don't want to like takethe steering wheel and shift.
But in the flash you're like, dude, I need you to get this.
And it's in those moments that you say, OK, Lord, I may feel
very convinced that I'm right and I may be right.
And he's like, no, we need to gothis other direction.
I have two options. Sin or not sin, right?
I, I can sin and say, yeah, but you don't know what you're
(16:34):
talking about because don't you know that you're already da, da,
da, da. And I can harm, right?
Or I can say, Lord, I trust you.I trust you leading him.
And I am willing to say, OK, I see that that's not my role.
I'm not going to lead. I see that I will follow you and
I've told my husband, I will follow you.
(16:55):
If our boat is sinking. I'm, I'm staying in the boat
because, because I, this is whatGod called me to.
And this is where our character needs to grow.
This is where the Lord trains usas wives to say, OK, I need you,
God speaking to us. I need you to trust me.
And I need you to know that I amthe one leading your ship, not
just your husband, right? He is submitting to me.
(17:18):
Yes. And trusting that my husband is
submitting to him now, I guess we can have people that say,
well, what if your husband is not submitting to the Lord?
That's a whole another ball game, right?
That's we can go into that in those scenarios.
But but I know that my husband is endeavoring and trying his
very best to hear the voice of God and do what God taught him
to. And so in those moments, I need
(17:38):
to be more like Christ and praise God, right?
Because that's good. It's good for me to say, OK, I
need to grow in patience. I need to grow and trust in God
here, here. And this very thing that I'm
very convinced and I'm very passionate that this is the
right way in this moment. I need to humble myself before
God and say, Lord, you got the steer wheel and you got it and
do what you need to do. I'm like, show him in a dream
whatever you need to do anyway, you know, and he and he does.
(18:00):
And I'm not saying he won't likeI was right.
I'm talking about like God showsus the way to go.
Yes, sometimes I'm wrong, you know, and sometimes it's him or
whatever. And though it's, it's a
beautiful thing to be able to say, man, we don't need the
enemy at all in this. Like we don't need to allow the
enemy no room in this when we can be at odds.
He has no room there. It's just, OK, well, how are we
(18:20):
going to navigate this, you know, with the Lord?
And so there are times when we fail and we repent, you know,
and there are times when we're like, OK, Lord, thank you that
this time he did not creep in, you know, and then we waited and
we were patient, all that. Yeah, no, it's so good.
I I love it because you when youthink about it, there sometimes
there's like a fight for controlthat we just don't recognize.
And you know, yes, women are discerning.
(18:41):
It's a gift that God has given to women because of our role as
the helper, right? But understanding that that's
submitted to the leadership of our husbands, right.
And also the lordship of Jesus Christ, both can be true at the
same time. You know, I've often told women
that we have to be careful that when we think, Hey, I have been
given some insight or this is absolutely the way we ought to
(19:03):
go. We need to be careful that we're
not drilling a hole in our own boat.
You know what I mean? Just to make sure that what we
desire, because at the end of the day, we're, we're all in the
boat. We're all so, so we want,
whether it's my husband who getsthe final word, the final say,
or he chooses to go with the theidea that I had, we want it to
(19:25):
succeed because we're all in theboat.
Like so we so, you know, I thinksometimes there are, you know,
there's this idea from a wife that is sort of like, well,
we'll just see how that works out.
It's like, no, that cannot be I'm so.
Foolish because we're all in theboat, yes.
Yes, and so I think it's understanding that that allows
(19:46):
us the humility to be able to bear with our husbands and and
love their leadership. You know, the enemy again wants
to distort God's design. He doesn't want us to love the
leadership of our husbands. I want to make a shift here and
I want to ask you a question. About balancing the various
calls that you have in life as ahomeschooling mom.
(20:06):
Our days are so filled. And you know, it's sometimes
difficult to explain this to people who haven't homeschooled
or maybe even to those who have been out of it for a long time.
Or maybe they homeschooled one or two kids.
Like it's totally different whenyou've got multiple ages and
you've got several kids that you're homeschooling and you've
(20:27):
got maybe co-ops or different things that you're involved in.
There are, Maria, as you know, all sorts of opportunities for
our gifts to be utilized outsideof our home.
That's right. How do you balance those things
that are yeses against those things that are Nos?
(20:48):
Like? How do you find the sort of
like, what's your metric where you say yes on this, no on that?
I feel like I I think I know theanswer, but I want to hear from
you on this. Yeah, I think 11 starting point
though, for me has been to have the right perspective of my
calling in my gift right and gifts and and again, Once Upon a
(21:09):
time I didn't I didn't know thatI was going to be used outside
of my home, if you will, like I didn't not because I just set
out to say I'm just going to be in the four walls my house, but
I just the stages of life that God brought me through.
There were there were times where I just was in in the home
with my kids when they were little.
And so the perspective of our gifts, in my opinion, the way
(21:29):
that I've dealt with it with theLord has been Lord show me help
me to value my gifts equally when they're inside and outside
yes right. So like if I am if I am
passionate about training children to defend the faith, I
do it excellently to my best of my ability, you know, with the
living Holy Spirit in the home. Yes, before a microphone and
(21:51):
before I talk to anybody, beforeI go to church and and teach the
children, I, I do it here on thecouch because it is a gift from
God. And so in anonymity, in the
privacy of my walls, God is glorified, I hope you know.
And then when we do it outside, it is an overflow, not
secondarily meaning like, Oh, you just leave the, the, the,
the scraps for others. That's not what I mean, because
(22:13):
it's the same God that sees you outside and inside.
Amen. But but it's that perspective of
like, I am not about to make small what I do in my couch with
my kids in comparison to what I do in front of my in front of
other children or other families.
And so that starting point helpsus to honor God and all that we
do in that, in those with the specific gifts.
And then to understand that my children are not interested to
(22:37):
any entrusted to anybody else but myself and my husband to do
this particular task, right? Of, of training them of, of
instilling in them a biblical world view of, of training them
to understand and defend the faith.
That's my I have to get an account one day for that.
And so I want to ensure that I am doing in the best of my
ability, depending upon the HolySpirit to do that.
(22:59):
If I do that and I continuously daily do that, then it helps me
to gauge what all I can take from outside.
Yes, right. Like because I understand that
my kids are growing, because I understand the stage of life
that they're in, because I understand the number of
children that I have, because I understand where they're
struggling and what areas I needto really hone in in.
(23:20):
And it takes time, right? That's why we homeschool.
It takes time to disciple them. And so it helps me to gauge, OK,
Lord, because this is my primaryposition in calling right here.
I need to send here. And so some of the things
outside I just can't do. I won't be able to do some
things. I know God says do it, but you
can do this and that. And man, it's a it's a glorious
(23:42):
thing to see because when you feel like, no, I can't, no, I
can't, no, I can't because you know, my days God is like, yes,
you can. I equip you go do it, you know,
And so it is being led by the Holy Spirit to say what you can
say yes to me. You can say no to.
But I think starting with a witha point of the gift is to be
used regardless of its etcetera outside, because it's him, it's
(24:03):
him. He's equipping me.
He's giving me the passion and the understanding of the
whatever that he's giving me to be able to do this.
I have that perspective. Praise God.
And so I don't feel less than ifI say so outside, nor do I feel
like, Oh yes, because you know, my home is just that's pride.
And so God is God is glorified in here and out there.
(24:23):
And that balance comes from submitting to the lordship of
Jesus Christ in the in the Holy Spirit saying, OK, yes to this
and no to that because in here, you know, or whatever it is.
Man, I think it's so important for us to be connected to the
Holy Spirit and I and I knew that's where you would kind of
this would all shake out being led by the Spirit of God and and
knowing what he's called you to and what he's equipped you to
(24:43):
do. I didn't though, think about you
exploring operating with excellence inside your home as
of equal importance to the things that we would do with an
audience. You know what I mean?
Like I, I 100% like I remember telling Will the great several
years ago that man, I'm content when I'm teaching and discipling
(25:05):
my kids. I, I enjoy it.
I love at the time, like from the earliest of ages, I love the
blanket times on the floor. I love just them, you know,
laying that foundation of God's word.
And I think if we're not contentin that and always looking for
an opportunity to, you know, have our gifts displayed outside
of our home, then I think we're missing something inside our
(25:27):
home. Like if our kids are not as
important or more, you know whatI'm saying, then the kids that
we're teaching down at church, you know what I mean?
Like, I'm not going to put in all that work for this.
Then I think that says somethingabout our heart that has to be
checked. You know, I want to ask you a
question about what a lot of moms deal with, especially when
(25:48):
we're juggling a lot and we do have gifts, right?
So I, I do see you as a gifted apologist.
I think you connect with the heart of children in such an
incredible way, being able to really speak to some of their
questions about the, of faith that could lead to being called
on quite a bit. People, Hey, could you do this?
Hey, what about this? What do you think?
And so just thinking in terms ofother moms, sometimes there's an
(26:12):
incredible amount of guilt when we have to say no.
We have to like, we, we bear that burden almost.
What encouragement do you have for moms as we find a godly no?
I'm not talking about a selfish no, I'm not talking about a lazy
no, I'm talking about a godly no.
(26:32):
That I just, this is not something that I should
undertake at this moment. How do you then walk confidently
in that without feeling guilt orcondemnation?
Yeah, yeah. The the the will of God is going
to be accomplished with or without us, right So.
That's good. What we know that God calls us
like God gives us assignments. He gives us instruction, He says
(26:54):
go and do and speak and proclaimand, and we are to be obedient
to that inside our homes and outside of our home.
When God is clearly showing you that you need to say no to
something, God is going to send someone to do his will, to do
his work. You know, So it comes with a
place of understanding that He'ssovereign.
(27:18):
He is going to reach the people that you would have reached if
you would have gone, right? Like he's going to reach them
because it's him that does the work.
We are mouthpieces. He does the work.
So if I'm not the mouthpiece forthis particular event, somebody
else will be. God is going to reach the hearts
of the people and give them the insight and the wisdom that they
need that He's given us or whatever, you know.
(27:38):
And so it's trusting God to do what he wants to do when He
wants to do it. Something's going to be with us
through us, right? Sometimes it's going to be with
somebody else, but he's going tofill that gap.
If there is a homeschool convention that somebody's
asking you to do and you just cannot or God says no and you're
like, but why? But wait, these people need it
(28:00):
and they and they do they, they people that comment to these
events, you know, not homeschooling only, but just
events that where, where the gospel is preached and where,
you know, there's, there's training instruction, though I
have a passion for, for example,for moms to know the importance
of helping your children grapplewith scripture and defend it and
understand who is God and all those things.
(28:21):
And I want them all to know and I want to go tell them all.
I can't tell them all, OK, firstof all, and I don't have the,
the the bandwidth, nor is God telling me to go and do that.
So somebody will somebody will because somebody did it with me
and then went to an event and itwas somebody else speaking and
God use that person to minister to me, praise the Lord.
So if it's not me going, somebody will go.
(28:44):
But again, the work is God's right.
And so if he says no, no is good, no one's good for me.
I don't need to be there. I don't need to go.
God is going to supply what theyneed through his Spirit, through
another person. And when it's my time to go,
then I'll go. And but I still need to be
obedient here, and I need to be diligent here, and I need to
give excellence here as if I'm speaking before an audience of
(29:05):
100. Or 1000.
An audience of six. There's 8 or whatever my family
is, then I'm going to, I'm goingto do that in as well.
And so yeah, it's trusting he it's his work, trusting,
trusting him. He does what he does best.
That's right. That's right.
It's amazing though, because I, I hear in that also a, a total
lack of confidence in self. And I think sometimes when we
(29:29):
feel like we've got to do all ofthe things like it.
And I'm talking even if it's like, you know, sign up for this
bake event where I need you to bake, you know, 50 muffins, you
know what I'm saying, per hour? I don't know.
But like there are always these opportunities when we exist in
community and we do exist in community and praise God, this
is something that the Lord has blessed us with.
But because we exist in community, there's always an
(29:51):
opportunity for us to exhaust ourselves.
And I think recognizing that I'mnot the end of everything, like
it doesn't, you know, it doesn'trise and fall on me, I think
helps us. And so sometimes I think the
pressure, and I'm not saying that this is true in all cases,
but I think sometimes the guilt could also be maybe an over, you
(30:12):
know, heightened view of 1's ownself importance that if I don't
do it, it's not going to get done.
I know I sometimes struggle withthat.
If I don't do it, like who's going to do?
The Lord will raise up other people to do it.
And and it's OK to find that godly no.
And then to express that. Yes yes and and honestly,
because the remnant is so small,we feel the pressure again, not
(30:35):
because we're so great, but it'sfrom a place of Lord, you show
you you revealed yourself to me like you have shown me this and
this needs to go out to the world.
I really do believe that, like it's not from a place of self
aggrandizement. It's real that God has revealed
things to us, the remnant and knowing that the masses need to
hear it to that pressure of like, man, Lord, I got it, let I
(31:01):
need to go give it. He's like, yes, but you're not
the only one. Because there's 7000, you know?
Like it's not just you. That's.
Right that that, that I'm calling and so it's trusting and
saying you're right, you got it,you got it.
You're going to make them know it whenever.
It's time for them to know it with somebody else.
So yeah. Maria, tell me right now in your
life what you are reading in Scripture that is encouraging
(31:22):
you first and foremost as a follower of the Lord Jesus, but
then also by extension helping you to operate most effectively
as a wife and mom. What?
What in Scripture is the Lord sort of pressing into your heart
at this moment? Yes, so I've been reading
through Ezekiel and man it I love messianic prophecies like I
(31:44):
love. I feel like that's one of the
major components that God included in his word.
So we can know that Christ is the Messiah and that he had a
plan for him before the foundations of the earth.
And like to me that's like nobody can create that God is
real like him that got the mic. He's real.
And so the when I read Ezekiel and I hear what God revealed to
him about Israel, not only the heart condition, but like the
(32:07):
judgement that was coming and all the that he's exposing
there. And I and I see the specificity
that God has and the clarity in his in his words and then in
what he instructs, he's equal todo and to display before the the
people so that they can get it. God, God's character to me is
(32:29):
revealed even more so where he he is a God of detail, but he
is, he is like, OK, so you know how we are called to be
intentional? Like as a believer, part of our
character should be that we are responsible and we are
dependable. And we are and I struggle there
and we are, you know, to be veryexcellent, right?
(32:52):
And maybe the word is better intentional, like just being
very focused and intentional, but we fall short, right?
God is that perfection, like He is intentionally perfect.
And so when he is explaining these things to Ezekiel and
instructing him to do these things, to me it just shows his
his. There is nothing that happens
within humanity that God says, oh, I'm going to sit back on
(33:16):
that one. Right.
No, he's like, wait, because this and very detailed and
specific and even to the down tothe point where where Ezekiel
writes on this day of this monthin this time said, and it's
like, Lord, you are so detailed and we know that with the
building of the ark and the temple and the Tabernacle, how
detailed he was. But it it brings me great
comfort number one to know that he is that detailed, oriented
(33:38):
and focused in my life. Smallest things to the greater
things. And then it's challenging and
convicting because I need to be like that, right?
I need to be. I need to pay margins in the
detail and I need to be more intentional with my moments and
my days and my actions and my thoughts.
I get great comfort from it, butalso conviction.
And it's good. It's good.
I need to be like Christ. You know, it's so good, so good.
(34:01):
Maria, thank you so much for joining me for this week's
episode of the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I really enjoy these conversations.
I think they're so encouraging and they're refreshing for us as
moms. And then, you know, if no other
thing, it's it's sort of like a point of contact where you're
like, yes, I understand that. Yes.
OK, so I'm not alone in walking through and trying to work these
(34:22):
things out because at the end ofthe day, what we really are
trying to do is glorify God in every way that we live.
So thank you for being willing to discuss this with me.
Yes, thank you for having me. All right, I just won't let our
listeners know that you will be teaching apologetics at the
Culture Proof Conference June 19th through the 21st.
If they want to learn more aboutthat, they can go to
(34:44):
cultureproof.net and learn aboutsome of the other speakers, your
age group that you'll be teaching.
The kids track, You direct that track and it's ages 4:00 to
12:00. That's correct.
Can you? Share I'm asking you this like
on the spot, what's your what's your aim this year?
Like what? What is your focus?
Yes, I'm very excited for this year.
(35:06):
So I, I and my focus is similar every year, but it just takes a
different, you know, twist basedon the theme of the conference.
But I always want the children to understand that they can lay
their whole lives upon the. Word of God.
They can trust who He is and what He has said.
So I want them to understand from little Bitty that the Word
(35:27):
of God is reliable, it is consistent, it is it aligns with
what we find in history and in science.
I want them to understand that the Word of God is not a
spiritual fairy tale like the world wants to say.
And so if that is true, which I'm trying to lay that
(35:47):
foundation for them, then the call of the believer starting at
3:00 and 4:00 and little is OK, then this is what my life, this
is what I'm going to base my life upon, right?
And then shaping the world view this year with the the theme of
the conference. I'm very excited because it
takes this angle. God is worthy of that.
(36:09):
Like he is real, he is true. We can see it.
The word is consistent. It can God left evidence for us
to know and to know and to be tobe firm in that knowledge of who
he is and what he's done. And then he is worthy for us to
lay our lives down for him. I we can teach that to a four
year old. You can't tell me that is that I
(36:30):
cannot because I have seen it. I know what I mean.
Like that's right, that they cansay, oh, this, this is what it
means and it's true. Yes, the dinosaurs fit in the
ark. Yes, they did.
Yes, they did. Because the word says it that he
made him on day 6. So those are those are Nuggets,
if you will, that we not Nuggets.
Those are that's the foundation that we lay for them.
(36:51):
And those are things that they can say, OK, I can trust the
word of God and then I can live for him because he's worthy.
So I'm excited for this year's gonna.
Be good. Oh man, I love you so much.
Like it make it makes me excitedlike when I hear you talking
about it and and thinking about this, knowing what you do for
kids, like I can see this like kind of through their eyes and
how excited you are. So thank you so much for sharing
(37:12):
that, Maria, I appreciate you. God bless you.
Yes, thank you. It's been a pleasure to host the
Schoolhouse Rock podcast this week.
If you want to learn more about culture proof and what we do,
maybe even catch our own podcast, you can go to
cultureproof.net. That's culture proof.net.
Make sure you check out the Schoolhouse Rock podcast next
week for more exciting guests. Until then, have a great week.
(37:35):
Thanks so much for joining us today for the Schoolhouse Rocked
podcast. You can stream the movie
Schoolhouse Rock to the Homeschool Revolution for free,
purchase the DVD and visit our merch store.
If you've been blessed by this podcast, would you consider
partnering with us by making a one time or monthly donation?
Together, we're making a generational impact that
(37:56):
transforms lives and points our children toward the eternal hope
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schoolhouserocked.com. One last thing, if you know a
friend who would be encouraged by this podcast, please share it
with them. Join us next week for another
exciting episode of the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
Until then, keep pointing your kids to Jesus.
(38:22):
What can poison dart frogs, monarch butterflies, and
jellyfish teach us about God's truth and love?
It's time to return nature studyto its rightful place as
theology, the study of God. That's exactly what we do on Nat
Theo. Nature Lessons Rooted in the
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(38:44):
for children in the USA. I'm Aaron Line, I'm host of Nat
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Listen today on your favorite podcast platform or at
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(39:07):
Reconnect the dots between creation and Creator as your
children learn real, fun sciencefrom a physical worldview.
There is an uneasiness within uswhen it comes to our faith, and
that's why we asked the Lord to finish your work that you did in
me. That means take me to the end,
(39:29):
Lord, because it's going to be hard.
And it's hard because we, you know, if we're honest with
ourselves and honest with our children, we have doubts.
And those doubts are painful. And what we want is that
certainty. The reason why deconstructionism
is so tempting to these kids is the same reason that Eve was
(39:51):
tempted by the snake. The snake says God is holding
out on you. There is something good out
there that he's not letting you have.
You take this fruit and you'll have it.
I want them to understand from little bitty that the Word of
God is reliable, it is consistent, it aligns with what
we find in history and in science.
I want them to understand that the Word of God is not a
spiritual fairy tale like the world wants to say.
And so if that is true, then thecall of the believer starting at
(00:25):
3:00 and 4:00 and little is OK, then this is what my life, this
is what I'm going to base my life upon.
Hey, everyone, welcome back to the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I am Miki Addison and we are back with my guest, Maria
Hamilton. We had an incredible
conversation last week talking about apologetics and defense of
the faith, but also faithfulnessinside our homes.
(00:46):
If you didn't get an opportunityto hear it, you should go back
and check that episode out. We're going to pick up this week
and talking about what our rolesare and how we maintain those
roles inside our homes for the glory of God.
Even in the midst of all of the stress and all of the strain, He
is worthy to be exalted in everyway that we live.
Before we get into today's content, want to say thank you
(01:08):
to our sponsor for this episode,CTC Math.
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start start your free trial. That's CTC math ctcmath.com math
made easy. All right, Maria, thank you so
much for joining me again this week so we can have an
incredible conversation about our roles and the opportunity
that God has given us inside ourhomes.
(02:13):
Talk first of all about how you see your role as a wife and a
mother. What has been your biblical
foundation for how you are called to operate inside your
home? So the Lord calls us helpers
intentionally, you know, and it's a beautiful thing.
I feel like the our culture downgrades that as if it's
(02:34):
something small. But to be my husband's helper is
to understand the the vision andthe mission that he has given us
as a unit and do what I am called to do my position, man,
my lane, if you will, on route to the goal that God has for us.
So I need to fully understand and embrace what God has called
(02:57):
us to as a as a family. Part of that is training up our
children, right, Like we have. We have lots of hats to wear.
My husband and I, I mean, you know, ministry outside and all
the things that happened, but inside the home, God has
instructed us to be those that are poured out for his glory to
(03:19):
do what the Lord calls us to do.We have moved states because God
has said, OK, you're done here. Let's move to another place.
And so, and so we, we embrace the leading of the Holy Spirit
and we desire to obey him. And so as his helper, I need to
do. And again, something that falls
short of this. And so the Lord continues to
grow me and mature me and praiseGod for that and correct me.
(03:41):
How is it that I am to help him?And it's important when you and
I talked about this a little while back, how God calls us to
be helpers of our husbands, not helpers generally of men, right?
That's right. My husband needs a unique
helper. And I'm like, Lord, help me to
be that helper. You know, and and to and and
help means, you know, sometimes it's going to be addressing
(04:01):
something that I see that's wrong in in him or in US or in
our, you know, our pursuits and things.
Sometimes it's going to be encouragement and say, man,
let's keep going. This is going right and and been
being in tune with the Holy Spirit and not doing it out out
of my own preferences or my own flesh right.
And so, yeah, I I take that veryseriously.
I feel like the the call to be ahelper as the Holy Spirit is our
(04:22):
helper is is is great. And then from that being my
children's primary educator, it was was very intimidating for me
and it is no longer intimidatingbecause the not because I've
gotten to a place of, you know, I'm so wise, but the you get to
a place where you realize wait. Being their educator does not
(04:44):
solely mean make sure that they know calculus if.
I can't do that by the way. So I will fault you right there.
My goal my the calling to be their primary instructor.
We think academics, but when youare instructing and you're
training and you're teaching doctrine and you're teaching the
math and all the things, all of that, I see like a pretty
(05:04):
package. It's not pretty at times, but
it's a package where you say, OK, Lord, help me to because you
anointed me. I trust you that you placed me
as their mother, right, like youcalled me to be you.
You blessed me with these children and so help me to be
who they need me to be as their instructor, as their trainer in
spiritual matters as well as natural matters, right.
(05:26):
When we are learning math and we're learning history and we're
learning. Let's funnel it through who God
is and those subjects or disciplines are are they are
supplementary. They support the fact that God
is and that he's sovereign and that he's creator of all things
and that he has revealed himselfto us and desires a relationship
with us, has died on the cross for our sins and rescued us from
(05:48):
hell. So those disciplines aid in
that. The spiritual training is
extremely important a lot of thetimes and some of us, let's just
be honest, based on being involved in the homeschooling
world, we think that all we are called to do is make sure that
they get math and reading and science and they can get to a
good college and make good money.
That is not that falls short. We are called to be their
(06:11):
spiritual instructors to shape their hearts and to and to teach
them who God is. And again, that is not a
formula. That is I'm not saying that
because I do that my children will be like the great, you
know, evangelists and martyrs ofour time.
If the Lord calls him to do that, praise God.
That's not, I can't parent them with that solely in mind.
(06:32):
I want them, I want to lay a foundation for who God is and I
want to prevent as many roadblocks of my flesh and my
upbringing, my baggage in their lives so that God can do what he
does with all of us and, and capture their hearts.
So I got to lay that foundation and that is work and it is great
work. And we got to do that.
We got to be intentional about it.
(06:53):
There are a couple things that you said that I kind of want to
back up to and, and then kind ofmaybe get a little bit of like,
have you unpacked that just a little bit so that we could
maybe glean some, hopefully glean, glean some wisdom from
from what you've experienced in light of what you know to be
true of God's word when you talkabout being a helper to your
husband, you know, and, and we think about this in total as a,
(07:13):
as a wife, our role in the home is so vital.
It's a, it's a role that has been entrusted to us, not
flippantly by the Lord. Our culture has done just, you
know, a terrible job of actuallycommunicating what the role of a
wife is, right. And we've brought that into our
homes. Unfortunately, we've taken the
world's definition and then kindof applied that excluding God's
(07:37):
word. But when you think about what
God envisions as we see it laid out in Scripture and we come to
understand what it is to be one who comes alongside so as to
give vital aid, right, a helper to our husband.
When there are things that you feel like, OK, husband, maybe
(07:58):
maybe we need to talk about that.
Like maybe that that's a problem.
You know, how do you find the balance between glorifying God
in your role as the helper, one who because of closeness and
nearness can give vital aid likethere's no one else in our
husband's lives that are closer,that will be closer to them than
(08:18):
we are, right? How do you find the balance of
giving that vital aid and also not being a nag?
Like you don't want to be a constant drip.
You want to to bear with your husband.
You know, you want to both buildup and also point out maybe
that's not the best view of that.
How has the Lord LED you to be able to do those things?
(08:41):
So one, one thing that comes to my mind first, I have two of
them, but one is dependence uponthe Holy Spirit to form our our
heart, right? So not only because not only is
understanding our role as as helpers and not leaders, that's
important, right, that distinction, but as helpers,
(09:02):
understanding that we have to depend upon the Holy Spirit to
form our words properly, to havethe right heart behind it, which
is to help. And I say that to him.
I'm like I'm trying to help you like.
Help. It's.
Help, it's help. I'm not trying to leave him.
It's helping, but it's genuinelyhelping.
Like I'm not trying to leave, you know, honestly don't want to
like I don't want that role, butbut in helping there is a there
(09:25):
it they come to confrontations sometimes, you know, it comes
from a place of I, I sense the Holy Spirit and honestly, like
man for us to abuse and say the Holy Spirit said, and we're and
we're just in our flesh. That's very sinful.
Like that's right. I got to give an account for
that, you know, So but genuinelysay man, I sense like the Holy
Spirit is saying this, or have you considered this?
Because I feel like God is saying this, but before I even
(09:46):
come to him, I have to come to God and say, Lord, is this you?
Is this just me because it's my preference or the way I would do
it or my comfort zone, or is it truly that you are impressing
upon me? And we know as we continue to
walk with the God, with the Lord, we know when it's us and
when it's the Lord and we're like, OK, Lord, you're not
leaving me alone in this. Like you're, this is you, like
(10:07):
you're pressing. And so then you, you take the
time and you and you talk and I talk to him and, and there are
times when I feel like, you know, he's, he's in his ways or
he's, you know, thinking that this is the way, way to go.
And and there and, and at times I have to say, OK, Lord, I know
you're showing me this. He's not he may not be receiving
it right now or or he's just notthere right now or whatever it
(10:27):
is respecting him and honoring him as my husband and the whole
like God has given him to say, Lord, I'm going to follow him.
I know we follow you. Yes.
And if if he needs to know this and he's not receiving it yet,
show him. Amen.
Like God, he hears your voice. Yes, yes, yes, you know.
(10:48):
Like I I married him. Like I know hears your voice.
I trust him hearing your voice so and, and he, he will repent
if it is he needs to repent or if it is humility, whatever it
is, you know, God will show him.And and I'm, I'm grateful for
that, that I can that I can takethat to the bank, you know?
Yeah. And then knowing my husband like
I have to know him. Like you said, the person
closest to them is us as their wives.
(11:10):
So I need to know him. I need to know.
What areas? And I'm not talking about egg
shells. I'm talking about what areas you
need to just understand that there is either a weakness or a
flaw or an insecurity or anything like that and say, OK,
gentleness here, you know, and for areas where you say, OK, I
need to lay it to you straight because I love you.
And this is the way to do that. And, and I, I don't get it right
(11:32):
every time. You know, there are times where
we're like, oh Lord, Jesus, OK, wait, let's go back, you know,
and it ain't right, you know, and that's real because we're
different people, you know, but always going back to OK, Lord,
help my heart to be right. Like I do not want to act out in
my flesh and, or make moves based on my preference because
as you well know, Nikki, my husband and I are very, very
(11:54):
different. And so it's easy for me to be
like, that's wrong because this and because I'm this and, and
it's all me, you know, and, and he's like, well, you don't know
because you know, and he can go to his and he'll win.
Let me tell you, because he, he's a wordsmith.
And so, you know, and we can go,we can go at it in the flesh all
day long. And it is not productive.
First, it doesn't honor God, which we should work for.
(12:14):
And 2nd, we end up going around in circles and it's horrible.
And so, so no, we need to and doright.
And so that's mainly the main two things.
I would say dependence upon God in our hearts 1st and in the
words that we form in the way that we express our help to them
and knowing them, like knowing them and, and, and be entrusted
with their hearts, like we are entrusted with our husbands
(12:36):
hearts. And that comes with insecurities
and flaws and weaknesses and strengths and great attributes,
you know, and, and so all of that, we got to be interested
with that. If we use that to harm them,
then we are really dishonouring God.
So it's not to do that. Yeah.
I want to grab a break. And then on the other side, I
kind of want to stay here just alittle bit longer because
there's something you said that I thought was really insightful
(12:56):
and I kind of want to pick up onthat.
And we'll do that on the other side of this quick break.
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OK, Maria, so we were talking about being a helper to our
husband and knowing our husband and discerning the Lord's voice
(14:25):
and and not using any of those things to manipulate.
But there was something that yousaid that I thought, man,
that's, that's really keen insight, right?
Because we can in our attempts to help, if we're not careful,
we can find find ourselves kind of over in that lane of leading.
And it's when we don't trust theLord, like if we don't trust the
Lord that he has really spoken. Like, say that you've been
(14:47):
praying for a situation, you've got a decision to make in the
family. Maybe both you and, and your
husband are praying about it andyou really sense that.
OK, I, I think, I think I have asense about what we ought to do.
Like the Lord gives you wisdom. So if you bring that to your
husband, but but your husband says, no, I, I think we ought to
do this. There is that fine line.
(15:07):
There's that moment where the enemy wants to kind of get into
that situation, right. And So what he wants is I think
he wants the wife to no longer seek the Lord to be glorified,
but seek her own will Wait. No, I want you to go in the
direction I want you to go. And that's when it goes into
control. That's when it goes into
leadership and that self interested admonition like I
(15:30):
think you ought to. And if you don't, but what is
glorifying to God is the abilityto say, you know, this is what I
sensed in prayer. But I trust that the Lord's
going to lead you that if this is true, he will confirm it.
He will make it plain. That's where the humility comes
in. And that's where the the
objective, first and foremost toglorify God comes in.
(15:51):
Amen. Amen.
And that trust in God is huge. So at times, especially when
it's areas where he's weak and I'm strong, and then he could
probably has the same argument on the flip side, like I'm weak
and he's strong. He's like, no, but I know best,
right? In those areas, I feel like the
enemy will come in, right? Because it's sometimes where I'm
like, no, but I know that I know, hey, like I know.
(16:12):
And so I don't want to like takethe steering wheel and shift.
But in the flash you're like, dude, I need you to get this.
And it's in those moments that you say, OK, Lord, I may feel
very convinced that I'm right and I may be right.
And he's like, no, we need to gothis other direction.
I have two options. Sin or not sin, right?
I, I can sin and say, yeah, but you don't know what you're
(16:34):
talking about because don't you know that you're already da, da,
da, da. And I can harm, right?
Or I can say, Lord, I trust you.I trust you leading him.
And I am willing to say, OK, I see that that's not my role.
I'm not going to lead. I see that I will follow you and
I've told my husband, I will follow you.
(16:55):
If our boat is sinking. I'm, I'm staying in the boat
because, because I, this is whatGod called me to.
And this is where our character needs to grow.
This is where the Lord trains usas wives to say, OK, I need you,
God speaking to us. I need you to trust me.
And I need you to know that I amthe one leading your ship, not
just your husband, right? He is submitting to me.
(17:18):
Yes. And trusting that my husband is
submitting to him now, I guess we can have people that say,
well, what if your husband is not submitting to the Lord?
That's a whole another ball game, right?
That's we can go into that in those scenarios.
But but I know that my husband is endeavoring and trying his
very best to hear the voice of God and do what God taught him
to. And so in those moments, I need
(17:38):
to be more like Christ and praise God, right?
Because that's good. It's good for me to say, OK, I
need to grow in patience. I need to grow and trust in God
here, here. And this very thing that I'm
very convinced and I'm very passionate that this is the
right way in this moment. I need to humble myself before
God and say, Lord, you got the steer wheel and you got it and
do what you need to do. I'm like, show him in a dream
whatever you need to do anyway, you know, and he and he does.
(18:00):
And I'm not saying he won't likeI was right.
I'm talking about like God showsus the way to go.
Yes, sometimes I'm wrong, you know, and sometimes it's him or
whatever. And though it's, it's a
beautiful thing to be able to say, man, we don't need the
enemy at all in this. Like we don't need to allow the
enemy no room in this when we can be at odds.
He has no room there. It's just, OK, well, how are we
(18:20):
going to navigate this, you know, with the Lord?
And so there are times when we fail and we repent, you know,
and there are times when we're like, OK, Lord, thank you that
this time he did not creep in, you know, and then we waited and
we were patient, all that. Yeah, no, it's so good.
I I love it because you when youthink about it, there sometimes
there's like a fight for controlthat we just don't recognize.
And you know, yes, women are discerning.
(18:41):
It's a gift that God has given to women because of our role as
the helper, right? But understanding that that's
submitted to the leadership of our husbands, right.
And also the lordship of Jesus Christ, both can be true at the
same time. You know, I've often told women
that we have to be careful that when we think, Hey, I have been
given some insight or this is absolutely the way we ought to
(19:03):
go. We need to be careful that we're
not drilling a hole in our own boat.
You know what I mean? Just to make sure that what we
desire, because at the end of the day, we're, we're all in the
boat. We're all so, so we want,
whether it's my husband who getsthe final word, the final say,
or he chooses to go with the theidea that I had, we want it to
(19:25):
succeed because we're all in theboat.
Like so we so, you know, I thinksometimes there are, you know,
there's this idea from a wife that is sort of like, well,
we'll just see how that works out.
It's like, no, that cannot be I'm so.
Foolish because we're all in theboat, yes.
Yes, and so I think it's understanding that that allows
(19:46):
us the humility to be able to bear with our husbands and and
love their leadership. You know, the enemy again wants
to distort God's design. He doesn't want us to love the
leadership of our husbands. I want to make a shift here and
I want to ask you a question. About balancing the various
calls that you have in life as ahomeschooling mom.
(20:06):
Our days are so filled. And you know, it's sometimes
difficult to explain this to people who haven't homeschooled
or maybe even to those who have been out of it for a long time.
Or maybe they homeschooled one or two kids.
Like it's totally different whenyou've got multiple ages and
you've got several kids that you're homeschooling and you've
(20:27):
got maybe co-ops or different things that you're involved in.
There are, Maria, as you know, all sorts of opportunities for
our gifts to be utilized outsideof our home.
That's right. How do you balance those things
that are yeses against those things that are Nos?
(20:48):
Like? How do you find the sort of
like, what's your metric where you say yes on this, no on that?
I feel like I I think I know theanswer, but I want to hear from
you on this. Yeah, I think 11 starting point
though, for me has been to have the right perspective of my
calling in my gift right and gifts and and again, Once Upon a
(21:09):
time I didn't I didn't know thatI was going to be used outside
of my home, if you will, like I didn't not because I just set
out to say I'm just going to be in the four walls my house, but
I just the stages of life that God brought me through.
There were there were times where I just was in in the home
with my kids when they were little.
And so the perspective of our gifts, in my opinion, the way
(21:29):
that I've dealt with it with theLord has been Lord show me help
me to value my gifts equally when they're inside and outside
yes right. So like if I am if I am
passionate about training children to defend the faith, I
do it excellently to my best of my ability, you know, with the
living Holy Spirit in the home. Yes, before a microphone and
(21:51):
before I talk to anybody, beforeI go to church and and teach the
children, I, I do it here on thecouch because it is a gift from
God. And so in anonymity, in the
privacy of my walls, God is glorified, I hope you know.
And then when we do it outside, it is an overflow, not
secondarily meaning like, Oh, you just leave the, the, the,
the scraps for others. That's not what I mean, because
(22:13):
it's the same God that sees you outside and inside.
Amen. But but it's that perspective of
like, I am not about to make small what I do in my couch with
my kids in comparison to what I do in front of my in front of
other children or other families.
And so that starting point helpsus to honor God and all that we
do in that, in those with the specific gifts.
And then to understand that my children are not interested to
(22:37):
any entrusted to anybody else but myself and my husband to do
this particular task, right? Of, of training them of, of
instilling in them a biblical world view of, of training them
to understand and defend the faith.
That's my I have to get an account one day for that.
And so I want to ensure that I am doing in the best of my
ability, depending upon the HolySpirit to do that.
(22:59):
If I do that and I continuously daily do that, then it helps me
to gauge what all I can take from outside.
Yes, right. Like because I understand that
my kids are growing, because I understand the stage of life
that they're in, because I understand the number of
children that I have, because I understand where they're
struggling and what areas I needto really hone in in.
(23:20):
And it takes time, right? That's why we homeschool.
It takes time to disciple them. And so it helps me to gauge, OK,
Lord, because this is my primaryposition in calling right here.
I need to send here. And so some of the things
outside I just can't do. I won't be able to do some
things. I know God says do it, but you
can do this and that. And man, it's a it's a glorious
(23:42):
thing to see because when you feel like, no, I can't, no, I
can't, no, I can't because you know, my days God is like, yes,
you can. I equip you go do it, you know,
And so it is being led by the Holy Spirit to say what you can
say yes to me. You can say no to.
But I think starting with a witha point of the gift is to be
used regardless of its etcetera outside, because it's him, it's
(24:03):
him. He's equipping me.
He's giving me the passion and the understanding of the
whatever that he's giving me to be able to do this.
I have that perspective. Praise God.
And so I don't feel less than ifI say so outside, nor do I feel
like, Oh yes, because you know, my home is just that's pride.
And so God is God is glorified in here and out there.
(24:23):
And that balance comes from submitting to the lordship of
Jesus Christ in the in the Holy Spirit saying, OK, yes to this
and no to that because in here, you know, or whatever it is.
Man, I think it's so important for us to be connected to the
Holy Spirit and I and I knew that's where you would kind of
this would all shake out being led by the Spirit of God and and
knowing what he's called you to and what he's equipped you to
(24:43):
do. I didn't though, think about you
exploring operating with excellence inside your home as
of equal importance to the things that we would do with an
audience. You know what I mean?
Like I, I 100% like I remember telling Will the great several
years ago that man, I'm content when I'm teaching and discipling
(25:05):
my kids. I, I enjoy it.
I love at the time, like from the earliest of ages, I love the
blanket times on the floor. I love just them, you know,
laying that foundation of God's word.
And I think if we're not contentin that and always looking for
an opportunity to, you know, have our gifts displayed outside
of our home, then I think we're missing something inside our
(25:27):
home. Like if our kids are not as
important or more, you know whatI'm saying, then the kids that
we're teaching down at church, you know what I mean?
Like, I'm not going to put in all that work for this.
Then I think that says somethingabout our heart that has to be
checked. You know, I want to ask you a
question about what a lot of moms deal with, especially when
(25:48):
we're juggling a lot and we do have gifts, right?
So I, I do see you as a gifted apologist.
I think you connect with the heart of children in such an
incredible way, being able to really speak to some of their
questions about the, of faith that could lead to being called
on quite a bit. People, Hey, could you do this?
Hey, what about this? What do you think?
And so just thinking in terms ofother moms, sometimes there's an
(26:12):
incredible amount of guilt when we have to say no.
We have to like, we, we bear that burden almost.
What encouragement do you have for moms as we find a godly no?
I'm not talking about a selfish no, I'm not talking about a lazy
no, I'm talking about a godly no.
(26:32):
That I just, this is not something that I should
undertake at this moment. How do you then walk confidently
in that without feeling guilt orcondemnation?
Yeah, yeah. The the the will of God is going
to be accomplished with or without us, right So.
That's good. What we know that God calls us
like God gives us assignments. He gives us instruction, He says
(26:54):
go and do and speak and proclaimand, and we are to be obedient
to that inside our homes and outside of our home.
When God is clearly showing you that you need to say no to
something, God is going to send someone to do his will, to do
his work. You know, So it comes with a
place of understanding that He'ssovereign.
(27:18):
He is going to reach the people that you would have reached if
you would have gone, right? Like he's going to reach them
because it's him that does the work.
We are mouthpieces. He does the work.
So if I'm not the mouthpiece forthis particular event, somebody
else will be. God is going to reach the hearts
of the people and give them the insight and the wisdom that they
need that He's given us or whatever, you know.
(27:38):
And so it's trusting God to do what he wants to do when He
wants to do it. Something's going to be with us
through us, right? Sometimes it's going to be with
somebody else, but he's going tofill that gap.
If there is a homeschool convention that somebody's
asking you to do and you just cannot or God says no and you're
like, but why? But wait, these people need it
(28:00):
and they and they do they, they people that comment to these
events, you know, not homeschooling only, but just
events that where, where the gospel is preached and where,
you know, there's, there's training instruction, though I
have a passion for, for example,for moms to know the importance
of helping your children grapplewith scripture and defend it and
understand who is God and all those things.
(28:21):
And I want them all to know and I want to go tell them all.
I can't tell them all, OK, firstof all, and I don't have the,
the the bandwidth, nor is God telling me to go and do that.
So somebody will somebody will because somebody did it with me
and then went to an event and itwas somebody else speaking and
God use that person to minister to me, praise the Lord.
So if it's not me going, somebody will go.
(28:44):
But again, the work is God's right.
And so if he says no, no is good, no one's good for me.
I don't need to be there. I don't need to go.
God is going to supply what theyneed through his Spirit, through
another person. And when it's my time to go,
then I'll go. And but I still need to be
obedient here, and I need to be diligent here, and I need to
give excellence here as if I'm speaking before an audience of
(29:05):
100. Or 1000.
An audience of six. There's 8 or whatever my family
is, then I'm going to, I'm goingto do that in as well.
And so yeah, it's trusting he it's his work, trusting,
trusting him. He does what he does best.
That's right. That's right.
It's amazing though, because I, I hear in that also a, a total
lack of confidence in self. And I think sometimes when we
(29:29):
feel like we've got to do all ofthe things like it.
And I'm talking even if it's like, you know, sign up for this
bake event where I need you to bake, you know, 50 muffins, you
know what I'm saying, per hour? I don't know.
But like there are always these opportunities when we exist in
community and we do exist in community and praise God, this
is something that the Lord has blessed us with.
But because we exist in community, there's always an
(29:51):
opportunity for us to exhaust ourselves.
And I think recognizing that I'mnot the end of everything, like
it doesn't, you know, it doesn'trise and fall on me, I think
helps us. And so sometimes I think the
pressure, and I'm not saying that this is true in all cases,
but I think sometimes the guilt could also be maybe an over, you
(30:12):
know, heightened view of 1's ownself importance that if I don't
do it, it's not going to get done.
I know I sometimes struggle withthat.
If I don't do it, like who's going to do?
The Lord will raise up other people to do it.
And and it's OK to find that godly no.
And then to express that. Yes yes and and honestly,
because the remnant is so small,we feel the pressure again, not
(30:35):
because we're so great, but it'sfrom a place of Lord, you show
you you revealed yourself to me like you have shown me this and
this needs to go out to the world.
I really do believe that, like it's not from a place of self
aggrandizement. It's real that God has revealed
things to us, the remnant and knowing that the masses need to
hear it to that pressure of like, man, Lord, I got it, let I
(31:01):
need to go give it. He's like, yes, but you're not
the only one. Because there's 7000, you know?
Like it's not just you. That's.
Right that that, that I'm calling and so it's trusting and
saying you're right, you got it,you got it.
You're going to make them know it whenever.
It's time for them to know it with somebody else.
So yeah. Maria, tell me right now in your
life what you are reading in Scripture that is encouraging
(31:22):
you first and foremost as a follower of the Lord Jesus, but
then also by extension helping you to operate most effectively
as a wife and mom. What?
What in Scripture is the Lord sort of pressing into your heart
at this moment? Yes, so I've been reading
through Ezekiel and man it I love messianic prophecies like I
(31:44):
love. I feel like that's one of the
major components that God included in his word.
So we can know that Christ is the Messiah and that he had a
plan for him before the foundations of the earth.
And like to me that's like nobody can create that God is
real like him that got the mic. He's real.
And so the when I read Ezekiel and I hear what God revealed to
him about Israel, not only the heart condition, but like the
(32:07):
judgement that was coming and all the that he's exposing
there. And I and I see the specificity
that God has and the clarity in his in his words and then in
what he instructs, he's equal todo and to display before the the
people so that they can get it. God, God's character to me is
(32:29):
revealed even more so where he he is a God of detail, but he
is, he is like, OK, so you know how we are called to be
intentional? Like as a believer, part of our
character should be that we are responsible and we are
dependable. And we are and I struggle there
and we are, you know, to be veryexcellent, right?
(32:52):
And maybe the word is better intentional, like just being
very focused and intentional, but we fall short, right?
God is that perfection, like He is intentionally perfect.
And so when he is explaining these things to Ezekiel and
instructing him to do these things, to me it just shows his
his. There is nothing that happens
within humanity that God says, oh, I'm going to sit back on
(33:16):
that one. Right.
No, he's like, wait, because this and very detailed and
specific and even to the down tothe point where where Ezekiel
writes on this day of this monthin this time said, and it's
like, Lord, you are so detailed and we know that with the
building of the ark and the temple and the Tabernacle, how
detailed he was. But it it brings me great
comfort number one to know that he is that detailed, oriented
(33:38):
and focused in my life. Smallest things to the greater
things. And then it's challenging and
convicting because I need to be like that, right?
I need to be. I need to pay margins in the
detail and I need to be more intentional with my moments and
my days and my actions and my thoughts.
I get great comfort from it, butalso conviction.
And it's good. It's good.
I need to be like Christ. You know, it's so good, so good.
(34:01):
Maria, thank you so much for joining me for this week's
episode of the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I really enjoy these conversations.
I think they're so encouraging and they're refreshing for us as
moms. And then, you know, if no other
thing, it's it's sort of like a point of contact where you're
like, yes, I understand that. Yes.
OK, so I'm not alone in walking through and trying to work these
(34:22):
things out because at the end ofthe day, what we really are
trying to do is glorify God in every way that we live.
So thank you for being willing to discuss this with me.
Yes, thank you for having me. All right, I just won't let our
listeners know that you will be teaching apologetics at the
Culture Proof Conference June 19th through the 21st.
If they want to learn more aboutthat, they can go to
(34:44):
cultureproof.net and learn aboutsome of the other speakers, your
age group that you'll be teaching.
The kids track, You direct that track and it's ages 4:00 to
12:00. That's correct.
Can you? Share I'm asking you this like
on the spot, what's your what's your aim this year?
Like what? What is your focus?
Yes, I'm very excited for this year.
(35:06):
So I, I and my focus is similar every year, but it just takes a
different, you know, twist basedon the theme of the conference.
But I always want the children to understand that they can lay
their whole lives upon the. Word of God.
They can trust who He is and what He has said.
So I want them to understand from little Bitty that the Word
(35:27):
of God is reliable, it is consistent, it is it aligns with
what we find in history and in science.
I want them to understand that the Word of God is not a
spiritual fairy tale like the world wants to say.
And so if that is true, which I'm trying to lay that
(35:47):
foundation for them, then the call of the believer starting at
3:00 and 4:00 and little is OK, then this is what my life, this
is what I'm going to base my life upon, right?
And then shaping the world view this year with the the theme of
the conference. I'm very excited because it
takes this angle. God is worthy of that.
(36:09):
Like he is real, he is true. We can see it.
The word is consistent. It can God left evidence for us
to know and to know and to be tobe firm in that knowledge of who
he is and what he's done. And then he is worthy for us to
lay our lives down for him. I we can teach that to a four
year old. You can't tell me that is that I
(36:30):
cannot because I have seen it. I know what I mean.
Like that's right, that they cansay, oh, this, this is what it
means and it's true. Yes, the dinosaurs fit in the
ark. Yes, they did.
Yes, they did. Because the word says it that he
made him on day 6. So those are those are Nuggets,
if you will, that we not Nuggets.
Those are that's the foundation that we lay for them.
(36:51):
And those are things that they can say, OK, I can trust the
word of God and then I can live for him because he's worthy.
So I'm excited for this year's gonna.
Be good. Oh man, I love you so much.
Like it make it makes me excitedlike when I hear you talking
about it and and thinking about this, knowing what you do for
kids, like I can see this like kind of through their eyes and
how excited you are. So thank you so much for sharing
(37:12):
that, Maria, I appreciate you. God bless you.
Yes, thank you. It's been a pleasure to host the
Schoolhouse Rock podcast this week.
If you want to learn more about culture proof and what we do,
maybe even catch our own podcast, you can go to
cultureproof.net. That's culture proof.net.
Make sure you check out the Schoolhouse Rock podcast next
week for more exciting guests. Until then, have a great week.
(37:35):
Thanks so much for joining us today for the Schoolhouse Rocked
podcast. You can stream the movie
Schoolhouse Rock to the Homeschool Revolution for free,
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Together, we're making a generational impact that
(37:56):
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with them. Join us next week for another
exciting episode of the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
Until then, keep pointing your kids to Jesus.
(38:22):
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children learn real, fun sciencefrom a physical worldview.
There is an uneasiness within uswhen it comes to our faith, and
that's why we asked the Lord to finish your work that you did in
me. That means take me to the end,
(39:29):
Lord, because it's going to be hard.
And it's hard because we, you know, if we're honest with
ourselves and honest with our children, we have doubts.
And those doubts are painful. And what we want is that
certainty. The reason why deconstructionism
is so tempting to these kids is the same reason that Eve was
(39:51):
tempted by the snake. The snake says God is holding
out on you. There is something good out
there that he's not letting you have.
You take this fruit and you'll have it.
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