In Episode 002 of Playfully Faith Parenting, we dive into how to start spiritual parenting and nurturing your own faith as a mama.
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Show Notes
Episode Summary:
As a Christian mama you have decided that you want your kids to know and love Jesus. You believe that God, through his Word, has called you to be the one to teach your children and journey with them and the Holy Spirit. So, now what?
The most important first step in introducing your kids to Jesus, is you having a vibrant, life-giving relationship with Him. You must spend time with Him. You must know you are loved and you must love Him. When you are closely following Jesus, you won’t be able to stop from sharing Him with your children.
Your kids deserve a mama that is in a healthy spiritual place because you will be a better mom with Jesus. But, that is a by-product! God wants a relationship with you, just to have a relationship with you. He is not merely equipping you to serve others or point them to Him. He desperately wants a deep, intimate, and authentic relationship with you, his created, chosen, and loved daughter and friend. You can’t earn more of His love no matter how many devotionals you read, prayers you say, or your children walk with Him.
In this episode, we will talk about some simple ways to prioritize and nurture your faith.
Verses from the episode:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
John 15:15
Links from the episode:
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Transcript
Here is a rough transcript with timestamps of Playfully Faithful Parenting Episode 002: I want my kids to know Jesus! Now what? How to start Spiritual Parenting. This isn’t meant to be pretty and perfect but is here as a resource for those who want it.
00:00:00
Mama is welcome to episode 2. In this episode we will talk about some simple ways to prioritize and nurture your faith as a Christian Mama.
00:00:09
You have decided that you want your kids to know and love Jesus. You believe that God, through his word, has called you to be the one to teach your children and to journey with them and the Holy Spirit.
00:00:21
So now what? How do we start this thing called spiritual parenting? Let’s talk about it as a reminder. In our last episode we talked about what spiritual parenting is, and we decided spiritual parenting is living out your authentic faith in front of your kids and inviting them.
00:00:41
To get to know who God is, but where do we start with spiritual parenting? Let’s go back and look at deuterons.
00:00:50
Me 6 versus 4 through 9, which was one of the main key verses that I use when I look at defining spiritual parenting and my role in my kids faith. So verse four says here. Oh, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
00:01:10
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
00:01:17
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands. I am giving you today, so that’s verses 4 through 6 and I think that’s where we start.
00:01:26
We start by loving the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength and committing yourself wholeheartedly to God. Commands that he’s given to us.
00:01:37
That’s where we start. We love God.
00:01:40
We have an authentic, vibrant life giving relationship with him and we spend time with him and we let our kids see this, but it is so hard as a Mama, especially of young kids to spend time with Jesus as a mom of five.
00:02:00
I’ve kids, especially right now. All of them are eight to one. I understand it is hard. I would love to be able to just sit and have my tea and my Bible and and a journal and spend an hour with God every morning and someday.
00:02:20
I will get there, but today is not my day and tomorrow probably won’t be either.
00:02:26
And that’s OK because God understands God has placed me in this family. He has given my kids their sleep patterns and and he has a plan and I can be creative and intentional with the time and opportunities that I have. So today I want to talk about.
00:02:48
What are some creative ways that we can invite God into our lives as a Mama, especially as a Mama of kids who are young in the home who are needy, who are always pray?
00:03:04
Doesn’t how do we fit time with God in to that busy Mama life?
00:03:10
And here’s my suggestion. Spiritual disciplines. I feel like sometimes spiritual disciplines can get a bad rap because we just assume that to practice spiritual disciplines means we need to carve out hours of our time each day, weekends or one.
00:03:30
One day a week and one weekend, a month and one week a year to spend time just with God doing nothing else.
00:03:40
And that the spiritual disciplines are not practical for amama life. But mom’s. I want to challenge you in that idea if that is what you believe about spiritual disciplines. And I have a few resources that I want to share with you today too.
00:04:00
Help you.
00:04:01
Maybe change your perspective on what the spiritual disciplines are and how you can incorporate them into your life and maybe how you already are incorporating those into your life. But you just need to shift your intentionality and understand that.
00:04:21
What you’re already doing is an opportunity for you to spend time with God and to grow closer to him.
00:04:28
So I’m I’m really excited about these resources. I am a reader. I love to read especially audiobooks because that’s what fits into my life style the most, but I just I love books and I think they are amazing resources so.
00:04:48
I have four of them that I want to share with you today. The first one is a short little book, 112 pages called Domestic Monastery by Ronald Rolheiser, and I will put a link to this in the show notes and.
00:05:02
It is a beautiful little book that shows the value of being a parent and and the value for our faith and being a parent. Ronald Rolheiser argues that a home.
00:05:23
With children is as good as or maybe even.
00:05:29
Better a place for sanctification than a monastery that, as parents, we have more opportunities to be stretched and grown. Opportunities to pray, opportunities to draw close to God than monks and nuns who try to live.
00:05:49
In a very intentional environment, here’s a quote from the book that says any mother or father while raising chilled.
00:05:57
Perhaps in a more privileged way than a professional contemplative is forced almost against the will to constantly stretch the heart. Just think that’s really beautiful and it gives so much value to parenting for for our own faith.
00:06:17
And growth, and I know as a parent that there have been times where I would just love to be a nun and just have quiet and a set routine and he just challenges.
00:06:33
Me and reminds me that God has called me to this and there are amazing privileges and amazing things for my own sanctification that God can do and wants to do through my family and my crazy life. One more quick quote.
00:06:53
From that book is he writes to see your own child is to feel what God must feel when God looks at us. And if that does not give you a moment of pause.
00:07:08
In just like self reflection of like Oh my gosh I am love and I can love out of that love.
00:07:18
That just feels very equipping and encouraging to me as a Mama. And so I hope you feel the same way.
00:07:25
From that and so, I just think that that book might be really encouraging to you, and so I highly recommend it.
00:07:31
The next book that I want to share with you is Adele Calhoun’s spiritual disciplines handbook. This also will be in the show notes.
00:07:43
This is a book that I used in seminary. It was one of my textbooks, but I think it is totally usable as as a Mama. As any Christian who wants to kind of deepen and widen their understanding.
00:08:04
Of what spiritual disciplines are in this book? She goes through 62 different spiritual disciplines, and so it will broaden your understanding.
00:08:17
And I think it will help you to be a little more creative and seeing the things that you already do in life and the things that you already make time for as opportunities to spend those times with God and to allow God to enter in to those times for your own.
00:08:37
Transformation, sanctification, and relationship with him and.
00:08:42
So the very first one she talks about is celebration.
00:08:46
And I just love that that is the way she would start this book. I think it is so important that we recognize celebration and when we view that as a spiritual gift and we can celebrate what?
00:09:06
Is happening what God is doing. Who God is that will bring joy into our lives and that will overflow for our kids and our families.
00:09:18
And it is just a really amazing faith building opportunity. Celebration is, and so I just I. I just think that this is a really useful book in broadening our understanding of what spiritual disciplines are and how you can come.
00:09:38
More intentionally incorporate those into your life. Kind of in that same purpose.
00:09:45
Of redefining what spiritual disciplines are, I want to tell you about Catherine McNeil. Long days of small things. Motherhood as a spiritual discipline. I mean, it’s just it’s perfect. It is a really beautiful book about seeing.
00:10:06
The things that we do as moms as ways to draw closer to Christ. Here’s a quote from the book. It says mothers are reminders that has said love is the very foundation of the earth.
00:10:19
In nurturing, we bear the image of God. We all want to be more like Jesus, and this book shows ways that through loving our kids in the day to day, we get to become more like Christ when we invite him and the Holy Spirit.
00:10:39
In to these very common routines and practices that we already have, one of the most powerful ones for me. She talks about nursing.
00:10:52
And that one has been very powerful to me as I’ve been nursing for many years now. It seems another huge one for me that changed.
00:11:00
My perspective is on changing diapers now. Often when I change a diaper I reflect on sin and the way that God has cleansed me.
00:11:13
Through Christ and the cross, and it’s really powerful and just to take those few moments of an activity that is not.
00:11:20
Not necessarily pleasant or enjoyable, but to make it powerful and intentional in that way, as well as a bonding moment and justice. Just finding a way to make something so small, making it such a reminder of.
00:11:40
God’s grace and love for me has been really powerful. Finally, I want to mention Gloria Furman missional motherhood.
00:11:50
It just again.
00:11:52
And it helps me to give spiritual power and spiritual transformation and opportunity over to the things that I already do as a mom.
00:12:05
When I invite the Holy Spirit in, and so she says, because God is profound, his design for motherhood.
00:12:12
Is profound, so even though I’m not out in the world, being a missionary to some tribe in Africa that has never heard of God?
00:12:23
These books at remind me that my calling has deep and meaningful purpose and it is so valued by God and just even that and reminding me of my identity in him and that I am living.
00:12:43
Into an opportunity to become more like him is just. It’s really encouraging and.
00:12:50
Also reminded.
00:12:52
Did that in Isaiah that God compares himself to a nursing mother. He says he won’t forget his people the same way a nursing mother can’t forget her child and all of those little things. When I think about them through my daily life can be.
00:13:12
Opportunities to bask in the relationship that God wants for me to just enjoy my heavenly Father.
00:13:23
To grow more like him, to be reminded of who I am and what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with.
00:13:30
And all of those things I think, are amazing opportunities just for spending time with him and growing in that vibrant relationship that he wants for.
00:13:42
Us finally I want to share with you how I am in the word every day. I have lots of ways that I love to spend time in scripture, but there’s only one of them that I consistently can make happen every day and that is through reading.
00:14:02
The Bible using the Bible recap on the Bible app and so every morning while I’m getting ready because that is something that happens every day I get up and take a shower and all those things.
00:14:15
So every morning after I take my shower while I’m getting ready, I listen to the Bible recap plan.
00:14:22
On the Bible app, on my phone and I actually listen to it at two times speed and then I listen to the beat the Bible recap.
00:14:32
Podcast at normal Speed it’s 6 to 10 minutes, usually about 8 minutes long and at double the speed because I.
00:14:41
The most things that double this speed is 3 to 4 minutes, so I get the word and then I have someone who tells me how to best interpret that, and some of the history behind that. And she really ties this story well together well.
00:15:01
And what I love most is that she is always pointing us. Her name is Tara Leigh cobble. She’s always pointing us to find.
00:15:11
And Jesus to find God and who he is. And God character in that day’s reading. And so for this year we are. I’m like 210 days in or so.
00:15:23
And so we’re in the Book of Isaiah. We’re reading through the Bible in a year chronologically, and it’s so doable and.
00:15:31
I just love it and it’s been so helpful and her podcast is so phenomenal.
00:15:38
And I’ve just really learned to see God in a new way, and I actually enjoyed reading Leviticus, so if that says anything for this plan and for Terilli cobbles podcast, then I hope that inspires you to check it out.
00:15:58
I’ve never liked Leviticus before and now I can say that I do.
00:16:04
So Mama, it is a simple way to add it in. I also read that she reads truth books. I I get their their study books and I do not read those every day because that is not just something that happens.
00:16:24
Life takes over, but I love those study plans and I use also have a journaling Bible that when I have time to be creative I really enjoy.
00:16:35
Being creative with God and expressing myself through art in a very personal way, just between God and I. So I will link to those and in the show notes, and I hope I’ve encouraged you to find some ways to make space for Jesus. Whether it’s inviting him.
00:16:57
And the Holy Spirit into what you’re already doing, or finding new ways to add little bits of God into your daily routine.
00:17:08
I hope one of these resources, all of these resources will be helpful to you today. We’ve been talking about your faith.
00:17:17
As the place to start spiritual parenting and your kids do deserve a Mama that is in a healthy spiritual place.
00:17:25
Because you will be a better mom with Jesus, but that is a byproduct God wants a relationship with you just to have a relationship.
00:17:35
With you, he is not merely equipping you to serve your kids and point them to him. He desperately wants a deep, intimate and authentic relationship with you, his created, chosen and loved daughter and friend. You can’t earn more of his love.
00:17:55
No matter how many devotionals you read, prayers you say. Or even if all of your children walk with him, he loves you for who you are.
00:18:06
Just because you are and so Mom’s that is the reason to have a relationship. And that is where it needs to stop.
00:18:15
Everything else will flow out of that, and your understanding that you are loved by a creator and he wants to spend time with you can’t wait to talk to you next week.
