Episode 81
#81. Praying the Word: Our Favorite Memorial Verses We Pray for Our Kids + What Christian Parents Need to Remember | Part 2
COMING SOON: A resource to help you and your kids faithfully read The Bible this summer!
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We will never regret the time we took to pray. Sometimes you may not know where to start, so here's a list of verses that have impacted our prayers through the years.
Didn't get to listen to part 1 yet? Start there to hear why every verse is important for believers today!
Scriptures Referenced:
Hebrews 4:12
John 14:1
Galatians 2:20
Isaiah 44:3-7
2 Timothy 4:7-8
Psalm 143:8
Lamentations 3:22-23
Deuteronomy 4:29
Ephesians 3:14-19
Psalm 91:14-16
Isaiah 43:1-4
Luke 1:47-49
Luke 2:52
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
Transcript
They're the joyful agains our children.
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:Shout on the swings, the exhausting
agains of cooking and laundry and
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:the difficult agains of discipline.
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:So much of what we do
as mothers is on repeat.
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:So what if we woke up with clarity,
knowing which agains we were called to.
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:And went to bed believing we are
faithful in what matters most.
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:We believe God's word is
the key to untangle from the
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:confusion and overwhelm we feel.
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:Let's look up together to embrace a
motherhood full of freedom and joy.
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:This is the Again podcast, and
I'm your host, Stephanie Hickox.
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:As always, this is brought to
you by ENTRUSTED Ministries, the
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:ministry that brought you the
incredible scripture saturated study
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:entrusted with the child's heart.
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:Before we get to part two of this
conversation with Betsy and David
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:Corning, the founders of the ministry.
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:I wanted to let you know a couple updates.
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:First, did you know that our
ministry is a nonprofit and it's
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:completely donor supported, we
are looking for more donors?
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:If you've been blessed by the ministry
or by this podcast, would you consider
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:giving even $10 a month to support
us so that we can continue reaching
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:families for the glory of God?
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:We always have lots of
ideas on our hearts.
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:And your gift can help
bring them to families.
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:Also, are you thinking about
a way to help your kids grow
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:spiritually Over the summer?
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:Stay posted because we've got a resource
coming to help you accomplish just that.
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:And now it's time for us to get.
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:To part two of my conversation with Betsy
and David Corning, we're going to give you
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:many more verses that we've prayed over
the years for our children, our family,
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:our friends, and at the end, they're
gonna give some overarching biblical
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:wisdom that they've learned through
the years that they think is especially
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:pivotal for parents to hear today.
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:So sit back and soak it in.
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:Betsy/David: couple more
things about memorial verses.
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:They can be a life verse like the
lamentations first for David, which is
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:just a really special verse for him.
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:So in my list of memorial verses under
David, of course I have that verse.
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:I have other verses that he
wouldn't know about that.
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:I pray for him.
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:And I have verses for all of my kids,
my grandkids, my friends, my relatives
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:even some strangers or people that
I've counseled and they wouldn't even
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:know that they have memorial verses.
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:I have memorial verses for people that
told me their life verse and that was
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:the verse that brought them to faith.
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:So I think memorial verses also
show the power of God's word.
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:And I love that because
we know that Hebrews 4.
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:12 says the word of God
has power, living power.
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:It's living and active.
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:And there's one particular
one that I'll share.
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:His first came from John 14.
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:1.
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:It says, You believe in
God, believe also in me.
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:So he had a quasi general belief
in God, but he didn't believe in
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:Jesus until he read that verse.
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:You believe in God, believe also in me.
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:And that cut him to the quick, and it
became a memorial verse for his life.
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:Sort of his salvation verse.
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:And I know for me, I have two salvation
verses and I, and one is a Galatians 2 20,
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:which I share in my testimony, but also
other verses that I claim for my kids.
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:This is one that I pray
for all of my kids.
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:It actually comes out of
Isaiah 44, three through seven.
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:I will pour out my
spirit on your offspring.
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:And my blessing on your descendants and
they will spring up among the grass
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:like poplars by streams of water
And this one will say I am the lords
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:and that one will call upon the name
of jacob and another We're right on
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:his hand belonging to the lord And
we'll name Israel's name with honor.
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:Stephanie: This is so fun to
see how much overlap there is
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:of different verses.
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:Several Uncle David said were sung
for me, and that one, when I had
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:my third son, I put their names in
my Bible there because I thought
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:that was such a beautiful passage.
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:Betsy/David: I put that one down when I
had just one child and then I ended up
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:having three so I thought that was apropos
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:I have also life verses sometimes we
talk to people and we say what's your
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:life verse and I have My board of
directors and I asked them one time what?
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:What is their life verse?
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:And I just think it's really a sweet
thing to know somebody else's life verse.
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:And when I read through the Bible
and I see their name by that life
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:verse, of course I remember them.
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:And I think of Nancy McDonough
who worked with me for 25 years.
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:Her life verse is 2 Timothy 4, 7, and 8.
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:I have fought the good fight.
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:I have finished the race.
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:I have kept the faith.
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:Now there is in store for me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the
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:righteous judge will award me on that day.
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:And not only to me, but also to all
who have longed for his appearing.
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:And I always think of Nancy
whenever I read that passage.
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:And another one that I love from
another member, Bob Gunter in Psalm.
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:1438, just a very faithful
servant of the Lord on our board.
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:It says, let me hear in the morning of
your steadfast love for in you, I trust.
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:Make me know the way I should go for you.
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:I lift up my soul.
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:And in another version, he says, let the
morning bring my word to your unfailing
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:love for I have put my trust in you.
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:Show me the way I should go for to you.
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:I trust my life.
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:And,
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:you see the power of the
Bible in other people's lives.
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:For centuries people have been
reading the Bible and it has all this
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:power, but now we're just making.
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:personal notations of seeing God's
faithfulness to our friends and family.
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:Stephanie: Mm,
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:Betsy/David: I got life first, but
I think I've already shared it.
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:It would probably be for me that
Lamentations But I have a friend
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:that I think, this guy and, um,
this is a verse of scripture.
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:I've prayed with him hundreds of times.
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:I've known him for 40 some years.
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:And every time he prays before he
asks God or says anything he's, he
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:quotes this verse and it's just,
it's a precious verse of scripture.
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:It's Deuteronomy 4 39 and I
can just hear him saying it.
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:Know therefore today and take it to
your heart that the Lord, he is God in
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:heaven and above and on the earth below.
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:There is no other.
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:Every time he prays, I don't care
whether it's just over a quick prayer
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:for before we eat or whether we're in a
group people sitting around at a table
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:praying and calling out to the Lord.
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:And I'm sure he does it during
his quiet time and so forth.
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:But that's a verse that would
be for this particular guy.
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:His name is Bob Schroeder, by the way.
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:Stephanie: The nearness of the Lord and
the way that he speaks to us through his
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:word is just so evident as we share these.
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:And I keep thinking about how the
Lord, how his word is such a perfect
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:length that you can study it for
your whole lifetime and you will be
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:unveiling treasures all along the way.
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:And yet.
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:There are these threads of his
character that you can know so well as
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:you study it and we rejoice in that,
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:Betsy/David: So it's a good practice
to start thinking of, what verses
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:are particularly impressed upon your
mind or have made a difference in
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:your life of God's faithfulness.
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:Sometimes it's a something difficult
that you've gone through and you
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:can mark that in your Bible or in
your get the word out theme pages.
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:David started this all out with We are
to remember and these are good things to
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:remember That all the remember verses are
probably god pointing out memorial verses
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:to us He knows that we are forgetful
people So let's remember faithfulness.
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:Stephanie: I'm just going to tack on
a couple of my kids life verses, and
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:when I was pregnant with each of them,
I prayed very hard that the Lord would
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:give me verses to pray over them.
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:And, as they grow and they want to pick
different life verses for their life,
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:certainly they're entitled to that.
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:But these are just some verses
that the Lord really spoke to my
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:heart as I was praying for them.
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:And it's been so neat to see their
character develop and perhaps why the
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:Lord had called me to a particular verse.
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:For my oldest, it's from Ephesians 3,
For this reason I bow my knees before the
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:Father, from whom every family in heaven
and earth is named, that according to the
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:riches of His glory, He may grant you to
be strengthened with power through His
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:Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith.
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:You being rooted and grounded in love
may have strength to comprehend with
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:all the saints, what is the breadth
and length and height in depth,
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:and to know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge that you may be
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:filled with all the fullness of God.
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:And I laugh a little bit because
my son, was holding his head
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:up at 20 minutes and he is just
so physically strong and even as.
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:It's a couple months old.
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:We could just see that so much.
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:But I love that the Lord guided me to pray
that he would be strengthened in his inner
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:being by knowing the love of the Lord
and that would be what he is strong in.
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:For my second.
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:I was led to Psalm 91, and the
whole chapter is just such a
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:beautiful picture of the Lord's
faithfulness and protection over us.
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:I especially love the closing verses.
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:Because he holds fast to me
in love, I will deliver him.
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:I will protect him
because he knows my name.
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:When he calls to me, I will answer him.
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:I will be with him in trouble.
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:I will rescue him and honor him.
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:With long life, I will satisfy
him and show him my salvation.
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:So that is our prayer that Ryder
would run to him, that he would live
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:under the shadow of the Lord's wings.
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:All the rest of my children
have some testimony of a broken
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:bone or these urgent situations.
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:Ryder just seems to be the guy who.
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:Everyone else in the house is
really sick and it doesn't hit him.
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:And it's been interesting to see how
his peaceful personality and his tender,
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:teachable spirit is playing out with that.
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:For my third son, as I looked back, I
thought, why would I pick those verses
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:for him, but I picked in Isaiah 43, But
now, thus says the Lord, He who created
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:you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel,
Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I
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:have called you by name, you are mine.
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:When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you, and through the
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:rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
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:When you walk through fire, you
shall not be burned, and the
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:flame shall not consume you.
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:And there are verses, as it goes on in
the chapter, that I love for him too,
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:but Everett's story has been one of And
he's been hospitalized and several times
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:and had an auto immune disorder that
caused him to have infusions for years.
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:And I saw the Lord's faithfulness to him.
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:And I saw how the Lord taught
him to draw near in those times.
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:So for a moment I thought, why
would I pick verses that are clearly
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:indicating trial in your life?
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:But I see how, really,
the Lord was faithful.
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:giving me a picture of his nearness
and who he would be forever.
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:Betsy/David: Mm-hmm
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:Stephanie: And lastly, I'll
just share about my daughter.
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:So I was pregnant with my fourth and I
had wanted to have many more children.
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:And I think my husband was very much ready
to say, okay, we are, we have three boys.
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:That's great.
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:Now we've got our girl, we are done.
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:And the Lord just gave
me a pregnancy that.
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:would bring me to agreement on that point
because it was pretty rough and Adeline
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:was transverse in my womb, so she was
breached, and it was just miserable.
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:And I remember praying to the
Lord, don't you understand I
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:don't have time for a C section?
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:Like my husband has MS, he's
very tired, and I'm running
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:after these busy little boys.
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:I can't have a c section and so we prayed
and then I went for that ultrasound to
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:see if she had turned or if I needed to
schedule a c section and she had turned
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:and I hadn't even felt it but I came
out of the doctor's office and I didn't
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:even know I had these verses memorized,
but I heard, My soul magnifies the Lord,
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:and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
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:For he who is mighty has done great
things for me, and holy is his name.
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:You might recognize that
these are verses Mary said.
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:When Elizabeth recognized that she was
carrying the Messiah and so obviously very
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:different circumstance, but the Lord just
put those verses on my heart and my prayer
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:for Adeline is that she would just worship
her Savior wholeheartedly, that that would
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:be known of her, that she gives glory
to the Lord Jesus Christ with her life.
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:And she is such a joyful little
girl and she loves to worship.
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:It's so neat how the Lord guides
us in our prayers, and obviously
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:has continued to put many verses
on my heart for my children.
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:But those are some that I have really
clung to through parenting so far.
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:Betsy/David: Yeah.
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:They seem very fitting.
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:Stephanie: Yes.
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:Betsy/David: We have three of our own
children and then I have 10 grandchildren.
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:And I really think it's wonderful
how you and Betsy have got individual
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:verses for each child, but I only
have one, one for all of them.
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:it's a verse that I've prayed.
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:I don't know, thousands of times.
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:If you add them all up, I don't know
how many times I prayed this for my
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:kids and my grandkids, but it's Luke
2 52, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature
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:and in favor with God and with men,
and my prayer is just simply that
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:Lord help them grow to be just like
Jesus Christ in every possible way.
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:And that just is, it's a, it's a
general all encompassing thing, but
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:I'm just praying that these kids would
grow up in wisdom and in stature.
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:I want them to be healthy and strong, but
I want them to grow in Christ likeness.
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:And at the end of the day, that's
what we started out talking about.
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:Our lives are all about Christ
and our kids, we want them to be.
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:Jesus Christ.
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:In my Bible, I have a couple of
places where I put everybody's name.
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:The Isaiah 44, three through five, I
started out with just Emily, and then
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:I added Luke and then I added Lee.
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:Then I added Adam, Alyssa, Chelsea,
Anna, David, John, Hudson, Haley,
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:David, Lauren, David, Quinn, and Claire.
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:And there's probably three places
in my Bible where I have the whole
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:list that I just keep adding because
they are memorial verses to our whole
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:heritage, to our whole family line,
and they're just super, super special.
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:But yeah, that is So true.
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:That as a person is added in your
family, you keep add them in.
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:Stephanie: And Fetsy, you're reminding
me of the first lesson of Entrusted, when
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:you explained the bands of what the Lord
calls us to, in eachin each section of our
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:lives, these 20 year bands you call them.
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:And our faithfulness And our call
to really brew strong prayer warriors
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:in that last band of our lives.
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:And I'm so thankful to have you,
your faithful prayers, praying
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:for us and for all of your crew.
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:Betsy/David: That's so interesting because
When you get so much older and you lose
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:strength and but you're growing inwardly
spiritually because the Bible says that
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:even though the outer man is decaying
inwardly, we're being renewed day by day.
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:And so you are growing in wisdom, in
perspective, in eternal knowledge,
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:in eternal desire and in all of
these things for your family.
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:I think the Lord just sits us down in a
rocking chair and has us pray Or lay down
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:and be still and it's really a special
time to contemplate life And how short
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:it is and how fragile it is and that can
be a great Contribution to our legacy.
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:i'm not quite there yet, but I
definitely feel the aging process
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:coming in there coming into play
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:Stephanie: No, you're living all the
bands, lots of life and lots to give
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:and creativity and joy and, but I know
that you spend so much time faithfully
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:Betsy/David: it's definitely
different than it used to be.
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:Stephanie: Yeah.
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:Betsy/David: David?
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:Oh, yes.
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:Stephanie: my grandpa was such a
godly man and towards the end of his
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:life, he was in a wheelchair and his
eyesight began failing and his hearing.
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:Was failing too, but
he said, you know what?
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:I have so much time to pray.
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:Betsy/David: That's so sweet.
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:Stephanie: He was just such
a godly kind, kind man.
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:As he passed, I thought, oh Lord I'm
so glad that he's with you, but who's
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:going to pray for us like he did?
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:And You just realize what a treasure,
if you have a blessing of having
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:believers that pray for you, what a gift.
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:Betsy/David: It is such a gift.
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:Yeah, I think the Lord plans it
that way and we fight against it.
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:But we don't want to fight against
the plans of the Lord for our
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:lives, even though we're getting
weaker on the outside, we're
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:getting stronger on the inside.
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:Amen.
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:Stephanie: Amen.
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:Since I have both of you here and
you have such a wealth of biblical
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:parenting wisdom, would you take
a minute and give some overarching
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:wisdom that you've learned over
the years that you think would be
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:really beneficial for parents today?
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:Betsy/David: An important thing I'd like
to share about parenting is to be gentle
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:with your kids and not harsh because
you want to keep that close connection.
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:And there's times of being
firm but not harsh not unkind.
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:Yeah.
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:I, if there's anyone that's violated
that over the years, that's I tend
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:to sometimes get a little bit too
intense with my kids when they don't
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:do what I want them to do or have an
attitude that I don't want them to have.
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:But the, at the end of the day
it's just a parent can't have the
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:perspective that my, my son or my
daughter is my friend, is my buddy.
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:I'm not your buddy.
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:I'm not your friend.
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:I'm your dad.
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:And I'm going to try to relate to you
in a Christlike way, trying to give
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:you instruction and guidance rather
than, letting you think that I have to
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:just do things because we're buddies.
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:Another thing, Steph, I would just say in
parenting is there's no other person in
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:their lives that has a greater opportunity
to influence them than their mom and dad.
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:You can have great school teachers,
you can have great youth group leaders,
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:you can have all these different people
in their lives, and that's wonderful,
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:and I trust and pray that they have
those kind of people in their lives.
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:But there's no one that can take
the place of a parent as long as
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:that parent is alive and healthy and
well and able to do what they ought
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:to be doing with their children.
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:And I think that really translates into
spending time in the word with your
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:children, not just talking about it or
giving, getting them to places where
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:they can hear it, but sitting down with
them one on one eyeball to eyeball.
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:going through passages of scripture
and asking them, what does this mean?
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:How does this apply to our lives?
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:Why should we be concerned about this?
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:How does this affect the
way I go about living?
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:Questions like that just diving
deep down into their lives.
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:They don't.
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:And I think that we need to start that
process with them early because it has a
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:tremendous effect on their lives later on.
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:They don't forget it.
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:And so I think a lot of times
parents sadly don't use and take
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:that opportunity that they have.
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:To really begin to work
with their children.
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:Yeah, we're living in a society where
people are distracted just on the
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:daily things where they're not really
in the moment with their kids for,
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:discipline or daily routine or chores
or dinners or, so let alone spiritual
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:development, which is so critical
in a child's young life, especially.
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:When we're so distracted by other
things or concerns or things outside
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:the home, then, even foundational
things are falling apart.
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:So I would say, what's the response then?
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:A lack of tenderness, a lack of
sensitivity, a lack of really engaging
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:with your child and connecting, even,
in the simplest things of life, bedtimes
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:and Story times, you just don't want to
let all those things fall by the wayside.
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:And of course, paramount to
that would be spiritual truth.
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:And you can add, as it says in
Deuteronomy 6, 6 and 7, these are
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:things you should be teaching them
in every little moment of life.
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:Are you washing the dishes?
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:Are you laying down?
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:Are you driving in the car when you
see somebody else an ambulance go by?
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:We always say somebody is having trouble.
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:Let's pray for them.
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:Somebody's having a hard day and
you know just bring spiritual
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:things into all parts of life and
Be attentive I'd say is a huge thing
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:Stephanie: And I know when you were
parenting that the Lord called you to
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:some radical measures sometimes to live
counter culturally and to make sure that
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:Christ was a priority in your home I
think sometimes we feel that the culture
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:has dictated so many of our choices,
but we need to look and say, Lord, how
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:would you have me redeem this time?
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:What would you have me say no to,
to clear the busyness so I'm really
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:present and available for them, many
people say the days are long, but the
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:years are short, but really it goes
by fast and we don't want them to
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:look back and remember our harshness,
our impatience, our distraction.
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:We want them to remember that mom
and dad were right there with me.
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:Betsy/David: yeah, that's so true and the
counter cultural thing is huge because
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:everything is changing so quickly and
What was used to be common sense was
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:basically biblical common sense and
people believed in the Judeo Christian
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:ethic in other words right and wrong
lying stealing Cheating, you know hurting
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:other people was wrong and that's all
being turned on its head where you can
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:if you're a victim If you feel you've
been victimized, then now all of those
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:things can be justified and rationalized.
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:And it's okay to take bags of groceries
out of the grocery store because you need
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:it and somebody else has more than you.
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:And all of these things are.
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:Challenging the very authority of God
and his word and less and less people
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:are living under the authority of God.
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:But what makes me just blows my mind
is that people are really believing
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:counter, you know, right and wrong,
which is just against a person's
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:given conscience by the Lord.
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:So that's going to be when you
say standing strong as a Christian
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:family, that's going to be more
and more the challenge, but the
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:Bible never tells us to look down.
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:It always says, look up.
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:We're always to be looking up.
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:The Lord is coming back
and he's coming from above.
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:We don't get downcast.
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:We are always looking up.
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:We're excited about
what the Lord is doing.
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:He knows what he's doing.
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:And We should be excited about
his return and looking up.
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:Stephanie: Amen.
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:Before you go, I want to pray this
benediction over you from Second
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:Thessalonians one 11 through 12.
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:We're rooting for you to this end.
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:We always pray for you that our God
may make you worthy of his calling and
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:may fulfill every resolve for good.
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:And every work of faith by his power
so that the name of our Lord Jesus
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:may be glorified in you and you
and Him according to the grace of
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:our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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:Amen.
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:Until we meet again.