Episode 11

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Published on:

18th Oct 2023

Untangling Our Partnership with God: Understanding Who Causes the Growth

Listen in as Betsy, Emily, Jen, and Stephanie untangle our partnership with God. This could easily be misconstrued or misunderstood, but it affects us daily, so we need to know what The Bible says! What is God's role in drawing our kids to Him and what is our responsibility as Christian mothers? As we seek to parent biblically, we need to make sure we don't try to control our children's behavior or take on more ownership than God has called us to. So what should we do? This lesson connects with Entrusted with a Child's Heart: Lesson 7, The Nature of A Child.

Scriptures Mentioned:

1 Cor 3:6-7

Psalm 127:1

Proverbs 22:6

Book Recommendation: "Parenting" by Paul David Tripp

Transcript
Speaker:

They're the joyful agains our children

shout on the swings, the exhausting

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agains of cooking and laundry, and

the difficult agains of discipline.

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So much of what we do

as mothers is on repeat.

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So what if we woke up with clarity,

knowing which agains we were called

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to, and went to bed believing we

are faithful in what matters most?

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We believe God's Word is

the key to untangle from the

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confusion and overwhelm we feel.

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Let's look up together to embrace a

motherhood full of freedom and joy.

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Thanks for joining us

for the, Again, podcast.

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This is brought to you by

Entrusted Ministries and I'm

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your host, Stephanie Hickox.

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Today, I am joined by Jen Freckman,

Emily Diehl, and Betsy Corning.

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You have all three of these wonderful

women, because we are untangling a

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topic that could easily be misconstrued.

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Today we are talking about

untangling our partnership with God.

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We realize that there is a danger of

thinking that we have more control than

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we do, and there's also a danger of

thinking we have less control than we do.

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When we understand God's role

and we embrace our role, there

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is a peace that comes from that.

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This episode will connect with lesson

seven of entrusted with a child's heart

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and the inherent nature of a child.

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And we are going to just bring you

the first half of our conversation

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today because it is such a deep

topic and we really want to

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give you time to reflect on it.

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In our culture, We so often just consume,

consume, consume information, but we feel

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that this is so important that mothers

understand this so they don't take on more

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of a burden than the Lord intended, but

that they're also faithful to what He's

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called them to be and to do as mothers.

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We want you to be so blessed by

this conversation And I think the

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word at the end from Betsy is one

of the most encouraging moments

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we've had on the whole podcast.

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let's get to it.

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Stephanie: Alright, ladies, what

is a struggle in parenting you've

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experienced that you didn't expect?

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I'm sure we all went in knowing it

was going to be hard in some ways and

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delightful in many ways, but what's

something that caught you off guard?

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Emily, how about you?

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Emily: Well, I can speak right now where

we are in life, and you know those sweet

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little children that you had tucked in

bed by eight every night, and you read

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them a nice little bedtime story and

prayed with them, and then you just

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had your evening and it was lovely.

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Well, now...

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I, I find that the biggest struggle in

parenting right now is getting them where

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they need to be and it's all everywhere.

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So the struggle that I didn't know

we would have is that we would spend

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a good portion of our time in the

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car and so that's where we're at right

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now.

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Jen: Yeah.

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That's so interesting.

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I, I think that for me, there's two.

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Actually, Emily brought up a good point.

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I feel like I didn't realize how

hard it would be to have alone time

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with my husband or downtime by myself

without kids as they got older.

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Like you had said, you know, if they

go to bed at seven or eight, You

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had the rest of the evening and now.

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the kids are older and they're up later.

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And so there really is

not as much downtime.

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So I didn't really anticipate that

as much, but also I think one of

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the biggest struggles that I didn't

realize was how deeply I would feel

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the weight of their decisions or my

decisions and how they affect them.

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For instance.

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Something even just as simple as we

were on vacation and one of my kids,

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mouth brace for their braces came off

and it was kind of flapping around.

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It was causing pain and I

was kind of worried about it.

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Like, well, what if it breaks?

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What do we do?

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And so we went to, this random.

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orthodontist, or actually it was

just a dentist on the island that

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we were staying and had them help.

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Well, they had to do a

certain kind of cement.

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And so immediately I was like,

what if they can't get it off?

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And all the, the worries of

my decision it can affect him.

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And so the weight of that, I

didn't realize that I would

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still feel this as they got

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older.

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Stephanie: I can

definitely relate to that.

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Betsy: Yes, and I can relate.

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to all of those things you said

because I was thinking, I don't know

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what I'm, say here, but then all of a

sudden you both made me think of one.

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It's just sort of an

expansion of what you had.

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Since my kids are older, Emily, I

thought you were going to say that you

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don't know when they're going to bed

because that's how it is when they're

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older or they come home from college

and you think, are you going to go

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to bed because we are going to bed.

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And, That's kind of a sometimes

a struggle adjusting to when

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kids come back from college.

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So I don't know how many relate to that,

but that I definitely remember that.

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And what you're saying about decisions

that you make, I can certainly remember

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making some very serious decisions with

our kids and you do carry the weight

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of, you know, the outcome of that.

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The two I'm thinking of majorly

is when you help them, um, marry.

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They've chosen someone and, and there's

a, there's a heavy weight in that because

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it's ultimately their choice, of course.

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And then the other one is having

to choose a course of treatment, a

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treatment protocol for one of our kids.

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And just, I remember that.

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There was struggle in the weight

of that because it's long term

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and they spend so much time giving

you the possible side effects that

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can affect them of their lives.

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And so it's weighty.

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And I didn't mean to get so tragic

here, but, it seems that, you know,

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when they get older, those things

are a little bit More serious, I

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Jen: hmm.

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Yeah,

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Betsy: Of course, you

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can have those serious times with

children at any age, but we experienced

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them when they were a little bit older.

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remember the first thing that came

to my mind really was when they

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don't seem to think the way that you

think on something because you feel

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like you've trained them and this.

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That's how we think about this and

obviously they're forming their own views

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and you hope they're completely in line

with, you know, your Christian worldview

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and then sometime they might just

shock you and you think, well, really,

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why, why are you thinking that way?

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And it's a challenge.

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I wouldn't say it's a struggle so

much, but it's great opportunity to

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talk things through and understand

them and where they're coming from.

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And I really would.

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It hasn't been a major struggle, but

it is, it is a great opportunity to

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explain things, you know, using the

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scriptures and, you know, why we

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think a

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certain way.

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Emily: Mm

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Jen: that's

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great.

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What about you, Steph?

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Stephanie: Oh, those

are all such great ones.

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I can relate a lot.

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I think The heaviness of medical

decisions, I can relate to that so much,

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and I think that that has been one of my.

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biggest struggles in parenting, but

I, I think I would have anticipated

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that one a little bit more.

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I'm gonna say I did not realize the

probability that all of my children

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and all of my family members would

be in a great mood at the same time.

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I didn't realize that that was going

to be much lower than my my hopes.

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And, and sometimes I think like,,

man, when you have four kiddos and

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then you throw yourself in the mix

and your husband in the mix and , how

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often are we all, you know, really

in a great mood at the same time?

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I think that also reveals

that it's not about us, right?

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as a mother, you can make these wonderful

memories, you can bring the word, bathe

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it in prayer, and still, Each child

is going to choose their own response

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to that, I think that that's been a

humbling thing where you're like, Hey, I

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thought I'd be able to steer this attitude

ship a little bit better sometimes.

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Or, we had one of those moments

last night and with three of my

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children, it was like, idyllic.

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They're being kinder than

I've even taught them to be.

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Like, this is incredible.

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And one of my sons is reading to my

daughter, this sweet picture book

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about the Lord, and he's explaining it.

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And it was just beautiful.

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And another one mom, can

I empty the dishwasher?

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And then he was organizing things in the

cabinet and just so proud of himself.

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And then another was a little frustrated

that I had given him a consequence that

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he deserved and I'm just gonna, you

know, be thankful for the fruit and

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trust you Lord that Even that there's

fruit in this decision as well that I'm

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making with this other one, even though

he's not pleased about it right now.

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And also another one that's coming

to mind is, asking permission

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to take a shower so often.

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All right, I'm at the helm.

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I need to know someone else

is going to be at the helm.

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Can I leave?

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Betsy: You cannot be Out of

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view for more than 30 seconds,

because then you'll start hearing Mom,

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where did she go?

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Where did she go?

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Emily: True.

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Stephanie: I think a Lot of what

we're saying, even in this, relates

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well to what we are going to talk

about today, one of our topics, that

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we are in a partnership with God.

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We know God is faithful, and

we know that He loves our

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children even more than we do.

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And we're entrusted with them, and

we want to be faithful to the role

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that the Lord has called us to.

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And so even as we're talking through

these things, it's very evident

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that we desire to have, a positive

influence upon our children, but we

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don't have complete control, do we?

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Betsy: No.

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Stephanie: Aunt Betsy, you've, in

Entrusted and then also just through

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me knowing you, you've really impressed

upon me the freedom that that brings.

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When we're not carrying a burden that

the Lord didn't intend for us to carry,

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when we're really taking it to Him

in prayer, when we know what we're

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called to and we're faithful in that,

then we can just rest in the Lord.

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So could you talk to us a little bit

more about this idea of what God calls

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us to and then what He is faithful to do?

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Betsy: Okay, well, I did use

the word partnership, but it's

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not really an equal partnership.

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And I use the verse from 1 Corinthians 3,

6, and 7, which says, I planted, Apollos

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watered, but God was causing the growth.

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So neither the one who plants

nor the one who waters.

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is anything but God who causes the growth.

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Salvation is God's work of grace.

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And so we say that God's part, which

is massive, is not only to sustain us

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on this earth and give us breath that

we breathe, but also to providentially

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control the universe so it's an

environment in which we can grow.

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And he Saves and Sanctifies.

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Those are the main two

spiritual influences that happen

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supernaturally within the person.

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But then we have a role,

we have a responsibility.

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It's not necessarily on par with,

you know, providentially Controlling

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the universe, you know, creating

food to be grown for all the people

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on the, the earth, all these things.

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But we do have a part because this

verse says, Paul is saying that he

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planted, he planted seeds of the gospel.

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Apollos came along and he, you know,

elaborated on things, expounded

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on things, but it was really

God that was causing the growth.

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It's God that brings the fruit.

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It's God that um, draws Our

children to salvation by his grace.

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And that's nothing that we could do

because it says, so neither the one who

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plants nor the one who waters is anything.

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We're not really anything.

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We, we don't, We can't do it,

but we definitely do have a role

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that he gives us to perform.

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And the role that he has us perform

in our children's lives is to

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Evangelize them and edify them.

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So, they hear the words of

the gospel from us as parents,

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but it's not a one time thing.

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We don't presume upon God about

when this supernatural action

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may take place in their spirit,

but we can see the fruit of it.

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And I always say that we, we continue

to share the gospel with our children.

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Daily, weekly so that we know

that they really understand it.

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They're not gonna understand it

the same at age three, five, or

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seven, as they will at age 15 or 18.

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it's not a one time, oh, did it.

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Yay, we're done.

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No, it's just a constant bringing the

word of God, , and really making it

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applicable, making them understand

how it connects to their life.

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So that's what I, I say.

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I say Salvation is God's work of grace.

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And our job is edify our children,

grow them up in the Lord.

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I love the word edifice.

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Edify comes from the word edifice.

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We're building great things

in our children's lives.

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We're, we're building into them,

but it's not going to amount

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to anything without the Lord.

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And of course, our theme verse

of entrusted is unless the Lord

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builds the house, the edifice.

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We labor in vain who build it, and

unless the Lord guards the city,

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the watchman keeps awake in vain.

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But that verse alone tells us that we have

a responsibility, and I won't keep talking

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on here, but we have in that Lesson 7,

we can probably come back to in a little

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bit, a chart of how this works, and how we

break down in Entrusted the parents role

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and responsibility towards their children.

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And even the children, the

children have a responsibility also

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Stephanie: I find that truth so refreshing

when we feel like we're doing it with the

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Lord, onto Him, that we're not carrying

that burden on our shoulders, we can do

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it just With a lightness, it feels so

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much more joyful, the opportunity.

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Betsy: With the relief that we don't

have to have this come about in our

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own strength, because that won't

happen, because it says nothing.

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We can't make that happen.

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And I think that's interesting, because

my husband and I met with a family

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one time, and the man could give his

children, his grown children, anything

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material that they could possibly desire.

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But what he wanted them to have,

because he came to faith later in

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life, was for them to be saved.

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So he brought them to this gathering

for them to listen to the gospel.

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But see, this was the ache of his heart.

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I can give you anything except this

one thing that I want you to have

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more than anything in the whole world.

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But they hadn't had this message implanted

in their lives since they were young.

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So they didn't really, they thought,

well, that's fine for you, dad.

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We're happy for you.

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But it takes a miracle in

their heart from the Lord

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Emily: Hearing you talk on this,

Betsy, takes me back to sitting in

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your class and hearing you say this

and how much life was poured into our

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lives when, when I first heard this.

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And just reflecting back our

children were much younger then.

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And, I'm thinking, you know, the fruit

that I saw then is so different than the

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fruit I'm seeing now as they're aging.

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And it's so encouraging to to

understand this and the earlier,

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the better that we understand that

we aren't the ones doing the saving

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and we're not their Holy Spirit.

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But that we evangelize and edify, but

the Lord does the changing and I can

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just look back and see little, little

fruit along the way, and as they've

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grown, it's gotten just sweeter.

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And so, being consistent and

sticking with it and committing it

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to prayer that's where it all lies.

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And so, thank you.

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I just want to say thank

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you for being faithful to share

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this.

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Betsy: Well, praise God for that

fruit because those are such

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encouraging things for moms to see.

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Because we plant these little apple trees

and we water them and we fertilize them

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and we, try to make them grow straight

and then it may be, you know, a long time.

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You know, you, you plant a little

seedling, you're not going to see

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an apple the next year, but when

you start to see those apples, it's

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such a joyful thing to a mother's

heart to know that, these things have

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really taken place in their heart.

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I mean, to see fruit is a wonderful.

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Wonderful thing.

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And I think, you know what you

said there, Emily, that we aren't

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the sanctifiers of our kids.

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It's God's Holy Spirit in us

that's transforming us day by

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day to be more like Christ.

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And we're not the sanctifiers

of our husbands too.

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And that's an important lesson.

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That was an important lesson for me

to figure out when I was early, early

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married and, and even as raising my

kids, and even especially as they got

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to those college ages to think, wait a

minute, You know, you're not a complete

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package to leave home yet until I've

got this one more thing said in you

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and really I've seen my kids grow so

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much out of the home and wait How did

that happen without me right there?

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You know the the the work that he begins

in them He's faithful to complete it and

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that's another fruit of that truth And

it's just a wonderful thing to behold

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so praise God that he is working in

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all of

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us

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Emily: yes.

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Mm-hmm.

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Stephanie: It's almost difficult to keep

a balanced perspective of it, because

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on a daily basis we want to feel the

weight of the importance of our role,

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and then we also don't want to take

on too much, and so it just takes this

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continual checking back with the Lord

and seeing how faithful he is in every

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story we read in scripture, that helps

keep it balanced, but I can, I feel

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like it's a teeter-totter balancing act

to keep the proper perspective on it.

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Betsy: Part of that teeter totter

is, you know, if we think, well,

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I don't have to do anything,

God's in control of everything.

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I don't really have control

over their salvation and I

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don't take my responsibility.

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I mean, what did God say to Eli?

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He rebuked him.

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He took the priesthood away from him.

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He said, because you didn't rebuke your

sons because you let them go waywardly and

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the sacrifices and the house of the Lord.

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And so he.

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Required of Hophni and Phineas their lives

and took the priesthood away from Eli.

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So I think there are certain things

in the Bible that really tell

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us that it's important our part.

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But if we don't do our part and we

just have this sort of fatalistic

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attitude that, you know, hands

off and, Everything will turn out.

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I've definitely spoken with parents that

think, well, this is just what kids do.

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This is just what they go through.

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And they don't really have an

intentionality to their parenting.

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But, another memory versus more

of us for me, far be it from

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me that I would sin against the

Lord by ceasing to pray for you.

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But I will instruct you

in the good and right way.

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That is one of our

scripture memory verses.

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So, there's the fatalism, that

part like, oh, I don't have to do

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anything, but that's not biblical.

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And the other one is like,

I have to do everything.

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This is all on me.

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Their salvation is on me.

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And that's obviously not biblical either.

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So, we want to have a balance, but

in that balance, we can just relax.

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We don't have to be so stressed, because

the burden, the ultimate burden is

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Actually, it's on our kids.

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The Lord will bring them.

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But they have that free will.

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That's the opposite side

of the fatalistic coin.

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Stephanie: Hmm.

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Mm

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Jen: I find so much peace in the portion,

about all the different people that

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watered and planted and that it's not

just me, that, the Lord, obviously in

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his sovereignty and in his providence

is working all things together, not only

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for my good, but for my children's good.

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And so we get the joy and we get the

pleasure and The duty of raising up our

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children in the way that they should go

in the way that we feel would be pleasing

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and glorifying to the Lord, but we don't

have to feel the weight when they choose

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unwisely or they choose differently.

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Because that is ultimately, like you

said, it's their decision, but it's also.

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As unto the Lord to change their hearts.

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And so we can be on our knees and praying

and asking the Lord for them to, for

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their hearts to be surrendered to him.

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But I find a little bit of peace in the

fact of the Lord isn't just working in

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just my heart to work in my kids hearts,

but he's also having other people water.

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And I think that's a beautiful part

of the body of Christ together.

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Emily: Mm-hmm.

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Stephanie: Paul David Tripp in his book

Parenting, 14 Gospel Principles That Can

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Radically Change Your Family, he talks

about this principle as well, and he

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says we're either owners or ambassadors.

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Our children are the Lord's but

sometimes we act like we're owners and

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we can act like owners in four ways.

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Either our identity, if we're looking

to get our identity and our purpose

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and our sense of well being from

our children, or, from our work.

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if we think our job is to turn

our children into something.

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Or if we define success as how

our children are turning out.

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This can be academically, or musically,

or behavior, or in our reputation.

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It says owner parents unwittingly turn

their children into their trophies.

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They tend to want to be able to

parade their children in public to

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the applause of people around them.

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But he says ambassador parents

understand that parenting sinners will

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expose them to public misunderstanding

and embarrassment somehow, some way.

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They've come to accept the

humbling messiness of the job

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God has called them to do.

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And they understand that if their

children grow and mature and life in

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godliness, they become not so much

their trophies, but trophies of the

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savior that they have sought to serve.

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For them, it's God who does the

work and God who gets the glory.

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They are just gratified that they are

able to be the tools that God used.

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Betsy: Well

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said.

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Jen: Yeah,

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Stephanie: I think It complements so

well, even that you named it Entrusted,

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that, yes, we are doing this unto the

Lord and with Him I thought that was

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a neat, complimentary way to say it.

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That was, convicting as well and and I

thought even of my example the other night

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where, three of my children are just,

sweet and once disappointed in me, if I

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looked at that moment and was owning it,

would I give myself a 75 percent then?

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How do you measure that or do

I give myself a pat on the back

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for the fruit I'm seeing of my

son, witnessing to my daughter?

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No, I can't do that.

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That was his choice.

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And I'm so, I'm so pleased, but I'm not

going to own that and the same way I don't

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have to own the other child's attitude.

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And I also don't have to say

that this moment is indicative.

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that this moment isn't necessarily

telling me the fruit that's coming.

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That son might look back and say, Mom,

you know, that night that you gave me

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that consequence and I was disappointed

with it I'm so glad you didn't give

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in because I really needed that check.

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Emily: hm.

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Stephanie: You can't even judge in

the moment the fruit that's being born

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Betsy: hmm.

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Emily: hm.

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Mm

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Jen: I find the, the verse

that talks about train up a

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child in the way he should go.

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And when he is old, he

will not depart from it.

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it's not a promise that if you do

A B equals C, you will get this at

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the end, but almost as a warning of

you doing your part of training up

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that child in the way he should go.

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Because even when you're not

training, even when you're not.

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You know, Trying to train

them in a certain way.

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You are training them.

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You're training them to either obey

all the way right away with a happy

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heart, or you're training them to delay

obedience or to have a bitter heart

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and, and have a bitter root growing up.

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And so if you're training them up in

the way they should go, even when they

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are old, they will not depart from it.

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That's a really scary place to be if you

haven't done your portion of training

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them up in the way they should go.

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Because then, even when they are old.

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They will not depart from it.

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And that's not saying that, Oh,

if you do nothing, like God is all

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in control of all of this in a way

that we can't understand as humans.

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He's allowed us and commanded us

to take part in it, to have foot

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in the game of doing our job, to

discipline them, to teach them, to

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turn their affections toward him,

to be the watchman for them, to, be.

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Changing their hearts and their minds

towards the Lord and, and as many

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times as we can but also I look at

that as if I'm not doing this, if I'm

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becoming lazy in this area, if I don't

really want to discipline that child

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again for the same thing, and I just

kind of let it go, I am training them

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up, but not in the way they should go.

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Emily: hm.

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Stephanie: hmm.

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Emily: And as they get older,

you put all these years in, in

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consequences and all of that work.

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But as you're training them, you're

training them towards discernment.

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and you're training them to, to

shift at some point so they are

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discerning and self evaluating,

wrong, right, all of that.

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That is what we're training them

towards discernment And when we see

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those fruits of those little moments

of discernment, those are like small

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hallelujah moments because you're just

thanking the Lord, but never parking there

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because you, you just are ever vigilant

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Betsy: Yes, and when you think of

the Lord giving us, you know, we

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use the word entrusted because it

means given over for safekeeping.

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Jen: Hmm.

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Betsy: So we are

safekeeping God's children.

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Says in Ezekiel, all souls belong to God.

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So we are being stewarded, these children

to raise them in a way that glorifies

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and worships the Lord so that they in

turn will be worshipers of the Lord.

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So there's gonna take some effort

there and some diligence and I think

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it's pretty cool that the Lord gives

us these little ones as babies.

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And, , we have them for about

20 years because it's going to

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:

take a while to train that well.

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:

What a

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:

great privilege it

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:

is.

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Stephanie: hmm.

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:

Emily: yes.

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:

Stephanie: Aunt Betsy, could you offer

some encouragement to the moms who might

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be listening and thinking, I didn't

know about this when they were babies.

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:

I didn't know about it

when they were toddlers.

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I came to faith later, or maybe

I just didn't understand my role.

477

:

Is it too late for me train them?

478

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Jen: Hmm.

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:

Betsy: It is never, ever too late.

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God is the God of hope.

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And even if you raised a child who

is 25 and absolutely not walking

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with the Lord, there's still hope.

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I have a chapter, chapter 13.

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A mother never gives up, never

gives up on her children.

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Always prays, always loves,

but we also don't condone.

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We don't encourage.

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We are always there with open

arms and should they, like

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the prodigal son, return.

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But you know, I've had a lot of

moms say, Oh my, I've got a 15

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year old I just took entrusted.

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And, you know, I feel like we

never, set this foundation.

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Well, sometimes you just need to sit

down with the family and say, we're

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going to have a family meeting because

things are going to change a little bit

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in our, in our home, and we're going to

start living by biblical convictions.

495

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And then we go way back and we talk

about what those are and particular

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:

family standards for their protection.

497

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And it can be, harder on a child that's

older and used to having a lot of freedom.

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But that's not necessarily the

case, it might be that they just

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came to faith and they just are

learning how to do things biblically.

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But I would say that for myself when I

had my first child, I was pretty green

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and I give entrusted to mothers as a gift.

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:

So they are way ahead of

where I was in my life.

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And I would say that even with our oldest,

we went through a lot of challenges and

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struggles, but those are the things that

helped me be able to encourage women in.

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In big struggles, in

big struggles in life.

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that's why I say, I wrote

Entrusted to encourage moms.

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And I was so privileged to be around such

godly women in my early years of marriage.

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And they helped me immensely.

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And I feel like it's a luxury

for women to have that.

510

:

So if Entrusted can be that for

somebody, if it can be that community

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of encouragement, and I tell you

that if you're struggling and

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:

you're thinking that certain thing,

so are many, many other women.

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And so when we get together as

a group, we can encourage each

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other and we can, you know, make

some mid course corrections too.

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And I think that, you know, one of

the biggest things that I say is

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tenderness and connection with your kids.

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We're not going to suddenly be a

controlling parent because it's

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:

really not about controlling behavior.

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It's really about getting a hold of

their heart where they surrender their

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:

heart and they want to obey the Lord.

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And that's the process that we go through,

through several of these chapters.

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I would certainly want moms to be hopeful.

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I think that is the

perfect stopping point.

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We are going to bring you the second

half of our conversation next week.

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I want you to know that with each

podcast episode, I feel the Holy Spirit

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working in my heart, prompting me

for a tune up I hope that you don't

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:

ever feel condemned, but that you feel

encouraged that the Lord is bringing you

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:

wisdom that you can put into practice

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:

it's evidence of his

faithfulness in your life.

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:

We have been so encouraged by

your faithful listening and we

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:

have a couple favors to ask of

you to help spread the word.

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:

Our desire is that this podcast

would encourage mothers who desire to

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:

parent biblically and you can help us

534

:

the first way is you can write a review.

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:

Podcast platforms are more likely to

recommend this podcast to mothers if

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:

we have a greater number of reviews.

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:

So we would really appreciate that.

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:

You can also like us on social media.

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:

Our Facebook page is Entrusted

Ministries and our Instagram is

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:

Entrusted with a Child's Heart.

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:

We would still love it if you sent us

a question to answer on the podcast.

542

:

And lastly, did you know that we would be

more than happy to speak at your church

543

:

and encourage moms in your community?

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:

So reach out to us.

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:

You can fill out a contact form on the

Entrusted Ministries website and we'll

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:

try to get something on the calendar.

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:

We know you're busy, Mama, so

we are truly grateful you joined

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:

us for this episode of Again.

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If you're looking for more information

about building your home on the

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foundation of Jesus Christ, head to www.

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EntrustedMinistries.

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:

com to learn more about our study for

moms, Entrusted with a Child's Heart.

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:

This scripture saturated study

has blessed families around the

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:

world, and we want it for you, too.

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:

Before you go, I want to pray

this benediction over you

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:

from 2 Thessalonians 1, 11 12.

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:

We're rooting for you.

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:

To this end, we always pray for you,

that our God may make you worthy of His

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:

calling, and may fulfill every resolve

for good, and every work of faith by

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His power, so that the name of our Lord

Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in

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:

Him, according to the grace of our God.

562

:

And the Lord Jesus Christ.

563

:

Amen.

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:

Until we meet again.

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About the Podcast

Again
Biblical Motherhood Untangled
So much of what we do as mothers is on repeat. Join us to redeem this repetition and untangle from the confusion and overwhelm of parenting. We'll follow the Agains in the Bible to focus on the things that matter most. Let's look up together to embrace a motherhood full of freedom and joy! This podcast is sponsored by Entrusted Ministries.

About your host

Profile picture for Stephanie Hickox

Stephanie Hickox

Stephanie has always delighted in God’s Word and in sharing it with others. Whether it is equipping mothers and leaders through Entrusted with a Child’s Heart, inspiring students when teaching at homeschool co-ops or children’s ministry, or homeschooling her own children, Stephanie’s life mission is to encourage others to follow faithfully and joyfully after Jesus—especially if they hold her favorite job title: mom.

Betsy Corning wrote Entrusted with a Child’s Heart in 1999 in response to the needs she saw in families as she and David counseled young parents just a few years behind them. Entrusted has been taught in hundreds of churches nationwide, been translated into several foreign languages, and has made its way around the world. More recently, Betsy received her Masters in Biblical Studies from The Master’s University and is developing a new Bible Study program called Get the Word Out. Her passion for God’s Word, discipleship, and teaching biblical principles as they apply to family life has remained strong to this day. One of the greatest blessings in Betsy’s life are her three grown children, their spouses, and ten grandchildren that keep her constantly in touch with every age and stage.

Jen Freckman Is an incredible wealth of wisdom. She will tell you a natural remedy for just about anything! She is also a voracious reader and she is just overflowing with quotes and guidance that she's encountered through reading and being faithful. She delights in her children and is a devoted mother. She is also an amazingly creative problem solver! Her solutions to manage her home and guide her children are inspiring.

Emily Deyo is such a treasure. She is an incredible encourager and servant-hearted woman. When she has the mic in front of her, so much value comes out! She is a wordsmith and her heart consistently beats for how she can encourage and serve others. She is a truly loving and attentive mother.

Join Betsy, Emily, Jen, and Stephanie as they share the wisdom only Scripture and on-the-job training can provide to help untangle the joyful calling of motherhood.