Why Again? Because it's the Perfect Word to Describe Parenting (REPLAY)

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They're the joyful agains our children shout on the swings, the

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exhausting 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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Welcome to the again, podcast.

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I'm your host, Stephanie Hickox.

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And as always, this is brought

to you by entrusted ministries.

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In case you're new around here, or

haven't heard our very first episode.

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Why, again, we're replaying it

so that you can be clear about

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what we're hoping to offer you.

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If you've ever thought.

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Hm.

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Again, that's an interesting

name for a podcast.

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You'll get absolute

clarity from this episode.

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It's a quick listen, but we hope it

reveals just how much you are loved.

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And prayed for.

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You might be thinking, Why "again"?

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But to me, it's motherhood in a word.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox on behalf of

Entrusted Ministries, and you've

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been on our heart for a long time.

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Deuteronomy six, six and seven is

probably the most commonly quoted

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passage of Scripture on parenting.

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And these words that I command

you today shall be on your heart.

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You shall teach them diligently

to your children and shall talk of

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them when you sit in your house,

when you walk by the way, when

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you lie down and when you rise up.

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The Lord is saying, tell your

children about my faithfulness

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again and again over and over.

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And I find this idea in Scripture

repeated Often we are to be faithful.

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We are to faithfully pray faithfully,

serve faithfully, love, and forgive.

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When the idea of, again, came to me, I

wasn't thinking just of those biblical

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again, but also of the mundane agains,

the things that we do every day over

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and over, like the constant cooking and

the cleaning up of the food that we just

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cooked that is now on the table and on

the floor and on our children's clothes.

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And then we do the dishes that result

from the food that we just cooked.

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And then we stain treat the

clothes that the food just stained.

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And we do loads and loads and loads of

laundry over and over again and again.

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And then there are of course the difficult

again of parenting too, disciplining

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often without seeing fruit researching

and second guessing ourselves again,

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losing our patience and apologizing again.

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Comparing ourselves because it seems

someone's always doing it better.

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But then there are also the joys of again.

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I hear my children on the

swings "Again, Mommy, Again!"

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They want me to push them over and over,

even after they've learned to pump or

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it's reading their favorite book and

they want me to read it over and over.

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It's the tickles and the giggles and the

snuggles, and they want it all repeated,

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and I do just as much as they do.

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This word again sums up much of

motherhood, and I find that when

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I'm steadfast in the agains, in

God's Word, that I know matter to

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him, that I can lay my head on my

pillow at night and have peace.

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I can trust that it's all adding

up and that really these children

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are entrusted to me and he caress

for them even more than I do.

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Honestly, I can say that many

days I do get tangled up in the

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necessary things, and even more so

the standards I have for myself that

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maybe the Lord doesn't have for me.

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So whatever it is that you need

to break free from the things that

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entangle you in your motherhood,

whether it's comparison, fear of man,

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getting wrapped up in faulty theology

and empty promises and quick fixes.

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Feeling alone, overwhelmed

and discouraged.

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Feeling like you just don't know if it's

working and you don't even know if you're

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doing what God is calling you to do.

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There are so many things grasping

for our attention and so many people

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promising that they have the way

to do it, but I hope that this can

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be a place where freedom is gained.

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The little girl in the picture,

she doesn't just represent the

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children that we push on our swings.

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She represents us.

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She's free.

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She's happy.

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And she's not perfect, but she's

in the moment enjoying herself.

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And that's my hope for each of you,

that as you listen, you feel called to

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something high and holy, and at the same

time rest in the joys of the moment,

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knowing that the Lord is delighted in

you and that he's meeting you in it.

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So whether it's the joyful, again,

the mundane agains, the difficult

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against, or being faithful in our

responsibilities presented in scripture.

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We hope to continually point you to the

principles and God's word and encourage

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you to stay faithful and persevere.

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Now that I've told you the heart of

again, I'd like to tell you a little

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bit about the format of the show.

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I'm Stephanie, and I'll be hosting

each episode, but I'll be joined

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by either one, two, or three of the

following Wonderful ladies each week.

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First, Betsy Corning is the

director of Entrusted Ministries.

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She wrote a life-changing study and

parenting and biblical family life

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called entrusted with the Child's

Heart in: 1999

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for mothers to understand what the

word of God says about parenting.

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To not hear the opinions of the

world, but to really be rooted

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in the truth of scripture.

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And her goal is to encourage

mothers every step of the way.

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And she's incredible at it.

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She's truly in touch with what young

mothers need, and even after years of

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working with her, every time I hear

her speak to mothers, I'm amazed at the

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healing balm that comes from her mouth.

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She knows that we need to be encouraged,

and she has the perspective of being a

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little bit farther down the road with

three children and 10 grandchildren.

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She's seen the principles in

God's word truly bear fruit.

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She's also spent a lifetime

pouring into God's word.

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The fruit of it is incredibly evident.

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She has so much wisdom.

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And then we have Jen Reman.

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Jen is so well researched and smart,

and she will tell you a natural

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remedy for just about everything.

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She's incredibly well read and you

will hear the fruit of her voracious

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reading with her many quotes that

point us to the heart of God.

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She's also an amazing

problem solver in her home.

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She thinks of many creative

solutions, and I find myself

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inspired every time I talk to her.

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She loves her children, and she is

a devoted mother and an intentional

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encourager to those around her.

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Last, but certainly not least,

Emily Dio, she is a treasure.

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This podcast would not

be happening without her.

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She's servant hearted and has an

amazing desire for community, for

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moms to feel seen and known and loved.

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But when you put a mic in front of her,

so much value comes out and she just

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overflows with truth from God's word.

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She's a wordsmith and she's

continually thinking about how she

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can encourage others, and she's

a truly attentive, loving mother.

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And what about me?

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Why do I feel called to this?

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I have to tell you that even as a

little girl, the greatest desire of

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my heart was to follow Jesus and to

have a family that glorified him.

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And so I followed that plan.

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I found a man who was extremely committed

to following God and who couldn't

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wait to be a husband and father.

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But shortly after we got married,

there was a lot of change.

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I wouldn't know until about 10

years later that much of the change

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was due to a medical diagnosis.

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And I have to be honest.

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My real is not my ideal.

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Every day of my life, I am impacted

by medical, financial, and relational

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struggles, and yet, God's faithfulness has

been incredible to me and to my family.

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And I'm here to say, no matter

how differently your family looks

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than how you intended or how you

wanted it to be, God is faithful.

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I think so many of us have

circumstances that are not the way

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we planned and do we keep walking

in it, believing that God is good.

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We want you to know that none

of us have it all together.

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None of us have done it.

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All right.

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We've blown it.

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We've lost our patience.

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We've gone to bed crying.

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We've dealt with sickness in our

children, our husbands and ourselves.

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We've had diagnoses and special

needs, financial struggles, job

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loss, family members who disapproved

of us and of our parenting.

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We've had friends and neighbors who

probably think we're crazy and might

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even wonder how We have podcasts.

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We've been to marriage counseling.

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We've had broken bones and stitches and

accidents, and we've needed the Lord

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more than we ever realized we would.

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The longer I parent, the more I understand

that Jesus has no interest in making me

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a mother that doesn't need him daily.

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Did you know that the hymn I need,

Thee Every Hour was written by Annie

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Hawks, a Housewife and Mother of three?

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I find such comfort in her words.

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My savior isn't asking me to be a

mother who has it all figured out.

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He's asking me to be a mother who has

complete reliance upon and faith in him.

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It's when we look to him and focus

on his faithfulness that we find

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true joy and peace in our motherhood.

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And so I ask that you join me, not

for perfection, not because we have

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it all together, but because we know

where to look to become untangled.

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The answers you're looking for,

for freedom and joy in your

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motherhood are in scripture.

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Jesus is the one whose yoke

is easy and burden is light.

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Let's look to him together.

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We're so grateful you're here.