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Listen to today's Laugh Again with Phil Callaway, "The Good Report - Adopted." Enjoy!

*For more information on David Jeremiah and Turning Point ministries, visit DavidJeremiahPodcast.org.

Can one book really transform your entire life? This episode explores Psalm 19 and reveals how God has spoken through both creation and Scripture. Discover why the Bible isn’t just information—it’s a life-changing force.

Do you have questions about the Bible, theology, or Christian Living? Ask on demand and get instant biblical answers, sourced directly from Dr. Jeremiah's sermons. Check out SmartSearch by David Jeremiah by visiting DavidJeremiahPodcast.org.

What do you do when a situation goes from bad to worse? You have two options: Focus on yourself and your problems or focus on God. Focusing on God helps you trust He’s working out His perfect plan, no matter the circumstances.

Ever crush the to-do list and still feel invisible? Author Andrea Griffith goes after the ache underneath—wanting to be chosen, seen, enough. She'll help you listen through the noise of performance and people-pleasing to expose what’s really driving you. Get ready to sink into identity in Christ that doesn’t rise and fall with everybody else’s approval.

Show Notes and Resources

• Center: Wrapping your life around the One who Matters Most by Andrea Griffith and more studies→ thechurchhub.org

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Pastor Chuck Swindoll invites you to see how God works in life’s ordinary and unexpected moments, accomplishing His purposes even when His presence seems hidden from view.

From the Series: Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity

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Two words, but a valuable reminder about how important Mom is and why she is. I had occasion to stay at my son and daughter-in-law's house while I recovered from a painful injury. They set me up with a wonderful little "apartment" in their basement - recliner, remotes (of course), kitchenette. And like all the babies in our family, a night monitor. Now, I needed some help in the middle of the night, but I hadn't touched the pager. Suddenly, I hear my daughter-in-law's feet coming down the stairs. In my 3:00 AM haze, I said, "But how did you know?" She smiled and gave those two little words: "Mom ears."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Mom Ears."

There's something a lot of us have to celebrate in the mother that God put in our life. Those Mom-ears who heard our silent cries over the years, who heard our need when others would only see our deed. Who heard the unspoken fears, the unspoken pain, and carried them to the throne of God. Sadly, mom-ears have also heard mean words that they didn't deserve, angry words that left a scar, rebellious words because we didn't want to hear what we now know was wisdom. But somehow, a Mom heart could reach for some of God's amazing grace, and forgive, even though wounded.

As a dad, I learned early how important it was for me to seek and respect what my wife heard in our kids, believe me. Those times when I got home and I was ready to drop a bomb on a disobedient child, she would intervene with "actionable intel" of what was going on behind the scenes in their life. I'm not sure moms fully know their massive power to define their child's life for better or worse.

Proverbs 31:26 says, "She speaks with wisdom on her tongue." And in a verse worth considering, our word for today from the Word of God in Proverbs 14:1 it says, "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down."

Sure, I know moms who've turned their God-given Mom-ears to the seductive song of our world, "all about me." And their children languish under the awful cloud of "I'm not worth much. My Mom doesn't think so." Deafened moms can't hear themselves nagging, controlling, criticizing, diminishing - hoping to make a "super kid" and crushing them in the process.

The Mom-ears that have tended to miss their children's cries are those who stopped listening to the One who gave her those children. Psalm 127:3 says, "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him." It's so easy to succumb to the selfie drumbeat of "my rights, my pleasure, my flourishing." And a sort of deafness can grow. Deaf to those quiet little cries in the night, the intuition to drop everything and listen to someone I love. The Heavenly Father's promptings as He (in the words of the Bible) "gently leads those who have young" (Isaiah 40:11).

But thank God many of us were blessed, not with a perfect mom, but with a mother whose ears truly heard us. If you have a mom with those wonderful "ears," would you tell her how her finely-tuned heart shaped your life and changed your life while you can.

If you're a Mom who wants to have better ears for your children, just know there's amazing power to do that. In the Jesus whose relentless love led Him to die for our sins, which are the great relationship-wreckers. There is no greater life-force on earth than a woman whose ears are always open to the voice of God and the voices of those she loves.

And for the one who listens to all this with little to celebrate - because your Mom really wasn't one - there is a higher hope. Because God has said, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion for the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will never forget. See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands" (Isaiah 49:15-16). That's right, with nail prints.

His ears listen all day, al

Read: Psalm 139:1-3

Ryan and his mom were having boiled eggs for lunch. Ryan watched the eggs impatiently as they rolled around in the saucepan. “How long do they take to boil?” he asked. “I’m so hungry!”

“Well, that depends on how you like them,” answered Mom. “Three minutes for a runny egg, and around ten minutes if you prefer them hard-boiled. I like them somewhere in between.”

Ryan nodded. “Me too! So how do you know when they’re just right?”

“I set a timer for just under eight minutes,” said Mom. “I bet you never knew boiling eggs was so complicated, did you?”

“I had no idea!” Ryan said as he buttered the toast. “If only you had X-ray vision so you could see inside the shell.”

Mom laughed. “Imagine that? All my food would turn out perfectly every time!”

“Yeah, no more burnt turkeys!” Ryan said. People were always teasing Mom about the time she overcooked the Thanksgiving turkey.

Just then, the oven timer began to beep. Swiftly, mom spooned the eggs into two egg cups. “Well, here it is. The moment of truth.” She grinned. “Let’s see how they turned out!”

Ryan cracked open the shell of his egg and plunged his spoon in. Sticky orange yolk oozed upward from the middle of the egg—not too runny, not too hard. Just perfect for dunking your toast in.

“Do you know what’s funny?” asked Mom. “This morning I was reading the story of how God chose David from all of Jesse’s sons.”

“I love that story!” said Ryan. “David was the youngest, wasn’t he?”

“That’s right,” said Mom. “And he wasn’t even included in the lineup! David was left out in the fields to look after the sheep. But God doesn’t miss a single thing! One by one, all of Jesse’s sons came parading before Samuel—strong and tall and handsome. But not one of them fit the bill. The Bible says God wasn’t looking at their outward appearance—He was looking straight into their hearts!”

Ryan gasped. “God has X-ray vision!”

“Exactly!” Mom said with a laugh. “God sees beyond our exterior—what we look like on the outside. His eyes see our hearts and whether they’ve been made clean by Jesus.”

–Angela Jelf

How about you: Do you worry about the way you look? Do you compare yourself to others who seem taller or thinner or have better clothes? We live in a world that places so much value on appearance, but that’s not what matters to God. He’s interested in our hearts. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us. Trust Him to remove the sin from your heart and make you clean. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

Todays Key Thought: God searches our hearts

What are you communicating to your children?

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Theme: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives 5 - Paul

Paul's conversion produced a fearless courage that sent him back into the very places where people wanted him dead. Come to God today and ask Him to fill you with that same Spirit-given courage.

Acts 21:13 - "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

Quote: Hostile crowds attack him. Famous leaders berate him. Paul tries to lead them all to Christ. Even when they put him on a ship and the ship almost goes down in a storm, Paul takes the lead and helps them to safety, all the while talking of Jesus and leading people to Him. Courage.