Happy Holy Week 2023!  

Holy Week, in the Christian church, is the week between Palm Sunday, when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, and Resurrection Sunday or Easter.

It’s a time that has been observed by Christians across the world for centuries. In the Greek and Roman liturgical books, it is called the Great Week because great deeds were done by God during this week.

Listen in for dozens of sweet ideas, from around the world and across the centuries, for celebrating Easter with your family and for the theological significance of this Holiday.

Our reflection comes from Hannah Sillars –adoptive mom to three.

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

For me, having a baby has never been a magical glowing experience. The days and weeks following delivery I’m exhausted and elated at the same time. I’m over the moon in love with my babies, but I feel like a choo-choo train has just come out of my body and I seem near the point of tears day and night. 

Postpartum is objectively very difficult.  

How do we think Biblically about seasons of limitedness such as the postpartum phase?  How can we humbly approach recovery without shame (ie excessively working out or dieting) or despair (ie giving up entirely)? What are some practical next steps for making that happen?
 
Listen in for an edifying and educational conversation with Ashely Keller, founder of GlowBody PT and an industry leader in Prenatal and Postnatal exercise on how to lean on the Lord as our strength during seasons of weakness. 

Check out Ashely's super helpful plans here:
https://www.glowbodypt.com/

St. Patrick's Day is Friday, March 17th, 2023.  But what is the holiday anyway? Is it just a random day in March to wear green? Who was “Saint Patrick”? How can his story encourage us as moms? What's with the snakes? 

Listen in for a conversation with Joanna Walters, mom to five and blogger, about St. Patrick's Day. We'll discuss the man St. Patrick, his mom, myths surrounding his ministry, traditions around the country, and fun ideas for celebrating with your family.  
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Joanna's St. Patrick's Day Morning Time Plan - https://raisinglittleoaks.wordpress.com/

Breastplate Prayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RYlgutgDKg

Torchlighters for kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0jMGNQjgBw

Before I had kids, movement, and exercise was a huge part of my life and a way that God blessed me physically, mentally, and emotionally. Would that all go away after having kids? 

As any mom will tell you, life changes a lot after having children. And not everyone is even still physically capable of exercise after having children or due to another injury. But for me, although fitness looks very different today as a mom with three kids, it is still a way that God blesses me physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Listen in for a helpful conversation with Sarah Talone, mom to four and the queen of creative workouts about the why and how of working out with littles.

Music has the sweetest ability to bring life, peace, and joy to cranky, grumbly moments.

Sometimes I’ll feel like I can’t sit down to play piano, or I can’t sing a hymn with the kids because there’s so much pandemonium. And although our sinful attitudes don’t evaporate when we start engaging in music –song has a very calming effect on me and on my kids.

 The word sing appears in the Bible over 400 times and 50 of those are commands to sing.

 Anytime we see a command in Scripture, it isn’t there because God needs something from us, it’s there because God wants to give something good to us.

 To sing praises to Him is for our benefit.

 But music, just like everything other than mindless scrolling, takes some intentionality, thought, and to a certain degree, discipline.

 Listen in for a helpful conversation with Sarah Scollin –mom to three soon to be four with a background in ministry, the performing arts, and the world of opera about why we should prioritize song and some basic ways to keep it in our schedules.

Resources Referenced:

Slugs & Bugs

The Corner Room Music - Remember and Proclaim

Seeds Family Worship

Getty Music  

Hymns of Grace Hymnal

Song – Pass the Promise 

Sing by Keith and Kristyn Getty

Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God 

Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice by Bryan Chapell

Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel 

by Mike Cosper 

When life is busy Bible study is often the first thing to go. But it is precisely when we feel out of control that we need to be reminded that God is in control.

 I need to remember that I am a child of God and a mother called to holiness. I am loved, provided for, and called by the Ancient of Days. 

 The Lord seems to expect that we are going to need to be reminded daily of these truths and so He tells us to meditate on His Word day and night.

Listen in for a conversation with Sandy Talone, mom to four and grandma to 10, about why daily Bible intake is the fuel of Christian flourishing and why young moms need to take and eat the Word of God regularly.

 **Listen after the main set for some practical strategies for carving out time first thing in the morning even after kids are awake. 

We all know in our gut that family meals are important. Numerous studies have linked family meals with all sorts of positive outcomes for children, from better academics to general success.

My favorite statistic comes from Don Everts and the Barna Group in their study of Christian households that found that families who were considered “spiritually vibrant” were homes that regularly had loud tables.

 But even though we know family meals are important, many of us don’t practice daily shared meals. In fact, the average American family only has three dinners together per week. 

That’s because meals are hard! A lot must come together to make a family meal happen. And once you get everyone at the table, they aren’t immediately idyllic.

 Meals with kids can be super chaotic and sometimes can feel like more work than they are worth. Wouldn’t it be better to just feed them early, put them to bed, and have a grown-up meal?

 Table fellowship with our kids is possible and it can be a source of deep joy for both parents and kids alike. 

 Listen in for a conversation with counselor, Bible teacher, and writer Heather Robinson (MA, SBTS) about why meals matter and for some great advice for making meals rhythms we look forward to rather than dread. 

As moms, sometimes it feels like we are in charge of everything and everyone depends on us. It's up to us to make sure the baby is fed, the kids are wearing pants when they get in the car, and the sandwiches are packed.  But am I actually the one in charge?

Thankfully no. God is sovereignly in control of my life and the lives of my kids. To pray is to acknowledge that and to ask for help. 

But for so many of us, prayer is a real struggle. Especially in the busyness of life with kids.

Susanna Wesley, the mother of John Wesley the founder of the methodist church, knew a thing or two about being busy. She had 16 kids. 

That's a lot. But she made time with the Lord a priority. She taught her kids that if they came into the kitchen and saw Mom with her apron over her head, they were not to bother her. Because that meant that she was in prayer or in the Word. 

Susanna Wesley wasn’t available for an interview –but mom to eight kids Andrea Payton was! I hope you enjoy this encouraging conversation with a seasoned mom about why prayer is so important to mothering and some practical ideas for making prayer a part of your everyday life.

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Links

Prayer Cards from the Daily Grace Company
https://thedailygraceco.com/products/31-days-of-prayer-kids-verse-card-set

Every Moment Holy Liturgies For Changing Diapers (I and II)
https://www.everymomentholy.com/content

A Praying Life
https://www.amazon.com/Praying-Life-Connecting-Distracting-World/dp/1631466836

A Call to Prayer
https://www.chapellibrary.org/pdf/books/ctpr.pdf

Susanna Wesley  
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/fight-for-delight-by-planning-your-devotions

A compelling story captivates us in a way that a textbook never can.  Tell me a fact about life and I might remember it. Tell me a story about life, a story that connects to my mind, heart, and soul and I'm bound to remember it.

The Lord made us for stories and He revealed Himself in a story.

In the coming weeks, we are going to have a series of interviews with older women about how to be in the word and in prayer as a mom. But for today, join me for a short reflection on how the narrative of Scripture changes the narrative of motherhood from one of self-focused grumbling to God-honoring delight.

There’s nothing like having a baby to show you how fleeting time is. In what feels like three seconds your darling infant becomes a sweet little boy who is learning to read and picking you vases of flowers.

 Watching kids grow up at lightning speed really brings Ephesians 5:15-16 to life.

 "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil."

As Peter admonishes, we ought to prepare our minds for action and be sober-minded!

But sometimes, when it's rainy and cold outside, and everyone is fighting and coloring on the wall --time stands still.

Nine times out of ten, days that I tumble into without intentionality, prayer, and planning feel more like chaotic, cranky, messy disaster zones that I am desperate to get out of rather than orderly, productive, creative days filled with adventures, joyful memories, and snuggles.

It’s almost like the natural bent of this sinful world is towards destruction and decay and if I’m not proactive about it, my day is not going to be used well.

As D.A. Carson has said, “we don’t drift towards holiness.” Delighting in the Lord, enjoying our kids, and creating an atmosphere of belonging and becoming in our homes don’t just happen. It takes a lot of thought and intentionality.

Join me for a conversation with Chelsea Svendsen, homeschool mom to four and owner of the interior design and home inspiration Instagram account Life in the Little Yellow House, and hearing from half a dozen other seasoned moms about routines, habits, and rhythms that can help make our homes sing and motherhood a joy.

Notes ******

Books referenced in this podcast:

Life Giving Home
Habits of the Household

Links to Seed Catalogs:
https://www.rareseeds.com/requestcat/catalog 
https://www.almanac.com/content/garden-seed-catalogs-mail