1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,440 Thank you for listening to this message from Lifehouse Church. 2 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,560 Good morning, everyone, and Happy Mother's Day. 3 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,720 Anyone over the age of 50 remember that song that was just playing? 4 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:27,240 We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun. 5 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:29,320 Really sad song, right? 6 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:34,240 You know, this guy's talking about Terry Jacks wrote this song in 1974. 7 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:38,400 He recorded the song and he's just talking about the seasons of his life. 8 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:40,600 He's talking about when he was a kid and his childhood friend 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:42,520 and then saying goodbye because the man's dying. 10 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,680 So he's going through these seasons of his life. 11 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,840 And, you know, he talks about all these things. 12 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,520 And then part of the song says, but the hills that we climbed 13 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,520 were just seasons out of time. 14 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,200 Now, I'm not sure if Terry Jacks was right in that, but I do believe 15 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:02,600 that we have seasons where it seems as though they're all hills 16 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:07,080 and we're climbing and we're climbing and we're climbing and we're climbing. 17 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:08,920 And they can just seem endless. 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,000 You know, the weather has four seasons. 19 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,400 We've got spring, summer, fall and winter. 20 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,240 But in life, we can have dozens and dozens of seasons. 21 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:21,960 We can have mountains and we can have valleys. 22 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,560 We can have successes and we can have failures. 23 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,960 We can have wins and we can have losses. 24 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,240 We can have good seasons and bad seasons. 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:32,680 But you know what? 26 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,560 In every season, we have a savior. 27 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:37,640 We have a comforter. 28 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:39,560 We have a healer. 29 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:41,560 We have a provider. 30 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,880 We have one who has no beginning and who has no end. 31 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:51,000 We have one who is our peace when all seems out of control. 32 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,800 So no matter what season we're in, if we're rooted in Christ, 33 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,400 he's going to see us through that season until we reach the end. 34 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,760 Seasons can help us grow as we learn to walk through them with Jesus. 35 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:12,600 Psalm 62, eight says, trust in him at all times, you people pour out your hearts to him. 36 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,080 For God is our refuge. 37 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:20,920 You know, I heard a quote once that said, all sun and no rain make a desert. 38 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:23,240 Think about that for a minute. 39 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:24,440 Think about that. 40 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,000 All sun and no rain make a desert. 41 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,440 I can promise you in life, there's going to be a season of rain because rain is going to come. 42 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,400 The season, hard seasons will come. 43 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,720 But if we're rooted in Christ, we're going to get through that season. 44 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:45,160 And when we do get through that season, we're going to know it's because Jesus walked through it with us. 45 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,760 You see, if we never had any rain in our walk with the Lord, 46 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:51,480 our walk with the Lord would be a desert. 47 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:52,600 We would never grow. 48 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:57,080 We would never know that we can trust in him to get us through those hard seasons. 49 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,560 So it builds our faith. 50 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,520 And, you know, I can't think but help. 51 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:03,160 I can't help. 52 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:04,360 Let me talk to this money. 53 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:05,720 I can't help but think of Job. 54 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,240 When I think of hard seasons, I think if any of you are familiar with Job's story, 55 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,640 we know that Job had some really hard seasons. 56 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:20,360 And one of the verses says, then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 57 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:25,560 And he said, naked, I have come from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. 58 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,480 The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. 59 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,920 But blessed is the Lord. 60 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:37,800 I don't know about you. I've been through some hard seasons, but I have never shaved my head 61 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,240 in any of those hard seasons. 62 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:43,000 But I've been through hard seasons. 63 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,280 Today's Mother's Day, and we want to honor our moms. 64 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:47,640 But let me ask you moms out there. 65 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,200 I got a panel of moms here with me, but let me ask the moms out there. 66 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:51,960 How many have ever been through a hard season? 67 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:57,080 If you're not raising your hand, you're lying and you're in God's house. 68 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,480 So you don't you don't want to you don't want to do that. 69 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,080 So I don't know about you, but I've been through hard seasons and it could not. 70 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:04,520 It doesn't have to be something traumatic. 71 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,720 I mean, we've got a lot of new moms in the house at LifeHouse. 72 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,400 I don't want to talk about how many new moms we have here, but we got a lot of new moms. 73 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:12,600 OK, it's a high number. 74 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,960 Twenty five. I think there's twenty five new moms at LifeHouse. 75 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:17,400 Yeah, let's give those moms a hand. 76 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:19,160 Right. Yeah. 77 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:26,040 Yeah. So I don't know if you are in the newborn sleepless night season of life. 78 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,720 Or maybe you're in the terrible two season of life. 79 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,960 I don't know. Maybe you're in the know it all teenager season of life. 80 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,560 Or maybe it's the parenting adult children and life. 81 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:39,080 That's where I'm well, that's where we're all at. 82 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,800 Right. You know, so this morning I have an incredible panel of moms up here with me 83 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,400 and they've been through all kinds of season in their lives, too. 84 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,960 And that's why I've asked them to join me up here today. 85 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,200 But I'm just going to let them each take a moment and share their stories. 86 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,240 Let them each take a moment and introduce themselves. 87 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:58,280 And we'll start with Amber. 88 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,800 All right. Like she said, my name is Amber. 89 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,800 My husband, Nick, and I have been married for 18 years next week. 90 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:07,640 Happy anniversary. 91 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:08,440 Early. 92 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:09,240 Thank you. 93 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:12,120 And we have three kids. 94 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,200 River, our oldest, is 15. 95 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,160 Cadence is 13 and Tennyson is 12. 96 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:22,120 And I am a middle and high school English teacher at Carlisle Christian Academy. 97 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,040 So lots of teenagers. 98 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:25,400 I'm not just wild. 99 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:26,920 This is a teenage expert right here. 100 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:28,360 If anybody just needs to know. 101 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,560 We're going to get all our wisdom from you when these little ones get up for sure. 102 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:34,040 Well, I'm Jenna. 103 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,320 For those of you that I haven't met, it's so good to be here this morning. 104 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,360 And I have the microphone and that's my mom. 105 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,800 So I have to say happy Mother's Day to the best mom in the room. 106 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:45,400 No offense, but she is. 107 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:47,000 So happy Mother's Day and I love you. 108 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:53,400 But I have been married to my husband, Brad, who I think has our two children back in the 109 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:54,360 family room right now. 110 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:59,160 But he is the tall, skinny bald guy that's usually back in the sound booth. 111 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:01,960 We'll be married for six years this August. 112 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:03,400 We've got two little girls. 113 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,720 We have a two-year-old and a nine-month-old. 114 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:07,880 One is sweet and one is spicy. 115 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:09,160 I'll let you decide who is who. 116 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:14,440 But yeah, and I have the pleasure of being able to stay home with them and raise them. 117 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,320 And it's exhausting and wonderful and messy and beautiful. 118 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:18,600 All wrapped in one. 119 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:18,920 Yeah. 120 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:19,400 Amen. 121 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:20,120 Amen. 122 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,800 And I'm Keisha Wellington. 123 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,560 And my husband and I, Desmond, we are new to the state of Pennsylvania here, just about 124 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:26,600 six months. 125 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,040 And we've been married for 17 years now. 126 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:31,560 We have two little ones. 127 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,480 We have Declan, who's five. 128 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,000 And we have Gianna, who's two, going on 22, if you know what I'm talking about. 129 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:37,880 I know that. 130 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:39,720 And so, you know, I always joke about this. 131 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,360 That second child, there's something about that second child. 132 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:43,320 Can anyone else attest to that? 133 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:44,280 Mine got reversed. 134 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:45,640 Mine's my first child. 135 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:46,680 Oh my goodness. 136 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,120 So she's really teaching me about who I am as a mom as I'm growing. 137 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:51,240 I'm grateful for them. 138 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,080 They are truly blessings and gifts from the Lord. 139 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:58,520 Previously, I was a schoolteacher, elementary schoolteacher for 20 years until my husband 140 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,440 and I came into ministry full time. 141 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,360 And we're very, very excited to be a part of what God is doing here in Pennsylvania as well. 142 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:04,760 Yeah. 143 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:05,080 Oh yeah. 144 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:10,600 Well, I just want to say thank you to all of you for agreeing to be here and being part 145 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,040 of our Mother's Day message today. 146 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,080 We did have a fourth panel member that was supposed to be here. 147 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:16,760 There are our friend, Letha. 148 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:18,280 Witter was to be with us today. 149 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,320 Unfortunately, her brother passed away this weekend. 150 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:22,840 She had to be out of town for a funeral. 151 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:27,560 So we miss her today, but we know she's where she needs to be with family right now. 152 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,600 So but anyway, so let's get started here this morning. 153 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,840 I don't believe there's any of us sitting here in the room that whether you're a mom, 154 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:40,280 whether you're a dad, whether you're a grandma, an aunt, an uncle, a grandpa, a cousin, a niece, 155 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,200 nephew, whatever your whatever your title is, I don't think there's anybody in this room 156 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,240 that can say that they've not been through a difficult season. 157 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,800 It might not been like a number 10 difficult season, but that you've been through a difficult 158 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:52,280 season. 159 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,960 And the question is, as as Christ followers, as we are on this walk with Jesus, what do we do 160 00:07:58,520 --> 00:07:59,720 in these difficult seasons? 161 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,480 And the answer is we must be rooted in Jesus. 162 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,080 We've got to be rooted in Jesus when we are going through these seasons. 163 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:15,400 Psalms thirty seven five says commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act. 164 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:20,440 If we are rooted in Jesus, if we trust in him, he will act on our behalf. 165 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:28,680 And then Isaiah twenty six three says, you will keep in perfect peace to those who are steadfast 166 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,960 because they trust in you. 167 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,240 Now, the worship set this morning was no accident. 168 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:36,840 We planned that worship set. 169 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:42,760 We asked Zach to sing the songs that he did this morning because we wanted you to get in your mind 170 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,320 that you've got to trust in God. 171 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,920 Your father has whatever you need and he will provide it. 172 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:49,800 He will provide it. 173 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,400 Now, Amber, love that song. 174 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,320 Oh, the last song that we did. 175 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:54,040 Love that. 176 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:55,880 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 177 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,280 It's just they get stuck in your head. 178 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:02,040 So let's let those get stuck in your head and not seasons in the sun. 179 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:03,400 Like, let's like reverse that. 180 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:05,880 Let's reverse that this morning. 181 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,360 So, Amber, I'm going to go ahead and start with you this morning. 182 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,200 I know that when we got together and we were preparing for Mother's Day, we were going to 183 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:13,640 do a little bit of singing. 184 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,080 You were singing this morning, you were doing this morning. 185 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:18,520 It was a little bit of a surprise. 186 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,400 You didn't think that you were going to be singing on Mother's Day. 187 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:26,040 You talked about a season of loneliness that you had gone through. 188 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,440 Can you briefly tell us about that season? 189 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,280 Yeah, absolutely. 190 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:37,000 So shortly after our oldest daughter was born, we were gearing up for a big move to 191 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:44,920 It was a huge move, about 14 hours away from everything that we knew up to that point. 192 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:49,320 All of our family, all of our friends. 193 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:54,680 So it, I mean, moving is overwhelming and no matter what, even moving across the street, 194 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:55,680 it's overwhelming. 195 00:09:55,680 --> 00:10:01,860 So, but the idea of moving that far was just really overwhelming and then moving somewhere 196 00:10:01,860 --> 00:10:04,160 where I had zero contacts. 197 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:09,280 I didn't know anybody and I had a two year, or no, she wasn't even two, I had a one year 198 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:16,920 old and I was 22 weeks pregnant with our middle daughter and it was just very, I just felt 199 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:21,080 very adrift without any kind of contacts. 200 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:26,020 But the Lord really blessed me because he brought me to a church that had mothers of 201 00:10:26,020 --> 00:10:32,520 preschoolers or MOPs group and I just met some really great women who reached out and 202 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:39,720 one really big thing during that time was the fact that I was, you know, pregnant. 203 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,080 We were like, well, I don't know, I mean, I guess that river's just gonna come sit in 204 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:46,480 the room while her little sister is born, you know. 205 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:51,440 We didn't quite know what we were gonna do with that and I was telling that to this brand 206 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:59,040 new friend that I had like just made, I didn't know very well and she was like, I can't imagine 207 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:00,040 doing that. 208 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:01,400 I can't imagine being alone during that time. 209 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:03,600 She's like, day, night, I don't care. 210 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,440 You call me, I will come and get River. 211 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:07,440 Don't even worry about this. 212 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:08,840 It's the last thing you have to worry about. 213 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:16,560 So it was just great to see how the Lord just used his church to bring people alongside 214 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:18,280 me when I really needed it. 215 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:19,280 Yeah. 216 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:20,280 I love that. 217 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:22,880 That is so why we say don't do life alone. 218 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:24,720 Yes, literally times like that. 219 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,180 Like that is so amazing that God, and I think that's a cool thing about the community of 220 00:11:28,180 --> 00:11:32,640 God is like you can meet somebody and within moments when you have that like common ground 221 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,880 of Jesus, it's just like immediate friendships. 222 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:35,880 I love that. 223 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:36,880 That's beautiful. 224 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:37,880 Yeah, exactly. 225 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,120 Well, I just when you were going through that season of loneliness and I know when we were 226 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:45,320 all together, you went into a lot more detail of that, but we told all the moms on the panel 227 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:49,200 to you got to brief your story because they're y'all don't want to stay here through second 228 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:50,200 gathering. 229 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,720 So because we could we could talk for a long time. 230 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:59,520 Was there any like certain thing that a scripture or a song or something that I mean, I know 231 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,840 the moms group in the church, but was there something that like was just that turning 232 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,360 point that the Lord showed you at that time? 233 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:06,360 Yeah. 234 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,880 So I actually I want to make sure that I get it right. 235 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,000 So I made sure to save it on my phone so that I wouldn't forget it. 236 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:19,400 But Isaiah 58 11 says, The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you 237 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,880 are dry and restoring your strength. 238 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:26,560 You'll be like a well watered garden, like an ever flowing spring. 239 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:31,640 So that really just going along with the theme of rooted right just that idea that even when 240 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:38,680 it's dry, even when you're feeling far away from the Lord or far away from anybody that 241 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:43,320 the Lord is still there just providing that daily water for you. 242 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:47,080 And you will be like a flourishing garden even amidst the dry season. 243 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:49,720 Yeah, yeah, I love that. 244 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:50,720 I love that. 245 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,240 I think there's anyone out there today, whether you're a mom or a dad, sometimes you can be 246 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,440 in a room full of this many people. 247 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,480 I don't know how many is in the room today, but you can be in a room full of this many 248 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:04,280 people and still be going through a season of loneliness where you don't feel like you're 249 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:05,280 connected. 250 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:09,640 And the cool thing that we've talked about in our theme through this when when we were 251 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:14,840 preparing for today was that being rooted in Jesus because we know that he's not going 252 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:15,840 to leave us. 253 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:17,480 We're never really alone. 254 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:19,280 So I really, I really love that. 255 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:24,080 Thanks for thanks for sharing number, Jenna, when we were together, you know, you started 256 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:28,080 to talk about and I kind of know a little bit more about your story because I brought 257 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:29,080 you into this world. 258 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,080 You can take me out. 259 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:36,280 No, not going to say that. 260 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,760 But we talked about you've had some big seasons of change in your life. 261 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:43,120 So can you just talk to us a little bit about that? 262 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:44,120 Absolutely. 263 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,240 So with along in the group of like 25 moms, I'm one of them. 264 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:52,540 So in the last two, two and a half years, I have become a mom. 265 00:13:52,540 --> 00:13:56,140 So that has been like a massive, massive change. 266 00:13:56,140 --> 00:14:00,200 For those of you that have kids, you know that pretty much like everyone tells you that 267 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:01,200 your whole world's going to change. 268 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,960 You do not actually get that until it happens because your whole world. 269 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,440 I don't think I've gone to the bathroom alone in two and a half years. 270 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,360 So yeah, literally everything changes. 271 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,240 So that was a really, really big change. 272 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,520 And then along with that, a million little changes, obviously every day that came with 273 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:20,320 becoming a mom. 274 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:27,400 But a big one that was a challenge, like a big challenge for me was when Brad and I through 275 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,600 just prayer and lots of conversation decided that the Lord was calling me to stay home 276 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,200 with my girls. 277 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,920 And I was a little delusional, I think, when I was younger. 278 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:41,120 And I just thought, so for those of you that don't know, I was on staff here at Lifehouse 279 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:46,080 for eight years, and my plan was to just pop out some kids, throw them in my backpack, 280 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:48,240 and like keep going. 281 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,120 So I fully intended on doing that. 282 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:55,280 And God is so gracious and He's so sovereign and He just knows. 283 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:59,640 And so through that time of pregnancy and before Maisie got here, the Lord just shifted 284 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:07,560 my heart fully to those two little girls and has just called me into a season of raising 285 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:08,560 them. 286 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:14,760 So it's a shift from full-time church ministry to full-time Maisie and Mia ministry. 287 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:17,640 And it's been wonderful and amazing. 288 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:22,360 And I'm finally adjusting and getting a little bit of a flow in that. 289 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:28,160 And so I thought my time of change was like taking a chill pill, but it didn't. 290 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,440 So more change just came around the corner. 291 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:36,400 And so I think a good bit of you we've been able to share this with recently, but pretty 292 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:41,520 recently our family got some news that we're going to be making a very large change here 293 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:43,400 in July. 294 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:49,540 So my husband Brad and I and the girls and our dog Emma will be moving to Atlanta, Georgia. 295 00:15:49,540 --> 00:15:53,160 So the Lord has opened so many doors. 296 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,240 I wish I could sit here all day and just share the story with you guys because it's incredible 297 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:02,360 all of the God moments and the open doors and the divine connections that He's made. 298 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:03,360 But it's a big change. 299 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,400 So we're going to be making a massive change. 300 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:10,800 We both have been in this town since I was 11. 301 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:12,520 And Brad his whole life we've been in Carlisle. 302 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,240 So everything we know, everyone we love, everything we're connected to is here. 303 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:18,420 But God is saying go. 304 00:16:18,420 --> 00:16:19,760 And so we're stepping out of faith. 305 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:20,760 Yeah. 306 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:21,760 And He's there. 307 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:22,760 He's gone before us. 308 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,120 And so we're stepping out of faith, but it's a big, big change. 309 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,880 So yeah, I would say change has been my theme for sure. 310 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:33,640 And speaking about ministry, we know that ministry is our obedience and our service 311 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:34,960 to the Lord. 312 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:38,720 And no matter where you are in life, whether it's serving full time at the church or at 313 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:44,240 home with your littles or further in ministry in the future, it's still ministry. 314 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,720 Ministry begins at home with the little ones that you love and tuck in bed at nighttime 315 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,020 all the way till you're serving in the church. 316 00:16:50,020 --> 00:16:53,620 So it's just beautiful to know that even through seasons of life, ministry is still ministry. 317 00:16:53,620 --> 00:16:56,680 It just looks different, but it's done differently. 318 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,240 That's absolutely something the Lord has been teaching me because I was in full time church 319 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:01,640 ministry for so long. 320 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,560 That was just my focus and that's how I saw it. 321 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:08,640 But yeah, raising these little girls and teaching them Jesus and yes, it's beautiful ministry. 322 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:09,640 Yeah. 323 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:17,080 So as a mom, as her mom, I don't love the last change that she talked about, but the 324 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,000 Lord's working on me in that area. 325 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,560 But in all seriousness though, Jen, so when you're going through those seasons of change, 326 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,920 was there something that you did? 327 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:28,000 I kind of know you a little bit. 328 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,480 So was there scripture Post-it notes all around your house? 329 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:34,940 Was there a song you had on repeat? 330 00:17:34,940 --> 00:17:39,720 What did you do to get through the process of all these big changes? 331 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,720 Yeah, I think all of the above, everything you just said. 332 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,600 First year Post-it notes lists, I make lists for my list for my list. 333 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:49,840 So all kinds of lists of just truth and scriptural truths. 334 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:52,760 That last song, so good. 335 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:57,920 Basically that has been my song on repeat and I love it so much because it's powerful 336 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,720 and it's a beautiful reminder, but it's literally straight scripture. 337 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,460 So if you go in the word of God in Matthew, like that song is verbatim the word of God. 338 00:18:06,460 --> 00:18:11,800 And so that has just been the Lord will provide like he's so good, seek first his kingdom 339 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:12,800 and he truly will provide. 340 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,880 And so that's been a ringing theme for me and for Brad just walking through all of this. 341 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:23,560 But yeah, like when it comes to the idea and the season of change all around, I realized 342 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:25,520 that like so much comes from that. 343 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:31,840 So in a season of change, fear is a thing, stress, worry, the loss of comfort. 344 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:38,400 I think even when I went from full-time church ministry to family ministry, my identity, 345 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,160 like the loss of my identity and me realizing what I had maybe wrapped my worth and identity 346 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:47,280 up in the wrong things, the Lord just graciously kind of stripped all of that. 347 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:51,200 But the way that I was able to walk through all of that was being rooted in the word, 348 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,200 like 1000% my lifeline. 349 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:59,880 And I was just thinking back before I got married, I don't know if any of you can relate 350 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:05,060 to this on different levels, but before I got married, I was single, had all the time. 351 00:19:05,060 --> 00:19:08,280 If you are single, all the time, just enjoy every second of it. 352 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,000 It's so wonderful. 353 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,000 And so is everything else. 354 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,960 But I had all the time in the world and I would, whether I was working at a hair salon 355 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:21,600 or the running store or a restaurant, I would try to be intentional about like two hours 356 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:26,200 before my shift, I would like get a beautiful blanket, I would stop and get a latte, I would 357 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:31,320 have all of my color-coded highlighters and my Bible pens and I would get my Bible and 358 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:33,960 my journal and I would drive to like a beautiful river. 359 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,000 There was one like right by a creek, but beautiful river for the story. 360 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,960 It was a flowing river with fields around it. 361 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:43,200 And anyways, you get the picture. 362 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:47,280 I like would go to this beautiful place and I would sit down and I would just soak, like 363 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,540 and not all the time, I wasn't perfect, but a lot of the times I would be able to just 364 00:19:50,540 --> 00:19:56,300 soak in Jesus and I would have this like beautiful uninterrupted time and it was so good. 365 00:19:56,300 --> 00:20:00,920 And then I got married and that was still there, but like a lot less because husbands 366 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,320 take your time in a wonderful way. 367 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,200 So it was there, but it was a little bit less. 368 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:10,320 And then I had children and I cannot tell you the last time I went to a river with my 369 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:11,320 Bible and my pen. 370 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,200 I can't tell you the last time that someone wasn't trying to rip my Bible out of my hands 371 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,080 while I was holding it. 372 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:22,320 And so I really struggled with that specifically, like that the Word of God my whole life has 373 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:24,880 been my source of breath and peace and life. 374 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:30,140 And so when seasons of change came and shifted that, I really, really struggled. 375 00:20:30,140 --> 00:20:36,120 And at first, I'm also like a slightly stubborn person, mom, don't say anything, but I, at 376 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:41,040 first when that shifted, I was like, if I can't have like that uninterrupted, just me, 377 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:42,040 like I don't want it. 378 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:46,040 Like I don't, I don't want the little singing song here, like two seconds there, pray while 379 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:47,160 you're doing your laundry thing here. 380 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:52,720 I like wanted like the good uninterrupted time and man did God just like wipe that attitude 381 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:59,480 right off of me and has just reminded me that though every single thing around me is changing, 382 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:05,040 my circumstances, my feelings, my emotions, my kids, my husband, everything might be changing 383 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,880 all the time, but he is the only thing that is consistent. 384 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:10,880 He is the rock. 385 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:12,400 He is the firm foundation. 386 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,600 And when he brought me back to that truth, I realized I don't have to be by the river. 387 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:17,880 I don't have to be in this. 388 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,240 It can be two seconds because if I can just have a genuine two seconds or five seconds 389 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,180 or while I'm unloading the dishwasher or after the kids go to bed or during a nap or while 390 00:21:26,180 --> 00:21:31,440 I'm folding laundry, if I can genuinely connect to the source, if I can read a verse and let 391 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:36,000 it sink in my soul for the day, or if I can just keep coming back to it, that is what's 392 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,480 going to give me life and that's what's going to keep me strong. 393 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:43,560 So I would definitely say just being rooted in the word fully in whatever way you can 394 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:48,040 do that in any season is, is what is going to make you steady for sure. 395 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:49,040 Yeah, absolutely. 396 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:50,040 Absolutely. 397 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:56,320 Well, I know when we got together separately, Akeesha, when we got together, but I know 398 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,600 we talked about a season of waiting. 399 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:04,520 I don't know about any of you out there, even on our panel, how many of us are very patient 400 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:05,520 out there. 401 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,440 We live in this instant world where everything is right at our fingertips, but we really 402 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,380 talked about a season of waiting that you went through. 403 00:22:11,380 --> 00:22:12,760 Can you share about that with us? 404 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:13,760 Absolutely. 405 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:18,480 So just to give you a little bit of background, I was born and raised on the beautiful tropical 406 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:20,320 island of Jamaica. 407 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:21,920 And yeah, I know, don't be jealous. 408 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:22,920 I know. 409 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:23,920 I'm sorry. 410 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:28,200 But I was born into a family of 12. 411 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:34,600 I was a 12th child, one mom, one dad, a whole bunch of hand-me-downs and life was good. 412 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:39,320 I mean, the only thing I knew about poverty was simply know that we had, we were able 413 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:45,500 to be met, but we were so rich in just family values and discipline and respect for each 414 00:22:45,500 --> 00:22:46,500 other. 415 00:22:46,500 --> 00:22:48,200 Nothing else really, really mattered. 416 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,280 And so that was the kind of family I grew up in. 417 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,280 I loved being around my siblings. 418 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:56,360 They were like my built-in play buddies all my life. 419 00:22:56,360 --> 00:23:00,360 Fast forward to age five, my mom lost her battle to breast cancer. 420 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:05,560 So from the age of five to age 14, my sisters were the ones who stepped in to be a mother 421 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:06,920 figure to me. 422 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:11,920 My dad remarried when I was 14, and that's what allowed us to migrate to the Chicagoland 423 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:12,920 area. 424 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,880 And I can tell you this, my stepmother, God sent. 425 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,040 A lot of people have horror stories about, you know, step parents, but mine was truly 426 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:21,040 God sent. 427 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,000 She really, really, we had a very good relationship. 428 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,800 She invested in us as her stepchildren. 429 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:30,900 She really demonstrated what love was through caring for my dad, for the family and others. 430 00:23:30,900 --> 00:23:36,480 And so when I got married, my dream and my husband's dream was to simply just have kids. 431 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,840 We wanted to be around kids. 432 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,960 Number one, I was a teacher, very, very over accomplished teacher, go-getter, advocate 433 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:43,960 for kids. 434 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:48,920 He was an overzealous children's pastor at the time, loved ministry, like didn't know 435 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:50,280 how to say no at all. 436 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:51,480 That was truly his heart. 437 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:57,080 So in our world, it was like, okay, so we have the teacher, we have the pastor, we're 438 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,760 the kids, you know, we're like the perfect family for kids. 439 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,640 And so that was kind of what we went into when we got married. 440 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,680 About year two, we said, okay, let's start having a family. 441 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,880 Because initially we wanted to wait about five years, enjoy life, you know, when you're 442 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,120 newly married. 443 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,000 But by year two, we're like, okay, let's do this. 444 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:16,520 We're very excited about it. 445 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:22,600 But by year three, year four, year five, absolutely nothing. 446 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,640 And so we went to the doctors to find out, you know, what's going on. 447 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,720 And thankfully, they said everything was fine. 448 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:33,200 But the only way they could explain it was what we call unexplained infertility. 449 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,080 So the question is now, what do we do with that? 450 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:36,080 Yeah. 451 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:37,320 What do I do with that, you know? 452 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:38,920 And so the pressures came from everywhere. 453 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:43,320 You had your parents, my parents asking, when are we having grandkids, you know? 454 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,420 And then you have your friends who are also getting married and having kids. 455 00:24:47,420 --> 00:24:51,560 You have the siblings who got married after you that are having kids, you know, and you 456 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,020 just never know. 457 00:24:53,020 --> 00:24:55,640 You never knew like, well, God, when is this going to happen? 458 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:00,920 And so one of the things I really, really appreciate in my waiting season is this. 459 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:06,820 There's a quote that says, while you're waiting, it's not so much about the outcome. 460 00:25:06,820 --> 00:25:10,520 It's about who you become as you're waiting. 461 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:16,160 And through that, God really showed me a lot about myself as a woman, as a mother to be, 462 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,760 about how he wanted me to see the world differently. 463 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:24,040 At one point, you know, you can imagine the roller coasters of waiting, waiting for a 464 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,760 child, especially when it's been prophesied. 465 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:28,800 And you know, you know, God has this promise for you. 466 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,280 You're like, when God, how about this week? 467 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:32,400 Summertime would be perfect. 468 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,600 Just let me know, you know, since we're out of school. 469 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,220 But that's just not how God works, right? 470 00:25:37,220 --> 00:25:41,160 God is very faithful to his time and his time and is always perfect. 471 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:47,700 And throughout our 12 years of waiting, 12 years of waiting, God answered our prayers. 472 00:25:47,700 --> 00:25:52,040 He sent us two beautiful children, Declan Jackson, which means man of prayer in God's 473 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,480 favor and Gianna Joy Eliana. 474 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,600 Her name means God's gracious gift and God answered. 475 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,620 And so highs and lows of waiting, you may be in a season of waiting. 476 00:26:01,620 --> 00:26:07,360 It may not be for children, but it could be for a job or a positive report from the doctor. 477 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:08,360 Don't give up. 478 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:09,760 Stay rooted in the word of God. 479 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,200 That's what got me through a lot of these seasons. 480 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:14,640 There are highs and there are lows. 481 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:16,360 There are good times or bad times. 482 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,420 But through it all, God remained faithful. 483 00:26:19,420 --> 00:26:20,620 He never changed. 484 00:26:20,620 --> 00:26:23,360 And let me say one more time, his timing, perfect. 485 00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:24,360 Perfect. 486 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,440 Can I just ask you a question? 487 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:31,760 So for those that may be finding themselves in a season of waiting specifically with trying 488 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:36,240 to have a baby or maybe any other place in life, can you talk a little bit about what 489 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,200 that looked like on a day-to-day basis? 490 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:42,480 Because this sounds so beautiful and wonderful and amazing and strong, but I'm sure on days, 491 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:46,580 what did it practically look like when you really struggled in that waiting? 492 00:26:46,580 --> 00:26:52,840 So going back to my husband being a pastor, we had the opportunity to counsel several 493 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,960 young ladies, unwed moms, even teenagers who were contemplating abortion. 494 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:01,840 Now you can imagine sitting on the other side of the table and you're sitting there listening 495 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:06,120 to these stories, but you have to have a very objective heart towards everybody. 496 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:07,560 You love them with the love of Christ. 497 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:09,280 You point them in the right direction. 498 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,680 So those were some of my lowest moments when we knew deep down in our heart what our desires 499 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,920 were and we were waiting on the Lord, but nothing came to be. 500 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:23,440 We've had times where we had to definitely cry it out, cry it out and depend on each 501 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,240 other. 502 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:29,280 We've had, I could tell you some strategies, y'all, straight old school strategies, okay? 503 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:33,800 And you all are all adults in here, but you know, you have the older folks say, hey, think 504 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,040 about doing things this way, you know, maybe that would bring your kids. 505 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:38,400 We're like, okay. 506 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,520 And then you have like the traditional Jamaican remedies. 507 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,120 They're like, hey, drink some of this herb and do this and do that. 508 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:46,120 We're like, okay. 509 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:50,120 And then they're like, okay, what about buying a little onesie and putting it inside your 510 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:52,880 Bible and walk around with it and pray? 511 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:53,880 I did all of those things. 512 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:54,880 Okay. 513 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:59,400 And I mean, all these things, the worst thing, and I'll just quickly share this, and it's 514 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:01,720 not the worst, but it's like the weirdest thing. 515 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:06,960 I remember going back to Desmond's Home Church and there were wonderful prayer mothers there. 516 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:11,280 And for some reason, they can understand why the bishop's wife didn't have any kids yet. 517 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:13,280 So they're like, hey, you know, come on back to the prayer room. 518 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:14,840 We want to pray over you. 519 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:19,520 And so four of these sweet little old ladies, they got the anointing oil and they said, 520 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,600 hey, can we lay our hands on your stomach and we're just going to pray and believe God. 521 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:24,600 And I'm like, okay. 522 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:26,920 And so they went through all of that. 523 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:32,100 But needless to say, these were our everyday endeavors, trying, trying, trying. 524 00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:34,560 But everything we did was so self-centered. 525 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:35,560 It was about us. 526 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:39,520 It was never about learning what God was trying to teach us in our waiting season. 527 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:40,640 It's like, what can we do? 528 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:41,640 What can we do? 529 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:42,640 No, stop. 530 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:43,640 Trust God. 531 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:44,740 His timing is perfect. 532 00:28:44,740 --> 00:28:47,960 And I'll just end by saying this. 533 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:53,160 When we decided to change our perspective and realize it wasn't about us so much and 534 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:58,280 our selfish, not selfish, but our self desires and our wishes, and we decided to turn our 535 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:04,080 love towards others, we decided to become foster parents because the world is filled, 536 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,600 as you know, with a lot of children who just need a loving home. 537 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:12,680 And I do believe with all my heart, when God brought us to that point to welcome our first 538 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:18,880 little foster baby in, he did something in our hearts and he did something in my womb. 539 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:24,640 Because in one year, y'all, one year, one year of having a foster baby, we had our first 540 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:25,640 child. 541 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:26,640 Wow. 542 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:27,640 That's a God thing. 543 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:28,640 Yeah. 544 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:29,640 That's so good. 545 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,640 I just, real quick, I just love how in that waiting time, like though you did all the 546 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:35,280 little onesie in the Bible, I love it. 547 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:36,280 I would have been doing that. 548 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,040 I'm making lists, all the things for sure. 549 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:43,160 But I love when God shifted your perspective and in that waiting, I love that you went 550 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:47,800 into action and you did something that his word literally calls us to do because scripture 551 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:52,160 talks about how God can direct our paths and direct our footsteps. 552 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,240 But in order for that to happen, we have to be moving. 553 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:58,120 And so I think that's really cool how you guys, when he shifted your perspective, you 554 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,160 were able to just move toward him and he did amazing things. 555 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:02,680 Yeah, God's so good. 556 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:03,680 That's so good. 557 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:04,680 Yeah, for sure. 558 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:10,280 And you know, as we're sitting here and I'm listening to the stories and I think of all 559 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,920 of you sitting out there today, waiting is hard. 560 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:14,920 Waiting is hard. 561 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,440 Waiting 12 years is really hard, you know, and change is hard. 562 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:20,800 Change is so hard for me. 563 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,080 If anybody in my family would be out there yelling, amen. 564 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:25,080 Change is hard for me. 565 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,280 Loneliness, loneliness is really hard. 566 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:33,200 Getting through any of this without being rooted in Jesus, I think is near impossible. 567 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:34,640 I don't think we can do this. 568 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,280 And I say this all the time when I see somebody going through a rough season and they're not 569 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:40,760 a follower of Jesus. 570 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:42,840 I think how do they do it? 571 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:44,760 How do they get through this? 572 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:49,600 Without having Jesus with them, what do they, who do they cry out to, you know, in the day? 573 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:54,700 You know, sometimes our friends get tired of hearing us cry out with our need and sometimes 574 00:30:54,700 --> 00:30:57,960 our family get tired of hearing us cry out with our need. 575 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:00,280 But Jesus never does. 576 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,600 Jesus never gets tired of hearing us cry out. 577 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:04,680 So I always, I often think of that. 578 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:09,360 And I believe the theme here today has been rooted in Jesus is how we get through any 579 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,520 season that we're in. 580 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:17,000 And I heard it said that joy is not a season, but it's a way of living. 581 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:21,000 And I would like to add to that, that joy is not a season, but a way of living when 582 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:26,680 you're rooted in Jesus, because we can choose how we're going to react no matter what season 583 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:27,680 we're in. 584 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:31,800 And every single one of these moms here today talked about how they reacted. 585 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,200 Amber talked about getting connected with a mom's group in a local church so that she 586 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,240 could get through the hard season she was in. 587 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:42,520 Jenna talked about being rooted in God's word and focusing on that and reaching out there. 588 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,220 And Kesha as well talked about being rooted. 589 00:31:45,220 --> 00:31:47,360 And I think that's the theme here today. 590 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:53,800 And each year at LifeHouse as we're getting ready to prepare for Mother's Day, we think 591 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:54,800 about that. 592 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:55,800 We think about it. 593 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:59,680 It could be a hard day for a mom to be sitting out there because either they're in that season 594 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:04,360 of waiting and they haven't become a mom yet, or maybe they are a mom and they've experienced 595 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,960 loss and Mother's Day reminds them of that. 596 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:10,520 Or they're in all these different seasons that they're in. 597 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,260 And we never want to be insensitive to that here at LifeHouse because we want to be able 598 00:32:14,260 --> 00:32:21,560 to share with you and see you walk through your season with Jesus. 599 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,220 And that's how this message was birthed today. 600 00:32:24,220 --> 00:32:26,680 When we talked about, I know this was different. 601 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:27,880 LifeHouse, you're not used to this. 602 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:31,440 You're used to one person standing up here and sharing the word. 603 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:33,480 But we wanted you to hear from different moms today. 604 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:37,880 We wanted you to hear about the seasons that they're going through because we don't want 605 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:38,960 you to feel alone. 606 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,000 You might think if you're going through this season that you're the only one that's going 607 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:43,000 through a rough season. 608 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,120 And I can promise you, again, I don't care if you're a mom, a dad, a brother, sister, 609 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:51,440 son, daughter, grandma, grandpa, you've gone through a difficult season. 610 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,600 And the only way we get through those is being rooted in Jesus. 611 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:57,660 And I can't thank you ladies enough for being here this morning. 612 00:32:57,660 --> 00:33:01,740 But I just wonder real quick, because we are running very late on time and we want to pray 613 00:33:01,740 --> 00:33:02,920 over everyone this morning. 614 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:09,220 But is there any closing thought or scripture that you wanted to share with our church family 615 00:33:09,220 --> 00:33:10,220 here today? 616 00:33:10,220 --> 00:33:13,100 You don't have to, but if you want to. 617 00:33:13,100 --> 00:33:18,200 I have a scripture and this is the message translation is Isaiah 30 verse 18. 618 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,880 And here's what it says, especially for those of you who are in your waiting season. 619 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,800 It says, but God's not finished. 620 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,080 He's waiting around to be gracious to you. 621 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:31,560 He's gathering strength to show mercy to you. 622 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,880 God takes the time to do everything right. 623 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:36,420 Everything. 624 00:33:36,420 --> 00:33:39,120 Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones. 625 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:40,120 Isn't that powerful? 626 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:41,120 Wow, that's really good. 627 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:42,120 Good. 628 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:43,120 That's really, really good. 629 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:44,120 All right. 630 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:47,400 Well, I'm going to ask you guys, if everyone here, if you guys would just stand with us 631 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:52,520 this morning and if you're joining us online today and you're going through a rough season, 632 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:57,160 you know, we're just going to ask you to type that in the chat and our online hosts would 633 00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:58,440 love to pray with you. 634 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:03,360 And up at East Shore, Pastor Eric and Abby are going to be coming up front and they're 635 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:07,600 going to be praying with you over the seasons that you're going through. 636 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:13,280 But right here in Carlisle, what we wanted to do, each one of these moms are passionate 637 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,920 about the season that they've gone through and how they've walked through. 638 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,880 And I know out there that there are those of you that have to be going through different 639 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:20,880 seasons. 640 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,000 I'm just going to ask you to come. 641 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:27,680 You don't have to raise your hand and say it was the loneliness or it's the change or 642 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:28,960 it's the season of waiting. 643 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:30,480 It could be a season of loss. 644 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,760 I don't know what that season looks like for you, but I'm going to ask if you would, if 645 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,800 you're going through any kind of a season or maybe you have a family member that's going 646 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:42,360 through any kind of a season, I'm going to ask if you would just come up front and these 647 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:46,280 moms are each going to take a moment and pray over you this morning. 648 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:51,760 And then if you need specific prayer this morning, our prayer team and Pastor Kip are 649 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:53,320 going to be up here on the right. 650 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:57,200 You are welcome to go over there and they will pray with you specifically. 651 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,560 But I'm just going to ask you this morning, if you're going through a season, any kind 652 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:05,520 of season, if you'll just come and these moms are going to want to pray over you this morning. 653 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:13,800 Thank you for tuning in to this message from Life House Church. 654 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:17,640 We pray that you were impacted powerfully by this message. 655 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:22,600 If you have been personally affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with 656 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:44,600 us as we love God, love people every day, visit our website at www.lifehousecog.com.