YOU GUYSSSS...I am so excited about today’s episode...but really the BREAKTHROUGH at the end that was revealed. I didn’t realize such a simple conversation could be so profound. God is good...so hang with me to the end as we REDEFINE what success is!
Today I’m giving you the most SIMPLE way to give your kids a Biblical worldview...while providing an education, instilling character qualities, and building the faith of the ENTIRE family.
Whenever you’re listening is perfect, but I will say that this is a WONDERFUL tip especially for summer.
When “mom guilt” wants to creep in you can cure it with MEANINGFUL, intentional time that will fill your kid’s LOVE TANK fast WHILE setting them up for lifelong success and service to the Lord.
P.S. Use these Devotionals as a valuable resource for learning about other Christians who pursued God’s best for them and made a significant impact in the lives of others:
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Full Episode Transcription:
0:05
Welcome back to The Nourishing Mompreneur Podcast, where we get encouraged and empowered as we pursue our greatest potential within the walls of our home. Hey Mama, my name is Michelle Hiatt, and I'm so thankful you're here. Do you feel like your life is good, but something in you feels unfulfilled? Do you feel stuck in the trenches of motherhood, exhausted and working so hard, but feeling like you're getting nowhere? Do you have big dreams you hold in your heart, but you've been living small? Are you motivated for more, but don't have the clarity or the courage to do anything about it? Do you want to discover God's best and see if it's really possible to be an excellent wife, an intentional mother, and be successful in business, all for the glory of God? As a wife of 16 years, a homeschooling mom of five, and an entrepreneur, I know exactly how you feel. Every bit of it. I truly believe that the most important work you will ever do is within the walls of your home and that there is purpose in every season. If you are a fellow business-minded mama, with a heart for home and a love for Jesus, let's process this journey and grow together.
1:57
I believe that as moms, we are raising little world changers. The bad news is that the world is constantly changing. I mean just look at the last year and think about how different things were pre-COVID. The good news is that our God never changes. Thank goodness. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and this is the only rock that our kids can stand on as they navigate a world we never knew. They're gonna have to see things, navigate rocky waters, climb mountains, experience realities that we have not yet walked. And this goes for the good things and the bad things. It is just a different world that we are raising our children in and as moms it is important to remember that we don't have to have all the answers. We don't either, even if we thought we did. We just need to keep walking with them and pointing them to the Lord. This is the only thing that's going to keep them grounded and rooted.
2:49
We do however, want to be intentional about giving them a strong biblical perspective. When our kids are in our household we get to help them filter life because eventually they're going to have to figure things out on their own. So don't miss out on the opportunities to expand your child's worldview to help them filter live through God's eyes and to strengthen their faith in the process. This is not going to be a perfect journey. It never was supposed to be but let's be intentional and aware as best as we can't to just be there when our kids need us in whatever capacity or whatever struggle or whatever challenge they're going through. And did I mentioned that I'm preaching to myself over here? Okay, yes. Yes, I am. But here's the thing, have you noticed that the older you get the more you realize that the mindset, the hang ups, the stronghold whatever that you have as an adult, the rough patches of your personality even they all grew back to childhood? The older we get, and the more self development and in our work we do, the more we realize just how crucial these young years are as we raise our little world changers. It is a heavy responsibility. Thankfully, we don't have to carry it alone. We simply have to do our part and trust that God loves our children more than we do because they are His after all.
4:11
You've got to trust His grace is just going to cover up all of our weaknesses and that His Word will hold true in their lives in the end. Even if we were near perfect moms and if we did give our children a near perfect life. It's not enough. We can't always control what their little hearts decide. Sometimes it's not even the truth of the situation, but rather how our children perceive and receive it that makes all the difference.
4:39
Think about a family that you know that has multiple children. You know, same parents same household, nearly the same upbringing, but when you look at their life as adults and the choices they've made and their track record, very different results, very different experiences. One child might have loved homeschooling and another could have resented that choice for him. Think about even the episode that I shared recently on how life isn't fair and what to do about it. My sisters and I we all have very different views, experiences and perspectives. When we look back on our childhood a lot of them are the same, but many of them are different, which is so interesting, because my parents were pretty obsessive about making sure that our upbringing was equal and fair for my sisters and I.
5:25
So motherhood is not cookie cutter and that's where I say, "Come Holy Spirit." Oh, you know, I think about the Holy Spirit being a comforter and it's because we need a lot of comfort for raising our kids. If we haven't already, we certainly will need it. We're gonna need lots of comfort for all the uncomfortable moments that we're going to have as we raise them and as we pursue business, grow as women, women of God. This is just something that we're just going to have to always remember our source and the thing that's going to keep us in the game. So we have an ever changing world. We have different and unique children and the responsibility to raise them as arrows so that we can shoot them into the world and bring light and hope and God's love to a broken generation.
6:15
How? Well, I just want to share with you one of the things that has helped me give my kids a broader worldview, a biblical worldview. That's really what matters, right? This is going to help lay the foundation for them as they grow. So it's simple, it's beautiful. It will probably encourage you more as a mom than even your kids but doing this one thing will cultivate quality time and open up great conversations too. So are you ready? I'm so excited to share this with you and I'm excited about as I was preparing for this episode, kind of how God orchestrated it in the end.
6:54
The first thing, the biggest thing I want to tell you is to study the lives of other people, encourage your children, do it with them, help them study the lives of other people. We can learn from anybody. I believe that you can learn from everybody. Of course you want to filter things through the Holy Spirit. You know, take the good, take the cherry, spit out the pit kind of thing. But I'm not talking about any people here I'm talking about men and women of faith.
7:22
So first, let me tell you why this is so powerful, and then I'll tell you how I do this effortlessly. The first thing is that it takes the focus off of you. When you look to the life of another person. When you study someone else when you're putting your focus your attention on somebody else. It takes the focus off of you and one of the biggest obstacles that we as humans have to face especially our children is that we want to be selfish. From little kids are not wanting to share to me, me, me mine, that kind of stuff to growing up as a teenager. We live in the self absorbed, selfie, self-consumed society.
7:59
I'll tell you when I was a teenager I was so selfish. I was so into myself, and I this is before iPhones and selfies and any of that stuff it was just my life revolved around me. It was my school, my sports, my friends, "me me me, Mom iron my clothes." It was just all I could do was see myself and I'll never forget my mom even made up this little jingle she would sing it to me when I was just being ridiculous. It was called like "me, myself, and I" mean how sad is that? But it's the truth. It's the truth especially when they're really young and those like two to three year old years. We want to see that selfish trend and then I think when teenagers come that's where it really wants to kind of manifest again. But our kids need to realize that there is a big wide world out there. They need to hear about other cultures, and even learn about history and the process of studying other missionaries. So if you're a homeschool mom, this is awesome because you can seriously give a big check mark for Bible and history lesson if you are setting the life of another person. But there are some great men and women of faith that our kids need to know about anyway, so this is awesome.
9:01
Okay, the second reason I want to mention is it helps you see the bigger picture and this my friends is one of my favorite reasons and I think this is going to be most encouraging to you as an entrepreneur. When you are able to see the full picture of someone's life from birth to death from start to finish, when you have the opportunity to kind of step back and look from above that bird's eye, bigger picture, it's incredible to see how all the pieces of their life weave together for a purpose. I mean the books that we read and the sources that we use to study other people. Obviously their life made a difference because they were written about in history, in a book. When you look at their life, from a broader perspective, it's just incredible to see wow it all works together when they just didn't give up and sometimes it just doesn't even make sense but it's cool just to get that perspective, if that makes sense to you here.
10:02
We as we live in our life. We're only living in the chapter that we're in, but when you can see the full story of another person's life it brings so much hope. It's so encouraging for entrepreneurship, like I just mentioned, because so many times when we're working, it feels like we're not getting the traction that we want or we're not getting anywhere or when are we gonna get that breakthrough but when you can look at the life of another person, what it reminds you of, is the seeds that you sow do make a difference. That faithfulness, consistency over time does bear fruit. It also helps give you a sense of patience and resilience for the process, understanding that like wow, this was a process. Never give up on your dreams and the call that God has on your life. It's amazing to see what can happen when you don't do this, when you don't give up. You are making a difference even when it seems slow and I think that's one of the biggest things that you can see when you look at the life the full picture life of another person.
11:04
The next reason I want to share with you is that it instills a Godly character qualities and increases faith. You can learn from anybody but especially, you know, like I said, we're talking about men and women of faith here. The same God that they serve is the same God that we serve today. Their stories and examples and experiences are empowering. It prepares our kids for hard times and it shows them the truth of what it looks like to truly serve God. The sacrifice that it takes to walk faithful to our God. Our kids need to be resilient and have so much courage instilled into them. I'm telling you, when I look at my kids, they are so blessed. They have such a good life. They have such an easy life. They're so protected and I wouldn't change that for anything. I don't want them to go through hard things. I want to keep them safe. I want them to to be protected and have an amazing life. However, I know the reality is that life is hard and at some point in life, they're going to experience pain and loss and some kind of suffering or sacrifice or heartbreak of some kind it's going to happen and when that time happens, I want them to be prepared. I want them to be ready for it and what I can do now is I can prepare their mind and when we can learn and listen to the stories of other people and their minds can go there, their mind can see a picture and imagine what it was like to be that person and to show up and to live the life that they lived. It gives them more mental capacity and strength for when their day comes and they need to tap into it. We want to prepare our kids intentionally and mentally for life, real life , right? Isn't that what we're doing? We don't want to just put our kids in a bubble we want to prepare them for real life for success. It is a long game and this is an awesome way to prepare them for that.
13:00
The next thing I want to mention is that it opens up powerful questions that we can ask our kids. Studying the lives of other people creates such good conversation where our kids can connect with another person in history. They can ask hard questions they can almost have a safe outsider place to to dig deep in their heart. So that being said, I want to share with you my favorite resource for doing all of these things in an easy place. So I'm totally endorsing these books right here. I'm not getting paid for this, these people don't know me, I don't know them but I love these books. They have been so foundational in our family in our home and of course, I homeschool the kids so this is just the best way to wrap in Bible, History, Self-Development. It opens up so much conversation for me to pour into the kids because I'm learning and growing and I'm like pausing and crying and I'm loving this so much but it opens up the opportunity for me to really pour in the things that I'm learning in my own personal life and my own personal journey of entrepreneurship with my kids because remember, I'll remind you again, what you're doing, what you're pursuing, it's not about you. It's never about you. First of all, it should always be to bring glory to the Lord. Second of all, take everything you have important to your kids they are your number one fan they are your number one influencers, followers that's the word. They're your number one followers, you are their coach, you are their mentor. Don't be so focused on building a team outside if you're not first pouring into your home.
14:35
So the book that I want to recommend, it's actually a book series. I think there's four or five, I'm not sure how many I think I have four or five there's many volumes, but it's called "Hero Tales, a Family Treasury of True Stories from The Lives of Christian Heroes." I will put the link in the show notes below so that you can easily find it on Amazon and know exactly what I'm talking about but I highly highly recommend these and I'll tell you exactly why.
15:01
First of all, I love these because they teach history. What it does is it takes different called Christian heroes, so people in history that have made an impact that have left a legacy. It highlights that person and the first thing it does is it teaches some history on that person. It gives a summary of their life from start to finish. So it is beautiful and I can't tell you how many times I have paused as I'm reading the beginning summary of their life and I'm looking at the dates and I'm like whoa, wait a minute, so it took them six years to get from here to here and then it was another 10 years of waiting and then it was another. I'm like blown away at the timeline because I feel like we live in such a microwave society and I know for me, one of my weaknesses is being patient. It's hard to feel like you're getting where you want to go fast enough and I'm telling you when you look at the life of another person, you're like, wow, it just takes time. God is not done with you till the day that you die. So just pace yourself and be patient and trust.
16:02
The other reason what I love about this so each person, there are three devotionals or true stories from that individual's life. They're super interesting. They're not too long and they're enjoyable. They're awesome. Each story focuses on a character quality or biblical principle and it includes a key quote, and if you know me, I love quotes. So for example, this week we studied Gladys Alward and the three-character qualities of her devotionals was confidence, resourcefulness and courage. So it's so fun I think when you teach your kids learning is everywhere and in every opportunity so you can integrate things. So for example, we got to Day 2: Resourcefulness and I stopped all the kids. I said, "Wait a minute, everybody. We're gonna do a little spelling challenge." So I had all the kids get a blank piece of paper and tried to see if they could spell resourcefulness correctly and I gave them a treat. So it was just like a random spontaneous little spelling lesson but all that to say, school, business, it's okay to think outside the box. This is coming from somebody who was raised very much in a box, very much like this is how you do it and it's so funny how I think now and how I raise my kids because it's so just not how I ever thought I would be or how I would ever think but I am all about breaking out of those boxes and just being free. So let yourself be free as you learn and grow and use these books as a resource, a starting point, to teach all kinds of things.
17:32
So the encouraging quote for today was the one about courage.
"Courage is knowing God's power can help you do something hard even if you feel scared."
17:43
And each devotional also has a Bible verse that points to the Word of God. For example, the verse on courage, the lesson was on courage. It gave the quote that I just read and then the Bible verse was
2 Timothy 1:7- "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
18:03
When you can connect the Word of God to real life and see what it looks like in action, that is a beautiful thing. What does it look like to live a life of faith? We can show our kids through the life of another person when we study missionaries and other Christian heroes of the past. Today, we were reading about Gladys Alward and we were doing the last devotional of the day and it was so beautiful. She had this moment I don't want to spoil the whole story but basically, there was a situation, she was in China, the Emperor called her and he asked her to go into this prison and settle a riot. There was this crazy riot basically everybody in prison was going crazy. They were killing each other. It was just a bloodbath. It was awful, and they wouldn't send their soldiers inside because they would get killed immediately. Like it was completely dangerous. But the Emperor asked Gladys to go in and try to help and she was like, "Oh my gosh, why?" She was literally shaking in fear but she knew that if she couldn't walk in there confidently trusting that her God was bigger than this situation, then what looks like imminent death. If she couldn't walk in there with a confidence in her God, how could anybody believe her? How could anybody trust the faith that she was in China trying to spread? So, she agreed and basically in surrender, in obedience to this opportunity that the Lord called her to, walked into what should have and could have and look like it would be the end of her. So she walked in, and as soon as she got into the prison, the men were running crazy. It was just a horrible thing, really gross. Immediately somebody came running towards her with an axe ready to swing it right at her and she just stood there and he stopped two feet from in front of her. She looked at him and she just said boldly "Give me that axe" and he gave it to her and through her there was able to bring peace and clarity and the situation was resolved.
20:08
But it was cool because I asked the kids I said, does this remind you of any other stories? And we're talking about how it was just like Daniel in the lion's den. In a situation where he was for sure like, this is it this is the end but he was okay. He was okay if it was, so be it but he knew that his God was bigger. Same as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they went into the fiery furnace, I told the kids I was like even the men that threw them and they died. It was so hot. They went into a situation where there was what seemed like no hope. They had their eyes on God and they trust that their God was bigger and He showed up. It is so cool to see the stories, we read about in the Bible, but sometimes they feel so distant, when you can see faith in the life of another person, and these stories and how the Word of God connects and what it looks like in real life of people that lived in all different points of history, all over the world, different parts, all different cultures, and just life stories where you can see what it looks like to truly walk this thing out. It is awesome and a really big faith builder. And then at the end of each devotional, there are three questions that you can ask your kids. For example, again, our topic was courage today, so one of the questions was can you be scared and have courage at the same time? Why or why not? Isn't that a great question? I had the best conversation with the kids on this. I was able to really pour out all the things that I've learned when it comes to fear, when it comes to faith, when it comes to courage. Things I've learned through business. This is why business or pursuing something outside of motherhood, just pursuing your greatest potential for your season, whatever that looks like. It's so important because we don't want to be complacent. We don't want to be mediocre. We don't want to live any less than the calling that God has put on our lives. One of the other questions was what is the difference between doing something foolish just to quote "prove that you're not scared" and doing something that takes courage even though you're afraid? These are such great conversation starters. These are such great relationship builders. These cultivate quality time. Honestly, by the end of it, everybody's heart and like, everybody's love tank is just full to pieces. It's amazing and it doesn't take long. I have to mention that in because I know you guys I know how busy you are and you're like how long is it going to take? You can do this I promise.
22:33
Okay, so this book, these books, these volumes, they are perfect for the intentional mama- you! They're perfect, especially if you're an entrepreneur and you're on this journey and you are looking to pursue your greatest potential within the walls of your home to see what's possible. Is it possible to be an excellent wife, an intentional mother and do business. It is all connected and I hope that through this podcast, I can continue to remind you and help you see the beauty and the purpose in all of it, but this is an amazing place where it can all come together and you can teach your kids so much help them have a biblical worldview, a biblical mindset and perspective, prepare them to be resilient, encouraged for the future and for all that is to come and all the other reasons that I previously mentioned.
23:20
You are listening because you desire to have success in your life. You also want your kids to be set up for success in their own lives. I've learned a lot over the past few years especially God's definition of success doesn't look like the world's definition. Money, fame, following, that's not it at the core. It's really the inner game that matters first, and our mindset and worldview are huge in cultivating our outward success. So let's just talk about success for a minute. I had this revelation yesterday, so I just want to share this. First I want to say that you define what success is. I truly believe that. You define this with God. That's the important part. It's not about you and what you want and what you need. God does give you the desires of your heart but your desires when you seek Him are His desires. So this is something that you partner with the Lord in when you set your goals, when you dream your dreams. This is something that you define success with God. Ask him "What does success look like to you in this season?" And when you obey and you walk in that, you my friend are successful. Don't get confused.
24:37
I said it before but success is obedience to God. It's true. But God has shifted my perspective, even yesterday. The definition of true success is seeing and knowing God. So simple, so pure. When you know the heart of God for your life, you can walk in obedience as a response. You know what His will is for you. You trust His character, His intention for you but it all starts with putting our eyes on Him, seeking Him first and all these things will be added. If you do nothing else, for your marriage, for your business for your children, seek God. He will show you the way to walk in obedience step by step. But here is why this is so important for this conversation. When we see Jesus in the lives of others, our kids can see who they are in Christ. Let me say that again. When we see Jesus in the lives of others, our kids can see who they are in Christ, their identity. They can see the gifts that they carry within them. The power, the purpose, the calling as they walk with Jesus.
25:54
As I was getting ready yesterday, I looked in the mirror to put on my makeup and I burst into tears at this reality. We cannot afford to raise selfish children or they will never see God. We cannot afford to raise selfish children or they will be blinded from seeing God. The biggest way that you can help your child not be self absorbed, to know God, to seek Him, is to get their eyes off of themselves and to learn about the life of another person. Whether it's a biography as they're older in years, or a devotional just like I mentioned for the younger elementary, middle school ages, let them see God in others. Let them see how amazing and awesome he is. As they learn to seek Him for themselves.
26:46
So God we just come to you and we ask for forgiveness for any selfishness and pride in our heart, God. Help us to be curious about others, to explore the life of other people. Give us the humility to learn from other men and women of faith as we lead our children. Father, just give us an extra measure of grace for the journey and wisdom as mothers and kingdom entrepreneurs. We need you Father. Increase our faith as we seek you. God, we want to know you more. Lord, we thank you that you pursue us as we pursue our greatest potential. God, we partner with you and I ask for a fresh revelation for the mom listening of what success is. What does it look like to you? Give them wisdom and clarity, Lord, that they may walk in obedience and do the things and not do the things that they are supposed to do, Lord. God, we just put you on the throne of our life today, we exalt you and we thank you for your goodness. In Jesus name, I pray.
Hey Mama real quick, before you run off and do all the things, if you found value in today's conversation it would mean the world to me if you left a review on my podcast. I know you know how precious time is. The biggest thing that you can give me for taking the time to share on this podcast is to leave a written review. This helps me on my mission to encourage and empower others who are pursuing their greatest potential from home.
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