“Did God Actually Say…?”

My friend, Lee Nienhuis, sent me this note with the advanced copy I received of her book, “Brave Moms, Brave Kids.”

Are you a mom who believes God? Are you a mom that believes He is still working?

 

That’s a decision we must lean into moment by moment in this troubled world. That’s because as moms, we are the “gone befores” our kids are learning from. Lee wrote, “You and I must call out the bold Christ followers within our children and help them face the unknown future with divine confidence.” But as Lee points out, that bold confident trust begins with us moms: “Brave kids need brave moms.”

 

So, when you rise up in the morning, you must repeat that decision. Voice it to the Lord, “I choose to believe You are alive and working. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Give me courageous faith today to walk it out.” That means, no matter what the world says, i.e. “Did God actually say…?”, you choose to believe God. That means, you choose to believe His standards are good and not to be redefined. That means, as Lee wrote, “God says if we give Him our choices and trust Him, we will find freedom.” And that applies to every “Did God actually say…?” the world throws at you. If you stand firm, brave mom, your children have you to emulate to become brave kids who will stand firm.

 

Lee Nienhuis is one brave mom raising brave kids. As I read her book, she shared story after story from her life, each revealing she is a mom who truly believes and lives what she wrote. She believes that her identity is in Christ and she rests in that unshakable identity. That’s what makes her able to stand firm in this questioning world.

 

That, my friends, is what will make you and me and our children also be unshakable in this world which is increasing the pressure on those who believe “God did actually say…”  That’s what will keep us seeking to please Him above all. The world’s increasing pressures come at us everywhere we turn. They are invading our schools, our workplaces, our clubs, our social media, and even our own homes and churches. They are so deceptive, as they are meant to be, that they can easily cause us or our children to question “Did God actually say…?” And that questioning will feed into the enemy’s strategy, which is, as Lee puts it, “weak moms growing weak kids.”

 

But, we can fight back. We can become “powerhouses.” We and our kids can choose to believe God. Lee writes:

 

Belief finds its footing when we choose to act on what we believe is true. …The terrific news is that God has a strategy as well and it is infinitely more powerful: free moms raising free kids. This is tied up in our knowing the truth, however. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set your free” (John 8:32).

 

To be a powerhouse for the Kingdom takes knowing, believing, and acting on the Truth. That’s my desire for my children as well as for myself in this shaking world. I echo Lee’s prayer—that Christ would be made much of as we choose to take this brave journey together.

 

Moms, “Brave Moms, Brave Kids” is indeed a battle plan for raising heroes, and it’s so needed for such a time as this! I recommend that you get your copy of “Brave Moms, Brave Kids” on order as soon as possible so you don’t have to wait for a back order. This equipping tool will help you get your brave on! And if you’re a grandmom, gift a copy to your daughter or daughter-in-law. No need to wait for Mother’s Day. Moms need to strong and brave now!

 

Lee is a passionate Bible teacher, a popular conference speaker, and a Moms in Prayer area coordinator. I love her sense of humor that comes from her life experiences and how her love for the Lord keeps her in His living Word. Lee and her farmer-husband, Mike, live on four acres of grass in Michigan where they are raising four brave kids. Click here to read more about Lee Nienhuis.

 

Click here for a link to Lee Nienhuis’ website to purchase her book.

 

 

Grit

Grit. I think this word is rarely used today; that is, unless it’s in reference to a certain movie. My generation would immediately think of John Wayne’s “True Grit” in which several characters display courage and resolve.

 

Some of the other synonyms for grit include bravery, pluck, mettle, backbone, spirit, strength of character, strength of will, moral fiber, steel, nerve, fortitude, toughness, hardness, resolution, determination, tenacity, perseverance, and endurance. What a list! But, you could just say that grit is having keep-on-going guts and spunk. Hmm, it also fits the Jewish word, chutzpah.

 

Angela Duckworth defines grit with the words “passion and perseverance.” She said that grit is “living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” And—this is important—grit has a “growth mindset,” which means that “failure is not a permanent condition” but an opportunity to learn and move forward. Aren’t you glad to know that?

 

David Jeremiah said grit is endurance and being a “faithful fanatic.” It seems that’s just another way to say persevering passion.

 

A person who has grit fits the definition, too, of one who has courageous faith. This is a person who is an overcomer. No obstacle is a stop sign. The Lord Jesus affirms having this type of grit. We read in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation of the gifts He promises for those who overcome. In Revelation 2:10 (AMP), He says, “Because you have kept the word of My endurance [My command to persevere], I will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come on the whole [inhabited] world, to those who live on the earth.”

 

So, knowing what grit is and its value, how, where do we get it?

 

One thing is for sure, one must have gumption first. That’s the getting up part of the “go” of grit. Gumption gets you off your comfortable seat and grit moves you forward. You could say that gumption is the belief battery that makes you obedient which in turn, like the Energizer Bunny, gives you the grit to keep on going.

 

So, to get grit, you rise up in obedience to the Lord your God. And since true grit comes from the strength we get from a heart that trusts God, here’s a great verse we can pray for ourselves, Colossians 1:11 (TLB)—

 

Lord, help me to be filled with Your mighty, glorious strength so that I can keep going (persevering) no matter what happens—always full of the (passionate) joy of the Lord.

 

This is exactly what my friend, Lee Nienhuis, writes of in “Brave Moms, Brave Kids.” I’m honored to have been reading an advance copy of her book and to be a part of her book’s launch team. I definitely wish I’d had her book in my hands when my children were little ones, but I’m glad I have it now as a resource.

 

Lee is a brave mom who knows her Jesus! She wrote: “A hero [one with grit in my words] is a faith-filled child of God who so believes in the goodness, worthiness, and faithfulness of God that she is obedient to His call on her life in public and private. Heroes…stand when their knees shake. …Heroes finish the race.” Lee, a Moms in Prayer area coordinator and a Precepts Bible study leader, added that heroes “know it will be messy, bloody, and hard, but they refuse to give up on their God just because the journey is difficult.” Lee wrote her book, “Brave Moms, Brave Kids,” to help us moms realize that the first hero must be, you guessed it, us! That is, after Jesus, of course. We must be the brave ones first. She is right on. We must display the gumption and guts for them to emulate. It’s our job, our ministry, as their parent.

 

If you want to learn more about being a brave mom, Lee Nienhuis’ book, “Brave Moms, Brave Kids,” is available now for preorder. Here is a link to her website where you can learn about my friend, Lee. And click here for a link to preorder “Brave Moms, Brave Kids.”

 

Therefore, since we do hold and engage in this ministry by the mercy of God [granting us favor, benefits, opportunities, and especially salvation], we do not get discouraged (spiritless and despondent with fear) or become faint with weariness and exhaustion.

2 Corinthians 4:1 AMPC

Heart Chamber Echoes

I am reading an advance copy of "Brave Moms, Brave Kids" by my friend, Lee Nienhuis, who is also a Moms in Prayer mom and Precepts leader, and something she quoted by commentator Joseph A Siess on Daniel 1 spoke to my mom-heart. I hope it will speak to yours, too. He wrote that the first thing Babylon did was to change the names of those they were indoctrinating, but it was "too late with these youths. Their names were changed, but their principles did not yield to the enchantment. Early instructions are not so easily obliterated. The impressions of childhoods are always the most lasting. They engrave themselves upon the formation of the man; they constitute the mould [mold--I think he was British] of one's being. They may be weakened and overlaid, but not extinguished. They are like words spoken in a whispering gallery, which may not be heard near where they are uttered, but are produced in far-distant years and go echoing along the remotest paths of life."

I wanted to remember the words, so I decided to write them out on a sticker and pop them in my daily planner, and really it was without much thought other than for the color of the sticker I chose. However, as I was writing the words on the sticker, I realized I’d chosen one that was a cross-section of a tree showing layers and layers of rings beginning with the core that all were laid down upon. In essence, that’s what Joseph Siess was saying. That core, those teachings of childhood, are still there beneath the surface layers. Lee wrote this, which I pray be true, “May our teachings echo down their heart chambers decades from now, reminding them of the truths we sow into them today” and, I’ll add for us moms of adult children, the truths which were sown in them from their childhood.

 

We moms who have trained up our children in the Lord and prayed fervently over them, and continue to do so, can trust the Lord with them. For those with children who professed belief as youngsters yet are not now walking with their Savior, cling to the truth that our God still sees those children through all those passionate mom-prayers that are before His Throne. Don't give up. Keep praying. Keep teaching, and be sure to model from your own life, as Lee wrote, "the love and fascination for God we wish to see in our children."

 

Lee Nienhuis’ book, “Brave Moms, Brave Kids,” is available now for preorder at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book, and Target. Or you can go to her website, http://leenienhuis.com/, and easily preorder your copy there.

 

Here's a photo of me with mine.