In this conversation about Christian joy, Jenny Rodriguez, a pastor's wife and homeschool mom, shares her insights and experiences. She emphasizes that joy is not just a feeling of happiness, but an energy and strength that comes from deep within, regardless of circumstances. Jenny highlights the importance of spending time with God, practicing gratitude, and cultivating a spirit of joy in daily tasks. She also discusses the challenges she faced while living in Japan and how she found joy in the midst of loneliness and cultural differences. Jenny encourages moms to prioritize margin in their schedules and celebrate moments as a family. Key Takeaways What is Christian joy? How can I can have joy regardless of what is happening in my life? What are some practical tips to help me experience joy everyday? Where does joy come from? Chapters 00:00-Introduction and Background 02:43-Defining Joy and the Role of Singing 06:34-Practices for Cultivating Joy 10:23-Finding Joy in the Little Daily Tasks 17:26-Longing for Eternal Joy 22:56-Teaching Children Gratitude and Spending Time Outdoors 27:30-Creating Margin for Joy and Connection with God
In this conversation, Candace and Annie discuss the difference between worldly joy and biblical joy. They explore how worldly joy is based on external circumstances and is temporary, while biblical joy is an internal byproduct of a relationship with Jesus Christ. They emphasize that joy is a choice and can be found by fixing our eyes on Jesus and trusting in God's goodness. They also discuss the importance of gratitude, community, and hope in cultivating joy. The principal themes of the conversation are the idea that our citizenship is in heaven and that we are not of this world, the importance of focusing on Christ and his redemptive work, the expectation that things will go from bad to worse in this world, the role of sorrow and suffering in shaping our hearts, the need for trusted friends and accountability in our journey, the importance of modeling joy for our children, and finding joy in surrendering to God's plan and presence. Takeaways Worldly joy is based on external circumstances and is temporary, while biblical joy is an internal byproduct of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Joy is a choice and can be found by fixing our eyes on Jesus and trusting in God's goodness. Practicing gratitude and thanking God for the good things in our lives can help cultivate joy. Community and sharing our struggles with others can bring joy and hope. The hope of Christ's return and the restoration of all things can sustain us in difficult times and bring joy. Our true citizenship is in heaven and we are not of this world. We should focus on Christ and his redemptive work rather than temporary circumstances. The Bible warns us that things will go from bad to worse in this world. Sorrow and suffering are used by God to shape our hearts and transform us. Trusted friends and accountability are important in our journey of faith. We should model joy for our children and create a joyful atmosphere in our homes. Finding joy requires surrendering to God's plan and presence. God's presence brings joy and stability in the midst of chaos. Sound Bites "Worldly joy is happiness based on what happens to me." "Biblical joy is an internal byproduct of a relationship with Jesus Christ." "For the joy set before him, he endured the cross." "This isn't our home." "The problem is our expectations. People are expecting things to get better, but the Bible warns us things are going to go from bad to worse." "We can experience wonderful abundant life on earth, but ultimately it's always gonna miss the mark because we're gonna have that flesh struggle until we die." Chapters 00:00-Introduction: Exploring Christian Joy 01:55--Worldly Joy vs. Biblical Joy 05:41-Understanding Biblical Joy 08:36-Choosing Joy in Daily Life 12:43-Practices for Cultivating Joy 16:08-The Hope of Christ's Return 22:08-The Difference Between Temporary Happiness and Eternal Joy 22:45-The Role of Suffering and Sorrow in Shaping Our Hearts 27:57-Cultivating Joy in Our Lives 37:35-Modeling Joy for Our Children
We are continuing our month-long series on peacemaking and on this episode we chat with Donna Jones the author of the book, Healthy Conflict Peaceful life, a biblical guide for graceful communication and lasting resolution. It focuses on the important theme of constructive communication-expressing thoughts, feelings, and opinions with grace, truth, and without any regrets. I’ve read it and I think it is a book that EVERYONE should have on their shelf. In fact, I have been recommending it to all my people including my adult children. Although I have been married 33 years, I still underlined a bunch of valuable tips and insights that I thought, “oh that is dead on! Donna is national speaker, church planter, pastor’s wife and self-described “Bible Explainer” who has spoken all over the country and is the host of the weekly “That’s Just What I Needed” podcast. She has written several other books and bible studies. And is passionate about equipping others to know, love and follow God in their real, everyday lives. She and her husband, JP, make their home in Southern California. We hope you gain practical guidance on peacemaking and how to handle conflict to God’s glory!
In the June version of our MomQ Mingle we are talking about peacekeeping. What does it look like and how is it different than what we see in our culture? Candace and Annie chat with Julie Whitehurst about some practical ways we can be peacemakers in our homes, particularly when the kids are home all day everyday!
“When we fix things for our kids so they don’t have to feel the intensity of their emotions, we take away the opportunity for them to learn resiliency.” We continue our mental health month series with a conversation with Lindsey Werner, LPC and one of our favorite MomQ speakers. She talks about one of the most challenging yet essential jobs as parents- helping them to establish resiliency and confidence in order to become strong and healthy adults. Lindsey shares strategies on how we can stay grounded as moms by establishing our identity in Christ and NOT in our kids and their well being. She also encourages us to have compassion on ourselves as moms as we help our kids face the daily challenges of life.
It’s Mental Health month and we’re kicking off with an honest conversation about how we should navigate issues like depression, loneliness and anxiety from a biblical perspective. Candace and Annie share their own personal struggles with mental health and testimony of how God delivered them while using their experience to help others. This is a must-listen episode if you or someone you love has or is currently struggling with mental health and needs encouragement.
It's been a wonderful semester of learning how to build our homes, and our families on the rock of Christ (Matthew 7:24-27). This is a special episode as Candace summarizes our lessons with actionable points for how we can build our families on solid ground. We also get to hear from three moms from our community about how God has led them to build a strong family. I think you will be encouraged and inspired by their stories!
The Bible says we are to mature in our faith but how does that work? Is it all up to us or does God play a role? Maybe you have tried to nurture your faith but you just don’t feel like God hears your prayers. Maybe you are in a period of waiting for Him to move but he has been silent. Or maybe you are angry with Him because your life hasn’t turned out the way you wanted it to? Why would God allow hard things in our lives if he is a loving God? In this conversation we have one of our MomQ leaders Dawn Jackson to discuss how God used an autism diagnosis for one of her sons to teach her to truly trust Him. Dawn is a Pastor’s wife and while you may think that means she has arrived spiritually speaking, she explains that through this trial, God revealed himself to her in unexpected ways. www.momq.org
"Where you treasure is, there your heart will be" - Matthew 6:21 God tells us that what we treasure most is directly tied to the condition of our heart. But the reality is the gods of money, achievement, possessions and success are always trying to capture our attention. How do we reframe our mindset, and the culture of our family to value what God values most? Candace teaches on practical strategies for how we can implement rythyms in our family that point towards the treasure that lasts forever.
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar: You catch yourself scrolling through Instagram looking at other moms' seemingly perfect family vacations, immaculate playrooms or home-cooked meals and feel an overwhelming sense of inadequacy? Or do you spend hours meticulously planning every detail of your child's activities but end up being frustrated by unexpected challenges like a learning disability or just plain lack of interest? Do you have more "Why, God?" days than "Thank you God!" days? Maybe you haven’t thought about it, but all of that focus on yourself actually stems from pride? And we know that pride is the root of all sin. As we approach Easter, we are continuing our theme of humility and sacrifice. Today, my guest, Matt Peacock, is a man of true humility. You are going to be so blessed by his story and his heart for serving others. Matt is the founder of Partners in Hope, an Austin based collaborative ministry focused on eliminating social isolation in Texas. We are going to have a conversation about how serving others can change our perspective and actually bring us joy and contentment in a way that focusing on ourselves never will.
Believe it or not, it’s already Easter season! It’s March 31st! When we think of Easter and the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we are struck by the incredible humility of it; that the creator of the universe would submit to the Father’s will and die a criminal’s death to pay a debt he didn’t owe because of His amazing love for us. So with that in mind, we’re going to be talking about humility this month. Why is humility important? Why is it so hard and how can we live it out? In this episode we are kicking off a new, monthly series called “The MomQ Mingle." In these episodes, Candace and Annie will chat about relevant topic for today's moms and comparing truth from the Word with trends from culture.
One of the biggest challenges of being a mom is the countless, and seemingly never ending demands on us. In this session of How to Build a Strong Family, we gather an amazing panel of mentor Moms who provide practical advice on how to keep your cool while balancing our roles as a wife, mom, friend, and follower of God.
We desire for our home to be a sanctuary. But the reality is life is hard, and every day we face stress and anxious thoughts that fill our minds and our four walls. In this next session of Building a Strong Family, Annie reminds us of the promises God gives in his Word to trade our anxiety for His peace.
In our second session in our series of Building a Strong Family, we talk about how we can set priorities in our family according to the Bible. Once we establish that Jesus is at the center, how do we balance the craziness of life with our responsibilities as mothers and wives? Annie teaches how when we set our lives on biblical principles and unconditional love, we can put our focus where it matters most.
This week we kick off the first session of our new semester of teaching series at MomQ with the theme of Building a Strong Family. In this first teaching, Candace talks about the elements that make a strong family - most importantly an individual, authentic relationship with God.
It's February - the month of Love! We are kicking off a new theme on the podcast to focus on love and relationships. What we know in our culture is love is something everyone wants but has a hard time truly giving. At the same time, God is clear that we are loved to love him and love others. In this episode Candace chats with Annie Mendrala to tease out the topic of love and relationships as we discuss what the bible has to say about it. It's a fun episode full of wisdom on this topic and encourage you to listen as we kick off the Valentines day season!
With this episode we continue our "Renew" series with an amazing conversation with Sarah Cowan Johnson. Sarah is an author of “Teach Your Children Well”, a step by step guide for family discipleship. It was the winner of Christianity Today's 2023 best book award in the category of marriage and family. I hope this episode will encourage you to reflect on what you are currently doing to disciple your children and challenge you to be a bit more intentional about it in the coming year. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, The Bible says that discipling our children should be a rhythm that happens naturally as we live out each day, much like eating and sleeping. But, if we are honest, to most of us it doesn’t come naturally at all. There are a million reasons why this is the case and we will talk about a few of those today. We are also going to discuss some of the barriers that keep us from practicing discipleship and talk about ways to overcome them. I know you are going to be so blessed by this conversation as we were! Thanks for listening and sharing this episode with a friend! We hope that this helps you as you seek to make discipleship a way of life in your family. SHOW LINK: Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowen Johnson
In our second episode of our Renew series as we enter the new year discovering and reflecting on new rhythms in our life, we chat with Becky Terry from Purpose Works, formerly known as Job Seekers Network. Becky has provided guidance in career direction, job search strategies and career management for the last 25 years. As we are thinking about goals for the new year, many people find themselves asking questions like: “Am I on the right path in life?” “Is there something God has for me to do that I am missing?” And “How can I discover my gifts and talents?” I think you’ll find the answers to these questions and more with in our conversation. To learn more about Purpose Works visit: JSNatx@org
Candace shares closing things on this wonderful semester studying how to be a confident mom, from God’s perspective. She shares the key points for us to take action and meditate on as we continue to hold to Christ for our confidence, our peace, and our joy.
On this episode we have Sam Konda on the show. Sam is a former leader with MomQ and an absolutely beautiful woman of God. She always has a smile on her face and an encouraging word to share with people. She is just one of those people that when she speaks, you pay attention because you know it’s going to be words of gold. Sam grew up in India where her father was a Christian Pastor. You can imagine how rare that was and the challenges involved with being a Christian pastor’s kid in a predominantly Hindu country. But, God was always with Sam as He is with us. She allowed Him to mature her faith through those circumstances and prepare her for a new call He has on her life. Sam shares some of her journey and how he used her early life circumstances to lead her and her husband to start a church - and how God demonstrated his faithfulness through it all.