Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / Discipleship Strategies for Moms of Littles with Guest Alexandra Jensen

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Discipleship Strategies for Moms of Littles with Guest Alexandra Jensen · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Karen Ferguson, wife, mom, grandmom, and children's book author, with a background in K-8 education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and god-confident kids.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices from both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Our goal is to help you raise kids with a positive, godly self-image so they can become all they were created to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: Today I have a very special guest on the show, author Alexandra Jensen, who'll be sharing about discipleship strategies and the importance of connecting with other moms.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Alex is a steering team leader for the Mom Co.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: organization, and she has a bachelor's degree in elementary education with a minor in creative writing and a master's degree in math and science education.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: She's a former elementary school teacher, wife, stay-at-home mother of three, and antique stealer.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: When Alex is not busy changing a diaper, packing lunches, or sneaking in a few pages of reading for her book club, she enjoys quilting.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Alex, welcome to the show.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Karen.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's so great to have you here.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I have your book, A Place of Grace for Moms of Littles, right here, and I'm loving it.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I know you have many, many encouraging and practical things to share with uh moms and parents today.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: So please jump right in.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to start off with a verse that's kind of been on my heart lately.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy 6, 7 says, Impress them on your children.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So this verse was written to the Israelites.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's impress them.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: What is them?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's talking about the gospel, God's word.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we as parents are to impress the gospel upon our children's heart.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, another version of this verse says to diligently teach your children.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that word diligently stuck up to me.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so as parents, that's our number one job is to impress God's word and um fill our children's hearts with Jesus and to introduce them to that.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm a mom of littles.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: I have a five-year-old, four-year-old, and two-year-old.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so they're at a prime age um to really just get to know the Lord and to fall in love with Jesus.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And um some ways that I do that um are I have a kids praise and worship um iTunes playlist that I play in my car.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that really helps my kids connect with the Lord through music, just when we're running to and from um activities and school and um because life's busy, it gets it gets busy and it gets challenging to really disciple your children.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you have to be intentional about it, and it's a challenge.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so also find a children's Bible that resonates with your heart.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one that I found that really resonates with my heart as a mom is the Jesus storybook Bible, and just reading that to your children each day, kind of having a little quiet time with your children, sitting them down on the couch.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And they may or may not act like they're listening, but they promise you they hear every word that comes out of your mouth.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And um just reading God's word to them through like a children's book that resonates with your heart is important.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then praying, praying with your children, pray one thing I do that is kind of um it's it's very practical praying on the way to school.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that that kind of puts us in a mindset of okay, we're like leaving our home and going out into the world and praying um on the way to school, pray for your children to be chill to be kind and for them to be good listeners to their teachers, pray for um them to be good friends and to develop um wholesome friendships and to learn well at school.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so pray with your kids on the way to school and invite them to pray too.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, sometimes they will, sometimes they won't, but just invite them to pray and um ask if there's anything specific you can pray for them for.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um another component that um of discipling children is keeping like a prayer journal.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um so when your children are really little, what this kind of looks like is just like a blank notebook where um you can the kids can draw pictures of people and things they're thankful for in their lives.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: So they might have like their grandparents and their teachers and some of their friends at school all drawn out on the different pages.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: And we can just flip through the pages and thank God for these people in our lives.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but as kids get older, um the prayer journal can kind of shift and change into a format where it's kids are are writing about what you read to them from the Bible, or maybe they're drawing a picture of what you're reading to them from the Bible.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: So the prayer journal can kind of change and adapt as kids get older, but when they're really little, like making it into like a gratitude prayer journal, um, drawing pictures of things you're thankful for is really powerful.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And um, one thing that has been kind of a good tool to have in my toolbox in this season is the Veggie Tales podcast.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we listen to that a lot.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and they have a podcast, and a lot of people don't know that.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't do that, no.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: My adults are a lot older, they're in their 20s.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:10
  unknown: Yes.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then when you're disciplining children, um discipline and discipleship kind of go hand in hand.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so just pointing them back to Jesus when they're um unkind, when you're correcting them, incorporating scripture.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Children obey your parents.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Kind words are like a honeycomb, soothing to the soul.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, these are the fruits of the spirit that we um can remind our children of.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: We can incorporate scripture when we're disciplining children and always pointing them back to Jesus.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: So after you discipline a child, maybe giving them a hug and saying, Mommy loves you, Jesus loves you, let me pray for you.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um and when throughout the day little things happen, like maybe um somebody got hurt or um something happened, just stop.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: I call it stop, drop, and pray.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Just praying throughout the day, just um being intentional to take little moments to pray with your kids over little things because really um those little ordinary things are actually big things in your children's eyes, and just teaching them that we can come to the Lord with all of our worries and concerns through prayer and petition.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Teaching them about God's mercy through um a real life example.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I have um I'm a member of the mom co, like formerly called Mops, and one of the mentor moms told a story about how she taught her grandson about God's mercy.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they were at McDonald's, and the boy was not supposed to get ice cream until until he ate all his chicken nuggets, and he ran off and played.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um then he came back and wanted ice cream.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then the grandmother said, I'm it was his birthday.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: And the grandma said, Well, you didn't finish your chicken nuggets, but um I'm gonna teach you about God's mercy.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: God Christ bestowed his love on upon us undeserved, and that's what I'm doing for you today, and um letting you have a treat, even so just figuring out if there's ever an opportunity for a real life example to teach about God's mercy.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: I know sometimes there's that Christianese language that children get a little baffled by, um, just kind of making it a little more kid friendly, those big powerful words and praises.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: And living out the fruits of the spirit, um, modeling those for our children to see.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And we have to be connected and in tune with the Lord ourselves in order to fill our children's cups and um lead them to Jesus.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: We have to be in love with Jesus for ourselves, for them, because they're gonna notice um if you're truly in love with God or or not, if what you know, how you live is the most your strongest weapon.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: They learn by example, don't they?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they learn by example, and that's like your most powerful tool in discipleship is um just living like Jesus and loving God for yourself and getting in the word and utilizing prayer and scripture, and um we can pray for our children's hearts um to become soft to receive the word of God each day and to receive Jesus, and that's a huge prayer.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um just and on my website, I have a list of verses that you can pray over your children.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's scripture that we can use to pray over our children that's really powerful.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so those are just a few ideas I have um that have helped me um disciple my little kids.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And um I know those things will grow and change and adapt as children get older, but I think just setting a firm foundation is so important.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget the importance of community.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um there is an Awanas in my area that I'm looking into for my kids.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I did awanas when I was a child, and it was such a powerful tool tool that aided me in memorizing scripture.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: They say it takes a village to raise a child and just leaning in on community when you can to um fill them with God's love through church, and maybe there's an awanas in your area, whatever it is.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, just don't forget there's other people too that can help you that want to help you.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, important.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna say a prayer for us.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and thank you so much for listening today.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, awesome.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, please do.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, well, dear Jesus, thank you for your great love.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the gift of your precious blood and uh please make make us holy and make us new and create in us pure hearts that want to do your will and live holy and fully for you, and um equip us as parents, equip us as moms and parents and leaders in our children's lives that we would be good examples in Christ um for them, God.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Help us to be diligent in prayer and reading the Bible for ourselves and help us be diligent and faithful and impressing your word, the gospel upon their little hearts and their minds, and just sanctify us as parents and we pray that you would just keep our our children, bless them and keep them, and that you would make their your face shine upon them and be gracious to them all the days of their life, God.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Fill them with your love and we pray against the schemes of the enemy and their lives, God, and we would just pray your fortress around them that we could equip them to seek you through life storms and that they would learn dependence fully on you, God.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: That you can do all things, um, that we can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength and power.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And we just pray that we would raise up godly men and men and women who would be spiritual leaders and who would lead other people to Christ too, God.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: We pray that not only they would accept you, but that they would um they would preach your name and be leaders for you, Jesus.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And we pray these things over their hearts and their lives.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Equip us as parents and give us the right words to say, God.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many things that we do wrong and we fail at each day, but we just pray your grace and your mercy and your love upon us and your favor, God, be with us as we parent these children in your name, Jesus.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: Alex, thank you for praying for our listeners and sharing.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, those are just uh awesome points for us to keep in mind as parents and grandparents.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I just want to direct our listeners to your website.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's beautiful, and you have so many great resources on there for moms, um, including a link to your book, A Place of Grace, which I'm reading now and I'm loving it.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I really appreciate the format of it, um, especially the uh steps.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I have it right here, steps of faith at the end where you include, you know, just really simple, easy to implement ideas.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um you have links to resources as well in in the back, but really just simple ideas to implement that I think you know will help moms with their own well-being as well as their family's well-being.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I just really encourage people to check out your website and your book.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, I noticed you have a free email devotional as well.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So all of those links are going to be in the show notes.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: So highly recommend listeners that you check it out.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you again so much for being here on the show, Alex, and just sharing your heart and some real practical things parents can do to disciple their kids.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, thank you so much, Karen.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's the daily process that we can just endeavor and have grace for ourselves along the way because it is a challenge to stay diligent in the throes of everyday life.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: But if we can just keep at it, our children will know that it is important and um they'll adopt God's love for themselves.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: We hope and pray.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, like like we were talking about, example is is huge.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so staying close to Jesus and our own walk, so important.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you again, Alex and listeners.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us today.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Again, be sure to check out the show notes for books, links, and resources that we've discussed.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And join us next week for another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Until then, have a blessed week.