Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / Interview with Award-Winning Children's Author, Mistie House

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Interview with Award-Winning Children's Author, Mistie House · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: 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_00: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices for both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: 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_00: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your show host, Karen Ferguson, and today we're talking with Misty House, author of the children's book series The Father's Love.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Misty is an everyday Christian woman who is a loving wife, creative mom, and child of God.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Along with being an award-winning author, she's an illustrator and host of the Beloved Bride Podcast.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Her passion is guiding God's children to walk with the king through her testimony, teaching, and storytelling.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Misty loves spending quality time with family and friends, sharing her stories, speaking at events, and vacationing with her spouse and children.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: She lives in Texas with her amazing husband and is a mother of two precious daughters, her shining jewels.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show, Misty.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: I love doing author interviews and I'm so excited for this one.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have several questions for you today that will help our listeners get to know you and your books, and then one parenting question at the end.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just going to jump right in with the first question.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, Misty, tell us about your book series, The Father's Love.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: What inspired you to write this series?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, first of all, I just want to say thank you for having me.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's an honor and privilege to be here.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: But so the Father's Love series is all about the followers of Christ embracing their royal identity as children of God.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: And it's centered on 1 John 3:1.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Look with wonder at the depth of the Father's marvelous love that he has lavished on us.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: He has called us and made us his very own beloved children.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: The reason the world doesn't recognize who we are is that they didn't recognize him.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: So these books in this series are all, they're an allegory of the believer's journey to the kingdom and our adoption in Christ.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: So The Father's Princess was the first book God called me to write and illustrate.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it has such a beautiful and powerful message of our identity in Christ.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: So Princess Daisy is a lonely orphan who's adopted by the king and transformed into a princess.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a true fairy tale for all God's children.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I love this story so much that I wanted all of God's children to be able to relate to it.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I knew I had to create a boy's version of the story.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I created The Father's Fisherman, the story of the faithful follower.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And the overall message in both books is all about saying yes to Jesus, choosing to accept him, to follow him, and then going out, sharing your testimony of how you've been transformed, telling others about the king and the father's great love, and inviting others to come and meet him for themselves.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: And this is our story as believers and disciples.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: When we accept him, we're adopted into his royal family.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: We begin our faith journey into the kingdom, living as God's beloved children.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: And the third book in the series is The Princess and the Christmas Gift.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: And this is just a sweet Christmas story that is a continuation of Princess Daisy's loving relationship with her father, the king.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I added a special character, Toby, based on my Yorkie puppy.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: So he's a real character.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a wonderful lesson on forgiveness.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just an enchanting tale about celebrating the Christmas season and appreciating all the wonderful gifts from God, like salvation, adoption into his family, and forgiveness.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that that sounds amazing.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And what's an important message, you know, that our kids need to hear, uh, especially these days, with so much confusion, you know, in our identity.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, and the books are beautiful.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Do you do you illustrate all of your books yourself?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I do.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you very much.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's quite a challenge, but so it's so fun.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's very exciting.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: I love that part of it, seeing the story come to life.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I just that is awesome.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, as an author, if I could do that myself, I mean, how cool, you know, really to have both of those talents, you know, the illustration as well as the writing.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's those are gifts for sure.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, well, so you have eight books published, is that correct?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, awesome.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, what has been the most rewarding aspect of your career so far?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Without a doubt, the honor and privilege of sharing Jesus and glorifying my Father.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, more than anything, I want my words and work to help guide God's children to walk with the King through my testimony, teaching, and storytelling.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I've won numerous awards, I've received five-star reviews from Readers Favorites for each of my children's books.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been given wonderful opportunities to speak at events and share my stories, and I'm so incredibly grateful for each of them.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: But it's not about me.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's about pointing people to Jesus and sharing my stories for his glory out of a love response.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Here's a quote from my women's book, Emergence.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: True love always finds a way to express itself.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: So my books are an expression of my love for God and devotion to him.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to share Jesus with this dark world and help expand his kingdom and shine his light.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, occasionally I get to see the fruit of my labor.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: People share with me how my books or my message impacted them or their children or grandchildren, and that's so encouraging to me.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: I love those precious moments.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Their words truly bless me.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: As an author, and you're you probably can relate to this, most of the time you sow the seeds, but don't get to witness the harvest.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's in the secret place, the sacred garden between them and God.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: But when I do get a glimpse of that work, I reap the benefits as well because I feel like I'm making the difference in people's lives and stewarding the gifts and talents the Lord has given me.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And that brings me great joy and satisfaction.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: But above all, but above all, I pray one day to hear his words.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Well done, good and faithful servant, to do the will and the work of my father.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's the ultimate reward.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's beautiful.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: I highly recommend parents um check out Misty House, her website and her books.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: They are beautiful with just such a needed message and a special message for our kiddos these days and in this season and and this generation.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I just I can't recommend it enough, but where would be the best place be to get your books?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Is it your website or do you recommend Amazon?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Either one, my website is Mistyhouseauthor.com, and that's Misty with the IE.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that will direct you to the links to Amazon.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: You can certainly go directly to Amazon.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: For some reason, Amazon has a hard time recognizing me as an author, even though I have an Amazon page, but my name confuses Misty House confuses Amazon.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's almost easier to type in a title of my book to find me, or um you can also go to my website or Google my name and that will get you there.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: And we will have your website in the show notes.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's great.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then just for fun, um, if you could have any of your book characters come to life for a day, who would it be and what adventure would you go on together?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's easy because I feel like it's already happening.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: So Princess Daisy, the father's princess, um this story originated with God giving me a vision of how he sees me.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been on an adventure with God ever since.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: So just quickly, I'll give you a short testimony.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: So in 2014, I before I even knew I was going to start writing books, one day after the church service, I went forward to receive prayer for physical and emotional healing.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: And the pastor asked me to ask God a question.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: God, how do you see me?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: And in that moment, I was like, okay, I don't know if I want to ask God this question because I was just I was going through a difficult ceiling of um season and God was just working on me and healing me from some of the wounds of my past.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: And but anyway, I asked God the question, God, how do you see me?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw a vision of a little girl in a field of white flowers, and she had long golden blonde hair with little curls on the end.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: She was wearing a white sundress, and the sun was just shining down on her.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: She was glowing, she had the biggest smile on her face, and her arms were stretched outright wide, and immediately just tears just started streaming down my face because it was the most beautiful picture I'd ever seen.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I was expecting to see a vision of how I saw myself or how I felt in that moment.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: And instead, I saw this radiant, radiant child.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just this epiphany, this moment of because, in many ways, although I was saved as a child, I had been living sort of like a spiritual orphan, feeling like a nobody.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: And in my books, The Father's Princess and The Father's Fisherman, the king asked both children, what do they call you?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: And they say, They call me nobody.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: But this was a vision that God gave me.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: He was showing, I am not a nobody, I am royalty.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: This is how he sees me, as his white daisy, pure and innocent as a child.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so, one more question, another question, how does she feel?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, light, free, and joyful.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then they asked me to ask God, what is he saying to me?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I felt that he was saying he's always been there.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: I was never alone, even through the difficult times, he was always with me.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so, about a year later, God called me to write a story based on that encounter with him.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so I knew Princess Daisy would be the name of the princess in my story.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: She's a representation of myself based on my own personal encounter with the Lord, but it's it's more than that.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's a story for all of God's children.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I believe first God showed me how he sees me, then he called me to help others see themselves as his children.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm living my character, just like in the book.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so thankful for all the king has done for me.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going out, sharing my testimony, inviting many to come and meet the king for themselves.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: And following Jesus into the places and plans he has prepared for me has been the greatest adventure of my life.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that is such a beautiful testimony.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing that with us.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, what an important message of God's love.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: I often have to remind myself, you know, there's nothing I could do or not do that would make him love me any more or any less because he is love.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's sometimes it can be hard to grasp, you know, just how much he loves us, but to have that vision with the Lord, what a special thing.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: And now you're able to share that message with kids.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing that.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And before we close today, Misty, I do have one more question that'll be helpful for parents.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, what advice would you give parents who are trying to raise children to live out their faith in today's culture?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: What a great question.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say remind your children who they are in Christ.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: So our culture is facing an identity crisis, and the enemy is attacking children and family and marriage.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I never would have imagined that children would identify as this or that.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's heartbreaking to me.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: One thing we did for my daughter when she was little was ask her before school each morning, Audum, who are you?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: And her response every time, God's child.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so we prayed this over both of our children.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, my my children are growing up.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: My youngest is a senior, and my oldest has graduated college.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: She's 25, but they'll always be my little princesses.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I would just say, pray over your children.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: Pray they will know their true royal identity in Christ.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Pray scriptures like Acts 26, 18, that God would open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: Remind them that they're holy and set apart for such a time as this and that they're never alone.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: God is with them and the Father loves them.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe your children haven't yet received Christ.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: Continue, you pray Acts 26.18 over them, that they would accept Him and turn to Him.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: And just encourage them to keep following Jesus and seek to imitate Him, not the things of this world.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Pray that God would empower and equip them for their faith journey and that they would resist temptation to go their own way and instead follow the way, the truth, and the life.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I've written these books.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I pray that my books will be powerful instruments and tools to help children remember who they are, to embrace their royal identity in Christ, to see themselves the way God sees them, and to see God as their loving father.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Great advice and such an important message.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Misty, thank you so much for being here today and uh been a pleasure talking with you.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you, listeners, for joining us.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to check out the show notes for Misty's books and website links and join us next week for another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Have a blessed week.