Building into Tomorrow's Wives and Mothers

Recently I attended a conference, and during one session the presenter quoted some research about the experiences from our youth that shaped our adult faith lives.  Looking around the room, I recognized surprise and shock on many of the faces around me.  The statistic that impacted the crowd the most, probably because it was found to be the biggest faith shaping factor, an adult (other than mom and dad) pouring into and supporting them.  

The shock was lost on me.  For some reason, when I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior just a few short years ago, I recognized and even grieved that my teenage self hadn’t known the Lord.  Almost instantly, I was convinced that if someone near me had been modelling a faith filled life, been loving on me, and sharing the Good News, then I wouldn’t have struggled with depression, my identity, and peer pressure so much.  

I felt so convicted of this fact, that it ignited a fiery passion deep in my heart for the youth today.  It isn't lost on me that my oldest son is embarking on this stage of life also.  Due to our heavy involvement in Boy Scouts, I have already witnessed the power of a man, other than his father, speaking into his life.  I felt the call to be that other woman speaking into the lives of tomorrow’s wives and mothers.  

For the last 3+ years, I’ve walked alongside a core group of 10 young ladies.  Honored to have watched them grow in every facet of their being, I've helped them navigate many questions and circumstances over the years.  I love them; they are family to me, and I to them, family God has provided for us.  Yes, it’s hard to see them struggle with who they are and who God is calling them to be, but because of the investment I’ve made, they trust me to speak into those places.  

The shock, to me, is that people overlook this age group.  Everyone enjoys loving on the infants and toddlers, or maybe singing and dancing with the preschoolers and elementary age kiddos, but the hormone enraged tweens and teens?!?!  People wonder what exactly can they do with them?  Let me tell you!  Being the only girl in my nuclear family, I have enjoyed an annual sleepover, painting nails, watching girly movies, and many many hours of great conversations that have brought me much laughter and a few sweet tears.  It never ceases to amaze me that this group of teenage girls actually wants to hang out with thirtysomething me!  It’s fun, often heartbreakingly sweet and vulnerable, and proven to be life changing for us all.

I am blessed to be in this stage of life that allows me to have the time to invest in them and when many do not have the same opportunity.  My hope is that my story would inspire us all to encourage these types of relationships for our own children and to anxiously await the call to be this person to a teenager in the future.  

- Nanette H.

Covenant Prayer

The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer

Last week, our family meandered the trails behind Deanna Rose Farmstead to visit the mysterious fairy houses sprouting up among the trees. To the east of Switzer, a fairy house boasts a mailbox where kids leave messages that the fairy, R.T., dutifully answers back. To the west of Switzer are two more fairy homes. When we explored the second to the west (just past the bridge and behind the golf course), we opened the tiny red door to discover a basket inside with the fairy's favorite prayer on an emerald green card. It just happened to be my favorite prayer too, and the one I say everyday. The kids were delighted as together we knelt down mid-walk, and read these words aloud:

I am no longer my own, but thine

Put me to what thou wilt

Rank me with whom thou wilt

Put me to doing; put me to suffering

Let me be employed by thee, or laid aside for thee

Exalted for thee, or brought low for thee

Let me be full, let me be empty

Let me have all things, let me have nothing

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal

And now, O glorious and blessed God

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Thou art mine, and I am thine

So be it

And the covenant which I have made on earth

Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

I should have guessed that this mysterious sprite bringing such joy and wonder to the children of Overland Park loved our God, too.

-Wendy Connelly

Walking Prayer

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¹⁸ Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 

Deuteronomy 11:18-19

The walk to school is short one.  We only live a block from our elementary school.  But over the years, I’ve come to realize that those five minutes with my boys can be a time that God can use in our lives.  I have those five minutes between the frantic morning route and releasing them into our neighborhood school to pray with them.

Pray and walk.  Talk and pray.  My prayers aren’t long and if you were watching us as we walk up the hill, you most likely wouldn’t even know that we were talking to our Heavenly Father.  We don’t bow our heads and we never stop moving forward.  However, God says in Deuteronomy ”to teach our children as we walk along the road”, so that is what we do.  And, now that I drive my middle schooler, we pray and drive too.  You can thank me later for not bowing my head or closing my eyes.  We just talk to God and invite him into our day.

Here is what I pray:

Father, be with us today.  Help us to love those around us as You love us.  Build into us the fruit of your Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control.  Be with the teachers and principal and help them do their best.  Use us today to be your hands and feet in this world.

This leads to other conversations too. I find that by quieting our hearts in the morning, the boys open up their thoughts to me so that I can pray for them and continue to raise them into the young men that God designed them to be. 

So together we walk: God, the boys and me.

- Liz S.

Why We Gather

Psalm 105: 1-4

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
  Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
  Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

Since we are starting off our year studying the life of King David and how he lived chasing the heart of God I thought it fitting that we look at this Psalm.  It reminds me of why we set aside Wednesday mornings to come together, and what our ultimate purpose is as a community. 

Our ultimate purpose, like David, is to seek God. 

We seek Him by calling upon his name.

We seek him through worship.

We seek him and our hearts rejoice.

We seek him and gain spiritual strength.

We...his beloved daughters...have the intimate privilege of seeking his face.

Whether tomorrow will be your first step into Mothers Together or the start of your sixth year, David reminds us that we are to seek his face always.  Always.  In case we grow stagnant, in case we assume our own righteousness, in case we fear he doesn't want to be near us, David reminds us that we can step into the presence of the Creator of the universe, Redeemer of our lives, and Heavenly Father and come face to face with him.  I love it when I can look into the eyes of my children and remind them of how loved and adored they are and I think God desires to do the same with us. 

So let's journey together this year and see how this renewing and transformational relationship God is offering us through his own son, Jesus, has ties to a shepherd boy named David, who when God looked at his heart, saw not a father's last choice or a boy fit for sheep tending, but a mighty warrior king purposed to rule God's people.

Excited to seek alongside each of you!

Jena Meyerpeter

A Look Back

My middle daughter is attending her final day in Mothers Together childcare this week.  She’s been reminding me for days that next year she’ll be in preschool and not at “Mommy’s Bible study” anymore.  I’m excited for her to step out into the rigors of academia next year at the ripe age of five, but in reflecting over her past three years attending Mothers Together with me I know she’ll be missing out on experiencing something that has come to be very special to us both.

Every Wednesday she is welcomed into her church home filled with her spiritual moms that have grown to know and love her.  Hand-in-hand we straggle into The Dock bright and early to help set up or prepare for our morning and pouring over her are the sounds of our amazing worship band, Alabaster Box.  Her eyes light up and her dimples deepen when she recognizes the song they’re playing for Jesus. She knows we study The Bible and learn about Jesus in the “mommy’s class”. It’s easy for me to share with her what we’re learning about on our drive home on Wednesday mornings.  Our children know us; the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I know my daughter sees me being authentic with the women I encounter at Mothers Together.  Many lessons in life are better caught than taught and I hope she’s caught the truth that Christ-centered friendships are priceless. I know she may not remember the details of our Wednesday mornings at MT in the years to come, but I pray that the seeds that have been planted by being surrounded by a community of truth seeking, relationship building, and most of all, Jesus loving women will grow into a desire to know this God and keep her chasing after Him her whole life long.  

Our theme verses this year have been from Ephesians 1:17-19, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” and I want to close out our year praying these blessings plant the seeds of desire to know a God who loves us so much that it is pure joy to chase after Him our whole lives long as well.

Father of glory, thank you for the opportunity to know you more personally this year. You have provided a place for us to encounter your spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of you in Mothers Together this year.  I ask that you continue to enlighten the eyes of our hearts as we move forward and know, in the deepest part of ourselves, the hope to which you have called us. Remind us often that as your daughters, our glorious inheritance is rich indeed and teach us how to live out the truth of that promise each and every day. 

Lastly, if you have a nudge or are feeling called to become more involved in Mothers Together we would love to hear from you.  Becoming part of our team is a great way to build relationships and serve God in new and exciting ways.  Contact Tara Gazaway at taragazaway@yahoo.com or Jena Meyerpeter at jmeyer2x4@msn.com for more information.

Jena Meyerpeter

A Willing Heart

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In my vast experience of parenting (about three-and-a-half years), I've learned several valuable lessons: a good game of peek-a-boo goes a long way, Nordstrom has a giant bathroom tucked away on the 3rd floor, perfect for tantruming toddlers and crying babies, and I will be vague, but a third lesson of great value has to do the appropriate way of changing a newborn baby boy's diaper. Honestly, there really is no reason why bodily fluids should be on the walls of a nursery.

But beyond strategies for survival, one of the most important lessons I have learned so far is the value of a willing heart. Something my three-and-a-half year old has been teaching me lately.

She is a high-spirited, passionate little girl. With her passion pointed in the right direction, I see her stand up for what is right, give away her last bite of dessert and share a new toy without having played with it first. And conversely, which sometimes happens on a more frequent basis, we experience meltdown after meltdown after meltdown.

Most recently we had a break through. From a request to finish her green beans at lunchtime, she was sent into a meltdown of sheer agony and turmoil. I firmly, but gently told her she needed to calm down and what she said next changed my heart, just as surely as it was changing hers.

In the midst of gasping for breath between tears and with a hot, red face, she exclaimed, “Mom, I can't calm down!” It's strange, but I could see in her eyes that she wanted to, but physically, she just couldn't do it. Then she frantically requested, “Mom, please help me!”

I didn't know what to do. For some reason, in that moment, all I could think about was Jesus. So we prayed. I've prayed with her before meals and at bedtime, but we've never prayed together during a moment of desperation. I held onto her tightly and prayed out loud for Jesus to calm her heart, to make her feel better and to protect her.

And then she calmed down. I held her for a bit longer until her final tears were gone. And in those moments, all I could think about was my relationship with Jesus. I am His daughter and He is my parent. He doesn't need me to be perfect; He just needs me to have a willing heart. When I make mistakes or when I don't know what to do with my frustration or anger, He just wants me to call out to Him. He wants to hear me say, “I can't calm down! Please help me!”

King David writes in Psalm 119:147, “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.” And in Isaiah, God promises, “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I.”

It is not our actions in which God responds. He is simply looking for a willing heart.

- Rebekah H.

You and Your Child

This wonderful piece was sent in by Tasha and written by Joe White, President of Kanakuk Kamps.


Years ago when my kids were small, I was walking my youngest daughter home after an evening K-Life at Kamp. A splendid display of stars spangled overhead; a gift to enjoy from our Creator.

As Courtney and I marveled at the heavenlies, perhaps ten thousand feet above us we gazed at a jet airplane cruising through the night; its lights brightly visible as it prepared to land at an airport fifty miles away.

"Courtney, see those lights?" I pointed overhead.

She leaned back further. "Yes, Daddy. What is it?"

"It's a jet, Sweetheart. See how bright those lights are?"

"Wow, that's neat!"

Capturing a teachable moment, I continued. "See that brightest star just above the plane? That star is thousands of times brighter than our sun, but it is over ten million light years away, so it looks like a tiny dot in the sky."

"Wow, Dad, that's awesome!"

Just then a lightning bug, only a few feet above us, lit up brightly. It was almost like the startling flash of a camera. Just imagine- a lightning bug, whose tail measures only an eighth of an inch across, outshining an airplane's light that can illuminate a runway or a star that could comparatively make the sun look like a flickering candle.

The principle I observed began to grip me with excitement as I related it to parenting.

For years, my kids were exposed to negative peer pressure at school, anti-family music at their friends' houses, seductive messages on television commercials and a giant assortment of modern-day bad influences. Their world was full of it; all presented in the brightest trappings to light up the eyes of children of all ages. It all looked so appealing and irresistible!

But, I was filled with encouragement when I resolved that amidst the alluring display of illuminating corruptive influences that surrounded my kids, if I could get my "Daddy light" consistently as close to their eyes as possible I would be the brightest lightin their sky!

I know that Jesus' light is the light I want them to see, but Matthew 5:16 lays the wonderful task on my should when it says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds, and glorify, your Father in heaven."

My light may only be a "flicker" compared to the neon fireworks display they faced every day, but the light that is closest is the light that is going to win their hearts for a lifetime!!!

My light; the steady beam of my biblical, old-fashioned, pro-family values may be small, and I knew I would never give it the same seductive dazzle that the media fantasy-makers gave their message. But I knew I would keep my light just a whisper away from those four precious pairs of eyes as they looked for leadership and direction.

Adolescence and pre-adolescence are difficult skies to navigate, but one thing has remained constant in my 40 years of counseling kids; parents who stay close to their kids with meaningful touch, consistent encouragement, participation with the child's activities and most importantly praying and reading the Bible together daily almost always raise the best kids! Kids spell love T-I-M-E!

As your child's skies are filled with neon stars that glitter with temptation, I pray today that your light and God's light will shine ever more brilliantly and that your child will navigate successfully by THAT light through these challenging years that lie ahead!