A lot of our episodes are very hard-hitting on a topic so we thought that we would do an episode that is practical and encouraging!

Today’s episode is about not growing weary in doing good.

The truth is that parenting can be wearisome and exhausting and we have experienced this ourselves but life can also affect you and make you feel weary.

Today we wanted to encourage you to keep on keeping on with courageous parenting because the reality is that parenting is exhausting but when you are parenting against the tide of culture and you are doing things biblically it can be even more wearisome.

Not only will your decisions as a courageous parent contradict the culture but sometimes being a courageous biblical parent will even go against the tide of the Christian community and people at your church. And that is when it gets the hardest because you can begin to feel alone and people may call you extreme but if you are being extreme for Jesus then praise God!

We have felt these things many times in the past and it is important to understand why you are going against the tide because if you are doing it for the wrong reasons it can be very destructive and could mean that maybe you have a little bit of pride.

If there are two choices and one is good and one is great for the benefit of your kids but the great one is much harder what should we do? Take the harder path, and this can be very, very difficult to do if you don’t have people by your side who trust you and support you.

So, in this episode, we are going to share with you some of our hardest and weary times as parents and how we have encouraged each other to keep going in the past. We hope that this will be encouraging and fruitful for you and your journey as parents!

Sometimes people will say to us “wow, eight kids, that is so beyond what we have ever thought of or what God is doing in our family that it’s not as relevant to us” and guess what, we thought the same thing about big families many years ago! We never thought we would have this many kids but are so beyond grateful that God has blessed us with each one of them. We believe wholeheartedly that God has a different plan for each family and whether you have one child or twenty this episode is very relevant to you!

Maybe you have two kids and you are feeling weary, guess what, we have felt that too! Maybe you have three, four or six kids and are feeling weary, we have felt what you are feeling and that is why we have felt called to discuss this topic.

God’s word is relevant to all of us regardless of how many kids we have. The legacy you are leaving has less to do with how many kids you have and more to do with how you are disciplining the kids you do have.

1We shouldn’t just have a bunch of kids just to have a bunch of kids. We need to be aware of the responsibility God has given us and be purposeful with it whatever the responsibility may be.

So let’s jump into it!

Don’t Grow Weary in Doing Good

Challenging but Fruitful
What’s the Purpose?
How to Have Endurance

1. Challenging but Fruitful

Galatians 6:6-9 says “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
So, parenting is an incredibly good thing in God’s eyes. And guess what, we are parenting his children! And we have a responsibility to raise the next generations to know and love God their father.
Often the more fruitful you are the more you have gone through challenges. Growth happens in the valley when life is hard and unforgiving.
We have a jealous God who wants our devotion and our attention. If we are glorifying God in the challenges and earnestly seeking him when things are hard and then when things are good and easy we don’t give him as much attention don’t you think that God will want to give us more challenges?
John 15:1-4 says “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
John 15:11 says “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Pruning is necessary for the best fruit. It is important to ask ourselves what things we need to cut out of our lives or sacrifice to put more energy towards the more important things like raising our kids. What do you have in your life that is distracting you and making you feel like you can’t make the great decisions instead of the good decisions or less than good decisions?
God tells us in john that apart from him we can do nothing. So, it’s important to ask ourselves if we are trying to bear fruit apart from God because if we are then we need to change and recognize that without him we can do nothing.
When we have fruit often we want more fruit which is a good desire! We should always desire for our children to be more obedient more loving and grow more in their relationships with God but often when we press forwards for more fruit it gets challenging and most people run away from challenges and don’t end up reaping the reward. When we understand this and recognize that when we press forward for more fruit that there will be challenges ahead of our mindset changes and we are more capable of walking through the challenges that will come.
The more challenges we go through the more our capacity grows and the more it grows the more challenging tests become but the fruit that comes from them will be even greater.
God doesn’t give us challenges for no reason, he gives them to us so that we can grow, which is why it is so vital that we ask ourselves why we are going through a hard time so that we can learn the lesson that God has for us and not have to go through the same trial again!
Isaiah 40:11 says “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.”

2. What’s the Purpose?

The purpose is to glorify God in our marriage, in our parenting and ultimately in every area of our lives.
It is important to know our why because when things are challenging if you can’t remember why you are doing what you are doing then you will most likely end up settling for good or less than good.
We do not expect everyone to do things the way we do them, for example, if you decide to stop homeschooling that’s not giving up or quitting. We just want to encourage you to ask yourself why you are making such a decision, because the why is what matters.
James 1:12 says “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
James 1:2-6 says “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”
This is our why. We are tested so that we may be made perfect and complete. Trials are given to us to refine us and to strengthen us.

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3. How to Have Endurance

You need to have a gameplan for when you are weary because parenting is a long game. You need to invest in your marriage so that when things are hard your marriage is strong enough to stand against any trial that might come your way.
Yes, the men should be the spiritual leaders but that does not take away from the importance of the wife leading the kids or cherishing her husband. If you feel loved and cherished when your husband pursues yo then he feels the same way when you pursue him.
You need to communicate to your spouse the things that make you feel cherished and the areas that he or she may be lacking because the reality is that your spouse is probably wired differently and the only way to be able to understand each other ids to communicate.
Philippians 3:12-14 says “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
When all your kids are under seven it can be daunting but you must remember that if you parent well when they are young eventually your kids will rise to the occasion and become your helpers.
Philippians 4:6 says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
We are not called to be fearful and we should all stand against fear-based parenting. If you struggle with anxiety then bring it before the Lord just as Philippians 4:6 says and his peace will come upon you if you have faith.
Matthew 11:28-30 says “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
If you go through life alone without fellowship and God you are very limited on what you can do to create fruitfulness. No one can run the race alone.

Scripture In This Episode:

Galatians 6:6-9 – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

John 15:1-4 – “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

John 15:11 – “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Isaiah 40:11 – “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.”

James 1:12 – “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

James 1:2-6 – “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”

Philippians 3:12-14 – “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

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