Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:01 Father, thank you for today. Bless your church with an overflow of heavens your children. Amen. Good morning church. Um, I was meant to be here with my lovely wife and daughter, but she fell sick, terribly sick, um, last night. And so, um, my wife is home taking care of her and you know, when they are sick, we're up all night. Um, I was asked to talk about the things, um, that parenting has taught me about God and when she feels sick, I immediately thought I'm up all night. So when I'm not, well, God is probably there in my suffering, cuz I'm also not only a parent, but a son to the, all my team. And that comes from Isaiah 63, verse nine.
Speaker 0 00:00:55 I'm only, um, a newbie parent, uh, only be a, been a parent, a biological one for two and a half years. Uh, but parenting is much more than just, uh, having your own child. Uh, the definition of parenting could be mother could be father. It could be to produce, but it is also to act as a parent. And for many of you, you would have either niece or your brother who has a child or you've, you've taken care of someone's child. And so in effect, everyone is a parent in one way or the you done. And so for this, um, talk today, my inspiration comes from Genesis 1 26 to 28 and it reads, then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over everything creeping think, um, that Crips on the earth. So God created man in his image in the image of God, he created him, male and female. He created them and blessed them. God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, feel the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and everything that moves on it. A second passage, just like it is Genesis one to five.
Speaker 0 00:02:34 When God created, man, he made him in the likeness of God, male and female. He created them and blessed them and named them man. And when they, and when, when they were created, when Madam had lived the hundred and 30, he fathered a son in his own likeness after his image and named himself, the days of Adam after he fathered, Seth were 800 years and he had other sons and daughters. These thus the days of that AAM lived were 930 years and he died. I'm gonna be talking on a few points and the very first one is gonna be image unlikeness. I don't need to remind anyone that a good parent should always behave well because children look up to you. They would behave well if you behave well. But it's also a mandate from the passages. I've read to create an image of the father or of the parent in the do in the ch in the children.
Speaker 0 00:03:43 One, one great example is my daughter runs around the house. She'll pick up the stethoscope, um, and try to listen to the heart rate or the heartbeat. And, and that's a good, that's a good example. Um, looking up to the mother and, and trying to emulate what she does at work, but she also uses YouTube. And so anything could come on YouTube and you can see her behaving sometimes or making references to things in YouTube. Parenting has just become more than just what it it's meant to be. Um, either a friend, a co-parent or a nursery taking care of your child, but it's involved technology, but it is, it is very important because this mandate ensures that we make an image of the father in heaven. And so if you behave like your heavenly father has taught you then your child and would take on that mandate. And you, you can see in Adam's story where he takes on that mandate and gives birth to a child in his likeness and in image.
Speaker 0 00:04:58 But our heaven father knows that we are not perfect at the parents. And so he sends Jesus and then Jesus comes to set the example, Jesus, and the father are one, your children and you are one, a good example is you would have friends, for example, who would go to your daughter or to your son, oh, you remind me of your mother, either in their mannerisms or in the way they do things or in the way they talk, they humble themselves. And so you've got to be watchful of what you say, what you teach your children. This is important in breaking generational curses as well. I take, for example, my dad St. Drinker, but because I know that my heaven father, um, it's perfect. And not my father. I said to myself, I cannot be like him. And so teach your children the way to go. And so that even if you feel fought at, they know to look onto the heavenly father and not always to look onto you, the second, um, point I'm gonna make is God's timing is always right. And he's always watching when you have a child and many of you who have parented children will know that there are ages where you keep an eye out. You've got to be watchful. Um, my daughter was like I said, was sick. And this night, every time she coughed, I knew it was about to, she was about to throw up. So I was keeping a watchful eye, but again, I'm not perfect. There were times I dozed off and she actually threw up on me
Speaker 2 00:06:45 <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:06:48 But Genesis 28, 15 reminds us that I will be, I am with you. And I watch over you wherever you go. He's more than just a better watcher. He cancels us as well. In some 32 verse eight, he's canceling us with a loving eye. The third point is like this children have faith, the kind of faith, God demonstrates the kind of faith God wants you as parents to have. When I stand down the stairs and say, Leanna jump, my daughter's name is Leanna. By the way, she jumps without even looking, she's trustful that I'm gonna catch her. She is trustful that when she cries out to me, I'm gonna sort the problem. And, and when she's doing things without me knowing she goes quiet. I know to look up to and check on, on her. I'm always there a hundred percent of the time. But unlike me, God is always there. He's always watching, put it better. That faith is like what Jesus describes in Luke 18. Let the children come to me for the kingdom of God is such as these. There are boundless trust in their parents. Again, reminding us to be like, God,
Speaker 0 00:08:20 God is love and knows what's best for us. When my daughter asks for sweets a hundred percent of the time, which she does. And, uh, for lollies after giving her a few, I go, no,
Speaker 0 00:08:37 It's easy for us to say no, but when God tells us, no, sometimes we'll find it really hard, but he knows that you need to take care of your teeth. And so God knows best when you don't have the yes, all the time, but he listens. That's what is important. If you fathered a child or you've parented a child or mother to child, you know that they get messy, really messy, but even when you are tired, you get to clean up the mess. We are sons and daughters of the heavenly father. We are messy. We mess up a lot of the times and God is always there to clean up our mess.
Speaker 0 00:09:28 I'm gonna end with this little prayer asking God for wisdom as children of the most high, you can always find wisdom in children. That kind of wisdom that your heavenly father expect of you as a parent. More importantly, if you remain in the image of the heaven father, your children will remain in your image and in the image of the heaven father as well. I hope this is a message that would resonate with you and would be able, you'll be able to use this power, this mandate to break every form of generational curse that has been lingering around your family. You know what best it is. Thank you. Let us pray, father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your spirit. Thank you for your image, grace, us with your presence, grace, us with your wisdom. Let us make, let us be an image of heaven in Jesus name. Amen.
Speaker 3 00:10:36 Fantastic. Why don't you both quickly introduce yourself. And when was the first time you came to this church? How long have you, how long have you been around?
Speaker 4 00:10:45 Hi everyone. Oh, is it on, um, morning? I'm Andy? Um, I've been coming since 2010. Um, I originally was a student at the university. Um, and then, um, after my undergraduate degree I met Luke stayed, got married and I'm still here.
Speaker 3 00:11:02 Yeah. Fantastic. So 12 years at the church coming as a student, Luke.
Speaker 5 00:11:06 Yeah. I, um, I've been coming to rediscover for about 15, 16 years. So yeah, a little while. So I'll be honest. It's been a minute since I've been on stage, I'm a bit nervous. <laugh> so forgive me for that. But yeah, we, um, we actually met in church, um, nine years ago and been married for seven and here we are.
Speaker 3 00:11:25 Fantastic. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. So couple of quick questions for you. First one, what does parenting talk, talk to you about God and about your faith walk.
Speaker 5 00:11:36 I think first off that God's got a sense of humor <laugh> so, um, I think there's loads from what I've learned as being a parent, it really changed your life when you have kids. And I think straight off the bat, I think for me it was about God's protection. So like one of the things happened recently was Mia was at school and got hit by a spade. And I remember saying to, to NAND, is it bad to wanna beat up a five year old <laugh> but no, the, the father, heart of God where you just, you just love your kids and you'd do anything for him. And even the, the aspect of protecting them when they don't even realize they're being protected. So I think that's probably the number one for me.
Speaker 4 00:12:18 Yeah. For me, it's the unconditional love. Um, I honestly don't think there's anything she could do say be that would change how I feel. I don't think I've loved anyone apart from God and Luke. Um, as much as I love Mia, she is literally like the most amazing, perfect person in the whole world. And, and that's just the snippet in comparison to how God feels about us and about me. It's incredible. The love is absolutely incredible. And know what, like it's not something I can explain or either even understand. So for me, that is definitely it unconditional love. Yeah.
Speaker 5 00:12:52 That's
Speaker 3 00:12:53 Good. Fantastic. And, and how do you weave your faith into your parenting?
Speaker 5 00:12:58 <laugh>
Speaker 4 00:12:59 Prayer <laugh> um, when Mia was, uh, when she, when I was pregnant, um, I have really bad anxiety. Well, I'm, it's a challenge and being a mom, wasn't something I thought that I'd be able to do. Um, and so we would pray. We pray twice every day when I was pregnant every single day and parenting for me, I couldn't live without God. It's a daily battle, like praying and just trusting God, you know, that she'll be protected. That she'll be, um, she'll walk in faith that she will have great influences around her. So for, for me personally is prayer every single day. Um, a day doesn't go by where I don't say God, please let her be okay at school, let her meet the right friends. Uh, she grows up, makes she have great people around her. So yeah, that's how I do it.
Speaker 3 00:13:49 Fantastic. Luke, how about you? How do you weave faith into your
Speaker 5 00:13:52 Parenting? Um, I think it's a bit of a journey. So one of the things I think the aspect of all parents should be is you live out your faith in front of your kids. And so they see who you are in God, because I think ultimately they take on aspects. You don't even realize. So as you're going through your day and you're showing her how to interact and, and live with your life with God, mm-hmm <affirmative>, um, she sees all those things. I mean, when we first taught her to pray, it's heart, heart warm, and you sort of sit there and yeah, she's the little ends together and saying, Jesus, I love you. And I want to be with you and God will protect us and trying to teach some of those aspects of God's protection and love over her life. And you know, <laugh> not being shy. <laugh> so, but yeah.
Speaker 4 00:14:37 And just add what Luke said about living out our faith in front of her. Um, we love to sing. We, Luke plays a couple instruments. We sing as a family. Um, and I didn't realize that Mia, well, I didn't realize I sing naturally at home and worship music and then there'll be odd days. I would hear her while she's in the bathroom, get ready for school and she'll start singing. Jesus loves, you know, Jesus, or she'd sing a worship music. I've had, you know, I've had on and that's when it hits me. Oh my gosh. Like she's literally, she's emanating us. She's looking at what we're doing and how important it is for us to live out our faith in front of prayer. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:15:10 Fantastic. And what's your prayer for me and your prayer, really? For every, every kid in this church, as, as they're growing in, in, you know, naturally, but also in their faith with God,
Speaker 4 00:15:21 Um, that they will find him in their own way. I mean, I, in my family, my mother is a very, I mean, I've come from a family that believes in the Lord anyway, but actively my mom, my grandparents, but they never force that on me. So I kind of developed my relationship with God on my own. And I think for all kids, I just really pray that they, they have that relationship with him. They just meet him in a deep and fulfilling way on their own, because then it's, it's, it's sustainable. It stays with them throughout their lives. So
Speaker 5 00:15:53 I think for me, it's about praying of protection over them. You know, as the world becomes darker and, and things are going wrong, I think protection over our kids is a massive thing. So just praying every day that God would protect them for the evils and things that happen in these world.
Speaker 3 00:16:10 Why don't we put that into action? One, one of you or both of you just pray that prayer over, over our congregation, over our kids and over me.
Speaker 6 00:16:17 Okay.
Speaker 4 00:16:19 Heaven father. We come before you this morning, Lord giving you all the praise, all the glory and all the thanks Lord, we thank you for our children. Lord, we pray that you just cover them from the crown over, over their heads, to the souls of their feet. Lord, your word says in John 14, that if we ask anything in your name, you will do it. So Lord, we know that you are ground protection over our kids. Lord protect them spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally father may. None of the enemy schemes have a hand in their lives. Lord, we pray that you will take full divine control, bring great influences around them, father, God, Lord, we pray that you will direct their paths. Father give them direction and guidance Lord, as they go there, go about their days. Lord, we pray for their parents that they will walk out their faith in front of their kids so that these children will know that you are a good God and you are always there. You're never too far away. Lord, we thank you for their lives. And we pray again today. Have your way in Jesus name over our little children. Amen. Amen.
Speaker 3 00:17:10 Amen. And amen. Let's give Luke Amir a big round of applause. Thank you so, so much what mics to thank you and NA thank you Luke. So appreciate that. Good to have your OPPI. Thanks. Um, that was it. We've been asked the same question. What are the things that our parenting has taught us about God? So we've just over the last week have been thinking through those lessons and those learnings that our parenting journey has had, um, for our faith journey.
Speaker 3 00:17:48 There's a colleague of mine at work who regularly says to me, Andrew business would be easy if it wasn't for the staff and for the clients. And I dunno about you, but parenting sometimes feels like the same. You can read the books, you can speak the frameworks. You can understand the language, but parenting becomes very, very difficult when there's children involved. Um, and that wasn't one of mine. I promise. Um, they've done things almost the same. This actually reminds me of probably the most stressed I've ever been in my life, which was on a flight to Romania, was our first flight ever with the kids. Danny was 18 months old, 300 people on the plane and the ear, the air pressure got her ears. She climbed under the seat behind us, held on for dear life and screamed until she was sick <laugh> and it was a <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:18:43 It was a wonderful experience. And I remember getting off that plane, absolutely frazzled feeling like every fiber in my body was exhausted. I think I went and lied down for about four hours afterwards just to recover. Anyway, let's move quickly on from this slide, cause it's giving me flashbacks. Um, let's read this out. This is from Hebrews. The message says, do you see what this means? All these pioneers who blazed the way all these veterans cheering us on, it means we'd better get on with it. Start running and never quit, no extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race. We're in study how he did it because he never lost sight of where he was headed. That exhilarating finish in and with God, he could put up with anything along the way. And today we're talking about journeys and we're talking about races and we're talking about sports and we understand the historical context of this.
Speaker 3 00:19:42 You know, the fact that there is that great cloud of witnesses. People have gone before us, but also anyone who's parenting in this place, you're parenting in front of a, a group of people. And sometimes that feels like it's wonderfully supportive and sometimes it feels like you could be the most in the most vulnerable place possible. I don't know about you, but sometimes I see families turn up at church and they look exactly like this everything's perfect. 4.2 children all dressed in the nines, but I promise you if it's our household, then about an hour beforehand, it looked very, very, very, very different. It was the case of training those velociraptors to get in the right place in the right seat.
Speaker 3 00:20:19 My daughter's not very, not very impressed for that metaphor. Um, and so when we start thinking about the learnings we've had, um, on this parenting journey, the first thing that I think I've I've learned through the process of parenting is how our parenting journey and our faith journey is full of ups and downs. It's full of real highs and it's full of real lows. Sometimes those can come really close together. Hey, the moment where we think we've got it all together is usually about 30 seconds before there's an utter meltdown. Um, and we lose all sense of reality. And we were thinking back and some of you who know us well might have heard this story before. So I apologize, but it certainly is a good example of a high and a low really close together. Um, about four years ago, we were taking a holiday in France.
Speaker 3 00:21:00 So a wonderful holiday. We've done it several times since we go to the lair valley and take our canoes, go with another Christian family that we're good friends with. And we just paddle down the lair for about a hundred kilometers for about 5, 6, 7 days. And every night it's a cheap holiday. We just camp on the beach and go to sleep. We, we cook our own food. We, you know, just carry in the canoe. Anything we've got to live off for those five or six days, pull into a village to get some more bread or, or water or wine and make sure we carry on down the wire of the course of those five or six weeks. And this was one of those nights. Um, we, you can see here, we were just, idyllically weaving down the river, passing some wonderful villages. Each night was looking a bit like this, putting up the tents, usually just a few inches above the waterline.
Speaker 3 00:21:43 You can see where this is going, um, on sand, very poor foundations, um, and just leaving our stuff around and on this particular night, something happened. And on the next slide you can see, I, I saw was seeing it in, in the top corner of the mobile phone that comes up next at 1 37 in the morning. This was a front that came through France, totally UN you know, we totally unexpected if we'd been looking at our phones and been seeing the weather forecast we'd have noticed it, but our phones were in our dry bags at the bottom of the canoe. It was an off device holiday. And what this bit of yellow and red represents is about 120 mile an hour winds. And about 40,000 lightning strikes in that area of France, which meant that we woke up about this time with an almighty storm blowing the, the fire that we'd been cooking on that Mo that that night, um, we'd be down, put sand over the top of it.
Speaker 3 00:22:35 Well, the wind had just blown the whole thing up again. It was a raging fire and it had gone in a different direction. So now we were having burning embers flying in the direction of our tent. Uh, and there were lightning strikes all over the, all over the sky. It was absolutely apocalyptic and rain pouring down. And of course the tents fell over instantly. Some poles snapped and we are sitting in a Bera mess, um, with, with everything soaking wet. And what you can see here is our canoes. These are 17 foot canoes, and one of them just blew 50 yards down the, down the, down the river. Um, so we pulled them back, flipped them over. And here you can see Danny and, and Elliott hiding as we watched the storm pass through, um, and tried to keep our kids safe and away from the water.
Speaker 3 00:23:14 Now that was an unbelievable high and an unbelievable low, everything felt perfect. Everything felt fine. And we were lulled into a full sense of security. And the next, the next morning we woke up soaking wet. In fact, we didn't really sleep. We had a three and a half person tent and there were four adults and five kids and a dog there 10 blew away. So we all slept for two or three hours that morning in this, uh, in this sudden mess. And I can remember we, we went to a cafe cause we thought that's the end of the holiday day five. We're not gonna get back in the canoes again and went to a cafe. And the friends we were with are much more spiritual than us. And so they took that moment to open the Bible and read the parable of the man who built the house and the sand. Oh yeah. And talk that through with our kids. And it became very real in that moment. Um, the challenge and the trepidation. Um, but certainly that's something for me, that's a big learning that life. Isn't always great in our parenting, in our faith walk. There's those highs and those lows, but God is with us through every one of those, whether we think we're doing a great job, taking our family on a great holiday or whether we're putting their lives in danger, accidentally Leanna.
Speaker 7 00:24:17 And definitely, um, I know, I know, um, parents who, who are still praying for their kids to, um, to find God, to encounter God, and it looks like this, uh, but this is our race that we, we keep on praying. We keep on trusting God, and we have no idea what's ahead of us. And this is why we are making room for this today in church, we need each other, we need a church that can support parents and pray, um, pray for those kids to encounter God. Amen. Um, one of the things that I've learned about, about parenting and about this race, um, is that, um, comparison, isn't helpful. <laugh>, it's a sport that I practice regularly comparison and, um, indeed you know, that picture when life isn't great and um, you know, child unit number one and childhood number two, don't behave like you'd like them to, it's easy to compare and think I am the worst mom ever, you know, especially that I, I marched to school to pick up my kids and I will have missed the Easter bonnet parade.
Speaker 7 00:25:18 And I'm the mom that missed it. Oh, your child. That's so great in the Easter bar parade. That is so great on stage. I'm like I missed it. I was just at home five minutes away just forgetting, you know, it's so easy, so easy to compare. And what I've learned about God is that God has chosen me on purpose to be in my kids' lives with all the faults, with everything that is not going right. And indeed everything that I can bring to a parenting conversation is my own mistakes and how God is great is gracious. Um, for sure, we're not here to say how to parent all we have is God's, um, God's word for us and that's our common ground. This is what we are racing for. We have a common goal. Um, and so there's no point ripping each other up by comparing is there.
Speaker 7 00:26:05 And God has, God has a lane for each of us. God has, uh, a tailor made track for each of us to follow and obey him on. And, um, also what Ananda was saying, the love that God has for us is so deep. And especially in those moments when, um, when you just wake up and you, your hair is undone and you haven't brushed your teeth yet, and your, you haven't buttoned up your identity and you haven't started performing and doing what you do best during the day. What people see, that's the place where God loves us in our most basic self. And if we can teach that, if we can teach our kids that if, if that's the moment that we can bring our kids wi to God and have those devotions and have that time, it's just, it's just wonderful. Um, and so what would be the opposite comparison?
Speaker 7 00:26:53 It's getting help. It's this is a team sport. Yeah. Could anybody agree with that? I asked Alan, he's not here today. Um, a and Nikki, they're, they're a sweet couple who are grandparents and they help us with the playgroup. I said, what would you say to, to parents with small kids? What, what would be your top tip unison get help. That was, that was the number one tip. And this is what church is for, is a community. And we can help each other. We can offer prayer. We can offer that kind of support that, that we all need. Andrew, that's you? <laugh>
Speaker 3 00:27:27 Two more minutes, boy. I promise
Speaker 7 00:27:30 <laugh>,
Speaker 3 00:27:32 It's easier as a team sport. Yeah. I, there there's people all across this room that, you know, maybe you have kids right now. Maybe you don't, but everyone in this room benefits from you leaning in and being part of that team and lean. And I are so grateful that that's, that's been our testimony when we are weak together, we're strong.
Speaker 7 00:27:50 And especially that family takes so many different kinds of shapes. Um, there may be single parents. There may be adoptive parents here. There may be, um, you know, but we all have that parenting team. We need a parenting team around us, whoever it is, um, around us that can help raise these kids.
Speaker 3 00:28:07 And then this next slide is really helpful. Leanna put these photos together, not me. Oh yeah. Um, it's about the little moments. One of the biggest learnings for me in my faith journey is that actually, it's not about the big events. It's not about conference Andrew. It's not about soul survivor, Andrew. It's not about that faith journey when I'm on the mountain tops or in those big moments. It's about the little moments day in, day out. Um, I Le learn this every week from my kids, um, asked de I asked de last Saturday, we had a few hours free. What are we gonna do today? What would you, what would you love to do today? Is it going to a party with some friends? Is it going to a football match? Is it this, that or the other? And it's no, I just wanna kick a ball with you in, in the park for three hours. That's what I wanna do. Um, and it's so important. The lesson that I learned from that, the lesson that we learned from that is just as we, as kids wanted time consistency with those around us. That that's what God wants from us. It's that Monday morning, 6:00 AM Andrew, that God wants. It's the 11:00 PM on a Friday night, Andrew, that God wants not just the, the 1130 on a Sunday morning. Not just those moments when we can button up and feel good and turn up all, all, all dressed. Well,
Speaker 7 00:29:15 Yeah. Um, following on from that, you know, something about this, this race that we are in, it is a relay race. It's um, um, let, let's actually look at the, the next scripture. Um, it says, love God, your God, with all your heart, love him with all that's in. You love him with all, you've got, write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts, get them inside of you, and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are sitting at home or walking in the street. Talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. What a wonderful picture of normality. Isn't it? This is, this is us. This is, um, this is what God's calling us to do. So today isn't about how to parent today is about let's look at what God, what God's given us.
Speaker 7 00:30:06 The mandate that we have, and this race is to pass that mandate on to it's a relay like, like mark said, it's a relay race that we pass on something to our kids that they catch of God. So I dunno whether if you ever done the rocking chair exercise, would you imagine yourself, kids all grown up your grandkids all grown up and you think, what would I have liked to have passed on into them? What to have input into them? What would it be? And for most Christian parents, it would be a deep, deep relationship with God, a sense of journeying with God, a sense of adventure with God. And indeed Jesus said, let the children come to me, but how, how do we do that? And this is why there's a, there's a great book that we've, um, um, that we've got and it's at the back back of the church.
Speaker 7 00:30:52 You can, you can buy it today, if you want. We we're gonna do a book club on it, just to talk about how we let the children come to God. How do we do that together? Um, and how do we open up the window of our own journey with God so that they can see and then invite them to, to take a leap of faith and to, to walk with God. It's one of the things that I remember when I was little, is my parents made room for, uh, missionaries to live in our home. And I remember just hearing the sound of them praying in tugs, in tongues, in our, um, in our, in the bedroom where they were. And I remember just crouching outside the door and thinking, God, I feel your presence. This is so good. I didn't know what it was. Um, but, but in our house there was, they would pray for people.
Speaker 7 00:31:33 They would pray for, for the sick to be healed. I saw legs grow. I saw hands grow. You know, I saw the miracles of God, they were worshiping. And I remember the songs I'm walking and leaving and phrasing God there loads of grownups marching around in a little living room, you know, but as a kid, I thought, this is so God, this is God, this is so exciting. And how can I make room for that in my own home? How can I make room for that in my own kids' lives? Um, why don't we, um, if the band could come back on stage, um, would love to sing that song again, to bless the generations. Um,
Speaker 3 00:32:10 One of the wonderful things about what Leonard just said and the example that it teaches me every time I meet Leanna's family is this house she was talking about is a, is a one bedroom department inclusion, Northwest Romania. And you had four brothers and sisters. So five siblings, mom, and dad. And it was the home that was opened when ESCO fell and mission resented the country. It was the home that was opened for everybody to be there. And so we're talking 15, 20 people in that little, tiny apartment, so much fun. Um, so when they had the prayer meeting at 5:00 AM in the 5:00 AM in the morning, everybody could hear it, probably not just their apartment, probably the apartments above and below as well. Um, and sometimes our time, our energy can feel so short, our talent and our gifting can feel so short, but even those moments, just opening that to let God speak through it and to get, let God use it. Um, I just think it's a wonderful example for, for our faith journeys and our own discipleship journeys with others, but also for our parenting that the little we have, we can ask God to, to, to share that and let ask God to inhabit that. Yeah. Um, as we invite him in.
