[SPEAKER_00]: Hey friends, and welcome to a very special, best-of-series here on the Christian Parenting podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: Over the next several weeks, we're going to revisit some of the conversations that have meant the most to our community.
[SPEAKER_00]: The ones that have helped us think more deeply, love our kids more intentionally and root our family is more firmly in Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: So throughout the series, we're going to get really practical about what it means to disciple your kids in everyday moments, investing in their faith at home, letting God's character shape your parenting, building emotional health and strong boundaries, informing character and challenging culture.
[SPEAKER_00]: So whether you're brand new to the podcast or if you've been with us for years, we believe these conversations are worth hearing or hearing again, because parenting with faith, wisdom, and courage is a lifelong calling and none of us are meant to do it alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're so grateful you're here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's dive into today's best of episode investing in your kids' faith with Lisa Clark.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And she recently wrote a devotional just for kids through our partner ministry for 15.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the devotional is called My Time with God.
[SPEAKER_00]: My kids all have a copy in these seriously love it.
[SPEAKER_00]: So today, Lisa and I are talking about all about that.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we cover what it looks like to raise kids in the Christian faith and partner with the church.
[SPEAKER_00]: Managing our time as parents, helping kids prioritize spending time with God, the importance of investing in your own faith and accepting that you're quite time with God might look different depending on the parenting season that you're in.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think you're going to get a lot out of this conversation you're going to love Lisa.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hi Lisa, thank you so much for being here.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's my pleasure.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm excited.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm really excited for our conversation today.
[SPEAKER_00]: We got to chat a little bit before we started recording, and so I think we're just going to have a great time talking all about spending time with God and parenting and resources.
[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you for being here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely, my pleasure.
[SPEAKER_00]: I, yeah, I like to start just jumping right and getting to know my guess a little bit.
[SPEAKER_00]: So can you tell us what your family who I was in your family where you guys are and then use that one word or phrase to describe your opinion.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so we're in Texas.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've born and raised Texan, so I've lived for my whole life.
[SPEAKER_01]: My husband and I have been married almost 37 years Brad.
[SPEAKER_01]: We had two daughters, Caroline and Cameron.
[SPEAKER_01]: And Caroline is raising her family, married, and raising her family in Norman, Oklahoma.
[SPEAKER_01]: She and Brent have a ministry on the OU campus called crossover.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so it's a Tuesday night, Rally on campus.
[SPEAKER_01]: where kids come and worship and listen to a message, my centralized the pastor of that.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's just a great rally in thousands of kids come on Tuesday nights at OU and worship King Jesus.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's pretty amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're very proud of them.
[SPEAKER_01]: They have four sons.
[SPEAKER_01]: Reven, River, Boatie, and a new baby boy, Bray.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, for kiddos, for boys, that they are rising there.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, yeah, it's a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: And a super proud of them.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then my other daughter, Cameron, is raising her family in Dallas.
[SPEAKER_01]: And she and Brett, her husband, have three children, Ezra.
[SPEAKER_01]: Miller and our girl are only girl out of seven grandchildren Austin and they're in the Dallas area and it's nice having them kind of you know well they're 30 minutes from us we're in the suburbs but they're 30 minutes of having them here so I see them a little bit more than the others but yeah so we have seven grandchildren that we adore.
[SPEAKER_01]: and are very involved in you as, you know, what is one word that would kind of describe your family philosophy or you are, and I would say it's committed, obviously committed to Christ but committed to each other.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're in it for the long haul.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that that premise or that idea was set forth by my husband, Brad, who gives 150%.
[SPEAKER_01]: on everything he does, and he was real intentional with raising her daughters.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, yeah, I would think committed would kind of describe who we are as a family.
[SPEAKER_00]: What did that commit?
[SPEAKER_00]: I really like that word.
[SPEAKER_00]: So like, what did that look like when your kids were a little versus now?
[SPEAKER_00]: Has an empty mess?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so it's a different type of commit.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's interesting.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I really think it's interesting for the guys,
[SPEAKER_01]: the man is the breadwinner and working in the maybe the woman is staying at home or even if it's a dual income.
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of times when or other of this process is having to travel and do things and once more focused on raising the kids and doing.
[SPEAKER_01]: that.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I say for Brad, he did travel a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was in sales.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's been in sales this whole career.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, but he was always very intentional with that, with the expectation that he would be home as much as possible.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he had to be there on a Mindy morning, he didn't leave on Sunday night.
[SPEAKER_01]: He would leave on Mindy morning.
[SPEAKER_01]: We taught at an in-home high school Bible study for 20 years in
[SPEAKER_01]: And that was on Wednesday nights.
[SPEAKER_01]: And if he was traveling, if he was on the road, he would come back for Wednesday night.
[SPEAKER_01]: He would be there than he would leave again Thursday morning.
[SPEAKER_01]: When the girls would go on dates, he was up when they got home.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was having conversations with them.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was talking with people with the boys before they went out.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was there when they got home.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I just think it's not.
[SPEAKER_01]: Letting those moments go by like you're in it and you're going to be there in your committed to the situation walking through I mean who wants to walk through a closed or of a middle school girl or boy you know when you know they're in their bedroom dealing with something.
[SPEAKER_01]: And you have to open that door and walk through it and have that conversation that uncomfortable conversation.
[SPEAKER_01]: Or when you see them coming in from the carpool, line from school, and you could tell in their eyes that it has not been a good day.
[SPEAKER_01]: And you can take off, like I'm gonna deal with that, and a few more minutes, or I'm gonna be committed in the moment, ask the hard questions, have the conversations, and deal with it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think it's that philosophy of we're in this together.
[SPEAKER_01]: We are in this together, I'm not going anywhere.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm committed to you, I'm committed to this family, I'm committed to seeing this through.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that gives our kids security and knowing that my parents are willing to get down and dirty with me.
[SPEAKER_01]: They're willing to hear the things that are hard for me.
[SPEAKER_01]: They're willing to have these conversations and that things off the table.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna talk about these things.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna walk through closed doors.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're not gonna let you deal with these things alone.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna be there.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so that's kind of what it looked like as we were raising their kids.
[SPEAKER_01]: We sure felt short in many days and took the easy way out some days and during sometimes.
[SPEAKER_01]: But for the most part, they knew we were on their team.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I love the way you describe that too, just not from your perspective, but your husband.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then just having the partnership that you're in it together as a husband and wife, I think.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just a really great testament to your marriage.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I appreciate sharing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Appreciate that perspective.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, and I've said this a lot, I do a lot of speaking, and I credit Brad with how our girls turned out.
[SPEAKER_01]: I know I played a big role in it, but he was an incredible father, and still is, and not perfect, but incredible.
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, we're not going for perfect here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Perfectly and perfect,
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, and then I always ask my guests, we kind of touched on it, but if there's anything else you want to add, what is one thing that you want every parent to know?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you're raising sinners.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of, you know, my thing here because we're sinners raising sinners.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we need to be reminded that every child
[SPEAKER_01]: is born into this and has it bent towards sin, some more than others, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: So, some of our better sinners than others.
[SPEAKER_01]: But my thought here is that we can't take it personally because they were born into this.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so our job is to help them, no God, to love God, and to love God in his ways more than they're sin.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so as parents, we can, especially when they're young, we can kind of tend to brush the sin under the rug or laugh at it, but elevating this idea in our homes that, wow, I've got a job here for the next 18-ish years to really train my children to love God with all their heart so that their sin is,
[SPEAKER_01]: is like right there in front of them, and they acknowledge it, they know it, and they want to repent, they want to turn the other way.
[SPEAKER_01]: They want to please the Lord.
[SPEAKER_01]: And obviously, pleasing us as part of that training process, they're children are to obey their parents.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is how they learn to obey God.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, I just think elevating that in our homes and having those discussions and, you know, not brushing it under the rug, but also just saying, we get it, it's hard.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's hard out there.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we know that the pool of the world is very strong right now.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so our job here is to teach you about God to teach you the ways of a Lord so that you love him more than you,
[SPEAKER_01]: love this pull on your life and want to please him ultimately so.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I want to talk a little bit about how you did that in your own home with your girls.
[SPEAKER_00]: As you raised them like,
[SPEAKER_00]: what it looked like for you and your husband to be committed to raising them in the Christian face.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we talk a lot about some of the challenges that parents today experience raising their kids to know and love Jesus and I'm sure a lot of those were the same things that you experience some of them are probably different as time has gone on and now you're watching your daughter, right, face some different challenges.
[SPEAKER_00]: So what are some of the challenges that you
[SPEAKER_01]: to know and love Jesus.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the biggest one's time, you know, because we're also busy.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I would love to say that we had end-depth Bible study, you know, as we were raising our daughters, and we just, you know, we had the, you know, the Bible memorized by the time they returned, we didn't, you know, it wasn't like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think walking in faithfulness and showing I've had this conversation with both of my daughters in the last week because both are still, you know, as young moms struggling with reading their Bible every day and struggling with time with the Lord and what that looks like and how that manifests in their very busy day where they're being pulled in so many different directions as young moms.
[SPEAKER_01]: the same struggle that I had in teaching my children to love the Lord and to know the Lord or the same struggles that they are having today.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think it's time.
[SPEAKER_01]: The enemy wants this so busy that it's an afterthought and we put her head on their pillow at night.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like,
[SPEAKER_01]: How have you approved of what I did the day because I sure didn't talk too much through the day and bring you a long in my journey today?
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think that is one of the biggest struggles.
[SPEAKER_01]: Also it's the, I think the struggle we put on parents in the church or that just the idea of what a Christian family looks like.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, like I said, we tried to do family devotionals.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we went down that road like everybody else does.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, we're gonna make this a priority in our home.
[SPEAKER_01]: But it looked very different.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, some weeks we actually did it and some weeks we didn't.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we were, you know, walking through that just like everybody else is today of how do we make this work?
[SPEAKER_01]: How do we fit this in?
[SPEAKER_01]: So my thought on this is,
[SPEAKER_01]: And I really believe this.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is what I think we provided our kids tools to grow in their faith, but I think the main thing that we did was our commitment to the Lord in our household.
[SPEAKER_01]: We were the same people on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday that we were on Sunday.
[SPEAKER_01]: So the same things that we were trying to apply in our lives on Sunday when we were at church and we were definitely committed to our church.
[SPEAKER_01]: We were there when the doors opened.
[SPEAKER_01]: gave us that benefit of at home being able to just let that kind of wash over us and we were committed to that.
[SPEAKER_01]: So they fall through the week.
[SPEAKER_01]: faithful to attend our church and to be involved in our church and they've faithful to serve our community.
[SPEAKER_01]: And those are some of the things that we did that washed over us and trained our children.
[SPEAKER_01]: We were relying on the church to train our children with us because due to our enemies very clear, you, the parent, are the primary teaching environment for your children.
[SPEAKER_01]: it's not the Christian school, it's not the church, okay?
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the parents.
[SPEAKER_01]: However,
[SPEAKER_01]: Raising your children in a church and letting them partner with you is just that echo that your kids need of.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: What my parents are saying is true.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's validated.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm in light-minded community.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm seeing other kids being raised the same way I am.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's building confidence in your children.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then if you have the benefit and the blessing of Christian school too, that's just another part of that three-legged stool.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, as you raise your children.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I've talked to them so much about this because I think that no, they don't look back on their childhood and the main memory is being sitting around the table reading the Bible.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's that is not I would love to say that was it that oh wow my kids that was their first memory when they think about their childhood is as sitting around reading the Bible.
[SPEAKER_01]: We did that, but it was a culmination.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a big cluster of all the things.
[SPEAKER_01]: Of hearing their parents talk about the Lord at home, of praying at home, of praying first when something happened, not worrying.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, all of these things is just a mix of all of the things that you're doing to walk in faithfulness to walk with the Lord.
[SPEAKER_01]: And now all of a sudden you look up 20 years later, and there's your child diving into a Bible study, or there's your child witnessing to someone at the grocery store.
[SPEAKER_01]: Or all of these things, it's these are steps.
[SPEAKER_01]: that you're building.
[SPEAKER_01]: So you, as a parent, take the pressure off of yourself and just live a faithful life, trust the Lord, walk with the Lord, be in the Word because you as the parent, you want to lead your children well.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so the scripture is full of principles and guidelines for raising your family, but you also want to grow up in your own faith.
[SPEAKER_01]: You don't want to still be a
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, so I think it's just all of that together.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think take the pressure off of yourself of, you know, how am I going to do this with my own kids, just do it, just start living for the Lord and walking with him, um, really partnering with the church, and then let God do the rest.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, modeling is so important.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we just, we underestimate that, but our kids are watching us all the time, all the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I love that your girls now are coming to you and saying like, we're so busy with all these little kids.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, seven kids, and that's a lot of kids between the two of them.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they are busy.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think everyone listening can relate.
[SPEAKER_00]: That would be like,
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to spend more time with the Lord, but in those little years, I felt so guilty because I wanted to wake up and do my quiet time with God before my kids woke up.
[SPEAKER_00]: Cause that's what I thought I was supposed to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was so tired.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're so tired.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had three kids, three and under.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just was like, I couldn't get up before them.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I defined different times.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I did, I felt guilty about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think time was just like a universal challenge for parents all the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now I'm busy in a different way.
[SPEAKER_00]: with activities and stuff, but how I love that they have a priority of spending time with us, which is obviously something that they've grown into as they've gone from baby Christians and you've discipled them into grown women.
[SPEAKER_00]: So how did you help them foster this relationship with the Lord?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like how did you encourage them to spend time with God and deepen their relationship with God?
[SPEAKER_01]: So my daughter, my youngest Cameron, had three, three and
[SPEAKER_01]: to instill this.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, no, they're four.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, now, four, three, almost two.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, and she's one that's really verbalized to me the struggle of my heart is for the Lord, my heart is to spend time with God, but I'm struggling with this and she's just very honest about it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so,
[SPEAKER_01]: What I've told moms through the years is, today, Tuesday might look like you reading a Bible story to your kids in their, before they go down for their nap.
[SPEAKER_01]: Or it might look like before they go to bed, your prayer time is praying with your children and reading a Bible story.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it might look different in this stage of your life, in this season.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, yes, we can say, well, you just need to get up and out earlier.
[SPEAKER_01]: You just need to get up or not earlier.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's really easy.
[SPEAKER_01]: So much is your step at that.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's really easy for me to say when I have all the time in the world, theoretically, you know, with no kids pulling at me and all of that kind of thing.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I think for me as I was raising my children, I went through an Evan flow, honestly.
[SPEAKER_01]: of there were years where I did great in my Bible study.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I would go to Bible study.
[SPEAKER_01]: I would have time with the Lord in my Bible study at home.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was a definite priority and a definite habit of my life.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then there was times in my life as I was raising my children where there would be weeks without opening my Bible and reading the scripture.
[SPEAKER_01]: Was I less faithful that I love the Lord
[SPEAKER_01]: it was just the reality of our existence at the time.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I don't know the answer to that and I'm just being giving you an honest answer of my walk with the Lord is that there were times when I was on the mountain with the Lord and there were times when I was on the valley in the valley with the Lord.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was a very desolate existence for me
[SPEAKER_01]: receiving the nourishment I needed from the scripture.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I felt it in my life.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think any of us when we are not in the Word and not spending time and prayer, and maybe you're serving your family and you're doing good things, it's that Mary Martha thing.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we're either heavy on the service, or we're heavy on just sitting and we're not serving like we should be.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so finding that balance for women in particular is the Mary Marley thing, the perfect balance is serving him and being in the scripture and spending time at his feet.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's how we're gonna receive the balance in our life and feel have that fulfillment.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think the struggle for women is we're so heavy most days on the service
[SPEAKER_01]: serving our families and we're raising our family or but we're lacking in that sitting at his feet.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I think for my life as I saw that, I would try to rectify it quickly.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll be like, while Lisa, you're so out of balance right now, you know, you are all in the service and you are wrapped around the axle with your family and their needs right now, but you are not sitting at the feet of Jesus.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I would try to balance it out again and then I would,
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if there's, I would love for Jesus to sit here with us and say, you know, this is how you're going to do this.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's been, there was many times we were raising our children that I had to really work through the schedule and getting rid of things because I saw that we were way too busy.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're too busy for the things that we say as a family are the most important to us.
[SPEAKER_01]: then we got to get rid of some stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we did that several times our girls had the things that they were very involved in and that they were good at.
[SPEAKER_01]: And when we had got that, I call it the P word, that potential word, you know, your child's cup potential.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we can go down that road really fast, can't we?
[SPEAKER_01]: And all of a sudden, are the wheels or off on our family dynamic.
[SPEAKER_01]: And when our kids' schedules determine when we eat,
[SPEAKER_01]: what we eat, if we go to church, when we go to church, when we sleep all of that, then we're giving our family over to a 12 year old, over to an 11 year old.
[SPEAKER_01]: That child was never meant to run a family.
[SPEAKER_01]: to have a family, to be in charge of a family.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so there were several times when we were raising our girls, we had to just put the brakes on, sit down and say, okay, this is crazy.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're all crazy right now, the things that we say are so important to us are getting pushed back and pushed back.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we've got to reorganize here and find our footing again.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's okay for families to do,
[SPEAKER_01]: to do because you know, it happens to all of us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am.
[SPEAKER_00]: That was exactly what I needed to hear today.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're doing that right now with our kids.
[SPEAKER_00]: Our our daughter's a dancer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yep.
[SPEAKER_00]: She's seven years old.
[SPEAKER_00]: Seven year old dance.
[SPEAKER_00]: But she made a really great team and is dancing one more day a week.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then we originally thought she was going to dance and had
[SPEAKER_00]: too many days going to dance where it was like we were looking at our family calendar and like this is not going to work for us as a family or to allow her to be a kid.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we told her just last night that she had to cut one of her.
[SPEAKER_00]: favorite things, one of her favorite dances, and it was, I mean, yeah, devastation, because she doesn't want to do that, you know, but I told we had to explain to her that, like we have your best intentions in mind, and while this hurts now, like this is what's best for you, and the long run, and we promise you, but it is really hard to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, because time again is the ultimate challenge for parents, and we want to give our kids everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.
[SPEAKER_00]: We want to give them
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so I guess anyone who's listening who's thinking they're too busy, follow me says instructions.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, figure it out because it's hard or also when you can spend time with a family together and teach your kids your priorities your family priorities because I think you're right.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's really easy to get too busy until this track of what's important.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and our schedule really is a mirror into what's important to us.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
[SPEAKER_01]: It really is.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: There's so many good things out there and so many great opportunities and we want the very best for our children and we want them to love what they do, we want them to excel and everything and to do great things.
[SPEAKER_01]: So these are very hard difficult decisions but if we're raising children to love the Lord and that is our overarching,
[SPEAKER_01]: It's David, we just got through a year along study of David at our church in our life group.
[SPEAKER_01]: And as many times as David messed up because he had that send bent like we all do.
[SPEAKER_01]: His heart was for the Lord.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I thought that's it.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what we're doing as we raise our children.
[SPEAKER_01]: We want to raise children with a heart for the Lord, a heart for the Lord.
[SPEAKER_01]: nothing else matters.
[SPEAKER_01]: But we spend our time like it does.
[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's good.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you very much.
[SPEAKER_00]: You have, I want to switch gears a little bit because you have a resource that is out to help our kids develop a heart for the Lord to help them spend time with God.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's called My Time with God.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a sweetest devotional for kids.
[SPEAKER_00]: So can you tell us a little bit about it how what your heart is for writing this and what the goal is, how it keeps kids engaged, just tell us all about it?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so my time with God is a new devotional for children
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, ages six to 12, that's loose.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some 13 year old might enjoy it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some five year old might enjoy it, but that's kind of the age span for it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is through, first 15 with itch's, you're, I don't know, is it your sister?
[SPEAKER_01]: Or could it sit you in, or y'all all part of the thing that I've been for you.
[SPEAKER_01]: First of all, I'm parenting 15.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'll color it with the same umbrella.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so,
[SPEAKER_01]: First 15 has a foundation's Bible study, basically, where new believers and people just really looking to grow in their faith can work through this study and through the devotional and experience what does a quiet time look like?
[SPEAKER_01]: What does knowing God look like?
[SPEAKER_01]: How does that manifest in my life?
[SPEAKER_01]: Who is God?
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, how do I pray?
[SPEAKER_01]: All of the foundational things that we as season believers know and understand sometimes need a refresher, but for children, these are all new concepts.
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, spending time with God every day, why, why should I?
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we address all of that in this 20-day devotional, they say it takes 20-ish days to develop a habit, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we did a 20-day devotional and I loved writing this and working with the people at first 15 because
[SPEAKER_01]: This is my jam answering just basic questions about God or attempting to answer some of these things.
[SPEAKER_01]: And why is it important?
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, my girls would come down in the morning and they would see my Bible on the kitchen table and I'd been studying God studying the scripture and learning more about God.
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, mommy, why?
[SPEAKER_01]: Why do you do this?
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, we address all of
[SPEAKER_01]: in a really fun way.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's an extremely colorful devotional book.
[SPEAKER_01]: So the way it set up is that there's scripture every day to read.
[SPEAKER_01]: There is a devotional part that kind of explains the scripture and applies it a little bit.
[SPEAKER_01]: There is a activity for the children to do fun, little things, whether it's a word maze or a crossword type thing or an actual activity to go out and do or for them to think about
[SPEAKER_01]: and then a prayer for them to pray at the end of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's going to take them 10 minutes, maybe, to do this old devotional 10, 10-ish minute.
[SPEAKER_01]: So definitely doable in the morning or in the evening or whenever you encourage your children to spend time with God.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's, that's what it is.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just kind of like my first devotional for a lot of children, finding devotionals is difficult for parents.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we always tried to give our kids tools to grow in their faith.
[SPEAKER_01]: We celebrated their spiritual birthday every year.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so on that spiritual birthday, I would always try to give them a journal, or maybe a new Bible if it was time for that, a devotional book, a praise CD, you know, we've did CDs back in that day.
[SPEAKER_01]: Things to just help them grow in their faith.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is what parents do, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: We want our children to grow in their faith and you're giving them the tools.
[SPEAKER_01]: So,
[SPEAKER_01]: I loved writing it.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was super fun to just kind of think about it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I had my grandkids in mind.
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought about them as I was writing this.
[SPEAKER_01]: What are some questions they might have?
[SPEAKER_01]: What are some activities they think would be fun?
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I worked also with just, I would give copies to neighbors who children could work through it or people in our Bible Fellowship class.
[SPEAKER_01]: for their kids to look through it and come back with that doesn't make sense.
[SPEAKER_01]: Miss Lisa, or that activity wasn't even fine.
[SPEAKER_01]: I would start from scratch again.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd tell you, let's make something a little bit more fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: So love, love doing it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I love that it makes it really fun for kids and at the same time, it goes through all of those foundational things that I hear from parents all the time that they're like, how do I teach my kids how to pray, how do I get my kids excited about the Bible, how do I establish these habits and this just starts at all the basis in such a fun way, yeah, I love it, yeah, what is the goal for when a kid finishes this devotional, yeah, so.
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously after 20 days, if they do it 20 consecutive days, they don't have to, but they would want more.
[SPEAKER_01]: They would want more.
[SPEAKER_01]: I enjoy spending time with God.
[SPEAKER_01]: I see the fruit of that in my life.
[SPEAKER_01]: I see the benefit of spending time with God.
[SPEAKER_01]: Steph, you and I both know that when we spend time with God, that we leave that time refreshed at peace,
[SPEAKER_01]: trusting God's Word, knowing Him more, all of that fruit that the world cannot offer.
[SPEAKER_01]: We can't go into Walgreens or CBS and say, give me a bottle of peace.
[SPEAKER_01]: I need it now.
[SPEAKER_01]: We can't do that.
[SPEAKER_01]: That only comes from His Spirit, from His Holy Spirit.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so when we're in God's Word, and we're spending time with Him, and we're looking at God instead of ourselves,
[SPEAKER_01]: We used to say it's about our girls, it's their world and we're just passing through, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: It's all about them.
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't have to teach a child to make it all about themselves that's innate.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so when we're looking at God and at His scripture, and at serving someone else, that it takes the focus off ourselves, and that's where I think a lot of the peace comes.
[SPEAKER_01]: When we're focused on ourselves and our own needs and our own wants and our own desires and our own troubles and our own worries, that just takes us down.
[SPEAKER_01]: But when we're looking at God and His greatness and the victories in the scripture, and how He's so faithful to see us through all of these things, that's what's bringing peace in our life, that's what's giving us confidence to conquer the day and to walk with Him.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think, you know, the goal of this is that at the end of those 20 days that they are closer to the Lord and they're wanting more.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I want to spend time with God.
[SPEAKER_01]: This was something that I see the value and the value proposition is there.
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's get something more, let's do a, maybe a real-life Bible study now, or even as a family, or let's work on discipleship, or maybe even just studying a book of the Bible together, or giving you the tools to do that on your own.
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of children, and I noticed this when my kids were in middle school, sixth grade, probably fifth and sixth grade, and not, they were pulling
[SPEAKER_01]: And they were wanting more of their one-on-one thing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, I want my own journal to journal.
[SPEAKER_01]: I want my own Bible study, but not that they did it every day.
[SPEAKER_01]: And even today, like I said, they're like, you know, I still struggle with how that's going to work in my life and how to do that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think, you know, providing our kids' tools and giving them what they need to make this a priority in their life.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's a full meal deal, as far as just tools you're providing your kids, but also partnering with the church, walking faithfully at home, prayer, you know, all of those things combined together, develop a heart for God in our children and in our own life.
[SPEAKER_00]: And such a gift that we're giving them, and I know, as listeners at that is the goal, right, is to give our kids the gift of their own lasting faith, and this is a great resource to.
[SPEAKER_00]: get the ball going and to provide your kids with that.
[SPEAKER_00]: So before we go, can you tell us where we can get a copy of my time with God and then where we can connect with you, too?
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, great.
[SPEAKER_01]: So my time with God Devotional is available at first15.store.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I will link it to bio in my Instagram as well, but in on my website, so LisaClarkeSpeaks.com is my website.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I'm on Instagram at Lisa E. Clark.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we have a talk with Chrissy and Lisa.
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's our Instagram for our podcast, which is, we have our podcast through Christian Parenting, which is raising centers.
[SPEAKER_01]: And another podcast called The Wonder Podcast, a thing that people might wonder about.
[SPEAKER_01]: We talk about everything on that.
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's a couple of plugs for our podcast over there.
[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, Lisa Clarkspeaks.com or first15.store.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'll put that all in the show now.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think we'll find it easily.
[SPEAKER_00]: And they can check out your podcast and other amazing things that you offer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for sharing your heart today.
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're joined in.
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks, Depp.
[SPEAKER_01]: I really enjoyed it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for joining us today.
[SPEAKER_00]: I really encourage you to grab a copy of my time with God for all the kids in your life.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a great devotional for each of six through 12.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can get it now for your kids, or for future stocking stuffers, or even future Easter baskets, which I know feels really a long way away, but it's always good to stock up.
[SPEAKER_00]: I thank you and your kids.
[SPEAKER_00]: We really love it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you again for being here.
[SPEAKER_00]: May God bless you this week.
[SPEAKER_00]: May remember that he is with you always and desires to spend time.
[SPEAKER_00]: God does not looking for perfection from you.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is looking for your heart.