1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:09,480 Ever. Express awesome God, Hallelujah, 2 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,360 Amen. Stand with me today, if you 3 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,240 will. Some time ago, I don't know how 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:20,720 many years ago it's been now and I don't know if it's a fad 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,360 because it's still happening, but someone got this bright idea 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:29,160 on Mother's Day that the wife of the pastor of the church should 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,800 speak to the mothers. I'm like, yeah, dude, that's 8 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:34,400 good. She should do it for Father's 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:39,600 Day too. But with that it is kind of an 10 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,400 enviable task because it's Mother's Day and you're you're 11 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:45,640 working to a certain degree and such. 12 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,520 But I appreciate my wife, mother to our children. 13 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:51,760 I'm going to share something just real quickly. 14 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:59,000 And this kind of shows her like motherly instincts or abilities 15 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,360 that even go beyond this place. This year, there's a senior 16 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,800 that's graduating from high school was a service learner in 17 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,800 the office where my wife works. And she's filling out a lot of 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,760 different applications for scholarships and stuff. 19 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:19,280 And despite along the way that on one question she'd actually 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,120 written about my wife. And the question was that while 21 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,720 she was in high school, there'd been a significant, had someone 22 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,160 had a significant impact on her. And this is a young lady that's 23 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,840 involved in sports and things, have coaches and all those 24 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,200 things to only had early exposure to my wife really for 25 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,600 probably 2 years hand in hand. So I'm just going to read this 26 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:44,080 just for a touch of, of my wife. I already know this, but I'm 27 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:45,800 just telling you from a different perspective. 28 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,320 This young lady said During my time as a student worker at 29 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,400 MCHSI had the privilege of working in the main office where 30 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,520 I developed a close and impactful relationship with Don 31 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:56,960 McGee. I'm probably going to cry. 32 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,800 The administrative professional. Throughout the year, Don became 33 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,640 a steady source of encouragement, wise words as I 34 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,080 navigated the uncertainty of future decision. 35 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,080 She offered not only her time but also her insight. 36 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,440 I vividly remember her saying take care of yourself and and 37 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,400 pursue the future you want. The simple if I struck stuck 38 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:22,200 with me. She listened patiently as I 39 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,320 shared concerns about college, potential roommates, and the 40 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,560 many stressors that came with the senior year. 41 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,600 Her perspective of always grounded in maturity, 42 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,720 compassion, and positivity. Her ability to remain optimistic 43 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:36,960 and supportive leave a lasting impression on me. 44 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,440 In the future, I hope to have her outlook on life and be a 45 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,240 source of calm and encouragement for others facing their own 46 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,240 challenges. That's my wife. 47 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:52,840 If you know her, she's a champion when it comes to being 48 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,200 an encourager. And if she ever seems like 49 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,840 something different to you, like a challenging you, that's still 50 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,440 a aspect that she's trying to encourage you to be something 51 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:04,880 more because she knows you can be. 52 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,480 And so I want you to honor God today as my dear wife Comes 53 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,600 sister Don McGee today. Amen to this podium to speak to 54 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:14,200 us in the ladies of this assembly. 55 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:29,160 You can be seated this morning. Appreciate that. 56 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,400 Appreciate the words. Appreciate the support of my 57 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,760 husband today. You have to pardon me and you 58 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,960 all just have to deal with me. Woke up with not much of A voice 59 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,560 this morning. So I've done hot tea and a hot 60 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:42,960 shower and all those things. So if it grates, Anya, I 61 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,400 apologize. Out of all the days in the year, 62 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,440 the one day that I'm supposed to speak and this is my voice. 63 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,560 So here we are, but I am thankful, so thankful for all 64 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,240 the moms that are here. Happy Mother's Day to you. 65 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:56,920 So thankful for all of our guests, just everyone in the 66 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:58,720 room. Just appreciate and love each 67 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,640 and every one of you. Today I give you honor and I 68 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,560 thank you for being here today. As I came in, I was sitting by 69 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,320 my mother-in-law and brother Aaron Brown came by and he said, 70 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,120 I came today just to hear you speak. 71 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:13,840 Now, if you know the relationship that me and brother 72 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,079 Aaron Brown have, we'd like to give each other a hard time. 73 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:17,760 So I told him. I said, well, I take that as a 74 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,800 compliment, but I'm waiting for the punchline to drop. 75 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,800 There was not one. So I guess we'll wait and see if 76 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,960 he shows up for Father's Day when Pastor speaks. 77 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:31,720 Also, I do want to mention one thing you all know. 78 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:33,240 We've been praying for Sister Jessica Wagner. 79 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,600 She's our focus prayer for this quarter and God's been doing 80 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,280 awesome things in her life. She's gone to prison with us 81 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:42,320 already in this past month of March and God spoke through her 82 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,760 and used her And this past Sunday, she, I have permission. 83 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:47,280 I did ask, she said I could share. 84 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,880 And she's had some things that she has still been working to 85 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,720 overcome in her life. And through the prayers of this 86 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,160 church and the support of the people here, she has been 87 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,280 attempting to do those things. And last Sunday, she asked 88 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:01,520 pastor and I, she goes, I want you to come to my house. 89 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,200 She goes, because I'm gathering up every vape that I have 90 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,360 because I don't want to just be partially delivered, partially 91 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,280 saved. I want to be completely 92 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,280 delivered and completely saved. And she said, I want you to come 93 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:14,640 and pray over my apartment. And I want you to pray over me 94 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,600 as I walk these out to the dumpster because if I throw them 95 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:17,960 in my trash, I'm going to dig them back out. 96 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,680 And so Sister Jessica, from that point forward, she went to the 97 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,120 doctor. I told her, I said, listen, we 98 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,400 go about this multiple ways. It's spiritual, but it's 99 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,160 physical to do whatever you gotta do, go get you a patch, 100 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,840 whatever you need to do. And so she did. 101 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,400 And I'm happy to report that it's been a week since she has 102 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,760 had any type of vape or any type of thing that God is doing a 103 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,480 work for her. And I am thrilled for her. 104 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:46,760 So thrilled and so proud and I know we rejoice and you know, we 105 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:49,200 have we not seen it when we've had these family focused 106 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,440 prayers, God working and doing miracles and answering prayers. 107 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,480 So we're already seeing that come to pass and we're so 108 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,000 thankful for that. Sister Jessica, I give honor to 109 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,960 this church, to everyone here, to the Saints, to our church 110 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:03,400 family and I honest honor our pastoral staff in ministry. 111 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,640 We are truly blessed with amazing people. 112 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,760 I also want to give honors. I'm standing here today to my 113 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,440 mom, although she is not here with us, who helped shape me to 114 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:16,040 be the person I am today. I was raised by a mom who did 115 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,520 love God with all of her heart. She taught me the ways of God. 116 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,760 She was an example of what it meant to be holy. 117 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,480 She taught me how to be humble and how to be kind. 118 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:29,000 And I get my love of thrifting from her, which she got from her 119 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,280 mom. So right before church, my 120 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:33,880 husband went back and was taking a Goodwill sticker off one of 121 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:35,880 the pieces of decor on the table back there. 122 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,680 I said I know how to be frugal with God's money, so I'm sorry 123 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,000 the sticker was still there from the Goodwill, but you know, it's 124 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,960 all good. I also want to give honor today 125 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,080 to my mother-in-law. I've always loved her like a 126 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,240 second mom, even before Paul and I were married. 127 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,320 I know she has prayed many prayers for me and my husband. 128 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,520 And what some of you may not realize is when Paul and I 129 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,120 evangelized many years ago, she took on quite a load of 130 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,360 responsibility because this was before the time of online 131 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:03,960 banking and paying your bills online. 132 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,520 So every time we would go preach somewhere and they would give us 133 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,760 money, we would go to the post office, get a money order, mail 134 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,360 it home to our mother-in-law who would then take it to the bank 135 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,640 and deposit it, get out the checkbook and write checks for 136 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:17,480 all of our bills that we still owed. 137 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,080 And she did that faithfully for years while we traveled. 138 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,000 She sacrificed Christ a lot for us and I'm thankful for her. 139 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,560 I also give honor to my husband. I don't take it lightly when he 140 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:29,280 asked me to stand up here and speak. 141 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,120 I know that he puts a lot of faith and trust allowing me to 142 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:33,960 do this, but I'm thankful for him. 143 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,480 And last but not least, I want to say how blessed I am and 144 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,400 thankful for my two children because without them I wouldn't 145 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,760 be a mom. I've said over the years that 146 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:46,480 they're good kids, but now at ages 19 and 16, I guess I have 147 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,320 to say that they're fine young adults. 148 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:50,960 I'm grateful they have a heart for Jesus. 149 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,880 They have a love for their family, and they have always 150 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,440 been willing to help in ministry whenever a need has arisen 151 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,560 without complaint. And our goal in raising them has 152 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,920 always been, God help us to raise our children not to resent 153 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,160 something we want them to love. And I'm so thankful they have a 154 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,080 love for ministry and a love for Jesus. 155 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,760 I'm thankful for my kids. If you would stand with me 156 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:18,400 today, we're going to turn to Psalms 139, starting in verse 157 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:23,360 13. For Thou has possessed my reins, 158 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:25,720 Thou has covered me in my mother's womb. 159 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,840 I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 160 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,400 Marvelous are they works, and that my soul knoweth right Well, 161 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:39,000 my substance was not hid from me when I was made in secret and 162 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,280 curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 163 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,720 Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect. 164 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,440 And in thy book all my members were written, which in 165 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,160 continuance were fashioned, when as yet there were none of them. 166 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,080 Today I want to speak on the subject. 167 00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:00,840 Not deficient by design. Not deficient by design. 168 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,360 Can we pray? God, thank you so much for your 169 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,200 spirit that's been in this room today. 170 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,840 Thank you for your anointing. Thank you for your spirit, God. 171 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,240 Lord, I pray that you would help me today, God, to share what you 172 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,160 have impressed on my heart and my mind. 173 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,480 God touch and encourage every mom in this room today. 174 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:18,320 I pray they would leave uplifted. 175 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:21,240 God by your word, God, by the things, God that you have 176 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:23,080 shared. God, we would give you all the 177 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,120 praise, the glory and the honor. God, it is all about you. 178 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:31,000 We thank you and we give you all the praise in Jesus name, Amen. 179 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:38,080 You can be seated today. I want to take a moment and I 180 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:39,400 want to read the Scripture again. 181 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,720 In the new Living Translation of the Bible, it says you made all 182 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:47,720 the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my 183 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,600 mother's womb. Thank you for making me so 184 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,760 wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. 185 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,640 How well I know it. You watched me as I was being 186 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:03,280 formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark 187 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,600 of the womb. You saw me before I was born. 188 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,040 Every day of my life was recorded in your book. 189 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,680 Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 190 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,120 So as we get into this, I'm going to do like what my husband 191 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:20,360 says. Allow me to nerd out for a 192 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,160 minute, OK? We're going to talk a little 193 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,120 science, a little bit of something here. 194 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,720 So just bear with me. It's going to come together and 195 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,200 make sense here in a little bit. During the early to mid 1900s, 196 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:35,720 US childbirth practices were causing undue stress on babies. 197 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,560 During this time, most moms were completely knocked out during 198 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:42,440 delivery. Can you imagine coming to 199 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,640 hospital, have a baby just knock you completely out and you wake 200 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,200 up and you've got a baby and no belly? 201 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:48,680 I mean, you know, I can't imagine that, but that's what 202 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,880 they did. And so these moms being 203 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:54,320 completely knocked out since they couldn't push the babies 204 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,720 were being pulled out by forceps along with pressure on their 205 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,600 head. And many times this resulted in 206 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:05,040 trauma to the baby's heads, sometimes inside and out during 207 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,680 the same time. It was the height of infant 208 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:10,360 circumcision. Most baby boys were being 209 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,800 circumcised within hours of birth. 210 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:15,480 We're not talking two days later, three days later, within 211 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,760 hours they were circumcised. And what the doctors observed 212 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,120 wasn't was increased bleeding and getting the bleeding to 213 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,720 stop. So at that point, blood tests 214 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:29,400 started being performed and they discovered that babies were born 215 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:33,840 with 20 to 50% of the blood clotting ability of adults, 216 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,000 including a dependency on vitamin K for this. 217 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,920 Vitamin K plays a vital role in helping our blood to clot when 218 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,760 necessary. So the medical community, they 219 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,360 reviewed this data and they determined at this time that 220 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:53,160 this was a design flaw in babies, that nature was faulty 221 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,240 and needed to be improved or fixed. 222 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,920 They discovered that vitamin K does not cross the placenta 223 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,400 easily from mother to baby in the womb. 224 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,440 It is also understood that babies were born when they're 225 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,800 born, they're almost completely sterile in their intestines. 226 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:09,880 There's not any like good bacteria. 227 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,640 And in our bodies, vitamin K is produced in part by the good 228 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,480 bacteria in our gut, and babies are not born with bacteria in 229 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,800 their gut. So they decided the best course 230 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:25,000 of action was to give all babies a dose of vitamin K at birth. 231 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,640 The reason given was they wanted to prevent the hemorrhage 232 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:30,640 disease where you know you hemorrhage, where you're 233 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,080 bleeding and you can't stop. They went on to say that there 234 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,040 are also low levels of vitamin K and breast milk. 235 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,280 So if you're nursing the baby, then you should or would get a 236 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,600 triple dose of vitamin K. If you were formula fed baby, 237 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:46,240 then you only got a lower dose, one single dose. 238 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,760 Now understand as I talked this morning, I'm not presenting this 239 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,480 as an argument for or against vitamin K injections. 240 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,800 My kids probably had them. It's kind of standard practice, 241 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,800 but I want to focus on the philosophy and the perception of 242 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,800 these low vitamin K levels. Babies had been born for 243 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:08,000 generations and suddenly they discovered, oh, their levels are 244 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,840 lower than adults. This must be a flaw. 245 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:15,400 The doctor said all babies are born with low levels of vitamin 246 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,800 K, but this low level was only in comparison to vitamin K 247 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,880 levels in adults. So were the babies really 248 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:27,440 deficient? Did God mess up in how babies 249 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,760 are made? Either God messed up or the 250 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,320 truth is that vast majorities of babies don't need much vitamin 251 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,280 K. I believe the latter to be true. 252 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:40,960 Doctor Sarah Wickham in her article Vitamin KA flaw in the 253 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:45,560 blueprint stated perhaps the relative to adults lack of it 254 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:49,080 vitamin K serves them well, possibly preventing the 255 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,680 development of clotting problems in the first few weeks of life. 256 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,120 Now you can go down the rabbit hole into lots of articles, 257 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,480 information overload that I won't give you today because it 258 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:03,480 doesn't serve our purpose. But understand that prior to the 259 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:09,200 1900s, this supposed deficiency was not known and it did not 260 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,560 keep the human race from thriving and growing. 261 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,160 Babies were born all the time. Mamas were nursing all the time, 262 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,800 nursing an infant. It was the only source of 263 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,000 nutrition for babies, formula that was deemed safe. 264 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,600 It wasn't even widely available or accessible until the 1940s. 265 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,920 Part of this time babies were born and Mamas nursed them and 266 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,560 they lived. God didn't mess up or create 267 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,040 humans and say oops, my bad, I didn't do that right. 268 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,120 All. Almost all babies are born with 269 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,400 similar levels of vitamin K, and every woman produces similar 270 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,240 levels of vitamin K in her breast milk. 271 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:51,000 And if these levels are similar across culture lines, across 272 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,720 ethnic lines, can we truly label it a deficiency? 273 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:01,360 What humans deem a deficiency is actually by God's design. 274 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:06,200 He formed us in the womb. The Bible tells us He knew us. 275 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:10,000 The Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. 276 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,480 He made us with intention. He made us with purpose. 277 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,800 He knew exactly what He was doing, not just from our eye 278 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,560 color or our personality, but how much vitamin K was going to 279 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:22,240 be in our body when we were born. 280 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,880 He made all the delicate and inner parts of our bodies and 281 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,040 the bodies of our children vitamin K levels. 282 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:33,040 They begin to rise after birth. They dip just a little at day 283 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,480 two and three, and then they continue to rise over the first 284 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,840 few months of life and peek out around month 6. 285 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,000 Now consider the Israelites. In the Old Testament. 286 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:47,840 God instructed them that the males should be circumcised, but 287 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,480 he specifically told them it should be done on the 8th day 288 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,760 after birth. There wasn't a specific reason 289 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:59,120 given for this, but Yehuda Sherpin said among other reasons 290 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:03,080 we wait 8 days. So let the child will be strong 291 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,960 for the circumcision. Could it be on purpose that they 292 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,480 were to wait 8 days for the baby's body to begin naturally 293 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,800 increasing his levels of blood clotting properties of the 294 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:17,200 vitamin K? God does nothing by mistake. 295 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:19,600 He always has a purpose and a plan. 296 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,720 He's always intentional. Consider the man in John 9. 297 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:29,120 John 9/1 through three says And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man 298 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:33,640 which was blind from his birth, And his disciples asked him, 299 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:38,800 saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he 300 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,880 was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath 301 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,360 this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of 302 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,440 God should be made manifest in him. 303 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,360 So Jesus went on in this moment he made a clay for his eyes, and 304 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,200 he instructed him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. 305 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:00,120 This man obeyed and received his sight. 306 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,160 Well the Pharisee started questioning him and his parents 307 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,480 about this miracle and the man who performed it, they weren't 308 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,200 too pleased with his answers because they said we follow the 309 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,200 God of Moses and who are you following? 310 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,520 Well they eventually cast him out of the temple. 311 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:19,079 Well the Bible says in verse 35, Jesus heard that they had cast 312 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:23,520 him out, and when they found him, he said unto him, does thou 313 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:28,119 believe on the Son of God? And he answered and said, who is 314 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:30,240 he Lord? Then I might believe on him. 315 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,240 Now I love this because he's talking to the man that made the 316 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,680 clay and put it on his eyes. And Jesus comes back to him the 317 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,920 second time and says, do you believe? 318 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,240 And he's like, well who is he? I might believe on him. 319 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,400 Think about the fact this is the first time that this blind man 320 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:49,440 that can now see laid eyes on Jesus with his natural eyes. 321 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:55,560 And Jesus responded in verse 37. And Jesus said unto him, thou 322 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,040 hast both seen him and is he that talketh with me. 323 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,240 Jesus basically says you're looking at him, it's me and he 324 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,280 didn't just say it's me. When he said you have seen him 325 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,240 and you're talking with him. He involved the miracle by 326 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:14,280 referencing that you're looking at me right now with your eyes, 327 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:18,560 the eyes that you can now see with that before you couldn't in 328 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,520 verse 38. And he said, Lord, I believe. 329 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,520 And he worshipped him. Through this whole scenario of 330 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,640 being born blind, they came to a moment where for the glory of 331 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,520 God, Jesus touched his body. He was healed. 332 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,640 It was an example to the people and the Pharisees and they all 333 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,800 saw what happened. But most importantly, this man 334 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,920 in that moment became a believer and a follower of Jesus. 335 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,720 This man was born with a perceived deficiency. 336 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:49,120 Humanity at that time assumed it must be a curse because of some 337 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:51,480 sin he did or his parents committed. 338 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,080 But Jesus said Oh no no no no, no one sinned. 339 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:59,440 This was pre planned so that the glory of God would be revealed. 340 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,280 So many times this is what happens in the Bible. 341 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,560 Someone came who needed a healing or a miracle and Jesus 342 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,040 would perform it and use that miracle to draw people in and 343 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,440 then call them to salvation for the glory of God. 344 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:17,720 Every child is unique. They are born unique at 345 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,720 conception. When a baby is conceived, a 346 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,800 brand new strain of DNA is created. 347 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,760 Unique characteristics and personality traits are 348 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:31,040 genetically ingrained in the cells of the unborn child. 349 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,360 And we all know by looking at our kids. 350 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:37,640 Some are quiet, some are loud, some walk early. 351 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,560 Others take their time. Some have health struggles, some 352 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:45,960 have developmental delays. These perceived deficiencies 353 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:50,160 often burden parents, specifically Mamas, with worry. 354 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,760 But just like the timing of the vitamin K, these are not 355 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:59,000 necessarily flaws. They are divine fingerprints 356 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,560 from God. The very thing we see as a delay 357 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:07,240 or a difference could very well be part of a greater plan. 358 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,520 From the invisible workings of a baby's body to the visible 359 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:14,920 challenges of parenting, God is intricately involved. 360 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:20,000 He sees the things that confuse us, that worry us, but He's 361 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,280 already got them written into His plan. 362 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,160 Sometimes it just takes time to see His plan come about in our 363 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,320 life. What the world calls broken, God 364 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,360 calls it beautiful. And what science sees as a 365 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:35,360 deficiency, God sees as divine timing. 366 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:40,000 And many times when we feel inadequate, God declares it was 367 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,880 intentional. Because God doesn't design 368 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,920 anything by accident. All you got to do is open your 369 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,680 Bible and look at the book of Genesis and it's full of the 370 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:52,120 descriptions of God's handiwork and creating the heavens and the 371 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,840 earth and the animals and the planets. 372 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:59,000 Just take for a moment and consider the sloth, the good old 373 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,160 sloth. We see it's slow movement, it's 374 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,360 poor eyesight. There's kids movies that portray 375 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:09,560 the sloth as slow and therefore must be unintelligent, you know, 376 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:11,600 and we like to make fun of the sloth. 377 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:16,240 But in reality, the slow movement of the sloth makes it 378 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,960 nearly invisible to predators in the dense canopy of the 379 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:24,200 rainforest. The perceived flaw is actually 380 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,840 the sloth's way of being protected. 381 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,640 It was done on purpose. So let's consider the camel out 382 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:33,920 in the desert. It's got the large hump. 383 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,840 It's got that awkward gait makes it seem so clumsy. 384 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,000 It's top heavy. But these are actually God 385 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:46,760 designed advantages that hump it stores fat, not water, providing 386 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:49,360 energy during long periods without food. 387 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,480 The feet, they're wide, they're splayed out because it helps 388 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,880 them walk on the sand in the desert without sinking, which is 389 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,760 essential for survival. Things that seem awkward, things 390 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:03,800 that you would look at and say, well, that's strange. 391 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:08,000 That must be a deficiency God designed on purpose. 392 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,840 And sometimes as moms, we look at our children and we despair 393 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,720 sometimes because of maybe something we perceive as a 394 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,160 deficiency. And in that moment, sometimes we 395 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,800 begin to come down on ourselves thinking that we failed as a 396 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:27,320 mom, as if something we did or didn't do caused it. 397 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,960 But look at this scripture in Matthew 627. 398 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:36,560 Which of you, by taking thought, can add 1 cubit unto his 399 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:40,000 stature? In other words, how many of you 400 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,040 by worrying, can make yourself taller? 401 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,800 All of our kids are born unique, with different challenges, 402 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,360 different things. We can't worry enough about it. 403 00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:50,920 That's going to change it, right? 404 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,600 It's how they were designed. That's how God created them. 405 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,720 So I'm asking you today, moms, can you start looking through 406 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:02,120 the lens of God's design, but not only for your children, but 407 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,720 for yourself as well? Yes, all children are uniquely 408 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:10,320 designed, but so are the mothers that are chosen to raise them. 409 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,840 Whether you're a biological mom, a foster mom, an adoptive mom, 410 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,920 or a stepmom, you have been hand picked and at times you may feel 411 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:24,640 so deficient, unqualified you. I'm sure like all of us, we all 412 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,520 do. We compare ourselves to others 413 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,680 at times we struggle with guilt, with doubt and exhaustion. 414 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,520 But think about the fact that God looked at your child and 415 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,480 said this is the mother that they will need. 416 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:44,720 You're not a placeholder. It's by God's Providence that 417 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,720 you were chosen to be the mother for your child. 418 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:53,080 God didn't just design your child, He designed you for that 419 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,520 child. So even when you feel 420 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,520 inadequate, remember you're not deficient. 421 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:05,000 You are chosen by design, on purpose, Sister Krista. 422 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,120 You were chosen by God to be the mother through Natalie's health 423 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:11,720 issues, through the things that she's dealing with through these 424 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,680 feeding clinics. God chose you. 425 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:15,840 He knew you that you can handle it. 426 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:20,080 Sister Jen, God chose you to help Addison through all of her 427 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,160 health struggles for you to come alongside and be that comforter. 428 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:27,000 You were chosen to be her mom on purpose, Sister Melinda. 429 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,720 You were chosen by God to be the mom of those 2 girls, to get 430 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,200 Julie the dental care she needs. God chose you. 431 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:35,360 You're the one. Every mom in here. 432 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,720 I can name every single mother Jen, Adams, Samantha, I could 433 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,280 start just going across every mother here. 434 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,080 You are chosen by God intentionally on purpose. 435 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,040 It's not a mistake. The things that we perceive 436 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,560 within ourselves as deficiencies can be the very thing that God 437 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:56,080 uses for His glory. So we've got to let go of the 438 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:00,680 negative thoughts of our mind and let God's word have control 439 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:04,440 of your mind. All you Mamas say, I'm a mom, 440 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:09,880 I'm a mom, MOM. And when you think about 441 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,840 yourself being a mom, MOM in your mind, I want you to think 442 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:20,160 about this phrase, my God over my mind, MOM, my God over my 443 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,080 mind. So when those thoughts come in 444 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,480 and we start feeling deficient and insufficient, we say, oh, 445 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,360 no, God has a design, He has a plan. 446 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,440 This is on purpose. We can look through the Bible. 447 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,280 We can look through Scriptures. In Exodus 4, you remember the 448 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,800 story of Moses telling God, I'm slow of speech, I'm slow of 449 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,280 tongue. I can't do this. 450 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,560 He didn't think he was capable of being a leader because of 451 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:46,360 this deficiency. But God reminded Moses, I made 452 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:49,600 that mouth. I gave you that mouth and he had 453 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,760 already prepared Aaron to assist him, and God still chose Moses 454 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:59,120 as his deliverer for his people. Moses human limitations did not 455 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:05,760 override his divine calling. My God over my mind in Judges 6 456 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,440 Gideon, he was hiding out from the enemy, and he said about 457 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,640 himself, I am the least in my family and I am the least in my 458 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,560 tribe. But God turned around and called 459 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:21,440 him a mighty man of valor, and then went on to use him to 460 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,840 deliver Israel with just three hundred men. 461 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:28,200 God can see things in us that we always can't see in ourselves. 462 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,960 My God, over my mind. First Samuel 16 Samuel came to 463 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,680 anoint the next King. David was out tending the sheep 464 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:39,840 in the fields. He was not even invited to the 465 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:41,920 party. He was not even given 466 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,600 consideration. He was the youngest, the least 467 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:50,080 likely in human estimation, but God rejected all the older 468 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,880 brothers, even the ones that looked the part. 469 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:57,400 Other people may look at us and they may discount and not see 470 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,960 our value, but God never overlooks what He is designed. 471 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,360 So even if you feel like other people are looking at me and 472 00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:07,200 other people are just condemning me or thinking I'm just a 473 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:12,600 terrible mother, listen to the fact that God designed and hand 474 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,480 picked you, my God, over my mind. 475 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,520 One more. In John 4, the Samaritan woman, 476 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,000 the Bible tells us that she had five former husbands and was 477 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,680 living with a man that was not her husband and she was rejected 478 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:29,160 by her community. Her shame was so great she would 479 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,800 go to the well to draw water when she knew other people would 480 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:34,920 not be there. But that was the time that Jesus 481 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:40,120 chose to meet her and was the very first one in her community 482 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,080 that Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah to. 483 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,640 He chose her to reveal himself as the Messiah and then used her 484 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,880 to spread the message to her entire village, what her 485 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,560 community and even herself labeled a shame God saw as a 486 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,360 platform for redemption. My God over my mind. 487 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,600 Instead of looking at perceived deficiencies as flaws, failures, 488 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,320 mistakes, we need to begin to see them as an opportunity for 489 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:11,360 God's glory as by design according to his master plan. 490 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,840 Many times we need those challenges, we need those 491 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:18,200 struggles that they can shape and mold us into the person that 492 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:23,160 God wants us to be right. Second Corinthians 12/9 and 10 493 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:29,120 says, and he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, my 494 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:31,880 strength is made perfect in weakness. 495 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:36,760 Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, 496 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:39,840 that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 497 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:44,920 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in 498 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:49,000 necessities, in persecutions, and in distresses for Christ's 499 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,920 sake. For when I am weak, then am I 500 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:56,160 strong. The only time that we ever 501 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,440 become truly deficient is when we try to do it on our own. 502 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:02,040 I could do this. I don't need no help. 503 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,360 I don't need God's help. We can be exactly what God calls 504 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,440 us to be, and He can use our deficiencies when we just come 505 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:12,840 in alignment with His plan, when we come in alignment with His 506 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:16,320 Word, when we choose to submit. He always has a plan and a 507 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,200 purpose for it. Philippians 413. 508 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:23,040 I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. 509 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,680 The Bible says strengtheneth. My husband's told us many times 510 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:31,200 that ETH on the end means he strengthens and continues to 511 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,560 strengthen. He will always strengthen us. 512 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,280 Our kids are going to go through so many different phases of life 513 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,080 and we think this phase is so hard. 514 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,720 Let me get to the next one. But each phase has its own set 515 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,720 of challenges, doesn't it? Every single one we think, oh, I 516 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:45,200 can't wait till they're older. I can't. 517 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:46,640 I'm going to tell you it doesn't matter. 518 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:48,520 They're a teenager. There's challenges if they're a 519 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,240 toddler, There's challenges if they're a baby, if they're a 520 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,640 preteen, dear God, that is a real challenge. 521 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:55,920 But thank God you can get through. 522 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:00,240 He has a plan through it all. We can do all things through 523 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,920 Christ and we can ask God. God help me. 524 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,160 I've prayed as many times. I'm like, God, help me to see as 525 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:09,840 you see. Help me to see with your eyes, 526 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:13,480 not just myself, but other people, my family, my children. 527 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,640 In the Old Testament, Jeremiah felt unqualified to fulfill his 528 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,640 calling due to his youth, but God told him in Jeremiah 15. 529 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:26,400 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before 530 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:30,760 thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I 531 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:34,120 ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 532 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,960 Think about that. God hand picked Jeremiah to be a 533 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:42,680 prophet even before birth. Is that not amazing? 534 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,160 And so Jeremiah, he chose to come alongside and follow God's 535 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,640 plan, even though he felt unqualified and became a prophet 536 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,160 according to what God had called him to be. 537 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:58,200 God handpicked you to be the mother of your children even 538 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:02,360 before you had that baby in your arms, even before that child 539 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,680 came into your home, whether it's through birth, through 540 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:09,880 marriage, fostering, adoption, or even mentoring as a motherly 541 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:12,880 figure. When the children of Israel, 542 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,600 when they were in exile, they were in ruins, but even 543 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,720 suffering at that moment from their own consequences, God 544 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,840 promised them hope and He promised them restoration. 545 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:27,040 Jeremiah 2911 is a very famous scripture that's spoken in so 546 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:28,480 many ways. I want to read it to you in the 547 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:32,360 NIV, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 548 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:36,240 plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a 549 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,560 hope and a future. It's never too late, Mom. 550 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,400 Even when we have made mistakes, God promises to come alongside 551 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:46,640 us and he can bring redemption and He can bring restoration 552 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,720 because we're in Christ. When we come into Christ, our 553 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:54,160 identity is redefined not by our past, but by our purpose. 554 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,360 Israel, so many times they strayed away, they went after 555 00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:00,040 false gods, they ended up in exile, they ended up in ruins. 556 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,000 Many times God allowed their enemies to come in and, and he 557 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,000 was just all the while just trying to draw them back to 558 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,320 himself, draw them back to himself, bring them back. 559 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,320 And so even in that moment when they were in despair and they 560 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,800 were in ruins many times by their own hand, by things they 561 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,600 had done, God said, I plan to prosper you. 562 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,600 I don't plan to harm you. I want to give you hope. 563 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,440 I want to give you a future that can bring such encouragement 564 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:24,360 today. Because as a mom, we can look 565 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:26,880 back and it's true, we will make mistakes. 566 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,040 There is no guidebook for being a mom because every kid, like I 567 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:31,520 just said, is unique and different. 568 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:33,880 We are not going to have a guidebook that says if you do 569 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,720 123, your child will turn out perfect. 570 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,520 You could do one thing with your older child and the next child 571 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,800 comes along and none of that works at all. 572 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:43,720 So we just never know. We're just kind of just going 573 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,560 along trying to see what works and what don't. 574 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,120 So we can look in our roof, your mirror, and we can see times 575 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:51,280 that we made mistakes and we screwed up and we messed up. 576 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,320 But when we come back into God and say God help me, help me, 577 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,080 help me. He said we'll come right 578 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:58,760 alongside and do what he promised Israel that he will 579 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:01,800 come along and help us prosper. He will give us hope. 580 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,360 He will give us a future. It is never too late. 581 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:10,480 If you could stand with me, the music can come and if someone 582 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,800 could just knock on the door, have Brother Zach and the kiddos 583 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,440 come out. I have something I want to do 584 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:20,520 here at the end today. You may be in this room and you 585 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:22,880 may be your mind has been plagued by feelings of 586 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:25,520 deficiency. You come into Mother's Day and 587 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:28,840 you're being celebrated, but you're hanging your head feeling 588 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,720 like I'm just a failure. I, I've, I've just not succeeded 589 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:35,640 as a mom and, and I'm constantly making mistakes and feelings of 590 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,920 how you failed your child and maybe even telling yourself that 591 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,560 child would just be better off with someone else, with another 592 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,720 mom, that someone else could do a better job than what you've 593 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,600 done or doing. Telling yourself I'm not a good 594 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:52,120 mom, but let me be the voice of Jesus in your ear today telling 595 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:56,320 you that you are handpicked by God to be the mother for your 596 00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:01,600 child, for your children. And what we perceive and feel 597 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:04,880 about our children, what we perceive and feel about 598 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:07,280 ourselves. It's not always reality. 599 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:12,280 The enemy loves to come in and just tear us up and battle our 600 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:15,800 mind and battle our thoughts and tell us it's never going to be 601 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,000 good enough, you're never going to do a good enough job, you're 602 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,360 never going to succeed. And we tear ourselves down. 603 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,239 Sometimes the enemy doesn't even have to attack us because we do 604 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:28,800 a good enough job on our own. But perfection's not the goal. 605 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,239 It was never the plan. Perfection's never been the 606 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:37,320 plan, ever. God wants to use the unique 607 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:42,239 traits in ourselves and in our children for His glory. 608 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:46,679 Many times we see weakness, but God sees strength. 609 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:52,120 We see failure, but like Israel, God sees a future. 610 00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:56,440 We see brokenness, but God sees beauty. 611 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:00,400 He sees redemption. Sometimes we see insignificance, 612 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,440 but God says no, this was my divine design. 613 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:08,200 Sometimes we see past sin. God said, I see a new creation. 614 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:13,360 We see limitation. God sees potential and we see 615 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:20,920 deficiency, but God sees sufficiency through grace This 616 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:22,560 morning. What I would like is every mom 617 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,120 in this room to come to the front. 618 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:26,400 Just have the moms just gather up here. 619 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:28,640 If your child is with you today, bring them with you. 620 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,320 Your child's here today. Come up front with your 621 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,400 children. If they're not, you can pray for 622 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,800 your children. If your mom's here, you can join 623 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:40,240 her, but just gather in. And I want you to realize that 624 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:44,880 your child is not deficient. They are by design. 625 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:53,600 Every feature, every trait, every characteristic, even the 626 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:58,160 ones that drive you crazy, even the ones that make you roll your 627 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:04,400 eyes or your cheeks get red, like oh, we were all created in 628 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:06,760 the image of God, the Bible tells us. 629 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,960 Look at your children and realize that they were also made 630 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:16,240 in the image of God for His glory. 631 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,920 Whether your child is a baby, a toddler, or they're already 632 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:26,440 grown with children of their own, made in the image of God 633 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:30,920 for His glory, Handpicked. It's not a deficiency. 634 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:37,240 It's not inadequacy. Mom, you are not deficient. 635 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:42,080 You are enough. You are handpicked by God for 636 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:45,080 your child. I want you to be encouraged 637 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,520 today. God is for you. 638 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:52,640 He is for you. It sounds like such a simple 639 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:57,160 phrase, but I think sometimes we don't really feel that God is 640 00:36:57,160 --> 00:36:59,680 for me. He's in my corner. 641 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,120 God wants me to succeed. God wants me to have good 642 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,280 relationships with my family and my children. 643 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:10,160 God wants me to be a good mom. He is for you. 644 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,880 He's not standing up there looking down, saying you should 645 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,280 have been doing a better job. No, no, no, no, no. 646 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:20,120 That is not the mind of God, he says. 647 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:22,760 I handpicked you, mom, and I'm going to help you. 648 00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:26,320 I'm going to strengthen you. You're doing a good job. 649 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:28,640 Hang in there. I know it's hard. 650 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,280 Being a mom is one of the greatest things in the world, 651 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,600 but it is the hardest job ever, right? 652 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,720 It's so hard. Is this right? 653 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,320 Is this the right decision? What should I do? 654 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:42,640 What should I not do? Do I take him to the doctor? 655 00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:44,960 Do I leave him at home? Do I go talk to the teacher or 656 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,440 do I just let it ride? Do I interfere in the whole 657 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:49,600 texting blow up or do I leave it alone? 658 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:54,480 Like so many decisions all the time, God is for you. 659 00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:59,360 He is for us. You are intentionally handpicked 660 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:01,360 by God to be the mother of your child. 661 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:06,240 And so all these things that you may have said, this is a 662 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:09,520 deficiency, all these health problems are terrible. 663 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:11,920 My kid didn't walk when this other kid walked. 664 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:14,320 My kid has this issue. They're too wild. 665 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:19,600 They're too this, they're not enough that designed by God for 666 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:22,120 a purpose. And we want to look through that 667 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:27,360 lens today and say, God help me to see, as you see today, this 668 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:32,320 was not a deficiency. It was by design humankind came 669 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,600 along and said all these, every single baby is born to fishing. 670 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:40,240 No, no, no, no, no, by design because God had a plan. 671 00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:43,120 If you would bow your heads. And I want you to just take a 672 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,080 moment to pray for yourself. And I want you to pray for your 673 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:48,760 children. And I want you to be encouraged 674 00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:53,120 today and hear the voice of God that says you are enough, my 675 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:58,560 God, over my mind. Jeez, can you lift your voices 676 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:00,360 right now? God, we come to you. 677 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,320 Lord, I pray for every mom standing in this room today. 678 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:08,960 God, let her be encouraged. Lord, she was handpicked by you 679 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:12,520 to be the mother of her child. God, I pray that you would use 680 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:15,560 her, strengthen her, encourage her. 681 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:18,080 God, I pray, Lord that you would be God. 682 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:21,760 Lord, all that she needs. Jesus, I pray God that she would 683 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:25,240 begin to be encouraged when she realizes that you are for her. 684 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:30,280 God, you are not against her. Have your way today, Sister 685 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,360 Grace, as you begin to sing. Let's all continue to pray right 686 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:33,720 now.