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TRANSCRIPTION:

Hey everybody, this is Heidi St. John—welcome to the podcast!

Happy May Day! Today is Wednesday, May 1st—it’s episode number 760, and I am so glad you’ve joined me today, because I want to encourage you to bring life to your husband, to your children, to the people that are in your life—by the words that you speak. We’re gonna be talking a little bit about what that looks like, having a faith that speaks, but not only speaking— but speaking life.

Stick around, I think you’re going to be encouraged.

So it’s May 1st, and I can’t even believe it. Moment of silence. What in the world?! It’s May! I heard the other day that our our state, the state of Washington, is considering staying permanently in daylight savings time. And I I thought to myself —that looks really complicated because you have to ask permission from Congress and all that, and I thought— I kinda like Daylight Savings Time. I love that the sun is getting up earlier and staying up later. I’m the girl who really likes the long days—and so. looking forward to that.

I wanted to let you guys know where I’m going to be in the coming days, in case you want to come out and say hello—which I hope that you will. As you know, I’m going to be it at Ocean Network for the Apple Pie Day tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to that. Come on out and see us. We’ll be at the state capital—come say hello. If you got the MomStrong book, I’d love to ink it up for you —bring it out! And then the following day, on Friday May 3rd, is Preview Night here at the Homeschool Resource Center in Vancouver Washington. If you’re wondering where we’re at, just Google Firmly Planted Homeschool Family Resource Center, and you’ll be able to check it out then right after that.

I’ve got some really wonderful things coming up. I’m going to be speaking for Teach Them Diligently in Mobile, Alabama. And I will be there on Thursday the 9th, then Friday the 10th, and I’m going to be actually leaving there a little bit early because I’m going to be speaking for Abundant Life Church in Lee’s, Summit on the 12th —for Mother’s Day. So they’ve asked me to come in and just give a message to the moms there. I’m really looking forward to that. And so, I hope you guys will coming out and say hello.

Lots of things happening in the life of the ministry here, and in our little corner of the United States—just trying to make a difference. And I have to tell you—we really appreciate hearing from you. I appreciate hearing what God is doing in your life. And a lot of times when I’m in the studio, you know, it’s just me. Sometime it’s Jay in the studio with me or I’ll have a guest. But for the most part, it’s just me by myself in here and I sometimes wonder— is anybody listening? And then I get a letter in the mail, or we’ll get an e-mail, or one of my staff will pass along a note that you guys have left and we appreciate it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, so much! For every review that you leave at iTunes, it really matters. Thank you so much for visiting our sponsors. They are helping us make this podcast possible to come to you three days a week. We’ve got a whole staff now that works this podcast with us. I don’t know if you guys have noticed but we’ve got a transcription happening now. A lot of you have been asking for that. And so, we finally went ahead and made that jump and those transcriptions started last week.So I love to hear if that’s helping you guys or not. So that means you can download the podcast as a blog post, or if you though if you thought man that was really good I’d like to pass it along—It’s already been transcribed for you.

Speaking of our sponsors I want to just encourage you to visit Evangelical Christian Credit Union. You guys, I am so excited about this partnership. I love what they’re doing, particularly with parents—and you know this is just on my heart all the time. They have a program called Start Young, and it’s fantastic. So you can look at the 0-7 year olds, or the 8-12 year olds, or the 13-17 year olds. So, they’ve got them broken into groups of ages like that, and I want to focus really quickly on the Jump Start program which is for the 8-12 year olds. Because you guys, it’s not too early to teach your kids to understand money. I really wish my parents had taught me how to understand and how to manage my money. I think that when Jay and I were in college, because we got married very young and we made some pretty big tactical errors in the first few years of our marriage—not the least of which was just to get a credit card right away.

And, what I love about Start Young, is a start young account is going to give your children, with your guidance, hands on experience—real experience with budgeting and finances, and you get to monitor their progress, and you set the limit, and you get to reinforce the godly values about money that will grow with them for the rest of their life. So check it out ECCU.org/Heidi and then let me know what you think, because I love to hear what you guys think as you interact with the Start Young program through Evangelical Christian Credit Union.

All right, today I’m going to go ahead and address a topic that keeps coming up over and over again, and actually—it’s a wonderful segway into the study at MomStrong International that will start this coming Monday. So if you’re not a member at MomStrong International yet, I want to encourage you to do that. It’s like $2.15 a week. And your $2.15 not only is going to get you a fantastic Bible Study, but it is a wonderful way to support this ministry and to support the podcast. And I really appreciate it.

I want to ask you guys a question—Have you ever eaten a bad cherry tomato? I’m just gonna let that sit for a second. Bad cherry tomato. Because if you have—asked me how I know. It’s going to be years before you pop another one into your mouth without a thorough examination of how fresh it is? Actually I don’t even like tomatoes anymore. I like salsa. Give me salsa anytime. All of the tomato sauce, all of the spaghetti sauce, but just no sliced tomato. I just don’t like it.

Ask my friend Annette, it’s a long story. But unfortunately, as every rotten cherry tomato eater I will concur—you can’t fully see from the outside if the inside is going to taste good, and it changes your salad freedom. Folks, it really does. So no matter how red and shiny that tomato looks on the, the inside holds the truth of the matter. Whether that tomato is rotten, or whether it’s good—and our words are much the same. So no matter how pretty we dress our lives up, the Bible tells us that out of the heart, the mouth speaks. That’s right out of Luke 6:45.

And we can be cleaned up with Jesus-girls, and insta-worthy outfits, and photography-worthy meals, but who we are on the inside shows when the waiter bumps our elbow on his way by—and our mouths open,  and our hearts speak. And the Bible teaches us that the words that we speak come out of a treasury that’s in our heart.

So when you think of a treasury, it’s the bank that accepts deposits.Right? So we’ve been talking a little bit about ECCU. This is a different kind of a treasury. It’s a bank that accepts deposits, like a storehouse, and it’s accumulating things. That’s a treasury. So we deposit into the bank of our hearts every single time we say something, listen to something, or watch something—and that’s why I’m always encouraging you. It’s not enough for you just to go to church. We need to be saying—Lord, help me in the things that I allow myself to listen to, in the lies that I allow myself to believe, the things that I allow myself to watch, the music I allow myself to listen to—because deposits of information and knowledge that we accept are those those deposits that are coming into that treasury, right?

And Jesus is so clear in His teaching that where our treasure is, in other words the thing that we absorb and hold on to,that is where our hearts are gonna be. Also, that’s right out of Matthew 6:21. So i’m going to ask you today, as we get ready for the new study, and like I said—we’ve got the new Scripture Writing up today. Today’s the first day for it—so go grab it. We’re gonna be writing Scriptures about the things that we say. This is a great month to have your kids writing with you. And I want to ask you—what kind of deposits are you making into the treasury of your heart? And what kind of deposits are being made from your mouth into the hearts and minds of others, not the least of which, are your children?

So often I meet moms and dads out on the road, and even here at the resource center in Vancouver—and I’ll meet frustrated parents. Parents who basically are having trouble with their teen. And sometimes I think because we we don’t want to address what’s actually happening, we want to stick our head in the sand we don’t want to say— I wonder if that’s me. I wonder if I’ve got a problem. I wonder if this is I wonder if this is a heart issue in me. We want to pass it on to our children and be sure that we’re disciplining our children right. That we’re teaching them the right things—but often we’re struggling with things in our own hearts.

So think about this. There’s a wonderful book. It’s an old book, but it’s a good one. I’m going to link back to it in the show notes. It’s called Sticking with Your Teen: How to Keep from Coming Unglued No Matter What. Joe White wrote this, and it’s fantastic. This is one of the books I’ve had… in fact, I should look— when did I get this? Oh my goodness you guys, I just opened the book and a picture of Savannah and Sierra just fell out of it! I think Savannah was… she had to be four in this picture. Oh my goodness.

So I’ve had this book for a while. It came out in 2006 and it’s just —anyway, if you got teens in your house or even a pre-teen—you need this book. It’s fantastic. So listen to what Joe says. He says:

There’s a problem in your house. Like the smell of dirty socks. It seems to drift from an area where your teen hangs out. Things are calm when she’s not around and they’re not calm when she’s there. So the problem must be with your teen, right? Not necessarily. But does it matter whose fault it is?

Remember we we’re just talking about the treasury a second ago?

Well it only matters if there’s something you can do about it. You can’t change somebody else, you can’t change your teenager who’s fighting himself and the rest of the world to become his own person. The only one that you can change is yourself.

And this is the same thing that we’re going to be talking about all month in May. We want to control our own tongue. And if you’re not willing to start with yourself, you’re gonna have a hard time passing on truth to your children. And a lot of parents aren’t willing to start there. Counselors will often see parents who come in their point their fingers at their teen and — you fix my teen she’s the problem in her family. But problems aren’t usually that simple, and finger pointing usually doesn’t accomplish very much. Neither is mimicking your teen in the middle of an argument when he yells, or snorts, or rolls his eyes—you are the adult. Right? So it’s tempting to think—man, if I could just change his attitude. But forget it, because each person on this earth, including your teen, has a free will and God has designed us this way. Right?

And we get to choose how we are going to respond to every trial that comes our way. And that first response is typically something that we will say. And so, if you want to influence your kids, if you want to especially reach the heart of your teen, if you want their attitude to change—can I just encourage you right now? Change your attitude. Change your attitude. Accept responsibility for the contributions you’ve made to the situation that’s frustrating. It’s important for you to do that. All right? And it might even help if you just acknowledge with your teen what’s going on, or with your children, what’s going on.

It’s so important, because the Bible teaches us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. And so what kind of deposits are you making into the treasury of your heart? So I really want to start with us. Mom and Dad, we need to start with us before we can pass on anything to our children. We can’t pass on what we don’t possess. We’re never gonna be able to teach our children how to speak rightly to others if we’re busy not speaking kindly and not speaking right to them. The Bible teaches us in Jeremiah that the danger for all of us is that our hearts are deceitful.

The Bible says that they’re desperately sick, and we have a natural tendency to deposit worthless things into the treasuries of our hearts. And so, the only way around that is to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate anything that isn’t pure. And once He lights those up for us, then we have to take steps to collect different things to deposit.

So what we’re gonna do for the whole month of May—and I know you guys gonna be encouraged—this is a great study free to do with your kids, with your teens. What we want to do is read Romans 12:1-2, and then we want to live it out. Live it out every day. When we present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice that’s pleasing to God, then we can be renewed by the Holy Spirit in our minds—and not conform to the patterns of this world.

So it’s a continual filtering process to see that what we put into our hearts is what God values, and what will teach us and train us in becoming more like Him every day. There is a reason that I called the Bible Study Becoming MomStrong—because we want to grow, but we don’t just arrive. We become what we purpose in our hearts to become. Your children are gonna be becoming—they’re in the process right now of becoming what it is that God has for them to be. And as parents, we have a tremendous responsibility to not only shepherd our children, but to train them in righteousness—by our example.

And you know what you guys? It’s never too late. The story is not finished with your kids. Your kids are growing and they’re changing, and you are growing and you are changing. And can I just encourage you right now, that if you want your kids to be the warriors for the Lord—that even praying that they would be, then you’ve got to stick with them. You got to hang in there. And it’s tough sometimes to believe that we’re going to make it through any particular stage that we’re in with our kids—I’ve talked to so many of you who are frustrated and you feel like giving up.

And can I just encourage you? Even when your kids mess up, even when you mess up— don’t let the enemy make a twofer out of it. Right? Get back in the game. It is never too late. All right? God wants you to stay in there with your team. That’s why I love this book. It’s called Sticking with Your Teen by Joe White, and I think you’re going to love it. It’s an old book but it’s a goodie. So I’ll link back to it in the show notes today.

Also, i’m going to read to you straight from God’s Word because really better than any book you’ll ever pick up—is the book that God has given us. That is His Word. And He tells us in Ephesians 4:29-32, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs so that it might benefit those who listen.

Do you guys ever wonder who’s listening to you when you speak? Paul is saying—listen, you’re an ambassador for the Lord. Don’t let any and unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. Because what we want to do is treat other people with the same kindness and loved and the way that He Hs treated. God didn’t treat us, the Bible says, as our sins deserved—He didn’t. He poured His grace over us, Ephesians goes on to say—and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed from the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness.

Notice how he didn’t say—get rid of bitterness except for that one that one that one was pretty justified. You could hang on to that one. No, he says get rid of it all. Get rid of all bitterness, all rage, all anger brawling, and slander—along with every form of malice. And then he tells you what to do instead. So he says get rid of this and here’s what you do instead.

Be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other just as Christ in God forgave you.

And 1 Peter 3:8-9 says — finally all of you. All of you. So Mom, you can say this to your kids right now—all of you live in harmony with one another. Be sympathetic. Love as brothers. Be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult—but with blessing, because to this you recalled so that you might inherit a blessing.

Mom and Dad, teens who are listening to this—there is a blessing in it for you as you know, and study, and apply the Word of God. There’s a blessing as you learn to control the things that you’re saying and as you learn to control your tongue. God wants you to walk in right relationship with Him.

So all month, for the month of May, we’re going to study what that looks like. I hope you guys will join us. I think you’re going to really be encouraged. It’s a fantastic next step after the study we just did called Defining Discernment—because you got to have discernment if you’re going to learn to say what God would have you say. And so, we’re gonna kind of pass it out a little bit unpack it a little bit. I think you guys are going to be really, really encouraged.

I hope you guys will come out and see me at Apple Pie Day tomorrow in Salem, Oregon. Also I would encourage you—if you haven’t left reviews for Becoming MomStrong, or Bible Promises for Moms, or Prayers for the Battlefield—or any of the other books I’ve been writing, it really encourages us when you do that as well as leaving reviews for the podcast over at iTunes. We love it if you would share this podcast with your friends if it’s encouraging for you and, if you’d like to write us a letter and just let us know what the podcast is doing in your life, or if you’d like to send financial support to the ministry—you can do that by sending it to Heidi St. John c/o Firmly Planted Family 11100 NE 34th Cir, Vancouver, WA 98682.  We love you guys.

Thank you so much for joining us at MomStrong International where it is our heart to help you prioritize the study of God’s Word, to learn it, live it, and then lead in it. Have a great day everybody, and I’ll see you back here on Friday.

Write to Heidi:
c/o Firmly Planted Family
11100 NE 34th Cir, Vancouver, WA 98682

Support this ministry by donating through E-giving. You can also send donations to: 1100 NE 34th Cir, Vancouver, WA 98682