I Am A Mother - Mother's Day - Lisa Young - (Full Experience)

God has been so good to us, we're so thankful this morning. All you mothers, thank you so much. Just one more reason to be thankful to God. Anybody thankful this morning? Welcome to the home. Father, we just give you all the glory. Mmmmm Wandering into the night Wanting a place to hide This weary soul This bag of bones And I try with all my might But I just can't win the fight I'm slowly drifting A vagabond Oh Just when I ran down the road I met a man I didn't know And he told me that I was not alone Father, thank you. He picked me up He turned me around He placed my feet on the ground I thank the Master I thank the Savior Jesus healed my heart Changed my name Forever free I thank the Master I thank the Savior

I thank God Oh, thank you, Lord. Come on, lift it up. Say I cannot deny what I see No choice but to believe My doubts are burning Like ashes in the wind It's been so long It's been so long since I opened Burning in bitterness You can't just keep it going Oh, you ain't welcome here From now on till I walk From now till I walk I say I love you You saved my soul This wayward son Has found his way back home He picked me up He turned me around He placed my feet on the ground I thank the Master I thank the Savior Jesus healed my heart Changed my name Forever free I thank the Master I thank the Savior I thank God Oh, thank you, Jesus

Thank you, Father We thank you, Lord I'm so thankful because what? I needed rescue My sin was heavy The chains break At the weight of your glory I needed shelter I was ignored And you called me A citizen of heaven When I was broken You were my healing Your love is the land I'm breathing I have a future My eyes are open Call the wind You hold my hand And I'm not afraid Get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up out of that grave

Get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up, get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up, get up out of that grave You pick me up You turn me around You raise from me Oh, I thank the master I thank the Savior Cause He healed my heart He changed my name Forever free, forever free I thank the Savior I thank the Master I thank the Savior I thank God We thank You, Lord I just want to speak the name of Jesus, over every heart and every mind. Cause I know there is peace within your presence, I speak Jesus. I just want to speak the name of Jesus, till every dark addiction starts to break. Declaring there is hope and there is freedom, I speak Jesus. Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. I just want to speak the name of Jesus, over fear and all anxiety. To every soul held captive by depression, I speak Jesus. Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life. Break every chain today, break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets.

Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus for my family, I speak the holy name, Jesus. We declare your name today, shout Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus for my family, I speak the holy name, Jesus. Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. I know there's some of you who today walked in with some heavy weights. Maybe you're carrying some anxiety. Maybe it's just because it's Mother's Day and it brings back painful reminders for you. Whatever it is, we can bring them to Jesus. We can lay them at his feet. And so we just want to take a moment to pray. And maybe you don't even know how to verbalize it, how to put into words what you're feeling. You can just say, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, thank you for your strength. Jesus, you are my hope. Jesus, you are my peace. You are truth. Your grace is sufficient. Jesus, thank you for your forgiveness. Jesus, I need your help. Jesus, lift me up. Because Jesus, we speak your name over our lives, over our families, over our city, over our nation, because you are the alpha and omega. You are the beginning and the end.

You are king of kings. You are lord of lords. And we lift your name over every name. Sing this with us one more time. Jesus, Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains. Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness, over every enemy. Shout Jesus from my family. I speak the holy name. Jesus. Shout Jesus, shout Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains. Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness, over every enemy. Jesus from my family. I speak the holy name. Jesus. Oh, aren't you grateful? So thankful to be reminded that we are not alone with whatever we face. But I also hope as you look around you that you will be reminded that you're not alone because you can be a part of this church family. That's what family does. And we're so glad to be able to be here together. You may be seated. Well, we wanna welcome you this morning. My name is Tian Moon. This is my friend, Candice Donnelly.

And we wanna welcome all of you mothers and mother figures. And we wanna wish you a happy Mother's Day. We're so glad to have you here with us this morning. Yes, moms, you're the best. And we are so thankful for you. And maybe on the list of things that you want today, it was a vacation. That would sound right. So children, kids, I encourage you to give your mother a 30-minute vacation today. Don't ask her anything. And moms, I challenge you, if you're asked a question, answer it with, I don't know. Ask your dad. But really, moms, we love you. Thank you for being here today. Happy Mother's Day. We are so glad to have you here. And we wanna welcome anyone who is here for the very first time. You are our special guest. We're honored that you chose to spend today with us. And we would love to connect with you. There's so many great things available here for you. So I invite you to just reach into the seat back in front of you and grab this blue Connect card. There's a pin there. This is the perfect time to go ahead and fill it out. Because when you give us this card, we will reach out to you.

And it gives us a chance to tell you about our Bible study classes. We have small groups that meet. We have support and recovery groups. We even have FC sports. Something for everyone. Something for everybody. There's so many great ways that you can be connected here. So if you'll fill that out in just a few moments when we pass our offering bag, you're welcome to drop that in. And we will be happy to follow up with you this week so that you can be a part. Yes, and any Mix moms in the house this morning, Mix is our youth movement here at Fellowship Church, all about growing and building the next generation. Amazing things are happening. Just this Wednesday night, when I was driving my son home from the Mix, he said, Mom, even if this wasn't my church, I would still think it was the best church. And I have to agree with him. And just to show you a glimpse of what happened Wednesday night, I want you to watch this video. Imagine a church with a vision to transform this field into one of the largest events in Dallas-Fort Worth to reach young people for Jesus. A vision to ignite a fire in students' hearts, bringing them together from across the Metroplex,

filling cars and buses full of friends to experience more than just fun, but the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. A vision to tear down walls and to reach one life at a time with the message of the gospel. Hear me before you throw some paint on some friends. Here's what hangs in the balance tonight. Life and death. If you want life, it's found in one person and one person alone, and his name is Jesus Christ. Every single person in the room, say Jesus tonight. Jesus tonight. I admit I am a sinner, and I need a Savior, and I believe that Savior is you. Tonight, I choose to follow you forever. I'm going to ask you on the count of three just to stand to your feet, to acknowledge you are choosing life in Jesus Christ. One, two, three. Come on, can we celebrate? Can we celebrate? This is what a church with a bold vision to reach the next generation looks like. Whatever it takes, whatever the cost. And it's why the next time we bring students together in this field, it will be for the grand opening of the Anchor Center, our brand new student center like no other, built to anchor generations to come to the hope only found in Jesus. Because we have a vision to reach more students, more children, more families, and see more lives changed than ever before. Construction begins this summer, and for every wall that goes up, more walls will come down in young people's hearts. That's the vision, a vision that takes all of us. So let's step out in faith. Let's give faithfully and boldly, and together let's turn this field into a place that will anchor life after life to Jesus for generations to come. That's amazing. It was such an amazing night. And church, the reason that it's possible is because so many of you give generously. Thank you for consistently bringing your tithes and

offerings because that's what makes it possible for us to continue to reach out to students and to their families and to men and to women and so many people who are in need of the gospel. So thank you for your faithfulness. And for those of you who also give to the Anchor Center, thank you for your investment. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do because we are willing to make sacrifices and to believe in faith that God wants to continue to reach even more people. So thank you for your investment in the Anchor Center. If you're not a part of that, you still can be. You can just go to fellowshipchurch.com and find out more about that. But thank you for your faithfulness. There are great days ahead. Yes, and soon we're going to hear from Pastor Lisa. She has an incredible message, not just for the moms, for everyone. It's so amazing. But before she comes, moms, we have a gift for you. We got together this week as a team to write a song, but because it's Mother's Day and we need it to be extra special, we had to bring in some professionals. And no one knows moms like these professionals. Do you know what this Sunday is? Mother's Day. Mother's Day. The Sunday is Mother's Day. We brought you here today for a very important assignment. We're going to write a song for all the moms, and we need your expert advice to help us write the words to this song. What? If your mom was a superhero, what would her superpower be? Strength? My mom would be Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman? She zooms me. Zooms you? Yep. What does that mean? She holds me in. Your mom does? She flies you around? Supermom. Supermom. Teleport. Where would your mom go? My mom would go Benz and Benz concert. Where does your mom like to go on trips? Let's just say like right above us. Oklahoma? Yes, Oklahoma. Miami? Let's take all of our moms to Miami. She can get a jet ski. Yeah. Ride with dolphins. Ride with dolphins? That's a good Mother's Day. I'd say she'd like to go to Sydney and Australia. Can you say happy Mother's Day in an Australian accent? Happy Mother's Day. What's your favorite thing that your mom makes? Spaghetti. Spaghetti? I love spaghetti too. And spaghetti. I know. It's okay. I like spaghetti though. What rhymes with spaghetti? Taghetti. Taghetti. Spaghetti. What's something you could do for your moms this Mother's Day? A good present would probably be obedience. Obedience. Dang. And coffee. Obedience and coffee. You know your mom and so many other moms so well. I would buy my mom 40 dogs and 4,966 How much money do you think we should spend on our moms? No budget. No budget.

No budget. No budget. I like that. I like that. What would the world be like if there were no more moms? I wish we had moms back. It's just so disappointing. I agree. Moms are the best. Not happy. Terrible. Terrible. Darkness. Darkness. We need a name for the song. What could we name the song? Mother's is the best. Mother's is the best. Mother's is the best? Mother's is the best. Mother's is the best. There's a momma. There's a momma. Mother's is the best. See? Hand in the middle. Moms on three. One, two, three. Moms! Here we go.

Mother's is the best. She's strong, she's nice, she's smart. She's better than the rest. Mother's is the best. Hey! Mother's is the best. When she cooks, she's crazy, she's always me. I feel so blessed. Mother's is the best. Here you go, Moms. If she was a superhero, she'd be super mom. She could teleport us anywhere to hear a Vincent Vroom song. Hey! We could drive to Oklahoma or Miami Beach. You could ride out with the Dolphins on your new jet ski. And I'd like to be together when my mom cooks me spaghetti. And I'd like to be together when my mom cooks me spaghetti. Mother's is the best. She's strong, she's kind, she's smart. She's better than the rest. Sing it out! Mother's is the best. Mother's is the best. When she cooks, she's crazy, she's always me. I feel so blessed. Mother's is the best. And everybody sing it out! Hallelujah! It's a mama, it's a mama. Hallelujah!

Mother's is the best. Hallelujah! It's a mama, it's a mama. Hallelujah! Mother's is the best. Now moms, let's be real. If you weren't here, it would be not happy, terrible, disappointing. Darkness. I gotta get you coffee, ice cream, $40, and obedience. There's not a budget for you moms. Because you deserve it all. And I'd like to be together when my mom cooks me spaghetti. And I'd like to be together when my mom cooks me spaghetti. Mother's is the best. She's strong, she's kind, she's smart. She's better than the rest. Mother's is the best. Mother's is the best. When she cooks, she's crazy, she's always me. I feel so blessed. Mother's is the best. And everybody sing it out! Hallelujah! It's a mama, it's a mama. Hallelujah! Mother's is the best. Hallelujah! It's a mama, it's a mama. Hallelujah! Mother's is the best.

Come on, give it up for all the moms. Happy Mother's Day! I am a mother. And today's my day. How many moms in the house? Okay, can I just say, I know that there are some feeling a lot of pressure, gentlemen, children. And can I just give you a word that's going to help alleviate some of that stress? There is nothing that you can do to repay us the debt. It is a massive debt. And we could have Mother's Day month or Mother's Month, Mother's Year, you would still be in debt. Because let's face it, we wouldn't be here without a mom. Right? I mean, I know that sometimes you might have some, you know, different backgrounds that you come from and maybe memories that are pleasant or unpleasant or whatever, but the basic appreciation is this, you are here because of a mother. When I found out that I was expecting, we were expecting, Ed and I, it was spring of 1986, and we were so excited, just overwhelmed with the news that come October, we would be parents. And we couldn't wait to tell people all about it, like, we're gonna have a baby, tell our family, tell friends.

But there was one situation that was a little bit tough because, or really it was a lot tough. My best friend, she and her husband had been married for quite some time and Ed and I just loved them. We would hang out, go to the movies, just really good friends. And they had been told by a doctor that they would not be able to conceive a child. And they had tried for many years and then finally got that news. And so the first person that I felt like I needed to tell was my friend, Sheila. Because I didn't want Sheila to hear that from someone else because where it was great news for us, I knew that it might be somewhat painful for her. And so if you are here and maybe that's your situation, I just wanna tell you that just like my heart went out to Sheila, our hearts go out to you. When I told Sheila, she was just the friend she'd always been, she celebrated. And I found out something about Sheila that I really already knew, but it just became solid in my mind is that Sheila was not faithful to the Lord because of whether or not she was a mother, she was faithful to God because he was her father. And eventually, a few years down the road, Sheila and her husband Lee adopted two beautiful children and she did indeed become a mom.

I'm a mother. When you hear those words, you are expecting. I don't know what goes through or went through your mind, but I'll tell you what went through my mind. We got a lot of work to do. We've gotta get ready for this. Have you ever played the game hide and seek? Hide and seek, you know, we would gather at our house and all the kids in the neighborhood and you count to 10 and you have to figure out, you have to have a rule because some kids were just cheaters and they would go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, and before you knew it, you hadn't even moved three steps and they were saying, ready or not, here I come. And so we added, you had to say banana in the middle, like one banana, two banana, three banana. We were very bright children. And so then you would get to 10 banana and you could say, ready or not, here I come. Pregnancy is a lot like that. One month, two months, three months, so forth. You get to nine months and it's just like, ready or not, here I come. And we did a lot of things just to try to get ready for having a baby. Like there was this book, I mean, just brilliant title, What to Expect When You're Expecting. And I mean, the pages were tattered. I read through it because I was like,

I don't think, I think I missed something. I think I missed something. And then there were Lamaze classes. See, back in the day, like in the 1980s, if you, if the husband was going to go into the delivery room, they had to go to Lamaze classes so they could be prepared for what was going to happen. Can you even do that? But it was the intent, that Lamaze classes would help you get ready. Well, at that time, Ed was in seminary getting his master's of divinity. And in order to fast track, he did something which is known as the seminary student death sentence. And that was to take Greek and Hebrew at the same time. Yeah, I mean, it's tough. It was really tough for me. It was very tough for him. And it was tough for me. It was tough because I was his wife. And I mean, there was a lot of stuff going on at that time. And he's like, he's MIA. But he had to do these Lamaze classes. I have to tell you, there were a couple of times he missed. His mother went with me. Now, I loved my mother-in-law. She, we had a great relationship. It wasn't that typical mother-in-law. I don't know if there is such a thing, but you know how mother-in-law is.

I was getting kind of the bad rap. I really loved that she went with me. She was awesome. But I mean, I would have preferred Ed. He was my first choice. But he couldn't go, so he missed several. And our doctor was actually a family friend, but he still said, Ed, you've got to check out the VHS tape from the library and watch the full Lamaze classes. And so what did we do on a Friday night? We settled in for date night. I was in the recliner. Ed was on the sofa. We popped that VHS tape into the VCR. Young people, you're gonna have to look that up. It's a lot of initials in it. It's extinct. So it begins, and then it quickly gets to the part where childbirth takes place. And I glance over, and Ed has grabbed two pillows on the sofa and has placed them over his ears like that, and he's moaning. No, no, no, no. And he rolls off the sofa onto the floor, and he's in a fetal position. Now, I am not exaggerating in the least. We're in church. I am telling you the truth. I see it like it was yesterday.

He's rolling on the floor with these pillows, going, I can't do this. Stop it, stop it. I can't do this. I can't do this. And I looked at him like, what are you supposed to do? This is me. I'm the one that's gotta do everything. You just have to be somewhat educated to go into the room. Oh my goodness, let's just face it. I mean, it takes two to have a baby. I mean, we know that. I mean, I'm not gonna go into strong detail here, but let's, we know. But guys, I love football, so I'm just gonna use an analogy so you'll get it. You're like the center on a football team. You snap the ball, you hand it off to the quarterback. We're the quarterbacks, okay? You snap the ball, we've got it, and it's up to us to make the play. I'm just gonna tell you, you're gonna have your day in June, and I think you deserve a day. A day. No, we celebrate you too. But I mean, it's all about that preparation. You just think, oh my goodness, will I ever be prepared? And by the time the twins were born, LeBeth was seven, EJ was three,

and of course EJ had some health issues, so there was a lot going on. His development was a little bit delayed and all of this, and then I found out I was pregnant with twins. Glory, hallelujah, it was a miracle. And they are a miracle still. Adult children miracle. We can talk about motherhood of adult children. That's a whole nother Sunday. But when we were getting ready to leave the hospital, and it was just Ed and I in the room, and our pediatrician came in, and she was kinda giving the last check of the twins before we were going to go home. Now, the interesting thing about this whole process of being a parent, when LeBeth was born, I got to stay four days in the hospital. Four days. It was glorious. When EJ was born, I got to stay three days. Second child, I'm thinking they should've given me five, because four, then two children, five. And then the twins were born, I got two days. I'm like, are you guys crazy? What is it? I mean, it was something to do with the insurance company, but it's just not fair. I needed to stay longer, I'm telling you. But when we got ready to check out, our pediatrician, who's wonderful, came into the room,

and she said, Lisa, you have LeBeth, she's seven, you have EJ, he's three, you have these beautiful twins. You've gone through almost anything that a parent is going to go through. I mean, she was fully aware of what we'd dealt with with EJ's health and everything. She said, you know the stuff. But if you ever get in a bind, if I ever get in a bind, call me, and I'll be sure to help. And I looked at her, because she was telling me, Lisa, you've got it. You have everything you need. You're gonna do great. And I was looking at her like, Dr. Dickey, no, I do not have it. I don't know what I'm doing. I know this is my third and fourth rodeo here, but I don't know what I'm doing. And I think a lot of times as moms, the mantle is so heavy, the mantle of motherhood, is that we often feel like we just don't know enough to do. to do this thing. We need more. I found myself saying over and over, I need more. I need more, and then fill in the blank. I need more help. I need more time. I need more of anything just to be able to do this monumental task.

Ephesians 3.20 says, now to him who is able to do immeasurably more, say more, more, than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. We do need more of a lot of practical things, but more than anything, we need Jesus who can do more than we can ever think, ask, or imagine. Some of the phrases that I used as far as I need more, one of them was information. When our kids were born, I thought to myself, I should have done more babysitting jobs. I mean, surely, if I'd have done more babysitting, I would know more, be prepared for this. I don't know. I just thought, well, maybe that's the answer. Thankfully, there were books like What to Expect When You're Expecting, and then they even had books like What to Expect When You Have a Toddler, and I'm like, well, these just keep going and going. Like, what to expect when you take your child to high school for the first time, to prom. I needed every book there possibly could be, but one of the great things about needing more is God in his sovereignty, whether it's whatever practical need you have, he interjects just what you need, just what people who you need to do life with

so that when you get into these binds and you're like, I don't know enough, there's resources. Fellowship Church is one of the greatest resources. Ed and I, I mean, we consider ourselves to be good parents, but we were better parents because of this house and raising our children here at fellowship. So I need more information. Here is one that you will hear all the time. I need more time. I need more time. I need more time. There are 24 hours in a day. I'm an advocate that God knew what he was doing with 24 hours. I don't want 36 hours. I'm exhausted at the end of the day. I don't want more time, but sometimes we feel like we need more time because we have too much stuff packed in to the time that we have. Ed and I had the privilege of keeping our grandchildren, three of our grandchildren this weekend, and grandparenting, just, you know, I'm sure there's some grandparents in the room, grandparenting is so much more fun than parenting. I mean, this is Mother's Day, but Grandmother's Day, yeah, that's a real treat. I mean, we could just do one day and just have a big party and it would be great because everything else about it is just a celebration.

So we had the opportunity to take our five-year-old grandson, Dodge, to his coach pitch game. It was the last game of the season. And so there was a pizza party afterwards. So we go over with all the other parents to the little park area where they were having the pizza party and all these parents are gathered and they're parents of like elementary age and some of them were preschool age children. And the conversations that we overheard were, yeah, we've got a doubleheader this afternoon. And I'm telling you, Jake's got a soccer tournament. And we started at 8 a.m. this morning and our last game's at eight tonight. And I'm like, Ed and I were talking about it after we dropped the kids off because you don't wanna talk about this in front of them, but we were just, you know, it's interesting how when you're an empty nester and you talk about just anything, you have to remember when they're in the car like, ooh, oh no, yeah, wait for later. And so we were just talking about this schedule and how the time, the amount of time we have in a day is just Pac-Man'd with good things, but not necessarily the best things. I mean, these were five-year-olds, six-year-olds, seven-year-olds, and I just would encourage you

if you feel like I just don't have enough time, perhaps do an inventory to say, is it I don't have enough time or I don't have the ability to articulate the word no. No, no, we can't put that in our schedule because what happens is we do all these good things and we eliminate the best thing and the next thing you know, all the tournaments are on a Wednesday night or a Sunday morning and there's no time for the mix, there's no. time for church and you're like, oh, well, but I mean, you know, he's got to be on that team or whatever. Again, good thing. But what is the most important task that we carry? It's leading our children to know Jesus. And if we let everything else get in the way of the most important, yes, then we've missed the mark. We've missed the mark. How about this one? I need more energy. Yes, I need more energy. My sister sent me a little comic strip. I think she was trying to be nice, but it was kind of mean. And it said, it showed a mother outside the bedroom of her children that were in twin beds. And the little bubble above the mom's head said, if only I could think of them as sleeping and not recharging. Because sleep is where they recharge.

And guess what? They wake up the next morning and they've got energy regardless of whether you have energy. So it's really important if you're saying, I need more energy. Well, let me look at what I'm doing to make that happen. Am I eating right? Am I exercising? And am I doing the very basic things in order to have more energy? Am I saying no to the right things so that I'm not so exhausted doing everything rather than the best thing? I have four children and sometimes that required in order to exercise to get up before they did and work out. We had a recumbent bicycle and it was old and creaky, but that's what I did before they got up. And it made a difference in the day. It just helps if you just do those basic things. And I also can tell I'm a sweets fanatic. I love sweets. And actually I'll make a confession here. I like the off-brand cheap Oreos. Not the Nabisco, but the Great Value. That's my favorite, the Great Value brand. And I look at that box cause I order on Walmart and they bring it to my front door. It's just sin on delivery. And I look at that and I'm thinking

that would be a delicious breakfast, but it's not the best choice. And so I have to say, kind of wade through that, but just think of some practical things to do in order to have more energy. I need more help. There's never enough hands. And Ed and I had to have conversations continually about how we could help one another out. When the twins were born or when I found out I was pregnant with the twins, we were building this building, preparing for moving in. And it was like, what are we gonna do? And the week before they were born, a magazine showed up at our door. It was put out by Focus on the Family and it said the number one, it was June. They were born June 30th. It said the number one need of a father is to feel, I think it was rest and security as in charge. And I'm like, really? In two weeks, we're gonna have twins and we're gonna worry about Ed being secure and rested. And I love Focus on the Family, but I wanted to write a letter. But you need more help. So perhaps enlist family friends to do a swap with babysitting or that type of stuff so that you can get help. I need more guidance.

This parenting thing, I mean, there's questions. Again, we're tasked with keeping this child alive. I mean, that's a pretty big responsibility. The first night we were home from the hospital with Lee Beth, of course, three hours that we were trying to get that three hour schedule down, we, I'm sorry, Ed's seminary, we, it was me. And it's okay. It's so okay, honey. It's good. And can I say, he passed with flying colors. He has his master's in divinity and part of a doctorate. So anyway, okay. I just made up for everything I've said so far. But I got up in the night and I'm like, okay, she's fed, she's changed, and we've got to get her back on the schedule. So I saw in her little bassinet a pacifier. It was a pacifier that had been sent home from the hospital with her. But I was so naive that I looked at that and I thought, could she choke on that thing? You know, you read all these horror stories about choking and babies and everything, and I was like, could she choke on a pacifier? It never dawned on me that if they sent it home with her, that it's probably safe. You know, it's from the hospital. So what did I do? I needed guidance.

I picked up the phone and I called the nurses station and I asked, listen, no joke, before we left the hospital, one of the nurses took me aside and she said, Ms. Young, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call because someone's at this desk all the time. Well, you know what I did? I picked up that phone and I called and I said, by chance, that pacifier that you sent us home with, is that safe for her? And she said, well, of course, Ms. Young, we would never send you home with something that's not safe for your baby. And I was like, oh, great. Thank you so much. This is going to be helpful during the night. And I hung the phone up and I can just imagine the cackle of laughter that happened at that nurses station. But that's okay because I needed guidance. That's why community is so important. To have friends that you rub shoulders with, that you can ask. Someone who's gone before you, that you could say, hey, I mean, as dumb a question, which really there shouldn't be a dumb question, but as can they choke on a pacifier? That's okay. Because we sometimes need guidance. We also need, this was a big one for me, I need more wisdom. Children are very smart. They're very savvy. And I have found over my years of parenting that my children are often more savvy than I am. They're smarter than me. Well, yeah, they probably are. So one particular situation, and I'm just like, really? Seriously, I'm dealing with this? One particular situation, Lee Beth was two and a half. And she never really had tantrums.

I mean, we didn't go through the terrible twos or whatever. I never liked those labels because it's like you prepared for them to be horrible or whatever. But she was two and a half, and life was good, and we had a great relationship, and I was feeling good about my mom's skills at that time. And I put her in the car to go to Target. And she had these coloring sheets that she would hold in her car seat. And when we got to Target, I noticed these just shreds of paper in the back seat. And she had torn one page just completely, and not thousands of pieces, but it seemed like thousands of pieces. And I said, Lee Beth, why did you do that? Of course, you know, why would you ask a child, why did you do this? They don't know. What did I expect her to say? Because I have a sin nature. I do these things. But I just said, do not do that. It makes mommy's car messy, and now I have to pick up the pieces. You're going to have to help me pick up the pieces. I said, if you want to keep coloring pages here in the back seat with you, you have got to promise me you're not going to tear the pages up. I promise, mommy. I promise. We go into Target. We do what we need to do. We get back in the car. We're headed back home. We pull into the driveway. I open the back door, look at the car seat, paper, shredded, everywhere. I said, Lee Beth, I was very clear you are not supposed to tear up the paper and make a terrible mess in the back of the car.

This was her response. Mommy, my hands did it, but my head didn't know anything about it. I mean, seriously, a two-and-a-half-year-old, now, I know she was advanced, but still. It's just we get faced with all kinds of things. We need wisdom, and that's a very humorous story, but over the course of my mothering, we have faced some very, very serious situations where I've needed guidance that goes way beyond my years, that I've needed wisdom because I could not understand what was going on and why we were the ones going through what we were going through. God provides it all. He will provide it for you. These are physical needs, practical needs that we have, time, knowledge, information, wisdom, guidance, energy, all of those things, very practical. But God tells us in order to do what he's called us to do as moms, yes, we want to deal with the practical, but we have to deal with something deeper than that. There's a story in John chapter 4. It's about the woman who comes to a well. It's Jacob's well, and it's the middle of the day because this woman has a sordid past, and she doesn't want to go to the well in the morning when all the other women come. come to the well, she goes at noon because she doesn't wanna run into anybody. She doesn't want anyone to see her because she doesn't have a good reputation. She struggles in life. She has a past. So she shows up at the well around noon, and Jesus also shows up at the well. Now the interesting thing about this interchange is that she comes to get water because what? She had a practical need for water. She meets Jesus there and Jesus says,

"'Would you pour me some water?' And she looks at him and she's disturbed because not only is he a Jew, but he's a man. And he's talking to a woman who's a Samaritan. So all of these boundaries have been crossed by him just saying, could you get me some water? And she responds and is going to get him water. And the conversation proceeds and he says, "'I can give you something more. "'I can give you something more "'that you did not even know you needed.'" And it's found in John 4, 13 through 14. It says, Jesus answered, "'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, "'but whoever drinks the water I give them "'will never thirst. "'Indeed, the water I give them "'will become in them a spring of water "'welling up to eternal life.'" The interesting thing about a spring is it's continuous. It doesn't stop. And Jesus is saying, I'm going to give you an everlasting water that you did not even know you needed. So often we're focused on those practical needs and we forget our deepest need. In order to lead our children, we cannot lead them where we have not been. And so it's all about that supernatural need being met. After this exchange, she goes back to her town, the little village close by.

And rather than ducking in the shadows, she tells people about this man that she had met and about what had happened in her life and that he knew everything there was to know about her. And she tells people boldly her testimony. And further along in that passage, it says that the town was forever changed because of her testimony. Moms, if we will allow Jesus to fill us supernaturally above everything else with his living water, giving our lives to him with everything, the totality of our lives, it will be like a spring, bubbling water, overflowing. And it might be a town, but more importantly, it will be your children who see the difference, who know the difference, and who want to have exactly what you have. I'd like for us to bow in prayer right now. And I just have a prayer to pray over all of the moms here. This is found in Ephesians. It's actually a passage of scripture. And it's the verses that come right before Ephesians 3.20 that I read earlier. It's Ephesians 3.14 through 21. And I just feel like as Paul penned these words, it is so appropriate for every mom here to pray. And I would like, if you are seated near or close to a mom, just reach your hand toward the mother, maybe the mother in your life or one on your row,

and pray this earnestly with us. For this reason, I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. And to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. According to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever, amen. Amen. Thank you, what a great message. What a great reminder. And if you're here today and you're listening to Lisa's message, whether you're a mother or you're not, and you're thinking, I want to be able to know Jesus like that, and I want to be able to pass Him on to others, the first step of that is having a personal relationship

with Jesus Christ yourself. And the way that we can have that is by simply admitting that we're sinners and because of our sin, that we've been separated from a God who loves us deeply. And then believing what the Bible tells us, and that is that Jesus came and He lived a perfect life, He died a sacrificial death, and then He rose again so that our sin could be forgiven and so that we could have that restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And then choosing to put our faith in Jesus, turning from our sin and turning toward Jesus and giving our life to Him. And if you have not made that decision, you can make that decision today right where you are. In Romans chapter 10, it says, if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. So right where you are, just quietly under your breath, you can just say, I want Jesus. And you can become a child of God in this moment. Church, will you help me celebrate? Because I'm believing in faith that there are people who are giving their lives to Jesus because of the message that they just heard. And we want to celebrate with you because this is the beginning of your journey. And so I'd like to encourage you after this service

to just step over to one of our prayer tables here on each side of our worship center. This is an opportunity for you to find out more about what's ahead because it's just the beginning of the journey. We'd love to give you a Bible. We'd love to give you some resources to help you continue to grow. And there may be others of you here who said, I just like to have somebody pray for me. You are welcome to step over to our prayer tables. Or if you're ready to take the next step in your faith and to take the step of baptism, going public with your faith, they would also be happy to answer those questions as well. But we just want to partner with you and help you to take whatever next step God has for you because there's so many great things ahead. That was a great message, wasn't it? Awesome. It was so good. We all need to hear that. You know, just a little tip. If you haven't maybe gotten all of your Mother's Day gifts is that we have a special gift that you can give to the mothers in your life. We are already preparing for next year's Sisterhood Conference, 2027. The theme is Holy Rebellion. It's gonna be incredible.

Pastor Lisa's gonna be there. We'll also be welcoming special guest, Jenny Allen, who's a New York Times bestselling author and speaker. She's incredible. And so today we have a special rate for the Sisterhood Conference. So even if you've gotten a gift for your mom, this would just be icing on the cake. It would take it right over the top. You can go ahead and tap the seat in front of you or you can go to fellowshipchurch.com and you can register the moms in your life for Sisterhood 2027. It's gonna be a great time together. Yes, and also this Thursday, we have something new and exciting. It's our Equip Night. It's going to be a night of community, worship, finding out God's purpose for your life. If you're a junior or senior or a young adult, make sure to be there. You can go to fellowshipchurch.com to sign up and register. We're gonna have food trucks, coffee, just a fun time to come together. It's gonna be awesome. And next Sunday, we're gonna be welcoming Pastor Brad Hughes who leads Fellowship Men. He's gonna be bringing our message next week. So please plan to be here.

Well, before we dismiss today, if you'll stand, we wanna declare this truth together as a church family. So if you will say this with me. Jesus, thank you that in you, I am loved, forgiven, and blessed. For you, I will reach up in worship, reach out to share my faith, and reach in to become more like you. And because of you, I know the best is yet to come. Have a happy Mother's Day. We'll see you next Sunday. ♪ He picked me up, He turned me around ♪ ♪ He placed my feet on solid ground ♪ ♪ I've been a master, I've been the Savior ♪ ♪ Because He healed my heart, He changed my name ♪ ♪ Forever free, I'm not the same ♪ ♪ I've been a master, I've been the Savior, I thank God ♪ You