Caffeinated Crunchy Christian Moms

Read: Romans 5–6

To start, if you have read every day thus far, congrats! You are officially at week 3. If not, I am still proud of you for opening your Bible and spending time with the Lord today. That truly matters. Honestly, not in a boastful way, I’m proud of myself too for staying consistent

Romans was written by Paul, who was once Saul, as a letter to the Roman church. In it, he offers encouragement, guidance for daily life, and special support for newer believers. One of Paul’s main points is that we all have a history and a past, but in Christ Jesus, we are given a new beginning. God can transform even the most broken or “too far gone” person into something beautiful for His glory. That truth is really powerful and hope filled.

An old friend of mine recently lost her baby girl during childbirth. She shared the news on Facebook, and my heart broke for her. I pray for her often and think of her frequently. She had her baby shortly after I gave birth to my daughter, and I can’t even imagine that pain, and pray I never have to experience it. For anyone in a similar situation, my heart goes out to you.

Through it all, she has kept her faith in the Lord and trusts His plan. She is a shining example of hope in God. I take comfort knowing that, just as I hope to be reunited one day with my unborn baby who went to the Lord, she too will be reunited with her precious baby girl. That reunion will be beautiful, no matter what it looks like, and we can hold on to hope in God’s promises.

Scripture gives us every reason to believe that we will be reunited in heaven. While we don’t know exactly what it will look like, we can trust God’s love, His promise of eternal life, and His perfect plan. That reunion will be joyful and full of peace, no more pain, no more suffering.

“… also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope…” – Romans 5:3-5

I highlighted so much in my Bible while reading this today, and I’m trying my best not to rewrite Scripture word for word since you’ll be reading it yourself. Still, I want to point out a few key things that really stood out to me. In Romans chapter 5, we see that we can have “peace with God.” Through Jesus, we have gained access to a real relationship with Him and now stand in His grace. He has given us the gift of eternal life, and we can place our full trust in Him. We can “boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

Paul also reminds us, that sin entered the world through Adam, but through Christ, we are offered freedom and new life. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we “die” to our old selves and are reborn as new creations in Him. Our old ways, old sins, and old identity no longer define us. We are now alive in Christ, both now and for eternity.

God really does the heavy lifting for us, which makes sense, because He is our Father. When you think about it, a good parent does so much for their children. In the same way, God provides for us, guides us, and makes a way when we could never do it on our own. NEVER.

The truth is, we are all sinners; raising sinners, married to sinners, coming from sinners, and living as sinners every day. We can try our best to live a godly life, but we will always fall short. That’s just the reality of being human.

The Holy Trinity helps us, strengthens us, answers our prayers, and lights our path; but we cannot earn our way into heaven by ourselves. Good works can’t save us, and simply “being a good person” can’t either. That doesn’t mean that those things don’t matter, they do, but they are not what gets us into heaven. God is very clear about how we are saved: through faith in Jesus and a relationship with Him.

• Jesus is the straight-A student in the group project with a bunch of slackers. We are the slackers.
• He’s the only one in the boat with a paddle. We are along for the ride.
• He’s the captain of the ship. We have no idea where the ship is going.
• He’s the writer and director of our movie. We barely got the part.

All we need is faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed, and God will carry us the rest of the way.

“He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” – Matthew 17:20

We are called to make disciples. When it comes to sharing the good news with others, we don’t have to do everything ourselves. We can just plant the seed, and God does the rest. Let the Holy Spirit work through you, even when it feels scary or uncomfortable. This is something that I struggle with because it does feel scary and uncomfy. I don’t know why, but I get all nervous, sweaty, and trip on my words. Remember that God is with you. The Holy Spirit is with you, and you are not doing this alone.

Most importantly, fellow mamas, we are called to nurture and raise godly little disciples through our kiddos. And that doesn’t have to look perfect or feel complicated.

It can look like:

• Going to church even when your kiddos fuss and whine
• Praying at dinner even if they’ve already started eating
• Praying at bedtime even when bedtime routine has aged you 10 years and a few grey hairs
• Simply modeling what it means to follow Jesus in everyday life
• Being honest that you are not perfect
• Loving your little ones unconditionally
• Reading your Bible in their presence, with them, or reading children’s Bible stories with them
• Listening to and singing worship songs
• Praying over your family

Speak godly words over your children, because when they are little, your outer voice becomes their inner voice. Children don’t start to form an inner voice until around age 3 or 4. Then it continues to develop until about age 7. They are still forming how they see themselves, others, and God. Model for them what it looks like to love Jesus and encourage them in the way that they should go; praying and trusting that God will guide them as they grow.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6

Discussion Questions

1. Romans 5 talks about finding hope even in suffering. How have you experienced hope or peace in difficult seasons of life?
2. What is one practical way that you can nurture and raise godly disciples (no matter the age of your child(ren))?

A Note from the Author