May 19, 2019
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This is part three of Mom Month and Kristen Welch joins us for a conversation about chasing dreams, living with gratitude and the dangers of living with ourselves in the center of our own universe. Kristen is a blogger (Wearethatfamily.com), author, podcaster and founder of an incredible nonprofit ministry in Kenya.
Conversations Notes:
- Showing our kids unconditional love (1:35)
- Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (2:20)
- Living for my family alone led to a child-centered home (7:35)
- My husband could see the emptiness in me and he hurt for me (11:00)
- The trip to Kenya woke me up... I literally woke up from the American Dream that had become a nightmare for me. The cycle in me that there was never enough. (11:40)
- Story of a young orphan boy in Kenya who in the worlds eyes had nothing (12:50)
- Why was this boy filled with joy? Why was he smiling when he had nothing (13:50)
- I have everything because I have Jesus (14:30)
- A response of doing nothing is still a response (16:18)
- We must acknowledge what we have done in the past that has led our families to where we are at (17:08)
- My choices changed. The way I shopped, consumed, lived and served (17:40)
- It revealed my own entitlement. How much I expected and felt like I deserved (18:00)
- "I don't want to add Jesus to my life like salt and pepper to a meal. I want him to be the main course!" (18:50)
- The can't have a child-centered home and a Jesus-centered home at the same time (18:55)
- Service was not part of who we were. We did not serve others (20:35)
- "It is really hard to change the direction of a ship [your family]. It does not happen overnight. It is slow and steady and consistent."
- We began making service a normal part of our lives (21:20)
- Instead of keeping everything to ourselves, our response was to start Mercy House (21:45)
- The reason you feel empty is that you're keeping these blessings to yourself (22:10)
- We simply took small steps towards saying yes everyday (23:30)
- Moving from a joyless person to a purposeful person (24:15)
- Where do we have extra to share? Spare seat at the table? Open seat in the vehicle? Room during the holidays?
- We're sitting on this incredible secret that generosity changes lives... it makes us grateful (25:55)
- Story of her husband helping her chase her dreams (26:55)
- My husband was way ahead of me. He was leading our family spiritually. He was asking questions that made me uncomfortable... He was seeing a pattern in me that was unhealthy (28:25)
- My husband said to me, "What happened to the girl that wanted to change the world?" (29:25)
- The heart of a husband that wanted to bring out the best in a wife... he didn't want motherhood to kill her dreams (32:20)
- I said let's do something radical and my husband said, "let's do it" (33:00)
- "God had to take me all the way to Kenya and wreck my heart so that when I came back I would be on the same page as my husband" (33:30)
- The real tension of needing her husband to lead in ways that were best for their family (34:00)
- This life isn't about me or even my family. This life is about the Gospel. We exist to make the Gospel known and glorify God in what we do. (36:30)
- "Wait for life's sweet spot where your passion and our skills collide with God's timing" (37:30)
- Be grateful. Gratitude can turn the hardest days into the best days. (38:30)
- Gratitude is a lifeline in our lives. It truly reminds us of what we have and a global perspective also helps us realize what we have (39:20)
Episode Links:
Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World: How One Family Learned That Saying No Can Lead to Life's Biggest Yes