Hearts at Rest with Sarah Keeling

Join Sarah for a quick prayer and reflection time over how God blesses you.For more prayer resources, check out www.sarah-keeling.com

Spend a few minutes in prayer and reflection over how God guides you.For more prayer resources, check out www.sarah-keeling.com

Connect with your kids during this quick prayer and reflection time on how God shepherds you.For more prayer resources, check out www.sarah-keeling.com

Join Sarah for a quick prayer and reflection time over the powerful verses in Psalm 23.For more prayer resources, check out www.sarah-keeling.com

This episode is connected with our amazing Family Bible study, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.Join us for a time of preparing our hearts for Easter and growing closer as a family.What You will Receive:* 30-Page Study Guide with Family Prayer Journal* Questions and Activities to further engage your kids* Tips to connect the verses with Jesus*  7 Teaching videos (less than 10 minutes long)* 7 podcast meditations to go deeper with the verses* Easily accessible and immediately available materials via web and app* A community of other moms to encourage and support youGet access to all the resources here:https:www.sarah-keeling.com/lentstudy

This episode is connected with our amazing Family Bible study, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.Join us for a time of preparing our hearts for Easter and growing closer as a family.What You will Receive:* 30-Page Study Guide with Family Prayer Journal* Questions and Activities to further engage your kids* Tips to connect the verses with Jesus*  7 Teaching videos (less than 10 minutes long)* 7 podcast meditations to go deeper with the verses* Easily accessible and immediately available materials via web and app* A community of other moms to encourage and support youGet access to all the resources here:https:www.sarah-keeling.com/lentstudy

This episode is connected with our amazing Family Bible study, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.Join us for a time of preparing our hearts for Easter and growing closer as a family.What You will Receive:* 30-Page Study Guide with Family Prayer Journal* Questions and Activities to further engage your kids* Tips to connect the verses with Jesus*  7 Teaching videos (less than 10 minutes long)* 7 podcast meditations to go deeper with the verses* Easily accessible and immediately available materials via web and app* A community of other moms to encourage and support youGet access to all the resources here:https:www.sarah-keeling.com/lentstudy

This episode is connected with our amazing Family Bible study, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.Join us for a time of preparing our hearts for Easter and growing closer as a family.What You will Receive:* 30-Page Study Guide with Family Prayer Journal* Questions and Activities to further engage your kids* Tips to connect the verses with Jesus*  7 Teaching videos (less than 10 minutes long)* 7 podcast meditations to go deeper with the verses* Easily accessible and immediately available materials via web and app* A community of other moms to encourage and support youGet access to all the resources here:https:www.sarah-keeling.com/lentstudy

This episode is connected with our amazing Family Bible study, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.Join us for a time of preparing our hearts for Easter and growing closer as a family.What You will Receive:* 30-Page Study Guide with Family Prayer Journal* Questions and Activities to further engage your kids* Tips to connect the verses with Jesus*  7 Teaching videos (less than 10 minutes long)* 7 podcast meditations to go deeper with the verses* Easily accessible and immediately available materials via web and app* A community of other moms to encourage and support youGet access to all the resources here:https:www.sarah-keeling.com/lentstudy

This episode is connected with our amazing Family Bible study, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.Join us for a time of preparing our hearts for Easter and growing closer as a family.What You will Receive:* 30-Page Study Guide with Family Prayer Journal* Questions and Activities to further engage your kids* Tips to connect the verses with Jesus*  7 Teaching videos (less than 10 minutes long)* 7 podcast meditations to go deeper with the verses* Easily accessible and immediately available materials via web and app* A community of other moms to encourage and support youGet access to all the resources here:https:www.sarah-keeling.com/lentstudy

This episode is connected with our amazing Family Bible study, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.Join us for a time of preparing our hearts for Easter and growing closer as a family.What You will Receive:* 30-Page Study Guide with Family Prayer Journal* Questions and Activities to further engage your kids* Tips to connect the verses with Jesus*  7 Teaching videos (less than 10 minutes long)* 7 podcast meditations to go deeper with the verses* Easily accessible and immediately available materials via web and app* A community of other moms to encourage and support youGet access to all the resources here:https:www.sarah-keeling.com/lentstudy

Join us for a quick prayer of blessing for 2022 and for an announcement about a super exciting upgrade to our Finding Jesus in the Psalms Family Lent Study.Visit www.sarah-keeling.com for all the details.

Connect with your kids during our second week of Family Christmas in the Psalms and a short prayer and refection time about Godly joy.Help your kids experience Godly joy and think about how they can celebrate Jesus.Verses:You make known to me the path of life;you will fill me with joy in your presence,with eternal pleasures at your right hand.Psalm 16:11 NIVDefine Hard Words*Joy - gladness, celebration* Presence - in front of, withAsk Your Kids*What is one way you can be with God and get your joy tank filled up?*What is stopping your from spending time with God?Engage Your Kids*Celebrate Jesus with a family dance party.*Play a fun Christian worship song or video.*Here are a few of our favorites:- Born is the King (It's Christmas) - Hillsong Worship- Today is the Saviour's Day - Rend Collective- Noel - Hillsong Young & FreeConnect the Verses with JesusSay, “Jesus is the BEST thing to celebrate! God loves us so much that He sent His very special son to earth to save us.”Say, “When we trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, God gives us His joy.”Resources:Access all the Advent study resources here.

Join us for a sweet and short time thinking about God's peace, which is more than just a calm feeling.Help your kids understand what it means that Jesus is our Prince of Peace.Verses:The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace.Psalm 29.11 NLTFor to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Isaiah 9:6 ESVDefine Hard Words*Strength - might, power*Peace - calm, complete, wholeAsk Your Kids*When is it hard for your to feel God's peace?*What would be different in your life if you felt more peace?Engage Your Kids*Create super simple crowns that say “Prince of Peace.”*Crown your kids and ask them to pretend to be a “Prince of Peace.”Connect the Verses with Jesus*Read Isaiah 9:6 with your kids.*Say, “Jesus is our Prince of Peace because makes us right and whole with God.”*Say, “When Jesus returns and makes everything right, He will complete God's plan for the world.”Resources:Access all the Advent study resources here.Extra info on the word peace:https://www.gotquestions.org/Prince-of-Peace.htmlhttps://www.gotquestions.org/Shalom-meaning.html

Connect with your kids during our second week of Family Christmas in the Psalms and a short prayer and refection time about Godly joy.Help your kids experience Godly joy and think about how they can celebrate Jesus.Verses:You make known to me the path of life;you will fill me with joy in your presence,with eternal pleasures at your right hand.Psalm 16:11 NIVDefine Hard Words*Joy - gladness, celebration* Presence - in front of, withAsk Your Kids*What is one way you can be with God and get your joy tank filled up?*What is stopping your from spending time with God?Engage Your Kids*Celebrate Jesus with a family dance party.*Play a fun Christian worship song or video.*Here are a few of our favorites:- Born is the King (It's Christmas) - Hillsong Worship- Today is the Saviour's Day - Rend Collective- Noel - Hillsong Young & FreeConnect the Verses with JesusSay, “Jesus is the BEST thing to celebrate! God loves us so much that He sent His very special son to earth to save us.”Say, “When we trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, God gives us His joy.”Resources:Access all the Advent study resources here.

Join us for our second week of Family Christmas in the Psalms and a short prayer and refection time about faith.If you feel like it is hard to explain faith to your kids, this episode will be really helpful to you.VersesBut I trust in you, Lord;I say, “You are my God.”Psalm 31:14-15a (NIV)Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)Define Hard Words*Faith - Believing and trusting in God even though you cannot see HimFaith is a gift of belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior from GodFaith acts on belief*Trust - confident, sure, secureAsk Your Kids*In what area of your life do you struggle to trust God?*What can you do to help you trust God more?Engage Your Kids*Let your kids blindfold you and walk you around the house.*Explain that you have to totally trust them with your safety since you can't see anything.*If they bump you into a wall, share how that can hurt trust, and if they walk you around safely, explain how that can build trust. *Share about how having faith and trusting God feels like we are walking around blindfolded, but He is lovingly guiding us.Connect the Verses with JesusSay, “we have faith because Jesus, God's son, came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross for our sins.” Say, “God gives us the gift of faith when we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.”ResourcesAccess all the Advent study resources here.

Join us for a simple, but powerful time thinking about how Jesus is our Hope.Hope means to wait expectantly for something. Right now we are waiting expectantly for Christmas. We believe that Christmas will come.Just like we wait expectantly for Christmas, we wait expectantly to celebrate Jesus' birth.Jesus is our hope. Jesus is the thing that we are waiting for, because He is the BEST GIFT EVER.Because of what Jesus did for us, we know that we will get to be with God forever and ever. He is the rescue that God promised.When we believe and trust that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died to save us, we are saved from our sins and we get to know God personally and be part of God's family.VersesLord God, you are my hope.I have trusted you since I was young,Psalm 71:5 (ICB)Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.Joshua 2:17-21 (NIV)Define Hard Words*Hope - literally a cord (like the cord Rahab used)Waiting expectantly for God to do what He says He will doAsk Your Kids*How can you wait expectantly to celebrate Jesus' birth?*What are of your life are you having trouble waiting for God?Engage Your Kids*Read Joshua 2:17-21 as a family.*Explain that just like Rahab waited expectantly to be saved, we wait expectantly for Jesus.*Act out the story of Rahab putting the red cord in her window.ResourcesAccess all the Advent study resources here.

Spend a few minutes with your kids thinking about how God is faithful and just. This is a big and sometimes heavy topic, but we simplify it in an easy-to-understand way. Just like David believed that God would take care of the evil in his life, we can believe that God has a plan to fully and finally take care of all evil.*The first few verses can be intense for young kids. We suggest listening to this episode first before sharing it with your kids.Verses:They who seek to destroy my life will be destroyed;They will go down to the depths of the earth.They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.But the King will rejoice in God;All who swear by God's name will praise him,While the mouths of liars will be silenced.Psalm 63:9-11 (NIV)Define: * Faithful - He does what He says He will do,He always keeps His promises* Just - does what is right and does not tolerate evilAsk Your Kids:* What do you think it will be like when Jesus comes back?* What is something you can do to help you remember that Jesus is coming back and will make everything right?Engage Your Kids:* Read Revelation 19:1-21 about Jesus riding down from Heaven on His white horse* Act out this scene with your kids taking turns pretending to ride down from Heaven on a white horse* Discuss how Jesus will make everything right when He returns to earth.Go Deeper:* Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  

Enjoy a few peaceful minutes with your kids imagining being held by God and listening to a prayer that God would continue to hold you up.Verse:My soul clings to you;Your right hand upholds me.Psalm 63:8 (NIV)Define: Cling - stick close like you are glued togetherUphold - holds up, supports, sustains, carriesAsk Your Kids:* What does it feel like to be held by God?* How can you stick close to God this week?Engage Your Kids:* Practice clinging to each other by giving each other big bear hugs and pretending like you are glued to each other. Walk around and see how that feels.* Talk about how clinging to God means that we stay super close to Him - like we are glued on to His right hand.* Discuss simple ways that you and your family can cling to God (Bible study, prayer).Go Deeper: * Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  

Join us for a few minutes of sweet encouragement for tired moms with Marci Renée. Marci shares about how God's word helped her when her family experienced major changes that were not part of their plans.If you have experienced difficulties when God's plans don't seem good, this episode is going to be such an encouragement to you.Marci Renée, along with her French husband, four boys, and dog, Samy, is a global nomad, who has traveled to more than 30 countries and has lived in the United States, France, Morocco, and Spain. She loves to travel, speak foreign languages, experience different cultures, eat ethnic foods, meet people from faraway lands, and of course, tell stories. Marci and her husband have worked overseas among refugees and immigrants for over 20 years. She is also the author of three children's books, “The Boy Who Weaves the World,” "The Boy of Many Colors," and "Mommy, What's a Safe House?" She has also written a memoir about her work in Spain among victims of human trafficking, as well as a humorous book of short stories—language and cultural bloopers. Verse:For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not toharm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Jeremiah 29:11Prayer Tips:Walk and talk with the Lord, and make prayer a part of your life.Pray for your kids as you do their laundry.Connect with Marci:Website: https://culturalstoryweaver.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/culturalstoryweaverInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturalstoryweaver/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Connect with your kids during a short prayer and reflection on how God is our help and what it means to be under the shadow of His wings.Verse:Because you are my helpI will sing in the shadow of your wings.Psalm 63:7 (NIV)Define: Help - aid, assist, make easier for someoneShadow of your wings - place of shade & protection when we come close to GodAsk Your Kids:* How has God helped you this week?* How can you sing about how God has helped you?* How can you stand close to God each day?Engage Your Kids:* Role play with your kids that you are a mama chicken trying to protect her chicks (your kids) from a predator.* Stretch out your arms and tell your kids to stand super close to your sides.* If possible, have someone else throw things at you (like pillows) and protect your kids from them.Go Deeper:* Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  

Join us for a short and peaceful time remembering God with your kids, and help your kids learn to think about God when they wake up scared in the night.Verse:On my bed I remember you;I think of you through the watches of the night.Psalm 63:6 (NIV)Define: Remember - bring to mind, think aboutWatches of the night - time of the night when we are asleepAsk Your Kids:* What is one amazing thing has God done?* What makes God so special and memorable?* How can you remember God if you wake up in the night?Engage Your Kids:* Role play with your kids that you are sleeping and you wake up scared. (feel free to add in lots of drama here).* Say, “I remember that God is always with me. He keeps me safe, and He         helps me lie down and sleep in peace.” (Psalm 4:8) * Have them practice waking up scared and remembering who God is and what He does for us.Go Deeper * Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  

Connect with your kids during our quick devotional and prayer time where we talk about how only God satisfies us.Verse:My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;With singing lips my mouth will praise you.Psalm 63:5 (NIV)Define: Soul - life inside you that lives foreverSatisfied - totally filled up until you're fullPraise - tell God how amazing He is and the good things He has doneAsk Your Kids:* How does God fill us up?* What might be getting in the way of you spending time with God?* What is one thing you can do to spend more time with God?Engage Your Kids:* Make your kids a delicious treat and let them eat as much as they want until they are totally full (but maybe not so full they hurt!).Explain: just like food satisfies our hunger, God satisfies our soul.Go Deeper: * Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  

Join us for a super special live broadcast from our Season 2 Launch Party at Arrows Active Play Park.Several moms and their sweet kids share how they have seen God answered their prayers. The kids' answers are absolutely heart melting!! Also, Arrows owners Katrina and Will Ansell share how God led them to totally change their careers and open their amazing facility as a ministry to families.Thank you again to Arrows Active Play Park for hosting our wonderful Season 2 Launch Party, and for being such a blessing to our community!Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/Connect with Arrows:Website: https://www.arrowsactiveplayparkboerne.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArrowsActivePlayParkInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arrowsactiveplayparkboerne/

Join us for a few minutes of sweet encouragement for tired moms with Amber Palmer. Amber shares how to use breath prayers to help tired moms experience peace quickly, and she offers a wonderful prayer over tired moms to help us turn to Jesus in the midst of the storms of motherhood.If you feel like you are in a sinking boat trying to stay afloat in motherhood, you will love this episode! Amber shares encouragement about how we cannot control the storms that are going on around us, but we can control who we turn to for help - Jesus!Amber is a wife of thirteen years and an easily overwhelmed mom of two kiddos. She has a big heart for encouraging moms and helping them keep their eyes locked on Jesus. Through her writing, Amber hopes to glorify Jesus in the broken pieces and beautiful moments of motherhood. Verse:And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.Mark 4:39Prayer Tip:Breath Prayers-A breath prayer is a faith-based phrase or verse that you breathe in and breathe out.Example:Take a deep breath in and think: “Peace.”Breathe out: “Still.”Connect with Amber:Website: https://myjarsofclay.home.blog/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myjarsofclay4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myjarsofclay/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/Resources:Book Reference: Hinds Feet on High PlacesRebuke Definition: Christianity.comCease Definition: http://blb.sc/00DKBOCalm Definition: https://biblehub.com/topical/c/calm.htm

Enjoy a few minutes of peace with your family thinking about how God is worthy of our praise.We praise God by telling Him who He is and all the good things He has done.Define: Praise - to bless, to tell God who He is and the good things He has done, connected with the word to kneel. Verses:I will praise you as long as I live,And in your name I will lift up my hands.Psalm 63:4 (NIV)Ask Your Kids:* What good things has God done in your life?* How can you praise or bless God?Engage Your Kids:* Practice praising God like the verses say: get down on your knees with your kids, lift up your hands, and tell God who He is and a few good things He has done for you.Go Deeper * Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  * For more info on the word Praise: http://blb.sc/00ClEx

Spend a few minutes connecting with your kids as we think about how God's love is better than life.Verses:Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.Psalm 63:3 (NIV)Define: Love - unchanging, unending kindnessGlorify - loudly praise God or talk about His valueAsk Your Kids:How has God's love affected your life?Share one time when you experienced God's unchanging, unending kindness.When has God done something good in the midst of a hard situation in your life?Engage Your Kids:Practice glorifying God by yelling together, “Good job God!”*Explain that you can glorify God by saying “Good job God” every time you see something great that He has done.Go Deeper:Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  “Good Job God!” Activity is from Wendy Speake.

Join us for a special time of prayer and reflection as we think about God's power and glory and imagine God sitting on His throne in His sanctuary.Verses:I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.Psalm 63:2 (NIV)Define: Sanctuary - sacred, special place where God livesBeheld - seenPower - strengthGlory - worthy of our respect, admirableFrom John Piper - God's glory means that He is really really big, really really valuable, and really really powerful.Ask Your Kids:What do you think it looks like for God to be sitting on His throne in the sanctuary?What might be getting in the way of you experiencing God's power glory more?Is there something that you could do that would help you experience God's power and glory more today?Engage Your Kids:Have your kids imagine God's sacred place and talk about what that might look like. Read Revelation 4:1-11 for more details about God's throne.Go Deeper:Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  

Join us for a short, but powerful time of prayer and reflection, where we think about how God is our living water.Define: “God” - Elohim - plural, Father, Son, Holy SpiritEarnestly - look for God early in the morningParched - really thirstyVerses:You, God, are my God,    earnestly I seek you;I thirst for you,    my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land    where there is no water.Psalm 63:1(NIV)“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'”John 7:38 (ESV)Ask Your Kids:Share about a time when you were super thirsty.What is one thing you could do today to be filled up with God's living water?Engage Your Kids:Role play with your kids and pretend like you are in the desert without any water.Discuss how God provides living water for us and satisfies our thirst.Go Deeper Become my email friend and receive a weekly guide to help your family go deeper with these verses.  

Join us for a few minutes of encouragement, wisdom, and laughter. Christie shares a great prayer tip for when we don't know what to pray, and she explains how we do not have to be equipped to teach our kids about God. All we need is to be with Jesus, and He does the rest. That is good news! Christie loves to help families grow deep faith roots through little faith habits that add up over time. She has 3 boys and one husband, and lives in Alberta, Canada. Her books include Quinn's Promise Rock and The Mother and Son Prayer Journal.Verse:When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled,ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been withJesus.Acts 4:13 NIVPrayer Tip:Super easy prayer for tired moms: “Jesus, be the center.” Connect with Christie:Website: https://littleshootsdeeproots.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristieThomasLittleShootsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/littleshootsdeeproots/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Connect with your kids as we share a short devotional time over how God is our guide.A guide is a person that shows you the way to go.God shows us the way to go. His word, the Bible, teaches us how to live in a way that pleases Him. But, the verse also says that He is with us. Knowing that God is with us to lead us and protect us is what helps us not be so scared when we go through dark or hard times.Define guide - someone that shows you the way to go.Define evil - bad, wrong, opposite of God.Verses:He guides me along the right pathsFor his name's sake.Even though I walkThrough the darkest valley,I will fear no evil,For you are with me;Your rod and your staff,They comfort me.Psalm 23:3-4 (NIV)Ask Your Kids:Share about a time when you were scared, but having someone with you made you feel better. What could help you remember that God is always with you, guiding you and protecting you?Engage Your Kids:Ask your kids to be your shepherd, and pretend to be a silly sheep that runs away.Discuss how God goes after us when we run away from Him just like a shepherd goes after his sheep.Go Deeper Visit my website for lots more prayer resources for your family.  

Spend a few minutes with your family thinking about how God speaks peace to His people. Big God on His throne is speaking to us, and out of His mouth comes peace. It's like He's telling you, “trust me, it's going to be ok. I'm here with you.”God is peace, and He speaks peace to His people.Sometimes God whispers to us just like He whispered to Elijah, but we need to be still and listen so we can hear God.Verses:Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,For he will speak peace to his people,To his saints, but let them not turn back to folly.Psalm 85:8And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”I Kings 19:11-13 NIVAsk Your Kids:How could God speak peace to you?How can you be still and listen to God?Activity idea:Practice being still and quiet and listening to God.Resources:Visit my website for lots more prayer resources for your family. Visit Blue Letter Bible for more about Peace.

Join Stacey and me for short and powerful devotion and prayer on how God is our shelter from her book, “Threadbare Prayers: Prayers for Hearts that Feel Hidden, Hurt, or Hopeless.” Stacey Thacker is a wife and the mother of four girls. She is the author of 7 books including her latest book called Threadbare Prayer: Prayers for Hearts that Feel Hidden Hurt or Hopeless. Stacey is also a Bible teacher with a passion to connect with women and encourage them in their walks with God. Verses:He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Iwill say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”Psalm 91:1-2 ESVConnect with Stacey:Website: https://www.staceythacker.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialstaceythacker/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staceythacker/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Join us for a short, but powerful meditation on how God is our shield. A shield protects us from things that might hurt us, and God protects us from things that might hurt us too.Does a shield work if we hold it far away? Nope. It needs to be close to us.We need God to be close to us to protect us. We can be close to God by reading His Bible and talking to Him in prayer.Imagine that you are carrying a shield, but it is God.And He's protecting you while you keep Him close to you.Verses:But you are my shield, and you give me victory and great honor. I pray to you, and you answer from your sacred hill.Psalm 3:3-4 (CEV)Ask Your Kids:What do you think it means that God is our shield?How has God been your shield and protected you?What happens when we forget to make God our shield?Engage Your Kids:Create shields from Amazon boxes (you know you have them) and actout a fun nerf gun war using your shields.Go Deeper:Join  “Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Family Experience” for weekly handouts and other free resources connected with this episode.

Connect with your kids during a special time thinking about God as our fortress and place of safety.God is our fortress. God is our place of safety.That word fortress is like a mountain castle that protects you.A place of safety is like shelter, or a place of hope.God is like a mountain castle that protects you. He shelters you from storms. He is a place of hope.When you are near God, when you read His true words in the Bible and spend time talking to Him, He is like a fortress surrounding you and protecting you.  Verses:Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful. Then you will say to the LORD, “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.” Psalm 91:1-2 (CEV)Ask Your Kids:What is a fortress?How has God protected you?What is one way you can trust God right now?Engage Your Kids:Make a fort out of blankets, chairs, pillows, etc.Throw some soft things at your kids while they are in their fort.Talk about how their fort protected them, which is like how God protects us when we are near Him.Go Deeper Join  “Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Family Experience” for weekly handouts and other free resources connected with this episode.Read about the word fortress on BlueLetterBible.org. 

Join my friend Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young and me for a few minutes of Biblical encouragement and a quick time of prayer for you. Dorina shares a wonderful devotion about waiting like eagles from Isaiah 40:28-31. This passage is often used for encouragement, but Dorina shares a few super interesting things that I didn't know before. She also offers a beautiful and powerful prayer over our listeners, which you don't want to miss. Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young is a "glory chaser,” who meets God running trails in Central California or near the Pacific Ocean. She is a speaker, spoken word artist, Bible teacher and mama to 3 passionate girls. She is the author of two Bible studies, Glory Chasers and Flourishing Together, as well as the award-winning children's book, Cora Cooks Pancit. Dorina is passionate about helping people discover God's glory on life's unexpected trails. Dorina and her husband Shawn are also the authors of a new devotional book for runners, walkers, and movers called, Walk, Run, Soar, and the hosts of a podcast with the same name. The book and the podcast are like Spiritual pep talks for all people who are interested in moving their bodies. Verses:Psalm 40:28-31Do you not know?    Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,    and his understanding no one can fathom.He gives strength to the weary    and increases the power of the weak.Even youths grow tired and weary,    and young men stumble and fall;but those who hope in the Lord    will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;    they will run and not grow weary,    they will walk and not be faint.Connect with Dorina:Website: www.DorinaGilmore.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DorinaLazoGilmore/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorinagilmore/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Join Mack and me for a few minutes thinking about how good God is, and what that really means for us.God is good, which means that He is kind, loving, and gracious. He always does the right thing.We can experience His goodness when we know Him, when we read the Bible, and when we talk to Him.Mary Poppins says that she is practically perfect in every way. God is perfect in every way. He is perfectly good. He is ALL good. There is nothing bad in Him. All good things come from God.In this episode we spend a minute thinking about how good God is and thanking Him for the good things He has done for us. Verses:Psalm 100:5 NIVTaste and see that the Lord is good;    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Ask Your Kids:How have you experienced God's goodness in the past?What is one good thing in your life right now?Engage Your Kids:Share a few of the good things God has done in your life.Resources:Visit my website for lots more prayer resources for your family. 

Connect with your kids during a short guided prayer and Biblical meditation on how God created our inmost beings.God knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. He connected all our pieces together, and He wove us together to make something very beautiful. He knows every single thing about us, and He loves us so much. Before anybody else knew anything about us, God was right there creating us and loving us. Join me with my special guest, my son Mack, for this special time thinking about how God created each one of us in our mothers’ wombs.Verses:Psalm 139:13-16 NIVFor you created my inmost being;    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;    your works are wonderful,    I know that full well.My frame was not hidden from you    when I was made in the secret place,    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.Your eyes saw my unformed body;    all the days ordained for me were written in your book    before one of them came to be. Reflection Questions:Imagine God knitting you together in your mom’s tummy.Thank God for creating you the way that He did.Thank God for the special things about you that make you, you.As a family, talk about what it was like when your babies were growing inside their moms’ tummies.*If your kids don’t know their mom, this is a great opportunity to remind them that God was right there taking care of them and personally creating them. Resources:Visit my website for lots more prayer resources for your family.

Join us for a few minutes of sweet encouragement for tired moms with Alexx Rogers. Alexx shares a verse that is SUCH an encouragement for moms stuck in the mundane tasks of everyday life. She reminds us that motherhood is Kingdom work, even in the mundane tasks.Alexx is a young 30-something year-old mom to four kids, wife to a great husband, and owner of Clothed in Strength, a super cute t-shirt company.She shares about Jesus through her business and play dates.Verse:Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, not for me.Colossians 3:23 ESVPrayer Tip:Use the time when you are struggling to fall asleep to talk to God.Connect with Alexx:Website: https://clothedinstrengthetc.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/clothedinstrengthetcInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/clothedinstrengthetcConnect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Join us for a short, but powerful time of prayer and reflection, where we think about how God blesses us.God has lovingly prepared for you a beautiful dinner, and he fills up your drink up until it overflows.This is important because God doesn’t just give you a little to drink. He gives you more than you need! God puts oil on your head. That’s to protect you, and it’s a very personal act. He has to come near to you and touch you to do it. The last part of this verse is a promise that we get to be with God forever! That’s such great news for us! Not just in heaven, but here on earth too!Define “my cup overflows” - God gives us more than we need!Define dwell - remain, live inVerses:You prepare a table before meIn the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil;My cup overflows.Surely your goodness and love will follow meAll the days of my life,And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.Psalm 23:5-6 (NIV)Ask Your Kids:Share about one time when you ate food that felt like a feast.What could you do to help you remember that God gives you more than you need?Engage Your Kids:Have a pretend feast with your kids and “anoint” their heads with oil. You can also talk about how shepherds poured oil on sheep to protect them from bugs. Gross, but true.Go Deeper Visit my website for lots more prayer resources for your family.  

Connect with your kids as we share a short devotional time and prayer over how God is our guide.A guide is a person that shows you the way to go.God shows us the way to go. His word, the Bible, teaches us how to live in a way that pleases Him. But, the verse also says that He is with us. Knowing that God is with us to lead us and protect us is what helps us not be so scared when we go through dark or hard times.Define guide - someone that shows you the way to go.Define evil - bad, wrong, opposite of God. Verses:He guides me along the right pathsFor his name’s sake.Even though I walkThrough the darkest valley,I will fear no evil,For you are with me;Your rod and your staff,They comfort me.Psalm 23:3-4 (NIV)Ask Your Kids:Share about a time when you were scared, but having someone with you made you feel better. What could help you remember that God is always with you, guiding you and protecting you?Engage Your Kids:Ask your kids to be your shepherd, and pretend to be a silly sheep that runs away.Discuss how God goes after us when we run away from Him just like a shepherd goes after his sheep.Go Deeper Visit my website for lots more prayer resources for your family.  

Join us for a few minutes of peace thinking about how God is our shepherd and how sometimes he makes us rest.God is my shepherd. God is your shepherd. A shepherd guides, cares for, and protects his sheep.Just like a shepherd might make his tired sheep lie down and rest, God makes us rest too. Then he refreshes or restores our souls.Define Refresh - bring back, make newDefine soul - the part of our body that you can’t see, and that lives forever (either with God, or without God)Verses:The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.He makes me lie down in green pastures,He leads me beside quiet waters,He refreshes my soul.Psalm 23:1-3a (NIV)Ask Your Kids:Share about a time that someone has made you rest.How do you think it feels for God to renew your soul?Engage Your Kids:Have your kids pretend to be shepherds and lead you to a “quiet place” to rest. Maybe you can get in a power nap! HA!Then reverse and have your kids practice being sheep.Go Deeper Visit my website for lots more prayer resources for your family. 

Join us for a few minutes of sweet encouragement for tired moms with Charity Rios. Charity shares a SUPER SIMPLE prayer tip for busy moms, and she offers a wonderful prayer over moms that want to connect with God but are busy and tired. Charity is a Jesus follower, Wife and Boy Mama to 4 of the wildest, and squishiest sets of dimpled cheeks. She is the author of the children’s picture book “My Heart’s Garden” and companion “My Heart’s Garden Workbook.” Most days you can find her top knottin’ it, totin’ potties and rollin’ in the mini. The power of the gospel is her melody and unleashing women and children from captives into warriors is her passion.  She has a Masters in Higher Education and has been a Children’s Pastor, Church Planter and Teacher. Verse:Above everything else guard your heart, because from it flow the springs of life.Proverbs 4:23 ISVPrayer Tip:Pick a time when you are doing a task you don’t have to think about, like nursing the baby or doing dishes, and plan to pray during that time.  Connect with Charity:Website: https://charityrios.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/charityriosauthorInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/claritywithcharity/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Join us for a few minutes of encouragement, wisdom, and laughter. Christie shares a great prayer tip for when we don’t know what to pray, and she explains how we do not have to be equipped to teach our kids about God. All we need is to be with Jesus, and He does the rest. That is good news! Christie loves to help families grow deep faith roots through little faith habits that add up over time. She has 3 boys and one husband, and lives in Alberta, Canada. Her books include Quinn’s Promise Rock and The Mother and Son Prayer Journal.Verse:When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled,ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been withJesus.Acts 4:13 NIVPrayer Tip:Super easy prayer for tired moms: “Jesus, be the center.” Connect with Christie:Website: https://littleshootsdeeproots.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristieThomasLittleShootsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/littleshootsdeeproots/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Join Stacey and me for short and powerful prayer on how God is our shelter from her book, “Threadbare Prayers: Prayers for Hearts that Feel Hidden, Hurt, or Hopeless.” Stacey Thacker is a wife and the mother of four girls. She is the author of 7 books including her latest book called Threadbare Prayer: Prayers for Hearts that Feel Hidden Hurt or Hopeless. Stacey is also a Bible teacher with a passion to connect with women and encourage them in their walks with God. Verses:He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Iwill say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”Psalm 91:1-2 ESVConnect with Stacey:Website: https://www.staceythacker.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialstaceythacker/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staceythacker/Connect with Sarah:Website: https://www.sarah-keeling.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahkeeling.author/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahkeeling_/

Join Erin and me for a few minutes of encouragement. Erin shares a powerful verse that helped her through some hard seasons, a prayer tip for tired moms, and a beautiful prayer for you.Erin writes about living with hope in the middle of brokenness. She lives in a small community in Mississippi with her husband and their three teenagers.Erin is a fellow Hope*Writer and the author of In Unexpected Ways: Christmas in Everyday Life. Verses:For you have been my help,And in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.Psalm 63:7 ESVShadow means shade, defense, or place of safety.No matter what circumstances are swirling around us, we can sing for joy.We can rest and trust. Picture standing under the shadow of His wings and being close to God’s heartbeat.Prayer tip:When you tuck your kids in at night and pray with them, thank God for the qualities you see in them. Thank God out loud for giving them whatever good qualities they showed that day. It’s so good for our kids to hear us say the good things that we see in them. Connect with Erin:Website: https://www.erinulerich.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinulerichwriter/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinulerich/ 

Join us for a sweet time thinking about God’s faithful love in sending Jesus to save us.God is faithful love. That means that His love or His kindness to us, doesn’t ever change or stop. It goes on forever and ever and ever.The biggest way that God showed His love to us is when He sent Jesus, His perfect son, to come to earth to save us.And Jesus showed us this same never changing, never ending love, by willingingly dying on the cross to take the punishment we deserved for our sins. Remember, sin is anything we do or think that is opposite from God and God’s word. The Bible says that we have all sinned, and we all need to be saved from the punishment we deserve for our sins by trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior.In this episode we thank God for his never changing, never ending love.We thank God for sending His Son Jesus to save us from our sins. That’s a big deal! We also thank Jesus for dying on the cross for you, and for taking the punishment you deserve.Verses:For the LORD is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.Psalm 100:5 (CSB)Ask Your Kids:When was one time that you felt really loved?How have you experienced God’s love?Engage Your Kids:Read John 13:1-17 together.Have your children cover their feet in mud.(They will love this).Wash your children’s feet.Say, “I am washing your feet, because I love you,Just like how Jesus washed His friends’ feet because He loved them.”“And just like how Jesus washes away our sins when we trust in Him as Lord and Savior, because He loves us.”Go Deeper Join  “Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Family Experience” for weekly handouts and other free resources connected with this episode.Read about the words “faithful love” on BlueLetterBible.org. 

Connect with your kids during a special time thinking about God as our fortress and place of safety.God is our fortress. God is our place of safety.That word fortress is like a mountain castle that protects you.A place of safety is like shelter, or a place of hope.God is like a mountain castle that protects you. He shelters you from storms. He is a place of hope.When you are near God, when you read His true words in the Bible and spend time talking to Him, He is like a fortress surrounding you and protecting you.  Verses:Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful. Then you will say to the LORD, “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.” Psalm 91:1-2 (CEV)Ask Your Kids:What is a fortress?How has God protected you?What is one way you can trust God right now?Engage Your Kids:Make a fort out of blankets, chairs, pillows, etc.Throw some soft things at your kids while they are in their fort.Talk about how their fort protected them, which is like how God protects us when we are near Him.Go Deeper Join  “Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Family Experience” for weekly handouts and other free resources connected with this episode.Read about the word fortress on BlueLetterBible.org. 

Spend a few minutes with your family thinking about how God is Majestic.Majestic means powerful, famous, noble, and used of kings.God is powerful, famous, noble, and a King.The Bible says that someday Jesus is coming back to earth, and He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is so powerful and majestic!He will be in charge of everything, and everyone, and He is going to make everything right. He is going to end sin and sadness, and He will bring His people ( those that believed in Him as Lord and Savior) to Himself.Verses:O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens! Psalm 8:1 (NLT)On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.Revelation 19:16 NIVAsk Your Kids:What do you think it means that God is majestic?How does God’s majestic name fill the earth?How have you experienced God’s majesty?Engage Your Kids:Create crowns using craft supplies from home.Ask your children to pretend to be king and queens.Say, “Kings wear crowns. Kings are powerful.”“God is King, and He is powerful.”Go Deeper Join “Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Family Experience” for weekly handouts and other free resources connected with this episode.Read about the word majestic on BlueLetterBible.org.

Join us for a short, yet powerful time with your family thinking about how God is our light.God is our light. He is bright. Light reveals things.Imagine walking in the dark without a flashlight. You wouldn’t be able to see.Now if you had a flashlight, that flashlight would help you see.God helps us see things.Just like a flashlight is much brighter than the dark room,God’s light is much brighter than any darkness.Verses:The LORD is my light and the one who saves me. So why should I fear anyone? The Lord protects my life. So why should I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 (ICB)Ask Your Kids:What does it mean that God is our light?How has God been your light?Engage Your Kids:Give your children flashlights.Go into a dark room in your house.(keep a nightlight on for younger kids).Say, “God is light - He is bright!”“Darkness is the absence of light.”Tell your kids to turn on their flashlights.Ask, “what did you notice about the dark and about the light?”Say, “God is so much brighter than our flashlights,Which means that nothing can hide from His goodness.”Go Deeper Join “Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Family Experience” for weekly handouts and other free resources connected with this episode.Read about the word light on BlueLetterBible.org.

Connect with your kids while thinking about how God is compassionate and gracious to us.That word compassionate also means merciful, which means that you don’t give someone the punishment that they deserve when they do something wrong.God has mercy and compassion on us but not giving us the punishment we deserve for our sins. Sin is anything we do or think that is opposite to God and God’s word. We all sin, and we all need God’s mercy and compassion.The word gracious means to bend low to someone that is smaller than you, to show kindness or favor. God is so BIG, but He bends low to us and is so kind to us. Verses:The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.Psalm 103:8 (CSB)Ask Your Kids:When have you experienced compassion or mercy?How can you show mercy to others?Engage Your Kids:Act out compassion and mercy:Swipe a toy from your kids and then ask them what punishment you deserve. (They will love this!)Then explain that compassion and mercy mean that you don’t get the punishment that you deserve. Take turns practicing showing mercy with your kids.Go Deeper Join “Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Family Experience” for weekly handouts and other free resources connected with this episode.Read about the words compassionate and gracious on BlueLetterBible.org.