142: Bad Days, Sin Struggles, Messy Houses...and the Gospel! (Lies Moms Believe Series #6) with Rebekah Hargraves (Solo Episode 20)

On today’s solo podcast episode, I am continuing the podcast series based on my book, Lies Moms Believe (And How the Gospel Refutes Them) with a chat all about bad days, sin struggles, messy houses…and the gospel! I hope you walk away from today’s conversation feeling encouraged.

What I Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~The next 3 lies covered in my book:

15. Motherhood has to be Hard (And Hard is Bad!)

16. I have to “Keep my Act Together”

17. I can’t have a Clean House While Raising Children

~A robustly, thoroughly, Biblical and gospel-focused understanding of “hard”; how God uses the hard moments for our good

~Reframing our view of “hard” times in light of the good God can bring from them

~Gaining a decisive victory over the lies Satan uses to discourage us and bring us down

~The reality that motherhood is hard….but it’s also good

~Why Satan tries to make us think we “have to keep our act together”; the pitfalls this leads to in the areas of friendship and community

~How “keeping our act together” leads to a weakening of our witness and a stunting of our growth

~How comparison, perfectionism, and a lack of vulnerability lead us to think we have to “keep our act together”

~How the gospel pertains to cleaning your house

~Having a balanced perspective of homemaking, understanding that we are called to steward our homes well, while also understanding that our homes will look lived in….and that’s ok

~And more!

Resources Mentioned

Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth Previous Solo Podcast Episodes

My book, “Lies Moms Believe (And How the Gospel Refutes Them)”

Lies Moms Believe Podcast Series

QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

“Is it true that motherhood can be challenging, that the transition to becoming a mom is one that is fraught with growing pains, that the role of mom stretches you, exposing in startling ways the sin and selfishness which reside in your heart, and that the work of mothering is used by God to sanctify you? Absolutely! Acknowledging the challenges that motherhood brings is a far cry, however, from the kind of victim mentality (which Satan inspires) that is possessed by many a mom these days.”

“Because ‘hard’ does not equal ‘fun’ or ‘blissful’ or ‘happy’, we think it must equal ‘bad’. But what we have to come to grips with is the fact that ‘hard’ does not automatically equal ‘bad’. As much as hard times hurt as they are growing us, they are nevertheless doing just that – growing us ever more into the image of Christ. Because more growth occurs during the hard times than in any other season of our lives.”

“The gospel perspective is one that says we are to count it all joy when we face various trials because we know what the wonderful end result of those trials will be in us: strength of character, patience, and a woman who is thoroughly perfected, completed, and equipped for this life and the life to come. Trials are used by God to fashion us into women who lack nothing, but who realize we already have everything we could ever need in Christ and the abundant life He brings.”

“True joy comes from knowing who we are and what we have in Christ, which is precisely why we are able to take joy in seasons of trial. It is those very seasons which serve to open our eyes ever more to the truth of our loving Lord and what He has done for us.”

“The belief that as a mom I have to ‘keep my act together’ is one Satan likes to use particularly because it adversely affects so many areas of our lives: from keeping us from building close friendships with other moms to believing ourselves to be failures in God’s eyes if we do not do everything perfectly. It’s pretty easy to see how this lie directly contradicts the truths and priorities of the gospel.”

“If Satan can convince us that we had better keep our acts together, he can then be successful in his mission to silence our Christian witness and keep us from pointing others to Christ, because it is only when we are actually open and honest about our sinful pasts and how God has taken us from darkness to light that we are able to put the redeeming power of God on full display.”

“When we understand that we no longer have to keep our act together (and that, truly, the reach of the gospel is far greater when we don’t), we will begin to experience a freedom we may have never felt before. It will be the freedom which comes from knowing we can be real, open, and honest. It will be the freedom to consistently point others to Christ through our imperfections and His sanctifying power. The result will be that kind of beautiful, faithful friendship and community that we all crave. And, you know what? It will be so worth the work it required to get there!”

“Homemaking isn’t about having a perfectly spotless home, every last inch of which could pass the white glove test. It’s about embracing the opportunity and the responsibility we have been given to form and fashion a place in which love and care will be shown, laughter and tears will be shared, and hearts and souls will be touched for the Kingdom of God.”

“Cultivating a clean and welcoming home not only blesses our families and guests, but it is also a way by which we are able to train our children in the importance of this aspect of homemaking. If we are giving up on being able to have a clean home because we are in the season of raising children, we are missing out – and so are our kids.”

WHERE YOU CAN FIND REBEKAH ONLINE:

Websites – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Instagram –@rebekahhargraves

Facebook – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Twitter – @hhomeandhearth

Podcast – Home and Hearth Podcast

To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes Have you been encouraged or inspired by today’s episode? If so, could I ask a little favor? If you could leave the podcast a rating and review in iTunes, that would be amazing! The more ratings and reviews a podcast receives, the more iTunes shows that podcast to other folks searching for shows to listen to, so by leaving me a rating and review, you truly are partnering with me in this podcast ministry to encourage and help as many women as we possibly can. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! Here’s how: If you’re on your computer:

Access iTunes on your desktop and type Home and Hearth in the search box on the upper right hand corner.
Click on the podcast photo when it comes up
Click on “Ratings and Reviews” beneath the podcast title
Under “Customer Reviews”, click on “Write a Review”
Click on how many stars you want to rate the podcast and then write out your review and click submit
You’re done! Thank you so much!!

If you’re on your phone:

Open the podcasts app
Click the search button on the bottom righthand corner (the magnifying glass) and type in Home and Hearth in the search box that will appear at the top of your screen
Click on the podcast photo when it pops up
Click on the reviews button near the top middle of the screen
Scroll down a bit, if needed, until you see “Write a Review” and click on that
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You’re done! Thank you so much!!