Children As Idols

Give me children or I die!  ~ Rachel, Book of GenesisChildren can become idols in the hearts of parents, or would be parents.  Anything that is placed in our hearts before God, that is in His presence of worship and adoration, anywhere in our hearts, is an idol.In the account of the rivaling sister wives of Jacob in the book of Genesis, Rachel had an idolatrous heart for children.  She sought to use mandrakes to get herself pregnant and yet it is Leah who is blessed by God at that time with another child.  Later in the book of 1 Samuel, we have the account of another pair of rival wives to a man named Elkanah.  Hannah, who was also barren like Rachel, had a surrendered womb to the Lord.  In fact, when the Lord does bless her with a child, she dedicates that child to the Lord from the time he is weaned and he becomes a son of the priestly house of Eli.  The name of that child is Samuel, and he goes on to be the most faithful and righteous judge of all Israel.Hannah recognizes the truth about children: They never belong to us.  Children are a blessing from God that He entrusts parents to steward and raise for His glory, not to hold onto and shape into our own glory.  And even having children at all is entirely by His design and plans for a marriage.Join us as we dive into a discussion on the ways in which children can become an idol in the hearts of parents.

What would you do if the King of all the universe entrusted you to steward some of His most valuable treasures?  If we are made in the image of God, what does that make our children?  In this episode, we talk about stewarding our children, and even our openness to having children, from the paradigm of the Parable of the Talents.  When the people of Jerusalem were facing another wave of exile to Babylon, God brought the charge against them through the exiled prophet Ezekiel that “you took your sons and daughters, whom you had borne to Me, and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter? You slaughtered My children and gave them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire” (Ezekiel 16:20-21, LSB).  God says that their children are His children.  What if children are treasures that He has entrusted us to steward and they are talents, so to speak, that He has given?  What if we don’t have the power in and of ourselves to create life and if children are a blessing from God, how does that shape how we parent them?Scripture to Reflect OnMatthew 25:14-19Resources MentionedVoice of the Martyrs Directed Life with Kap Chatfield: Inside the Classrooms Being Used as a Weapon Against Your Kids | Robert BortinsTiny Theologians“It Will Be Worth It All When We See Jesus” - Esther Kerr Rusthoi

What does it mean for a wife to submit to her husband?  Is a wife to enable or silently abide the sinful patterns of her husband out of respect or reverence?  Submission never means that we go along with sin, like Saphira who co-plotted sin with Ananias in their deceitful offering of money for the land that was sold (Acts 5:1-11).On the flip side, we also don’t want to have a Jezebel spirit that further entices a husband into sinful ways, as in the life of the evil king, Ahab (1 Kings 16:31-33; 21)A husband is also called to love his wife with a self sacrificing love, like Jesus (Ephesians 5:25).  And the kind of love that Christ had was one that regarded others as better than Himself and completely void of selfish ambition (Philippians 2:3-8).Submission and love then is a picture of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32).  Love is  sacrificial and regards others as better than itself, and the submission of the wife would first entail a submission of her will and spirit to receive the husband's self sacrificing love like Jesus. Submitting to his self sacrificing love for her just all Christians are called to surrender to Jesus’s loving sacrifice for us on the cross in grace. Join the discussion as we dive into what the Bible has to say about submission and love in marriage.Scripture to Reflect onColossians 3:12-19Ephesians 5:15-33Philippians 2:3-81 Corinthians 13:5-81 Peter 2:21-3:7Exodus 21:7-11Matthew 18:15-171 Corinthians 7:12-161 Samuel 25Proverbs 31:10-31Resources for ExploreThe Deep End w/Taylor Welch: God's System for Healing (required pain, suffering, & reversing beliefs w/Dr. Tim JenningsThe Deep End w/Taylor Welch: Nimrod vs Jezebel (prophetic mixture, ascendance, & twisted Scripture)

What does it mean to be a family?  How does the family function and what is its purpose?In this episode, we share our personal visions of family from our upbringing and how family systems and day to day function affect the way we view family, sometimes more than what is explicitly expressed about family.Join us as we take thoughts captive for Christ on distorted visions of family.Scripture to Reflect onPsalm 127Psalm 128Proverbs 16:9Proverbs 19:21Proverbs 29:18Colossians 3:21-21Ephesians 5:15-33Resources to ExploreFor the Life of the World: Letters to the Exiles

What is the place of the husband in birthing? Is there any role that he plays beyond just being a supporting partner?Join us for a preview of Lydia's course, "Designed to Birth: A Wholistic Guide for Mothers in Pregnancy, Labor & Postpartum," available on our website:https://www.ourlittlefamilyhub.com/product-page/designed-to-birth-ebooklet-with-video-course-accessIn this course, discover God's design for motherhood through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. This preview comes from our bonus module, "The Husband's Role in Birthing.The goal of this course is to equip you with biblical principles, practical knowledge, and thoughtful questions so that you can confidently navigate pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum while seeking to honor God in every step of the journey.Designed to Birth and Full Quiver Parenting are a part of Our Little Family LLC.

What if one of our deepest assumptions about family, work, and provision isn’t actually rooted in Scripture?From the very beginning in Genesis, God never commands humanity to provide—He commands us to steward what He has already provided. Yet after the fall, toil entered the story, and many of us have come to believe that the weight of supplying every need rests entirely on our shoulders.In this episode, we discuss what the Bible actually says about provision, stewardship, and our role within God’s Kingdom.Scripture Passages Discussed in this EpisodeGenesis 1-3Ruth 4Psalm 1271 Timothy 5:3-162 Thessalonians 3:6-13

What is the value of children?  In a world that has more children in slavery than at any other time of history, children are spent like currency more now than ever in the physical realm.  But what is the true value of children, the blessing of new generations in the kingdom of heaven?Inspired by the work of Dr. Francis Myles on the mystery of blood money and what the true currency of heaven is (humanity), we explore the biblical concept of the currency of seed (offspring) as another currency of heaven and how seed is being spent in ways against God’s design and how He intends for seed to be spent.  The Lord is seeking a godly offspring (Malachi 2:15) and if the dragon sought to devour the child (Revelation 12:4), so shall he seek to do as his ways of warfare are to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).Towards the end of this episode, we get into some discussion on the topic of demonic activity and sexual immorality and how the forces of darkness seek to steal and pervert the currency of seed that may be too intense for children.  We recommend that parents listen to that section on their own first.  There is a warning before we enter into that portion of the discussion.Scripture Passages Discussed in this EpisodeGenesis 30Genesis 381 Corinthians 6Resources from this Episode Deep End Podcast episode 100 - Blood Money with Dr. Francis Myles https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deep-end-w-taylor-welch/id1500492987?i=1000766457479“The Ancient Mystery of Blood Money & Its Antidote” by Francis Myleshttps://francismyles.com/bloodmoney/Child Trafficking & Human Slavery Rescue MissionsInternational Justice Missionhttps://www.ijm.org/Hope for Justicehttps://hopeforjustice.org/

Altars, arrows, the Arrow of the Lord, darts from the enemy and the economy of spiritual  warfare.  What do these things have to do with parenting? Much more than the forces of spiritual darkness would like us to think! In this episode, we challenge the economies of parenting and specifically the deconstruction of the altar of self-reliance.  Many parents can find themselves under its pervasive control over how their family is run and controlled in their thoughts and decision making processes from a debt that is owed to this altar and system of sacrifice.The easiest way to win a battle is to make sure that the enemy never has a weapon to fight with.  This is the strategy of the enemy in spiritual warfare as the accumulating debt to the altar of self-reliance in parenting, eventually leads to the cost of our arrows.  We take thoughts captive for Christ to reveal these altars in parenting and replace it with the altar to the Lord in our minds for parenting that relies on the strength of the Lord.  It’s time to take back what the enemy is stealing from parents!Resources from this EpisodeThe Architecture of Altars - The Deep End w/Taylor WelchThe Way of the Altar: Mysteries of An Ancient Path Responsible for a Life of Predictable Fire and Glory - Dr. Franci Myles

We continue our unofficial side series, "Table Talk." These are "out of the studio" recordings from live conversations that we've shared together on social media on topics that pertain to Christian Parenting and taking thoughts captive for Christ. The audio comes from direct recordings of our mobile devices so the recording quality does not match that of our regular episodes. We hope that you enjoy these conversations with us around the table!In this discussion, we talk about how churches have departed from God’s design in selecting leaders, swearing oaths, and some cult-like behaviors that have crept in throughout history, as well as a discussion on birthing whose hands are receiving our children into the world.Resources Mentioned in this PodcastExpedition BibleThe Deep End w/Taylor Welch: The War of Worldviews (connection VS separation, extremism, & revolutions) w/Jamie Winship Nathan Reynolds - Snatched From the Flames & Linen Railroad

What do you do momma when you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and worn out as a parent?  When you feel like there’s just not enough energy and resources to go around and you don’t feel like you have any more to give? You turned to that friend, family member, or seasoned mother you’ve seen live through the stages that you’re in right now and share how you’re feeling right now, and the response is, “maybe you shouldn’t have had so many,” or “have you thought about stopping having kids?”In this episode, we discuss the biblical framework of "bearing one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and how God has designed the family to function in serving one another in love, with the father of the house setting the example, and the community of believers is called to uphold the struggling members of the body of Christ in serving and loving weary families.Scripture Passages to ExplorePhilippians 2Ephesians 5:21-33John 13:12-17Matthew 11:25-30Galatians 6:1-4Mark 10:43-45Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:Kingdom Family: Re-Envisioning God’s Plan for Marriage and Family - Book by Trevecca OkholmHe Giveth More Grace - Hymn by Annie Johnson FlintDesigned to Birth - ECourse by Lydia BraunFull Quiver Parenting - Episode 6: At the Limit