Motherhood is a gift—but let’s be honest, it’s also messy, exhausting, and sometimes overwhelming. Amid endless to-dos, tantrums, and sleepless nights, how do we hold on to the hope of the gospel and let it shape our motherhood?
This week on The Love Offering podcast, I enjoyed speaking with Emily Jensen about her new book, Gospel Mom: The Grace of Christ for Weary Mothers.
Emily beautifully reminds us that we don’t have to strive for perfection or rely on our strength in motherhood. Instead, we can rest in the grace and truth of Jesus. During our conversation, we discussed:
- How the gospel reframes our perspective on parenting struggles.
- Why your worth isn’t tied to how “well” you mother.
- Practical ways to center your heart on Christ in the chaos of daily life.
- The freedom that comes when we stop chasing worldly standards of motherhood.
If you’re feeling weary or wondering if you’re doing enough, this episode is for you. Emily’s words are like a deep breath for tired moms, pointing us back to the One who holds everything together.
I pray this conversation encourages you to see that God’s grace is sufficient in every season of motherhood. He’s with you in the mess, and His love transforms you and your family.
Summary
In this episode of the Love Offering Podcast, Rachael Adams interviews Emily Jensen, co-founder of Risen Motherhood, about the intersection of faith and motherhood. Emily shares her journey as a mother of five, including the challenges and joys of raising children with diverse needs. The conversation explores the importance of understanding the gospel’s role in motherhood, the unique paths each mother takes, and the significance of building a supportive community. Emily emphasizes the need to shift from a focus on doing to being, finding freedom in one’s unique motherhood, and overcoming feelings of guilt. The episode concludes with practical encouragement for mothers to grow in their faith and the impact of their spiritual growth on their families and communities.
Takeaways
Motherhood is a unique journey that varies for each individual.
Understanding the gospel helps mothers align their identity with Christ.
Mom guilt is a common struggle; examining its roots is important.
Building a community takes courage and intentionality.
Spiritual growth in mothers has a ripple effect on families and communities.
It’s essential to shift focus from doing to being in motherhood.
Finding freedom in unique circumstances allows for a more fulfilling motherhood experience.
Gospel-centered practices can be integrated into busy lives.
Friendship and community are vital for support and encouragement.
God’s grace is foundational in understanding our identity as mothers.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Motherhood and Ministry
02:49 Understanding the Gospel’s Role in Motherhood
06:03 The Unique Journey of Motherhood
09:14 Shifting from Doing to Being
11:54 Finding Freedom in Unique Motherhood
14:55 Overcoming Mom Guilt
18:12 Incorporating Gospel-Centered Practices
21:03 Building Community and Friendships
23:57 Legacy of Faith in Motherhood
27:08 The Ripple Effect of Gospel Moms
30:06 God’s Grace and Love
33:05 Practical Encouragement for Moms
35:51 Closing Prayer and Reflections
Transcript
Rachael Adams (00:01.394)
Hi, Emily, and welcome to the Love Offering Podcast. I’m so happy to have you.
Emily Jensen (00:06.486)
Thanks for having me. It’s a joy to be here.
Rachael Adams (00:09.084)
You are a wife, a mom of five, and the co-founder of Risen Motherhood. As we begin our conversation today, if the people aren’t familiar with you yet, tell us about your life as a mom and your passion for motherhood.
Emily Jensen (00:25.06)
As you mentioned, I’m Emily Jensen, and my husband and I have been married for 15 years. We live in central Iowa. So my house is surrounded by corn fields, which is a beautiful, exciting thing, but it can get dusty during harvest season. And then we do have five kids. So, our oldest is in sixth grade, and our youngest is in second grade. So they are very close in age. I have a set of twins in there, four boys and one girl, and our fourth child has some pretty significant disabilities. So that shapes our family a lot. And that adds to our dynamic and how we make decisions. And yeah, as you mentioned, my sister-in-law, Laura, and I started the Ministry of Risen Motherhood in 2016. So it’s been going on for a while now. We started when we were young moms, and we had babies and toddlers, and we were asking questions like, How does my faith, how does the Bible, how do these spiritual truths matter for my motherhood and the very mundane daily decisions that I’m making? Because I wanna be making decisions that are honoring God. I wanna be living my life for Him, but the things that I’m dealing with daily don’t feel very important or influential. So, how do we connect those two things? So that’s really what started the ministry, and we have lots of podcasts, we have several books that are out, and we hope that we can help moms not necessarily with the granular, granular practical things, but that high level, what are the principles? What wisdom guides my motherhood, who or what is filling my heart, and what am I basing my identity around?
Rachael Adams (02:13.786)
So good as a mother of two. I mean, we do. We can get so lost in the okay, I’m packing lunches, I’m making dinner, I’m making beds, I’m making sure jerseys are clean, and it can sometimes just feel like, gosh, I know this is important work. But yet, sometimes, it doesn’t feel that way. It just starts to feel mundane and ordinary and routine. And so I’m so thankful for you and your ministry and bringing the gospel into what we’re already doing. And your most recent book release is called Gospel Mom. So, tell us more about how the gospel has shaped your motherhood.
Emily Jensen (02:49.412)
Sure. Well, I think it’s helpful to start by defining the word gospel because I think most Christians, when they hear the word gospel, are like, yeah, that’s the thing that I believed for salvation in Christ. And that’s true. It’s the bad news that we are sinners in need of a savior, but the good news is that Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died on our behalf, and then he rose again and ascended into heaven that we would one day, if we put our faith in him, be raised to new life and live with him forever. So yes, like that is the gospel. But there’s another way of using the gospel. This is how we use the word in our ministry, thinking about the overarching good news, sort of the meta-narrative, the big story of scripture from Genesis to Revelation because that story of salvation doesn’t just encompass that one moment. However, that’s pivotal and important to understand. There’s also much more that goes into it from the beginning to the end. And so when we think about being gospel moms, what we mean is being a mom who understands her place in God’s big story, who is aligning her life with the Word of God, who’s building her identity around the person and work of Christ and who she is in him. And she’s living in light of all of those truths. We have a mnemonic device that we’ve used for years that helps us remember the big parts of the gospel story: CFRC, creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. And each word helps us remember a different part of God’s big story. So creation reminds us that God has a design and a good plan for everything, like how things should or ought to be or how they work best. But the fall reminds us that because of sin, death has entered the world. There’s decay and brokenness, and nothing works as it should inside our hearts and the world. But redemption reminds us that Jesus came to redeem that. God had a plan for salvation. And if we put our faith in Him, we are now walking into whatever hard thing we’re facing with the spirit, with God’s people around us. We have the power to live differently. We are a new creation. Consummation is a really big word that reminds us that God will bring his plan to a great and beautiful completion in Christ. He’s going to return. And we are going to have every tear wiped. God is gonna set everything the way that it should be. And we have that hope and that joy for eternity. Knowing that is coming changes the way that we live today. So again, a gospel mom can keep some of those things in mind as she’s facing her life. That sounds big and overwhelming, but we wrote the book to help moms grasp it and become real and practical.
Rachael Adams (06:03.058)
It’s so good, and as you’re talking, I think there needs to be a gospel kids book because, you know, honestly, just gospel people, you know, this is who we are and what we’re called to do no matter what we’re doing and you know I’m just mindful of the woman listening right now and what her role is and but we are talking about mothers today. In your book, you mentioned the disappointment of formulaic approaches to motherhood, so how did you realize that motherhood isn’t just a one-size-fits-all journey?
Emily Jensen (06:32.772)
Mm hmm. Well, we experienced that a lot, right? In social media culture today, especially because everyone that you follow, you know, tends to have their niche that they’re in and their thing that they’re an expert in that they put content out in. And there’s even the right kind of hashtag, like homesteading mom or hashtag homeschool mom or hashtag, you know, whatever clean living mom, like it can go on and on and on. And we’re encouraged to like to boil ourselves down to a bio. And if we can find like our tagline, our tribe, our camp that we fit in, if we can find sort of the lifestyles or the methods or the strategies that we can align ourselves with, I think there’s this real temptation in our hearts or this desire in our hearts that like, then I can sort of get my arms around it. Then, I can have something to live into and measure myself against. I can find a place of belonging as a mom because I can find a label or a lifestyle I can build, and I can develop my sense of identity and motherhood around. And what we found is that that’s not only not the model that we see in scripture, but that’s something that is going to fall short for moms because one, since when were we ever able to like to live up to whatever mental image we have in our mind of the formula we have, right? Like that’s the fall. We’re not able to do these things perfectly. As our life circumstances change, unexpected things happen. You know, we don’t have the strength that we thought or the capacity that we thought. We reach our limitations. So there’s that. But then there’s also the reality that this sort of like target for good motherhood is constantly changing. And so this person that you follow that maybe you’ve been like, I want to latch on to that type of mothering. Maybe two years from now, she has completely different advice, and she’s thrown this old way of doing motherhood out the window. And now it’s like, my target has moved and shifted. Or maybe it’s not online stuff. Some moms are not big on social media, but they do have women in their lives that they look up to in a good way. And they’ve pieced together. Here’s what the formula would be in my mind for being a good Christian mom, and it’s things that aren’t even explicitly in scripture. These are good things to do, but they’re gray area things. So we want to encourage moms to zoom back out again and say, okay, what can we build our identity around? Well, we can build our identity around the unchanging person and work of Christ, who he is, and what he’s done in our lives, like God’s word, which is a foundation that never changes. So, no matter our situation, we can go to his word and find principles and wisdom that can trickle down and apply to our situation. And what that does is it allows us to be open-handed and not closed-fisted when we approach problems in motherhood. So if we have built our identity around something that’s cultural and changing and is a lifestyle or formula, that’s gonna hurt when that gets ripped from our hands or something changes. But if we say, hey, I’m a follower of Jesus. I’m loyal to him, and my allegiance is to God. I build my life on the word of God, but I’m open-handed with different strategies, methods, and lifestyles. They can come and go as the Lord leads, and then we can be open-handed and let life change and trust the Spirit in the midst of that.
Rachael Adams (10:07.09)
So good, and you’re right; he’s the foundation and a timeless truth to build our lives on. And so, piggybacking on what you said, I think there is this tendency to talk about and have pressure on things we think we should do because everybody else is doing these specific things. And so, how do we move from what we do to who we should be? And how do you think that shift in perspective is so transformative for moms?
Emily Jensen (10:33.664)
Mm hmm. Deep down, we all want to know that we’re being a good mom. Like we love our kids. We want to do what’s best for them. We wish that like assurance right deep down. And that’s really where Laura and I were like, hey, early on in motherhood, we were asking a lot of questions about what do I do? What do I do for the first food? What do I do for sleep training? What do we do for school? What do I do for discipline? And like all of those are good, essential questions that we have to answer, but the bigger question that feeds into what we do is who we are. And again, that’s going back to those biblical principles and knowing that that question of goodness is settled in Jesus. So in the garden, God called Adam and Eve very good in creation. So that desire to know that we are very good is written in our hearts. And yet, like when walking in sin, we know we’re falling short of the mark, but Christ was excellent on our behalf. And so as we are united to Him, before the throne of God, He gives us Christ’s record, and He sees us as fully good. And so that question of our Goodness in a very ultimate way is settled, and what that does is it frees us up then to walk in the spirit. It frees us up to consider these, you know, different choices that we have to make not from a place of fear and angst and if I get this wrong, what is that gonna say about me and you know, it’s sort of like lowers the stakes a little bit, And it allows us to see a little bit more clearly because we don’t feel like this decision that I’m making is gonna define everything and it’s gonna decide whether I sink or fall and it’s gonna show other moms whether I’m a good mom or a bad mom. We can just deep down know, like, okay, I’m good before the throne of God in Christ. I wanna do this well, God help me.
Rachael Adams (12:43.056)
Yeah, you said freeze quite a bit there. And so let’s segue to that, which segues nicely to my next question for you. Talk to us about finding freedom and joy in the mother God created us to be. How can we, as moms, practically embrace our unique personalities, family dynamics, and life circumstances while seeking God’s will?
Emily Jensen (13:04.568)
Yeah, you know, I think a lot about, like, that diagram from elementary school, the Venn diagram where two circles are overlapping each other. And I think one thing we do again in social media culture, but we do this in real life too, is we tend to look a lot at what is overlapping with other moms. Like what do we have in common? And there are a lot of experiences that we have in common with other moms, even other Christian moms. They have very similar principles for our calling. We have identical commands in scripture, right? These overarching things will be valid for all moms, but sometimes, we neglect to appreciate how God made each of us differently, right? So the things that sort of fall out of that center category where we will be living out obedience to God in different ways in the families that he gave us. And this is not a bad thing. This is a good thing. This is not like a flaw in God’s design. It’s not like, hey, God would have preferred if every mother mothered an exact specific certain way because he has a model and a picture of what a good Christian mom is and what she bakes in the afternoon and how she educates her children and what types of stories she reads to him. That’s not the case. He designed it so that we would all reflect him uniquely and beautifully. And in that way, as the body of Christ, we’re, again, reflecting him through a diversity of personality types of gifts. And so when we come to our motherhood, we mustn’t just think in terms of like copying and pasting someone else’s life and then feeling guilty because the way that we love our kids looks different than the way she loves her kids or The thing that she’s good at is not the thing that we’re good at or the types of trips or birthday parties that family can provide is not the types of trips and birthday parties we’re able to provide at this time. We don’t have to get too caught up in that. So a few things that we encourage moms to consider is, hey, what is your background? What kind of family did you come from? What type of support network do you have?
Emily Jensen (15:21.336)
What’s your husband like? What’s his personality? Is he a believer? Is he not a believer? Those things will make a big difference in how you love your kids and raise your family. Ages and stages of kids: sometimes, as moms, we find ourselves comparing ourselves to someone with kids way older, and we’re like, why aren’t my two-year-olds doing chores like her 12-year-old? And it’s like, well. We have to sort of, know, it seems silly, but we sometimes have to step back and say, okay, wait a second.
I have a different family than she does. What part of the country are you living in? All those other things will play into the unique motherhood that God has given you. As I mentioned earlier, we have a son with disabilities, and that’s something that has significantly shaped our parenting choices. And so I often will look around and wonder, how come we need so much help, why traveling is so much more difficult for us, or why we can’t do family game nights in the same way they can? And I have to go back again if I want to say, what is that freedom and that contentment in the motherhood God has given me? Well, this is something he’s put in our family. And so it’s going to mean blessings, it’s going to mean challenges, but it’s going to mean that my motherhood looks different, and I can accept that and then go to the Lord and say, okay, what does it look like for me? What does it look like for us? And that’s just a freeing place when you can receive what is and not, you know, focus on the what-ifs.
Rachael Adams (16:58.48)
Yeah, you know, if we were to poll all the moms listening today, the majority would probably say, “I feel exhausted. I feel like a failure. I feel guilty.” You know, all of these emotions are what we are experiencing. So, what encouragement do you offer to those who are not measuring up?
Emily Jensen (17:19.82)
At Risen Motherhood, we surveyed 10,000 Christian moms and asked them how many feel mom guilt or struggle with it regularly. And if I remember correctly, 97 % of them said they did. That shows that the feeling of mom guilt, that struggle, is nearly universal. So the mom that you think has it together and is doing everything so excellent is probably struggling with her form of mom guilt. So, I don’t know if that’s just a helpful insight for anyone out there. But one thing we talk about in the book is how to overcome mom guilt because scripture says that Christians, though we are going to experience conviction, there is such a thing as real guilt; you can be genuinely guilty of something. That’s not where Christians are supposed to stay. There is freedom from guilt. And so when we encounter guilt and motherhood, I think a lot of times our natural response is to sort of like, see, no, no, I’m getting this feeling again. And we either try to stuff it down, ignore it, or push it away. And so it sort of lives like this underlying weight of anxiety and in our lives because we’re like, I don’t feel that I’m measuring up. I don’t feel I’m doing everything I should be doing. Another thing that we sometimes do is ruminate about it, right? This is what we think about at night when lying in bed. But I think what we want to encourage moms to do is to examine that guilt. Like, don’t let it sit there. Don’t let it fester. Don’t let it go on and on and on. The good thing is that when you examine your guilt, you will hopefully find one of two things or some combination of both. And one thing you might find is that there’s no biblical mandate for this thing that you’re feeling guilty about. There’s no clear directive from God that you’re disobeying. You’re just a fallen mom who is not living up to her expectations and is not living up to the cultural ideals that she has placed on herself. And in that, guess what? You get to walk free of that. You don’t have to feel condemnation. You haven’t sinned against the Lord. Yeah, you’re limited. That’s not sinning. No, you’re not gonna meet all your expectations or whatever this perfect idea of motherhood you had, but that’s not a sin, right? So we can walk free in that way. Or the other thing that we might discover is that, yeah, there is something I did wrong.
I yelled at my kids and lost my temper with them before we got in the car today. And I’m feeling guilty about that. In that scenario, as a Christian, you get to come to the Lord and confess your sins; he is faithful in forgiving your sins. And you can then walk free. You can work with him, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to change those habits and fight those sins. But you don’t have to live in shame and condemnation. So I think for the mom who is overwhelmed, I just feel perpetually bad about my mothering, I would like to encourage her this is crazy practical, but like, get a piece of paper and write down like all of those things that you’re like, I’m not making good enough homemade meals. I’m not reading aloud enough minutes of the day with my kids. I’m letting them watch too much TV, whatever those things are. Take that before the Lord, and let him examine your heart and wrestle with him in prayer over those things. Try to see what things are here in areas where God is leading me to make changes. What things here are things that I’m putting pressure on myself, and I don’t need to be. And I think there can be a lot of freedom due to that.
Rachael Adams (22:14.962)
Yeah, I think that is such a powerful distinction that we’ve got to examine ourselves. Is this condemnation from the enemy, or is this conviction from the ward? The other day, my husband and I were sharing some things that I was feeling guilty about, and he said, well, who is it that you’re trying to please? And who are you doing this for? And it caused me to pause. I’m like, you know what? This is for other people. This is to make myself look good. This is nothing that God has asked me to do. What does God require of me? It was none of those things, so I think this is such an impactful, good conversation. Honestly, Emily, as you’re talking, I think it is evident that you spend time with the Lord, have memorized scripture, and that your Holy Spirit resides in you. As a woman in today’s generation and our culture, it is challenging because we are so busy to make time for the Lord and scripture and study, yet it’s so essential. So, what kind of gospel-centered practices would you encourage us to add to or incorporate into our already busy schedules?
Emily Jensen (23:27.938)
Yeah. I mean, I think there’s a lot of significant ones. It’s good to sort of take the pressure off and know that we don’t have to do the same amount of spiritual discipline all the time, right? Slow plod. I also think it’s helpful to choose one, maybe right now. So if you’re listening and like, okay, I want to grow deeper in my walk with God and my fellowship with him, probably not going to overhaul your whole spiritual discipline life in one day. But you can choose one area you want to grow in and say; I will commit to this for the next week. And then I’m going to reevaluate and recommit. And that’s how we can build good, sustainable habits over time that will stick with us for the rest of our lives. And so certainly, some of the most foundational ones include prayer, reading and being in the word of God, and then being together regularly with God’s people in and through the local church. Those sound very like, well, that’s obvious. I knew all those things, but that’s for a reason, right? These are the things that historically have upheld believers in the church. And there are tons of other different spiritual disciplines you can practice. There are a ton of other habits you can incorporate in your life, but these are the foundational ones that help us healthily grow towards God. I think too, though, sometimes we have to think outside of the box in the season of motherhood, and you know, we are swamped. We’re running a lot of different places. We’re tired. We already have a lot of things on our plate. And so, of course, it is so good to set your alarm, wake up early, have your Bible open, have a Bible reading plan, pray every day, have your candle, and have your coffee. Like I love that when I get to do that, that is the most fun, memorable, cozy thing, but that is not what my morning looks like a lot of the time; I have to figure out other ways to be with God. I have to think outside of that box and say, okay, Lord, I want to have this regular time with you. But I will also be creative, and it will be immersive. And I’m not going to think, okay, my quiet time hour is between, you know, six and six 30. But after six 30, if I haven’t done it, I’ll have to wait and try again tomorrow. Right? Like that’s almost like that diet culture ringing in our head of like, Well, I wasn’t good. I, you know, ate a cookie before 9 a.m. So, well, I guess we’ll throw the whole day out the door. But health advice would say, no, no, no, every meal is a new chance. You don’t need to throw it out the window because you didn’t eat a certain way that morning. And so I think we have to remember that with our faith. And there are so many options out there. If you have little kids, like going on a walk and listening to the audio Bible or having a little Bluetooth speaker, your whole family can all listen to the audio Bible while you’re on a walk. Bring a card with you and practice scripture memory. Maybe while your kids play at the park and the playground, you have your little note cards and are working on your scripture memory verses. Maybe you’re driving someplace, maybe in the car a lot, and find a devotional that your whole family can listen to or enjoy while sitting in the pickup line and waiting for your kids to get out of practice. Maybe you have a friend, you know, while your kids are in school, and you’re like, I go on a walk with my friend every Monday at 9 am, and we pray for one another. And we do it right there on the trail with each other. And so I think we have to get out of our heads a bit of thinking like quiet time has to look this specific way, and it’s good to change it up. It’s good to think about how many touchpoints I can have in my day with God. How many can I have? Can it be worship music? Can it be prayer while I’m doing dishes in the sink? And we wanna be in that constant, not in a weird way to where we can’t function, but in a good way, like continuous fellowship with God in a way that’s helping give us wisdom for life and then also helping us remember these essential truths. Because I think when we go days, weeks, and months without being in the Word of God or meeting with God’s people, we get distorted about what’s true and cultural. And so we must stay connected to that anchor so that when we’re on social media, talking to a friend, or reading the news, we can discern what’s true and helpful.
Rachael Adams (28:03.89)
Speaking of fellowship, you mentioned that one of the practical disciplines was community. Maybe it was because of COVID-19 or other factors, but I’m not sure. Many women feel very isolated and don’t have a sense of community. I know I was that way when my kids were first born, and it took me the courage to go to the local library, attend mops, and get involved in church. So that takes courage, especially for people like me who are maybe introverted. And so, how do you think that we can build more meaningful community and friendships?
Emily Jensen (28:38.812)
Mm, I think that’s precisely what you’re saying. It takes courage. It takes courage, having the bigger end goal in mind, and believing that friendship and community are good and worth it. It’s knowing and being realistic that it will take time to cultivate and might take a few tries to find that friend that encourages you in Christ. And I know I’ve heard about, you know, the concentric circles of relationships before right where we’re going to have just a couple of people who were probably really close with, and we feel like hey we can share everything with them we’re going to talk frequently you know this is someone who’s really going to have a voice to speak into our lives in a significant way and then you go out another layer. It’s like, hey, these are people that we’re kind of acquaintances with and we’re friends with, but it isn’t quite as frequent, or maybe it’s just one aspect of our lives, and then you go even further out, and you’ve got you know, people that you’re like, yeah, I’m friends with them on social media. I follow them, but I only run into them occasionally at this event or that event, but I would still call them my friends. And it’s just helpful to know, like, when you first meet someone, it’s okay if you don’t know what circle they will fall in right away. And it’s OK if, after hanging out with them a few times, you’re like, I think this person will end up falling in my outer circle. We’re kind and get along, but friendship with this person feels challenging. There are many obstacles for us to overcome. I have found that it’s constructive to build community right where you’re at, where you’re already doing stuff, instead of trying to build community with people you don’t see very often. You have to come up with a special event to get together. I don’t know about you, but motherhood is hard. If I don’t naturally see you as a part of a church or my kids of sports or whatever, I might still like you. Still, I’m just gonna have a tough time because we’ll have to find a day on the calendar a month from now when we’re both free at the same time, and we can drive to see each other. And so I think it’s just keeping your eyes open. I would also encourage prayer. Like God is so good and kind in how he provides for us. And when we have something good that we want, that’s in line with his desires for our life, that’s gonna help us grow in him, it’s gonna help us love our kids well, love our husband well, grow in godliness. I think he will provide that for us somehow over time. And so it may not be the person you thought, it may not be in the timing that you thought, but I would say persevere in prayer if you don’t have that community. Keep asking God, say, God, give me eyes to see who these people are. Give me the courage to introduce myself, help me have the wisdom to know, you know, is this someone that I should go deeper with or not? And then know that in some seasons, yes, it will be more complicated than others. So, when I had newborns and babies and toddlers, I did not hang out with friends that much. And now that my kids are a little older, I can go on walks with friends more frequently. I can see kids or my friends more regularly. And that’s okay. That’s okay, that’s life. Comes and goes in seasons. And so we must also help God give us grace and patience to bear through whatever he’s given us.
Rachael Adams (32:06.694)
Yeah, I found that friendships can be very seasonal, too. Nothing necessarily has gone wrong, or there are no hard feelings. It’s just our seasons of life have transitioned, and I think that that’s natural, and God gives us certain people in certain seasons of our lives. You know, you’re a gospel mom. God has surrounded you with a lot of a community of gospel moms. I’m interested to hear whether your mom is a gospel mom. It seems to me that you come from maybe a godly legacy.
Emily Jensen (32:40.735)
Aw, thanks. Yeah, grew up in a Christian home and my mother-in-law is also a firm believer. And so I have just really enjoyed watching them walk through life with a lot of grace. And I don’t know if you feel like this sometimes. Still, I look back at past generations and think that was pretty hard because of what culture was like at that time or because their resources were so different than ours, or just the expectation to have sort of to get through things and not say anything or share your feelings or have some the support that we have today. I mean, I think about that a lot. My mom worked, and she had a fantastic corporate job. I am amazed sometimes when I think about it, man. I bet she had to wake up at 5 a.m. every day, shower, and get herself ready to go. And she fixed us breakfast. And then she came home. And I remember that we had home-cooked dinner every night, and she had extra work to do. She stayed up. And yet, I remember feeling like my mom was there for us, and she was around. And I think about how God sustained her through that. And I do believe that there is a witness in people’s lives where you see over time that circumstances weren’t perfect, things were challenging, and they had hardships, but the Lord sustained them in and through those. And that’s exciting to me, as a mom, to think about the difficulties I’m facing right now that the Lord is carrying me through. And I don’t know what that looks like to someone else. But I’m hopeful that there will be that, you know, witness for my daughter, my daughter us someday.
Rachael Adams (34:27.782)
Me too. I mentioned this earlier, but I’m just thinking about us trying to be gospel moms the best we can and raising gospel kids. And so, as people are listening to this episode, reading your books, and a part of your ministry, what do you hope for? In my mind, I’m thinking, gosh, about the amount of change that this can happen. The ripple effect of this from generations beyond what we even know now is mighty to think about.
Emily Jensen (34:58.34)
Mm hmm. It’s exciting to me because I know that when a mom grows in her relationship with God, it doesn’t stay isolated to her. Moms have a considerable influence on their homes. They have a considerable influence over the culture of their homes. They influence their children’s neurological development. They influence their husbands. And that’s just talking about the house. Like you get moms growing in Jesus like, the community is going to feel it, the church is going to feel it, the schools are going to feel it. Like it’s, don’t want even just to isolate it to the home. But I think that it is so exciting that your spiritual growth doesn’t happen in isolation. It absolutely will bless everyone around you. And you might not immediately feel like that, but it is. And so our hope is that man, if moms can be walking in fellowship with God, if they can be growing in their knowledge of who he is, if they can be growing in their love for him, if they can be more prayerful, more wise, if they can be more loving, kind friends. They are sharing the gospel with their kids, like, this will have incredible ripple effects for generations to come. And I’m so excited about that.
Rachael Adams (36:11.706)
Yeah, yeah, me too. So Emily, one of the questions I’ve been asking all of my guests as we start to come to a close is: Is there a biblical concept of love that you think applies to this topic today?
Emily Jensen (36:24.32)
Mm-hmm. This might be obvious, but since we’re talking about the gospel, we have to consider God’s grace. I love that word as an acronym. I think it’s God’s riches at Christ’s expense. And I’m going not to quote the verse exactly, but it’s like, you know, greater love has no one than this, that one would lay down their life for their friend. I forget exactly how to say it, but it’s, in essence,e talking about the fact that Christ’s sacrifice is an incredible display of God’s love for us that while we were still sinners, while we were far off, while we were rebelling against him, God pursued us and he gave us the best gift. He gave us his only son, and you know, none of us can probably, I hope, you no one listening knows what it feels like to lose a child, but like the devastation of that, the depth of heartbreak of that and like God had his son die on our behalf so that we could have incredible spiritual riches for all of eternity. And I think I want to meditate on that kind of love. That’s a type of love that I want to extend to others. It’s very humbling, and I’m very thankful for it.
Rachael Adams (37:43.108)
Yeah, me too. What is something you are loving right now?
Emily Jensen (37:47.812)
Well, you and I were chatting before we got on about the cold weather and the snowflakes. So I love our wood-burning fireplace. So, I don’t have any fun products to share, but when we built our house, we wanted a wood-burning fireplace. And I remember we had to seek out special home insurance, and our builder was like, are you sure you want this? This is kind of an old-fashioned thing to have, but it is the biggest delight. And so when the wind is blowing, and it’s frigid outside, I joke that fire is my coping mechanism. And so, in the evenings, we huddle around in the living room with books and tea. And so a wood-burning fireplace is like my thing that I am loving right now.
Rachael Adams (38:37.326)
Yeah, there is something about a fire that is just cozy. Whether it’s some summer nights and making s’mores around the fire or winter nights and cuddling up in a blanket, it’s all good. Well, I know I want to stay connected with you, and I’m sure listeners will, too. So tell us how we can purchase your book, Gospel Mom, and connect with you.
Emily Jensen (38:58.734)
Sure, yeah, you can find Gospel Mom and a companion workbook that we have with it, Becoming a Gospel Mom. I’m pretty sure anywhere books are sold online, so choose your favorite retailer. You can find out more about our ministry at risenmotherhood.com. We have tons of podcasts there and articles. You can find me on Emily A. Jensen’s Instagram page.
Rachael Adams (39:20.837)
Well, you have encouraged me in my motherhood, challenged me, and convicted me in good ways. This is such an important role and one that I know we all want to take seriously. Thank you so much for your time. Would you do the honor of praying for us as we close?
Emily Jensen (39:37.636)
Heavenly Father, I just thank you for every woman who is listening. We know that it’s not by accident that you know everything. You see every moment of our days. You know what we’re going to listen to, what thing we’re going to encounter next. And I just pray that you would use the words that were shared here today to encourage these women to change their hearts, to draw them near to you and that you would give each of them just one action step as they walk away from this podcast today, of a thing in their life that they want to do to grow in their relationship with you, their love for you, their allegiance to you, that they would be a gospel mom and that would overflow into their children’s lives and everyone around them for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Rachael Adams (40:27.502)
Amen. Thank you so much.
Emily Jensen (40:30.35)
Thanks for having me.
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