Biblical Encouragement for Moms

We take a hard look at the unseen work moms carry and say out loud that it matters to God and it matters to the next generation. We ground that encouragement in Scripture, name the real pressures moms face in 2026, and share four simple discipleship habits you can start this week. 

• the invisible load moms carry at home, school, and church 
• reframing Proverbs 31 as strength and confident faith, not an impossible standard 
• Timothy’s faith traced to Eunice and Lois in 2 Timothy 1:5 
• Moses’ mother trusting God with her son and shaping his foundation 
• the comparison trap of social media and the pressure to perform 
• discipling alone in divided homes or with disengaged spiritual leadership 
• pushing back on the lie that prioritizing family is a lesser calling 
• four practical tools: pray out loud, use car rides for conversations, model real faith, build a village through church and mentors 
• hope for the mom carrying guilt, anchored in new mercies every morning 

please subscribe and leave us a review, like we said, uh, and and share it with a mom who needs to hear this today. 

Send any questions you want answered to podcast@waynechristian.org

This podcast is presented by Wayne Christian School- A Christ-centered community school whose mission is to assist parents and churches in the education of their children from a biblical worldview to impact their world for Christ. You can learn more at waynechristian.org 

Transcript

A Real Thank You For Moms

Nate 0:00

Quick question for every mom listening right now. When was the last time someone told you that what you're doing actually matters? Not just Happy Mother's Day with a card and some flowers. Although we love cards and flowers. And sherries, berries. Sherries berries. Hopefully you got some sherries berries for Mother's Day, or will if you're listening to this the day before. But we're asking, when was the last time someone looked you in the eye and said, What you are doing in the home with those kids is some of the most important work happening on this planet right now?

Luis 0:35

We're going to say that today, and then we're going to back it up with scripture and honestly about what moms are actually carrying in 2026 with some practical tools to take into this week.

Nate 1:10

And we are glad you're here with us today. And before we get going at all today, I just want to say to every mom who's listening right now maybe you're driving in the carpool, folding laundry, sneaking in five minutes of quiet before the chaos begins. And the chaos always finds the That's exactly right. Uh it does. But we see you, God sees you, and this episode is for you. So happy Mother's Day to all the moms listening to us.

Luis 1:37

Yeah, Mother's Day is for us when we're recording, is coming up on Sunday.

Nate 1:44

That's exactly right. If you're listening to this after and you forgot that you just missed Mother's Day, um, Sherry's Berries. That's that's what you're going for. Did you ask Sherry how she makes the berries? I've never asked her. Okay. I should though. Probably.

Luis 1:57

They're good. They are really good. They're really good. We had some delivered here at the school a few weeks ago. Did you? Not for me. Not for me. I was gonna say you didn't tell me. No, they were for somebody else. Oh. But I've gotten them for my wife before. Oh, okay. Sherry's berries. There it is. But we could not let this week go by without doing something special. And today's episode is a blend, right? We want to celebrate the moms in our lives, those who are listening, but we also want to equip you because that's what we do here at Equipped for Impact. That's exactly right. We believe that the most important work happening in the world right now might just be happening in your kitchen, in your minivan, or on the golf cart or in your living room.

Nate 2:38

That's exactly right. The most important work happening in the kitchen, making breakfast for dinner to go with your sherry's berries.

Luis 2:45

Don't listen to our show if you're making breakfast for dinner.

Nate 2:48

Yeah, that's right. We when you said it was a blend, this episode was a blend. I was thinking smoothie. Smoothie. Smoothies are good. Because we had just said the berries. Yeah. But don't use your sherry's berries to make a smoothie. I feel like that's a waste. That would be, yeah. You have to eat sherry's berries by themselves. Okay. There we go. Well, what we're saying today, right? We say it all the time on this show, right? The home is the primary place where discipleship happens. And moms are often the ones holding that all together. I really, I think often is an understatement. Like we do it all the time. Yeah. All the time. All the time, right? So, moms, you're the one holding things all together. So we want to honor you today, and we want to give you some practical tools, right, to keep you going and encourage your heart.

The Home As Discipleship Center

Luis 3:30

Yeah, and we're going to start by honoring the biblical calling of motherhood. We're going to look at what scripture says about the moms that God uses to change generations. And then we're also going to talk honestly about the culture that we live in, right? That today's moms are navigating. And then we want to give you some practical stuff because if we just celebrate without equipping you, then that's not really what we're about and we're missing the point.

Nate 3:55

That's exactly right. So, Lewis, let's start there, right? You're you're a pastor, we're in a school system, we see moms all the time. What do you observe? What do you see? What are moms carrying that maybe doesn't get acknowledged enough in our culture today?

Luis 4:09

Where do we even start, right? You know, I I think that the thing that strikes me most is the invisible load that moms carry. Moms are managing schedules, they're managing emotions, spiritual formation, meals, relationships. All of that is happening simultaneously. And most of the time, nobody's handing them a performance review that says, Great job this week.

Nate 4:34

I think we can do that though, right now. Like here is your performance review, mom. You're doing a great job. You're doing a great job. Check marks, A, exceeds expectations in every category. There we go. Right. And so in a school context, right, we see this too. You know, it's the moms who show up with, you know, they're they've got early morning meetings, they've got different stuff going on, but they, you know, they packed the lunch, they remembered to get the permission slip, they ran home to get the lunch because they handed to the kid and the kid set it down right outside the garage door and they're bringing it back. They were up late helping with that project that their child forgot to do. Helping, not doing. Yeah, hopefully. Right? They've prayed over their kids before bed, while their kids are asleep. They've asked them about their faith, about their friendships, about what's going on in their heart. They're doing all of these things because they love their kids and they want to see them succeed.

Luis 5:24

And then they show up to church on Sunday and they might even feel like she's not doing enough spiritually because she didn't have a perfect quiet time every morning that week.

Nate 5:36

Yep, that's right. And that's this is real, right? I think one of the things that we say, you know, at the top of this episode is that, you know, moms, you're not behind. The fact that you're listening to a podcast called Equipped for Impact tells us something about your heart, right? You care and you want to see God's work done in your children's hearts. And yeah, yeah, that's it's just uh just be encouraged, the fact that you are doing it, yeah, even if you don't feel it.

Luis 6:04

And look, Proverbs 31 gets quoted a lot, especially around Mother's Day. Yep. And sometimes it can feel like a pressure passage, right? We gotta live up. Yeah. Yeah. Like here's the impossible standard, and here, go try and achieve it. But but I want to flip that, right? Proverbs 31, 25 says, strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. And that word laughs, it's it's a posture of confident faith. It's it's not anxiety. She she's not white knuckling it, she's she's grounded, right? Like you can laugh because you're grounded.

Nate 6:40

Yeah, that's right. I love that. And the verses 27 and 28 go on to say that she, you know, looks well to the ways of her husband, her household. She's intentional. Her children rise up and call her blessed. That word blessed in Hebrew carries this idea of happiness and flourishing. And it's the legacy of a godly mom that produces flourishing in the next generation.

Luis 7:04

Yeah, that's really good. And that's not accidental, right? That's that's cultivated, and that's exactly what we are talking about today, right? Being intentional, biblical parenting that produces the next generation of Christian leaders in our culture.

Nate 7:21

Yep, that's exactly right. And so we wanted to start there just because, you know, in that it's so important, right? The calling of motherhood. And it's it's important to know that even when you don't see the results yourself, or even if it's not necessarily acknowledged except on Mother's Day morning when you're getting breakfast in bed, maybe it's after 10 30 when you're getting your breakfast in bed. You're right. You should be at church because Mother's Day is always on a Sunday. That's true.

Luis 7:48

Breakfast in bed before church. Before church before 10 30, which is when normal people eat it.

Moms In Scripture Who Shaped Leaders

Nate 7:53

I was gonna say, what if your church is one of those like afternoon they meet at like one or two in the afternoon? You should still eat breakfast before 10 30. Okay. Okay. I'll I'll I'll allow that on Mother's Day. But just on Mother's Day. So so let's kind of take a few minutes looking at some examples of moms in scripture. And if you, you know, I don't think any of these are going to be new necessarily to our long-term listeners, but we've also got a lot of new listeners. So if you're new listening to this podcast, welcome. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss our next episode. We're so glad you're here, by the way. We are. And leave us a rating so that this can actually get out to more people because those podcast platforms are weird, and if you don't get ratings, then it doesn't serve you up as recommendations. So leave us a rating and and tell us how much you love breakfast for dinner. So, where do we want to start? Let's start with scripture. Let's look at uh 2 Timothy 1 5. This is a passage where Paul is writing to Timothy, a young pastor. Paul calls Timothy his son in the faith, and he says, I'm reminded of your sincere faith, right? The faith of Timothy, a faith that first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now I'm sure dwells in you as well.

Luis 9:07

I I love that verse because Paul is not writing a textbook on theology here, right? He's he's tracing Timothy's face, faith, and then that faith, that trail leads directly back to his mom and his grandmother.

Nate 9:27

Yeah, that's that's really good. Just thinking about the the faith that they have, right? These two women in a culture where women had limited public influence, and yet their faithfulness in the home produced one of the most significant leaders in church history. Paul essentially is saying, Timothy, the reason you are the who you are starts with these two women and their influence in your life. That might be my Mother's Day sermon right there. So if any of your church members are listening, they don't need to come on Sunday. It's not gonna be, no, they still gotta come because they can stay home and have breakfast.

Luis 10:01

I may surprise you with something different.

Nate 10:03

Okay, good, good, good. Man, pastors, yeah, that that is a good place to start. But here's what we need moms to hear, right? Your faithfulness right now in your home with your children, it's not small work. That's generational work, and you may be raising up the next Timothy.

Luis 10:20

And then you think about Moses' mother, right? She she can't openly keep her son, and so she makes a basket, she places him in the Nile.

Nate 10:31

So is Moses a basket case?

Luis 10:33

You know, that's a good question. He was. Have you never heard that one before? Uh I'm pretty sure I have. Okay. We need that like won won wa. Yeah, yeah.

Nate 10:41

That's like a classic old school pastor joke.

Luis 10:44

And so she trusts God with her basket case, right? And so Exodus 2 tells us that Pharaoh's daughter actually hired her as his nurse, right? And so Moses' own mom got to nurse him and to pour into in him those formative years. And so she gave up Moses and trusted God with him, and then God gave him back to her.

Nate 11:13

Yeah, and those earlier years, she she laid that foundation of faith that stayed with Moses even after he was raised in Pharaoh's palace. And you want to talk about a counter-cultural kid and having to raise a child with that counterformation to what everything else in culture was telling him, that was Moses, right? He grew up in the most powerful household in the world. And when the the rubber met the road, they didn't have rubber back then, but when the rubber met the road, he chose to identify with the people of God. Yep.

Luis 11:48

And then in Hebrews 11, right, in the Hall of Faith, we read that Moses gets credit for choosing suffering with the people of God over the treasures of Egypt. And behind that choice was a mom who planted something that didn't get uprooted when he had to make that choice.

The 2026 Pressures Moms Carry

Nate 12:08

Yep, that's exactly right. And I think that's a that's an illustration of the wisdom from Proverbs 22, 6. It's a classic verse. It's not a a promise, right? But it is good general wisdom. It says, train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. And we see that in Moses. He was trained up, and when he was older, he stayed on that path. So that was a good thing, right? It doesn't mean your kids won't go through seasons of doubt or wandering. We've talked about that on this episode, on this podcast. But the word of God planted in them, the prayers you prayed for them, the faith you modeled for them, those things don't evaporate, right? Because they're seeds, and God is faithful to what he plants. That's right. That's really good. All right, so let's shift gears a little bit. We've talked about these biblical examples because we want to be be, you know, practical and and and rooted in scripture, but we want to be honest about what moms are actually walking through because you know, we can't just paint this idyllic rosy picture that things are always perfect.

Luis 13:11

Because in 2026, moms are navigating something that is genuinely hard, and we want to take some time to name some of them today. All right, go ahead, name it. So let's start with this the comparison trap is real, and it has never been more vicious. And we talk about this with teenagers, right? And this is one of the if you call back to one of our episodes on social media, social media gives moms a 24-7 highlight reel of other families' best moments, and the algorithm is designed to make them feel like they're always coming up short. So whether it's the Pinterest mom, whether it's the homeschool mom with the perfect curriculum, the mom who does family devotions every single night with candles and matching journals.

Nate 13:59

Matching journals. That is where it's at. And then her kids are they are they like monogrammed too? They should be, yeah. Like that's what the perfect mom does, right? Okay, perfect.

Luis 14:08

And her kids are all engaged and nobody's fighting, right? Now, those moments exist in some cases, but so does reality. And the comparison trap is stealing joy and confidence from moms who are actually doing a great job.

Nate 14:27

Yeah, that's right. And Jonathan Heid's work in the anxious, the anxious generation. I gotta get it out. You know, we've talked about that book before, and it's it's documenting the damage social media is doing to this rising generation of kids, especially Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and all of them. But I think what gets less attention is what it's doing to to families in general and parents, because that pressure for, you know, parents and and moms especially seem to take this hard, is that pressure to perform publicly and get that perfect, you know, field trip picture that you're gonna snap and post on Instagram with the right filter showing how a great a you know time you had with your child, that that does a damage to to families.

Luis 15:11

And the second thing we want to name here is that moms, you are oftentimes discipling alone. And whether it's because of a divided home or a disengaged husband or a husband who loves his family but just doesn't know how to lead spiritually, there there are moms out there that are doing the spiritual formation work all by themselves, and that's exhausting and it can feel discouraging.

Nate 15:38

Yeah, that's right. I think we did an episode about uh divided homes a while back, and that was a a well-received episode for us, right? We're talking about how you can still parent well even in a non-ideal situation.

Luis 15:52

Because it's so common, right? I mean, yeah, right, 50 almost 50 percent. I mean, maybe this, maybe it's the stats have changed slightly one way or the other. But I mean, a lot of marriages still end in divorce, and so a lot of moms are raising children in divided homes. That's exactly right. And then the third thing is that there's this narrative right now in our culture that tells a mom that the most meaningful thing that they can do is build a career, have a platform, and that staying home or prioritizing your family is somehow less than. And I want to be very clear, right? We're not saying choosing a career is wrong. We're not saying that being a mom who works out of the home is wrong, but we're gonna push back hard on this lie that raising children in the faith and being a stay-at-home mom is a lesser calling. It's not.

Nate 16:49

Nope, not at all.

Luis 16:51

One of the highest callings on earth.

Four Simple Practices For This Week

Nate 16:54

That's exactly right. And culture won't affirm that, but God's word does, and we do here on this episode. So if you've made that choice or you're thinking about it like that, that is great, right? Don't think that you are settling because you're you're, you know, being a stay-at-home mom. That's a great thing. So let's get practical here, Lewis. This is this is one of your favorite parts of the episodes, right?

Luis 17:18

Yeah, and and I and and I really love it because I think that sometimes we we can give moms beautiful theology, and then they drive home and think, okay, but but what do I actually do on on Tuesday? Yeah, and so we want to give you Or Thursday, because that's when this episode comes out. Yeah, that's right. Or Friday, because they may listen to the day later, right? That's right. And so we're gonna give you four practical things that are easy, they're not overwhelming, they're they're doable, and these aren't all or nothing, right? So if you implement one of these consistently, you're going to move the needle.

Nate 17:52

That's right. And to be honest, none of these things are new to long-term listeners of our podcast. But it's always good to hear things again, right? So, number one, pray out loud with your kids. I know it sounds simple, but here's what happens when a mom prays out loud with her children. Kids hear her talk to God like He's real. They hear her bring their names before the Father. They hear her express faith and dependence, and this is formation. Like you are forming your children in the act of modeling prayer for them. That's really good. And so you don't need a curriculum for this, you just need a minute and a genuine heart, and you can pray for your kids out loud.

Luis 18:34

Yeah, and number two is use your car as a classroom. We've said Deuteronomy 6 countless times on this episode. Yeah. And um, I guess this show, right? Yeah. And so Deuteronomy 6 says to talk about the things of God when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up. And that phrase there, right? The walk by the way of our generation is the commute. It's the car ride to school, it's the car ride to practice, it's the car ride to dance, right? Turn off the music and just ask your kid one question about their world. And maybe you can leave the music on, right? Maybe you just turn it down a little bit, but but ask them, right? What's something that confused them this week? What's something that you saw that doesn't seem fair? Did anything happen that made you think about God? Yeah. Ask them questions to get them thinking and talking. And here's the truth if you have teenagers like I do, they don't want to talk to you. Nope, they don't. So you got to keep pressing, like you got to keep going, and and and they're gonna say that stop asking me questions, that's annoying, but just lean into it and force them to have a conversation.

Nate 19:54

Yep, that's exactly right. And and those conversations are discipleship, you know, and and the car is you know, genius because nobody has to make eye contact. It's not weird, it's not awkward, you're not staring at them across the table. And like you said, for teenagers, that's that's gold. It gives them the opportunity to open up and also they can't run away from you without like opening the door and and rolling.

Luis 20:15

Um that's a documented fact.

Nate 20:17

That's exactly true. But here's the thing is that with this, I I mean, we've seen this in in research. I've talked a little bit about my research, which is really gearing up as I'm, you know, winding down my doctorate. My research. It does. If and it feels weird because anyway, I know what goes into it. But, you know, it's multiple research projects that I've read and then ones that I've performed myself. Like that is the number one thing that comes up, whether you're talking to young adults who are reflecting back on their lives or your, you know, and and what formed them the most as children. And that's actually the number one thing is that it's just regular conversations with their parents. It's not any one big breakthrough moment. It's the repeated, small, informal conversations in the car. Yeah. And we shouldn't be surprised because it lines up exactly with scripture.

Luis 21:05

And that actually leads us right into our third one, which is let your kids see your own faith, right? Not performed faith, but but your real faith. Let them see you open your Bible, let them see you sit with a hard passage, let them hear you say, I'm struggling with this and I'm taking it to God. Let them see you go to church even when you don't feel like it and come home change, and and you're modeling something that they will internalize long after they leave your house. Like Nate said, right? The the data supports that. It's it's those everyday moments, not these grand spectacles.

Nate 21:43

Yep. That's right. You know, and and I think sometimes mom hides moms hide their struggles in an attempt to protect their kids. And that's good. Like to some extent, you need to do that because you know, your kids don't need to understand all the adult struggles in life, right? But there's a difference between Oversharing and then just that authenticity, right? Where kids who watch their parent navigate hard things with faith are better equipped to navigate hard things with faith themselves.

Luis 22:12

Yeah, and the goal isn't to be perfect in front of your kids, the goal is to be real about who you run to when life is hard. And then number four is you need to build a village around your family. Proverbs 11:14 says that there is safety in an abundance of counselors. And so, mom, you were never meant to do this alone. And so find ways to connect your kids to godly adults who are going to reinforce what you're building at home. That's why your church community matters. That's why if you're not plugged into a church, you need to get plugged into a church. Mentors matter. Your kids teacher at a Christian school, especially, they are there to assist you in this type of work.

Nate 23:04

Yep, that's exactly right. And and you know, we're here at a school, right? And so we that's kind of our philosophy is we want to be part of that that village. And fun fact, that's another thing that came out of my research. Res there's like a synergy when you have reinforcement and alignment between home church school, between, you know, coaches who are saying things, and Bible teachers and Sunday school teachers and youth leaders, and it's just like this abundance of people all speaking into your child's life. Yeah. It it only helps the more people you have saying the same thing, just in different perspectives to your your children, right?

Luis 23:41

One day I'm gonna be recording an episode and I'm gonna say the research that was provided by Dr. Deck.

Nate 23:49

One day, maybe, or maybe not, but that you know, just think see it, these other people as investing in the spiritual formation of your children, right? Let them invest, let them be the body of Christ, and and you don't have to carry it alone.

Luis 24:03

And if you don't have that village, then build it. Yeah, like take one step toward it this week. Reach out to another mom from your church, ask your pastor about a parenting small group, connect with mentor. The isolation of modern parenting is not God's design for you. And if you're not connected to a local church, like start there. Yeah, go there.

New Mercies For The Weary Mom

Nate 24:30

Yeah, that's a great place to start. So, Lewis, before we close, I just wanted to give you a minute, you know, because I know there's a mom who's listening right now. They've been waiting this whole episode to hear something that speaks to, you know, maybe that guilt or inadequacy that she's feeling, not just her calling and their and the aspiration. So so take a moment as we close and just speak to speak to that mom who's maybe feeling it.

Luis 24:53

Yeah, you know, mom, maybe you're listening and your child has walked away from the faith and and you're wondering what you did wrong. Maybe you've had a terrible week and and you yelled more than you prayed. Maybe your kids are not where you hoped they'd be spiritually, and and you're carrying that as your failure. And so I want you to hear me. The God who used Timothy's mom and grandmother is the same God who redeems broken seasons. The God who gave Moses back to his mother is the God who has not forgotten about your child. And you're not the Holy Spirit. Your job is faithfulness, faithfulness, and faithfulness is a day-by-day try-again tomorrow calling. It's not a performance, it's not a production, it's a daily walk. And and here's what I know about the moms who are listening to this podcast. You are walking, so keep walking.

Nate 25:52

Yeah, that and in in Lamentations 3, 23, it says, His mercies are new every morning, right? And that's from uh, you know, the prophet Jeremiah who's sitting there seeing that his whole city was just destroyed in judgment from God, and that he turns around and sees, you know what? But God's mercies are new. And that means for the mom who feels like she's failed, right? Um, you can let go of yesterday and you get fresh mercies today. And that's God's grace, right? And raising children in grace begins with a mom and parents who know uh that you're living in God's grace.

Closing Thanks And Share The Episode

Luis 26:30

So, moms, enjoy your Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to you from Equip for Impact. Let your family love on you with breakfast for dinner. Res oh no, don't receive it. Don't receive that. But receive everything else. You've earned it. And then when Monday gets here, you get back to the most important work in the world, right? We're grateful for you, we're praying for you, and we are with you.

Nate 26:54

Thank you so much for joining us today on Equipped for Impact. And if this episode encouraged you, please subscribe and leave us a review, like we said, uh, and and share it with a mom who needs to hear this today. Maybe even your mom. You can share it with your mom. But until next time, keep leading the next generation to stand firm in their faith and influence the world for Christ.