Your Home + Jesus Is Enough

Transcript

Welcome And Graduation Eve

Audrey 0:01

Hello, friend. Welcome back to Grace for My Home with Audrey McCracken. I'm Audrey, and what a blessing it is to be back with you again this week. I hope that you're doing well. Tomorrow night is the night, the night that my second son Luke graduates from high school. And I am recording this podcast the night before at 10 o'clock because it has just been a busy day. I had a lot going on and I wanted to get it recorded earlier, and I couldn't, and I did not want to disappoint. So here I am the night before my son graduates, recording this podcast for you. But I'm so glad to be back with you again this week. And I've had something stirring this week. So I knew exactly what

Why A Willing Home Matters

Audrey 0:49

I wanted to share. And this week I want to talk with you about your home and what God can do in the home of a willing vessel, of someone who has a heart to do his will and to obey and to see him move.

"Your Home Is Enough" Moment

Audrey 1:09

Many years ago, when we were in our homeschool days, I had a favorite speaker, podcaster, writer that I really enjoyed reading her books. She was such an encouragement to me. It was Sally Clarkson. If you don't know of Sally Clarkson, I cannot recommend her enough. Her books are awesome. She has a podcast. She is still podcasting. But her books were very encouraging to me as a homeschool mom. And one summer she was speaking at a conference. She lives in Colorado. She was in North Carolina. I'm in South Carolina. So it was about a two-hour drive. And I was really excited. And I go to this conference, which was rare for me. I I pretty much am a stay-to-myself kind of homeschooler. And I went to this conference just specifically because I wanted to hear her message and hopefully get to meet her. And I I was. It was a blessing. But through her message, there was something that she said. She said a lot. And I I really enjoyed it. I soaked it in. But there was one thing in particular she said that stuck with me. In one of her messages, she said, Your home is enough. And it stuck with me because I she was talking about your home is enough for whatever God wants to do in your children's lives. God can use your home to prepare them for the life that He has for them. That He can use you and the things that you do in your home to prepare your children for their future. And it stuck with me because I so wanted to believe that that was true. But deep in my heart, I knew I did not believe that.

When You Feel Unqualified

Audrey 3:24

But I, you know, I'm not enough. I can't do this. See, I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I grew up in an alcoholic home. And my parents did not go to church. And I did go I did go to church. One of my grandmothers made sure that I was in church with her every Sunday, but our home life was a mess. And I had no, I had no example to follow. And I I felt like all I all I knew was I I wanted it to be different, certainly different than the way I grew up. But at the same time, I had known some people who grew up in very religious homes, and they ended up not serving the Lord because of their upbringing. And I didn't want that either. So, you know, that was my prayer. Lord, I don't know how to do this. Show me how to do this and how to raise my children for you in such a way that they want to serve you, that they, that they believe in you and they love you, and that your way seems better to them than the way of the world. And so Sally Clarkson was very helpful in that because she shared stories about her family and how she raised her children. And it was almost like that, it it showed me an example of how this is possible. But I'm going to come to my own home. I didn't have as much faith. But like I said, one day I was praying about this and I just said, Lord, I don't think my home is enough. I don't think that I'm enough. I don't think I'm creative enough. I'm not good at organizing. I'm organized, organizationally challenged, and I don't feel like, you know, know how to respond. I give out of energy a lot. I'm very short-tempered. And I just felt like I wish my kids had a better mom. And I remember, you know, praying that one day, and just the way he speaks, you know, that still small voice, you know,

My Home Plus Jesus

Audrey 5:32

I was like, Lord, I'm not enough. And I feel like he spoke to my heart and said, Well, Audrey, am I enough? And I said, Well, Lord, of course, you're enough. You're God, of course, you're enough. But I don't feel like I'm enough. And I felt like he said, Well, why don't we do this together? And that gave me peace. And so from then on, my mantra wasn't, my home is enough. My mantra was my home plus Jesus is enough. And he was my partner, you know, and I saw that visual of me and him doing this together. Of course, I was the one doing the stuff, but he's the one who made it work. And that's what we're doing. We are working together with God. We are in partnership with God to do the things that he's called us to do. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, but he is doing the work through us. See, when God calls us to do something, he never calls us to do something we can do without his assistance. We always need him. If he calls us to do something and we can do it in our own strength, we don't need God. And he always calls us to do something that we have to lean on him, we have to draw from his strength, and we have to look to him and keep our eyes on him. And that's what, and that's true in all areas of life. But I found I learned that specifically when it comes to being a mom. So I I decided, it was a decision, I decided to believe that my home with Jesus' help is good ground for faith to grow. And that Jesus will fill in the gaps when they're needed. You know, when I can't do it, he will fill in the gaps and he has. And guys, sometimes it's been more than filling in the gaps. It's been more like gaping holes, but he's always

God Uses Willing Vessels

Audrey 7:50

faithful. See, the Lord is not looking for perfection. He's not looking for a golden vessel or a silver vessel. He's looking for a willing vessel for someone that will say, Yes, Lord, be it unto me according to your word. And he can work with that. And so that's all he's asking. He's just asking you to say, Yes, Lord. And then he will help you do the work. During that time, when I was, the Lord was building my faith and teaching me what he wanted me to do and how to do it and showing me that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it. You know, sometimes that's what failure does. We think that, you know, failure is a waste and a waste of our time, a waste of our energy. And, you know, why did I even try? I just failed. But sometimes we have to fail to to see that we can't do it. And that's kind of where I found myself because I knew I couldn't do it. I had failed so many times at so many things. And so the Lord got me to the point where I was listening. I I wanted so much to have a home where faith could grow. And when I got to the point where I knew I couldn't do that, then I was ready to do it God's way. I was ready to listen to God. But during that time, as I was reading the Bible, he brought me to

The Widow’s Oil In 2 Kings

Audrey 9:12

a story in the Old Testament. And, you know, the Bible, it says that, you know, the Bible is it's good for correction and instruction and doctrine, but it also brings us comfort. You know, God, how many times? I can't even count how many times, I've gone to the word and I've been fighting something or going through a particular trial, and the word that comes off the page just brings comfort to my soul. And during one of those times, I came to the word and the Lord, and I and I read this story that's found in 2 Kings 4 of this widow, and her husband was of the sons of the prophets, and she comes to Elisha and she says, My husband has died, and he was your servant, and the creditor has come to take away my children to be his slaves, because we can't pay the debts. And Elisha said to her, What do you want me to do for you? What do you have? What do you have in your house? And she said, I don't have anything that's of any worth except for a jar of oil. And so he tells her, Go to your neighbors and borrow empty vessels, as many as you can get your hands on, bring them to your home, shut the door, and start pouring the oil that you have into these vessels. And so her sons kept bringing her more vessels, and as she filled them, she would set them aside until they were all full. And when she asked her son for another vessel, he said, We don't have any, they're all they're all full. So then she goes back to the prophet and says, What do I do with this oil? And he says, Sell the oil, pay your debts, and then live off what's left. And when I when I read this, and the Lord opened it up to me and showed me such a beautiful picture of what he can do with what we give him. She had nothing. Her husband was faithful, and so she goes to the prophet and says, Listen, my husband was a faithful man, but I'm in trouble because they're gonna take my children, and she's afraid. She's about to lose her sons, and uh she has no way to make a living. And what am I gonna do? And so he gives her this idea. And all she has is a little bit of a little bit of oil. She has nothing in her home but a little bit of oil, and the oil represents the Holy Spirit. You know, if we have God, then we have all we need. And he she just had a little bit of oil, and he says, gather as many vessels as you can and shut the door behind you and pour and

Shut The Door And Pour In

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pour and pour. And the Lord showed me, it was like I saw that my children are my vessels. And I'm asking you, Audrey, to just bring them home, shut the door behind you, put the world out, and you pour into these children. Don't, you know, get off of Instagram, get off of Facebook, put your blinders on and close your ears to the voices of this world that say, I'm gonna take your children. They are gonna belong to me. Who do you think you are to raise children who believe? You know, the it the world, the pull of the world is just so strong. Who are you to fight that current? And the Lord says, Poor honey, bring them home, shut the door, don't announce to the world everything you're doing. They don't need to know. You know, the more you share with some people, the more ammunition they have to come against your faith. Now, don't get me wrong, I have people I love and trust and are encouraging, but there are people that are not going to celebrate what you're doing in your home for your children. They, they, they're not gonna encourage you. So they're gonna try to discourage you. So leave them out of it. You know, for us, that was homeschooling. Homeschooling was a great way for me to pour into my children, to shut the door on the world and to disciple them in a place where you know I could I could kind of tune out all the other voices. Now, it doesn't take homeschooling. For us, it was it was a great tool. But there's nobody in the Bible where it says you shall homeschool your children. Now, I've heard people twist it and teach it, and I don't believe it. I believe that every family has their own unique puzzle that they have to figure out, that God's not called us all to be the same. But however God shows you to do it, He will help you. And it is possible to raise your children for Jesus. Now, my children are not perfect. I'm the first one that will admit that. They are they're not all like me. They're not clones of me. They have their own convictions, but thankfully, they also have their own walk with God. And I'm so thankful for that. That was the goal. Lord, just let them believe, let them love you. Now, they've had seasons of doubt, but you know, I have too, and it's okay. That's part of I don't, I don't think you can have great faith until you've struggled with great doubt. I think that's just part of it. We want to give them a real faith. And a real faith has to struggle. A real faith has to push itself up from the ground. It's like a seed that has to, I spoke about this last week in the parable of a few weeks ago, in the parable of the dying seed. You know, real faith is buried and has to be pushed up. It has it has to push itself up from the ground to bear fruit. That's what it's like to be a mama raising children in a dark world, in a world that is full of doubt and full of negativity. We have an opportunity to do something different. We have an opportunity to be different, and we don't need to announce it to the world, just do it and trust God in it, and He will fill in the gaps. And I'm living proof of that. You know, I had no confidence as a mom. I had no example from my childhood. Didn't think I could because I didn't know what I was doing. But I'm living proof that your home and Jesus is enough. God can do miracles. It's rarely the way we want it. It's it's hard. I mean, I don't want to tell you it's not hard, it's very hard, but it's worth it. You know, God said all things are possible. He didn't say all things are easy. And that's what it's been like for me and my mama journey. It has been hard, it has been difficult. I think homeschooling my children was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. But I'm so glad I did. You know, last week I shared a conversation that I had with my friend Tana Johnston. And in that podcast, I said, you know, homeschooling was the hardest thing I I ever did. But it was so worth it. You know, if you'd have asked me a year or two years in it, I I could can't say that I would have recommended it because I felt like I was dying. But after seven years, eight years, when I started seeing some fruit and I started finding our way, I loved it because I saw so much possibility. You know, I saw the opportunity of pouring into your children. And and it's not you, it's the Holy Spirit. See, that's the thing. All she had was a little bit of oil, but that's all she

Real Faith Starts At Home

Audrey 17:35

needed because that's the Holy Spirit. See, what God has done in you, you need to share that with others and start with your children. I'm a woman in ministry, I've been in ministry for many years, and I know a lot of women in ministry, but my greatest ministry has always been my family. Because, you know, what you know that scripture, you know, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Well, what would it profit me to go and preach the gospel and see people come to the Lord if I didn't do the same thing in my home? I love my family and I want them to have faith too. And God has given us as mothers such wonderful influence over our children, especially when they're young. And that's a gift. It's a gift. So, whatever your puzzle, whatever your situation, God will show you the way. If you lock arms with him and say, Jesus, I want to do this with you, he will not disappoint you, he will show you the way. It just takes a willingness to obey. The word is your friend. Like he showed me that story in 2 Kings, and I saw that mama shutting the door and pouring that oil, pouring what she had, pouring the Holy Spirit into those vessels. I knew the Lord was speaking to me, and he so many times he's been faithful to do that, to bring me comfort in the word. Get in the word, find what God is saying to you in your situation and in your circumstance. He wants to speak to you and he wants to do a work not only in your heart, but in the hearts

Final Encouragement And Share Request

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of those you love. Thank you so much for coming each week and listening to my stories and allowing me to share with you, and and that is my heart. My heart's desire is to be a blessing to you, to encourage you in the important work that you're doing as a m- This is hard work, but it's holy work too, and it's worth it. It's worth the work, it's worth the the heartache, it's worth the time and the energy and the resources that you're pouring into those that God has given you the opportunity to love and to mentor and to influence for his kingdom. If you have enjoyed this message today, if this is spoken to you, I would like to ask a favor of you, please share it with a friend. That is how this podcast grows. And of course, I want it to grow because I want to reach and help and encourage as many women as I can. So if you have found this helpful today, please help me by sharing it with a friend. Until next week, God bless. Take care.