As women, believers, mothers our hearts can be pulled toward independence. But is that what God desires for us in our ministry and relationships?
There’s so much pressure to be all the things and we weren’t meant to be all the things. God gives us grace to be what we need to be for our family and that takes a different shape in every family. It is counter-Christian to be self sufficient. We were made to be interdependent.
In this week’s podcast episode, I chat with my new friend Sharifa Stevens, seminary grad and homeschooling mother of two young boys. She is passionate about freedom. A freedom rooted in recognizing our call to interdependence. One body. Focused on fulfilling the great commission. Together.
Being a Christian has no national borders. We can be Christians outside of an American context and outside of the 21 century and there’s a unifying sense of interdependence and dependence on God that marks us as different.
We also spend time chatting about freedom for moms. To accept help from others and release shame in our inadequacies. Exactly what we’re about around here: #dontmomalone!
What we chat about:
- Personality traits and background stories
- How Sharifa ended up going to seminary instead of law school
- Women need to walk in the giftings that God gave us
- Finding a church home and how comfort and convenience don’t always equal the right choice
- Addressing the roots of race and racism in history and Christianity and how that affects us today
- Be The Bridge curriculum for racial unity
- Black Panther movie and themes of redemption
- We were made to be interdependent, not self sufficient
- Moms accepting help and letting go of the places we have shame and inadequacy
Connect with Sharifa:
Links Mentioned:
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- Susan Seay— Summer of Mentorship Episode (Focused Instead of Frustrated)
- Enneagram — The Road Back to You by Cron & Stabile**
- Kat Armstrong –Motherhood, Career & Identity episode
- Be the Bridge– Racial Unity Discussion Groups https://beabridgebuilder.com/
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2018 Enjoy the Word Online Conference
How to listen to the podcast:
1.Listen on the blog. Click through to GodCenteredMom.com and click the play button at the beginning of this post.
2. Listen on your smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch – There are a lot of great podcasting apps. Apple has a free one (that I mentioned) in the app store, there is also one called Downcast. It allows you to search for shows, subscribe to them and even speed up the audio. If you don’t have an iDevice, you can listen via Stitcher.
3. Subscribe to the Podcast – access the podcast in iTunes (Click here to access via iTunes). You can also search for it on your smartphone app (like the ones listed above) and subscribe.
Heather,
Thank you so much for having Sharifa on your podcast!! This is my favorite interview to date. I loved everything she said, and she was so incredibly gracious with her words about racial reconciliation. As a white woman, I am more and more convinced that our brothers and sisters of color are the Oaks of Righteousness of our time. I go to a multi ethnic, multi class church, and I love it there. But I am always struck by the fact that this is not a meet in the middle situation just yet. People of color are making incredible sacrifices to be in white churches. Sacrifices of comfort and convenience, as y’all talked about on the show. I have yet to see a white family attend an all black church, and yet our black brothers and sisters across the country are stepping out in faith to be a part of communities where they may literally be the only one, like Sharifa. Such courage and conviction, and I admire them so much. I would love to hear more voices of color on your show. It brings much needed perspective and inspiration. If we are choosing to engage in spaces that are currently, predominantly white, we must be diligently seeking, inviting, listening to the experiences of others who are not. We have got to start asking how we, majority culture, can make sacrifices to bridge the gaps. Praise the Lord that these conversations are starting. May His beautifully diverse Kingdom come.
Love,
Allison