In this season of constant change, confusion, and physical distance our human hearts are tempted to turn inward in a vain search for control. Our frustration over the present and anxiety over the future tempt us to move our eyes off of our Father and onto our problems. But God is calling His Church to respond differently; He is calling us to fix our eyes on our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. As in all seasons of our lives, the Lord is calling us to REMEMBER Him, to RETURN to Him, and to REST in Him.
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you;
Deuteronomy 31:6
he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
This is our prayer over MOMents for the year: that we would respond to our Heavenly Father by remembering who He is and rejoicing in His “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.”*
We desire for MOMents to be a safe haven for moms where we can escape the ever-growing demands of motherhood, and experience love and encouragement from other moms. We desire for the Gospel to be shared, meditated upon, and applied to our everyday lives. While meeting in a virtual format makes that more challenging this year, we are praying that God continues to use this ministry for His purposes. Thank you for joining us!
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Deuteronomy 31:6
This year, our theme is Moments of Remembrance: Rejoicing in God’s Goodness. Our theme verse is Lamentations 3:21-23: But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
Throughout the Old Testament, we read about how the Israelites placed stones as reminders of God’s lovingkindess towards them. In one particular passage found in Joshua 4, the Lord Himself commands Israel to build a memorial using 12 stones from the Jordan river. God says this memorial at Gilgal will serve a two-fold purpose. First, it will serve as a reminder to future generations of the miracle God worked at the Jordan to allow the Israelites safe passage. Second, it was erected so that “all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God” (Josh 4:24). Echoing the memorials constructed by the Israelites to remind themselves of the Lord’s goodness, our table names this year are those of gemstones. Just as these precious gems are cut and polished to perfection, may our stony hearts be continually refined and shaped by our loving Father.
Our focus this year will be on fixing our eyes and hearts on the Lord by exploring how His lovingkindness to us does not change, despite our circumstances. What peace and joy we believers have when we remember that neither our actions nor our broken world can separate us from our Heavenly Father!
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
Isaiah 54:10
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you
So, how do we remember the Lord, especially in a time of global upheaval, all while raising up our littles? By God’s grace, we can turn to the Word whether we are mourning or celebrating. We can fight to remain in prayer throughout the day. We can seek out encouragement and correction from our fellow believers, and we can look to serve our community for God’s ultimate glory. It won’t be easy, but following Jesus Christ brings rest and rejoicing to our lives, even in the midst upheaval. We have great hope and rest for our souls as we follow a God whose steadfast love never fails, whose mercy never ends, and whose faithfulness endures forever.
*Taken from The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones
Real Moms. Real Life. 