3 Steps To A Spectacular Kid’s Ministry Group That Matters

Reading Time: 3 min 3 sec

I dropped my head in my hands and sighed. A sense of dissatisfaction eked into my soul. I must be missing something. Why is it that every Monday starts with such a promise? I have these great intentions of working ahead, dreaming, evaluating, or even time spent recruiting.

Instead, my week seems to fly by in an endless cycle of crisis management. I feel like I am constantly behind as I run to fill volunteer slots, send out newsletters, attend staff meetings, and prep for upcoming events.

I want to build a Kids ministry that is more than checking a box. I want to create a ministry where kids’ lives are transformed. If only I could stop the relentless clock of Sunday morning long enough to figure out how to get there. This isn’t what I signed up for…

Today, we will talk about three steps to building a spectacular ministry group that actually matters.

Point #1- Pro-Active Vs. Reactive

Point #2- Wonder

Point #3- Seek Wisdom

1. Point #1-Pro-Active vs. Reactive

A quick stop at your local bookstore will overwhelm you with the endless variety of leadership styles available. We could easily dive down the leadership rabbit hole, never to return. We want to focus on briefly addressing a reactive and proactive style of ministry.

A reactive leader spends their days running around putting out fires. They are great at problem-solving. And though they passionately care about their ministry, they can live in the moment and never take the time for big-picture planning. This leadership style, left unchecked, can be stressful, and exhausting, and can quickly lead to burnout.

A proactive leader on the other hand can see the big picture. They are gifted at making sure they meet their long-term goals. They can get so caught up in planning for the future that they can struggle to address daily issues promptly.

I am here to advocate that as leaders, we need to develop both our proactive and reactive skill sets. Have you ever heard the phrase, “What gets talked about gets done?” My variation on that is, “What gets scheduled gets done.” We need to block out and protect time in our weekly schedules to focus on our long-term goals, otherwise daily tasks will dictate our ministries.

At the same time, we need to develop healthy flexibility, understanding that the needs of our pastoral role do not always match a pre-planned schedule. A healthy ministry can’t run on autopilot. Like anything else, it needs regular evaluation and maintenance.

Next Steps- Are you a reactive or proactive leader? If you have not already, block out time on your schedule to focus on evaluation and long-term planning. Set up safeguards to protect that time on your schedule (i.e. set a reminder on your phone, turn your phone to silent, and treat it as a standing meeting on your schedule). Check out Trello. It is a free, visual time management software that has been very helpful in my own ministry setting.

2. Point #2- Wonder

You have blocked out your schedule…now what? These last two steps are not in any sequential order. I would encourage you to write down your vision or goal for your kid’s ministry. Start with this exercise if you are struggling to articulate a vision for your ministry.

What are the characteristics of a child that has just graduated from your ministry? What do you want them to have experienced, learned, and developed while in your kid’s ministry group? What tools do you want them equipped with?

Imagine one of your families has just graduated their last child from kid’s ministry. What would you have wanted them to have experienced, learned, and developed as a family in your church? Duplicate this process with your volunteer team as well.

Don’t rush through this process. Give yourself time to research, to learn how kids connect best with Jesus. Don’t forget to incorporate your church’s vision and purpose in your overall plan for kid’s ministry. You want to confirm that your vision for the kid’s ministry is in step with the overall vision of the church. The last thing you want to do is to create a silo ministry that is not working in tandem with the rest of the church. The vision for your ministry is the foundation upon which everything else is built. This can sound overwhelming, but as the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day.”

Next Steps: Check out organizations like the Children’s Spirituality Summit for the latest research on the Christian spiritual development of kids. They offer a conference every year where pastors and educators encourage, brainstorm, and learn together. They also publish all of the keynote topics from the conference in a book which you can find on Amazon. I buy it every year it’s that helpful.

3.Point #3-Seek Wisdom

Even the best vision cannot happen in isolation. We need to take the time to hear from God. It can be challenging to hear from him on a deadline. I would encourage you to utilize several days of your blocked-out time to create space to be with Jesus. Take a prayer retreat or a walk to a park.

If you don’t do this regularly, here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Silence your cell phone (or leave it at home). Go for a walk, sit at a park, or in a quiet place. Nature is one of the primary ways where people meet with God.

Spend a period in silence, practicing listening for his voice. Present your heart to God. Sit with him and ask him for his timing, direction, and wisdom. Take your time, and don’t rush this experience.

Talk with your uplink or boss and express your vision for ministry. Ask for their input and wisdom. What do they see that you don’t see? Spend time in prayer, asking God for his wisdom and grace. Discuss the best time and way to implement the new vision. People have a hard time overall with change. So give yourself and others grace as you move slowly, faithfully implementing God’s vision for your kid’s ministry.

Putting in the work by scheduling time, envisioning a better ministry and seeking out wisdom takes effort but it will provide a framework for a transformational ministry. My prayer for you is that your children’s ministry will thrive and you will witness your kids connecting with Jesus in powerful ways each week.

If you want to know how to get started in transforming your Kid’s Ministry: grab our 8 Primary Ways Kid’s Meet With Jesus Guide (below). And join the MIW Community of children’s pastors who are hungry to lead a transformative Children’s Ministry.

What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to developing your Kid’s Ministry? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

14 Powerful Picture Books That Will Ignite Your Child’s Faith

Reading Time: 3 min 14 sec

Have you ever searched for Christian children’s books only to shake your head in dismay? I have only just realized that for most of my life, I have had this thought that Children’s Christian literature is subpar, a chotskies, something you stick in an Easter basket or as an “extra” gift on Christmas morning because you feel like you should.

Even as a child, it seemed like most Christian picture books were trying to portray this cotton candy outlook on life, light but rarely formative. They were what you read at Grandma’s when you were bored with literally nothing else to do.

It is not until now, as a mother, that I realize that alongside the cotton candy are books dripping with gold. These books rarely make it to the bestseller list and are hidden in out-of-the-way nooks, but they are formative to our child’s walk with Jesus. We are going to be talking about 14 Powerful Books that will ignite your children’s faith.

1. Children Learn Through Experience

2. The Power of a Truly Great Book

3. How to Read Christian Picture Books

4. 14 Powerful Picture Books

1. Children Learn Through Experience

I discovered that reading stories is not just a way to pass the time or to make sure our child is receiving a solid foundation in Christianity, but as a powerful tool in their walk with Jesus.

Children learn through experience and even though as parents we would like to open their heads and stick in all the right answers to life’s greatest questions, we can’t. While we have good intentions, the fact is that all of the knowledge in the world cannot trump experience.

My mother loves recounting the story (okay hundreds of them) of myself as a toddler, and my fascination with the stove. She would constantly tell me, “Alexis, don’t touch that, you will get burned.” But no matter how many times she said it, I didn’t believe her. I reached out touched that stove, and truly experienced the meaning of the word “hot”.

Fortunately, through the power of stories (and the graciousness of the Holy Spirit) our children can experience many different situations and see the consequences without ever leaving the comfort of the couch. Books allow us to experience truth without having to walk through the pain.

2. The Power of a Truly Great Book

Did you ever read a book as a child that’s truths stick with you to this day? The book that shaped me, was Anne of Green Gables. This book which has so captured the hearts of millions of people depicts the beauty of ordinary life. It showed us how to observe the world around us, how to bask in the beauty of today, how to invest in relationships even when they are messy, how to love well, and how to persevere.

Great books invite you to reflect, allow you to discover, spark your imagination, call out the beauty in the world, and inspire you to new heights. Great books read in community, as a family curled up on a couch, give you a shared vocabulary, a way of relating to each other and the world around you. They not only build life-long memories, as you wrestle together, with ideas and concepts, but they allow your child to form their outlook on life.

Reading great Christian books together as a family isn’t just a good idea, or something to check off the to-do list, but a simple, yet powerful tool in the investment of your child’s walk with God.

We all learn best in the context of a story.

3. How To Read Christian Picture Books

I adore books. I love surrounding my children with life-changing literature. However, if I bought every book I read I would need another house. 🙂

The more I read about the spiritual development of children the more I realize the importance of providing select tools for their spiritual development. I look at these picture books as something comparable to what a journal or podcast would be for adults. I would plan to add these titles to your collection over time. 🙂

Unlike books for educational purposes, the goal is not to finish. I know shocker, right! The goal is to allow space to be present to each other, to listen to the still, soft voice of the Holy Spirit, to wonder, and ask questions.

As YOU read, don’t hurry to turn the page, but take the time to take in the illustrations. At the end, do not rush to teach or share the moral of the story. Trust that the Holy Spirit is touching your childs heart.

Instead, invite discussion. Ask your child what they thought and felt as they experienced this book. This doesn’t have to be a long-drawn-out affair. Yes, this can be done with active children. 🙂 Remember that whether you can see it or not the Holy Spirit is at work in the heart of your child. Enjoy!

4. 14 Powerful Picture Books

Grab your FREE Beginner Guide to The Deeper Life and join our community of moms who are hungry for more of Jesus in their lives and in the lives of their children.

What about you? What is your favorite Christian children’s picture book? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

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How To Find Your Faith When You Get Sidetracked

Reading Time: 4 min 46 sec

Developing our faith can feel so elusive. We all have these great intentions of starting a new devotional, studying our Bible, praying for our loved ones, or even journaling; only to get sidetracked, when life gets in the way.

We struggle with feelings of discouragement, embarrassment, and even feel a little ashamed. Why is investing in our faith so hard? Doesn’t God want us to have a deep relationship with him? Surely, at this stage in our lives, we should already know how to develop our faith. We lay awake at night and wonder, is my current experience of God all I can expect on earth?

We secretly hope our friends never find out the real state of our spiritual lives. We feel like an imposter, as we say all the right things while trying to stuff our discouragement deep inside. We paste on a smile, throw ourselves into more church activities, hoping against hope that God will transform our lackluster relationship into a vibrant friendship with him.

So how do we find our faith when we get sidetracked? How do we experience a thriving relationship with God? How do we throw off our feeling of imposter syndrome and embrace everything God has for us today?

Here are three practical ways to move towards Jesus without having to become a nun. 🙂

Finding Faith: The Goal

Finding Faith: Journey Together

Finding Faith: All About Community

1. Finding Faith: The Goal

We can sometimes get so distracted with the beautiful new cover of the latest devotional that we forget its purpose. We need to ask ourselves, why are we using this resource? Is it because all our friends are using this devotional and we don’t want to be left out?

The completion of spiritual resources does not equate with a deep relationship with God. Let me say this again, God desires a relationship with us, not the completion of a spiritual tool. “Spiritual people are not those who engage in certain spiritual practices; they are those who draw their life from a conversational relationship with God.” -Dallas Willard

Our focus as followers of Jesus should be an authentic relationship with God. We can’t lose sight of the goal. So, what does this practically look like?

First, we spend time in prayer, talking, and listening to God. This is key because we could go for days on a nonstop monologue of our thoughts and feelings. It can be easy to forget that just because we can’t see God doesn’t mean he isn’t talking to us. We need to practice listening for God’s voice.

Second, don’t feel the need to complete a book, resource, or practice because you need to get all the information to grow. Transformation is not the result of a firehose of information. It is about thoughtful interaction with the current work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Third, we need to ask the Holy Spirit for direction. He is always faithful to lead us to the next step (or resource) in our spiritual journeys.

2. Finding Faith: Journey Together

In the United States, we have several unspoken values as a country. One of those values goes by several names: autonomy, self-sufficiency, independence, etc. Our culture will tell us that we are so evolved that we can develop our faith in isolation. As long as we have access to the trendiest tv preacher and the latest women’s devotional, that we can grow all by ourselves.

And we can…until we can’t. You see, we forget that Christianity is a counter-cultural way of life. We were not designed to live a life with God in isolation. We were created to live life together in community.

Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

We wonder why our relationship with God consists of good intentions and half-finished conversations. We need each other to offer support, encouragement, and accountability. We need to surround ourselves with like-minded people to grow in our faith.

Ruth Haley Barton says it this way, “The purpose of journeying together in spiritual friendship and spiritual community (whether there are just two of you or whether you are in a small group) is to listen to one another’s desire for God, to nurture that desire in each other and to support one another in seeking a way of life that is consistent with that desire. ”

She says community is all about listening to each other, nurturing the desire for God in each other, and supporting each other in pursuing him. Life will happen. Spiritual community offers you encouragement and accountability to pursue Jesus even when your schedule is busy.

When we are tempted to push God to the back burner, our community reminds us of who we are and where we are going. We need each other.

3. Finding Faith-All About Community

So, what are we looking for in a community? We need to understand that there is no perfect group. As followers of Jesus, we are all broken people at various stages in our spiritual development. We all desperately need God’s grace (and each other’s) as we pursue Jesus together.

Dallas Willard says like this, “Spiritual formation cannot, in the nature of the case, be a ‘private‘ thing, because it is a matter of whole-life transformation. You need to seek out others in your community who are pursuing the renovation of the heart.”

There is no perfect community. Life together will be messy. We are all in the process of transformation. However, here are some of the key values to look for when you are joining a group. One of the ways you can find community is by participating in a small group at your local church.

Authenticity- The value of saying the real thing not the right thing.
Encouragement– The value of an encouraging and supportive environment.
Accountability– The value of accountability spoken with grace, wisdom, and love.
Like-Minded– The value of intentionally pursuing Jesus together
Prayer Support– The value of intentionally praying over each other.
Relationships– The value of intentionally forming relationships with each other.

Are you hungry to know and experience a deeper relationship with God? Do you dream of participating in an authentic community, where together you encourage one another, in your relationship with Jesus? If so, join our waitlist for the Deeper Life Community. While you wait, you will receive for FREE our Deeper Life Beginners Guide and will be the first to know when registration opens. Grab your guide today!

Remember these three steps to finding your faith when you get sidetracked. Our focus as followers of Jesus should be an authentic relationship with God. Second, we are on a spiritual journey together. Third, we find support and accountability by participating in community together.

What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to pursuing a relationship with Jesus when you get sidetracked? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

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How To Read The Bible When You Can’t Focus

Reading Time: 4 min 53 sec

I closed the door and sank into my favorite chair, my mind spinning. “Okay,” I thought. “I’ll have devotions, get ready, then the bank, grocery store, and return the library books.” I grabbed my Bible and turned to the next chapter and started to read.

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you….”

“I forgot I need to meal plan. Augh. Another thing to add to the list.” I can feel my stress level start to rise as my list of to-dos’ get longer. “I can do this. I just need to focus.” I pull my attention back to the Bible. This time I make it through a half a verse before I’m thinking about what meals would work with our schedule for the upcoming week.

I pull my attention back to the page for a third time, feelings of guilt overwhelming me. I want to invest in my relationship with Jesus, but today (okay, most days) feel like a train wreck. I want to be focused, but it feels like there are so many other things screaming for my attention. If it’s not the to-do list, then it’s the kids clamoring for attention.

Why is it that I just can’t seem to focus? I know I should enjoy reading the Bible: but it just feels painful at times. What am I doing wrong? After several attempts, I give up and tell myself that I will try another day. After all, how meaningful could this time with Jesus be when I am so distracted?

Have you ever experienced a hard time concentrating when you read scripture? If so, here are five quick tips to help you focus when you read the Bible.

Bible For Beginners: Rhythm

Bible For Beginners: Heart

Bible For Beginners: Tools

Bible For Beginners: Experience

Bible For Beginners: Community

1. Bible For Beginners: Set Your Rhythm

The first tip is to find a rhythm to meet with Jesus. There is a distinct difference mentally between fitting Bible reading into the cracks of your day and planning your day around time with Jesus.

Every day I have two or three big rocks that I plan my day around. These are my top priorities that directly reflect my values. For me, daily spending time with Jesus is a big rock.

Finding a daily rhythm is crucial to accomplishing these values. What this means is that instead of being time-based (devotions at 8:30 am), I focus on the first thing on my list. When it’s complete, I move on to the next big rock. When the baby cries, the dog doesn’t stop barking, or I overslept, I don’t automatically miss my window for spending time with Jesus.

What are your two-three big rocks? If nothing else happens in your day, but you accomplish these things, your actions will reflect your overall values for life.

2. Bible For Beginners: Prepare Your Heart

Tip number two is all about preparing your heart before you spend time in God’s word. What this is all about is eliminating any possible distractions. This step is so important to spending quality time with Jesus.

“It is a hallow feeling to be in the company of someone with whom we long to have a satisfying personal exchange, only to watch hope dissolve as the time together is drained by superficial chatter or surface distractions.”-Richard Foster

Write down a quick list of the thoughts your mind is dwelling on. This could be to-do’s, parenting issues, or upcoming activities. This activity gives us the freedom to not have to remember the myriad of thoughts rolling around in our heads.

Pray and invite God into this time. Ask him to help you to be present to him as he is ever-present to you. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you read God’s word and pray.

3. Bible For Beginners: Change Your Tool

The ways we connect with God might need to change to fit the different seasons of our lives. You might enjoy journaling, and then you reach a season where it feels dry and lifeless. This is a completely normal part of your journey into a deeper relationship with Jesus.

You might want to try meeting with Jesus by listening to his word read aloud, trying a new devotional, or watching scripture unfold through a movie. You can always pick up journaling, or Bible study, etc. again in the future.

Don’t feel the need to finish something. If a tool is no longer meeting you where you are at (or you are dreading you using it), put it down.

The Visual Bible is a great alternative to reading scripture. These movies give a verse by verse account of Matthew and Acts. They are powerful and provide a fresh way to connect with God’s word.

4. Bible For Beginners: Experience God

The Bible is the living, breathing word of God. When we spend time in scripture, it is an active, not passive activity. Richard Foster explains it like this, “Reading the Bible for spiritual transformation is not a one-sided endeavor: it is a dialogue of human spirit and Holy Spirit.”

We are not just reading the Bible to acquire more information about God; we read it to experience his living word. Scripture has the power to transform our hearts and lives when we surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit.

We can engage in God’s word by reading slowly and prayerfully. The goal is not to finish the chapter or the book but to allow the Holy Spirit to use God’s word to transform our souls.

5. Bible For Beginners: Life In Community

Engaging in God’s word was not supposed to be a solitary activity. We were designed by God to live life together in community. We need a strong support system to encourage us when we are frustrated, discouraged, and unmotivated.

We need others to come alongside us and cover us in prayer. A community of faith is mission-critical to our growth as followers of Jesus. Here are three ways you can live life together in a community with others.

1. Participate (not just attend) in the life of a local church

2. Participate in a small group (typically found at your local church)

3. Are you hungry to know and experience a deeper relationship with God? Do you dream of participating in an authentic community, where together you encourage one another, in your relationship with Jesus? If so, join our waitlist for the Deeper Life Community. While you wait, you will receive for FREE our Deeper Life Beginners Guide and will be the first to know when registration opens. Grab your guide today!

The five tools for reading our Bible when we just can’t focus are: finding our rhythm, preparing our hearts, changing our tools, experiencing God, and living life in community with others.

What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to reading the Bible? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

3 Lies Satan Wants Moms To Believe

Reading Time: 5 min 42 sec

Mom life can be tough. From the second we wake up in the morning, until the moment our heads hit the pillow, there can be a constant assault: of tasks, activities, questions, and concerns filling our thoughts. Did we take the dog outside? Is Junior hitting a growth spurt? What are we eating for dinner tomorrow?

We worry over our child’s health, our financial situation, our mounting to-dos, and our dreams for the future. We warn our children about spiritual attacks and pray protection over our families.

We live-in full-blown Mama Bear mode ready to protect our loved ones at any moment. In fact, we can be so focused on caring for the needs of others that we fail to recognize the web of lies that has invaded our lives.

Satan loves to prey upon our insecurities, fears, and need for control. These lies are insidious. They infiltrate every aspect of our lives, from the decisions we make, to how we relate to our spouse and parent our children.

So, what are the subconscious lies that we believe? Most often, they are the phrases that play in our heads at three am; or in our overreaction to a trivial issue. They mess with our feelings of control. If we do not stop and identify the lies we believe, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

Developing awareness and replacing the lies with God’s truth is a lifelong process. Here are three common lies that Satan likes to use to keep us from walking in freedom.

Mom Life: Lie #1- I Don’t Have The Time

Mom Life: Lie #2- I Have To Do It Myself

Mom Life : Lie #3- I Should Be Doing More

1. Mom Life: Lie #1-I Don’t Have The Time

How many times have we told ourselves, consciously, or unconsciously that we do not have the time? We do not have the time today: to take a walk, to spend time with Jesus, to go for coffee with a friend. There is this popular idea that a good parent equals a busy parent. We believe that to take care of our family, we are called to sacrifice our own health: spiritually, physically, and mentally.

This is a lie regarding our identity. We subconsciously believe that we are what we do. That our family will fall apart if we are not available 24/7. That our God-given role as a mom is who we are as a person.

Being a mother is not who we are; it is what we do. Yes, we are passionate about nurturing our families, but we are first, and foremost, followers of Jesus. We are, as author Larry Warner likes to say, “Forgiven by God, chosen by God, adopted by God, belonging to God, containing God and beloved by God.”

As followers of Jesus, we are actually commanded: to invest in our relationship with Jesus, to live in community with others, to take care of our bodies, and even to rest! All throughout the Bible, there are examples of how to live a sustainable lifestyle. At Creation, it says that God worked for six days, and on the seventh, he rested.

As moms, we are the model for how to live a healthy lifestyle for our children. When we intentionally spend time with Jesus, when we say no to all the things we could do, so we can invest in activities that truly matter, those decisions form how our children operate in life.

Do not buy into the lie that you are what you do. You are a beloved daughter of the king. Your relationship with God, the health of your body, mind, and spirit is vitally important. It cannot be regulated to the cracks in your schedule. Be intentional about scheduling time to invest in your health today.

2. Mom Life: Lie #2- I Have To Do It By Myself

As a culture, we celebrate the myth of Super Mom. This unattainable woman equally juggles raising a family with a demanding career. Her hair and makeup are flawless while her meals are organic and homemade. Her house is perfectly decorated. Her kids are beautifully dressed, and she is professionally successful in all of her endeavors.

The lie that we have to be a super mom; has been perpetuated throughout social media. Images of picture-perfect meals, activities, and vacations assault our attention on every platform.

We start to believe that if our lives do not look like an Instagram feed, that we must be doing something wrong. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy: discouragement, exhaustion, isolation, and loneliness. We subconsciously worry that if we showed our true colors that we would be rejected or judged.

God has a different plan in store for us. We are not supposed to wear ourselves out trying to compete with impossible (and fake) standards. He actually designed us to live in an authentic community with others. A life where we can depend on another. Where we do not have to act like we have all the answers to life.

It says in Hebrews 10:24-25, ^“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

We are called to be live in real authentic relationships with other Christians. Practically, this means participating in your local church small group, practicing hospitality, doing life together, caring, and praying for each other. We need to fight the lie that it is up to us to do and be everything by intentionally seeking community and not isolation.

3. Mom Life: Lie #3-I Should Be Doing More

This lie piggybacks off the last one. Have you ever felt like you were always behind? That no matter what you do, it is never enough?

The foundation of our culture is based on the qualities of hard work, achievement, and success. Those qualities aren’t bad until they are taken to the extreme. In the United States, we value burning the candle at both ends, which at its root, fosters a workaholic culture. We push ourselves to do more, believing the lie that more is the answer to life’s questions.

This attitude bleeds into every aspect of our lives: spiritually, professionally, and personally. We have bought the lie that our productivity determines our worth. This lie attacks our very identity.

Who am I outside of what I produce?

Are you trying to prove your worth by what you accomplish? Are you trying to earn God’s love and favor?

God invites us to a different type of life free from the rat race of performance.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

As a follower of Jesus, you don’t have to prove your worth to God. You can take a huge breath of relief, resting in the fact that you are beloved by God, regardless of what you do.

Spend some time in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal any area where you are trying to prove your worth through productivity. Ask God to replace those lies with the truth of his word.

We need each other to recognize the lies in our lives. We were designed to live together in community. We need to have a strong support structure of like-minded people around us.

We can find community through our extended family, friends, and our local church. Be intentional about investing in close relationships with other women. Join our community of moms (below), who are serious about pursuing a deep relationship with Jesus. We are truly stronger together.

If you want to know how to get started in living a deep life with God: grab our Deeper Life Beginners Guide (below). And join our community of moms who are hungry for more Jesus in their lives and in their families.

What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to recognizing the lies in your life? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!