As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, I want to turn our attention to his lineage. Matthew lists generation upon generation that Jesus descended from in his first chapter. Among all the fathers and sons, for family lines followed the men, we find five women mentioned. Each of their stories is unique and each played a role in bringing the events of this holiday to pass. Join me as we learn about Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. In these women's stories we see hints of the redemption that was and still is to come. Merry Christmas!

Episode recommendations:

• Elizabeth's Testimony
• Mary's Magnificat

Scripture Referenced:

• Genesis 3:14-15
• Matthew 1
• Genesis 38
• Joshua 2 and 6
• The Book of Ruth
• 2 Samuel 11-12
• Luke 1-2

I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/

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Image from John Heseltine / Pam Masco / FreeBibleimages.org.

A calm house. A clean kitchen. Time to ourselves. Obedient children. There are many place and people and situations that we are tempted to take shelter in. Psalm 91:1-2 reminds us that God is our trustworthy shelter, the only one that we can truly find refuge in. Even when things around us are falling apart, or our kiddo is melting down, we can take shelter in him and find the peace and the strength that we need to carry on.

Scripture referenced:

• Psalm 91:1-2

Books referenced:

• Gracelaced by Ruth Chou Simons

I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/

Help other mamas find encouragement through Moms Take Ten by rating and reviewing this show. That would be a blessing to both them and me. Thank you for your time!

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The journey to foster care and/or adoption looks different for each one of us. But for the moms on this podcast we all can point to a time when God said "this is what I want you to do." For Kate Rietema, it was about seventeen years ago as she listened to stories from foster parents and felt her heart stirred to say yes. Now, reflecting back on that time, Kate shares her own stories of loving and caring for children not her own and how God met her through them.

Kate Rietema is the author of three children's books including When God Makes Scribbles Beautiful and All the Babies: A First Book About Adoption. She is the bio and adoptive mother of five girls and has been a mom to many others through foster care. Throughout her life, Kate has experienced God's deep kindness, and she loves to share her stories with others. Kate works as a nurse, volunteers at her county jail, and lives at the campground she and her husband operate in West Michigan. You can learn more about Kate at www.katerietema.com.

I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/

Help other mamas find encouragement through Moms Take Ten by rating and reviewing this show. That would be a blessing to both them and me. Thank you for your time!

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Happy Thanksgiving Mamas! Given the season, I wanted to re-share an episode from two years ago with Katie Wetsell about gratitude. More than feeling grateful or writing something down in your journal, which is good to do, gratitude is meant to be shared. As parents, when we model gratitude to our children and express ours to them, we invite them to experience the benefits and enjoyment that a grateful heart brings.

Katie Wetsell is a Connected Families certified parent coach. You can find her at parentwithhope.org and on Instagram @parentwithhopecoach

I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/

Help other mamas find encouragement through Moms Take Ten by rating and reviewing this show. That would be a blessing to both them and me. Thank you for your time!

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Who are the women who helped shape your faith? Whose faith are you helping shape today? Those are the questions that today's mom from Scripture guides us to ask. My guest, Evie Wesner, draws our attention to a single verse in the Scripture that speaks to a legacy of faith that one mama, one grandma, left behind. Her name was Lois and she is known for how she passed down her faith to her daughter Eunice and her grandson Timothy. Listen in as Evie shares how Lois' testimony has spoken to her and motivated her in her own parenting.

Evie Wesner is wife to Steve and mama to two young adult sons. She grew up as a missionary kid in Brazil and now lives with her family in Indiana.

I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/

Help other mamas find encouragement through Moms Take Ten by rating and reviewing this show. That would be a blessing to both them and me. Thank you for your time!

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Image from John Heseltine / Pam Masco / FreeBibleimages.org.

Have you ever found yourself comparing your capacity for something with your friend's and found yours lacking? I have. And it has led me to questioning what was wrong with me and why I couldn't measure up. God, in his kindness, met me recently during one of those times and spoke a different word over me. He wants to speak that word over you as well. I pray you will be encouraged through this episode.

Scripture referenced:

• Matthew 25:14-30
• 1 Corinthians 12
• Ephesians 2:10

I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/

Help other mamas find encouragement through Moms Take Ten by rating and reviewing this show. That would be a blessing to both them and me. Thank you for your time!

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Fostering kiddos can bring us to the end of ourselves, of our limited human capacity. But today's guest, Ashley Carter, reminds us that isn't a bad thing. Because it is there that we recognize the true rescuer, Jesus Christ, and the work he is accomplishing in the children we are caring for, but also in our own hearts. He gives us the ability to continue, filling us up so that we can pour out to the little ones in our homes, and whomever else he calls us to love.

Ashley Carter is a bio, foster and adoptive mama of six kiddos, wife to John, and a songwriter, hiker, bicycle rider, Jesus sharer, and adventurer. Listen one of her songs, I Will Carry You, on Amazon or Spotify.

We talk to our kids a lot, don't we? We are giving instructions, correcting them, laughing with them, connecting with them. Some conversations are hard and some are pure joy. Have you ever thought about incorporating blessings into those conversations? In this episode of Parenting Practicals, Christy Grey teaches us about just that. Walking us through six Scripture passages, she shows us how speak the words of the Bible over our children in a way that lets them know God is for them and he is with them. She even put those six categories into a ready to print pdf for you to reference throughout the day. Download it here.

Christy Grey is a certified Connected Families parent coach, offering coaching and parenting classes in the Louisville area. You can learn more about her on the Connected Families website or through her facebook group.

I am a Connected Families certified parent coach offering small groups for moms, individual parent coaching, and workshops. To learn more, head to https://www.lyssastoyko.com/

Help other mamas find encouragement through Moms Take Ten by rating and reviewing this show. That would be a blessing to both them and me. Thank you for your time!

Want to say hello?

Follow me on Facebook and Insta @lyssastoyko
Email me at momstaketen@gmail.com