Love is Key-Parenting Series Part 2

Teachable Woman Podcast

Love is Key- Parenting Series Part 2

Reverends Michele Owes and Diana P. Cherry

[00:00:00]

Rev. Michele Owes: Welcome back. Welcome. Welcome back to the Teachable Woman Podcast. We are excited to be back with you again today. We are embarking on our parenting series. I'm excited to discuss this with you and Mrs. Diana P. Cherry; together, we are teachers of good things. Mrs. Cherry, say hello.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hello to the podcast family. Whether you're a parent or not, you are an example to and for someone in your life, and you have to always do the best you can and be the best you can be because someone is watching you. God bless you.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. That is so true. I'm so happy that you opened with that because people believe that parents are people who have given birth, or people who have adopted children, and people who are raising children. But that's really not the meaning [00:01:00] of a parent when, in the scripture, People came to Jesus and said, your mother and your brother are here.

Rev. Michele Owes: And Jesus said, who is my mother? But those who do the will of God. And so if you and I are doing the will of God, we're parenting and, we may not have them in the house with us. These may be nieces or nephews, distant cousins, children of friends or family, whomever. If God gives us the opportunity to be in the presence of children, we are parenting.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Amen. And the best way to do it is by the example that we set.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. So in our last recording we discussed parenting. We discussed the fact that it is an opportunity to see a mirror of ourselves. We determined that parenting was a wonderful, wonderful opportunity from God to allow us to shape the 00:02:00 lives of others. We talked about the fact that as parents, we want to be the example.

Rev. Michele Owes: We want to set the example that we want our children to see. And so today we're going to dive into that a little more deeply. The first ingredient to being a good parent is. First, there is no perfect recipe, but there is the word of God, which gives us perfect wisdom as to how to go about parenting. The first ingredient for parenting is love. And that comes from the fruit of the Spirit. I'll tell you the chapter in just one moment. Galatians, fifth chapter, verses 22 to 23. And when we talk about the fruit of God's spirit, we're really talking about his character. And the first fruit of the Spirit is love. And love is the one that we're going to be discussing today, along with our parenting [00:03:00] concepts. But the first fruit is love. We want to ensure that in our parenting, we practice the first fruit. God's love toward us is unconditional, meaning we can do many things that He's not pleased with, but it doesn't change His love toward us. And our children can do many things that we are not pleased with, but it should not change our love for them. Love does not mean that we give everything that is asked of us. Love does not mean that we do everything that is asked of us. Love does not mean that the children become the parents, and the parents become the puppets.

Rev. Michele Owes: That's, that's not love. But God's unconditional love for us. He has left us his word and his instruction, and he's unconditional about his word, and we do have to obey him, and he's unconditional in [00:04:00] his love toward us in that it never fails. so if we love our children the way that God has loved us, they should not fail.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know, it's interesting that you start off with Love Never Fails because, you know, our church was built on love. Hug somebody and tell 'em that you love them. You know, it goes way back with my husband and me. We used to say that charity needs to begin at home.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: You need to hug your wife at home and tell her that you love her. But anyway, when we started the Christian school, it was so funny. We found out because we said love never fails. We found out that those little rascals decided that since love never fails, they could do whatever they want to do and love would never fail them.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I'm like, they [00:05:00] were, we had just started at the church. They were barely saved. They barely knew Jesus, God or us, and I found it so interesting that at that early age that they. Had the manipulative power to try to continue doing what they wanted to do because we said love would never fail. And

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I, and we had, we had about three children, back in the early days of the ministry and we used to call 'em the three Hebrew boys.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Because surely they stayed in trouble. They stayed in the fiery furnace. And, anyway, I just found it so interesting that young children didn't know nothing about the Lord. They, they bought into that thing that love never failed. So they used to have bad magazines on the bus and stuff that they shouldn't have had, but.[00:06:00]

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It's okay because God's gonna forgive us because love never fails. So let's not take it to that extreme.

Rev. Michele Owes: It's interesting that that was their interpretation that early,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah,

Rev. Michele Owes: The good thing is we know they were listening.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: that's

Rev. Michele Owes: thing is we know they got a new interpretation as time went on,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I'm sure,

Rev. Michele Owes: Because love never failing does not mean it doesn't chasing or

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: right.

Rev. Michele Owes: the scriptures tell us that God chastens them, that he loves. And so in loving our children, correction is a part of

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm. That is love.

Rev. Michele Owes: It is an absolute

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: and in fact, the scriptures tell us that if we don't correct our children, it means that we hate

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. Yeah. Because the word of God says, whom the Lord loveth. He chasing us

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and we are made in his and in his likeness. So we have to, We have to show our children that we love them and that any [00:07:00] correction or chast we do it. Correction is something that we do for you, not something that we do to you.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And if that correction, ends up in corporal punishment, it's still something that we're doing for you, and that's something that we're doing to you because we're just mean. Honorary old people trying to do you wrong. That's not it at all, because whom the Lord loveth, he chast us even. It says even as a father, a son whom he loves.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: So, the chastening correction, it's, a manifestation that we care and that we don't want you to go in a direction that we know is not gonna be best for you.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes, that is absolutely right and. heard a lot of definitions of love over the years, and I'm gonna share a few Ms. Chair, you share a few, but, but one that has always stuck with me was one of the first definitions of love that I [00:08:00] learned and it was that love is seeking the best,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: for the object of concern in a spirit of self-sacrifice. So at all times when we're loving someone, we're seeking their best good, which is what God did for us. He was always seeking our best.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: in a spirit of self-sacrifice, meaning I'm not of me first. I'm thinking of what's best for the object of concern. And, that definition stuck with me.

Rev. Michele Owes: There are several others.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: You wanna share something, Ms. Chair.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I love the one that I think my love, my son and, and my husband and Reverend Archie Dennis used to use a lot and that is love is in the response. love is according to how we respond. I can love you and you might think that. it's not sincere or you can think whatever you want, but as long as I know that [00:09:00] I'm loving you and that my love is in response, I'm good.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It really doesn't matter at this point in my life. It doesn't matter what you think I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do, I told you I had my three little, I had three of my little great-grandchildren and I had to do a bit of correcting and I always let them know. That I am correcting you because I want you to know that you have an ability to think and to act according to the word of God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: You do not have to show anger. You do not have to show frustration. You do not have to do unto your sister and your cousin as they do unto you.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: you, you can be different and, and so I

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: spent a lot of time trying to fortify them. And try to give them information to let them know that they are an individual.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And so their actions, their responses, their reactions, they're all their responsibility, not [00:10:00] anybody else's responsibility. And I think that, sometimes now we're people, people, not just young people, but people are so quick to try to say, I did that because. the bottom line is you did it because you chose to do it.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: God didn't make you do it. That person who treated you wrong didn't make you do it. We have the power of choice operating in us, and it's something that we need to know that God doesn't make choices for us, we do. Back in the back in Genesis, when he made man, one of the first things that he did was gave us the power of choice.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: When he told Adam. He gave Adam an an authoritative mandate. He said, you can do this, this, this, but do not eat of the fruit of the tree, of the knowledge of good and evil. And whenever I've taught that, I teach that. That is when our, I [00:11:00] call it our divine center of choice. That is when the, that divine center of choice was activated.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And by God giving us the power of choice, he made us distinctively different from every other thing he made it he had made. So cows move, cats, meow. Dogs bark, trees, bloom flowers come, fish, swim Only. We are the only ones who do not conform to the creative, image that God made us in because he gave us the power of choice and the will of man is as strongest force in operation in the earth today.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: So we might not like to think about the fact, or maybe we don't agree. That we can choose that which we want to choose, and God doesn't make choices for us. But I think that if we're gonna talk about love, I think it's the ultimate love that God gave [00:12:00] us, the power of his of, of our will to make choices because is the one way that we demonstrate our love to God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: See, the birds don't have.

Rev. Michele Owes: we've also learned that love is an action.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. birds don't necessarily, you know, they don't necessarily obey God. They do what they were created to do, but God didn't make us like that. He gave us a will, and that will makes us distinctively different from every other creation. And God did it because he wanted us to will to love Him.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: To choose to love him.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: what was the first spiritual principle that was broken? Was what? The one under authority when man decided he wasn't gonna, he wasn't gonna do what God said he should do.

Rev. Michele Owes: And we can see that in small children right away. They just, you know, decide they're not gonna do what you said because they don't want

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: And so, you know, when sin came into the earth, then here is this. [00:13:00] Sin nature, if you

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: that chooses always to please itself rather than to please God. But, but I think that's one of the beautiful things about parenting, and we used the scripture in Deuteronomy chapter number

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Six. Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: That parents have the responsibility to teach the

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: what God desires of them. And so as a parent, if we've equipped our children to be scholars, if we've equipped them to be the best they can be at whatever they're working on, kudos to that. That is wonderful. But if we have not prepared them to have the most life changing and lifesaving relationship with Jesus Christ, then we, we. They're ill

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: because all that we have taught them in the natural will one day come to knock and the very thing that they once love, they will come to hate because we need the grace of God to do all that we're able

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Okay.

Rev. Michele Owes: [00:14:00] And so that's why parents have such a, a trusted position in God's order and it is a position that we cannot take lightly. I know a lot of parents who believe that if they provide they house, they feed, they clothe that they've parented. But according to the scripture that we read in Deuteronomy chapter six, there was some talking and some teaching that was supposed to take place when you rose up. When you sat at the table, when you walked along the way. there, there was some teaching, there was some instruction, and oftentimes we jumped to, to correct children. We've not taught them anything yet, and if we fail to teach, then we don't really have the right to correct not in the way where we're ready to beat up on them and chase them right away. You've got to take that teaching time

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: and then when they fail to do what you ask is the correction time. [00:15:00] we just think that they should just know some things by osmosis when we have failed to teach and, and, it is God's will that we really take that seriously. Because if we love them, we want to prepare them for successful relationship with God first and

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: and any and everybody else afterwards.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: You know, this is kind of an aside, but it's. a little bit in line with some of the things that we talked about the other day. I went zip lining. I told you I was gonna go zip lining and I did go zip line and, I rarely signed, Reverend anything. You know, I'm Mrs. Deanna P Cherry, Mrs. John Cherry.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: But some reason when I was filling out the waiver, I signed Reverend. And so when I got to the place, the gentleman said. All of the young people here wondered what was REV? They had never heard of [00:16:00] Reverend I, they had never heard of Reverend. And so he said, and I told him, you know, I explained it to them.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And at the end of the day, the young lady that was helping us on every one of the runs, she said to me, I looked up Rev and I looked up, Reverend and it. I just learned that it meant to honor to show respect for, and I said, well, yeah, that's what reverence is. She said, I know what a pastor is, but like who are you?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: What do you do? And yeah, and I told her, I said, well, we do the same thing. I'm not a pastor, but I am a minister and I am a reverend. It is just a title, but I preach the word of God and. Can you imagine how I felt, you know, that they asked that and because I had signed my name Reverend, I had an opportunity to [00:17:00] explain to them, you know, what that was.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: So it a little bit of an aside, but it's somewhat similar to some of the things that we talked about last time. And you know, you have to be always.

Rev. Michele Owes: teaching

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: You have to always be ready, always be ready to share. Always be ready to be loving. Always be ready to be kind. And you know, I just, when I left the, zip lining ar arena, I just thank God that he had an opportunity to speak through me yet again.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And it's simply because I signed REV Deanna p Cherry and they had never heard. Isn't that amazing?

Rev. Michele Owes: you know That is amazing. I had a similar opportunity. And, it was unexpected. I was at work and I was walking through another office and, one of the administrators at the other office says, here comes Michelle. I'm sure she can [00:18:00] answer that question for you. I'm pausing because there is a, a Chinese, Delegation that's standing there, and so I don't know what she's asking me to do. So, it was at the time that, e around Easter and there were the Easter bunnies and the Easter eggs decorating the office. And her exact words were, I have explained the pagan, understanding of why we celebrate Easter, but. I told them there's a real reason and I know that you can explain it to them. I know that you're a Christian. I never said to anyone that I was a Christian on my job, but she said, I know you're a Christian and I know that you can explain. So here is this and I am explaining who Jesus is. Why he came, that he's one blood for all nations, that he's a perfect genetic blend, able to represent us, to be the [00:19:00] perpetuation for our sins. And I'm, I'm, it's. You know when the question came and I bowed my head first and I said, okay, holy Spirit, you're on because this is your moment. What is it that you wanna

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah,

Rev. Michele Owes: And so he began to bring all of these things back to my remems. But my first question was, do you know who Jesus is? And they all, they all said no. And I was in shock

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I, okay.

Rev. Michele Owes: they had never heard of

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: but they had this moment. that they learned of him and they learned so much in such a short period of time. And so I, first and foremost was thankful to God that I had that opportunity, thankful for the teachings of my local church, that I could respond, that there was something for the Holy Spirit to bring back to my remembrance. you have to be ready. And parenting. There is nothing else like parenting that [00:20:00] makes you get ready and

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: because you know, you never know what the children are going to come up

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right. Right. And in life

Rev. Michele Owes: and so

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and in life we don't know what others are gonna come up with. And, you know, if we love, we're gonna always be ready. So be ready because you love.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes, yes. And God's word is there to answer every situation. Solomon said there was nothing new under the sun and there truly isn't the name. And the places and the dates have changed, but the situation are the same. The heart of man is the same. People say, well, there was not technology. No, they didn't need to be technology.

Rev. Michele Owes: But what they had still elicited the same kind of responses from men and women, as they do today. So we said all that to say as parents, when we love our children, will love them unconditionally. They're going to do wrong. There is no [00:21:00] perfect child. There are going to be disappointments. There are going to be moments that you hurt them. Your responses and moments that they hurt you in their responses. And part of loving unconditionally is finding a way to work through the hurt with the fruit of the of God's spirit. Love is the one that we're talking about today, but there's, there's joy and there's

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Peace.

Rev. Michele Owes: faithfulness, and there's long suffering, and there's gentleness, and there's goodness, and there's meekness, and there's temperance.

Rev. Michele Owes: There's a lot of that that goes in all of this.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: if we're going to be parents that can glorify the Lord,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: don't, we don't wanna half do this job,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: wanna do it relying upon the Holy Spirit, you know, and sometimes we just have to say, give me a minute, and give God an opportunity to counsel us. Because what we can say, what we can say, if we don't allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, can ruin a child's life.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes. [00:22:00] Yes. And children,

Rev. Michele Owes: that we say in a fit of

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: yes. And children are so, impressionable. And,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and things that happen to our children. As little, little ones can have con, a consequential sequential impact on them for the rest of their lives, and that things that they're exposed to can dictate how they act, what they choose to do.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And if we love, we're gonna always do what's best for our children. And we are gonna always do what God would have us to do for our children. Because once we have children, it is not about us. And you can do the best that you can do. You can be the best that you could have been. And oftentimes you still gonna have one or two that's gonna act crazy, you know?

Rev. Michele Owes: Testing the

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: testing the.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: [00:23:00] Right after our best efforts and like, where did you come from? I heard one of our young pastors talking about his children and he said, and I looked at him and said, where'd you come from with that kind of attitude? Where'd you get that stuff from? And that's why it's incumbent upon us to protect, to protect what their eyes see, protect what their ears hear, protect where you allow them to go.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And that's why that scripture in Deuteronomy is so important. We should never, as I said last week, we should never go anywhere where our children are not free to go with us. We should not do anything that we're ashamed of doing in the presence of our children because they children are going to say what we say.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: They're gonna do what we do. They're gonna choose as we choose. And the old days when, when I was a child. I'm talking ancient time [00:24:00] now. 70, 70 plus years ago. But you know, parents nowadays can't do what my parents and old folk used to say, do what I do and not what I say. You know, do what I say and not what I do.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: How many of you remember that one? You do what I say do and not what I do. That don't work, sweetheart. Now we're. Mm.

Rev. Michele Owes: It.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: We can't even say that to children anymore because it's crazy. It's always been crazy, but it's crazy. You're now, with all the exposure that these children get, what?

Rev. Michele Owes: is true.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Do what

Rev. Michele Owes: listen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: You,

Rev. Michele Owes: Now listen, when Mrs. Oh, I'm sorry.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: no, it's okay.

Rev. Michele Owes: a little bit of delay between the two of us. I'm sorry.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm. No problem.

Rev. Michele Owes: now when Mrs. Cherry says that there should be no place that the, the children can't go, with the parents, that she is not saying that you can't have a moment alone, as parents and as adults, and that there's no place that two [00:25:00] adults can't be without the children.

Rev. Michele Owes: That's. That's not the message we're sending, but, but, what she wants us to know is that there should be no questionable places that we go in our lives, that our children couldn't go with

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: if it were necessary or needful. But parents absolutely do need some moments alone, and we encourage you to have them. So the scripture that we were talking about was Deuteronomy, chapter number six, and we read. Verses six through seven and it reads, and these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. So parents, this has to be in our hearts that thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children and shall talk of them when thou sit in dying house. Ooh. So that means when we're sitting in the house, that means that all of us should not have our devices open and staring at our devices, our, iPads and our phones [00:26:00] and not talking. But there's a conversation that God expects when we are sitting in our house. And when thou walk us, by the way, we don't have to drive everywhere with the children.

Rev. Michele Owes: We can walk somewhere and we can talk about some

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: we walk along the way. And if we drive there and get out and walk together, that works as well. But there should be some walking with the children. And when thou sit us down, when thou lie us down, and when thou rises. Stop. So that means when you go to bed at night and when you get up in the morning, there should be some conversation about the

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yep.

Rev. Michele Owes: should be some conversation about his commandments, his statutes, his judgements,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: word, his will, his character. God wants to be in the conversation. He wants to be a part of the family. He wants to be respected and revered by the children

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes,

Rev. Michele Owes: blessed us with.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: when he is missing in the conversation, we have people asking things like, what does REV mean?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: [00:27:00] Yeah. Right? Is

Rev. Michele Owes: And we have people asking questions like, who

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: who is Jesus?

Rev. Michele Owes: heard of it.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: And these were grown adults, grown adults. These were not children. These were grown adults,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: From another country. But still, what that also means is that as Christians, we are not doing our job. To share the gospel of Jesus

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: we're not feeding the

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: because there are still people who don't know things that seem common knowledge. when you have been in the faith.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm. And we cannot confuse love with giving them everything that they want. We cannot confuse love with letting them do everything that they want. Listen, like us children are born in sin. Shaped and iniquity, and children are born disobedient. We have to teach them how to be [00:28:00] obedient, how to submit to authority.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Nobody ever has to have ever had to teach a child to disobey. It's born in them. They know. I mean, I, I'm, sometimes I'm out and I see little ones just as cute as they can be and they put their hands on their hips to their mama and I'm like, where, where did you get that from? But I know it's a sun sin, nature of Adam.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: So

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: don't worry about, denying them. things that are not good for them, that are not healthy for them, they're gonna love you in the end, for the most part. We might have some when they get old, old, they might have some, but when they're children, there's nobody like mama and daddy. So be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: can do this. You do not have to compromise your standards because you won't have to teach 'em how to be a disobedient. Trust me, [00:29:00] they know. Exclusively and exactly how to do that. What we have to do is train them, track them, train them up in the way they should go. You.

Rev. Michele Owes: yes, yes, yes, yes. And we're gonna, we're gonna cover a little bit more of the training in our next podcast, but I do wanna leave this note with you as you. Love your child or the children that God has placed in your sphere of influence unconditionally. Do not allow yourself to be pressured to provide the things that the world wants children to have. Because everything that the world wants children to have does not mean they're the end is going to be what you expect.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: That's right.

Rev. Michele Owes: If we make sure that they have the things that God wants them to have. I tell you, based on my experience of over 30 years of ministry, [00:30:00] children want the love and attention of their parents more than anything that you can buy at a store. want you to look at them and ask them how their day is and then give them the time. Respond to you in a way that they can articulate. They want you to let them finish their sentences. No matter how right or wrong those sentences are, they want you to hear them, and then when you answer, they really don't want it to.

Rev. Michele Owes: They don't want it to be your answer. They want your answer to be of God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right.

Rev. Michele Owes: it to be from the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit knows who they are. He knows how you must respond to them to get them to be who he needs them to be.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: Don't take the pressure of the world, but do receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit of God to allow you to respond in a way that's going to add to the growth and development, and the life of a child.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah, so [00:31:00] hit your knees. Remember. That child is a blessing. Believe it or not,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: That child is a heritage. Hit your knees. Seek the face of God on what you can do to best raise that child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God bless you. We love you.

Rev. Michele Owes: We'll see you on our next podcast.