The first church I served under appointment in Florida was in Gainesville and I love the four years I spent there. It was the first church I served after seminary and together Ryan and I worked as Associate Pastor and College Pastor where we learned a lot, honed our skills, grew in our faith journey and learned how to be first-time parents. Before Emmaline was born, we had a chance to attend a Parenting Conference led by Dr. Tim and Darcy Kimmel from the ministry Grace-based Families out of Arizona. We were not yet parents, so of course we already had it “all figured out” but we attended the conference and bought the book and learned a lot that weekend.
Fast forward to today. Before I was a mom, I knew very little about being a mom. Before I was a mom of two, I knew very little about being a mom of two. But I am learning… everyday. I share this because in many ways, Sunday’s sermon topic on Bearing with One Another ties me back to how little I knew and how much I still have to learn when it comes to being the mom God created me to be. I have been wrestling with this in my spirit for almost a year now and feel excited about how God might use my past experience to inform my present.
In a month, I will be facilitating a Parenting Class on Sunday mornings for any parent that is looking for a community with which they can bear with one another. This will be a place of no judgment, authentic talk and lots of grace. We will use the book and the teaching videos of Dr. Tim Kimmel and let the Holy Spirit be our Guide. We will begin this group on Sunday, June 19th at 10:00am and follow through with it until the end of July. We will read together the book, Grace-Based Parenting: Setting your Family Free and share and pray and encourage one another on this journey of parenting. There is no age-limit or requirements, other than being a parent and actually reading the book, but I invite you to join me. Not because I am the “expert,” not because I have it all figured out, not even because I am a pastor, but because we all need a safe place to bear with one another on this journey of parenthood and grow more and more into the moms and dads God calls us to be.
You will see more info on our social media and in the church announcements over the next few weeks about this class. You can also sign up on the Events Page of our church website at the end of May. In case your summer is swamped or you are traveling a lot but interested in just reading the book, I encourage you to purchase it online. If you can commit to being in the class and come on a regular basis, I would love for you to join me starting next month, on Sunday, June 19th at 10am at church.
Remember we aren’t raising kids, we are raising adults and hopefully grace-filled ones that will change the world. I hope you will come and bear with me and with one another on this crazy and joy-filled journey!
~ Pastor Rachel DeLaune
You can purchase the book on Amazon in either Kindle or Paper at the link below.