Farewell 03: What You’re Doing Matters, Mom. Here’s Why. Transcript
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Emily Jensen: Welcome back to another episode of the Risen Motherhood podcast. I'm Emily Jensen, and my co-host, Laura Wifler, will be joining me in just a moment. Today, we are going to be talking about something we have shared a lot over the years at Risen Motherhood—this idea that every moment in motherhood can have purpose and meaning and significance.
We think something that moms sometimes struggle with is feeling like hey, does this calling—do these mundane things that I'm doing like sweeping the floors and keeping up with everyone's calendar and planning meals and changing diapers—there's so many things that we do every day that just feel like: what is this adding up to? What does this mean or matter for eternity—for the kingdom of God?
We want to spend some time today explaining what we mean by that and how we don't, in any way, mean for that to be scary or burdensome but to be something that's refreshing and encouraging and giving you that perspective in those moments where motherhood can feel very monotonous. We just want to encourage you that you are making a difference, and you are doing something that has purpose in the kingdom of God.
Before we jump into today's show, I wanted to remind you to mark your calendar for Saturday, April 5, 2025, because before Risen Motherhood sunsets, we're going out with a huge party. We are streaming it all live from Fort Worth, Texas, and we'd love it if you would grab your mom pals—whoever you've been listening to the Risen Motherhood podcast with over the years or talking about the books with—and join us via simulcast for a time of reflection on all that God has done through the ministry of Risen Motherhood. Tickets are free, so you just need to register at risenmotherhood.com/celebrationparty, or head to the link in our show notes.
Lastly, just a friendly reminder that, even though we're going to stop producing new content in April of this year, all of our gospel-centered content will remain live on our website through [April] 2026. It is still there for you to listen to and read and share with your mom friends. Don't forget that we published the Risen Motherhood Legacy Collection of books—Risen Motherhood, Gospel Mom, and A Million Tiny Moments—so that you would have a print version of really all of the concepts—all of the things that we've talked about over the years of Risen Motherhood. We hope that all of this is a blessing to you. Okay, let's get to the show.
Laura Wifler: Friends, we are so excited because next week, our last and final book in the Risen Motherhood Legacy Collection comes out, A Million Tiny Moments: Reflections to Refresh a Mom's Spirit. It comes out on March 4—next week.
Emily: Woohoo! We're excited. This one, we felt like, was an important part of this trilogy. We've got Risen Motherhood (the green book), Gospel Mom, and then A Million Tiny Moments. They all are different. They all play a distinctive role in sort of the way that we want to be able to pass the baton on and say, okay, Risen Motherhood is sunsetting, and our digital content won't be there anymore, but we want to be able to have content that shares the heart of every single thing that we have talked about over the last decade with moms.
This particular book really brought together the writing that we did throughout our time at Risen Motherhood—all the way back from 2016 until right when we had to turn in this manuscript. We dug through Instagram, we dug through our website, we dug through everything. We pulled all of these pieces together. We curated them, we edited them, we refreshed them. We labeled them and titled them in ways that were accessible and helpful.
Now, it's just this amazing reference book that really can meet moms where they're at with these short, refreshing readings. The point isn't that they’re teaching you something or there's this big application, but that you would walk away from a quick—like, this took me three minutes to read—feeling just more ready to walk with Christ in whatever you're facing.
Laura: Yes. I love that. This is the book for all the feelings you have as a mom, right? That's how I think of it. What was interesting—when we were designing the books—the covers—we really wanted them all to feel like sisters, or maybe even cousins, but they're all very, very distinct even in their design. Yet, when you line them all up, somehow they match. The designers did an incredible job, so we're grateful for that.
This one really is this spunky, modern book that has a very fresh vibe. This is really the one that we wanted to feel like—this is like the fun one. This is the one that is light. It's almost like a devotional if we had anything to compare it to. It would be more like a devotional if you need a context for it. It's more poetic. This is really something that you can search through like a reference book.
I'm going to read a couple of the titles here. We have things like: “For when you're angry,” “For when it's hard to follow God,” “For when you need practical help with the kids,” “For when you need strength to get going.” All of these “For when you are . . .”—they also break down even further into very, very specific feelings. I'll just do “For when you're angry”: “For when you're annoyed,” “When you're interrupted,” “Because today is a new day,” “When you feel like two different moms,” “When you feel like the day is lost,” “When you need joy.”
You could literally go through the book and just run your finger down it and be like, "Okay, this is what I'm feeling right now. Right now, I need a fresh way to pray. I need wisdom online. I need to feel contentment." That's how this operates—you can really read one or two in one sitting. You can read all of it in one sitting, or you could pick away at it for a whole year. There is short form writing and long form writing. There's a lot of different levels. Our excitement level for the way that you can engage with this book is like at a ten because it just feels really different than anything we've done.
Emily: Yes. I think one question we get is, "Oh, are you really going to delete all of the content?" I feel like, as much as possible, Risen Motherhood and Gospel Mom have tried to encapsulate everything we've done on the podcast. Then, A Million Tiny Moments is literally encompassing, like we said, all of these writings. We're not only not deleting them, but we've organized them in a way that is extremely accessible. They are going to be easy to, like Laura said, point out in each moment—in each day—what particular writing you want to access.
Actually, it's going to be way, way better than having it buried on the internet, where it's extremely hard to search and find. We wanted to take a few moments in this show to talk a little bit about the title because it's a little bit unexpected. What are we talking about here? A Million Tiny Moments. That sounds overwhelming. Tell me more, Laura.
Laura: It does sound vague, and it's a different style for us, right? Risen Motherhood, Gospel Mom—it's so obvious what these books are about. Honestly, A Million Tiny Moments—it's a phrase that, if you go back and listen to our podcast or you read some of our writing, it's actually a phrase that we've used a lot before about how motherhood is lived in a million tiny moments.
When you think about your motherhood, it's this big blur, right? Generally, it's this big, long blur, but really, it's made up of these just tiny moments. Hot coffee in our favorite chair before going to take care of a newborn or a moment of laughter between two siblings. Going into the pantry to sneak a square of chocolate or stopping and just laughing at your eight-year-old's joke because they're actually becoming funny. All of these things. This is what motherhood is made up of. There's the good ones, but there's also some not-so-good ones.
Emily: Yes. Not every one of these is one that we want to remember. Sometimes, they're not necessarily good or joyful or silly or fun moments. Sometimes they're hard or they're sad or they're painful. Maybe there's that moment you're sobbing after you've just gotten back from the doctor, and you heard some really difficult news, or there's a moment of yelling or losing your cool because of all of the noise and overstimulation in the house, or there's a moment of panic after something scary happens with one of your kids or just a moment where you're ruminating, or you're just feeling really stuck in shame in your bed at the end of the day.
I think all of us find that, in these moments of just bright and fun and wonderful memories of motherhood, there's also these moments of darkness speckled in amidst all of the light that motherhood is, and we're not really sure what to do with them. I think that was one of our hopes with this book is—and really all the writings we've tried to do at Risen Motherhood over the years—to meet moms where they are at in those difficult moments with hope and truth.
Laura: Yes. Em and I are over a decade into motherhood, and I think that we have really learned how—what is it that they say? The days are long, but the years are short. That's true. I would also say: sometimes, the years are long.
Emily: Some years are longer than others, yes.
Laura: Not in a terrible way, but I think that there is an element that we have had to learn that every single moment—the good, the bad, the in-between—it all matters. We don't say this to give you a guilt trip or to make you feel like—oh gosh, are you spiritualizing every moment? Are you making sure to weave the gospel in every second of your day and doing it cognizantly? That's not what we mean. Don't hear that, because not every single second is high stakes, and you have to get it right or else. Really, we want to emphasize how every moment matters because you matter—and your children matter and all the people you come in contact with also matter.
Emily: Yes. I think it's this idea of bringing dignity and the weight and the preciousness of the Lord into our moments. I think, sometimes in motherhood, we feel like we're hanging on for the big things, right? That vacation or that birthday party or that holiday that we celebrate—like that's where we're making a difference. All of these other things that we do are sort of—they don't add up, and they feel so mundane.
Does it really matter that I'm sweeping crumbs off the floor for the millionth time? Does it really matter that all I'm doing all day is changing diapers? Does it really matter that I've put so much time into meal planning for my family, and they don't even want exactly what I made? It can start to feel like—is there a purpose in what I'm doing? Does God see what I'm doing? Does God care what I'm doing? The answer to that is he does. All of these things, though small, do add up. No, there's not this like—oh my goodness, there's this scary, over-spiritualized weight on everything. But on the flip side of that, there is purpose and weight in everything. It's just an interesting tension there.
Laura: This is something too that I think started Risen Motherhood, right? We've talked about this story. We've told the origin story a few times. This element of like— we were saying, “Does it matter what I serve my kids for breakfast? Does it matter for nap time? Does it matter how I mother and what type of mother I am?” That was the question we were asking because—if you think about the other side and like, hey, there's really no purpose to motherhood. Hey, there's really no rhyme or reason, and just do whatever you want. It doesn't matter.
Emily: Who cares?
Laura: Yes. Think about how hopeless that would be and how we would just be adrift at sea, but because of the gospel—because we see in Scripture, God has given us purpose to every single moment. He knew every moment before you were born (Psalm 136:16). He gave you a sacred mission and a purpose to love God—to worship and serve him above all else—and to love others. That's Matthew 28:19-20 and Isaiah 43:7. They matter because if you love God and follow him, your steps are established by God—which, whoa. That's a big verse, right? Proverbs 16:9. What else, Emily? There's probably some others.
Emily: I think, looking at this—he looks over all the earth and nothing escapes his notice or control (Job 28:24). This is a God who is in every moment, and he cares about all the details. I love this passage in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; it says, "Now all has been heard. Here's the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
Again, God is not saying, “Hey, there's a category of things that are really important. Then, there's a big category of things that you do that have no weight—have no bearing, have no eternal value.” What he's saying is: God is with us and cares about what we do and how we spend our time. He is encouraging us towards our calling. This is a great thing.
Laura: Yes. That's why we titled the book A Million Tiny Moments. We want moms to know that, because of the gospel, our moments can take on a whole different meaning. And that changes everything. Emily, you said this a little bit earlier—a lot of times we're living for those big moments, right? We're living for the college graduation or the high school graduation. We're living for those empty nester years or a kid's special award or an epic family vacation or even just like tomorrow's peace and quiet when we know the kids are going to Grandma's or something like that.
But we're not just living for those things. We're living for Christ. That's what the book explores. We really wanted to take every moment that a mom could experience—and we didn't cover all of them because they're vast, and there's too many, and we're two people. But so many of those moments that you experience, we really tried to put into this book and help show you where gospel hope can be found.
Emily: Yes. I think that it's important to remember that the time that you have been given—the moments in your days—are given to you by God for his glory and for ultimate good. That means there's no moment that's outside of God's control, and there's no moment that's too small to make a difference in someone's life. There's no moment that's too difficult or too shameful that you can't come back from or that Christ can't forgive or redeem.
The gospel, right? The good news that we've talked about, where we've said, "Hey, it's creation, fall, redemption, consummation." All of those truths come to bear on all of our moments. God wants us to turn to him and to trust him in every facet of our day—even if that doesn't overtly look like we're praying and we're reading our Bible, right?
I think that that's one of the misconceptions is that there's this big difference between things that are spiritual and things that are secular. And only when we're in church or when we're having our quiet time are we doing spiritual things. But to say, no, we can be washing the dishes from a heart that is wanting to serve God. Even if we're listening to a podcast about something totally different.
Laura: Yes, that's good. That's a good point.
Emily: I just think that is our heart in this—to have writings that encourage you to live in that way.
Laura: Yes. I love that point that you make because I think, when you do the “every moment matters” or sort of like the critique we talked about of over-spiritualizing motherhood, just remembering that it isn't that you're like, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," and you can't think about anything else or something. It's not practical. It's not realistic. That's not what God expects.
He understands our minds are going to be focused on many things, but it's that sort of continual coming back to him. It's continually exemplifying him. It's a posture of leaning on him. In those moments when you feel tempted towards impatience because you're interrupted—you feel tempted towards laziness because you're tired. Some of those things—or you feel tempted to just wish away the next three months until you get to that fun family vacation or that girl's weekend. Those are the moments where you want to push your heart back to the Lord and say, "But God, make me content today. God, help me to be patient with interruptions. Help me to have extra energy to go serve my family." It's just a quick thought. Just to give that practical, tangible “What does that really look like?”
Then there are other moments of long prayer or of being in God's Word—and you can't subsist on these little moments. But generally, those million tiny moments—that's what it looks like to lean on Christ. And then you're off doing your thing, and you're thinking about other things, but yet, God is sustaining you through it all. His grace is meeting you in that. That's what you can trust—that in every single tiny moment, God is with you. Whether you're aware of it or not, you can trust in him to carry you through your days. What are you doing to sort of reorient your heart back to the reality that you're living in?
Emily: That's a little bit of our heartbeat in this book, and what we think you're going to find are those reminders, right? This is the type of refreshment that's going to point you back to him.
You can pre-order the book now. Again, it comes out on March 4, and you can find all the links to all the things in our show notes. Yes, we hope this is a blessing to you.
