Candace Nassar (00:01.221)
Well, welcome everyone. Today I’m having a conversation about Christian joy with Jenny Rodriguez, pastor’s wife and homeschool mom. Jenny is truly a joyful person. In fact, the first time I met her, I thought she just radiated joy. You’re gonna love her heart for Jesus. And so welcome Jenny.
Jenny Rodriguez (00:20.743)
Hi Candace, thanks so much for having me on your podcast.
Candace Nassar (00:24.801)
It’s great to have you. I’m so excited. So why don’t you just introduce yourself to our listeners and tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
Jenny Rodriguez (00:33.101)
Yeah, I currently live in Austin, Texas with my husband and my two boys and my two dogs. And I’ve lived here for just a little bit over a year because before I moved to Austin, my family lived in Japan for about 15 years where my husband served as a lead pastor for a church that he started.
And now my husband is on staff at a church here in Austin and I stay at home and homeschool my boys who are going to be in third grade and fifth grade.
Candace Nassar (01:10.427)
That’s incredible. Yes, I want to know all about your time in Japan. I know you’re going to share some of that with us today, which is, to be honest, one of the reasons I wanted you to come on this show because I can’t imagine what that time was like for you. So, but before we get into all of that, what do you think? Well, first, give me something fun that you’ve done this summer. We’re talking about joy. So joyful things. What has gone on in your world this summer that has given you joy?
Jenny Rodriguez (01:40.724)
Yeah, one of the things I think that’s given me just so much joy this summer is that it’s our first summer that we’ve had dogs. And so we have just been able to go on lots of trails and lots of hikes with our dogs. I don’t know, dogs just bring so much joy to life and just being able to be in light of nature. It’s just been really fun. That’s been kind of just a fun thing that we’ve been able to do a lot this summer.
Candace Nassar (01:59.931)
Mm
Candace Nassar (02:08.129)
Yeah, and didn’t you tell me you’ve got two puppies at the same time?
Jenny Rodriguez (02:11.595)
Yes we did. Yeah, we have a border collie and a Labrador retriever. So we have lots of energy.
Candace Nassar (02:16.9)
Yeah, I think when you told me that, because I got a puppy two years ago, I can’t even imagine having two. Although there’s some benefits They probably play with each other.
Jenny Rodriguez (02:25.759)
They do. Yeah, that does help. But yeah.
Candace Nassar (02:27.673)
Yeah, it’s like having twins. my goodness. Well, good for you. And I know your boys are just loving that because boys and their dogs, right? So fun. So good. Yeah, good for you. All right. So when I say the word joy, Jenny, what do you think?
Jenny Rodriguez (02:37.749)
Yeah. Yes. good.
Jenny Rodriguez (02:50.538)
You know, I honestly think that joy can be complicated because I think joy is less of a feeling of “happy” and more of an energy or a strength or a confidence that rests deep, deep within me in spite of the circumstances that are around me. Sometimes I like to think of it like this, if laughter is the outpouring of happiness, then I think singing is the outpouring of joy because there’s been times where I certainly couldn’t laugh at my situation or circumstances but with tears rolling down my cheeks I can sing praises to my God and feel right in my heart.
Candace Nassar (03:40.302)
Love that.
You know, that is so true. I know many times, when I just can’t get out of, you know, a depressed feeling or just a sadness, and if I can just put on worship music and start singing, boy, it really does do something inside of our brain. So that’s a really good point, Jenny. I love that. Yeah. Good, good singing, good worship music. And so you’re so you’re saying that when you think of joy, it’s an inner strength.
Jenny Rodriguez (04:03.484)
Yeah. Yeah.
Candace Nassar (04:13.755)
Tell us a little bit more about how you developed that inner strength?
Jenny Rodriguez (04:19.328)
Ooh, that is, it’s like a muscle that you have to work to develop. I wish that I could just say, well, I just choose joy, but that would be like saying I choose to be fit, would be lovely. But yeah, the muscle has to be exercised on a regular basis. And the time to start,
Candace Nassar (04:36.249)
Good
Jenny Rodriguez (04:47.77)
exercising that muscle is today and not when you’re in the middle of a really difficult time. Because if you exercise that joy muscle, then when you get into that difficult time, that muscle’s strong and it can help a lot when you’re in a difficult situation.
Candace Nassar (05:08.152)
Right, yeah, that’s really good. So what are some things that you do to exercise those joy muscles? I actually talked about, I love that you use that analogy because on our first podcast episode this month about joy, I actually asked that question to Annie Mendrala and said, how can we exercise our joy muscles? And so you’re using that same terminology. What are some things that you do or have done in the past to do this?
Jenny Rodriguez (05:35.238)
Yeah, I think first and foremost, Candace, I think is just spending time with God every day, myself in the Word of God, in prayer, and just having a daily time, whether that’s five minutes or 55 minutes, but just daily connecting with the Lord. But then there are other things that I do to help myself exercise that joy.
Candace Nassar (05:43.245)
Mm -hmm.
Jenny Rodriguez (06:01.697)
I often remind myself that God’s going to work all things out for my good and His glory. And that gives me peace. And I think peace and joy are related. And so it’s easier to have joy when I know God’s going to work it out, His glory, my good. I have a playlist that I listen to that I, you know, I put songs in there that really helped
Candace Nassar (06:22.452)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Jenny Rodriguez (06:31.169)
stay, you know, on the firm foundation of Jesus.
Candace Nassar (06:35.449)
I know you’re a big podcast listener too, so I’m sure there’s that.
Jenny Rodriguez (06:38.689)
Yes, yes, listen to good, you know, podcasts that speak truth and share truth and put that in my ears. Yeah. I also honestly do something I’ve maybe, I don’t know, recently, but realize that really helps me monitor or practice joy is watching the amount of time I stare at my phone. When I just get sucked into staring at my phone, whether it’s scrolling
Candace Nassar (07:02.026)
Mm -hmm.
Jenny Rodriguez (07:07.938)
reading, you know, this or that or whatever it is that our phones suck us into. That’s like eating bags of potato chips if you’re trying to be physically healthy.
Candace Nassar (07:18.868)
Mm -hmm. So true. I actually just started reading the book, The Anxious Generation. Yes, by Jonathan Haight. And that book is already blowing my mind with just talking about, obviously it’s aimed towards the young people and the adolescents and what smartphones and social media have done in rewiring their brains. But it even makes me think about my own because
Jenny Rodriguez (07:25.548)
Yes!
Candace Nassar (07:47.458)
What happens when we’re on our phones so much is we’re not connecting with other people, right? And it’s a false connection. And it’s a false sense of social interaction. It’s a digital versus the real world. And when I think about what’s one of the things that gives me the most joy in this world is hanging out with my friends and just going and doing fun things and being social.
Jenny Rodriguez (07:56.29)
Yes!
Candace Nassar (08:17.058)
And we, you know, it’s so in our world today, we could go through a whole week and never see an actual person, but be living our lives, you know, zooming and working from home and doing, you know, our social media and all the things that we never used to do. We have food delivered to our door. We never see the person, right? And so, yeah, I’m just, I’m sorry, I’m going off on a tangent, but I think we forget.
Jenny Rodriguez (08:35.244)
Yep.
Candace Nassar (08:44.983)
When we think about it, you just triggered that whole thing with technology, at how much we need each other. We need God. He created us for relationships. We are not meant to do life alone, and we find tremendous joy in connecting with other people. And it’s a must do in our lives. For me, it’s a very important aspect.
Jenny Rodriguez (08:55.233)
That’s exactly it.
Jenny Rodriguez (09:07.187)
Yeah.
Candace Nassar (09:11.99)
All right, so why don’t you tell us your favorite Bible verse about joy?
Jenny Rodriguez (09:16.545)
Okay, my favorite Bible verse about joy is Galatians 5, 22 and 23. Where it’s about the fruit of the spirit that is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. You know, joy is the second fruit of the spirit that’s listed. And one of the things that I
Candace Nassar (09:27.704)
Mmm.
Jenny Rodriguez (09:46.15)
really like like about this verse is that you know this is of course a list that I should have attributes that I should have in my life if I’m walking with the Lord, but it’s only because of the spirit working in me that I’m able to have these attributes I just press a button and have self -control although I really wish I could but I you know
I have to have the Spirit working in me. And I can’t just say, I choose joy. It’s the work of the Spirit in my life. So, you know, by practicing the presence of God and being a bird, I’m able to have that. And so, I don’t know, just, that’s really, I just like that verse about joy.
Candace Nassar (10:23.445)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. Right.
Candace Nassar (10:36.823)
Yeah, well, like you said, it’s a fruit of the Spirit. So we know that it is possible for us to have joy every day. And we know that it’s really not possible in our own strength because that’s why it’s a fruit of the Spirit. So that if we’re walking in the Spirit and we’re denying our flesh, yielding to the Holy Spirit, then we can have just that joy. And joy doesn’t mean being happy.
Jenny Rodriguez (10:43.049)
Mm -hmm.
Candace Nassar (11:06.104)
All day long. just means that constant, like you said, knowing that God is going to work things through the good and that presence of contentment. Right. Don’t you think so? Yeah. Very good. So all right. So let’s get to it. So tell us about your life in Japan and how God taught you about joy when you were just.
Jenny Rodriguez (11:17.68)
Mm -hmm. Yeah, absolutely.
Candace Nassar (11:34.197)
going through so many challenges. So first, I guess, tell us how you ended up there and what were some of the biggest challenges and how joy came to be a part of your daily life in the midst of
Jenny Rodriguez (11:45.566)
Okay, so how I ended up in Japan is that I married my husband, Andy, who actually was already in Japan. He wanted to start a church in a very unreached area. Japan is less than 1 % Christian. So no, very, very, very, very few Christians and very, very, very few churches.
And so my husband, that’s where he felt God had called him. And so we got married and I moved to Japan just a few weeks after I got married actually. And so yeah, that was a crazy time, but it actually was good. That was good. But over in Japan being in such a un -Christian area, if you just picture,
I mean, where I live here in Austin, I mean, you can drive two blocks and there’s a church probably within every three blocks, you’re gonna find a church. So if you just think of all those churches in Japan, there’d be a temple at least every three blocks or five blocks, there’s a temple. So either Buddhist or Shinto temple or sort of temple, yes. And it’s not necessarily those religions
Candace Nassar (12:58.252)
a Buddhist
Jenny Rodriguez (13:08.9)
are very believed now, but they’re very part of the heritage and part of what, you know, the family kind of tradition. Yes, the culture, exactly. And so if you just think of that kind of situation of like temples all over. Rather than churches all over. And so then I had both my children were born in Japan.
Candace Nassar (13:14.849)
Mm -hmm.
Candace Nassar (13:19.138)
The culture.
Jenny Rodriguez (13:38.649)
When I was thinking about being in Japan and joy, one point in particular just kind of stood out to me. And that was when I had both my boys, they’re fairly close in age. They’re a year and a half apart. So at one point I had two children under the age of two. And during that time, I just felt real lonely because here I was in a country where most people
Candace Nassar (14:00.15)
Mm -hmm.
Jenny Rodriguez (14:06.682)
almost everyone didn’t speak English as their native language. I did not speak Japanese as my native language. Our church was just starting out. It was a baby church, so there wasn’t, you know, Mom’s Day out or even Mom’s Q or things like that. That didn’t exist yet. And so I felt very alone and isolated at times. And I also went you know, two little people
Candace Nassar (14:29.463)
I can imagine.
Jenny Rodriguez (14:34.074)
couldn’t really communicate with me because they were too little. So, you don’t really have anyone to talk to. And so you just, I just remember feeling at one point like, this is a lot Lord, like, and feeling discouraged. But then one time I just read a quote that said, “Cease endlessly striving for what you want to do and learn to love what must be.”
Candace Nassar (15:04.408)
Ooh.
Jenny Rodriguez (15:05.631)
Yeah, and I just realized, you know what? I could strive for the perfect picture of what I think would make me happier. Like, if I just had these kinds of mom friends, or if I just had these activities for my children, or if I just had this opportunity. But then I realized I need to stop doing that and I need to learn to love what must be done. And what must be done right now is diapers need changed and laundry needs hung out.
and now snacks need refilled and spills need to be wiped up and I can do all of this in a way to give God glory. I can do this as my act of worship and yeah and I just feel like you know the joy muscle gets exercised in the little daily tasks those minimal tasks. How do we do it? You know, do we do it wanting something else?
Candace Nassar (15:48.54)
Mmm. That’s so good.
Jenny Rodriguez (16:05.368)
Gritting our teeth? Or am I doing it in a way that, you know, I’m learning to love what God has called me to do in this season, on this day?
Candace Nassar (16:15.832)
That is so powerful. You know, I think about the fact that motherhood is such a sacrifice and it is a mission. It is a mission that we’re called to. Those of us who have the privilege of being mothers, when we can see it like you’re talking about as a method of giving glory to God, then that can just completely change our perspective. And that sounds like what you did. Wow, that’s really good.
Jenny Rodriguez (16:39.211)
Yeah.
Candace Nassar (16:44.897)
How did you, was your husband around or mostly just you and did you eventually make friends or what happened?
Jenny Rodriguez (16:54.807)
Yes, yeah, my husband, he was pretty busy with his job, but he was around. was as helpful as he could be with also having a full -time job and being really busy. But yes, eventually, some new people moved into my city and I eventually made friends and that, and my children of course got older and it got easier to take them out and do things. So yes, that season
last forever. Yes.
Candace Nassar (17:28.043)
But in the middle of it, you must have had those days where you’re thinking, like you said, “I’m just gonna have to choose joy right now in the midst and get through this day for my kids.” And I think that’s something that, you know, we think of happiness being something that we deserve, right? And really, it’s more of a state of the heart of just maintaining the perspective of whatever I’m doing, it’s where God has me. He has me here for a reason. And even if it’s a really hard time, He has something He wants to show us and we can, he will walk through it with us and we can have joy in the midst like you’re talking about praying and having the fruit of the spirit.
Jenny Rodriguez (18:14.697)
Mm
Jenny Rodriguez (18:25.332)
Yeah, yeah, and I think something that God kind of showed me during that time too was, just thinking about this is kind of a strange verse on joy, but Revelation 21, three and four, when it says, “God himself will be with them as their God and he will wipe away every tear from their eye and death shall be no more and neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain for the former things have passed away.” And just being reminded that one day we’re going to be in a place where there’s no more pain or sorrow or spills for that matter or dirty diapers. I mean, you know, there’s no more of those hard things because we will be with God in heaven. And just knowing that we can long for that day, we can be excited about that day that will be for eternity.
It can give us the joy, the energy, the strength, and the confidence in spite of what’s going on around us because we know we’re pressing onto that.
Candace Nassar (19:28.406)
Right. And it’s temporary that this is all temporary and just continuing to have that eternal perspective. I’m so impressed that you were able to do that in a foreign land where you didn’t speak the language and you didn’t have family around and you didn’t have a big community. I mean, it just really shows that the Lord can be our joy. That he alone can be our joy. And I just think it’s a real inspiration to all of us because we’ve all been there. Some of our listeners have young children and they’re in the midst of all of the things that just seem to drown out our joy. But really all the way through life, there’s just always something ready to rob us of our joy if we let it. Yeah.
Jenny Rodriguez (20:12.548)
That’s exactly it. There’s always something. And I think that that’s where it’s really important for us to not think, “Well, if I was just in this phase of life, or if I just could do this, or if my kids would just not wear diapers anymore, or buckle themselves in their car seat, or whatever.” There’s always something that’s gonna come. Life just always brings you surprises.
Candace Nassar (20:38.528)
Yeah, and it’s hard. I mean, it’s just often that life can be hard. so, you know, that’s so good because that was actually the role model that I had with my mother. She was always gonna be happy with the next thing, the next stage, the next move or whatever it was. And it took me many years to get over that and realize that no, I can be happy, I can be joyful right now, no matter what circumstance I’m going through. Because God tells me I can, and it’s not on the next thing because the next thing is gonna be another next thing, right? So that’s good. So good. Well, so tell us, what do you think? I know you homeschool and I think that’s so fabulous. And what do you do to share this joy journey with your kids and help them choose joy?
Jenny Rodriguez (21:10.148)
Yes.
Jenny Rodriguez (21:36.24)
Yeah, I I try to I I think that, and in one way I like to think about the fact that like my children are my disciples. I mean in one way an example is I know that my facial expression can really affect the whole tone of the house and so if I can be cognizant of like, yes, I do have joy in my heart and I can show some joy on my face when I’m doing the dishes that can really affect the mood of the house.
Candace Nassar (22:17.632)
Okay, hold on one second. How do you do that? Like, what if you’re not feeling joyful? What can you do to have that change of attitude?
Jenny Rodriguez (22:27.169)
Yes, man. Honestly, I think music is such a great place-just turn on some praise music and get that going or get on… Sometimes I turn on, you know, kids’ praise music for my kids, but really I’m like, I need to hear these truths too.
Candace Nassar (22:49.122)
Yeah, we could just do that, and we can also just pray, right? Just cry out to God. I mean, many times I’ve been like, there is no way I can change my attitude right now, but I choose to pray about it and boom, God changes my attitude.
Jenny Rodriguez (23:03.534)
100 % yes, yes. And sometimes I also, like to, a mentor of mine once said, “zoom out”. You know, sometimes what’s really getting us is a very small thing, you know, that’s irritating us what this person said to me or how this situation is working out or whatever it is. But if we “zoom out” and we realize this little situation is in all of eternity-this is just like not even a blip, then it’s gained perspective.
Candace Nassar (23:35.383)
You know, so I want to get back in a second to what you do to help your children learn joy. But I do want to just share that I had this exact thing happen just a few weeks ago. We were with family and there was a situation that had happened a few years ago that I didn’t realize was still underneath me between them. And I hadn’t seen these people since a few years ago. When an uncomfortable thing happened that hurt my feelings. And the minute I saw them, I just got in a bad mood. And I was at this great family reunion that was supposed to be so much fun. And all of a sudden, I just did not want to be there. And I was not having joy. That is definitely not it. And that whole night, I just felt not joyful. And I knew I was wrong. And I went back and told my husband about it and he was like, well, I’m really sorry you feel that way. And I knew it was wrong. And then the next morning I got up and just spent, like you said, some really good time with the Lord and just said, “Okay, God, here’s why I’m feeling this way. And I know it’s wrong and I’m just gonna ask you to help me change my attitude.” And I just spent that time with him and lo and behold, by the time I got back to the group gathering,
Jenny Rodriguez (24:55.669)
Mm
Candace Nassar (24:58.904)
my attitude was so much better. So it really is true. Anyway, I just wanted to share that. All right, so you model it for your kids, for sure. put it on, you try to have that facial expression, the whole attitude thing. What else do you
Jenny Rodriguez (25:02.173)
Okay.
Jenny Rodriguez (25:16.991)
Yeah, I really try to help them cultivate a spirit of gratitude. I think that when we’re thankful, it’s easier and it’s more natural to also have joy. i think joy and Thanksgiving do go together. And so rather than living in a, know, I want, I want, it’s, you know, let’s name what we’re thankful for and try to model I’m so thankful we have this opportunity to go to the pool today or I’m so thankful we can have these people over to our house as we’re tidying up the house, getting ready for these people to come to our house. Yes.
Candace Nassar (25:52.601)
Yeah, that’s really good. So it makes me think about when your children were in Japan. I mean, how are children joyful in Japan? There’s this, you know, how did your children do it? I mean, you homeschooled over there too, right?
Jenny Rodriguez (26:04.402)
Jenny Rodriguez (26:09.169)
Yeah, my children went to Japanese preschool actually, so they went to Japanese preschool. I would say that, I mean, in general, I’ll make a blanket statement on the whole country here.
Candace Nassar (26:13.328)
okay.
Candace Nassar (26:25.536)
Yeah, yeah, that’s probably not a very good question on my part.
Jenny Rodriguez (26:27.74)
Yeah. But in general, I would say children progressively, like in my observation, get less happy as they get older. So starting out, now, as littles, they seem happy, but as they get to high school, they seem less happy. Yeah.
Candace Nassar (26:43.991)
Yeah, well, I think that happens here too. So without the Lord, for sure. So, but I was just curious because I was thinking about, you know, your children seeing their peers in Japan and how the difference between what they’re seeing at home and what they’re seeing at school. But, you know, really, I love what you said earlier about discipling our kids. I mean, it is so much for, for so many years, they, they are looking to us and we are their primary disciples and no one else can do the job that we can do. So awesome. So you teach them gratitude, anything else?
Jenny Rodriguez (27:15.176)
Mm.
Mm
Jenny Rodriguez (27:23.4)
Yeah, honestly I think it’s really important for kids to get outside and so I try to make sure that my children go outside every day. I know I feel better because I’ve been outside and so it’s just even if it’s 10 minutes everyone’s attitude seems to be so much better after we’ve been outside. I really prioritize making sure everybody gets outside every day.
Candace Nassar (27:46.04)
Mm -hmm.
Candace Nassar (27:52.033)
I love that. Yeah. I’m the same way. mean, I think that they even say like some of the, I read this not that long ago, that some of the countries that there’s so many, the cities are so concrete that they’re starting to build in more and more parks and nature, natural state, because I mean, that’s part of what God has designed, right? To give us, to find joy. It’s His creation and we are to take joy in it. So I love that. So fun. So fun. What are some of the things? So you take hikes or or just, mean, with boys, you can play ball, whatever, whatever it is, even in the Texas heat.
Jenny Rodriguez (28:22.193)
Yeah.
Jenny Rodriguez (28:31.366)
Exactly. Yes, exactly. Even in the Texas heat, even if it’s like we have to get out in the morning or we just go out for 15 minutes and eat popsicles or something. Yeah. Throw water balloons. Yeah. There’s, you know, something you can do outside. Yeah.
Candace Nassar (28:47.02)
Very good. And I’m also hearing a lot, again, you were talking about the sacrifice of motherhood and I’m just hearing some really good prioritization on your part of what that sacrifice looks like is taking the time with our kids and not choosing necessarily what we would want to do. Ultimately, when we get out and do those things with our kids, we’re like, this was great. I’m so glad I did it. But sometimes we have to force ourselves, right? Because there’s other things that we could be doing. And we always feel this pressure as moms to get things done, to do something else. that’s many times, it’s definitely not going to help our children, their mood, our mood, or anything else. And so we just have to make that sacrifice and go and listen to what the Lord is calling you to do in the moment.
Jenny Rodriguez (29:42.188)
Yeah, and right along with that, Candace, I think that one of the ways to cultivate joy in a family life is to allow margin in your schedule. You know, it’s just, it’s hard to be joyful when you’re always racing out the door to the next thing or grabbing the, you know, the bag for this or the supplies for that. And it’s just hard to be joyful. And you don’t need to be as busy as I think
Candace Nassar (29:51.834)
Mmm. Mmm.
Jenny Rodriguez (30:10.084)
Culture wants us to believe that we need to be.
Candace Nassar (30:13.23)
Girl, you are singing my song. This is my… As a matter of fact, I can’t believe you’re saying this because our theme for the month of August is creating margin. Yeah. So that’s, that’s a Lord thing right there. That’s a God thing because yeah, that’s a big, big thing that I really want to help parents understand is that we have to have room in our schedules to slow down and relax and…
Jenny Rodriguez (30:23.928)
My goodness.
Candace Nassar (30:41.979)
Practice the presence of God and teach our children how to do these things and just have fun. And like you said, take nature walks or whatever. If we’re going from activity to activity, sport to sport, all the things, you know, I 100 % agree with you. There’s just, it’s, you’re gonna get stressed and it’s, you’re not gonna, we’re not gonna feel the joy and find the joy. So.
Jenny Rodriguez (31:05.014)
Right? And it’s really a discipline because sometimes it’s harder to say no sometimes to activities or to events or to this or that. And it’s harder sometimes to be at home and be like, wait, what do you do? Especially if you’re not used to that. That’s a discipline that you have to kind of exercise too. But joy comes from that.
Candace Nassar (31:24.153)
Yes.
Candace Nassar (31:33.039)
So good, so good, Jenny. That is so important. I love that. Well, is there any, this has been a great conversation. Is there anything else that you would want to encourage moms with just in your experience of all your living situation now that you’re, and now you’ve come back to the States and you’ve had to readjust to that life and, and how’s that going?
Jenny Rodriguez (31:38.142)
Thanks.
Jenny Rodriguez (31:57.055)
Yeah, readjustment is going fairly well. I think it takes a long time to really feel fully settled in a place. But I think that one thing that goes along with joy but has also helped us with adjusting is just celebrating things as a family. Just little things, big things, just having time to celebrate. Whether it’s birthdays or achievements or…whatever you can to celebrate each other I think is just really important.
Candace Nassar (32:31.962)
That’s great. I love that. All right. Well, friend, I do appreciate your time so much and I hope you have a great rest of your summer. And I will let’s close. Let me close this out in prayer. Father, thank you for this time that we have had to just talk about how you give us joy every day in the midst, no matter what we’re going through, Lord. And I pray that you would help us to walk in the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the spirit of joy.
Jenny Rodriguez (32:40.843)
Thanks.
Candace Nassar (33:01.648)
That we would yield to your presence in our life, that we would find that margin. As we go into, some of us are beginning to think about back-to-school even as we wrap up July, I just pray that you would help us as moms to think about carving out more margin and finding the space so that we could practice your presence more and have joy in our families. Feel that joy in our heart that you alone can give. And I thank you for Jenny and her testimony. and all that you’ve done in her life and I just pray that we would be able to take this and incorporate it as your will. Jesus name, amen.
Jenny Rodriguez (33:41.073)
Amen.
