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We\u2019ve all been there. Your kid throws a fit in public and you feel the sting of embarrassment and the subtle lie that you aren\u2019t a good enough mom. You fear what others will say and feel like the entire day is ruined in this one encounter.

My guest Elyse Fitzpatrick has lived in this place of fear and presents another way to view your worth as a mother \u2014 resting in the righteousness of Jesus. She shares about the very common and subversive idols of motherhood to slip in when we try to control our children\u2019s performance.

But see that\u2019s absolutely soul destroying because you either end up in fear and despair or pride and despair. That\u2019s where you always end up when you\u2019re living for your own righteousness. So in the days that I can lay down and in bed at night and say, \u2018Yeah nailed it,\u2019 then I am in pride.

If you\u2019ve struggled to feel \u201cOK\u201d in your own power or have found your personal joy tethered to your kids\u2019 behavior, this episode is for you. Elyse gives us the simple reminder that we have the power through Jesus to topple the idols in our life.

I began to understand this is really idolatry and I\u2019m driving my kids insane trying to prove that I\u2019m really an OK person. That I\u2019m OK when they\u2019re good and I\u2019m a complete train wreck and bad and a loser when they\u2019re not. But, when Jesus becomes who he should be in our lives, then idols lose their power to entice us.

What we chat about:

• Elyse\u2019s blended family structure and her son\u2019s adoption
• The balance of the disciplinarian and the more fun parent
• Insecurity about our own faith and the lie of trying to control our kids
• The danger of looking for identity in the way our kids behave
• Looking for the places in our lives where we feel afraid, angry or worried as a barometer for where we aren\u2019t believing God
• Identifying idols in our lives and what they can look like
• How our children make us look or feel in front of others can bring up anger in us
• Elyse\u2019s relationship with her mother and the background of her perceived need for control
• When Jesus becomes who he should be in our lives, our idols lose their power
• Not letting our joy be tethered to our kids\u2019 behavior, or even our behavior
• Our self-centered struggle to feel \u201cOK\u201d in our own power
• How living for our own self righteousness leads to a soul destroying cycle of pride and despair
• Resting in the righteousness of Christ and remembering we are forgiven

• Front Porch with the Fitzes Podcast
• \nGive Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus\xa0by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick **
• \nThe Expulsive Power of a New Affection\xa0by Thomas Chalmers**
• \nNo Other Gods Bible Study Book\xa0by Kelly Minter**

**Amazon affiliate link. A small portion of your purchase will help produce this podcast.