Friends! I’m popping (popping!) into your inbox today with some exciting news. Next Monday, February 10, Focus on the Family will begin airing weekly episodes of a new show called Mom Life Unscripted with Jodie & Friends.
Each week, I’ll talk with another mom about the wonderful, messy, challenging, beautiful adventure of MOTHERHOOD.
Our first guest is probably better known for her movies than her mothering (I loved her as Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids; now she’s making good-clean-fun films for grown-ups), but Alexa PenaVega opens up about her family and the joys and heartaches she has walked through as a mom, including the devastating loss of their daughter, Indy, and the ways she and her husband Carlos have prioritized family life in an entertainment industry that is not built to sustain healthy marriages.
Celebrity spotlight aside, I’ve been thinking a lot about the challenges we face as moms (and grandmoms). How do we know what’s best for our child? Where do we turn when we grow weary, or when we feel overwhelmed? What can we do to cultivate more patience and kindness in our parenting? The Bible talks about all of these things and, to celebrate the release of Mom Life Unscripted, I wove those thoughts together with some of my favorite verses to create A Mother’s Prayer.
This printable PDF, designed especially for our email community, covers everything from the wisdom we need to the worries we carry as we ask God to bless and protect our families. Click here to download the prayer and print it for yourself (and feel free to share this email with another mom who might want to join our friend group).
Where do I watch Mom Life Unscripted?
And now for the question that everyone’s asking: Where do I watch Mom Life Unscripted?
That’s a great question, actually, and one that it’s taken Yours Truly more than a minute to comprehend. Mom Life Unscripted will air on Focus on the Family’s flagship YouTube channel, which means you can watch on your phone, your computer, or (if you’re tech savvy like my husband) on your TV. If you want to be notified when each new episode drops, click this link and then click again where it says “Notify Me.”
The episodes are sized just right for busy moms (about 20 minutes each), but they’re chock full of encouraging stories and practical wisdom for navigating life in the trenches of motherhood. Plus, every show wraps with an invitation to access a collection of prayer resources specific to each episode, free downloads you can use as you trust God to accomplish his best purposes in your family’s life.
And with that little teaser, I’ll leave you with my favorite line from Spy Kids, one that Alexa (aka “Carmen”) delivers near the end of the film:
Spy work, that’s easy. Keeping a family together, that’s difficult. And that’s the mission worth fighting for.
Mom Life can feel like a battle, but it’s worth it. Hang in there, friends!
❤️
And P.S., if you want to rephrase the Spy Kids line as a prayer, you’ll find a parallel sentiment in Nehemiah 4:14. Here’s how this verse looks when we turn it into a prayer:
Heavenly Father,
When we feel exhausted and under attack, don’t let us be afraid. Instead, may we remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for our families, our sons and our daughters, our homes.
Amen