 I
have a secret that I must share. I have rekindled
an old relationship. As the saying goes…it
just happened. My discreet partner is thoughtful,
understanding, and at times comforting on a cold,
blustery day. When I need a moment of silence
on my way to carpool, I have it. When I need a
friend to lean on after a long day, I have one.
Quite frankly, I never realized just how in tune
I have become with my long, lost friend…God.
This
month’s Jen’s Jewels Fern Nichols
has experienced quite the same epiphany. As a
mother, she experienced firsthand the ups and
downs of raising children in the crazy world in
which we live. So, she turned to a higher power
to help her navigate life’s journey. In
her latest release, WHEN MOMS PRAY TOGETHER: True
Stories of God’s Power to Transform Your
Child, she calls upon the help of faithful moms
to give encouragement to others facing life’s
challenges.
As part of this interview, Tyndale has
generously donated five copies for you, my lucky
readers, to win. So, don’t forget to look
for the trivia question at the end of the column.
And as always, thanks for making Jen’s Jewels
a part of your reading adventure.
Jen: As the mother of four children as
well as a grandmother, you have experienced firsthand
the Herculean feat of raising healthy, happy children.
So that my readers may have a better understanding
of the path you took in becoming an author, please
tell us about your educational and professional
experience.
Fern:
My mother was an inspiration to me. She took seriously
her role of mothering. She was able to be a stay-at-home
mom and was very intentional about our physical,
mental and spiritual development. She made nutritious
meals, made sure we went to school, taught us
the Word of God, modeled prayer and faithfully
took us to church.
As a result of how she was raising me, I believe
God set deep in my heart the importance of the
godly influence of a mother. And that’s
what I wanted to be. I had no intention of going
to college or having a career. I wanted to be
a MOM!! But God in His Sovereignty not only opened
doors for me to go to college, but to major in
the thing I loved most -- children. I earned my
degree in education. Both my fiancé, Rle,
and I graduated from college together, got married
one month later and both taught school in the
same district.
In our third year of marriage God blessed us
with a baby boy, and I was able to become a stay-at-home
mom. God gave me the desires of my heart. But
did I ever learn a lot as a new mom! I needed
the Lord more than ever. I was in the Word and
on my knees seeking direction, wisdom and guidance
for this new little life. I was intentional, just
like my mom, and from birth began the life-long
teaching of the Word, prayer and taking him to
church. God blessed us with three more children
and my desire to raise “Jesus Lovers”
was heightened all the more.
Throughout those years of raising these precious
“gifts” God gave us, I was
very active in living out my faith. I wanted to
serve the One I loved. I had many opportunities
to do that through teaching Sunday School, being
choir director, playing the organ and piano, and
teaching neighborhood Bible studies. My husband
and I were called to serve in Campus Crusade for
Christ for 15 years. Rle was the coach for Athletes
In Action. In my seasons of service, I purposed
in my heart that my priorities would be God first,
family second and ministry third. Truly my profession
was Motherhood!
Jen: Your religious faith has been the
cornerstone to the development of your career
as an inspirational speaker and advocate for Christianity.
What was the driving force that led you to pursue
this vocation?
Fern:
There really was no driving force to be an inspirational
speaker. As I desired to please the Lord and follow
His will for my life, opportunities opened for
me to speak at retreats, churches, seminars, workshops.
My main topics were always centered on how to
be a mature Christian, the blessings of motherhood
and prayer.
On one fall day in 1984 as I kissed my two eldest
sons goodbye before they left for school, I went
back to the kitchen with a very heavy, burdened
heart for them. I was truly fearful for their
spiritual lives at that public school. So many
things loomed in my mind of the incredible battles
they would be facing. Would they make the right
decisions in tempting situations, would they be
able to recognize humanistic teachings, would
they choose godly, moral friends? And on and on
it went. As I was talking to the Lord about this,
I prayed a desperate simple prayer, “Lord,
there must be one other mom who will pray with
me for our children and the school.” I had
experienced the power of corporate prayer and
it was time to unite.
The Lord laid upon my heart the name of another
mom. I immediately called her and poured out my
heart, the burden I felt, and asked if she would
take time out of her busy schedule to come to
my house and pray. She felt the same way and agreed
to come. We thought of a few other moms we could
invite. So, that very next week there were five
of us in my living room praying a simple four
step format of prayer that kept us praying the
whole hour. We were serious. The lives of our
children were at stake.
Out of one desperate mom’s burden for her
boys, God birthed a prayer ministry for children
and schools. You truly do not know what God has
in mind when on one unassuming day you are in
prayer.
Jen: Let’s talk about Moms in Touch
International. Please describe for us its core
purpose.
Fern: We named our group Moms in Touch -- moms
in touch with God, with one another, with our
children and the school through prayer. We knew
we could not physically follow our children around
at school, even though a lot of moms would love
to. But, the one thing we did know was that when
we prayed, Jesus would be there. We were experiencing
so many answers to prayer that we couldn’t
help but tell others. The grassroots movement
began. Moms were calling me to come to their house
to help form a group for their school. Then churches
began inviting me to come share. God opened opportunities
to share at retreats. The word about this life-changing
ministry was spreading.
Jen: How did your vision become a reality?
And, what part did Dr. James Dobson (Focus on
the Family) play in helping you achieve your goal?
Fern:
God kept increasing my vision. At first it was
prayer for my children and the school they attended.
And then the vision increased for all the schools
to be covered in my area. Then in 1985 God moved
our family with Campus Crusade for Christ from
British Columbia, Canada, to Poway near San Diego,
California. I knew no one. One simple prayer emerged,
“Lord, I need one other mom to pray with
me.” By the end of the school year, there
were 15 moms coming to my home to pray for the
high school. In 1988 we had our first MITI retreat.
Thirty-five women were at a retreat center together
in a fire-side room thanking God for all the answers
to prayer we had seen since praying in a MITI
group. The Holy Spirit was moving sweetly among
us. A prayer emerged, “Lord, we have been
changed, our children and the school have been
changed, and we now ask that all the schools in
the San Diego area be covered in prayer.”
The prayer grew even bigger. We then prayed for
all of California schools to have a MITI group.
Then our faith grew to ask for the whole Northwest.
The Holy Spirit moved our prayers across the United
States and then around the world. There was silence.
Then one mom prayed, “Lord, who can tell
the women of the world about Moms in Touch?”
There was a pause. “Dobson, that’s
who.” “Lord, we ask to be on his program.”
I think we were all stunned at first by the request
and then there was a joyous agreement.
Three months later, without anyone contacting
FOF, LuAnne Crane from FOF called me, asking about
MITI. She caught the vision, and said there were
a lot of requests that crossed Dr. Dobson’s
desk so she couldn’t promise anything.
Did we ever pray! We were so bold that not only
did we ask to be on the program, but that God
would give us two days, just in case a mom didn’t
hear the first day. God answered above and beyond
our request. He gave us three days. Twelve other
moms joined Dr. Dobson and me in the studio. God
knew this message of hope needed to be heard by
moms. The result of the program was over 24,000
responses. Needless to say, the ministry has never
been the same since that day. We are Moms In Touch
International, and we are now in over 130 countries.
Jen: And initially, what affect did
it have on your family? Did your children feel
any pressure growing up having to live up to other’s
high expectations in terms of their behavior?
Their mother was (and still is!) a devoted Christian.
We all know…kids will be kids no matter
who their parents are.
Fern:
My family really didn’t know exactly all
what was happening. By God’s grace, I was
able to change hats from ministry to home easily.
When my children were home I was able to have
my focus on them and was involved in all their
activities. I remember one time I took a red-eye
flight to speak at a MITI retreat so that I wouldn’t
miss my son’s football game. They realized
the scope of the ministry for the first time when
they attended the MITI 10th Anniversary Retreat.
There were 750 women who came from many different
states. My family was amazed and said, “Mom,
I knew you prayed for us, but we didn’t
realize what you were doing.” It was a real
eye-opener, even for my husband.
Jen: With the creation of this powerful
group came your writing of several books. Your
latest release, WHEN MOMS PRAY TOGETHER, is a
heart-warming collection of stories that would
inspire even the non-believer to have faith. Describe
for us its metamorphosis.
Fern:
I never set out to be a writer. In fact, I remember
in my English class in high school that I had
a lot of red marks on my papers. But again, God
in His Sovereign plan for my life had an agent
from Zondervan contact me to encourage me to tell
my story. If it weren’t for Janet Kobobel
Grant capturing my “voice” in the
book Every Child Needs a Praying Mom, it would
not have received the silver medallion award.
She was a key piece in writing that book. Connie
Kennemer was my co-writer for the gift book Prayers
From a Mom’s Heart.
The new book WHEN MOMS PRAY TOGETHER
was birthed because of my deep desire to glorify
God for His faithfulness to MITI for 25 years.
As our 25th anniversary was approaching, I wanted
to display His glory through sharing answers to
moms’ prayers. I was encouraged by Cheri
Fuller to call Larry Weeden and share my vision
for the book with him: 25 stories representing
answers to prayer over 25 years. I wanted it to
be a legacy book that I could give to my grandchildren
one day and say, “Honey, the God who answered
these prayers is the same God who will answer
your prayers today.” This is not a “coffee
table” book to just sit on the shelf. I
wanted this book to strengthen the faith and prayer
life of women all over the world. Larry caught
the vision and the project began. Once again I
needed the “body” to make this book
have the impact that I wanted it to have. Thankfully,
when I asked three women to come alongside me
and edit the stories, they each said, “Yes.”
They are Cyndie de Neve, Mary Jenson and Cheri
Fuller.
When a mom wrote me after reading the book, I
was so pleased. She said, “This book is
all about God and His glory. It doesn’t
glorify MITI at all, and yet the heart of MITI
shines through, offering hope to desperate mothers
who need to know that God cares, is powerful,
and offers compassionate support for moms, through
women who will pray without judging.” What
a great joy to see that the vision was truly fulfilled.
Jen: In terms of the nuts and bolts,
how were you able to collect these inspirational
stories to share with your readers? And, did you
make an outline of certain topics that you wanted
to explore, or was it simply just finding a unique
voice within each one that needed to be heard?
Fern:
We put the word out to our MITI leadership about
the project and asked them to share with us a
powerful answer to prayer. We gave them guidelines
and suggestions of topics that we were interested
in. The stories started coming in. Through prayer,
my team and I came to consensus and identified
the compelling stories that we felt were not uncommon
and that mothers would readily identify with.
Each story displays God’s glory even though
some of the prayers did not turn out as expected.
Jen: The inspirational quotes and prayers
peppered throughout the book are truly beautiful.
Can you lend some suggestions as to how the reader
may go about incorporating them into his or her
spiritual journey?
Fern:
There is something about hearing truth from the
heart of another saint. I chose quotes that had
meant a lot to me over the years. Quotes that
encouraged me, made me ponder and sometimes led
me to prayer that God would strengthen me with
this truth and that He would help me live it.
I wanted the reader to have the opportunity to
be blessed as I was and still am. I also chose
Scriptures that are especially meaningful to me.
I wanted a lot of Scripture in the book. There
are no greater words than God’s words. It
is His “now” speaking voice that pierces
the soul, draws it to a greater intimacy with
Him. I would suggest memorizing one quote or Scripture
a week! When we hide God’s word in our hearts,
at the appropriate time in whatever circumstance
we may be going through, God will bring these
Scriptures and quotations to mind to give us courage.
Jen: I have to admit, each story is utterly
amazing in the sense that as a mom, I could totally
relate no matter what the circumstances were.
The one that left a lasting impression on me was
chapter 13 Unlocked: Hope for Moms with Disabled
Children by Thalia Henning of California. In what
ways did you personally reach out to the contributors?
Fern:
Each story touched my heart. Each one drew me
into the hurt and pain of her situation, and her
desperateness to believe and her courage to join
with others and not give up praying. I was so
blessed that each story revealed a faithful, caring
God who manifested Himself in precious ways. If
the story needed clarification or if emotions
needed to be described more clearly, the editors
would get back with the story writers and ask
appropriate questions to bring about a clearer,
more compelling understanding. They were all wonderful
to work with, even though at times it was hard
for some of them to go back to a dark emotional
place, but they did, for the sake of the reader.
Jen: If you had to choose, which story
impacted you the most and why?
Fern:
The chapter that filled my eyes with tears each
time I read it is was Connie’s Kennemer’s
story, chapter 15. Connie and I go way back to
1985. She came to my home to see how a MITI group
could pray a whole hour. As a result, God prompted
her to start the first elementary MITI in the
Poway area. She was a worship leader also and
came to lead the worship at our MITI retreats.
We traveled together, prayed together, laughed
together, cried together, and talked about the
MITI vision together. Her story did not turn out
all neat and tidy. And yet, by what God taught
her about who He is through MITI -- she still
sings. She is an inspiration to me.
Jen: How did you personally grow as a
mom after the completion of this project?
Fern:
Once again the great realization that God’s
plans and purposes will not be thwarted, and the
wonderful mystery, the marvel that Almighty God
in His Sovereignty has chosen His bride to partner
with Him in prayer to accomplish His will on earth.
So, now as a grandmother, crying out with other
grandmothers for the next generation, I know that
my God is an unchanging faithful God. He will
save, deliver and lead my grandchildren on paths
of righteousness because I have seen the power
of God revealed manifested by the prayer of many.
Jen: And, what was the most valuable
lesson learned from this experience?
Fern:
That moms are not alone. Our hearts beat the same
for our children and grandchildren all over the
world. Also, that God did not intend for us to
carry our burdens by ourselves. We truly do need
each other. There is no better place to be than
in the community of praying moms. This book is
proof of that.
Jen: How would my readers go about joining
(or even starting) a Moms In Touch group?
Fern:
To start or find a local Moms In Touch group to
pray for your children and schools, and for resources
and information, we have an excellent, user-friendly
website: www.momsintouch.org. We also have a number
they can call: 1-800-949-MOMS. As our vision is
that every school be covered in prayer we are
excited to think that after moms/grandmothers
read this book they will not wait, but start today.
Truly, the time is urgent. As Lamentations 2:19
says, Arise cry out in the night, as the watches
of the night being. Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord, lift up your
hands to him for the lives of your children, who
faint from hunger at the head of every street.
Our children need Jesus NOW! We MUST pray.
Jen: Now that this project is completed,
what is the next step in your journey?
Fern:
To keep on keeping on. We will not rest until
the vision is realized. We will continue to sound
the clarion call to “Arise! Cry Out!”
through whatever means available as we seek the
Lord for His continued direction, wisdom and guidance.
We are being very intentional in our strategies
to reach out to the moms with young children.
She is the next generation of moms that we will
hand the baton of this prayer movement to. May
the LORD find us in prayer until the day He returns.
Jen: Thank you so much for taking the
time out of your busy schedule to stop by and
chat with my readers. Your book is the perfect
gift for any mom this holiday season. Thanks for
sharing your words of wisdom with my readers.
God Bless.
Fern:
What a great joy that I can share through this
book the goodness of the Lord through the power
of praying with others. And that you have given
me this opportunity. Thank you so much. May the
Lord receive all the glory.
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Fern
Nichols. Please stop by your local library branch
or favorite bookstore today and pick up a copy
of WHEN MOMS PRAY TOGETHER: True Stories
of God’s Power to Transform Your Child.
Better yet, how would you like to win one? Okay,
be one of the first five readers to e-mail me
at jensjewels@gmail.com
with the correct answer to the following trivia
question. Good luck!
What is the name of the organization
Fern started for praying moms?
On November 10th, I will be bringing to you my
interview with an extraordinary young autobiographer,
Kevin Michael Connolly. You won’t want to
miss it.
Until next time…
Jen
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