Mike Smith:
My guest this week is Rachael Carman, author of the book Soundbites from Heaven: What God Wants Us to Hear When We Talk to Our Kids. Rachael, thank you for joining us today!

Rachael Carman:
Thank you so much, Mike, for having me. What an honor!

Mike:
Rachael, your book is about hearing God’s still, small voice in the chaos of everyday activity. What prompted this idea?

Rachael:
Well, actually, it was one of those—I guess we would like to refer to it as “normal”—homeschool days, wherein I’ve got this grandiose plan of everything I’m trying to achieve. And I’ve got one child—we all have at least one—who’s not with the program. And I remember very distinctly, taking him by the shoulders and looking him in the eye, and I said, “Pay attention to me! Listen to me when I’m talking to you! Are you going to listen to me?”

And in that moment, it’s as though time stood still, and I could sense that God was saying, “Yeah, Rachael, look at me when I talk to you. I’ve got some things I’d really like to say.”

I guess I must have glazed over in that moment, because he scurried off, and I sat there with a realization that I was holding my children to a higher standard than I was living by. I was expecting them to listen to me and to act on what I was saying, but yet I was not listening to my heavenly Father, and I certainly wasn’t acting on what He was saying.

Mike:
Thanks for sharing that information with us today, Rachael! I look forward to hearing more on our next program! And until then, I’m Mike Smith.