Dorena Williamson :: Stories of Encouraging and Honoring Children and Kingdom Community Building for God’s Glory
I am so thrilled to welcome back to the podcast, the one and only Dorena Williamson! Dorena is a woman of deep faith, with a passion for building the kingdom of God and living a legacy of faith as a minister, a mama, a pastor’s wife, and a woman of impactful and instructive words. She is the author of 8 children’s books that all provide beautiful insight into the heart of God and scripture’s call to live in diversity and humility as we learn and grow together in the world. Whether that diversity is found in differing racial or ethnic communities and cultures, to others living with visible or invisible disabilities, or on the margins socioeconomically. She encourages children and the big people who love them, in every story that she writes to celebrate how God made them, and to delight in His world that He made and all those made in His image.
Her most recent book is called I Know Who I Am. It is a book of scriptural affirmations for kids. It is designed to serve as a companion to come alongside families and those that love kids with words that contain truth about them, about the Lord, and to see all of God’s image bearers represented in the pages from around the world! It gives beautiful verbiage for children to repeat over themselves and to speak over other children of all ages they encounter as they walk through the hills and valleys and changes of life. My kids absolutely loved it, and it would be a perfect addition to a morning or evening routine for kiddos that are starting back to school!
In this conversation, Dorena also shares her heart so beautifully about where God has her in her lament as a leader in her church, a Mama raising Black kids, and the world around her. She invites us to consider how all Believers can lean in to the reality of what is before communities and their daily fears and concerns and how to bear one another’s burdens together at the feet of Jesus. She offers an invitation to lean in to humility and honor towards others as we experience beauty, hope, tragedy, and all that is found on Earth this side of Heaven together. None of us are perfect, we will make mistakes, but God honors our learning, our choices to lean in and have Him show us His heart for us and for others. He has so much to show us. Always remember, you matter, and your story matters. PS:
Just as an FYI, we recorded this episode right in the midst of our communities’ grief over the Covenant shooting in the Spring. We mention it briefly in the beginning of the episode, but we spend a little more time (around 5-7 minutes) discussing its impact on our community around 40 minutes in. If that is a tender place for you, I just want to be sensitive to that and give you that heads up. We fairly quickly transition to Dorena sharing about how to be the body of Christ in the midst of seasons of communal lament. It’s a powerful word, not solely about that tragedy, but about how to lock arms and shields of faith with others as humans made in God’s image walking this weary land together until we all go home.
Connecting with Dorena:
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Scripture References:
Psalm 136, Psalm 27:13-14,James 1:17 - God is good (plus many more verses)
Psalm 100:5 – His truth endures to all generations
John 2:1-11- Water into wine
Matthew 6:10- On Earth as it is in Heaven
Ephesians 3:14-15, Revelation 7:9- The family of God in Heaven
Isaiah 6:1-3-The Earth is full of God’s glory
Matthew 7:24-29-I build my life on Jesus who is the solid rock, vs. shifting sand
Jeremiah 29:11- You have plans for me for hope and my future
Hebrews 13:5–6; Deuteronomy 31:6–8-You will not leave me
Isaiah 40:31- Wait on the Lord, He will renew your strength
Psalm 8:5-8- Crowned with glory and God’s strength
Psalm 5:1-12, Romans 8:26- Oh Lord, with deep groanings
Exodus 1:8-14, Exodus 2:23-25- Exodus and the cries of those enslaved, and God heard them and saw their grief and He was concerned
Ephesians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 2:7, 1 Peter 1:19-20 - His plans from the foundations of the earth (futher insight here)
Exodus 6-14- The Exodus story and the plagues
Exodus 14:9-31- God parted the seas for His people
Psalm 3:3- Lift my head
Jude 1:24-25- God keeps us
Romans 8:28- God works together for the good of those that love Him
Galatians 6:2- Bear one another’s burdens
Matthew 28:18–20; Revelation 5:9–10; Revelation 7:9–10; Revelation 14:6–7 Every nation tribe and tongue in Heaven
Genesis 1:26-28- Let us make man and woman in our image
References:
Dorena’s previous episodes on the podcast (part one, part two, Advent)
The Covenant School shooting in Nashville
Loving Day and the Lovings’ Story and the Loving Act (Loving v. Virginia 1967)
Dr. Chris Williamson’s episode on the podcast
Buddy Walk - The Extra Mile - DS Association
Dr. Jemar Tisby (and our episode together!)
Target diverse Christmas line (Listen, I know the struggle with Target is real for a lot of believers right now. However. This particular move is honoring Black people and culture in a huge way and I’m super grateful for those strides forward.)
“Wait on the Lord”- Maverick City
“Same God”- Elevation Worship
Cheerleaders shot for going to the wrong car
American Girl book The Care and Keeping of You
Juneteenth as a Federal Holiday
Notes for White Allies and how they can honor Juneteenth without centering themselves, and also here. Danielle Coke also does a fantastic job sharing about practical ways to celebrate and elevate.
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