In her book, Foundations: 12 Biblical Truths to Shape a Family, bestselling author and artist Ruth Chou Simons and husband, Troy, invite readers into their inspirational journey of raising their 6 children to know and love God. In a recent interview with Moms.com, Ruth discusses how to train children to know and love God, as a mom of six– what she’s come to learn about marriage and parenting, and how to be a successful businesswoman as a believer. Simons has authored other books such as Beholding and Becoming, Gracelaced: Discovering Timeless Truths Through Seasons of the Heart, Gracelaced Seasons, and Garden of Truth. She also runs the successful faith-based business, GraceLaced.
You Are Mom Of Six Boys And You Run A Successful Business Called Grace Laced Co. How Do You Balance It All?
I am a mama to six boys. My oldest is almost 18. My youngest is six, and it’s been a wild ride! I’m so grateful. It’s been a learning process. In more recent years, I have gone full time with the business and with my writing career, and I’m just really grateful for the season. There’s no such thing as total balance. I think we really just learned to prioritize. Every day is going to be a day for prioritizing everything. We pick and choose. We have seasons of hustle, and there are seasons where you just know that you’ve got to dig in, and do certain things. When it comes to family and raising our children, those are the priorities that we just have to consistently plug away at every single day.
For Those Families Who May Not Know What Grace Is, Can You Explain Grace In Your Own Words?
When I started GraceLaced.com several years ago as a blog, I was personally saying, “Okay, I want to know how God’s grace intersects in my daily life?” I wanted to further understand how to invite God in when life doesn’t feel all that intimate with God. Even if you’re not a person of faith, ultimately grace is God’s unmerited, undeserved favor. That even when you screw up, when you’re like I yelled at my family today. Grace is experiencing blessings, even when we don’t do everything right.
We Now Live In A Society Where Everyone Is ‘Busy’ And Wants To ‘Have It All’. Where Do You Gain Your Strength, And What Does Your Support System Look Like?
As a recovering perfectionist and someone who is prone to overachieving, I think early on as a young parent, I realized that a lot of my stress, overwhelm, discouragement and frustration was that I was looking to things that weren’t supposed to define my identity. Having perfectly well behaved children, well that’s not my identity. If I put my hope in those things, perfectly obedient children, a house that’s perfectly clean, yet I’m exhausted and stressed out, there’s no good in that. You have to look outside of yourself, and realize that you were not meant to secure all things in your life for your own happiness by yourself.
At the end of the day, God made us for a purpose, and on purpose. For me personally, I dig deep into my faith, into the word of God. I dig in deep with my local church community and I definitely share my heart with my family, and with my husband and kids. I’m accountable to them first and foremost in my own home.
You’ve Been Married For 21 Years. How Do You Make Time For Your Marriage?
We sometimes just have a date night on the couch. I think it’s so important for us to, especially in today’s culture, set our phones aside, turn off notifications and say, “You’re going to get my full attention, face to face, eye contact, and let’s share our hearts.” Just, quiet alone time where we put the others’ needs first.
In 2020, There’s Oftentimes An Attitude Of Otherness Towards Marriage Or A Lack Of Understanding What Marriage Signifies Spiritually. How Would You Define Marriage From A Faith-Based Perspective?
I think God created marriage with a very specific reason for both us to be companions that serve and worship God together, but also to be helpers to one another and to support one another. Ultimately, in Ephesians we are told by Paul that the picture of a husband and wife is a picture of Christ’s relationship with the Church–The Body of Christ, and all believers worldwide. That’s amazing inspiration for our marriages that if Christ gave himself up for us, his children–we as believers, the church, get to experience that kind of sacrificial love through marriage as well.
What Are Some Practical Tips For Introducing Kids To Prayer And The Word Of God?
It might be difficult to understand what prayer is if you’re not reading scripture, and if prayer is not modeled by the adults in a home. Take every opportunity, whether it’s over meals, or before bed. Before bed, I always stand by their beds and I pray out loud and I pray for their salvation, whether they seem like they’re believers or not. I pray for the gospel to go forth in their lives. When they hear me pray heartfelt prayers for their good, for their growth, for their encouragement and for God to work in their lives; they start realizing that this is important. This is a big deal. This is not just about praying that we’ll get good weather, but that this is about our souls and our hearts.
Your Business, GraceLaced Is Popular On Social Media. What Was The Inspiration Behind Your Company, And How Did You Get Your Business To Grow?
I think the best thing that ever happened to me was that I didn’t aim to be a successful business. I aim to be faithful with the gifts that I had in the season that I was in. So 13 years ago, I started a blog called and I said, I don’t care how if one person reads it or a million people read it. I just wanted to put out good writing that showed God’s grace in my everyday life. I just practiced the art of writing and then years later when Instagram kind of became a thing, I just had an opportunity to write small bits pointing back to the blog, and also painting the word and things that were inspiring to me.
I think that the best thing that we could ever do with our business is say, “God, you’ve given me these gifts, how can I best use it to make my purpose here on earth helpful to somebody else, or a gift to others?” You don’t have to force something that you’re doing out of the overflow of your heart.
Ruth Chou Simons is a distinguished Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, artist, entrepreneur, speaker, and perhaps most impressive, mother to six sons. She uses each of these platforms to spiritually sow the Word of God into the world. Through her online shop at Gracelaced.com and her social media community of hundreds of thousands, Simons shares her journey of God’s grace intersecting daily life with word and art. Ruth and her husband, Troy, are grateful parents to six boys—their greatest adventure.
This interview by Lynnette Nicholas originally posted on Moms.com on March 17th, 2020.
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