Christian families – worldwide – can look different, one from another – and that’s totally okay. And yet, there is a common mandate and that is for parents to raise their children in the knowledge and fear of the Lord, to share the gospel with them, and to teach them God’s Word. It’s a colossal task that is daunting and yet also a joy and a privilege. In this episode, we get to sneak a peek at what that has looked like in the Williams household by hearing from a mum, Karola, and one of her daughters, Emmeline. Why? Well, with Mother’s Day on the horizon, Tori and Taryn saw the opportunity to learn from others: not only how Jesus has rescued them, but also how they are passing the love and knowledge of God down to their own children. We personally love learning from other mums, but this episode allowed us a glimpse into the heart of a daughter who has learned from her mum. Perhaps the most striking thing is hearing how some of the most simple habits of this mum have left an enormous, gospel-sustaining impression on her daughter.
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About Karola and Emmeline Williams
Karola started life out in Namibia, but love and marriage brought her to the shores of Australia. She and her husband, David, and their three children, Emmeline, Charlotte and Elliot, settled in Brisbane eight years ago. For many years, Karola worked as a goldsmith, but her commitments to her family changed her focus. Nowadays, Karola’s focus includes sharing her passion in one-to-one ministry. She serves together with her family at Christ Central in Eatons Hill, Brisbane.
Emmeline is an 18-year-old nursing student. She is also a homeschool graduate, who went on to experience the YouthWork’s Year 13 programme in 2019. Emmeline serves in the music team and as a youth leader of year 7 girls at their family church, Christ Central in Eatons Hill, Brisbane.
Both Emmeline and Karola are passionate about the gospel, reading the Bible and great literature. Their shared favourite things include To Kill A Mockingbird and quiet spots to relax and think.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Jen Wilkin’s books available at: The Wandering Bookseller, Koorong, Amazon
Jack Klumpenhower: Show Them Jesus
Paul E Miller: The Praying Life
Sound-bites from this episode:
And I’m so amazed at this God that we serve and Jesus who we follow, or try to very feebly, who is so gracious and merciful to us and loving and kind and you know, a lifetime is not enough to, to know.
And my pastor just in his sermon explained the gospel and it just made so much sense. And I just remember sitting there thinking, ah, so that’s what Jesus was on about. That’s why you died. And yeah it definitely took a few years for it to sink in. But I think through especially youth ministry, and the way that God used people in my life and through his word. I think I was about 15 when I kind of realised that if all of this is true, it needs to change my life in some way or have an impact on my life.
I think when we first started going to this church, I kept hearing people talk about getting together and reading the Bible. And I couldn’t imagine what that looks like. So one day I asked this lady in our church, can you show me what that looks like? I need to see, you know, experience it. And she didn’t have the time to take on another thing. So she gave me this book, which is called Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin and it was such a life changing book for me because it shows you how to read the Bible, which so much of the Christian life is about it being modelled to others, isn’t it. Jesus walked with his disciples and made his disciples for three years and he calls us to do the same.
You have, in the last few years, really modelled the importance of reading the Bible with people and I think that’s really inspired me.
