Before worship leader and homeschool mom Whitney Mooring reaches for her phone, she wants to spend time with Jesus.
“I think for me, I have to start my day with Him, not with my phone,” Mooring, who is the daughter of Michael W. Smith, told “Out of Focus” podcast host Shannon Stewart.
Their conversation traced a bigger change: learning that her worth comes from belonging to God, not measuring up to a talented family or getting everything right.
Mooring said she charges her phone in the bathroom overnight and tries to leave its contents unread until after Bible reading and prayer. She readily admitted she sometimes falls short, but starting with Jesus helps set the tone for everything that follows.
That lesson took time. Growing up, Mooring enjoyed riding the tour bus and playing backstage, but she also wrestled with comparisons to her father and siblings.
“I think that I just kind of had to find my place and find who I really was in Christ,” she said.
Mooring made an important distinction. Her parents and family encouraged her rather than demanding that she match their accomplishments. Still, she found herself looking for approval through music and schoolwork, trying to establish her value through what she could do.
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Stewart recognized that pressure.
“…over time my worth became in the applause and keeping the standard and holding the line,” Stewart, a former competitor on AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, said.
For Mooring, the answer wasn’t abandoning music. Her father’s official announcement for his 2022 EP Christmas at Home credits her vocals on “The Star,” part of a recording that brought the family together.
But music no longer has to prove who she is. In the conversation, she described finding security in being God’s daughter and growing closer to Him through prayer, Scripture and quiet time.
Now she wants her and husband, pastor Jack Mooring‘s, children to know that same security.
She said their family reads the Bible and prays together in the mornings when they can. Homeschooling gives them more time together, though she acknowledged that not every family has that option.
“keeping Jesus the center of our family is a huge priority,” she emphasized.
Their children also help set up and tear down at church, learning to serve alongside their parents. For Mooring, faithfulness includes those ordinary jobs, not just the moments anyone notices onstage.
Her approach to worship follows the same pattern. Pay attention to God rather than getting swept up in the production. When Stewart asked how to help someone who thinks worship means merely listening to a song, Mooring pointed them back to its meaning.
“First of all, just focus on what you’re singing. What are these words saying?” she suggested.
She doesn’t pretend she has perfected the balance between motherhood, marriage and ministry. Instead, she keeps returning to the same starting point: time with Jesus before the day’s demands take over.
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