Friendships Archives - The Mom Initiative

Every Woman Needs a Tribe by Tamika Guillebeaux

For quite some time, society has been telling us women that we could and should be as independent as possible. That we shouldn’t be dependent on another human, whether it is our spouse or fickle friends. However, I have come to find that it is imperative that we reject that notion. God has created us to be relational. Just as there is the perfect balance in the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are also meant to be in relationship with others. It is an integral part of who we were created to be. For that reason, …

Moms and Friendships

When Another Mom Needs Your Help

We came upon the wreck just moments after it happened. The older gentlemen stood beside his mangled car, looking confused and disoriented. Others had stopped and were checking on the other vehicle, which had careened into a ditch just inches before hitting a major power line. We pulled around the wreck trying to avoid shards of metal and glass that covered the road, then pulled over to see if we could help. I passed the other car—where everyone was gathered—and asked if the driver was ok (he was). Instead, I was heading toward the grey-haired man wandering in the road. …

Motherhood Is Universal

She clutched a cranky toddler at her hip while her husband lugged a stroller up three bus steps. “Come on, buddy, find a seat!” She urged an unruly older brother, maybe four or five years old. Through her thick southern accent, I heard the unmistakable sound of tired. Make that tired-yet-trying-to-muster-patience. After all, we were in Disney World. It’s the happiest place on Earth. I chuckled under my breath as my husband hauled our own double stroller onto the bus. Our six-year-old climbed into a seat, so I wilted beside her and lifted our three-year-old onto my lap. She stuck …

more than family

My sister-in-law, Kari Beth, is more than family to me. She’s my friend. Before she and I married brothers, we shared a suite in our freshman dorm. It was totally arranged by God that we would be suitemates because we had actually met as little girls through a mutual friend who had moved from Kari Beth’s hometown to mine. So, when her dark ponytail bounced through our bathroom door to say hello on a blazing hot August day ten years ago, I knew that this was someone meant to be in my life. Since then, we’ve shared pizza together in …

Making Time For Mom Even When Life Is Busy

The New Year brings in new opportunities to start things over. Most people start thinking about starting an exercise routine, eating healthier, and maybe even reading their Bible more. There’s nothing wrong with any of these, of course, but what if this new year we, as moms, also made it a priority to start making time for us. Did you just shake your head and giggle a little? I think you did. You might be thinking, “How on earth can I stop and make time for me, don’t you know how many things there are to do right now?” You …

Dear friend: a letter for the end of a year

By now you know I didn’t get Christmas cards sent this year. Though I couldn’t squeeze out the time to get them done, I feel compelled to carve out this time to write you a letter. A real letter. There’s something I want you to know before tomorrow comes and we stand on the first step of 2014 and wave goodbye to the year that was 2013. There’s something I need to tell you. I looked back over our Facebook messages to remember that thing you said to me, but I got distracted, scrolling through all the things that …

Woman Reveals Herself

I admit it, I was going for a shocker headline! The shocker of this headline is that it is true, but there is no bare skin involved whatsoever! The revealing I am referencing is much more scary than that. This woman has learned to reveal herself, her true self, to a trusted few and I have found that through that revealing lies healing. I actually reveal myself monthly, sometimes bi-monthly. Yeah, during book club – that after several years has become so much more than “book club.” Our husbands even refer to it as “bookless club” because there have been …

Mean Girls

The words on Facebook glared back at her. “You are so ugly! You are fat, annoying and I hate you!” Lindsay just sat there, staring at the screen, baffled. “What did I say? What did I do?” Maybe this has happened to one of your children, or in some way they’ve faced this same type of painful rejection. Maybe you have felt it yourself. I recently spotted a t-shirt at the mall that read “You’re no one until someone talks about you.” What a sad state of affairs. Growing up in a world where “Mean Girls” and “Gossip Girl” are movie …

Creating Problems in Your Mind

Being a quiet person doesn’t always have the best benefits. The absence of sound coming out of my mouth means that there is sometimes a lot of chatter going on in my head. I had to apologize to my oldest daughter for passing that ugly trait on! She told me, “NOW I see where I get it from! I over-think situations and start to become worried or doubtful.” Its sad to say that I’ve probably done her so much more damage than either one of us ever thought would happen! There is a tendency to over-process EVERYTHING. The next thing …

Page 1 of 2
1
2
→