Bridging the gap between a mother’s need for a mentor and the church’s need for resources and support. There’s a lot of talk about manifestos these days and you find them popping up on a multitude of websites defining a ministry or organization. Simply defined a manifesto is a declaration of intentions, motives or opinions. But rather than sharing a manifesto, we’d like to share our vision for The M.O.M. Initiative so you can get a glimpse of the heart of the ministry and what we believe God is calling us to accomplish. With The M.O.M. Initiative in its fledgling stages, …
Mentoring Decoded
She came to my house to pray. I longed for the time and loathed it too. My kitchen was a mess. Dirty dishes lined the sink and crumbs littered my table. My living room looked like a toy store threw-up in it and I didn’t have time to get my house tidy before she came. I planned to pick-up, wipe-down, and clean-up, but time eluded me. I couldn’t rescind the invitation. It was too late. When she arrived, I opened my door and apologized for the mess. She said, “Angela, I wish I played more and cleaned less when my …
Plant a mentee, watch her grow
As the weather warms and growing seasons take root, are you planting anything? If you want plump, juicy tomatoes, now is the time to plant. If you want bunches of cilantro for guacamole, now is the time to sprinkle seeds. If you want to have a mom with her ear turned to the Lord, now is the time to plant a mentee and watch her grow. While soil is soft and sunshine frequent, lovers of all things veggie carefully dig and plant and water. Summer is the perfect time to nurture a mentoring relationship that will take root, sprout new …
Making Mentoring Personal
Mentoring only makes a difference if it gets personal. The way most of us live life today insulates us from getting very personal. In fact, there are more ways than ever to create the profile that we want the world around us to see. A status update and profile picture present the “me” we choose to show our family and girlfriends. If all else fails, we can add highlights, polish, Spanx, or Photoshop to carefully craft our avatar (That’s the little picture that represents “you” online). But a mentor gets past all that. A mentor gets personal. The arrival of …
10 Reasons Why I Can’t Be a Mentor
“Where are all the Titus 2 women?” my 28 year-old self asked. I remember it like it was yesterday but that was 21 years ago and now my boys are men. Yesterday, I had a conversation with a mother who asked the same thing. And while there seems to be a resurgence of women who are ready and willing to take on the Titus 2 mantle, many of them still wait in the wings wondering if it’s it is realistic to think they can be a mentor. You see, while we know it’s what we are called to, we also …
10 Ways to Help a Single Mom
As the sun began to sneak a peek through the horizontal lines of my mini blinds, I was reminded that another hectic day awaited me. It wasn’t easy being an early bird and a night owl in the same skin, but as a single mom who was struggling to be all and do all, I didn’t have any other choice. Each day held its own basket full of burdens for a girl who wore too many hats and juggled too many plates. An overflowing to-do list is a constant in any mother’s life. There is breakfast to cook, lunches to …
A Mentor’s Role
Mentors, sometimes intentionally – often unknowingly, plant seeds of wisdom in the hearts of others. They teach with their lives. They are natural nurturers. Their very existence causes us to consider our own existence and to ponder the path of our feet. Mentors are heart shapers and life changers – not necessarily because they walk through a book with someone for a few weeks, but because they walk through life with someone for a season. In a world where young women desperately need to experience Titus 2 in real life, mentors are often hard to find. Perhaps not because women …
5 Things Successful Moms Do Right
Over the years I have observed and interviewed numerous moms whose children have grown into godly adults, all of who serve the Lord, whether as a stay-at-home mom, in full time ministry or in a secular vocation. While this is not a scientifically based observation, I was able to narrow their success down to twenty common traits. Here are the first five of those twenty. #1 She gets into her child’s WORLD “You will always be your child’s favorite toy.” — Vicki Lansky One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is your time. For your little ones, …
Seven Insider Tips for Pioneer Parents
By Featured Guest: Mary E. DeMuth Adapted from Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006) Some of us grew up in stable, Christ-loving homes. Others did not. What happens when people from difficult upbringings want to raise their children in a Christian home? How do we pioneer a new path for our children? Pioneer Parents are parents who don’t want to duplicate the homes they were raised in. They share many common traits, the most common being fear. They ask themselves questions like: Will the hurtful words my parents said to me fly out of my mouth in …
It’s Scary Being a Mom
Babies don’t come with instruction manuals and mommas don’t automatically know what to do. Are you surprised by that? I remember the day I first brought my newborn baby boy home. I was so awed by that sweet little bundle of humanity that I could barely speak. But my over-joyed heart quickly transformed into an overwhelmed flood of fear when I realized the responsibility that came with that 7 pound 14 ounce treasure of pure pleasure. All I could think is, “What am I going to do with him now?” “What if something goes wrong?” “What if he cries and I don’t …