Something sweet happens when you step out of your comfort zone. ✨️ I love people and love making connections and sweet friendships. I had heard about this mom's group that was run by a local church and decided to sign up last summer. I was SO nervous about going because I only knew 2 of the ladies there! They offered childcare during our meetings, and this was also the first time that I would let Madelyn in a childcare setting. I got super lucky with this one, though, because my mom ended up being in her class! We didn't plan that at all. 😉🤍 Fast forward a few months, and we are enjoying each other's company at our end-of-the-year picnic! This year has been so sweet for my soul — new friendships, studying the Word, and listening to God-fearing women share about their lives and what God has done for them. This has been such a great way for me to invest in my Christian faith and continue to build up my community of God-fearing mama friends. 🤍🤍 Our photo is just missing a few lovely ladies from our table group who were not able to attend. 🤍 And it's slightly rare that I get to enjoy a "mom's night out," and my husband so kindly snapped a few photos of me. 🥰 #motherhood #momsgroup #momsnightout #Christianmama #Christlikemotherhood #ootn #mamaoutfit #ltk #ltkfashion #shopmyltk
Mama + Baby Coffee Date 🤍 These photos needed a permanent spot on my feed! Julia and I met working together at a local coffee shop. Now, years later, we enjoy going on day adventures to coffee shops with our babies. 🥹 We love cute cafes + perfectly roasted coffee + yummy treats! Our babies also enjoy going to cafes! C was all too excited when we arrived and was excitedly telling Madelyn to "wake up because we're here!" 🥰 My daughter has the sweetest little friends. 🥹 It's truly a blessing to have such a beautiful, kind-hearted, and encouraging mama friend who exemplifies Christ-like motherhood. Love ya, @sassyfrasshulia 🤍 Also, if you haven't checked them out yet, stop in at @drinklindencoffee! You will not be disappointed! 🤍 . . . #winterdays #mamafriends #babyfriends #coffeedate #cutecoffeeshop #drinklindencoffee #lancasterpa #momsandbabies #motherhood #motherhoodjourney #motherhoodcommunity #Christlikemotherhood #momswithcameras #documentinglifemoments #reallifemotherhood #momsirl #motherhoodthroughinstagram
s n o w d a y ☃️❄️ This little girl has been a little more sad + clingy these past few days. Is she pushing more teeth? Is she getting sick? Is she learning new things - yes, to that last one! She's taking more & more steps on 👏 her 👏 own 👏 each day! 🥲 She is also v e r y curious and busy these days. This mama couldn't be more proud...or tired. 🙃 Our Little Love is still a happy gal + still shows us her silly side...just a little less these days. Needless to say, this mama's patience can run very thin some days...I have been so encouraged and challenged in my motherhood journey as a read through M is for Mama (h i g h l y recommended this book). I just read the chapter where she talked about the gentleness challenge. Oof! Not every stage will last forever, and that is both a relief and a heartbreak all in one! As I pray for more patience in this next stage of Madelyn's life, I know in full confidence that the Lord will give me what I can handle + some more to keep me focused and dependent on Him. 🫶 **Sharing all of this in case there's another mama out there that feels like she's in the same boat. 🫶 Our snow day was fun + beautiful + tasty! I made Sourdough Cinnamon Sugar waffles for breakfast (Madelyn enjoyed hers without the cinnamon sugar 😉) and Cheeseburger Soup for dinner. I really needed to tidy/clean the house + work on some business things today, but two contact naps, meal prepping, and a quick adventure outside in the snow seemed more important today. Happy Snow Day, Friends! 🫶
Ok fellow mommas - pulling out the big ones today! If there is one major mommy theme/meme that seems to circulate on the regular, it's to not feel guilty over self-care. I do agree with that. I really do. BUT... I also think we can take the quest for self-care too far, and as I read Abbie's words on being careful of falling into a mediocre mother's traps of feeling entitled to it or letting it become an idol, I was struck with conviction. Envisioning all the times I repeatedly say to Jason, "I don't get enough mommy time/My cup is empty/I just need 5 minutes/I'd love not to be interrupted in the bathroom/etc.", all I could picture was him nodding his head to a voice sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher! Mwah Mah Mwah Wah! And for good reason! I probably sound like a broken record most weeks!!! 🤦♀️ So what's the balance? Let me leave you with a few more snippets from Abbie's book "M is for Mama": Devotion to Christ is not the same thing as neglecting your basic needs or choosing to be a "martyr" to the detriment of yourself and your family. Jesus is faithful to multiply our efforts so that time spent with him in never "wasted" and often amplifies any efforts that follow. It is self-care and soul-care - because the two truly don't have to be mutually exclusive. The real trick is learning how to truly appreciate those moments of gifted goodness, without making them into an idol, while prioritizing time with the Gift-Giver. While you may think this chapter of her book would be soul sucking, it is actually life-giving and packed with so much more wisdom than I can fit into one post! #soulcare #selfcare #godwillprovide #holyspiritpower #christlikemotherhood #misformama
This book and the wisdom contained in it's pages is phenomenal! 👉 A copy of this book (don't worry, not my underlined, circled, written in copy 😀) is part of a give away I'll be announcing soon! A busy mom of 10 kids herself, Abbie Halberstadt cuts right to the chase of explaining the differences between mediocre motherhood and Christlike motherhood. Never have I been so convicted and reassured at the same time by a "mothering book". Her humor and personal stories make it an easy read. Her reminders that God will help me accomplish the messy parts of being a mom were refreshing. And with each chapter ending with a narrative to watch for, action steps, questions, and prayer, it doubled as a devotional. All those things combined made it feel like a friendly conversation, with lots of laughter, hope filled hugs, and ways to practically move toward being a Christlike mother. 🥰 To help you get a feel for how powerful some of Abbie's words are, I'll be sharing two of my biggest takeaways from the first few chapters this week. If you're intrigued, I can't recommend this book enough! Today's quotes are from Chapter 1 - The Culture of Mediocre Motherhood: Examining the Attitudes That Keep us From Christlike Excellence. #misformamabook #misformama #christlikemotherhood #abbiehalberstadt #bookrecommendation #motheringadvice #faithfulmama
It is hard for me to take compliments and even more challenging for me to give them to myself, but as I researched what honorable mention means and what it means for those Lord has blessed as moms, I quickly embraced it. Mamas, no one has given us awards, but we do get to proudly proclaim we are the mother of the children the Almighty Father Himself entrusted us with. That is worth an honorable mention. We are doing #KingdomWork when raising our children. God has highly blessed us in this role, so we should wear that title with honor. Our identity is in Him, but our calling is to raise those in our quiver to later shoot them out into this world to be Kingdom workers. Keep leaning on Him in each season of your Christ-like motherhood. Embrace the mom community He has surrounded you with to build one another up. #ironsharpensiron⚔️ #momcommunity #honorablementionmom #momlife #Christlikemotherhood #Youarentmeanttomotheralone #kingdomwork #momkingdomwork #sahm #singlemom #workingmom #momsofinstagram #momsoffacebook #christianmoms
Several friends posted about reading this & they all said it was amazing, so I decided to start it before bed tonight 🥰💕. I definitely feel “mediocre” in my motherhood & don’t want to settle for that. I want to at least TRY to be the best mom that I am capable of being. Does that mean I’ll be “perfect”? Pffffttt, not even close 🤪. What even is a perfect mom 🤷🏽♀️? But I just want to aspire to be the best mom that I can be through Christ who strengthens me 🙌🏽🙏🏽. #bedtimereading #misformamabook #momlife #girlmom #selfimprovement #christlikemotherhood #icandoallthingsthroughchrist
“No matter how inadequate you may feel at times, YOU are the mother that God gave to your children. Embrace this with all of your being, and seek to glorify Him in motherhood with the unique gifts and personality that He has blessed you with.” - @joyful_mothers • • • • • • • • #motherhood #Biblicalmotherhood #mothers #Christlikemotherhood #blessedtomother #Christianmotherhood #christianmothers #glorifyGod #parenting #christianparenting #gentleparenting #homesteadinthesouth #holycalling #mothers #godliness #growing #trust #motherhoodjourney
Biblical motherhood encourages us to look outside ourselves - at our children, our homes, our husbands, our friends, and our communities, at large - and find ways to overcome@mediocrity and uplift each other in the spirit of mutual pursuit of righteousness. Source: @m.is.for.mama #christlikemotherhood #motherhood #momlife #newmommy #joyinweakness #mediocrity
“A rebellion against mediocre motherhood” Received my copy of this book yesterday and it’s already been chewed on from my dogs. (UPS didn’t put my package in my box but left it outside 😅) and then it got a brand new cup of coffee spilled on it from my little Ladyn. BUT somehow none of the pages are “that” destroyed and it’s all still legible so I say praise God. I have a strong desire to read through this and let God speak to me through it! So get behind me satan, momma is seeking Jesus and the scriptures This book so far 🙌🏻👏🏻 if you’re not following M is for Mama, you need to! Abbie is a momma of 10, blogger, book writer and a Bible believing Christian! She speaks encouraging words about motherhood & life and always has scripture to make you think. Her phrase “hard is not the same thing as bad” is one that makes you think. Just because something is hard or challenging doesn’t make it bad. Motherhood can be hard. Challenging. And every stage comes with its own challenges. But that doesn’t make it bad! That doesn’t mean kids are a burden. Or that we need to count down till bedtime every single day. Or seek approval from society that mediocre mothering is acceptable and there is no need to strive to do better through Jesus. All these things are contrary to what the Bible says. We need to get back to the place of meaningful mothering. Nurturing. Teaching. Realizing that children ARE a blessing from the Lord, not a hindrance to our daily task but the most important! You can get a copy of this book off of Amazon, it’s for every momma of all stages. (I can link it below.) let’s challenge the way we think, the way society tells us to think and join the “rebellion” of worlds view of motherhood. Let’s embrace motherhood and look at it through the lens of our bibles. #misformomma #hardisnotthesamethingasbad #christlikemotherhood #bookreview #mommalife #mommato3 #motherhood
Which fruit of the spirit stands out to you and how can you ask God to help you grow in this area? Patience immediately stands out to me. On my own, patience is pretty much nonexistent. I’m prone to snap at my kids for not being fast enough or causing a delay in our schedule. I’m not exactly sure how to pray for this one. I do know that my lack of patience breeds anger, resentment, and discontentment. I think I’d rather have patience! Lord, help me to slow down enough to teach my kids important lessons, to build them up, and to model patience. Press on, Mama! Jill
Confession 😫😔 Today I yelled "GET OFF ME AND GIVE ME A SECOND" at my son. He quickly got off me and started to walk out the room. I looked at his face and saw how sad he was. I wanted to cry seeing how I hurt him. I hugged him, told him sorry and said mommy is just hungry give me just a moment. He held me tight, smiled, and said ok mommy. It was not his fault I had a headache and was hungry. It was not his fault I was tired. Momma here are a few questions: 1. Why are you upset? Take time to actually think of the ROOT to why your upset. 2. Are you to PRIDEFUL to apologize? 3. Is the situation really WORTH your energy? 4. Do you know how to give grace? 5. Was it an accident or intended? Being a wife and a mother I've learned there are more accidents than intentions. Things still make me mad or sad but I'm working on my reaction. There is peace in my home when I can calmly say "that made me upset or sad because..." "I'm sorry I overreacted.." I desire for my family to see the fruit of the spirit in me But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 #Christlike #Christlikemotherhood