Bethany leads a Mom Heart group in Waco, Texas. I’ll let her tell you a bit about her experience as a leader.When Sally released Taking Motherhood to Hearts, I felt like God was prompting me to host a group in order to bring some friends together. It started out small, by me inviting people, but lately has grown a lot through others inviting their friends. Currently, we have about 16 ladies who come out of about 20 who have expressed interest. We meet every other Monday night from 8pm to about 9:30. We have some that work day jobs and wanted our moms to have a time they could chat without the kids we love so much.We are currently going through the Life Giving Home. We have quite a long booklist that we choose from whenever we are selecting the next book and we just keep adding to it! A past study our group enjoyed was Own Your Life, also Big Love by Kara Tippets.
Some of the members of Bethany's Mom Heart group
We have a good variety of mothers who attend, which I am excited about. We have young moms, we have grandmothers, we have moms that homeschool, we have moms that do not, we have moms that work, moms that stay home, moms that work from home, moms of singles, moms of many, moms who have adopted, moms who have struggled to have kids, etc…lots of different journeys are represented in our group. My prayer for our group is that it be a safe place any mom can come where they can feel encouraged and strengthened in their motherhood journey. Most of our moms have younger children or elementary-aged kids, but we dearly love our few older moms who faithfully come each week, imparting their wisdom and experience. They are a blessing!It is not always easy to find kindred spirits, but when you find a like-minded mom you connect with, just ask if she’d want to go through a book with you or even just get together for coffee every so often. We started out with 5 people and then grew from there. Pray and ask God to send you a friend or show you someone you can walk with. I’m about as introverted as they come and taking the step to ask someone to walk with me was a huge one, but totally worth it! Keep looking, don’t give up!!!One major challenge for me (as a hard-core introvert) was inviting people into my home and leading the group, but God has used it and made it into something I look forward to. I think my biggest challenge now is guiding what I see as a large group. It was easier when we were smaller, but I’m really glad that people are finding this to be something that helps them and they keep coming back!! Since it’s God’s group, I’m trusting that He brings just the right group of ladies each week and I know He will continue to equip me in the ways that I need.I love welcoming the women, serving them a cup of tea or coffee, and offering them a safe, sanctuary from the craziness of their day. Giving them a chance to get renewed vision and realize they are not alone in their journey is so valuable. Sally’s books are so inspirational and encouraging and to read those side-by-side with other like-minded moms has been a real treat.Would you pray for me? Please pray that I would continue to be obedient to what the Lord has called me to do and that I would not grow weary of doing this good (there is definite spiritual warfare that happens in my house on Mom Heart days!). Please also pray the hearts of the ladies in my group would be knit together (especially as we have added quite a few new moms lately) and we would all encourage each other in our journeys with love. Please also pray that the moms would feel this is a safe place where they can find and offer encouragement and know they are not alone in their journey. Please pray that we would all be the moms God made us to be!
Bethany (left), Sally and a friend
Bethany's journey as an introvert into a leader of a thriving Mom Heart group is very inspiring. Is God tugging at your heart? Does this post resonate with you? Pray, allow God to give you courage and step out!