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5 Ways to Support Other Mothers

NOTE: Giveaway now closed. The winner is Naomi Jones. Naomi, please send you home address, along with what you won, to Sheila at [email protected]

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d11.30Welcome to you who are joining us by finding your way here from my Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion today called The Great Wall of Motherhood {To read it, click here but be sure to come back for the giveaway!}

As promised in the devotion, here are 5 ways to support other mothers:

5 Ways to Support Other Mothers

Say hello.

We are so busy in our world today that we rarely stop to meet anyone new. Or maybe they are not someone who is new. They could be the woman who sits beside us week after week at dance lessons or on the soccer field sidelines. Smile. Say hello. Make a new friend. Reach out to another mom to begin a connection that could lead to a network of support.

Ask.

Don’t be shy. Ask other mothers about what is going on in their life. What is going well? What struggles are they having? Is there an area of life where they could use a little help? Find out if they might benefit from going to a Bible study with you. Or being part of a cooking group. Or forming a playgroup for toddlers or a support group for mothers of teens. Be nosy. Ask questions. It is the best way to get to know your fellow moms.

Lighten the load.

Once you have made your discoveries, seek to lighten another mother’s load. Are you making lasagna for your family tonight? Make two pans and give one to another mom who is in a particularly hectic season of life. She can use it then or freeze it to use another day. Are you driving into the big city to make a purchase for Christmas at one of the store’s big holiday sales? See if any other of your mom friends need you to pick up something for them. It will save them time and gas money. Do you have a mom friend who needs an uninterrupted afternoon to Christmas shop or write their annual Christmas letter? Offered to take her kids so she can do this distraction free. Maybe she’ll return the favor and then you will get a day off!

Build bridges. Don’t erect fences.

When there are moms who mother differently than you, don’t erect a fence, keeping them out of your life. Build a bridge instead. We all don’t have to mother exactly the same. We can have different methods for discipline, for schooling our children, or for how we feed our kiddos. You only hurt yourself when you prevent friendships from forming because you are not exact replicas of each other. So reach out to a mom this week who approaches her mothering a bit differently from you. Build a beautiful bridge. Don’t erect an ugly fence.

Pray. And let them know you are praying.

And finally, pray. But don’t just tell your friend you will pray for them, ask them what specific requests they have and then make it a point to not only pray, but to text them when you have finished, telling them what you prayed. Or send them a note in the mail with a few handwritten scriptures that you are centering on as you pray for your friend. The power of a praying mama is very effective. Don’t just pray for your children, pray for other mothers who are in the trenches right along with you, attempting to raise their kids effectively.

GIVEAWAY:

hoodwinked_coverIf you would like to be entered to win a copy of my new book Hoodwinked: Ten Myths Moms Believe and Why We All Need to Knock It Off leave a comment here with either which of these ideas you will try this week, another idea you might have to support a fellow mom, or tell us about a time another mother supported you.

One winner will be chosen and announced on Wednesday.

And be sure to stay tuned for details about my 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways coming up soon!

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30 Comments

  1. It’s so funny, not to long ago I was praying for God to send me someone who needed my help (in just general life) and one week later my sister in law needed to move in with her 3 kids and boyfriend into our tiny apartment with two kids of our own. At first I was delighted to have them (I could share the light as a Christian woman) now I am overwhelmingly irritated, in a huge fight with my husband staying with my family. I think I lost my focus, Satan wants me to be irritated so I won’t pray for her or be the light, I think I may need to stop badmouthing her and be the example instead. She definitely needs a whole lot of Jesus as a mom and as a person, but apparently so do I .

  2. As a member of a Moms in Prayer group, I have been abundantly blessed by praying for others’ children and having them pray for mine. At my children’s practices this week, I will look for another mom to invite to join us.

  3. I was the recpient of another mom asking how I was and offering to help with my kids. She also invited me to mops. It was so nice and reassuring to be around other moms in the same stage of life as me. I now try to extend that same kind of kindness to other moms I see that may need some encouragement!

  4. Recently at church, we held a mother-daughter devotional with a study of the Proverbs 31 Woman. This study was such a blessing because it had scripture and ideas for girls and women of all ages. The most important thing we all realized together was that we don’t have to be all the characteristics of the proverbs 31 woman every day -but rather over the course of our lifetime. This was such an encouraging study for the entire group!

  5. I’m praying for the young mothers I know with young children. That they lean more and more on God and others and find peace and rest in His strength and power.

  6. I’m going to try to,lighten the load. I’ve had young kids for so long, I feel like I’m always the recipient of lightening the load. I’m looking forward to being on the other side!

  7. I have recently retired from our in-home daycare business of 35 yrs. I miss the children!! My advice -“stay calm and carry on, this time too will pass.”

  8. Asking and being willing to listen…thankful for moms that have done this for me. I strive to listen and not just jump in with my opinion and advice.

  9. I’m going to be saying hello more often to mother’s I’m familiar with and those I don’t know. Also, when I say I’m going to be praying for the mothers, I will actually follow through and pray without putting it off and possibly forgetting to do so.

  10. Say hello! I am attending a new church and have been waiting for people to make me feel welcome and invite me into their lives. I need to do some friendliness myself.

  11. A most beautiful plan, I notice that we women/mothers tend to compare and compete instead of uplift and encourage. I know I do it. :( Let’s change that and be there for one another, love one another, help one another, cherish one another. Hugs to all!

  12. Meeting with a young mom and our pastor this week to hear her ideas and vision for young moms at our church. She’s been feeling her thoughts and talents are not being valued and overlooked. I am so grateful for this young mom stepping up and wanting to speak out and share her gifts and I feel God has some real blessings in store for us through her.

  13. I’m going to ask all the moms at my small group tonight how I can specifically pray for their mothering this week, and then ask them specifically to pray for me too. Thank you for this morning’s devotion; today I was staring at the wall and I didn’t even want to try. Thank you for helping me remember that Jesus is always there to help me get up, even when I don’t think I have the strength to stand – He can be there for me.

  14. Our young friends have 13 month old and 4 month old foster baby and she is 6 months pregnant. We try to invite them for dinner once/week, so she does not have to cook or clean up and we get to visit.
    would love to see this book for her and for niece who is having 3rd baby in 3 years.
    Thanks.
    P.s. At 22 years of motherhood, amen to praying seriously and consistently and ‘NO” to perfection.:)

  15. I’m a grandma now; I try to reach out to moms I encounter while shopping, at drs offices etc; praise their children, help them gather their things, just smile and say a kind word. I hope to win Hoodwinked to share with my daughter, a frazzled mom of a 6 and 4 year old, who works part time and is a full time mom and homemaker. I appreciate your blog!

  16. I love these ideas! When I first attended a mom’s ministry at church, one of the veteran moms sent me a handwritten card afterwards. It felt really good to be acknowledged and she encouraged me to continue attending, even though my baby was barely two months old.

    I agree that motherhood is especially daunting and as a working mom, finding childcare was my first major hurdle. I got very little advice from other moms on this topic so I do strive to share all that I’ve learned. In the end, we only have what God has given us and we use it for God’s will.

  17. I will pray for other mothers. I have been blessed in various hard seasons of my life knowing that I had precious Christian friends holding me up in prayer.

  18. I will be bringing a dinner to another busy mom. Just last night she was saying how things have been super crazy busy, I love the idea of bringing her a meal! I also would like to offer babysitting for a few mom friends that need a sitter to go Christmas shopping. I cannot wait to read Hoodwinked !

  19. I am so thankful for mom friends that have encouraged and prayed for me. Being a mom is amazing, and wonderful, . . . And hard. I am going to reach out to moms I see in the hallways at my kids’ school this week.

  20. Throw a baby shower for a young mom. Be there for her and her baby and encourage her in her motherhood. Protect her and her child from being separated through pressure from the adoption industry.

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