Bridge of the Faithful

Originally Christie was studying science, but God directed her toward children's ministry and helping parents build a firm foundation of faith in their children's lives. Her most recent endeavor has been the Mother-Son Prayer Journal, where she dug deep in understanding God's faithfulness throughout the chronological life of David. Along the way, she learned so much about his life and the trustworthiness of God's promises. As a mom herself, Christie has learned that making God a priority always reaps good fruit. However, she also realizes that as a mother, life will not always look structured and picture-perfect. She has learned to do things in the timing that she's given and to give herself grace, God will always bless her effort!

Yulia Shubina grew up in Central Asia in an area closed to the Gospel. However, through miracles and hard work, she received a Christmas Box at the age of 9 through Samaritans Purse. That gift started a journey where God pursued her and saved her. Now, Yulia lives in the United States and works with Operation Christmas Child. Yulia has a unique perspective as she recounts the story of how a box goes from your house to the utmost corners of the Earth, and how God does amazing things through the sacrifices of His people.

Operation Christmas Child sends millions of boxes to children worldwide to supply needs, fun surprises, and most of all the knowledge of a God who loves them and gives hope. Yulia is one of many who have grown to know Jesus as her personal savior through the wonderful sacrifice of families willing to send them gifts. Yulia has a wonderful story that helps us see an intimate view of what God can do through a Christmas box. "Because when God is involved, there is always more."

One fateful night, Jen was involved in a tragic accident that caused the death of a motorcyclist. This accident sent her down a path of depression and questioning. In one moment all of her relationships, life plans, and faith changed. When trying to find support for this kind of trauma, she found that there were really no support groups for people on her side of the accident. True to God's faithfulness, He proved that He could still use her in big and impactful ways through her ministry and podcast Accidental Hope.

Her passion in life is to free people from the bondage of guilt and shame related to their accidents, to remind them that God is still good and did not choose this situation for them, and above all: that there is ALWAYS hope when God is involved, even in the darkest of places.

Former pediatric nurse, Bethany Adkins knew that God was telling her it was time to make a change. Like many...

Some examples of Biblical Mom stories that have inspired Sharon Wilharm are Mephibosheth's nurse (who only has one verse!), Rizpah, and of course Mary. While she doesn't necessarily feel that all of the mothers are "exactly like her," she has been amazed at what we can learn through their experiences. It has become clear that the people and stories of the Bible are intentionally put there by God, no matter how short or obscure they seem, and that we have a lot that we can learn from them, especially the women of the Bible.

Amy Brown, Carrie Holt, and Sara Clime are all special needs moms, and they are no strangers to mom guilt! With diagnoses ranging from behavioral disorders to terminal illness of their children, they've had to learn to find the balance of the everyday family needs, extra therapies, and appointments, to realizing that they just can't do it all.

One major point that we all need to learn to believe is that God does not tack guilt on us. Jesus states that he didn't come to condemn us, but Satan tries to keep us from that truth and steal God's redemptive power in our lives. As moms, we tend to tell ourselves our failure stories over and over again. However, when we learn to focus on the truth and our true value and identity as the moms that God chose specifically for our families, we will finally be able to allow God to walk us through our mom guilt and into the peace that God has overcome it all.

Motherhood is hard. Actually, the more I dig deeper into motherhood, the more I realize how much of a battleground it truly is. Satan hates motherhood, and sadly, a lot of times he is successful at getting me to hate it as well. The more I've shared, the more I realize how trapped so many of us mamas are in the lies: that motherhood is too hard; that we are alone; that we've messed up too much for redemption; that we don't deserve rest; that God doesn't care about the unique struggles that we are facing as parents. I felt (and still often do) lost, confused, betrayed, much like the Israelites at the Red Sea and the Disciples during Jesus' nap on the turbulent boat. I found myself, like them, asking "God, don't you care?!"

And then I remembered, God never leaves ashes and pain as the ending of the story. He showed me that He is indeed working. The seeds I'm sowing now in tears will be harvested someday with songs of joy.

Jessica Long was adopted from Russia after her young mother couldn't handle the medical needs of her fibular hemimelia. This sent Jessica into a long journey of understanding her identity and God's plan for her life. And then she found swimming. As her success grew, her identity began to be based on her ability to perform in the pool. At the age of 15, just five years after she started swimming, she won her first of many Paralympic gold medals. This began her journey of sponsors, success, and fame. But none of that filled her the way that she hoped, she continued to feel empty. Until the age of 21, where God finally got a hold of her heart, showed her what it truly meant to be adopted into His family, and the peace and safety she can find there.

Julie Parido has always had a passion for learning scripture. Now, that passion includes planting scripture into the heart of her own children. From juggling time as a busy mom to meeting the differing developmental needs of all of her children, Julie has built a list of resources and practices that work for her family. Her own projects include using art to memorize scripture, creating family devotional time, and using specific verses to help with discipline and building moral constructs. While she like all moms is far from perfect, she has worked hard to build the foundation of teaching her children the wisdom and devotion of the beautiful Word of God.