Gather Moms

We’ve made it to the grade school years! A time of celebration for mamas when kids start school, routines take shape and children become more independent. As they’re learning their ABCs, they’re also learning how to tie their shoes, ride a bike, be a friend, and do chores. There is so much for them to learn in this season. And, as their moms, we’re learning right along with them.

A great model for us to use as we teach out children new skills is this one:

1. I do. You watch. 

2. I do. You help. 

3. You do. I help. 

4. You do. I watch. 

What to expect:

What to embrace:

What to let go:

VIDEO: For kids ready to become a Christian

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All of us are going to face times in our life where we stumble. Just like a toddler taking his first steps, we are stepping into new seasons of motherhood. Toddlers and preschoolers are facing new challenges like learning to walk, feeding themselves, and gaining their independence. Their new found strength and curiosity can be overwhelming for a mom who finally found a rhythm with life with a baby. You might find yourself mentally frazzled, exhausted and feeling angry at this small human who won’t listen to the word ‘no.’

Remember when you grabbed your child’s hand as they learned to walk down the sidewalk. You held tight in case they fell. When their knees buckled underneath, you grabbed their hand tighter, sometimes lifting them into the air until they got steady again. When they stumbled, you didn’t chide them or get mad. You picked them up and helped them try again. As moms we feel like we have to know how to do all the things on the first try. Every new season of motherhood brings new challenges and things to learn. If we stumble, then we get back up. We have a Heavenly Father holding tight to our hand too.

Psalm 37:23-24, “The Lord establishes the steps of the godly. He delights in every details of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

Rebecca’s Top Toy Picks for Toddlers and Preschoolers 2023:

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Skeletons and goblins and bats, oh my! How do we as moms talk with our kids about all of these things and is it ok for us to even celebrate Halloween? Rebecca and Kate are talking all things costumes, candies, where Halloween got started and how we can look to biblical wisdom as we approach this holiday. Join us!

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Something new always brings unknowns. And while we welcome the new and are often so excited about it (there is nothing like a new baby!), there is so much to figure out. Newborn mamas have to navigate when the baby should sleep and how, when the baby should eat and what, and so many other questions.

RESOURCES FOR NEW MAMAS:

HOW TO HELP A NEW MAMA:

TRUTH:

1 Samuel 1:27

“For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart.”

Psalm 23:1-3

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

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If we could all sit in a room and share birth stories! Oh, how fun that would be. Well, except if any of you are like Rebecca because she remembers nothing. No two birth stories as the same. As moms, we may read, pack, attend the classes, tour the hospital, but nothing can truly prepare us for the moment when the doctor, scratch that, probably the nurse says: It’s time.

In the season of expecting, we do our part to prepare but ultimately trust God and His will. We want to be able to say like Paul in Acts 18:21 after he makes plans, “if God wills.”

This is part one of our episode on the pregnancy and newborn season. Join us for episode 123 as we get very practical about life with newborns and how we as a mom community can support newborn mamas.

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Kate Henderson: Instagram | Facebook

Rebecca Bradford: Instagram | Facebook

We’ve all had to wait. Whether waiting in traffic or waiting for a breakthrough, we know the uneasiness and stress that comes with waiting. For women, waiting for a baby may be the hardest waiting season of all. The pain of this waiting that we often call infertility is more common than we may realize. 1 in 6 women deal with infertility and know the pain of longing and waiting for a child. The Bible is not silent on this issue and instead highlights and cares for women who long for children. Women like Hannah, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Manoah and Ruth knew what it was to wait and Hannah is a beautiful example of bringing the longing and pain to God.

Psalm 27:14 NASB says “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
Here are some truths to remember:
1.     Waiting, in Scripture, is the active turning to the Lord.
2.     Periods of waiting help us articulate our need for God.
3.     Our story of waiting is part of our witness.
 
Visit the Gather Moms blog for more encouragement and resources. One of our core beliefs is just because you don’t have a biological child, or an adoptive child or are still in the waiting season, doesn’t mean you don’t have the heart of a mother. You are created in the image of God – and where does motherhood come from? From God – our Creator. You are welcome here.

All of us know someone who has struggled or is struggling with this. In fact, I would guess most of us experienced some of it ourselves. We need to lean into this group of mamas because they are our friends, daughters, sisters, and sisters-in-law. We wanted this episode to remind you that you are seen and loved by a heavenly Father but also by the Gather Moms community.
 
Galatians 6:2, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” (NLT)

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We can be the WORST about giving unsolicited advice. All of us are guilty of looking at another mama or another situation and judging her for not doing it the way we would. Sometimes, those criticisms find their way out of our mouths and into the wrong ears and we end up like Kate in a world of trouble. The truth is, we need to give each other the benefit of the doubt and be way less concerned about what another mama is doing while we have plenty to worry about in our own lives.

We’re specifically looking at our own motherhood journeys by focusing on the season of motherhood we’re each in. When we’re dissatisfied with our own season, we may be more tempted to look at another mom’s season and judge or critique her. God has not asked us to do that. He has asked us to be faithful with where we are right now.

TRUTH:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-5

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

Philippians 4:11-13

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

“If we live in harmony with God’s rhythms, we can discover more peace, fulfillment, joy, and hope. King Solomon, a man who lived life to the full, concluded that we cannot explain life but must experience it. We can either endure it or embrace it. Embracing these rhythms enable us to live full out while at the same time enjoying a deep inner peace and a peace that comes from being in harmony with God’s rhythms.” From Bruce Miller’s book: Your Life in Rhythm.

We’re kicking off a new season here on the Gather Moms Podcast where we are going to talk about how we can stop looking around at everyone else’s motherhood and give our best to what God has placed in front of us.

TRUTH:

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Whatever part of the race you’re in, we want to help you run well. With that in mind, here’s what we’ll talk about in upcoming episodes:

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Backpacks, supplies, sports equipment, nap mats, school snacks, new water bottles, clothes and all the fees. Back to school can DRAIN THE BANK but hey, at least those kids are back in school! In this episode, we’re talking all about getting the kids back in school and our favorite tips for making these new rhythms work.

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Gather Moms: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Kate Henderson: Instagram | Facebook

Rebecca Bradford: Instagram | Facebook

If you live in the Souther half of the United States, you are hot and probably over being hot. Rebecca and Kate are! The heat brings out the not-so-great versions of themselves and they’re talking all things summer and how they’re surviving the heat.

Connect with Us:

Gather Moms: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Kate Henderson: Instagram | Facebook

Rebecca Bradford: Instagram | Facebook