Melinda Means Archives - The Mom Initiative

Is God Really Good?

I’m a good person. I try to do the right things. Good grief, God, I’m serving You! I don’t deserve to be in pain like this! This shouldn’t be happening to me! I’ve had those thoughts. Maybe you have, too. Right now, there is a young family in my church that is going through an incredibly overwhelming and difficult season. They love God passionately. They are always serving others. Several years ago, they added two boys to their family of four through foreign adoption. After two heart wrenching years—filled with family counseling sessions, individual therapy and much prayer—one of the …

How My Daughter Shattered My “Comfortable” Faith

I grew up going to church and learning about God. Maybe partly because of that, I spent years taking my faith for granted. The kind of Christianity I pursued was soft and comfortable. Pleasant enough, but not particularly bold or especially memorable. I went to my Christian conferences. Did my ladies’ Bible Studies. Led a “good” life. I talked about faith — with people of faith. I passionately shared my convictions — with those who agreed with me. I loved God. I felt strongly about my beliefs. But my people-pleasing nature resisted the idea of making too many waves. Of risking that …

HANNAH – WHAT TO DO WHEN GOD IS SILENT

Welcome to Week 7 of MATRIARCHS! Study God’s Word with us online or use them in your small group or Sunday School class! Each lesson includes: Teaching video every Monday (15-20 minutes) Short lesson provided as the content of the post In-depth downloadable PDF to deepen your study Worksheets that take you even deeper ALL LESSONS ARE FREE AND YOU CAN MAKE AS MANY COPIES AS YOU’D LIKE! Week 1: Eve – A Mother Like No Other Week 2: Sarah – Mother of Nations Week 3: Rebekah – Mothering Through Barrenness Week 4: Mary – Stubbornly Inflexible or Sacredly Flexible Week 5: Naomi – Not …

is your faith more like jeans or a red dress, Mom?

I believe it can be one of the dangers of growing up in a Christian home. Slowly, over the years, my faith became like a well-worn pair of jeans. Familiar, comfortable, loved, but not exactly a bold fashion statement. I went to my Christian conferences. Did my ladies’ Bible Studies. Led a “good” life. I talked about faith — with people of faith. I passionately shared my convictions — with those who agreed with me. I loved God. I felt strongly about my beliefs. But my people-pleasing nature resisted the idea of making too many waves. Of risking that someone might be …

A Mom’s Job is Obedience, Not Results

Motherhood is wonderful, but it can also feel like a lot of pressure. I remember the first time the magnitude of my role fully hit me. I had left my shoes at the door like I always did. (We had white carpeting at that time –a pre-kids decision we regretted-oh-so bitterly). But this time when I went to put them back on, my shoes were already occupied. My firstborn, two-years-old at the time, had carefully placed her little shoes neatly inside mine. All these years later, it’s still a vivid memory. I had the responsibility of modeling for another little …

How to Grow Your Dreams Along With Your Kids

Our “With LOVE from MOM” week is here and today, one of our parenting expert and MOM Mentors shares the BEST MOM TIP EVER! TODAY’S GIVEAWAY IS… Mothering from Scratch by Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo Full of solid biblical truth, this book will help you… · explore your personality and examine your strengths and weaknesses in order to find what works for you · tap into the resources surrounding you and get mentoring and support from other moms · push past the fear of change or doing it wrong and allow room for grace in your mothering COMMENT and SHARE YOUR …

how to stand firm with your kids

Exhaustion can get the best of us sometimes as moms. Have you ever seen your child misbehaving and thought, “I’m going to let that go, just this one time. I don’t have the energy to fight that battle today.”? You’re not alone, mom. I’ve done it — too many times, in fact, as my kids were growing up. Here’s the danger: “One time” rarely ends up being just one time. The more we give in to weariness, temporary apathy or fear of our kids’ anger or disapproval, the easier it is to do it the next time. We may not …