The Agape Moms Blog — Agape Moms

Start a Local Agape Moms

Start a Local Agape Moms

This week I talked with another amazing mama about starting a local Agape Moms in her community, and as we talked, it reminded me a lot of my story, and I think it is many of your stories too.

This mama is having a hard time finding community in her new town. Having to drive 30 minutes this way and that, some Bible studies full, other groups not very welcoming of moms with noisy babies, I related to her frustration and said that I had been there, and out of that tension, Agape Moms was born.

We also talked about how Agape Moms missional communities are so much MORE than just a formal bible study, we are an on going family that does life together in a “bring your mess” and noisy kids atmosphere.

Laura DiLeonardiOctober 4, 2018Comment

Beloved and Beautiful

Beloved and Beautiful

Our kiddos see everything, hear everything, and soak everything up. We know that, but it is so easy to forget. Especially when we’re talking to our friends, and say those little things that we think don’t matter. We criticize our bodies. We talk about how we feel like we are not good enough. We pinch our stomachs, or shake our arms and watch the fat jiggle. We talk about how we need to lose that last 5 pounds, and how our thighs are too big, and how our pants don’t fit. How our mom bellies will never go back to the way we were before we had a child.

The truth is my daughter is watching. Our little girls are watching. She’s listening. They’re listening.

Jessica HundleyOctober 3, 2018

Gospel Fluency

Gospel Fluency

Our gospel-centered resource recommendation this week is Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt. This book helps you learn to speak the gospel into all of life, helping yourself and others uncover the areas where we are not believing the truth about ourselves or God in light of Christ’s work for us.

Gospel Fluency is central to all of life and ministry, which is why this book has been part of our training to begin your own local Agape Moms missional community and read by all of our servant leadership.

“The work we are called to do is to rest from our own work to make ourselves right with God and believe in the work of Jesus on our behalf.” “Our behaviors are the tangible expression of our beliefs.” “We won't help people stop sinning by using the consequences of their sin to motivate them.”

Grab a copy or read for free on the Hoopla app!

Laura DiLeonardiOctober 2, 2018Comment

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

We say the word “gospel” a lot, and it can seem like an overused word, which is such an unfortunate thing. At the time that Jesus came and the term “gospel” was coined, it was a present day relation to a herald bringing urgent and life altering news. In fact “good news” is exactly what “gospel” means, specifically, the good news of Jesus.

This morning I went through the book of Romans and pulled out a simple walk through of what the good news in Jesus is for our #mondaymotivation. The gospel changed the course of my life in high school now almost two decades ago, and continues to transform me and so many around me.

Being gospel-centered in all things is one of the core aspects of Agape Moms missional communities, and it is foundational to all we share here on our social pages, blog and website. We hope this truth from God’s Word will be a freeing explosion in your heart and life!

Laura DiLeonardiSeptember 30, 2018Comment

Being Freed

Being Freed

Before I entered the world of stay at home parenting, I worked in banking for seven years where the work I did was evident. Reports written and emails answered. There I received praise for my hard work each week leaving me feeling accomplished. There I was valued and had the paycheck to prove it.

When I became a stay at home mom, that all changed. There were no accolades for changing his diaper well, pumping every three hours, or getting up all hours of the night. No one cheered at how well I was doing. Yet, the demands of motherhood were more difficult than any other job I’ve had to date. By the time I figured out one thing, it would change in a few weeks.

Yet, I would look around and wonder “what did I even do today”. That sentiment seemed to echo across the inter webs, as I saw other stay at home moms defending their choice and its value. There were blogs and groups dedicated to promoting its worth. I joined thinking I would show the world the value of it.

Stephanie TannerSeptember 27, 2018 Comment

Let the Dead Things Go

Let the Dead Things Go

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

In Christ, YOU are a NEW person!

STOP LISTENING TO THE VOICE OF THE ENEMY who discourages you and distracts you from WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE because of what Jesus did on your behalf!

STOP DWELLING ON YOUR FAILURES, even today so far, and “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:15.)

STOP DWELLING ON THE PAST but instead, keep pressing on, “not that you’ve already obtained this or are perfect, but I press on to take hold that for which Jesus Christ took hold of me.”

Dear mamas, take a lesson from the gorgeous season of autumn that God created to point us back to Him, and LET THE DEAD THINGS GO, and RISE, living as new creations in Christ! #MondayMotivation

Laura DiLeonardiSeptember 24, 2018Comment

GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY!

🌟GIVEAWAY!🌟 Agape Moms is all about equipping moms to make disciples in everyday, messy mom-life and we couldn’t think of a better idea for a giveaway then these amazing books!

The illustrations are incredible and the Biblical lessons that tie into 🍁Fall 🎃 and 🎄Christmas☃️ will for sure make these books favorites during each season❤️. We are also throwing in a ☕️Starbucks gift card ☕️ so you and your kids can enjoy some festive drinks while reading your new books! 🤗

👉🏼TO ENTER

Laura DiLeonardiSeptember 24, 2018 Comment

The Call to Motherhood

The Call to Motherhood

As a young girl, I remember thinking that I would follow the same exact path my mother journeyed: go to college, get married, have babies, and live the abundantly glamorous mom life. I spent year after year thinking that motherhood would be a choice I would make for myself at some point, just like any other major life choice I typically found myself in control of making.

So when I found myself in my mid-20s without babies in my near future, I began wrestling with the deep desires I had to be a mom. There were days that I stuffed away that unmet desire and focused on trying to fill the void with successes, and then there were days that envy welled up tears in my eyes when I saw my friends with kids.

Because the Lord is full of mercy though, he placed me in a community that drew me again and again back to the Table of the Lord, where I am declared both a beloved daughter and a called mother. As I feasted on the the Lord’s goodness, I gradually heard his calling:

Rachel, my daughter, you are a mother. You are mother not because of any choice you have made or skills you have fostered but because that is who I have called you to be.

Rachel WassinkSeptember 20, 2018Comment

Share Your Story On The Blog!

Share Your Story On The Blog!

The Agape Moms blog is all about EMPOWERING EVERYDAY MOMS to SHARE YOUR STORIES by giving you a place at the table when you might not have been invited before.

YOU DONT NEED TO BE FAMOUS, have a picturesque instagram, or title next to your name, you JUST NEED TO SHOW UP AND BE WHO GOD MADE YOU TO BE.

The Agape Moms Blog is a SHARED PLATFORM where YOUR VOICE IS VALUABLE and EVERY STORY IS WORTH TELLING, because each one of our stories is part of God’s grand story, the story of how Jesus saved the day, and how Jesus makes all things new, again and again, for you and for me.

Laura DiLeonardiSeptember 18, 2018Comment

What Fuels Motherhood?

What Fuels Motherhood?

#MondayMotivation coming straight from God’s Word.

The power to make it through this Monday and another week full of school drop offs and pickup, late night nursing sessions, and endless laundry- the way we not JUST survive but THRIVE when we’re at the end of our ropes is precisely because we’ve come to the end of ourselves and are DESPERATE to DEPEND on JESUS!

The SAME Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead LIVES IN YOU! Why then spend another minute depending on your own hustle when God has provided the way to do #allthethings for His glory by the power of the the Holy Spirit, who lives in us!

Laura DiLeonardiSeptember 17, 2018Comment

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness

This book is a quick 20 minute read and an excellent resource for growing in gospel-centered living.

“C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity makes a brilliant observation about gospel-humility at the very end of his chapter on pride. If we were to meet a truly humble person, Lewis says, we would never come away from meeting them thinking they were humble. They would not be always telling us they were a nobody (because a person who keeps saying they are a nobody is actually a self-obsessed person).

The thing we would remember from meeting a truly gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us. Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less.”

Laura DiLeonardiSeptember 14, 2018Comment

Finding Light in the Darkness

Finding Light in the Darkness

To the mother of a colicky newborn,

I see you standing by the crib, frozen with emotions too frenzied for words.

Not knowing why the screams won’t stop.

Knowing that you can barely take it anymore.

The walls are closing in.

The waves of exhaustion are rocking your body.

The tears come.

You sit down because you can barely stand.

The room is dark, and the screams continue.

You can’t make them stop.

You have tried everything, and nothing works.

You have cried out to God, and in your dark haze, doubted he heard your call.

Jessica HundleySeptember 6, 2018Trials, Motherhood

Labor Day Blessing

Labor Day Blessing

On this Labor Day, rest in God’s finished work on your behalf and share this good news with someone! Our right standing with God is maintained by God, it is our job to abide in Christ. “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

Laura DiLeonardiSeptember 3, 2018Comment

Celebrating Fall Kickoff!

Celebrating Fall Kickoff!

Celebrating with the Lithia, FL Agape Moms for an awesome fall kickoff today! So fun seeing new faces welcomed into the tribe.

Do you wish you had a welcoming place like this? Does your community need it? God may be calling you to start an Agape Moms. It’s so much more than a bible study, club or social gathering.

Agape Moms is a family who continually points each other back to Jesus in the highs and lows of life.

We intentionally welcome those who don’t yet know Jesus, are curious about Jesus, doubting their faith, or who just need a tribe where you can “bring your mess.”

Laura DiLeonardiAugust 31, 2018Comment

The Gospel-Centered Parent

The Gospel-Centered Parent

Looking for a parenting resource or small group study that will help point you back to the person of Jesus at every turn instead of a formula? The Gospel-Centered Parent is a life-changing book and a favorite of ours! This is created to be unpacked in a missional community like Agape Moms, but is a great resource too!

Read it, then gather other mamas and lead this study. If you see a need for mom to come together in your community and grow in Jesus, check out our website which will train you to begin your own Agape Moms! We find that the trenches of motherhood is a natural place to talk about our shared, desperate need for Jesus and this book does not disappoint!

Laura DiLeonardiAugust 30, 2018Comment

HE Fills the Gap

HE Fills the Gap

We all have a gap. That space between our hopes and dreams and expectations and aspirations and reality. Cold hard reality. We try so hard to close the gap. Spending our time and energy and money trying to accomplish our goals to reach the true happiness that only comes from having what you’ve always wanted. Right? No. All wrong.

Only Christ can fill that gap. He not only fills it, but replaces it with something that is so much better than what we thought we wanted. I learned this the hard way. In the past I wasted so much time chasing a great education and a cool job and picture perfect relationships because I thought they would ease my hunger for something more.

Jessica HundleyAugust 23, 2018Comment

The Gospel is This

The Gospel is This

At Agape Moms, we are relentless about the gospel of Jesus Christ! It changes everything, but we have to accept the bad news first. The answer to our problems as well as the key to our success is not measured in what we can do, it’s not about trying harder today, but instead, it’s in surrendering our pride and declaring that we need Jesus to 100% rescue us from ourselves. Whether we are prone to striving to earn our worth (religion) or giving in to our struggles (sin), the radical love and grace of Jesus is what every heart is searching for. Jesus knows us better than anyone, He knows the thoughts and motives that others will never see, and yet He still loves us and pursues us unconditionally. The continual embracing of this love that we are all so desperately searching for in many of the wrong places- this love changes everything from the inside out. And this, dear mama friends, is the best news we’ve ever heard. We need to remind each other, our kids and preach it to our own hearts every day!

Laura DiLeonardiAugust 23, 2018Comment

Waiting on God for a Baby

Waiting on God for a Baby

t has been a difficult and rather humbling year. After quickly getting pregnant with our first and second child, waiting almost two years to become pregnant this time… well it felt like a very long time. I know it may not seem like a long time compared to those who have been in a season of waiting for many years, but it was still a season in which I struggled and questioned God at times. The longer time went by, the more I felt that God surely was closing this door for us to grow our family. This season of waiting tested my faith.

Carolina BriggsAugust 21, 2018Infertility, Waiting on God, Answered Prayer, Trials

Rest

Rest

Rest. I know this is almost laughable for a mom, impossible seeming. We secretly can’t agree when we see God placing sabbath rest in the same list as murder and adultery. I think this should probably clue us into something being wrong with us and not the list, and thankfully the remedy is freely given in the gospel of Jesus. But why is it so hard for us to rest from our work? I think it’s because

Laura DiLeonardiAugust 19, 2018Comment

Redeeming the Mundane

Redeeming the Mundane

Just the other day, my husband FaceTimed me from Home Depot to discuss bathroom faucet selections. The reason I was home instead of with him on this thrilling adventure to the hardware store is that our youngest daughter was taking her afternoon nap. As I chatted with my husband, measuring our current bathroom faucet and discussing this handle versus that handle, I found myself amused by how incredibly mundane and grown-up the moment was. And then the thought struck me: My 20-year-old self would be horrified.

My 20-year-old self dreamed of being

Tyler CarrisAugust 13, 2018