#fridayintroductions are in order since it’s been a couple months and we’ve gained a few hundred new followers on Instagram (Find us @agape_moms) WELCOME to all, I’m so glad you’re here!

I’m Laura, the founder of Agape Moms and it’s been such a joy to share the story God is writing with Agape Moms! Here’s a little more about the person behind the screen.

I’ve always been a dreamer. Agape Moms began in 2016 with me ditching fear and acting on a big dream that God gave me deep in my soul through the study of His Word and His Spirit. It was birthed after getting burned by the church pretty bad, and going after this was not something I had a cheerleading squad for, no one understood the burden and few encouraged the call. And yet as I began, I sensed Jesus saying, “Welcome to life as a follower of Christ, Laura! Your new life has just begun.”

When God calls you, it means

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Agape Moms’ theme this week is the problem with perfection and when this popped in our my feed via @vergenetwork, we couldn’t help but re-share. Jesus’ remedy to those of us who struggle with wanting to be perfect, or have control is definitely nothing close to the messages we are bombarded by in the world everyday. Jesus says to die to self and when we do that for His glory, we actually find ourselves!

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” Luke 9:23-25

#onpoint #itsallaboutjesus #itsnotaboutme #hemustincrease #imustdecrease

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Agape Mom’ gospel-centered resource recommendation this week is Show Them Jesus by Jack Klumpenhower. To continue our theme this week with the problem with perfection, I couldn’t think of a better book to combat the tendency of our hearts to perform, prove and earn our way before God and others. This book is a very practical guide to teaching children and ourselves, especially reframing Bible studies to be gospel-centered. This is one of my faves, and worth the investment, or grab for free on the Hoopla app

“We’ve been dispensing good advice instead of the good news. Eventually, kids will tire of our advice, no matter how good it might be. Many will leave the church. Others will live decent, churchy lives but without any fire for Christ. We’ll wonder why they’re rejected the good news, because we assumed they were well grounded in it. In fact, they never were. Although we told stories of Jesus and his free grace, we watered it down with self-effort- and that’s what they heard.

Fellow teachers, our challenge is to proclaim the good news of Jesus so clearly and consistently that no kid of ours will ever 

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 “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-11

This week on the Agape Moms Blog, we are talking about the problems with perfection. 

This morning, as we head into another week, be encouraged by this scripture, it says we don’t have to feel defeated because of what’s going wrong, how we aren’t measuring up or the areas we are not perfect as we’d like to be. Because here’s the thing, when we do have everything under control, and it’s all going our way, we are way less inclined to rely on Christ alone.

So that’s why we can actually rejoice in our weaknesses because they push us to our knees and they make us realize 

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Agape Moms is a grass roots movement that empowers everyday moms to make disciples as we live on mission in everyday, messy mom-life.

We take seriously Christ’s design for the church and His call to EVERY believer to use the gifts He’s given them, and join Him on mission every single day, not just on Sunday or during a church program.

Agape Moms is not something new, it’s returning to something old, it’s returning back to being the family of God as we see in Acts 2, and praying for this revival in our local churches too. The church isn’t a building, it’s the people of God. It’s not a brand. It’s not a service. It’s a new identity!

If you have been sensing God pull your heart towards living for Him in a way that says, “my life is all yours, use it for your glory!” then please message us or visit our website so you can learn more about being equipped to make disciples in everyday, messy mom-life, and the opportunity to start an Agape Moms.

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You’ll never have this day with your children again. I have a sign with this quote hanging in our playroom, with pictures below of my three babies when they were younger. Always serves as a good reminder to slow down.

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Happy Valentine’s Day from Agape Moms!

No matter how your expectations are or are not being met on this Valentine’s Day, let’s marvel at God’s unconditional, Agape love for us!

God is always pursuing our wandering hearts because He wants an intimately close relationship with us, not because He is demanding an obligatory, "religious" relationship with us. He doesn't need our talents or something from us either, He just wants our hearts.

God was overwhelming me with this truth today from Hosea 2 with this love song for His people.

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Serving God in the ordinary moments of motherhood matter! Now is the time to sow seeds, cultivate the soil of our children’s hearts, provide a good atmosphere for growth, and PRAY for God to do a work in our children’s hearts and lives. While we plant and water, it is only GOD who makes the seeds of faith and good deeds grow! The days seem so long sometimes, but the years are truly short. Just look at this breakdown! Also, I just registered my daughter for Kindergarten this morning 😢

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 Agape Moms’ gospel-centered resource recommendation this week is “Daring to Hope: Finding God’s Goodness in the Broken and Beautiful” by Katie Davis Majors. Our guest blogger this week recommends this book, and the reviews look incredible! Here’s a quote she highlights for moms who may be struggling with serving God in the everyday tasks as a mother.

‘’God had been teaching me the extraordinary strength it takes just to be ordinary. To dwell knowledgeably and hospitably in this place He has given me with my people is, in fact, an extraordinary call. He has shown me the beauty of being attentive to one person, in the mundane, again and again. In a full life of trying to do great big things for God and see His glory in great big ways, He showed me He is glorified in the small too.’’ -Katie Davis Majors

Grab this book for free on the Hoopla app with a valid library card.

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Did you know this famous quote ISN’T actually by Mother Teresa? It sums up the gist of her famous acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, but it stops short of her message, and God’s message for us too.

Making an impact for God STARTS at home, but it doesn’t END at home because love knows no bounds. Loving God and loving others sums up all of the law, and while our seasons may change, the command to love doesn’t.

Far too often we get hung up on the “What” or the “Where” instead of sticking to the command which is focused on the “WHO.”

For many of us moms right now, our main “who” is loving the children around us,

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 Please join me in welcoming Remi Mundschenk to the Agape Moms Family Network! She started training this week to launch an Agape Moms in her Spokane, WA community. We are so excited to link arms with her for the sake of more women knowing Jesus and how the Gospel impacts all of life! If you’re in the area, connect with her to join the launch team. To begin the 7 week training to start your own Agape Moms, visit our website www.AgapeMoms.Online, or message us!

Remi is married to her high-school sweetheart, Patrick and together they have 2 adorable children, Kai and Amberle. Originally from the Midwest, they followed God's prompting and moved to Spokane shortly after finishing college. Remi has followed God's call and His giftings and lead a variety of small groups and served on her church executive board. God is continuing to work in her a desire to support new and young mommas in the Spokane area by doing life with each other and showing God's grace and blessings amidst the mess of motherhood.

To connect with the Spokane, WA Agape Moms or to join the launch team, you may contact Remi at AgapeMomsSpokane@gmail.com

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 Please join me in welcoming Michelle Moore to the Agape Moms Family Network! She started training this week to launch an Agape Moms in her Terre Haute, IN community. We are so excited to link arms with her for the sake of more women knowing Jesus and how the Gospel impacts all of life! If you’re in the area, connect with her to join the launch team. To begin the 7 week training to start your own Agape Moms, visit our website, www.AgapeMoms.Online, or message us!

Michelle Moore is a stay-at-home wife to her husband, Paul, and Mom to her two year old daughter, Finley, and soon to be born son, Luther. Michelle was drawn to a personal relationship with Christ while attending Indiana State University through the campus ministry, Campus Outreach. She has a passion for growing alongside women in their knowledge of the Gospel and how to effectively study the Word. Through Agape moms, Michelle hopes to garner community for women in all walks of life, supporting one another through life’s varying seasons, and loving them in imitation of Christ’s love for us. Contact Michelle at thebentbranch.jmm@gmail.com to join the launch team or learn more about the future Terre Haute, IN Agape Moms.

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I’m so excited that Agape Moms made it onto the front page of a local magazine! And as a happy surprise to me, our mission and explanation of #bringyourmess was shared straight off of our website! How cool is that? Will you join us in praying that this article encourages local moms to come to one of our two locations in the Tampa Bay Area? Message us to get connected if you’re in that area!

Are you interested in learning more, checking out our community driven blog, or training to start an Agape Moms near you? Learn more and start right here on our website. 5 women have contacted us this week to start training!

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🌟GIVEAWAY!🌟 Agape Moms’ Gospel-centered resource recommendation this week is also a giveaway! We are partnering with our guest blogger this week, Cassie Pattillo and her blog, Diaries of a Daughter to giveaway this incredible book, None Like Him by Jen Wilkin, which helped inspire her guest post this week. We want one special mama to take home a copy, and to connect our communities for the sake of more women knowing how the gospel impacts motherhood!

💫🎉👉🏼TO ENTER👈🏼🎉💫 

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This week the Agape Moms Community is unpacking the theme of Idolatry of the heart, especially as it relates with motherhood. “Idolatry” might sound like a weird, outdated, Bible-y word, but I promise you it’s something each of us struggles with every day.  Idolatry is when we adore, place value, trust or worship in anyone or anything instead of God. Idolatry has been humanity’s problem since the beginning. In this post, we’ll take a look through scripture as our history, but the bottom line is this.

We HAVE the Spring of Living Water, Jesus Christ, as our ultimate joy and hope, but instead we foolishly dig for ourselves broken vessels that are incapable of holding water for more than a couple minutes, and then we’re left desperate for water again. This is a metaphor for many of our frantic mom lives, panting for help, and looking in all the wrong places to fill our holey-cups when Jesus is right there offering an endless supply, and our thirst quenched for good. This is how tragic our idolatry of the heart is. What are the cisterns that you dig instead of running to the Spring of Living Water?

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 This song by Bethel Music and Josh Baldwin has been on repeat! “My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in your love.” This is what Agape Moms is all about.

💕Agape love is God’s unconditional love for us and the unconditional love we can have for each other in Jesus, this is the heartbeat of Agape Moms💕

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him...There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John‬ ‭4:16, 18‬ ‭

Link to the lyric video below:

https://youtu.be/MHLEZzyAZrI

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The Agape Moms Blog is all about empowering everyday moms to share their stories, and inviting them to relate every struggle, topic and victory to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’d love to partner with YOU for the sake of more women knowing Jesus. Message us so we can talk more about writing for the Agape Moms Community Blog and getting on our blog schedule for 2019!🌟

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