When I reflect on the past 6 months, I feel so encouraged to see how God has worked to use this ministry to be a light in our community. I’ve been told (and feel) that we truly have something unique many women have never experienced, inside or outside the church. There is a genuine love for others that permeates our group, and although we are not perfect and still sin against each other, you can feel the grace that only comes from God surround our community of women.
Read MoreThis week I had a call with a dear mama who has gone through the Agape Moms training in the past but now is ready to start taking the steps to launch a group! We chatted about the common things that hold us all back from following those nudges from the Holy Spirit.
Fear is the big one! Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of rejection, and the fear of what if no one comes, was one we were talking about towards the end of our conversation.
Read MoreIn August of 2019 our family moved to Western WA. A friend told me about Agape Moms and I went to the Fall Kickoff meeting on a bright fall day. I met a very friendly group of moms and during the ice-breaker game, “name the messiest mom moment you’ve had so far” I scored some cool Agape Moms swag for my recounting of the time my 4 year old threw up on my head, shoulders, knees and toes. True story. (Well it didn’t actually go to my toes but…) Come to Washington and I’ll tell you the very special story. I quickly got connected with the Bible study and began developing some sweet friendships.
As we all know March 2020 changed schedules, social interactions and pretty much everything else. Just as I was settling into a bunch of new relationships everything felt like it got cancelled, because it did.
Read MoreI remember like it was yesterday when a last minute invitation to a "women's group Thanksgiving dinner", would forever change my life. At the time, I was looking to make meaningful friendships in this new area we've recently just moved in from out of state only a couple of months prior. It was definitely exciting yet terrifying to share a meal with a large group of women I've never met before. God is so amazing in how he places people in our lives when we need them the most. All we have to do is be willing to surrender our fears and see Him moving.
In February of 2021 my life came falling down and my trust in the Lord was put to test when my husband was put in life support as his life was fading away right before my eyes…
Read MoreI’d like to share how agape moms impacted my life during the covid year 2020-2021.
The year of lock downs and social distancing was very difficult. During that time I personally realized how incredibly important it is to have friends, community, and support in each of our lives. In June 2020 my husband and I found out we were pregnant with our third child. About 12 weeks later I woke up one morning bleeding. We ran to the hospital to find out that I was having a miscarriage. I immediately reached out to let people know what was happening. Agape moms really stepped up
Agape Moms Tehaleh was in such an exciting season of growth before 2020 hit and halted our gatherings all together. As I look back, I see how God was writing the story all along even though I felt panicked at times. God has a way of making much out of small things, even though as humans, we want to see big things, and to stick to a plan we can see. The quarantine canceled all of our foreseeable plans and left us alone, suddenly distanced from our community. But God loves to start with a small seed planted in faith, little steps of faithfullness, desperate prayers in quiet closets- he is in the business of sprouting miracles out of the soil of brokenness, and he sure did this during quarantine in Agape Moms Tehaleh!
Read More2020 was quite an eventful year for Agape Moms of Tampa Bay, but God was so faithful through it all! I have to confess that I spent most of the year second (or even third) guessing every single decision I made. Oftentimes I wasn’t sure what to do, but God somehow made a way every single time! He always delivers on His promises to us!
When I look back at photos from the past year, I can see His faithfulness and His hand so clearly. He has taught me so much through all of this!
Read MoreAgape Moms is kicking off a new series to celebrate God’s faithfulness during the season of quarantine, and we’d love to include your story! 2020 and into 2021 was an extremely difficult time for every person on this planet. From the pandemic, losing loved ones, to the trickle down affects of losing jobs, a deeply divided country, loss of many comforts and the ability to gather in community- it was likely the most unique season of our lives. Depending on the state you lived in, these lock downs varied in duration and intensity, as did the repercussions.
Rather than focusing on all the bad of 2020, or even ways that people responded differently to the pandemic, we want to come together in unity and focus on the good things God did in and through us during such a challenging time.
Read MoreWhat a neat opportunity for Agape Moms to be featured in the local news! What a wonderful opportunity for them to share the story God is writing with them and the hope of Christ too. Click the link to read the article.
https://www.ospreyobserver.com/2021/01/agape-moms-group-encourages-local-moms-to-bringyourmess/
Read MoreI love watching God work! Three women have started Agape Moms training this month in WI, OR and just today someone in Boston contacted me to start. You guys- motherhood can be such an isolating and dark place without Jesus and without a community that says “bring your mess” and promises to keep pointing you back to Jesus, no matter where you’re at in your walk with Him.
If you don’t have this sort of community, if there’s nothing in your area or local churches- remember that God’s people are the church and He’s called YOU to BE the church and to make disciples, as you are going about everyday, messy, mom-life. Let God birth something beautiful out of your brokenness, your mom-mess, and use those gifts that He gave you to build HIS kingdom for HIS glory! Join the Agape Moms movement! Visit our website and let’s start a conversation about it today! www.AgapeMoms.Online
Read MorePlease join me in welcoming Molly Haselip to the Agape Moms Family Network! 🎉 She started training this week to launch an Agape Moms in her South Santiam, Oregon 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 South Santiam or know anyone who is, connect with Molly 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!
Molly grew up in Portland, Oregon and later graduated from Western Oregon University with a teaching degree. She’s been married to her husband for 14 years, and God’s story for them has included
Read MoreAgape Moms Tehaleh has a wonderful fall kickoff yesterday! We welcomed new moms and the whole servant leadership team shared about the vision and mission of Agape Moms. We ended with our tradition of sharing our most memorable “hot mess mom” stories, and the best story won an Agape Moms hat!
To connect with our growing groups based in Bonney Lake, WA, email Laura DiLeonardi at AgapeMomsTehaleh@gmail.com or find our Facebook group Agape Moms Tehaleh. We have multiple groups gathering on Thursday mornings and we just launched a Tuesday night group for working women as well! To start training to start your own local Agape Moms, checkout our website AgapeMoms.Online and reach out with any questions!
💕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 💕
Read MorePlease join me in welcoming my dear friend, Grace Carter (@gracegcarter) to the Agape Moms Family Network! She started training this week to launch an Agape Moms in her Neenah, Wisconsin 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 Neenah or know anyone who is, connect with Grace 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!
I’m Grace Carter, wife to my husband Alex for 6 years and Mama to our two beautiful kiddos,
Read MoreAgape Moms Tampa Bay had an awesome fall kickoff this morning and welcomed lots of new mamas! Are you looking for a tribe of women who support each other in the trenches of motherhood while pointing each other back to Jesus? This is a space where you are invited to “bring your mess” every week and will be embraced with the unconditional, agape love of God. To get connected with the Lithia and Valrico, FL Agape Moms groups in Tampa Bay, you can contact Jessica Hundley at AgapeMomsTampaBay@gmail.com or search for the Facebook group “Agape Moms Tampa Bay.”
💞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 💖
Read MoreI’m excited to share the progress on our “calming closet hideaway!” We’ve been blessed with a huge under the stairs closet. I love having this space for them to go when they just need to decompress, read, color or calm down! The calming corner kit helps them to first identify their emotion and then they choose a calming tool to help them deal with their big emotions as tiny people. Hopefully this will build a solid foundational of emotional awareness as they grow up.
I also created, and I’m giving away a free printable, a kids guide to repentance, “What do I do when I sin? Repent and bring it to Jesus!” Sometimes kids need to go into this space to calm down but other times they need to take some time in here because they’ve made a bad choice. This printable is a gospel-centered guide to
Read MoreThe Bible is one of God’s greatest gifts to us, and yet tragically, women often rely on watered-down, insta-memes for their source of God’s truth, when they could have the whole package deal! It’s like leaving a gorgeous feast sitting on the table to grab a drive-through meal. Food is food, right? Not exactly. It matters where we get our truth, how it’s harvested, who shares it with us, and that ultimately we establish a self-sustaining relationship with God that has ever deepening roots.
Read MoreWhat an awesome launch day for Agape Moms Tehaleh! Thank you to everyone who came out and for all of the servant leaders who worked behind the scenes to train and plan to make this happen!
Read MoreThese both showed up on my doorstep today, representing two of my Agape Moms families across the country in FL & WA, and they were such a huge encouragement to me after a lot of discouragement lately!
One box was a gift from my original Agape Mamas in FL, you guys made me cry when I opened this signed and framed magazine article of our group featuring the story of how we came to be, all written in my own words taken off the Agape Moms website. What an amazing surprise. I never imagined the burden God gave me for women to experience the gospel implications for all of life and the dream to create a safe space for believing and not-yet believing moms to grow together in Jesus would not just become my local reality, but would snowball across the country and even pop up in Australia. THANK YOU all so much for being part of this story God is writing! I loved seeing God highlight Agape Moms in the news and watch Him continue to expand Agape Moms Tampa Bay! I miss you guys so much.
Next to that box on my doorstep was this box of business cards for my new tribe here in WA, Agape Moms Tehaleh, which is launching on MONDAY
Read MoreAgape Moms Tehaleh is 🎉LAUNCHING on Monday, May 20th at 9:30 am at Sprouts Holler Park!🎉Bring your kids, bring your mess, and come hear more about Agape Moms and our summer study, The Gospel Centered Parent by Rose Marie Miller. If you’re tired of doing the mom thing alone and looking for a down to earth community- you’ve found it!
☕️We’ll have the coffee covered! If you’d like to bring a snack to share for our big launch, that would be great! Kids young and old are invited to play alongside us, and interruptions are expected and normalized. Join our tribe where you can #bringyourmess and be pointing back to Jesus in everything!
👋🏼Please RSVP to this launch event and be sure to join our Facebook group to get connected with us going forward
Read MoreI needed this one this morning. There is a beautiful tension in following Jesus, the intersection of chasing God-breathed dreams with our God-given talents, and finding our passion- but not without opposition and the need for God to equip us. When we discover our God-given passion and purpose it’s exciting, but don’t forget (like I do) that we NEED God to fill the gaps, and that He designed us to depend on Him every step of the way, that is why He gave us His Spirit.
It’s a wild ride of
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