Gather Moms

Hey there, fabulous mamas!

We’re wrapping up spring and getting real about the summer parenting hustle. From battling the heatwaves to dodging screen-time overload, we’re sharing our personal wins and those adorable oops moments. Whether you’re the queen of planning or the spontaneous type, we’ve got something for every mama bear out there. And introverted parents, we see you – we’re chatting about the unique summer dance you do with your kiddos and all the feels that come with it.

Now, let’s talk about savoring those slow, precious moments. Summer’s the perfect season to let loose from those tight schedules and make memories that stick – like those heartwarming family board game nights, movie marathons with a touch of nostalgia, and of course, indulging in some ice cream bliss by the poolside. It’s all about quality time, ladies!

Just a reminder we are taking the summer off but will be back in the fall. It will be here before you know it!

XOXO,
Your Gather Moms Pals

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Comparison – is it always bad? I actually do a lot of comparing like grocery deals, gas prices and clothing fits and trends. The basic idea of comparison is examining similarities or differences between two or more things. It becomes detrimental when we let social comparison – myself vs others – indicate degrees of superiority or inferiority.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

Social comparison is a happiness quest. We get a hit of dopamine when we decide our house is the best, clothes are the best or new spray tan is the best. It is short-lived and shallow. Joy runs deep and exists in the face of trial and hardship. It lasts beyond the moment of happiness and holds us steady when life doesn’t go our way.

Comparison is a chase. Joy is a choice.

Comparison separates. Joy connects.

How can you overcome the comparison trap and choose joy?

1. Limit social media.
2. Pray before social gatherings.
3. Manage your inner critic.
4. Practice gratitude.

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SPONSOR:

Mosquito Shield

Go to moshield.com or call 214-897-3077 to schedule your treatment. Tell them you heard about them on Gather Moms and you get $25 off your first treatment.

For Girls Like You

Get the For Girls Like You Magazine today! A Christ-centered magazine for girls 8-12. Get 20% off by using Gather20 at checkout.

Get Mom Struggles on Amazon

Support Us: Monthly Donation | One-Time Donation

Connect with Us:

Gather Moms: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Kate Henderson: Instagram | Facebook

Rebecca Bradford: Instagram | Facebook

Email: [email protected]

Listening to this episode in your closet or by yourself in your car and just trying to steal a few quiet moments? YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Summer can make us each want to get in our cars and head to Mexico for a little peace and quiet because this season requires so much of us as moms. Often, our rhythms get interrupted, our sleep gets off and we stop taking care of ourselves. The still, quiet moments where we snuck away to spend time with the Lord may slip away in the unpredictability of summer and we can find ourselves run down and even depressed.

We’re talking in this replay of episode 114 about the signs of depression, what to do if you start to experience them and how to implement healthy rhythms so you take care of yourself this summer.

Summer-Onset Seasonal Affective Disorder (SO SAD)

• Signs: sadness, lethargy, apathy, unmotivated, anxious, excessive sleepiness, food craving; especially carbohydrates, irritability or loss of appetite and insomnia
• Don’t wait to get help! Reach out to a counselor and tell your friends if you’re struggling.

TIPS to help take care of yourself this summer:

• Monitor your caffeine intake
• Keep exercising
• Get time with your friends
• Drink water
• Take rest days
• Keep your healthy rhythms
• Limit social media
• Let others help
• And most importantly:
• Spend time with the Lord

Mark 6:31

And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

When you struggle, ask God to help you focus your mind on him. Are you getting anxious preparing to travel or about getting into your swimsuit? Ask God to help focus your mind on him and what is true.

Isaiah 26:3

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Summer will reveal weaknesses in each of us. It shows our limits, our lack of patience, the heat puts us on edge. As unbelievable as it sounds, we can celebrate that. Actually revel in it. Those weak places are where our God shines. When you see the temp tip past 100, look to your God and say: You’re up! He’s ready and wants to show his power in your weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Moms, summer is such a blessing of more time with our families but can also

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God can use any MAMA to accomplish his purposes. It might be a MAMA who has to lay down motherhood and it might be a MAMA who picks up the gift of motherhood. We know this as adoption. The Gospel is the definition of adoption because God adopts us into his family and becomes our spiritual parent. This is the theme of Season Two: MAMA that we see qualities of motherhood in God, that he then passes on to us. Pharaoh’s daughter becomes a mother in an unexpected way and then offers new opportunities to Moses that equips him for his future purpose. Both she and the birth mom are important and used by God. Today, Kate and Rebecca shine the light on adoption and celebrate this unnamed mom of the Bible.

Mentions:

• Rabbit moms have as many as four litters per year. The average litter contains four to five babies. Young rabbits disperse from the nest at 15-20 days old. Over the course of the year that could be 20 babies. Exodus 1:7 says, “but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.” See the connection?
• Mom gives birth walking into the hospital https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NssnktjY9k
• A Moses basket is a portable cradle for a baby, often made of straw or wicker. Shoutout to Jochebed for creating this OT original that became a modern masterpiece.
• Correction! Adopted children can be written out of wills or disinherited. They are considered on equal footing as a biological child and are entitled to all rights and property.

Gospel Truth:

• Exodus 2:1-10
• Numbers 26:59
• Ephesians 4:4-5

Action Steps:

• Trust – Jochebed trusted that God would take care of her baby.
• Timing – Adoptive moms trust that God’s timing is right for their family.
• Tenderness – All moms have a tenderness towards their child, whether it’s letting one go or taking one in.

What’s your ONE THING?

Come sit around the podcast table as we throw it back to the OG with the very first woman ever created. She was butter to Adam’s bread and jelly to his peanut butter. Apparently food is a good metaphor because it shows up in another OG story called the fall of man. The start of motherhood arrived after Eve’s exit from the Garden of Eden and included pain in childbirth. Sad day for every-MAMA-after! The story of Eve’s family reminds us that no family is perfect. The partnership God created between her and Adam turned to division, carried on to her children and still plagues the human race. Today we say thank you to our OG MAMA who paved the way, and thank you to the MVP OG, Jesus, who came to right the wrong and restore us to one team.

Mentions:

• OG: Original Gangster means exceptional, authentic, or “old-school”
• “Whoomp, there it is!” It was a popular song from the 90’s and now reappears in movies with the just the famous chorus line of ‘whoomp, there it is.” Why only the chorus? Because the rest of the song is all kinds of inappropriate. Trust us on this.
• Episode 18: Leah & Rachel mentioned A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash
• Adam named her Eve which means ‘mother of all living’
• Rebecca apologizes for her poor replay of the truth bomb joke.
• The Bible tells us Adam and Eve had three named sons: Cain, Abel and Seth. It also says they had other sons and daughters but we don’t know their names. Adam lived to be 930 years old.
• The parents in Swiss Family Robinson were just called Father and Mother.
• Affronted means deliberate act or display of disrespect; intentional slight; insult

Gospel Truth:

• Creation story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2
• Fall of man in Genesis 3
• Curse given in Genesis 3:14-19
• Ephesians 6:12

Action Steps:

• We battle our spouse because they are our closest relationship. The struggle is usually not them, but our own frustrations and unmet desires.
• We battle our children because they scream for our attention the most. The struggle is real, but they are not our enemy.
• We battle ‘others’ whether it be government, world powers, extended family or anyone who disagrees with us. They are not in a personal competition against us.
• Satan’s goal was to divide us, from each other and our relationship with God.
• Recognize the true enemy. Attack the sin, not the person. Fight against it as one team!
• Look on each other as Image Bearors of the one true God.