God has a soft spot for moms.
“He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.” Isaiah 40:11
When I struggle as a mom, this verse assures me that the Lord not only cares deeply for my daughter, but He is leading me as well.
Your challenge on Day 11 of the 14-Day Love Your Neighbor Challenge is to love a local mom. Here are ten ways you can encourage a mom today:
- Compliment her kids. Kind words about our children will be pondered in her heart (like Mary) for a long, long time. Remember how to give a compliment (Day 8)?
- Tell her she’s doing a good job. Let her hear the words: “You are doing a good job.”
- Sympathize with her. Try to imagine her frustration, her fears. Walk a mile in her sensible flats or cute wedge heels.
- Give her grace. Next time her kids play too loud, too late, give her grace. When they ride their bike through your lawn, give her grace. When they block your parking spot, give them grace.
- Tell her about a time parenting was hard for you. Sometimes a story is all it takes to give her hope.
- Share her joy. Celebrate her kid’s successes with her. Potty training? Honor roll? Give her a high five across the picket fence!
- Help her out. Do her a special favor (Day 6), like watch her kids in her front lawn while she does dishes (or do her dishes while she plays with the kids!).
- Give her kids a balloon. No dietary restrictions or food allergies here! A simple balloon makes most kids smile.
- Give her a gift card. Most moms invest more time and energy—not to mention money—on their families instead of themselves. Give her a little something just for her like a gift certificate or coupon for a local coffee shop, restaurant, movie theater, salon, or store.
- Pray with her. Don’t just pray for her, pray with her. It’s not necessary to bow your heads or close your eyes, just talk to Jesus as if He’s standing with you. A sweet, simple prayer would go something like this, “Would it be alright if I prayed with you? Let’s just pray right now. Dear God, please bless this momma as she raises these beautiful kids. Give her wisdom and strength, love and grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Do you see what we didn’t do here? We didn’t offer any helpful advice, we didn’t tell her what she ought to be doing differently. We didn’t shame her, judge her or condemn her. We didn’t point out her problems (she’s well aware, trust me). Heck, we didn’t even invite her to church! Doing steps 1-10 may earn you the honor of speaking life to her; anything before that is presumptuous.
Answering before listening is both stupid and rude.
Proverbs 18:13 The Message
I’m picturing ten different moms from neighborhoods all over the country, each one the recipient of a single act of kindness. One goes to bed smiling because someone complimented her son’s good manners. Another wonders if that neighbor who scraped ice off her windshield was God’s answer to her half-hearted plea for help this morning. Yet another can’t shake the sense of peace that settled over her when a neighbor—a stranger, really, but now more like a friend—whispered a prayer for her, as if God was really real. As if He cared. As if He heard.
“When they found out we didn’t go to church, can you believe not one single mother invited me to go to church with her? Instead, they invited me out for coffee. We worked together on committees and school carnivals. Our children played at each other’s homes.
“They were simply lovely, and they simply loved me.”
How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird
Thank you for sticking with me during the 14-Day Love Your Neighbor Challenge! If these tips and tools have given you a new idea, if you’ve met a new neighbor or thought about your neighbors in a different way, would you please let me know? I’d love to hear your stories! Contact me or message me on Facebook.
Tips, tools. . . and prizes!
Win cute prizes to share with your neighbors from Ever Thine Home and Mary & Martha! To enter, do any of the following:
- Pinterest: Pin the image at the top of this post on Pinterest
- Facebook: Like, comment or share the daily challenge on our Facebook page. Share a story while you’re there!
- Twitter: Tweet this quote to your followers on Twitter
Prize Winners
The winner of the Mary & Martha bakeware is Barbara Anne Locklin Bowling! The winner of the “&” Bag from Mary and Martha is Kathy Sekunna! The winners of the Be His Cards from Ever Thine Home are Angela Royal and Chyrll Vollmer! Congratulations! Winners, please contact me with your shipping address to receive your prize.
More winners will be announced on February 14. And if you can’t wait to find out if you’re a winner, please support our sponsors by purchasing these lovely items directly from their websites.
14-Day Love Your Neighbor Challenge
- Day 14: Card
- Day 13: Play
- Day 12: Call
- Day 11: Moms
- Day 10: Eat
- Day 9: Learn
- Day 8: Compliment
- Day 7: Host
- Day 6: Help
- Day 5: Post
- Day 4: Serve
- Day 3: Map
- Day 2: Give
- Day 1: Pray
- Prizes for 14-Day Love Your Neighbor Challenge!
- 14-Day Love Your Neighbor Challenge
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