Ministry Archives - Families With Grace

Moms on a Mission: Dr. Karen Dowling

Posted on August 20, 2020August 25, 2020 by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

I love having the chance to introduce you to real moms who are following their God-given passions, making a difference in the world and being real about their journeys.

This month’s mom is someone I’ve known for years from church. She’s the kind of woman who has a beautiful smile and a personality that makes everyone feel welcome and included. You can see the love of God shine through her.

Dr. Karen Dowling has spent years working in diversity at the university level and is currently the executive director for multicultural learning and engagement at a major Christian university.

But, that’s not all. She’s also a wife of 22 years and a mom to two boys — one in college and one a senior in high school.

Families with Grace: What’s your God-given mission or passion?

Karen Dowling: My God-given mission is to help others (and myself) build relationships, engage with and respect cultures. I’m a teacher at heart, so continuous teaching and learning plays right into that. My role is perfect for me because I’m still working in an academic setting, and I’m able to teach by providing development.

I work with faculty, students, staff and our curriculum to make sure that it’s inclusive. I work with all the issues relating to diversity and inclusion at our university. Working with adults who are taking online classes means that I’m working nationally and globally.

It all goes together with who I am. I have a multicultural background personally, and I love to build relationships with and interact with people.

My role is founded on Biblical principals. I’m blessed that I get to have Christ in my work.

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

KD: When all the ongoing racial tension increased, I knew I had to learn more. I am a lifelong learner. I never want to be finished learning. So, I started joining in on book studies and webinars. I took some mini classes to educate myself so that I’m not coming from an all-knowledgeable perspective.

Then at work, I created a series at work called “Growing Together: Conversations About Racism and Bias.” My goal was to help our university continue to live out our caring purpose and communicate with one another. Learning each other’s stories and building relationships is important. I have a desire to help people have a sense of belonging. Not everybody has a sense of belonging.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living our your mission?

KD: I can get stifled when I want to do things well, so I just don’t start them. If I don’t feel like I can dedicate enough time to a project — both at work and at home — then I end up not starting it. I have so many things I want to do. But when I get overwhelmed and unsure whether I can put in the amount of time and detail I want, I get stifled.

I’m a visionary person who wants to be creative. Sometimes details are stumbling blocks for me.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

KD: Recently, I’ve discovered more about myself. I lost my dad when I was 21. He was from India and had dark skin. My mom is Caucasian. I have more traits from my dad while my mom and brother are blonde and blue-eyed.

Thanks in part to some of my recent work experiences, my brother and I recently had a beautiful conversation about how our experiences have differed. The differences in our skin color, our gender and our ages (he’s six years younger) have shaped our shared experiences differently.

I want to engage in those conversations. It’s been a blessing and very enlightening for me. With racial tensions and living out a mission of being set apart and living for Christ, it’s important to think about these things.

I have had some great conversations with my sons while teaching them about my dad and how he was oppressed. They haven’t experienced those things firsthand. I think about how their awareness might be different if they had known this grandpa with an accent and dark skin.

I’m blending work topics at home and vice versa — and all of it with a Christian perspective.

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

KD: I have a great partner. My husband is really great in that we help each other around the house. We help each other with life decisions. We’re great partners when it comes to our boys and their activities as well as the discipline and decisions we need to make for them.

We’ve been super blessed with how our sons have turned out so far. They make great decisions and do what they’re asked to do. I don’t always feel like I’m doing it well, but I try.

I have enjoyed this time of quarantine in having both of my sons home. We didn’t get sick of and frustrated with each other. It has been a joy to be together. Somehow we’ve been able to be in sync together.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

KD: I like to keep my family together as a cohesive group. We make some decisions together as a unified effort. The four of us try to play and have positive fun time as well. We don’t always get to eat dinner at the table and pray and such, but we try.

I also make having date nights and fun with my husband a priority. And we maintain that our relationship with our sons is first and foremost as their parents.

I have a new project I’ve started working on recently and have really made that a family decision. My sons and husband have given me input. We have moments where we’re a team. We’re one unit and not divided as the parents and the kids.

Moms on a Mission: Erin Mayes

Posted on July 16, 2020January 25, 2023 by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

The Moms on a Mission series is one of my favorites. I love getting to share the stories of real moms who are making a difference in the lives of their families and the world!

This month’s mom is someone I’ve known for more than 20 years. Erin Mayes and I met in college where we were both studying magazine journalism. She was a young woman with a sweet smile. I didn’t have to talk to her long to see her heart for God.

Our lives have certainly changed since those days as young college students, but Erin’s heart for God remains the same. And now she lives out her mission as a wife to her husband, Josh, and mama to two kiddos, who are 8 and 5. She spends her days as a homemaker and stay-at-home mom while also advocating for children who live thousands of miles away from her Midwestern home.

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

Erin Mayes: If you want to talk about passion, my first passion is Jesus. After that, one of our biggest mission’s is our home. Our biggest testimony is our marriage and, for my husband and me, raising our children in a home that is living out the gospel. The over-arching vision of our family is to love God and love others.

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

EM: Like all of life, as soon as you figure something out, it changes. I used to say that I hate change, but over time I’ve grown to learn that life is always changing. I think that’s a blessing. God uses change to remind us to rely on Him. God knows we need Him and wants us to recognize that we need Him.

So, my mission has morphed over time. I feel like I’ve lived several entities of myself. When I was 19, my brother, who was only 16, passed away from cancer. That will always be a giant marker in my life. Then I graduated college and was single and working full time and that was a different mission.

For this moment, where I am right now, we do it real messy and we just keep trying. When we got married, we agreed that I’d stay home when we had kids. When I was pregnant with my oldest, I was offered a job that would have been a great career opportunity, but I said no so I could be fully in our home. I’m thankful that I get to invest so much time in our children.

This pandemic — while it’s been so difficult in the world as a whole — has been a blessing for me personally in having enough time to slow down and listen to my kids. I hope that as my children are young I’m able to plant seeds and give them attention. I’m not perfect and have to apologize and ask for forgiveness from them sometimes.

Along with our family, my husband and I are also involved in our church. For us, it’s asking God for the wisdom to give our best “yes,” because we recognize that when you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to others. And if you’re saying yes to everything, you’re stretched too thin.

FWG: Tell us about your involvement with Team World Vision.

EM: Back around 2012, Team World Vision, which is an arm of World Vision, came to our city and spoke at our church. A woman gave her testimony about how she walked to get to clean water when she was young. It was powerful. Our church had a huge response, and we had a big team that year. Both my husband, Josh, and I ran with Team World Vision that year.

Through training for a half or full marathon, someone who runs or walks with Team World Vision will ask their family and friends to join them on the journey by donating. The dollars donated to their fundraising page go directly to help provide clean water to those who don’t have access to it.

Team World Vision makes an individual sport a team sport. Running long distances is as much mental as physical. It’s easy to quit and hard to keep going. With Team World Vision, you get a schedule of the running plan for each day, whether it’s time or distance. Then your long run is on the weekend.

Most Team World Vision teams get together on Saturday mornings and will have music, water, snacks and so forth. You get to see other people doing the same thing as you. And that’s encouraging.

The first few years, Josh and I would trade off Saturdays running while the other one took care of the baby and eventually babies. Four years ago when we moved to a different area of town and went to a new church, we decided to start our own Team World Vision team.

Josh, Erin and their two kiddos in their Team World Vision orange gear.

The statistics are staggering on how much of the world does not have access to clean water. In 2018, my husband and I got to go to Africa to see some of the places where World Vision is working. We heard the founder of Team World Vision speak. He shared that we can only go without breath for a matter of minutes to survive. We can only go without water for a matter of days and without food for weeks for our bodies to survive.

So after air, water is the second most important thing a body needs to survive. If you’re spending all your time searching for water that isn’t even clean, you’re just surviving and not thriving. Sadly, 50% of children under age 5 die in areas where they don’t have access to clean water due to water contamination illnesses. It’s hard to wrap our minds around not having access to clean water.

You’re either doing Team World Vision because you need something to help you accomplish a half or full marathon or because you want to help with the clean water crisis, but ultimately, it ends up being both.

(For even more, check out this Facebook video of Erin’s husband interviewing a team member.)

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

EM: I believe in the Bible that God calls us to boldness — a boldness in our faith. And if we do not have it, the Bible says to ask for it in the same way He tells us to ask for wisdom if we don’t have it. Through Team World Vision, asking people to run or give money can be hard. It’s all about a mindset, but it helps to understand that Jesus says to cast out your net. He doesn’t say to pick and choose.

The first three years we ran with Team World Vision, we raised a small amount. We didn’t have a vision and goal that gripped our hearts. In our fourth year, Josh said if we were going to continue doing this, we needed to be all in. We decided that we would make a full effort and put our whole effort and whole heart into the fundraising equally. We matched the donations people gave us throughout the year and ended up being in the top third of fund raisers that year.

The next year, God called us to do more and we had to step through fear. On the other side of fear is where you find God working. In 2018, we doubled our goal and raised $10,000. We led our team by example. Our team began to see it happen and they began to embrace it themselves and recognize what they could do to help.

Even just getting invited to go to Africa with Team World Vision in 2018 involved me stepping through fear. I don’t like to fly. We had 12 flights in 14 days. It was a spiritual war inside of me just to put down the deposit and say yes, we’re going to Africa and leaving our small children, who were only 3 and 5 at the time.

But, we got to see the work being done there. And God continues to work in our hearts on this. I was training for the 2020 New York City Marathon, but it was recently canceled. That was kind of expected, but also a surprise that they did it so early. So, we’re shifting gears and leading our team. It’s a matter of trusting God each day.

Team World Vision does offer a virtual option now that will allow me to run the 26 miles over five days instead. I can train with others locally but also still complete the marathon virtually.

A couple of years ago, Team World Vision added in child sponsorships. At the beginning of the year, I felt like God was telling me this New York City run should use the money for child sponsorships instead of waterworks like we’ve always done. So, I will do that now with the virtual run.

Child sponsorship is a bigger ask and commitment. It takes $39 a month. But it’s also a bigger impact. It’s continual money going into the community. It helps World Vision. They have a long-term relationship with the community and government. They help the community set goals, reach goals and then they pull out. So the community has ownership.

It’s such a beautiful thing. You’re really making an impact and when you do a child sponsorship, you can set up an auto payment to come out of your account every month. Most Americans don’t end up missing that money that is making an impact somewhere else.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessing in living out your mission?

EM: God’s still working on my heart, thank goodness. I’ve been blessed by the friendships and opportunities that have come out of this. I never dreamed I would go to Africa and get to meet real faces and real people that are impacted. They impacted me.

You can’t out-give God, whether it be money or time or listening to someone else. And we are blessed by the impact we see it slowly making on our family — our children, parents, extended family, church family and community. Each year it grows.

God’s dreams are bigger and better than our own if we’d just let go and say yes.

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your mission?

EM: Trying to get in the runs can be challenging. Josh and I have made it our goal to complete them in the morning, so it’s not hanging over the rest of our day. Plus we feel better throughout the day.

Leading a team and having a large fundraising goal requires a lot of time. During running season, Wednesday night after the kids go to bed is our Team World Vision night. We want our kids to feel like they’re a part of it and not like it’s taking away from family time. We try to make sure Team World Vision is getting attention but also not taking attention away from our kids.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

EM: You can’t do everything. If it’s a mother of really young children, I’d remind her that those seasons feel so long in the time, but it truly is just a short season. Embrace it for the time you’re in it.

Pray and ask God to open doors. I think we kind of get hung up on perfect, and that really can be the enemy of good. Just help someone else. Do the next right thing. Make the next best choice.

Especially when your kids are small, you have to be willing to accept help, and you don’t have to be the hero. It’s a blessing to let other people help you. The season will come when you can help others again.

Moms on a Mission: Kathleen Brooker

Posted on May 14, 2020January 25, 2023 by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms making a difference

Back in 2009, I was pregnant with my daughter and joined a message board on Baby Center’s site for women expecting babies in October 2009.

Through the years, I’ve gotten to know a few of the moms from that group very well and consider them good friends. One of these mamas is Kathleen Brooker. When we first “met,” she lived in California. Since then she’s followed her husband’s calling as an Anglican priest to New York and now to Anchorage, Alaska.

As a pastor’s wife of a growing church, Kathleen often jumps in teaching Sunday School, serving in the nursery, co-leading the teen group and more.

Kathleen, who is a former mental health counselor, has chosen to be at home with her five children (ages 2 to 10). She homeschools her oldest three and does her best to keep the younger two entertained at the same time. She’s got such a heart for God and has blessed and encouraged me many times throughout the years.

Just reading Kathleen’s responses to my questions encouraged me, and I know they will you, too!

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

Kathleen Brooker: This is such a hard question for me to answer! It’s hard to zero in on the one thing I feel called to. I think that might mean that I haven’t figured that out yet. So many things draw me. I love to serve alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever we happen to be needed.

Right now, my service is mostly with the youth in our church: I homeschool our kids, teach Sunday school, and help lead our teen group. I have a heart for young moms and women experiencing crisis pregnancies. I long to be a kind and loving voice speaking the truth of the gospel into the hearts of those needing to hear it.

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

KB: I always thought the counseling profession was where I was supposed to really minister, but after over a decade I’ve come to the conclusion that a counseling office just isn’t where God wants me to serve.

So I serve at home by teaching our kids, by guiding their hearts to love Jesus. I serve by helping our teens at church learn to talk about their faith and share it with others. I serve by being a pastor’s wife.

As the wife of an Anglican priest and mom of five kids, Kathleen Brooker is busy. But she has a heart for God that shines through to encourage others. #MomsOnAMission #Ministry #PastorsWife #Faith #Church #Moms #MomLife

I love watching my husband share Jesus with people, whether it’s through a worship service, a sermon, a conversation or a prayer with a stranger who calls at 3 a.m. God has blessed him with a personality and heart to love His people, but that’s not always an easy job. That’s where I come in: I get to be his support as he lives out his mission.

God has set our family on a very interesting course — one I never would have imagined when I started dating my husband! We’ve been married for 13 years and have made three major moves (and two minor ones) in that time.

We crossed the country to serve in California, crossed back to serve in New York, then packed up our family again four years ago to serve a small church in Alaska. We’ve had some painful experiences and some times of beautiful peace and healing. Through all of it, we’ve been a team and God has grown us through our ministry together.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

KB: I think my biggest struggle is that my calling doesn’t feel like a calling sometimes. It just feels like tagging along where God calls my husband! So often, I feel like whatever I can offer is so small that it just has to be insignificant.

There are so many outreach ministries I would love to be involved in, but I’m just so busy with home stuff that it seems like I don’t have time to actually minister to anyone. That’s when I have to remind myself that this is where God has put me now, right here in this house, right in the middle of all this chaos. And He knows I’m here and what’s going on.

He’s blessed my husband and me with five little hearts that are so open to Jesus and long to know and love Him. That’s my mission right now: my kids. It doesn’t mean I can’t do other things outside the home or that I don’t want to, but my focus these days is on guiding them.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

KB: It’s got to be learning to trust that God really does know what He’s doing. It’s easy to say that God is in control when things are going well, but it becomes so much harder when we run into complications in life. It feels strange to say that the times we’ve struggled most have also blessed us the most, but they have.

We had one particularly rough situation where my husband had lost his job. We were living thousands of miles away from family and friends. We were suddenly cut off from the little support and friendship we’d had, and we just didn’t know what we were going to do. I was eight months pregnant with no health insurance and things just seemed awful.

It wasn’t an easy time, but even in the middle of it, we could see God moving. It was amazing to see how He worked things out and provided for us. I love looking back at a situation and realizing, “Oh, THAT’S what you were doing, God!” It’s amazing to see.

I think my favorite example of this is always going to be the birth of our fifth child. I was so done at four children. I even told God that. Apparently He didn’t agree because shortly after we’d moved to Alaska and settled into our new life here, I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant.

I had such a hard time accepting that I was really going to have another baby and I struggled with it right up until the moment she was born and I saw her little face. The moment I held her and looked in her eyes, I heard God whispering in my heart, telling me to just trust Him. He was telling me that He knows my heart so much better than I ever could. He knows what I need and what is best, even when I think I’ve got a better plan.

During that whole pregnancy, I fought against trusting that God’s plan was better than mine. But the second I saw my daughter’s beautiful little face, all my resistance melted away and I was just in awe of Him. He was teaching me a mighty lesson, but He was doing it in such a gentle, loving way. At that moment I had just a glimpse of His amazing patience, love and grace.

I’d love to say that I’ve changed every aspect of my life and that I never worry and always trust wholly in Him…but that just wouldn’t be honest. Every single time I look at my daughter, though, He reminds me that His plans are best. I still struggle to trust Him completely, but I hope that I’m at least taking some tiny steps in the right direction, following where He’s so lovingly and patiently leading me.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

KB: I think my advice would be to remember that God has you where you are for a reason. It doesn’t always seem like we’re making any kind of difference or actually doing anything to serve Him, but we are.

I know I always catch myself comparing myself with other women who seem to be more accomplished than I am, feeling that if they are doing something I’m not, then I must be failing. But that’s not the way this works.

We are all here to serve Him in different ways. For some of us, that may never be a spotlight-type of ministry, and that’s OK. It’s more than OK; it’s what He has planned for us. I think we’re just supposed to follow Him faithfully, serving wherever we are with our whole heart and sharing the love of Jesus where we are.

Moms on a Mission: Stacey Pardoe

Posted on March 26, 2020January 25, 2023 by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

You know how sometimes you “meet” someone online and feel a connection with them? That’s how I’ve been with Stacey Pardoe — and it’s not just because we share the same first name!

Stacey is a fellow blogger and freelance writer who I came across in faith-based blogging groups and gotten to know a bit. Stacey’s blog posts are encouraging and uplifting. Her blog, StaceyPardoe.com, is all about encountering God in the ordinary.

Along with being a blogger, Stacey is a certified special education and elementary education teacher. Right now she’s is taking a break from the classroom to focus on raising her three little ones. When she isn’t writing or taking care of her babies, Stacey also mentors other women.

I know her insights and journey will inspire you as well!

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

Stacey Pardoe: My passion is to walk in Christ’s love and make His love known to the world. I believe all ministry should flow from a personal relationship with Christ. My hope is to encourage others with the hope Christ gives to me on a daily basis.

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

SP: Right now, most of my energy goes into raising my own little flock of three blue-eyed children. Bekah is 9, Caleb is 5 and little Aiden will be a year old in May. While there are days that drag on – days when the mission of motherhood feels too hidden and humbling – I regularly remind myself that shepherding this little flock is among the highest callings in my life.

In addition to long stroller walks down our country road, afternoons spent chasing frogs in creek bottoms and campfires under hemlock trees with the kids, I also lead Bible studies, mentor women and spend the in-between moments writing.

Writing fuels my soul in a quiet way that fills me up while I pour out. I began my freelance writing career three years ago. This opportunity to share the hope of Christ with the world nourishes my soul as I follow Christ into vulnerability and the uncomfortable realm of authentic, heart-level sharing. I have learned that one of the greatest gifts I can offer the world is the gift of my vulnerable, authentic self.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

SP: I love being a mom, but if I’m completely honest, there are days when the mission of motherhood is very challenging. While I thrive on routines, the cyclic nature of performing the same tasks again and again sometimes wears on my soul.

I thrive in the warm months of the year, when we can get outside for long days in the woods, but there are winter days when the walls close in. There are days when I lose my patience and forget all about being thankful for this calling.

There are also times when I struggle with balancing the callings to write, mentor and parent. At times, I find myself stretched thin from ministering to the world and neglecting home; however, at other times, I am restless from too much time pouring exclusively into my own little flock. I’ll share more about this below.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

SP: I am very blessed by this mission of motherhood. After seven years as a high school Life Skills Support special education teacher, I am grateful for this season of pouring into my own children. The miracles of watching them grow, teaching them about Jesus and simply enjoying them are true blessings to me.

I became a mentor somewhat by accident. Throughout my years as a high school teacher, I was also a youth group leader at our local church. I led countless Bible studies and joined teens on mission trips and retreats across the country and beyond. Most of the younger women I currently mentor are now in their 20s; they are the teens who once helped in my classroom and bunked next to me on mission trips. I am blessed to count these young women as friends in this season of life.

When I picked up writing a few years ago, it quickly became a wonderful ministry that fuels my soul in a different way. God uses writing to nudge me to look at what He’s teaching me and articulate it in a way that speaks to the needs of others. I am deeply blessed by writing.

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

SP: There are certainly times when I struggle to keep a balance between how much I’m ministering to people outside my family and how much I’m pouring into my own family. This is a week-by-week journey. I generally find that God whispers to my soul based on how stretched I’m feeling.

I can tell when I’m pouring out too much outside the home. I snap at my kids, feel a low level of anxiety and feel like I’m always in a hurry.

In the same sense, I can tell when I’m not reaching out enough. I have a restlessness in my soul and deep desire to connect in community. That can mean heading to the local university campus to take a walk and mentoring a younger woman or slipping to a quiet spot in the house to work on a writing project.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

SP: Don’t lose sight of your passions. There will be seasons when you might need to put them on the back-burner as you tend to your family, but this doesn’t mean you have to throw them away altogether. There is no formula for finding the balance between ministering to the world and ministering to your own family.

The key is to stay close to the heart of the Father. He will whisper to you – through his written Word but also through your energy levels, or just a deep place of “knowing” – about when it’s time to push out and offer more to the world and when it’s time to pull back and give more to your family. The key is a relationship with Him. Keep your love for Him first, and He will help the rest fall into place.

Moms on a Mission: Kristin Billerbeck

Posted on February 21, 2020January 25, 2023 by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

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Years ago, I picked up a book called “What a Girl Wants” at my local library. While I had read more than my fair share of Christian fiction books, this was my first encounter with Christian Chick-Lit that held my attention, wasn’t trite, made me laugh out loud and had an underlying message reminding me of Who God is.

I proceeded to devour every Kristin Billerbeck book that she’d written. They’re just good books. I read so many books that I typically use the library or Kindle Unlimited, but I bought a few of Kristin’s books when they weren’t available. Now I buy them when they release so I don’t have to wait! They really are that good.

I follow a few of my favorite authors on social media. A few years ago, I came across Kristin on Facebook and had a friend from church who was friends with her. So I sent her a friend request. I had a total fan-girl moment when she accepted my friend request.

In being the casual Facebook friends we are, I have enjoyed getting to know more about her and keep updated when new books are released so I can buy them for my Kindle. I’ve learned that real-life Christian is like many of her heroines: she has a sense of humor and a passion for God.

Though she’s won many awards for her numerous books, Kristin’s biggest source of pride is her four young adult children. I knew she’d be a great fit for the Moms on a Mission series and was so excited when she replied that she’d be happy to answer questions for me.

You’re going to be inspired by her and adore her. You’ll want to read more of her words! Kristin’s website is filled with information about her and her books. It’s organized so you can find series and stand-alone novels to dive into.

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

Kristin Billerbeck: My God-given mission is to tell the world God is perfect — not His people. Though His people may let you down and cause harm, God is not like that. God is loving and compassionate and quick to forgive with repentance. My books all reflect that message.

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

KB: I’m currently writing a book about five sisters with three mothers and the same father. I wanted to show the grace in the hardest of circumstances. It can be so hard to understand God is a loving father when your earthly father is harmful or even abusive.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

KB: Sitting down daily and putting everyday life aside to write. I also feel a huge responsibility to get things right Scripturally. For example, in my book “Swimming to the Surface” the heroine is married to an abusive man who is narcissistic. I told the publisher before I sold them the book this will end in divorce. I cannot tell an abused woman that she can love a narcissist enough to make him change. There is no psychological evidence that a narcissist is capable of changing.

That one was tough for me because I know what the Bible says about divorce, but I also know women who have been ready to commit suicide to get away from their abuser. God doesn’t want a mockery of a marriage over a human soul. That was not His design for marriage. But I know there are legalistic people who will not see that point of view. I respect their viewpoint, but maybe they’ve never loved anyone in that situation. I think if it were happening to their daughter, they would want separation, if not divorce.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

KB: I’m very fortunate in that I’ve gotten to travel all over the United States and meet amazing people. Also, the Christian writing community is very close-knit and I’ve made lifelong friends with many.

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

My children are grown now, but when they were young, we had “Mommy time” which was their nap time. When they got older, I still kept those hours (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) to write. I was fortunate in that I could be interrupted mid-sentence and go right back to where I was in the book when any crisis was over.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

“Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.” (It’s a book title — great book, by the way.) But if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Sometimes, if we are being called to a ministry, we have to make sure that is God’s call and follow through.

I would also say, “Make time for yourself.” It doesn’t have to be a long stretch of time, but it is very important when you’re pursuing a passion that you understand, you do have a right to a life. Just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice who God made you to be. There are years in parenting where that is more difficult and your kids will always come first, but it’s OK to pursue what you’re passionate about.

You can find Kristin’s most recent book, “The Theory of Happily Ever After,” on Amazon; it is available through Kindle Unlimited! Keep an eye out for her new release “Room at the Top.”

Moms on a Mission: Pastor Stefanie Hendrickson

Posted on December 6, 2019January 25, 2023 by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

I am often awestruck at the women I see around me — both in real life and online — who are doing really amazing work in the midst of motherhood. These women are difference makers in the world who have identified and are living out their mission or God-given passion.

You need to know all about them, too! The Moms on a Mission series is all about these women. Once or twice a month, I’ll feature a mom who is living out her mission both inside and outside her home.

I’ve got a few other moms in mind, but I also would love suggestions. If you know a mom or are a mom who is living out her mission and God-given passion, I’d love to hear about it! Click on the “Contact” tab or send me a message through the Families with Grace Facebook page. I look forward to sharing stories that will inspire us all!

Today’s Mom on a Mission is Pastor Stefanie Hendrickson, who is a pastor and editor as well as a mom of three. She is on a mission to share God’s love inside and outside of her home. You’re going to be inspired by her story!

FWG: What is your God-given mission or passion?

SH: As a teenager, I felt called by God to serve Him, but I wasn’t sure what that looked like. I thought perhaps I would serve in missions and move overseas. I distinctly remember telling my youth pastor about my calling and being frightened at his suggestion that I would need to attend seminary after college!

During my time at Olivet Nazarene University, I served on a couple of mission trips (to Italy and Croatia) and helped in any way possible to learn more about ministry. In fact, I have a passion for the written word and received a degree in literature. I added a minor in missions in order to somehow figure out what God was calling me to be “when I grew up.”

After graduation, I was an intern with the Nazarene Publishing House and ended up enrolling in seminary a few months later. It was daunting, but I moved forward and ended up earning a Masters in Divinity. Seminary is also where I met my husband who has served as my co-pastor throughout our years in ministry.

I have always been a reader; I was the kid in class reading a book while everyone else was chatting away. My first job was at the local community library. (I really, really didn’t want to work in fast food.) I even considered getting a degree in library science. (I sometimes still think about doing that because what can be better than being surrounded by books all day?!)

In my undergraduate studies, I tried to figure out how to marry my passion for the written word with my calling to ministry. My first job out of college was a Sunday School curriculum editor. And since then I’ve had the privilege to be both a pastor in a local church and serve the Church through the written word. These two avenues have allowed me to be able to equip people both for life and ministry. I love it!

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

SH: My husband and I are currently planting a new church that meets in our home. We don’t necessarily look a lot like your typical church (we all—everyone from the babies to the oldest—meet in our upstairs great room on Sunday evenings), but we believe that as society changes, the Church needs to be able to live as faithful followers. It may mean that we have to sort out the essentials and non-essentials of the faith. Our parishioners are amazing, and we have all seen a lot of growth in our lives and church.

Our church has been meeting for several years and all the while we have been reaching out to people in our community, living life beside them and inviting them to join in the life God’s grace offers. We now have some couples coming who we have been ministering to for years. Years.

American society is quickly moving to post-Christianity. We followers of Christ can fight, kick and scream about it. Or we can get busy living the grace and Christ and loving our neighbors. The difficulty is that many times that ministry of grace and love takes a long time to sprout.

In my tradition, I report to a superintendent who oversees several churches. Each year we get together to talk business and vision. The easiest way to try to assess health is numbers: numbers of people, conversion, dollars, baptisms. You name it, we count it. The problem is, those numbers do not always reflect health. (A wise seminary professor once noted that “cancer grows fast, too.”)

Our neighbors, co-workers and community members don’t typically have any connections to church or, unfortunately, good opinions of it either. Working counter-culturally is difficult enough, and many times the Church is slow to adapt in ways that reaches the people she is called to love.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges and blessings in living out your mission?

SH: The balance of motherhood and ministry has been one many of my female colleagues have wrestled with. Being a female clergy presents its own challenges, but adding family to the mix makes it more difficult at times. The ministry is often difficult for families, because much is often expected of the ministry. And sometimes that is to the detriment of his or her family. I have been blessed with the ability to work part-time at home, but that can also make it difficult to get much done.

Our congregation is intergenerational—we all meet together for our service. It isn’t always easy, but I am continually amazed at how the children are learning that they are a part of the Body of Christ. They participate in the service. They listen to what is shared (even when it doesn’t seem like they are). They even teach the adults about the grace and goodness of God.

I think family life is a lot like that—we have to share life together, inviting our children to learn (and being willing to learn ourselves) as we guide them into maturity. Sometimes that’s messy. Other times it means we have to draw limits for ourselves.

The counseling professor at seminary once told us that as she was studying and working on her degree she had to decide what holiday traditions her family would observe. She knew she couldn’t do it all. She asked her children which things meant most to them in celebrating the holiday, and that’s what they did.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

SH: We need to give ourselves permission to not have to “do it all.” Around our house we call it, “giving each other some grace.” I think moms especially need to know they don’t have to do it all to be what God created them to be.

I often sign my correspondences with “Grace and Peace.” The peace that is spoken of in the Scriptures, shalom, isn’t peace in the sense of being without strife. It is wholeness. I think of it as being who God created you to be.

It’s hard to have that wholeness if we allow life and the world to tear us into a thousand different directions in an attempt to be the perfect mother. That comes at a cost that is too high for any of us–or our families–to pay.

Know a mom who needs to be featured in the Moms on a Mission series? Let us know through the “Contact” tab or through a message on the Families With Grace Facebook page!

Families With Grace

Helping Christian moms create homes filled with grace, love & faith

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

Families with Grace: What’s your God-given mission or passion?

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living our your mission?

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

Read more from the series

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

FWG: Tell us about your involvement with Team World Vision.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessing in living out your mission?

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your mission?

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

Read more from the series

Profiles of moms making a difference

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

Read more from the series

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

Read more from the series

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

Read more from the series

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

FWG: What is your God-given mission or passion?

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges and blessings in living out your mission?

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

Read more from the series: