There was a mom who was failing her boys. Or at least she thought so. She’d been in control her whole life, but when those boys came along they turned everything upside down, and try as she might, she couldn’t get it right side up again. So she hid. She stopped doing the things that brought her joy because she couldn’t do them with her boys. She stopped sharing her heart because she was afraid of what people would find there. She closed the curtains on her home to keep judgement out and the truth in. She went to bed most nights in tears because she knew she hadn’t been the kind of mom she wanted to be that day. Powerless. Frightened. Alone. Depressed. That’s how she felt. Constantly. Like she was failing at the most important thing she’d ever put her hands to, and couldn’t do anything to stop it. Then one day she heard something that changed her life. A friend pulled back the curtain on her own life, allowed this mom to see in, and it didn’t look all that different from hers. A whiny, disobedient child? Check. A stretched, weary mom? Check. Tension? Interruption? Disrespect? Check. Check. Check. All the same. All much more like her world than she thought anybody else’s could possibly be. And for the first time ever, she felt like someone knew, someone saw her, and that maybe her life wasn’t quite as abnormal as she thought. Hope. It came rushing in. An idea that if someone else was experiencing the same thing, maybe she could survive. Maybe she could thrive. That girl was me. |
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This is a picture of me with my boys at ages 8 and 10, approximately. Next up, me with my boys now, at ages almost 15 and almost 17 (I say almost, because the youngest turns 15 in just a few days, and the oldest turns 17 next month). |
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In the summer of 2009, when my boys were just four and two years old, hope came rushing to my rescue as I listened to a friend's conversation with her child. Six months later, moved and stirred by the desire to help other moms open the curtains of their hearts and homes, Erin Mohring and I co-founded the MOB Society. Three years ago, in 2019, we followed the leading of God and switched gears to providing hope for moms of boys AND girls as we immersed ourselves in making prayer the first and best response to the challenges of motherhood… …and the doing of it has changed my life. I didn’t think I would make it. Didn’t think I would ever get in front of the daily grind of motherhood. But with God’s intervention, the openness of a friend, and this community, I’m growing stronger every day. You can, too. Yes, my newest book, Unraveled: Hope for the Mom at the End of Her Rope releases Tuesday (5/3), and yes, of course, I'd love for you to pick up a copy for yourself and every mom you know who needs the kind of hope only Jesus provides. But really, what I want to say more than anything else is, “thank you.” God has used this community first and foremost to change me, and make me more like Christ. I'm not a perfect mom (just ask those handsome boys above), but I'm a committed mom, a surrendered mom, and a mom who longs to share what God has taught me with other moms who might need hope too. As we prepare for Mother's Day, it seemed right to let you know how much you mean to me. Together, Brooke McGlothlin |
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- Getting to the Root of Weariness, New Podcast Season - Stacey Thacker, my co-author for Unraveled, will be joining me for the entire season on the MPM podcast to get to the root of weariness in motherhood. This issue—weariness—tends to resurface over and over again throughout motherhood, and we want to help you learn to recognize it for what it is, understand why you're feeling it, and identify ways you can be refreshed. You can tune in anywhere you listen to podcasts.
- Unraveled officially launches Tuesday (5/3) - we have some great bonuses designed to make your experience of the book deeper, but they go away on release day. Check them out here!
- Mother's Day is just around the corner. Unraveled makes a great gift for a mom you know who needs hope. Just a thought ;)
- The May Prayer Calendar is Ready - yours for just $5. All this month, we're praying through the book of Proverbs for our families. It's going to be a sweet time of prayer, and you're invited to join us! As a special bonus this month only, when you grab your prayer calendar, you get a free digital copy of our blank prayer journal, My Book of Prayers. It's the perfect way to record your thoughts and prayers as you pray through Proverbs, and it's substantial enough that it will last you the next several prayer calendars! Click here to learn more about getting your new prayer calendar at the beginning of each month.
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- I purchased a copy of the newest edition of Evangelical Theology by Michael F. Bird. Yes, that makes me something of a theology nerd. I make no apologies! The reason I wanted it is because it approaches systematic theology from a thoroughly gospel-centered perspective. I love keeping the gospel at the center of everything, and I've really enjoyed reading through this (really big) book.
- Baseball season is in full swing! My youngest son broke his finger at the beginning of March, and just started playing sports again a couple weeks ago. I wanted to give him some extra protection for his fingers, so I bought him a base-running mitt. If you have a player, it really does help protect their fingers when they're sliding to the bases…never mind that it looks like they're wearing an oven mitt.
- I'm officially a cat-lover. These cute little bow ties are currently making me so happy. I don't know if they're making my cat, Nermal, happy, but I adore them, and have been getting one for each season and holiday. This is his yellow spring bow tie ;)
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- I've been going back to the basics. My boys are teenagers now, and I'm finding that laying a foundation of truth isn't just something you can do once when they're little. We've been looking back through the concepts and prayers in Praying for Boys. If you're a girlmom, check out Praying for Girls.
- Did I mention I love baseball? I snagged this cute tote bag the other day because my snack bag I've used for YEARS fell apart. This one is a perfect size for our dry goodies on long days of playing!
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