Uncategorized | The MOB Society

{Today’s guest post is from Beki of The Rusted Chain, who felt moved to do something big for the family of the 8 year-old boy killed during the Boston Marathon}.

The other day my heart was broken along with the rest of the country’s as we learned the news of the Boston marathon bombings. I kept thinking, “This world needs so much more love.” And I went to my studio and created a necklace that says those words: Choose Love.

I woke up the next morning with one lady heavy on my heart, the mother of the little 8 year old boy I’d seen on the news that had passed away. I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

I told my assistant, “I think I want to try to find that lady and send her a piece of jewelry. Just something as a memorial to Martin, her son.” We do things like this pretty often and don’t say anything about it publicly.

But my assistant said, “Beki, I know your heart. It’s in the right place. But you can do so much more. You can make a much bigger impact by listing that necklace and donating part of it to their family. So many people are hurting about this and would be willing to help if you give them a chance.”

So we did it. Even though it’s our busy Mother’s Day season, I knew I should choose love and give bigger than I’d planned.

Until May 1, we’re giving $10 from each Choose Love necklace sold to the Martin Richard family fund.

I don’t do very many things very well, but one thing I can do is create jewelry. And what a blessing it is to be able to help others with it!

Click here to purchase your “Choose Love” necklace now and show the Martin Richard family the world sees and cares.

{Today, we have a lovely, grace-filled post from Jessica Wolstenholm of Grace for Moms. She’s just released a brand new grace-filled book for moms of new babies, and we can’t recommend it highly enough! Pssst, there might be a chance to win one of three copies at the end of this post!}

As I walked through pregnancy with my son, I often admitted my fear of mothering a boy.

I’m the girliest of girls and I had a blast with my firstborn – a sugary sweet little princess. What ever would I do with a boy?

Boy moms assured me that little guys are sweet and that they love their mamas. I believed them and yet I was still overcome with fear – or maybe it was the weight of responsibility – of mothering a boy.

Practically speaking, being mom to a boy is a lot like being mom to a girl (except for maybe their equipment and the care of said ‘equipment’ – let’s not even go there). Feeding, sleeping, medical care . . . it’s basically the same and comes with the same temptation to strive to attain a certain level of perfection in motherhood.

I learned (read: tried and failed on my own and finally surrendered) with my firstborn to walk closely with the Holy Spirit so I could “test and approve” His will for our lives (Romans 12:2). I thought I had encountered and (somewhat) conquered all of the spiritual lessons that came with motherhood. I was able to overcome my feelings of inadequacy and the desire for perfection after the Lord gently corrected my approach and reminded me to look only to Him for direction. But this time there seemed to be more at stake.

The thing about baby boys . . . They do come will a special level of responsibility. Not only as a mama, but as a woman we know who they need to become someday. We know what kind of father, husband and leader they need to be. We carry the weight of this charge because somewhere along our journey, in our vulnerable femininity, we’ve encountered the well raised and the poorly raised son. We hope and pray our son will be deemed the former and will take full responsibility if they become the latter.

As a new mom, it’s easy to get caught up in temporary issues such as sleep training and immunizations in the early days of our child’s life that we miss out on the foundation of prayer and intercession that is imperative to their long term well being. I’m so thankful for communities like this that bring prayer to the forefront of our minds every.single.day as we navigate the crazy days of motherhood. It is never too early to bring earnest supplication to the Lord on behalf of our boys.

Our heart for The Baby Companion book is to offer moms a balanced resource that brings medicine and faith together to guide them through baby’s first year. We speak of peace and grace in its pages, pointing moms to the One who has the answer to every question that invades their tired and weary heart. We address sleep training and basic physical needs but we also speak of learning your child and recognizing his uniqueness early on. We pray this book brings about a new movement of motherhood that looks beyond temporary issues in light of eternity. Our hope is that moms find all the peace they need to savor every moment with their newborn while accessing the grace available to them so they can fix their energy and their minds on matters of long-term importance as they lay the foundation for their child’s life and faith.

The thing about baby boys . . . they are just as sweet as every boy mom said they would be. And they absolutely, positively bring about an incredible level of responsibility. But His grace is sufficient to allow us moms to enjoy their sweetness while going to war in the Spirit for their long-term strength and integrity.

There is no formula for doing it “right” or for achieving perfection. There is only the promise that He will be near every step of the way – through baby’s first year and beyond.

What were some of your greatest fears and challenges when you found out you were having a boy?

***********

GIVEAWAY!

To help Jessica celebrate the release of her newest book, The Baby Companion: A Faith-Filled Guide for Your Journey Through Baby’s First Year, we’re giving away THREE copies to MOB Society readers! Open to U.S. readers only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***********

Jessica Wolstenholm is co-author of The Pregnancy Companion and newly released, The Baby Companion: A Faith-Filled Guide for Your Journey Through Baby’s First Year. She is passionate about communicating a message of grace for moms. Connect with Jessica on Twitter (@graceformoms) or you can find her at thebabycompanion.com or writing with a community of other like-minded moms at graceformoms.com