The Mission of Reforming Womanhood

I started this blog, Reforming Womanhood, to minister to other women. It’s my mission to break free from this world and it’s corrupted view of what it means to be a woman. I want Reforming Womanhood to be a place that speaks truth to all women about our divinely assigned role. I pray that I can inspire women to get into God’s Word because there alone is where we find truth. My goal is to point women to a biblical worldview so that we can focus completely on God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. I want to encourage others to dive into Scripture, make time for prayer, shift focus, and change priorities. 

Please join me on my Reforming Womanhood journey!

As a mom of six I know the struggle of making time for Bible reading and prayer time. It seems there is always someone needing something, a chore to be done, a mess to be cleaned up, or it’s finally time for me to get some sleep. My prayer is that this site will encourage you to make time for God and His Word in your day and give you some ideas of how to make the most of that time.

Here is a behind the scenes look at how I got motivated to get into the Word. This led to a biblical view of womanhood and a desire to minister to other women.

Homeschool+Toddler+Expecting=Tired+Discouraged

Eight years ago, I was busy homeschooling my oldest, watching a busy toddler, and expecting my third.  Life was busy. I was tired and lonely at times. I was overwhelmed with parenting. The feeling of not being able to live up to the expectation of the world crept in. I felt like I was missing out on life by staying at home. The world convinced me that I couldn’t contribute much to society from home and that my degree was being wasted. While I knew that I needed and wanted to be home raising my kids I still struggled. Struggled with not being the working mom and providing financially for my family. I also suffered with anxiety and depression during my pregnancies. I knew I needed to strengthen my relationship with God and lean on Him during those long, exhausting days. 

Co-hosting = Accountability

When my neighbor decided to host a Bible study in her home I offered to co-host. I loved it and since I was co-hosting it forced me to make time for the reading. Honestly, I was horrible about doing the daily work. I usually rushed through all the work within a couple of hours of our group meeting time. But it was a start. Our study was motivating me to get in the Word at least a little and pray more than I had been.

When baby #3 was born in November that year I lost all progress I had been making. When December hit, I told myself I was going to make some changes. I asked God to help me make Him my priority. Even in the middle of the chaos of a newborn, an almost three-year-old, and a six-year-old homeschooler God helped me find the time to grow closer to Him.

The Plan- Get into the Word

I started Christmas night. I had a plan to read through the whole Bible in a year and pray more intentionally. In the past I had set similar goals and always found myself losing momentum quickly and eventually stopping altogether. Knowing my tendency to do that I started reading my Bible at every opportunity.

I downloaded a Bible app onto my Ipad so that I would be able to read a chapter while waiting for kids to fall asleep and during night-time feedings. Granted there were still interruptions. Even though, I was tired it wasn’t difficult to read 5-7 chapters a day. I made it through all of January and was excited about my success. I was feeling closer to God which made praying to Him throughout the day easier. 

Then we started another Bible study. I expected to lose some ground on my Bible reading since I had to make time for our new study. Instead, it seemed like God provided me more time. I loved being in His Word so much. I didn’t realize how little time I was spending on the computer, checking my phone, watching Netflix, or reading fiction books.

The Flu-I’m a Pacifier-Move Out of State-Reforming Womanhood

I made it through February (which included two weeks of the flu and the baby learning I will eventually give in and be his pacifier) and still hadn’t missed one day of Bible reading. I realized that if I kept this pace, I would be able to complete the Bible in six months instead of the year I had planned. With new motivation I moved my goal up and increased my daily reading (again planning on getting ahead so I was less discouraged if I missed a day).

I felt the need to share my new-found passion for God’s Word with other women. Pointing other women back to God’s word and the biblical role of womanhood became a dream. This was intimidating but I took the next step and I set up a meeting with a leader in our church’s women’s ministry. She was very encouraging and also felt that God was leading me towards some kind of women’s ministry. I began praying about what and where God would put me (Did I mention that we decided to move out-of-state? Which meant packing, showing our home, looking for a new job, a new home, a new church, etc.).

By the end of March, I was enjoying being in the Word so much and had a new energy for my daily life. Throughout each week I found myself telling someone about how the chapters I had just read were relevant to something that was going on or that we were talking about. I had a couple of women tell me that they had started setting daily reading goals after seeing the passion I had gained for the Word. The conviction they felt really encouraged me that God was pointing me towards Women’s ministry.

Bible Study+Prayer Time=Better Mommy

By the end of April, I’d met my goal. Since Christmas I had read the whole Bible, co-hosted a Bible study group, attended a group Bible study hosted at my church, and I read a couple other Christian living books I had picked up for encouragement. I found myself making time for Bible study and prayer time. I was also listening to Christian music more and watching less tv. And I found myself enjoying my roles of a woman, wife, mother, and friend more than ever. This was my new normal.

I decided to spend May diving into the book of Romans. I also re-read Proverbs and some Psalms throughout the month. We listed our home and had offers immediately which, while a blessing, created a few weeks gap between our closing and when housing would be ready for us in our new hometown. So, the kids and I packed up and headed to a different state to live with my sister-in-law while my husband stayed behind to keep working.

Following God’s Will Through the Chaos – Reforming Womanhood

In June I decided I would slow down my Bible study and just planned to read through James a few times. But God had other plans. He intensified my desire to encourage other women even though I was living in someone else’s home. Even though I was in new area with three young children and my husband was in a different state. So, I started journaling ideas for a blog on biblical womanhood so that I could start encouraging others.

Eight years later, I trust God even more and I’m ready to share my passion for reforming womanhood on a larger scale.

Hardships+Faith=Trusting God

FYI- My life didn’t become perfect; I didn’t become perfect because I prayed and read my Bible. My kids still fight, disobey, interrupt, and make messes. I still get angry and still yell but I’ve made a lot of progress and have learned to ask my children for forgiveness when I lose my cool. The new baby refuses to take a bottle or pacifier and still wakes multiple times at night. I still get exhausted but feel renewed after my nightly Bible study. I still feel discouraged and like I’m failing at this mom thing sometimes. But now I can fight off those feelings easier because I’m learning to go to God in prayer and seek reassurance in the Scriptures. God does not take away your hardships as you grow closer to Him. He gives you wisdom and love to be able to handle them with Him.

For those who feel overwhelmed with children now you may enjoy this post – Praying for More Children While Overwhelmed