Propel Women: Gauging Mom Success

As mothers, how do we gauge success in what we do?

Being a mom is a pretty thankless job. It isn’t glamorous, doesn’t pay, and definitely doesn’t give us elite status in society.

As a mom who is striving to reflect Jesus in her parenting, our mom success must be gauged from an eternal perspective, not a worldly one.

I recently had the privilege of attending Propel Women, a large-scale women’s conference hosted by Christine Caine. To be honest, I’d never heard of her, but had heard great things about Propel and was excited to go. Little did I know what a positive impact it would have on my parenting and my ministry through Messy Tired Love!

——

Disclaimer: I received discounted tickets to attend this event and write a review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

——–

How we gauge our mom success as Christian women (mothers, business women, ministers, workers) was my biggest take away from the event. There was a panel discussion in the afternoon featuring four women from various walks of life: a stay at home, a financial executive, a full-time minister, and a small business owner – married, single, divorced. It was refreshing to hear from each of them about their struggles, their learnings, and their successes. They struggled with real life problems all Christian women face, like comparing themselves against others and feeling inadequate according to worldly standards (even the executive!). Despite their differences, they came together in agreement – our work, whatever that is, needs to be focused on obedience to God over the outcome for us. While pursuing purpose and success, we can’t compromise our integrity in Christ. We need to be good stewards of what God has given us in our current moment. He won’t give us “more” until we prove that we can do well with “less.” What a practical and challenging takeaway! Our mom success is judged by Jesus, not the world.

For me, as author of Messy Tired Love, my success in this ministry shouldn’t be measured by page views or the number of comments I receive on devotionals that I post. This work is for the Lord and has eternal value. My work as a mother – folding laundry 5.1 million times and peeling dried food off the baseboard – also has eternal value. I am serving the Lord through it all. God sees my work as a mom and as a servant to others and he is pleased. I have mom success in Christ!

Propel Women is a full day of learning and worship. Between talks by influential women, powerful worship invited the Spirit to move among hundreds of women in the packed auditorium . There was prayer for healing, prayers for children, and praying for each other in our seats. There is something about corporate worship and praying with others that takes our relationship with God to another level. I was filled up to the brim with God’s presence and power!

I should note that I had my eight month old with me the entire day. Thankfully, she was a little angel throughout every session. I didn’t have to miss a moment of the conference, although I did let her crawl around in the back towards the end and I just listened from there. She was itching to move! It was nice to feel that I could have her with me without being judged as a distraction or disruption. The volunteers and other women sitting around us were supportive and encouraging of our presence among them.

There are a handful of other Propel Women events this year. If you are near a city that is hosting one, I highly encourage you to check it out! You will experience the presence and power of God alongside other women who are struggling with real life, just like you.

Want to learn more about how to achieve mom success through an eternal perspective? Click here for devotionals that connect your everyday mom moments with the truth of the gospel.