Moms, Moms Everywhere—that’s actually the title of a LifeWay webcast in which I participated recently (to be aired today at noon (CDT), Tuesday, September 18 and available at Lifeway Women Live). But it’s also how I feel this time of year.

OK, so I see moms everywhere all year round. But recently I’ve been particularly impressed by how much we moms need each other. As the school year opens, I always hear (and sometimes see) the excitement of moms reconnecting at their Mom to Mom groups—or starting a new one. This coming weekend I’ll be with hundreds of moms at the wonderful .Mom conference in Birmingham (I think you can still register!) Then next month I’ll be in Colorado with loads of moms at the Hearts at Home conference in Colorado Springs. And then in November with many more at Hearts at Home in Rochester, Minnesota. Moms, Moms everywhere—and I love it!

But it’s not just at big conferences or even in Mom to Mom groups. I see moms in our neighborhood, at the supermarket, at church, at the mall—really, everywhere I go. They are old and young, biological moms and adoptive moms and foster moms and blended-family moms, grandmoms raising grandchildren—all kinds of moms.

But there’s a common theme. I see it in their faces and body language and I hear it in their tone of voice. Moms need encouragement. Lots of encouragement. Last week I spoke at a local Mom to Mom, and a conversation with one mom captured it. It was this woman’s first time at Mom to Mom. At the end, she stopped and talked with me. She wanted to thank me for “doing this.” She told me about her own mom, her husband and family, and how she was doing as a mom. “I think I need spiritual mothering,” she said. She went on to tell me why. But she ended her conversation with this: “Thank you. This has been so helpful. I just feel so encouraged.”

Praise God! Just want we want to do at Mom to Mom: encourage moms. Just what the people who plan big mom-conferences want to do: encourage moms. And just what every one of us can look to do in our own lives: encourage moms. Whether you’re a new mom or an experienced mom with grown kids or grandkids, whether you are part of a moms’ group or not—wherever you live, whatever you do, there are moms everywhere around you that you can encourage. With a smile. With a word of affirmation. With a helping hand at the door of Walmart or the public library. With a meal to a sick mom. Or, best of all, some spiritual encouragement: let a mom know you’ll pray for her (and DO it!), invite her into your moms’ group or Bible Study, or watch her kids when they’re sick so she can go to her Bible Study or moms’ group.

A challenge: Look around you and look for a mom you can encourage—today. It’s much-needed. It’s fun. And it’s Biblical: “So encourage one another daily…” (Hebrews 3:13) Do it!

And if any of you have some creative suggestions for encouraging moms, or can share an experience where you were encouraged by another mom—I’d love to hear from you! Or, if by chance you’re going to be in Birmingham September 21-22; in Colorado Springs October 12-13; or Rochester, Minnesota, November 9-10, come see me. We can encourage each other!

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