Many Christian women today worry that they are not fulfilling their “mothering role” properly and that the prevailing secular culture is having an undue influence on their children.
Nine years ago, Debra “Deb” Weekley sensed the suffering of her sisters in the faith, and the Colorado Springs mother and grandmother of three opened her heart and home to welcome them into her growing knowledge.
Nearly a decade later, The Help Club for Moms is a vibrant and expanding movement providing strength, encouragement and inspiration online and in person on a global scale.
It's all thanks to God, she said over tea in her home about the all-volunteer, shoestring-budget nonprofit she is the founder, director and lead author of the materials.
The Weekly is nothing without the Big Guy, and club members learn that constantly seeking God is the best way to enjoy the journey through life, rather than just plodding along.
“It’s amazing the way the Lord has used our members,” she said. “We couldn’t have accomplished anything without Him.”
Mothers of all ages and Christian backgrounds flock to the church's resource materials, prayer books, online advice, videos, podcasts, group prayer, counseling, mentoring and live conferences, which Pastor Weekley hosts from his spacious Black Forest home.
“We invite mothers to know the love of Jesus Christ, walk with them at every stage of life and provide practical support online and through individual groups,” Weekley said.
Weekley has an office on his backyard deck during the summer, overlooking tall evergreens and the Pikes Peak mountain range, where he writes, responds to online platforms like Facebook, shoots video clips for YouTube, and plans events and activities — all of which elevates the club from a one-dimensional product to a real-time support.
The HelpClubforMoms Facebook group has 9,000 members and offers prayers, devotional messages, tips for moms and a Bible verse of the day.
There will also be live mentoring on Facebook every Monday morning, Weakly will lead a bedtime prayer on the site every Tuesday night, and monthly Zoom chats will bring together women from all over the world.
The Supernatural Moms Mentoring Community is available at https://myhelpclubformoms.com/
Additionally, a sister organization is offering monthly “mothering kits” at myhelpclubformoms.com and a new school is launching a mothering course at mymotheringcourses.com, aimed at helping women grow in their faith and in their role as mothers.
This month's Mothering Kit focuses on “How to Leave Your Children a 100-Year Spiritual Legacy – Part 2.”
A new in-person dinner mentoring group to learn about “Shining Moms” is starting on September 3rd in Colorado Springs.
Registration is available at https://helpclubformoms.com/new-radiant-mom-mentoring-group-in-colorado-springs-this-fall/ .
“This course is a gentle whisper from the Lord, inviting you to pause, take a deep breath, and rediscover with intention and grace the deep and enduring beauty of motherhood,” the flyer reads.
“We want women to feel at home at the HELP Club and feel the love of Jesus,” Weekley said. “Jesus is real, with open arms, wanting you to come to him and let him lead you. He will always love you. He will never judge you or be angry with you. With Jesus, there is always hope.”
Her creativity flowed and she wrote numerous Bible study guides, 11 seasonal books, and a mountain of prayer workbooks, including “The 40-Day Joy Challenge for Moms,” which she co-authored with Tommy Newberry, a Christian entrepreneur and author of seven books.
Using these materials, women can learn how to build better relationships with their children, how to organize their homes and lives, and how to set a comfortable breakfast table.
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Weakley said the department's materials have been downloaded more than 600,000 times, and some have been translated into Spanish, as well as Facebook groups and podcasts for Spanish-speaking women.
Weekly's upbringing shaped her desire to help others who struggle with motherhood due to a lack of good role models.
Weekley's mother suddenly developed a mental illness when she was 10. “That's when I lost her emotionally,” Weekley says.
For comfort and order, Weekley said he regularly bikes six miles and spends time at church, lights candles and prays. With the help of his grandmother, he goes to church and vacation Bible school, gets other believers to pray for him, and participates in his church youth group and Alateen, a group for young people affected by the alcoholism of others.
“I felt like that prayer protected me from what could have happened to me,” Weekly said. “I had lost years. I made a lot of mistakes. I grew up hurting.”
Her mother was in and out of psychiatric hospitals throughout her childhood and died when Weekley was 21.
Weekley said that at age 23, God led her to an evangelical hair salon where her life changed: She was baptized, met and married her future husband, and became a mother at age 27.
“I would go into her room at night and kneel by her bed and cry because I didn't know how to be a mother,” Weekly said. “God made me a mother. God taught me how to be a mother.”
Weekley homeschooled her children, who thrived and found their way in life. But after her husband and children left home, she fell into a depression and felt like she lost her purpose in life.
Weekly's mother had attempted suicide and Weekly considered doing the same, but God intervened.
Weekley was a successful sales manager at Mary Kay Inc., a skin care and cosmetics company, when a mentor at work had created a daily inspiration sheet with tips for building a loving home and a successful business that Weekley found wise and helpful.
“I kept all those sheets for 22 years, and then God said, 'Do something with this.'
These fragments became the basis for her own prayer journal, which she read to ten friends.
“So, they said, we'll work with you to help the Help Club.”
Since then, it has become a lifeline for Weekly and many women around the world.
Last week, Weakly posted some tips on how to develop a fun, energizing morning routine, which prompted this comment from Facebook user Jennifer Ortiz-Correa: “I love the line, 'motherhood is a vocation.' Motherhood is a service. There's so much value in what we do.”
The most important thing a mother can remember while nursing at 3 a.m. or struggling with decisions for her adult children is that God loves her, is with her and will help her with parenting and anything else she goes through, Weekly said.
“There's a climate of fear,” she says. “Mothers are scared that our culture is ruining their children, but we were born for this generation. We could have been born at any time in history, but God chose this time for us and our children to live in. This is God's plan.”
“Now is our time to change the world,” she said. “There is no need to be afraid. God will help us.”
