Build community, accountability, and motivation for moms

Camaraderie-style accountability can help us spur one another on to any sort of good work: homemaking, homeschooling, holiness.And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works – Hebrews 10:24Camaraderie-based accountability doesn’t have to be official, with rules and agreed-upon terms. If rules float your boat, lay some out; remember, however, that our lives demand flexibility. Hold the rules loosely, as guidelines, not as whips. If rules scare you, you don’t need them! This is really just a friendship-maker. Make a regular and routine topic of conversation what you’re up to and encourage each other to dig in and do the work with a cheerful heart. It can be very natural and informal.Really, friendship-based, informal accountability is a way to do life together. In this way we keep track of what’s going on in each other’s lives and we can pray specifically and also encourage meaningfully and practically – perhaps even by lending a hand or an ear. It doesn’t have to look or sound spiritual or deep – yet it is. It is sharing the burden, even the mental burden, in an everyday, practical way.The truth is that we care more when someone we care about cares.Care is at the heart of motivation, and care is something we can give one another.That is, when we have a friend who cares about our eating plan, our home routines, or our Bible reading habits, it helps us care more, too. That little extra nudge might be all we need to make it over the momentary emotional (i.e. motivational) blips.Who can you walk alongside with camaraderie and care, and how will you regularly keep open the lines of communication?