Katherine Stone at Postpartum Progress is an amazing advocate for women and families affected by postpartum mood disorders – I cannot even begin to to list her accomplishments and the progress she has made through blog and personal work.  If you are hurting from a postpartum mood disorder, then please check out her site as well as Out of the Valley Ministries.  She is the kindest lady (hoping to meet her in person one day!) and sweetest soul.

Last year, she hosted the First Annual Mother’s Day Rally for Mom’s Mental Health where she asked 24 bloggers/authors to write a letter addressed to new and/or hurting moms and she posted one on the hour every hour on Mother’s Day.  It was a resounding success and the letters for incredible. I was hugely honored to be one of those letter writers and I was incredibly blessed to have participated, and, heck, even been included among such big names!

This year she has another amazing list of authors put together for the Second Annual Mother’s Day Rally for Mom’s Mental Health at Postpartum Progress and wow, I can’t wait to pop in and read these letters!  Please do check it out.  You will be so blessed.  If you are a mom, a mom with a new baby, a hurting mom, just need some plain old encouragement in the parenting arena or want to know how to encourage someone else then head on over.  You won’t regret it.

Go here on Mother’s Day:  Postpartum Progress

God bless,

Tara

I truly believe that some things in our lives are for seasons, whether they are for friendships, difficult times, good times, careers, and even ministry.  That said, I wanted to share with you all that I believe God is leading me away from this season of ministry in life – that of active PPD ministry.

This has not been an easy decision and has been, in fact, one that I have wrestled with for quite a few months now.  But after prayer, consideration, discussion with church staff and trusted mentors, I believe it is time.  I do not know what His plans are at this point, but I know that this door is closing and I eagerly look forward to the next, whatever that may be.

Just in the past months I have witnessed God raise up several women in Christian PPD advocacy to minister to hurting moms from a Christian perspective through blogs, discussions, books, etc.  It is SO encouraging to me!  God is amazing in how He works and heals.   For myself, I have learned so much, been so blessed, and ultimately the healing that comes from ministering to others is beyond words.

I encourage all of  you to continue on and forward, living out 2 Corinthians 1:3-7:

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

The website will remain as is and maintained for now, as a static resource of sorts.  All blog posts will remain up, but I will no longer be posting any new blog posts unless they are from guest writers, and I will most likely put those as articles on the main site as well, anyhow.   You are welcome to contact me via email with any questions or heart concerns, I am still available in that way!

Off to cry some more tears…love you all!

God bless,

Tara

Today is the day.  The Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health is happening right now at Postpartum Progress.   I cannot wait to read the letters!  I haven’t been able to slow down enough today to do it so it’ll probably be until tonight or tomorrow before I can read all of them, but from what I have seen already – WOW!

The kick-off post is here:  Kick-off Post for Rally

My letter was posted this morning and you can read it here:  Tara Mock:  Letter to New Moms

Head over to Postpartum Progress to read more!  Send the link to all the new moms or pregnant moms you know!

I am so excited about this!!   If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now and haven’t noticed my passion for postpartum depression advocacy, then, well, you really haven’t been reading, have you?  Busted.   

If you have not been reading for that long, then the obvious is now stated – now you know!  :)  

On Mother’s Day, Katherine Stone at Postpartum Progress is hosting the first annual Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health.  On that day, for twenty-four hours on the hour, a letter for new moms will be posted – each written by different featured authors, experts, advocates, bloggers, and survivors (some hold more than one of those roles).   These letters are meant to encourage, advise, educate or even make a new mom laugh.  I think this is a wonderful idea and I cannot wait to read them!

Katherine also asked if I would participate by submitting a letter.  *wow*  To be included among such amazing people and writers is incredibly humbling to me and I was utterly thrilled to be asked.  

Another exciting tidbit:  this has already been picked up by the Associated Press in a related article and will soon appear in other media outlets!  Woohoo!

My request to you?  Spread the word about this great project, especially if you have a new mom in your life – whether she is a mom-in-waiting, a new mom with a new baby, or a new mom again.  This is about the overall mental health of the new mom, to encourage those hurting from a postpartum mood disorder, to encourage those who may not have have one but who are simply discouraged, and to educate everyone.   You can grab the “bloggy bling” that Katherine designed above and link to her blog – head there on Mother’s Day!

See you there!

There is a photo of us near the end of the slideshow.  In it, we are walking on the beach swinging G in the air, and I am holding S.  It is so neat to be included in such an event in this tiny way, during this fabulous song.  Seeing the faces of so many moms who had gone through PPD, the dads who were there for them, and the children who are such joys to them now – it was really too much, brought tears to my eyes.

Enjoy…

What I’d Like For You to Know:  Surviving Postpartum Depression

A country music artist, Wade Bowen, wrote a song about postpartum depression after watching his wife suffer through this horrible illness.  It is called “Turn On the Lights.”  Even better, he is hosting a benefit concert for Postpartum Support International in November.  You can read more about it on my Out of the Valley blog. 

Here are the lyrics, and following that is a YouTube video of him singing the song.  It’s a beautiful song, written from a dad’s perspective.

It’s not easy anymore, everything seemed to change
With one blink of an eye, I’m the man to lay the blame
Well I’ve let you slip away, trying so hard to make this right
Well I have nothing left to do, nowhere else to turn
I know it’s dark babe…

Oh, turn on the lights
Yeah you have to
Turn on the lights

Mine? 

“Considered suicide during the worst of postpartum depression” 

*FLIP*

“He carried me through that valley to form a PPD ministry”