Kate sits down with her dear friend Marlene Dominguez, a first generation Dominican American, wife to Manny, mom of three curly-haired boys, and co-founder of Brave Church in Washington Heights, New York City – the neighborhood she grew up in, left for ten years to serve in Fort Worth, Texas, and was called back to plant a church in. Marlene’s story is layered, beautiful, raw, and full of the grace of a God who meets us exactly where we are.

This conversation covers identity, motherhood wounds, endometriosis, postpartum anxiety, counseling, natural births, curls, cafecito y pan, and what it really means to say “this is their childhood, but it is also my motherhood”.

About Marlene:

Marlene Dominguez is a first generation Dominican American raised in Washington Heights, New York City. She and her husband Emmanuel co-lead Brave Church, a church plant in their home neighborhood. She is a mom of three boys, a speaker, and the creator behind the Instagram community @curlswithapromise where she has spent over ten years pointing women back to their identity in Christ through the lens of beauty, faith, and culture.

In This Episode:

• Growing up in Washington Heights – Little Dominican Republic – and being called back to plant Brave Church
• Curls with a promise and the decade-long journey of embracing her natural hair and the identity story underneath it
• It is their childhood but it is also my motherhood, and why Marlene refuses to forget that
• No junior Holy Spirit, raising practical adults, not children whose entire world revolves around them
• Being diagnosed with endometriosis in her first month of marriage and what God spoke to her in that season
• Becoming a mom without a mom, the mother wound that motherhood brought to the surface
• Postpartum anxiety, EMDR therapy, and the therapist who told her what worked back then no longer serves her now
• The trust fund language she and Manny use in their marriage and why it changed everything
• Brave is not the absence of fear it is being a mom without a mom and doing it anyway

Connect With Marlene:

@curlswithapromise | Brave Church in Washington Heights

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If you have ever moved somewhere new and wondered why it still does not feel like home, felt guilty for working (or for not working), or said yes to one too many things and regretted it the next morning, this episode is for you.

Kate and Rebecca sit down with Ashley Weece, mom of two boys ages four and two, who moved across the country with her husband to plant a church in Brunswick, Maine. Ashley has been a full time working mom, a mostly stay at home mom, and everything in between. She knows what it feels like to start over with no community, juggle kids and ministry, and wrestle with the guilt that comes with every choice.

This is an honest, encouraging conversation for every mom trying to find her footing in a new place, balance work and family, and stop measuring herself against a version of motherhood that does not fit her season.

About Ashley:

Ashley Weece is a wife, mom of two boys, speaker, and church planter. She grew up in Kansas, spent nine years in Kentucky, and now lives in Brunswick, Maine, where she and her husband Justin planted Ironcoast Church.

In This Episode:

• Moving somewhere new with no community, and the three year rule that helped Ashley stop feeling behind
• Why comparing how fast other people settle in makes it harder, and why roots take time to grow
• The “better mom” myth: why Christian moms feel pressure to parent one right way
• How Ashley went from “I’m definitely working” to surrendering the whole decision to God before her first baby was born
• Working unhealthy hours with her first and finding a healthier rhythm with her second
• The pressure of being a ministry mom and trading performance for presence
• Living in a five loaves and two fish season, when you do not have enough time, sleep, or food
• Limitations as a gift from God, and why wearing a bathing suit in 20 degree weather is a lot like ignoring your season
• The overcommitment trap and the fear that if you say no, you will never be asked again
• How Ashley decides what to say yes to, and why she caps speaking at three events a year
• Letting your kids be loved by other people, and why childcare can grow their capacity to love and be loved
• Mom friends with different parenting styles and why we need each other
• Simple prayer rhythms with little kids: the drive to daycare and bedtime
• Boy mom advice: find a mentor mom with boys, build a daily rhythm, and get them moving every day

Connect With Ashley: @ashleyweece

Ironcoast Church: https://ironcoast.church/

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gathermoms.com | @gathermoms | Join our Patreon at gathermoms.com

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Kate and Rebecca sit down with Amy Ford — founder and president of Embrace Grace, mom of four, brand new grandmother (Honey!), author, speaker, and one of the most passionate voices for women with unplanned pregnancies in the country. Amy’s story began with her own unplanned pregnancy in her teens — one of the hardest and loneliest times of her life. That season of brokenness became the fuel for everything God would build through her.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains honest discussion of unplanned pregnancy, abortion, pregnancy loss, and the emotional and spiritual weight of those experiences. We share these stories with grace, hope, and the love of Jesus — but please care for yourself as you listen.

About Amy:

Amy Ford is the co-founder and president of Embrace Grace, a non-profit organization formed for the purpose of inspiring the church and providing the tools necessary to be an emotional, practical, and spiritual support for women with unplanned pregnancies. She is an active speaker and published author based in Arlington, Texas. Embrace Grace now has over 1,200 support groups in churches across all 50 states.

In This Episode:

• Amy’s personal story of getting pregnant at 19, scheduling an abortion, and what happened in that room that changed everything
• The pastor who refused to marry them because they had sinned and the stunning moment of forgiveness 16 years later in front of an entire congregation
• Why the abortion rate inside the church is the same as outside it and what that means for us as the church
• What the abortion pill is really like — what women are not being told and why it is more traumatizing than most people realize
• What pushback Amy still gets from pastors — and how she responds
• Why Roe v. Wade being overturned has not solved the problem
• How Embrace Grace works — plug and play curriculum, 12 weeks, front row seats to miracles
• Just because a baby wasn’t planned by the mom doesn’t mean it wasn’t planned by God
• What saved Amy — community and the one or two friends who stayed

Get Involved:

Check out Amy Ford’s Resources at https://www.amyford.com/

Connect With Us:

gathermoms.com | @gathermoms | Join our Patreon at gathermoms.commoms | Join our Patreon at gathermoms.com

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