It's a mixed bag, you know? Because on the one hand, like, I can be so grateful, for example, of the blessing of being a mother and having my kids and just the beautiful things that God has brought into my life through their lives.

But also, though, Mother's Day is a huge reminder of motherhood that did not go the way

that I intended it to go, a journey that did not go the way that I intended it to go. And so

there is that element of grief that can come attached to these things.

Well, happy Mother's Day.

I'm Julie Slattery, and this is a special bonus episode for Mother's Day, and today I want to give a particularly big shout out to single moms, which is such a difficult job.

Whether you're a single mom or not, this conversation is going to be helpful and an encouragement to you.

My guest is Michelle Donnelly, who is the founder of Plus One Parents, a ministry devoted to helping

single parents overcome difficult situations, rebuild God-empowering lives, and raise up a new generation.

Michelle joined me to share a little bit about her story,

how she has healed from an abusive marriage and began to rebuild her life as a single mom,

how God met her in that really difficult place, and she'll share what was and wasn't helpful

as she reached out to her brothers and sisters in Christ for help as a single mom.

Michelle is the mother of three children. She's the host of the single moms podcast and the author

of two Bible studies. One is called Seen, Hope and Healing for Single Moms. And her latest study

is called Safe Haven, a devotional for the abused and abandoned.

We'll link to those in our show notes as well as the plus one parents webinar,

and you can also find that at our website, Authenticanimacy.com.

Hey, but before we head to the coffee shop, I want to remind you that our summer online book studies are now open.

These fill up fast, so go to Authentic to authentic intimacy.com right now and check them out. This is a great way to find the kind of community that we talk about here on Java with Julie. We have groups that will be going through a couple study on my new book called God Sex and Your Marriage, Rethinking Sexuality Groups for

both men and one from women, sex in the single girl, passion pursuit, finding the

hero on your husband, and the mama bear apologetics guide to sexuality. So hopefully there's

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