Arise Single Moms

12/06/2024

We are still thinking about Jingle Jangle! This amazing event wouldn’t be possible without all of our lovely volunteers. Let’s thank our volunteers below in the comments! 🎄🎅🏼🎁

12/04/2024

I remember traveling across the country in the back of my dad’s white Ford Cougar during our summer vacations. It would purr down the highway as hot air circled through the windows. When not fighting over staying on our designated side of the car, my sister and I entertained ourselves with travel games such as “I Spy” or “License Tag Bingo.” Both involved perusing the landscape around us to spot items needed to win the game.

Now that I’m an adult, simple games aren’t a part of my daily life anymore…unless God wants them to be. Each morning I awaken to spend a few quiet moments conversing with God before I roll out of bed. This morning I felt Him gently say, “Today you need to play the Thank You Game.” I questioned, “What is the Thank You Game?” Immediately I knew. My day needed to be a constant barrage of appreciation to God for my many blessings. It wasn’t a time to declare gratitude for the major gifts in my life but an awareness of each and every thing, moment, and person that crosses the threshold of my life that I oftentimes neglect to acknowledge.

My list began before my feet hit the floor. “Lord, thank you for my bed, my house, my car…the fact that I even woke up this morning to breathe another day of life.” It continued as I prepared for work. “Thank you for hot water, clothes to wear, a good hair day, the beautiful sunrise,” and on and on I observed.

Looking around on my daily travels caused gratitude to erode my other emotions. I’m thankful to have heat blowing through the car vents, bus drivers transporting children safely to school, co-workers who make me grin, green lights when I’m running late, text messages from family and friends, neighbors who pick up my overturned trash can, Thousand Island salad dressing, Diet Dr. Pepper, and comfortable furniture to rest on after a weary day.

The Thank You Game changed my entire perspective, attitude, and even physical and mental wellness. It’s amazing the difference when you live in a spirit of praise. Are you up for the challenge? Wanna play? I dare you to join me and share your results. Ready, set, go! Shelley Pulliam

12/03/2024

It’s GIVING TUESDAY and we want to invite you to be a part of what God is doing through Arise Single Moms. Scan the QR codes or visit the links below to give and to find out more about what we do.

If each person who followed us donated a single $1.00 we could reach our goal of $10,000. This money would pay for childcare for a full year!

https://arisesinglemoms.com/our-partners/donate/
www.venmo.com/AriseSingleMoms

Thank you for supporting our mission to walk with moms on this journey.

12/01/2024

A new month to remind yourself of what truly matters. Enjoy this season! 💚❤️

11/28/2024

We are so thankful for YOU! Thank you for letting us be part of your journey! From the Arise family to your family, Happy Thanksgiving!

11/27/2024

Thanks for these reminders Kelly Evans!

11/27/2024

🍕🌮🍜🍣🍔???

11/24/2024

Jingle Jangle 2024 was a huge success with about 600 moms and kids! We are so grateful for the opportunity to have hosted this event for the past fifteen years. We pray every precious mom and child will be blessed with the Lord’s peace this holiday season. Thank you Henderson Hills for partnering with us.

11/24/2024

Here’s a great reminder for this week! Holidays can be hard, but Jesus is near. 🧡

11/21/2024

I’ll never forget the Thanksgiving at my house on 803 Glenn Drive, Euless, Texas. (And that is pronounced – YOUless, Texas – not USEless, Texas.) Indeed the lessons I learned as a brand new single mom in that house were anything but useless.

Thanksgiving was only a few days away, and I was a new single mom. My heart was devastated that my kids would not be with me but with their dad. I dreaded that day and could not wait for it to be over. Sometimes when we’re struggling, we just want the holiday-hip-hooray to GO AWAY!

So on this particular Thanksgiving my extended family voted to gather at my table in YOUless. They thought it’d be good for my spirits, and then we girls could all go shopping after the meal in the mall next to my house. (Shopping? Oh yes, please.)

The family descended on my household with food in hand. My job was to decorate the tables. However, I realized in the process that I didn’t have enough chairs. So inside the house came the lawn furniture: torn, stinky, stained with what I thought was a ghastly disruption to my lovely fall ambiance.

That was over three decades ago; yet, I still remember when the chairs entered the kitchen. I was horrified. Maybe it’s because they represented my heartbroken life. I muffled, Lord, shouldn’t my husband and kids be in this household sharing this day – laughing, bonding, sitting on clean polished chairs instead of these tacky ones?

I discovered much the first couple of years of being a single parent without Jason and Sara in the house. I learned that chairs don’t matter and more importantly, the children don’t either. Thanksgiving is not just about thanks living (everyone all nestled down in their jovial little families), but thanks giving (offering oneself as a sacrifice in blessing others.) So for the next couple of years, I joined the people at the homeless shelter (without my children) making that day all about serving others and living life outside of my broken dreams.

So what does your Thanksgiving Day look like? Do your circumstances resemble that scruffy lawn furniture I was talking about? Are the holidays “in your face” that you don’t have what you always wanted? Then take heart. I have news for you. Nothing ever stays the same, and God’s work for those who love Him is always on an upward move, a progressive invisible work. He IS formulating things for your good, even though you can’t see it, feel it, or taste it. You can embrace it with confidence and the ones you love knowing that God is forming in you valuable virtues that will prove USEful not USEless for a lifetime.

Here I am many Thanksgivings later – always remembering that first Thanksgiving when I became a single parent. Maybe I should place a scruffy outside chair at my table, a reminder that in God’s timing, He brings the healing power of restoration, making all things new. -Pam Martin Kanaly

11/20/2024

Can't make it in person on Friday? We will miss you, but we have a surprise! For anyone unable to attend Jingle Jangle, we will be live-streaming right here on Facebook. Jump on our page Friday night, NOVEMBER 22nd, beginning at 6:30pm CT for all the fun. We might even be giving away some online "door prizes" just for those moms who can't be with us! We can't wait to see you!

11/19/2024

🎄4 MORE DAYS!🎄
Do you have your tickets yet? We can’t wait to kick off the holiday season with you!

🎟️ https://arisesinglemoms.com/events/jingle-jangle/

11/18/2024

You may have heard about the tragic accident of one of our dear single moms, Megan Barnett. She is a valued part of our community and was recently in a serious car accident where she lost her son and is facing a tough recovery herself.

She attends Victory Family Church in Norman and a GoFundMe has been set up to help cover medical expenses and support her family during this difficult time. We know this community loves to help each other so here is your opportunity.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-megans-recovery-and-connors-memorial

Thank you for your kindness and prayers — let’s come together and help lift her and her family up! 🙏

11/15/2024

🎉 Celebrating 200 Episodes of The Single Momcast!

We’ve reached a great milestone—200 episodes! To mark this special occasion, we’re diving deep into a topic that is both timeless and transformative: **Peace**.

In this episode of Unpacking Peace, we explore the challenges and triumphs of prioritizing peace as a single mom. Discover valuable insights as we unpack what it means to create inner peace, build resilience, and embrace peace at every stage of your life story.

Thank you for being a part of this amazing journey. Here’s to 200 episodes of connection, growth, and solidarity—together! 🥂You can like and subscribe on all podcast platforms!

🎧 https://arisesinglemoms.com/single-mom-resources/podcasts/

11/14/2024

We are one week away!

11/12/2024

Can you recall when someone said a kind word or performed a small act of service for you? It probably wasn’t even logged into the fabric of their minds, but it impacted you and remains an encouragement nugget.

When I think back, I can remember:
• A compliment offered in a grocery store
• A lunch paid for by a friend
• A needed hug that came out of nowhere
• A card that arrived in the mail

It’s the little pieces that make a story beautiful—the mostly overlooked, the unrecognized, the little things that can change an attitude, feeling, or perspective. It doesn’t take much to make someone smile or bring a bit of sunshine to a dreary day. How often are we the ones making an impact?

In 1984 I moved to Palm Springs, California, to teach migrant workers’ children in a small district called Thermal. I was fresh out of college and in charge of my first classroom. I loved it, but there were challenges and struggles because I had a great degree but no experience. It was a different culture, and the students were older than I had anticipated teaching.

I threw all my ideas and classroom management techniques at the wall, hoping some of them would stick. I adored those kids and tried to be a voice of encouragement and guidance. I taught for four years in that district before I moved to a new location. I never really knew if I made a difference, but my heart was a few sizes larger when I left.

Fast forward thirty years to when I discovered a message in my Facebook messenger from one of those precious students in California. She shared a picture of a note I had sent to her parents. To me, it was just a hastily signed recognition for her to take home. I didn’t think twice about it. But evidently it meant a lot to her because she still had it all those years later and she tracked me down on social media. I realized it’s the little things that matter.

It was a reminder to look around when I’m shopping or eating at a restaurant or sitting in my seat at church. As I interact with people, I can be the person who shines on them. What can I do that makes them smile at the end of the day or remember the gesture thirty years later?

And what about my friends and family? How can I be a breath of inspiration instead of a cloud of busyness, stress, and negativity? How can I shift and use my words or acts of service to make their lives easier or circumstances more pleasant?

The gestures or kindness we exhibit may seem like little things to us, but they might be huge to others and make their lives better and brighter. I challenge you to find small ways to impact others. And I pray you encounter individuals who positively affect you. Let’s be a Ferris wheel of sunshine and rainbows. Okay, I took it a step too far. Just go smile on someone’s day. You’ll be glad you did. Shelley Pulliam

11/12/2024

Are you looking for an encouraging podcast? You found us! 💙

Click the link or search The Single Momcast on any podcast platform. You will love hearing from Pam Kanaly and Mel Hiett each week as they dive into the real and raw parts of navigating life as a single mom! With relevant topics like:
Brokenness
Finances
Mental Health
Worry
Overcoming Your Past
Sadness
Understanding Your Child’s Brain
Apologizing
Childhood Trauma
…and more!

We would love to have you join our podcast community! 🧡 We are better together!

Arise Ministries has a podcast just for single moms! Join us on the Single Momcast as we have candid conversations.

11/09/2024

Today is a great day to care for YOU! 💝