Our Voice

“It is often in the darkest
skies that we see the
brightest stars.”

― Richard Evans.

Our Voice

Thoughts? Comments? Feedback?

Maybe you are a Mom Member of Thrive and you want to comment on the night you just had at Thrive, post it here! Mabye your child just had a comment you would like to share with others or you are a Sower with Thrive and you would like to post a comment you heard from a child in class or a throught from the evening, post it here and share it. Maybe you'd like to share with others what this outreach means to you. This is an open forum for thoughts, feedback, ... Everyone has a voice, we'd like to hear what you have to say. Scroll down to read or post comments.

“I don't even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

[ "Thrive!Moms has helped my life in so many ways. It practically saved my life..." ]

Thrive!Moms has helped my life in so many ways. It practically saved my life. As a former atheist who wanted nothing more than to die, I hated everything that had to do with God. If someone spoke about Christianity, Jesus, God, said “The Lord”, etc. I would roll my eyes and tune them out. In my eyes there was no God, there couldn’t be. Not after everything I’d been through or was going through. When I first started coming to Thrive (for no reason other than to accompany my mom) I didn’t really listen. Or at least, I tried not to. At home, to my sister, I mocked things that were said using my best preacher voice. The more I came, the more I became comfortable in the environment. I allowed myself to really listen to what was being taught. I removed God from the messages at first. Just taking the advice without getting holy. It wasn’t as effective as I thought it’d be. Still, I came every week, and eventually I decided to secretly accept God, whispering the good old, “You understand, right?” to him whenever I prayed. So behind closed doors, I would accept Him, but to my family I would mock the idea of Him as a whole.

In December 2013 Karel decided to create a spiritual fitness New Year challenge for the moms of Thrive. At first, I completely disregarded it, still not being ready to fully accept God and Jesus Christ in a way that would make me comfortable with talking about them out loud or to family (in a serious way). But as January 1st came near, I gave it some thought. On the 1st day of 2014 I stopped contemplating and just joined before I could change my mind. That challenge Karel proposed has been the best thing I could have done for myself this year by far. Since starting Thrive and taking it seriously, I gradually have had less suicidal thoughts. Since the beginning of the second week of the spiritual fitness challenge I haven’t had those thoughts at all.

Thrive has shown me that it truly does get better if you trust God and you work on building up your relationship with God. It is especially great because there are people out there like I was, who don’t care for religion or churches. With Thrive there is no pressure. It is religion based, but you never feel forced to convert. If there was no Thrive, I may not have been shown a better way to handle my stress; I would not know that there is a God who will bring me peace, if I let him. I would not be here with my son.

[ "My son has also been deeply affected by Thrive...]

My son has also been deeply affected by Thrive. Thrive brings out the best in him. It is where he received his first bible. Thrive is where he gained a deeper understanding about who God and Jesus are. Through his learning about God/Jesus at Thrive he became a more optimistic, understanding, and forgiving person. If he’s upset, I can reiterate a message he learned and it makes him feel better. I talk to him about God/Jesus so much that when he’s upset he already knows the kind of things I will say to him and sometimes he talks to me about it in that way to make himself feel better. He really loves to be at Thrive, and when he doesn’t get to go, you can bet he gets worked up. It’s like a second home to him in the sense that he’s just so comfortable being there. He loves Karel, Chuck, and all of the volunteers.

Without Thrive I can’t say that my son would have developed those characteristics. He would have reflected the old pessimistic me who felt like everything was going wrong all the time. I’m glad he has a place like Thrive to go to while he is still young and impressionable.Thrive is much more personal than a church for us. Everyone knows everyone, you don’t feel left out or out of place. It is diverse (racially and background-wise). It doesn’t feel as stiff, and therefore everyone feels more relaxed. It’s okay to be yourself, cry (no shortage of this, haha), and you can share without feeling judged.

-A Mom Member, written 2014

Every Thursday my son wakes up and says, "Everyone knows what day this is! It's Thrive Thursday!" And then he gets home and starts the count down again counting the days until Thursday...

JaeVon, age 5

"Come here mommy, let me tell you about Jesus..."

Miles, age 3

[ "I will never forget that night in 2008 when I first walked into Thrive. I don’t remember what we discussed that first night, but I do remember what I felt when I left… HOPE..." ]

When my friends and family found out that I was pregnant, they encouraged abortion... In spite of my fear, all my heart wanted was to be a mom...

I will never forget that night in 2008 when I first walked into Thrive. I don’t remember what we discussed that first night, but I do remember what I felt when I left… HOPE. For the first time in months, I was surrounded by a group of Mom’s who loved their children and were surviving in spite of the odds against them.

(Thrive) is a soft place to land. It is a family that is constantly growing and welcoming new members. It is a school where lessons are lived, learned, and shared. Membership has one condition: a desire for growth as a mother and as a woman. There have been times as a single mom that I have wanted to just give up. I have struggled with depression and loneliness. I soon learned that my friends rarely understood my struggle. Most would sympathize, but only my Thrive moms could truly empathize. It is the support and love that I received through Thrive that kept me hanging on during so many dark hours of that first year of acclimating to motherhood.Thrive has also given my son a family and network that I would never be able to provide for him alone.

My son is excited to participate in the children’s program each week and has developed meaningful bonds that can only be likened to the cousins or siblings that I cannot offer him. Thrive has assisted me with developing a network so that I could meet my son’s most basic needs and face the challenges of parenting him.

Simply put, I honestly don’t know how we would have survived these first few years without the support, encouragement, and education which we have received from the dedicated volunteers and facilitators of Thrive.

-A Mom Member, written 2013

We need communities that look out for all children, like Thrive. When I bring my kids to Thrive, I know everyone around me is looking out for their best interest. That is how the world should be. When mom or dad is out of patience there should be a family member or community member there to love on our kids when we need help. Someone, like Thrive, that helps us teach our kids kindness and diversity.

-Meagan, Member