Mom2Mom Atlanta South

Courtney DeFeo is the current host of Pardon The Mess podcast with the Christian Parenting network- garnering over 3 million downloads over 270 episodes. She is the author of In This House, We Will Giggle and Treasured Study for girls. She is the creator of ABC Scripture Cards and the kindness movement called Light ‘Em Up! Prior to having kids - Courtney used to work in corporate marketing at Chick-fil-A - she loved creating programs that helped people fall in love with cows. Since that time, she has the same passion and creativity - now being used to help families fall in...

Drew and Sara Anthony are parents to four adult children and grandparents to two. Their oldest three are married and their youngest is in her sophomore year of college, making them official empty nesters. This May they will celebrate 32 years of marriage. They’re deeply passionate about helping other couples build strong, lasting relationships, and have found a unique way to do that by using their love for sailing. As boat captain and first mate, they lead couples on sailing retreats. Over the years, they’ve learned a lot about marriage—through raising kids, working together, and doing ministry side b...

Hannah Brencher is a writer, TED speaker, and social entrepreneur. She is the author of four books, including her latest, The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World. Hannah is also the founder of The World Needs More Love Letters, a global community dedicated to sending handwritten letters of encouragement to people in need.

Recognized by the White House as one of the “Women Working to Do Good,” Hannah’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Oprah, Glamour, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and more. She lives in Atlanta with her hu...

We love when Elizabeth Pehrson comes to speak! She is full of wisdom, humor, and practical parenting tips!

Elizabeth is a speaker, podcaster and founder of The Exchange. She is the wife of David (who she affectionately deems THE MOST patient man on the planet), as well as the mother of EIGHT children – four boys and four girls. Maxton, Jack and Mary Madden are recent college graduates. Josh, Libby and Walker are currently in college. And Witt and Finley are in high school. She has two BIG golden retrievers (Huck and Henry) and she's involved in several vo...

Jay and Taylor Wise have been married for 26 years. They were both born and raised in Atlanta, GA and were high school sweethearts. Upon graduation from college, they married and Jay served as a Naval officer from 1999- 2005. After his military service, Jay attended Emory University receiving an MBA in Finance, while Taylor attended Reformed Theological Seminary and received a Master's degree in Theology. Jay has spent his post-military career in corporate finance, working for The Home Depot, Nike, and Chick-fil-A. Before becoming a stay at home mom, Taylor previously worked for YoungLIfe and currently serves as the YoungLife...

Shugie Collingsworth is a native of Newnan, Georgia, but has spent her adult life all over the South, serving in various ministry capacities. She has a unique ability to blend life stories with biblical truth and her distinctive flavor of straight-talk Southern humor. With a speaking and teaching career spanning three decades, she has spoken to thousands on marriage, parenting and women’s issues. She is mother to two sons and one daughter and grandmother to 6. She and her husband, JB, lead marriage seminars and retreats that impact couples around the world.

Jo Watson is from London England. She has been married to Dan for 16 years and together they have four beautiful children, Bella, Jude, River, and Ellis. For over 10 years they were part of pastoring and leading a large church across the UK. In 2022 they relocated to Atlanta and in August 2023 they stepped in as lead location pastors of Passion City Church at Trilith. Jo is a qualified social worker and has poured her life into helping others, specifically women and children grow and develop in their life and relationship with God. Jo is an authentic leader that carries the...

We were so blessed to get to hear from one of our leaders, Liz Mott, today. She has been a leader for 2 years and before that, a Mom2Mom participant for 4 years. Liz shares her story of her family's journey through adoption and how God's faithfulness was ever-present, even in the waiting.

Lauren Mitchell is an author and teacher who spends most of her time chasing her three children and the rest of it chasing the heart of God. She has a passion for prayer and sharing her own struggles to help others learn about God's steadfast love for us. She desires for her writing and speaking to make others yearn for a closer walk with God.

Lauren loves talking to people about Jesus, whether they are large groups of women or just a small group on her front porch over a really good cup of coffee. She also...

Kelly Newcom is the author of Managing Media Creating Character book and study guide and the founder of Brave Parenting. Kelly has a pharmacy degree from Purdue University and a Master's degree in Biblical Studies and Theology from The Master’s University. Kelly’s parenting and media expertise has led her to speaking events and conferences across the country advocating for a biblical approach to media and technology.

Kelly and her husband Ryan have been married for twenty-four years and have seven foster-adopted children, ages 18 to 28, and two granddaughters with one grandson on the way.

We sure loved having Brittni Lundie come speak to us this week! She has such a wisdom-filled, relational way of teaching. Brittni is a devoted mom, Bible teacher, and the founder of UnShaken Faith, a ministry created to help parents raise children who stand firm in their faith, based on Psalm 16:8. She’s the author of several women's and children’s Bible studies that make God's Word engaging and accessible for kids of all ages.

Brittni’s creative eye shines through her work as a family photographer with her company, Rich Shoot. And just in time for the ho...

We sure loved having Brittni Lundie come speak for us this week! She has such a wisdom-filled, relational way of teaching. Brittni Lundie is a devoted mom, Bible teacher, and the founder of UnShaken Faith, a ministry created to help parents raise children who stand firm in their faith, based on Psalm 16:8. She’s the author of several women's and children’s Bible studies that make God's Word engaging and accessible for kids of all ages.

Brittni’s creative eye shines through her work as a family photographer with her company, Rich Shoot. And just in time for th...

This week we were so blessed to welcome back Kirsten Watson!! She is a wife, mother of seven, and a passionate leader in both family and faith. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Marketing with a Spanish minor. She then launched her career at a Fortune 500 company before transitioning into the nonprofit world—driven by a lifelong dream of entrepreneurship and service.

Today, Kirsten is the CEO of her family of nine and author of "Sis, Take a Breath". Alongside her husband, author and retired NFL player Benjamin Watson, they serve as th...

We were so blessed to get to hear from Tom and Bonnie Kopp today. They have been married for 57 years!! Who better to speak to us about communication with our spouses?

From early on in their marriage, they were missionaries in Africa. Both of their children were born there. One of our leaders, Lisa Allison, is their oldest child!

They are currently living in Florida and they have now transitioned back into a global ministry by joining the Paraclete Mission Group based in Colorado. With this Mission, ministry groups from several countries in Africa and...

We were so excited to get to hear from Heidi Lee Anderson again this year!

She is an author, a speaker, and a stay-at-home mom. She also crafts devotionals for over 250,000 followers on social media.

Heidi has spent her career doing ministry-from teaching hundreds of kids in children’s ministry to writing daily devotionals, Bible Reading plans and small-group curriculum for adults.

We know you'll be blessed by the way Heidi uses her powerful story to share Biblical truth and encouragement with us.

Today we heard from Elizabeth Urbanowicz, founder of Foundation Worldview. Elizabeth is a follower of Jesus Christ who is passionate about equipping kids to understand the truth of the Christian worldview. In this podcast, she lays out God's design for sex and how to make talking about it a natural part of your parenting in an easy to understand, age-appropriate way for your children.

Today we got to hear from one of our amazing Mom 2 Mom leaders, Kate Hallock, about finding joy and pursuing our passions during motherhood. She was funny and thoughtful and really delivered a message that is comforting yet challenging at the same time. Enjoy!

Today we got to hear from a Mom2Mom graduate, Katie Huggins. She is a mom of 6 and counselor at The Pursuit Counseling. She gave us lots of practical tips on keeping calm in the chaos of motherhood.

Wow! We were so blessed to get to hear great wisdom and lots of encouragement from Elizabeth today. She is so great at giving practical tips that we can all apply to our lives, right where we are. Enjoy!

We welcomed back 4 former Mom2Mom members and leaders to discuss the struggles and victories in finding and building close friendships with other women.

We were so blessed to get to hear from Elizabeth Madden Pehrson again today! She is such an encouragement to our moms and gives us such great practical tips about parenting intentionally.

Elizabeth is the founder of The Exchange. The Exchange was created in 2015 which is a non-profit ministry that provides a space for women to come together and encourage each other to live life full of meaning and purpose. She also has a podcast called On Purpose that are designed for women to live the life we’ve been given on purpose and with intention. She lo...

We were so excited to have Betty Thompson back this year to share with about what grief is and ways to navigate it both in ourselves and in those around us.

Here is a little more about her...

From a young age, Betty has been passionate about helping others embark on their own personal journey towards healing, wholeness, and purpose. Upon receiving her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Georgia Southern University, she went on to pursue her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Richmont Graduate University in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has gained valuable ex...

Pat Strain was there at the beginning of Mom 2 Mom. She has been a long-time supporter and friend to many in our group. She spoke to us about today about the importance of having a deep, meaningful, quiet time with the Lord every day.

Here's Pat's Story in her own words...I have been married to Mike Strain - 42 years. I have three grown sons who are married, giving me three precious daughters-in-laws, who are like daughters to me.

God has blessed their quivers, and given us six grandchildren, 2 boys and 4 girls - currently between...

Joshua Becker was amazing today! He gave lots of benefits and practical tips for how to live a life of minimalism. Here's some more info about Joshua...

Joshua Becker of “Becoming Minimalist” is dedicated to rational minimalism and helping other discover what that uniquely means for them. His family began a journey of donating, recycling, and removing unnecessary personal possessions. They embarked on an intentional journey to own less stuff. As a result, they discovered more money, more time, more energy, more freedom, less stress, and more opportunity to pursue their greatest passions: faith, family, friends. And then...

Lauren Espy was amazing today! She was so vulnerable and relatable. She has such a powerful story of forgiveness and courage.

Here's a little more about Lauren...

Lauren Espy is a seasoned leader, pastor, and mom of three boys who brings over 20 years of experience in strategic communication and leadership. She spent 15 years on staff at North Point Ministries, leading the worship service experience and launching new campuses. Currently, she serves at Chick-fil-A Corporate, where she continues to lead, coach communicators and create meaningful experiences for Operators and their teams. Lauren and her husband, Stuart...

Wow, we were so blessed to hear from Shaunti Feldhahn today! She gave us all comfort in knowing that we are normal and not alone, no matter where we are on our journey with our spouses. She also gave lots of practical tips about how to have effective communication about intimacy with our husbands.

Check out Shaunti's amazing and vast bio below...

Renown author of many books such as For Women Only, For Men Only, Thriving in Love & Money and her new book- Secrets of Sex and Marriage. She speaks all across the country and...

We got to hear from Erin Drez today about being Spiritually and Mentally strong.

Erin is a Spiritual Life Coach, Public Speaker, and the Co-Founder and Executive Director

of Two Small Coins, a non-profit ministry dedicated to bringing hope and healing to young

widows. Through her work Erin offers support to individuals navigating grief and trauma,

empowering them to heal, grow, and transform their lives.

Erin’s journey is one of extraordinary resilience. In March 2019, her life was turned upside down

when she became a widow at th...

We loved getting to hear from Payden Montgomery and Ruthie Brown today about healthy eating and why it's so important for our families. They included lots of great information along with tips and links to make planning easier for the busy mom. Here's a little bit more about Payden and Ruthie...

Payden is our Mom2Mom Atlanta South Board Chairman. She and her husband, Lane, launched goperformance in 2012. She assists the team with day-to-day operations and marketing. Her main passion is around nutrition and making a healthy lifestyle manageable for busy families. Payden and Lane have two...

We got to hear from one of our leaders today, Meredith Sorrow, on how discipline and chores can make your life simpler and be so beneficial to your children as they grow. She was joined by another leader, Kristen Petras, who shared many practical tips for how to handle chores, allowances, and teaching your kids about responsible saving, spending, and giving.

More about Meredith...She is passionate about families and helping parents invest in their children to be our future leaders. Born and raised in the southern crescent of Atlanta, she is the daughter of Ross & Lynne...

We were so blessed to hear from Kristy Kalinowski today. She is a wife, mother of three grown children and KK to one incredible almost 3 year old. As a long time student of the Bible, she trains and teaches women how to become more grounded in their faith by digging deeply into the Bible. She spent 19 years studying, leading, teaching and training with Bible Study Fellowship where she grew a deep love for the big “C” church and learned invaluable training and leadership skills. She recently began True North 328 Ministries using her training and life experiences to do her part...

As always, we loved hearing from Karen Stubbs today! Her talk on "Setting Your Own Pace" was practical, relatable and funny.

Karen is a speaker, podcaster, and author of several books including, Survival Guide to Motherhood, Moments with God for Moms, and The Art of Motherhood. She has also published multiple group studies for moms which are available through Right Now Media.

During Karen’s years as a young mom, her husband, Greg, served as a fighter pilot in the Navy. During those tough early years, as Greg served overseas, Karen grew in he...

What a great morning we had getting to hear from Kim Hudson!

Kim graduated with her undergrad from Auburn and then later attended Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. She currently practices law with the law firm of Davis, Bingham, Hudson & Buckner, P.C. and specializes in business/transactional law, with a special focus on nonprofit corporation creation and consultation.

Kim met her husband Tim while they were students at Auburn. Tim played professional baseball for almost 20 years, and they enjoyed that wonderful adventure. They have been married for 25 years. They have two daughters...

What a blessing to hear from one of our own "Mums", Jo Watson today about how to renew our minds in the Lord. She is from London England. She has been married to Dan for 16 years and together they have four beautiful children, Bella, Jude, River & Ellis. For over 10 years they were part of pastoring and leading a large church across the UK. In 2022 they relocated to Atlanta and in August 2023 they stepped in as lead location pastors of Passion City Church at Trilith. Jo is a qualified social worker and has poured her life into helping others specifically...

Our amazing speaker this week was Elizabeth Madden Pehrson! She is the founder of The Exchange. The Exchange was created in 2015 which is a non-profit ministry that provides a space for women to come together and encourage each other to live life full of meaning and purpose. She also has a podcast called On Purpose that are designed for women to live the life we’ve been given on purpose and with intention. She loves Jesus and loves helping others especially women. She is married to David and has 8 children: 4 boys and 4 girls. She also has two big golden re...

What a joy it was to hear from Jackie Dukes today! Jackie has been discipling women for over 20 years. She's passionate about helping ladies embrace their unique calling in Christ and breaking through barriers to experience the fullness of God's Spirit.

Jackie and her husband, Jake, pastor a new church plant in a church building that is 180 years old in Brooks. They and their congregation are exploring what it looks like to be a family on mission, together.

Jackie is an expert on parenting. As a mother of 5, she is a highly sought after speaker...

We were so blessed today to get to hear from Chris McKenna, Founder of Protect Young Eyes, and Executive Director of the Protect Young Eyes Foundation. Chris is a respected author and creates valuable resources for families and schools. His impactful 2019 testimony before the US Senate played a crucial role in driving the enactment of new online child protection laws, earning him the prestigious Dignity Defense Alert Award. Recent state-level legislation co-authored by Chris called the Child Device Protection Bill is moving forward in multiple states. It will force devices to enable existing content filters when activated by a...

We were so blessed to hear from Ashlee Ilg today! She is a homeschooling, business-owning mom of five (including a teenager, a toddler, and three more in between), who lives here in Senoia. After spending a few years in the corporate world, Ashlee and her husband took the leap into entrepreneurship and started a golf cart dealership in their garage. Today, they own multiple companies (don’t worry - they’ve moved out of the garage!) and love encouraging others to also pursue adventures on the roads less traveled. Her passion for entrepreneurship has overflowed into the creation of Kids...

We were so blessed to have Alison Veazey as our speaker today. Her story is so powerful. She serves as a partner, Co-Founder, Dean of students, and instructor of Think Lifechange Institute of Biblical Counseling. She has a Master’s Degree in professional counseling and has been in the counseling field for 17 years. She also founded a ministry named Victory Reins that uses horses in counseling. She has co-authored 7 books with Dr. Kerry Skinner. She has witnessed the Holy Spirit restore lives, marriages, and families through the power of repentance. She is forever grateful that the Lord has gifted he...

What a joy it was to hear from Kirsten Watson today! Kirsten is a mom of seven and wife to author & retired NFL player Benjamin Watson. Now she’s CEO of a family of 9 and the Executive Editor of Mom Life Today. With Benjamin, she founded the One More Foundation and together they co-host “Why or Why Not With the Watsons”. She is the author of “Sis, Take a Breath: Encouragement for the Woman Who’s Trying to Live and Love Well (but Secretly Just Wants to Take a Nap)”.

We were so blessed to hear our long-time friend, Shugie Collingsworth, speak on how to make real and genuine connections in Mom2Mom.