About Kathy & Tara
Kathy with her husband
and kids
Tara with her husband, kids, grandkids, and dog
We wrote two Bible study books about spiritual formation for moms.
Truth be told, if you saw us in our worst moments, you might question if we are the ones to write these books. We can be a mess. But we’re two friends who’ve walked together throughout the motherhood journey. Kathy held Tara’s son Zach two days after he was born. Tara coached Kathy’s daughters through mean girl bullying. We’ve been in a long-standing prayer group together since 2004, where we’ve walked and prayed with our friends through divorce, infidelity, mental illness, kids falling apart, cancer and even death.
Walking with other moms who love us and have our backs has been crucial to our spiritual formation journey. We don’t believe you can do it alone, so writing together is a symbol of that deep Biblical and spiritual formation truth. Plus it’s more fun.
Motherhood has been one of the most challenging experiences we’ve faced. Two women with Human Development doctorates, we hoped our academic training would make parenting easy--but it didn’t. Kathy calls the 14 years of parenting young children her “dark night of the soul.” Tara struggled to believe that God was trustworthy to care for her children. Yet through the experience of parenting, and in particular, parenting in community, we’ve both experienced God’s profound love and formation.
In decades of ministering to students, faculty, church members, and friends, we’ve walked with mothers of suicidal, learning-disabled, addicted, and rebellious children. We've rejoiced with moms as their children thrived, their marriages grew, and they shared their talents with the world. Through devastating pain and joy unspeakable, we’ve seen over and over how quick Jesus is to draw near, mourn with us, celebrate with us, and provide healing and hope. We want to invite other moms into this transformational journey with Jesus.
More about our day jobs… Kathy serves as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s Faculty Ministry Director. She’s also a certified spiritual director. Tara volunteers with Emerson Prison Initiative, teaching college courses to men in prison.
Both Kathy and Tara are available for speaking engagements.