Workshop to Workbook: My Mission-Driven Case Study
Part 1: The Story of a Workshop, a Workbook, and a Mission for Mamas
Workbooks are more than just pages—they’re portals to transformation.
🌱 Where It All Began
If you had told me two years ago that I’d be hosting mom circles in my community I probably would’ve laughed and said, How sweet—but no way!
If you asked me to create a workbook based on these monthly meetups I more likely would have said, Now that’s a great way to create a workbook!
And so, here we are.
Life, as it often does, has plans that we never are fully aware of until a chapter ends and a new one begins. My story begins not with a strategy—but with healing, serendipity, and of course a workbook.
It began in a season of deep transition.
Just after my second child started JK, I found myself unexpectedly pregnant again. I sought support through a local pregnancy centre and began counselling. I made the deeply personal decision to have an abortion—a choice that left me in grief, in guilt and in emotional turmoil. What followed was an overwhelming season of confusion and loneliness. I felt like a failure in tackling the role of a nurturing mom, a loving wife and my purpose in life.
Early in my grief, my counsellor gave me a workbook called Living in Color. She didn’t know that my professional work was all about helping people create wellness workbooks. So it felt like divine intervention.
That workbook was my guided companion, supporting me when I was home feeling alone while my kids were at school, my husband at work and in between my counselling sessions. Working through those pages helped me reconnect with myself and all that I felt I had lost. I processed my emotions and began to heal. In doing the work, I had a profound revelation. I knew writing would help me find clarity but what I didn’t know was how sharing what I wrote (with my counsellor) would help me find the grace I needed during my silent mourning. That workbook was a turning point and planted the seed for something I didn’t yet know I’d grow.
Through pen-to-paper reflection I began to process, to mourn, and to transform. I rediscovered something I already knew deep down:
Journalling helps us feel our way through—and then find our way forward.
✨ A Serendipitous Spark
Almost a year later, at a women’s wellness conference in Toronto, I sat at a random table and met Erin, the owner of The Serenity Studio.
As fate would have it, we quickly realized we were both from Huntsville, and when we met up again back home, I told her about an idea to create a supportive group for moms. I mentioned to her the idea of creating a safe space for moms to gather and grow—something gentle, supportive, and local.
She was immediately all in.
She offered her studio, her energy, and her belief in what this could become. That was the green light I needed. While still intimidated, I decided I had nothing to lose and went for it! That’s how M.O.M—Mamas On Missions—started.
🌀 From Circles to Pages
We hosted our first info session in February 2024, and began a series of monthly holistic wellness workshops.
Every session brought together moms while welcoming their children in a friendly space. Kids played in a nearby room with toys and popped in regularly to hug their moms. We gathered in a circle holding space for each other—sipping tea, snacking on local treats, and diving into deep conversations. M.O.M is grounded in three pillars of self-care:
Personal (Mind) — tending to your thoughts and emotional well-being
Parental (Body) — nurturing through your physical presence and parenting practices
Purpose (Soul) — reconnecting to your inner calling and sense of meaning
Sometimes a guest facilitator guided us through a movement practice or holistic workshop. Each gathering featured: a community partner or topic guide; a worksheet with journal prompts and reflection questions; a safe space for moms to share and connect.
In just our second session, a mom who discovered us on Facebook encouraged me to apply for a grant—the deadline was due that very same week. She helped me write the application in a scramble and by June we had secured funding. Thanks to that grant, we were able to provide every session with snacks, gifts, supplies, and more to make each session even more meaningful to the moms who attended.
✨ It still feels like a small miracle.
At all the events, we handed out a worksheet—filled with journal prompts, reflection questions, or intention-setting exercises to help each mom connect more deeply with the theme of the month. The gatherings were small and soulful, filled with laughter and gentle wisdom. During our final M.O.M Celebration of the year in December, a few tears were shed too.
These circles were sacred. They were small, soul-nourishing, and real.
📖 The MOMazine Vision
During one of our sessions, the idea came to me: What if we captured all of this and turned it into a tangible keepsake?
What if we could preserve these insights, themes, and reflections in one beautiful place?
What if we created something that could reach more moms, especially the ones who couldn’t attend, something they could hold in their hands and feel part of?
That’s how the MOMazine was born.
💞 Part workbook, part magazine—created by moms, for moms.
Each session would be featured in the MOMazine as an article, Q&A, or quote-style reflection from our guest contributors—paired with the companion worksheet from the event.
Our vision is to:
📚 Share the heart of each session as an article, interview, or quote-based piece
✍🏽 Pair each story with its original worksheet
💛 Encourage pen-to-paper reflection through a printed format
🌎 Reach moms beyond our gatherings—locally, nationally, even globally
🌱 Generate royalties to fund future grassroots M.O.M sessions
Whether a mom reads it cover to cover in a lazy afternoon or savours one page at a time over tea—this is truly just for her. Let’s call it a mini mom retreat!
🫶 A Community Effort
I’m still gathering content and inviting contributors—our community partners, fellow moms, and supporters—to lend their voice.
This is no longer just my vision—it’s a collective mission. And it’s only the beginning. Our sessions have brought us together to collaborate: local businesses have donated gifts; moms have volunteered their time and the support keeps growing.
This MOMazine isn’t just my creation—it’s all of ours.
🔜 What’s Next
In Part 2, I’ll be sharing more behind the scenes:
🖋 How the MOMazine is being designed
📦 How it will be distributed
📚 How you can grab a copy for yourself or a mama you love!
Until then, you can follow along on our journey here:
👉 M.O.M – Mamas On Missions on Facebook
If you’re thinking about creating your own workbook—from a course, a teaching, or a lived experience—I’ll walk you through how I’m doing it.
Let’s keep building beautiful worksheets and workbooks from our knowledge and experiences—because our stories, our healing, and our hard-earned wisdom deserve to live on the page. When we put pen to paper, we don’t just reflect—we create tools that can support others on their path too. This is how we turn our everyday moments into meaningful, lasting impact.
Sincerely,
Theresa McNeilly
Founder of Do The Work Books & M.O.M – Mamas On Missions