I just got off the phone with two of the most delightful women you'd ever want to meet. Mia Cronan and Crystal Dupay, creators of MainStreetMom.com, agreed to an interview about their faith in God and how it affects every aspect of their lives -- their home life, their decision to start MainStreetMom.com and even the day-to-day decisions in their business.

Crystal and Mia first met a couple years ago in a Moms & Toddlers group in West Virginia and became fast friends. They both were stay-at-home-mom's considering starting their own home businesses. After studying books and articles on the best businesses to start, and realizing that it took motivation and determination to be successful in any business, they decided to start one together. They knew that together they could stay motivated and lean on each other when one of them was down and discouraged. And it's worked for them.

Their original idea was to start a newsletter for stay-at-home-moms, produce it locally and eventually take it national. But, when Crystal had the idea to save on expenses, gain more exposure and do the newsletter on the Web instead Mia agreed and off they went. While researching what was already out on the Web, they discovered that no one was touching on the spiritual side of being a mother. Mia explained, "There weren't any sites that talked about spiritual growth for moms. There were lots of mom sites out there, but none that addressed spirituality. Matter of fact, it seemed like they actively avoided it. Maybe they were afraid of turning their readers off. We actually get more feedback on the spiritual articles than the others."

In August 1998, MainStreetMom.com was born. It focuses on resources and helps for modern mothers with traditional values. In the spring of 1999, Mia and her family moved to Pennsylvania. And although Crystal stood on her lawn with tears in her eyes as Mia drove away -- expecting that their friendship and business would most likely deteriorate with the separation -- neither has. Matter of fact, through email and phone they have been able to easily maintain their friendship. They both agree that although it would be much easier if they could sit in front of a computer together while they discuss site changes, they've still managed to make do through email and occasional phone calls.

A Backbone of Faith

Do they pray about their business decisions? They most definitely do. Mia, who writes many of the articles on the site, prays before she sits down to write so that she will be led to say what is best. But both Crystal and Mia agree that praying over business matters can get tricky. Mia says she finds herself praying for the site to grow, but then wonders, "Is that God's will or my will?" Crystal explains, "There's a risk involved in asking God's will. Sometimes I'm almost afraid of what He'll say. In my prayer life I find myself asking for guidance. I know God will answer -- just not always in the way or time that I might think. I think the more we follow His will, the easier it gets the next time and the next."

Their Message

Mia went on to explain that "When I came home to stay with my kids, I felt like I was losing my identity, but my faith pulled me through. My faith has given me my identity. It's amazing when you follow God's will for your life how everything falls into place."

Although it's been tough for these two women to go from no computer background to learning HTML code, struggling with graphics software and learning complex programming, they feel that if it's God's will that their business continues to grow, grow it will.

As I was sitting there listening to Mia and Crystal discuss their belief in God and how their faith is a dynamic part of their lives I was struck with a sense of wonder. There are so many people who express a passing, "Yes I believe in God" but a genuine, "I absolutely know this is true" to the point of where they use it in their daily lives is so rare in this world. I must say I was impressed.

Another thing that impressed me was here were three women on the phone with three different religious backgrounds - Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and LDS and yet we still have the common ground in Jesus Christ and can talk about our faith in Him and how it permeates our lives. There was rapport there -- no matter what religions we are. And then it hit me... this is what SheLovesGod is about -- that we're all sisters -- we're all daughters of God -- no matter whether we're Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, LDS, Baptist or Church of God. We all have that common belief in Jesus Christ that unites us. And that is what it's all about!

Thank you Mia and Crystal for an enlightening afternoon!

> Click here to visit MainStreetMom.com.