Soon after Jessica Kastner became a mother, she wondered if she was the only mom who found pretend play more boring than watching playdough harden and who dreaded yet another friend’s Instagram post of homemade deliciousness. In Hiding from My Kids in the Prayer Closet, Kastner shares her experience as an “unmom”—a mom who loves her kids more than she loves the daily experience of mothering. She helps readers laugh at the ridiculous, delight in the unpredictable, and enjoy being the mothers God made them to be.
Your personality is a gift, not a liability. This book helps you uncover and embrace the hope, laughter, and joy of using your unique gifts to parent your children. Life as a mom is LOUD, but you long for quiet. When the volume of family life clashes with your personality, frustration, guilt, and overwhelm naturally result. In Introverted Mom, author Jamie C. Martin lifts these burdens from your shoulders, reminding you that your steady strength is exactly what your family needs in this chaotic world. Jamie shares vulnerable stories from her own life as well as thoughts from other introverted mothers, letting you know you're not alone. Her practical suggestions and creative inspiration are enhanced with quotes and insights from four beloved writers--Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, L. M. Montgomery, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Together, Jamie and this band of fellow introverts share their wisdom on . . . Believing that you're enough Self-acceptance that leads to freedom Navigating heartache and disappointment Stretching out of your comfort zone Connecting with God as an introvert Cultivating calm wherever you are Defining for yourself what really matters Whether you've just realized you're an introvert, or if you've known it all along, this book is for you. It's time to honor who you are and savor life as an introverted mom. *Note: Written from a Christian perspective
The lives of moms are all too often consumed with wearisome, empty striving. We work to keep up appearances, meet worldly standards, and find satisfaction in the offerings of this life such as success, admiration, and ease. However, God has set eternity in a mother’s heart, and deep inside, we long for more. In Heavenly Minded Mom, author and blogger Katie Bennett beckons us into a new way of viewing our present reality by rising above the ordinary and routine to see a bigger plan and purpose for motherhood. This uplifting book offers moms the wisdom of Ecclesiastes, wrapped in the hope of the Gospel, and presented in bite-sized portions. The 90 compelling meditations, scripture readings, and invitations to journal and reflect, will encourage us to reevaluate how we envision our lives and to claim a heavenly mindset towards our mothering tasks. These inspirational readings will help us discover a new way of looking at our responsibilities as a mom through God’s eyes. Embrace a simpler life filled with God’s promises and love as you reflect on God’s powerful work as it has woven through your past and present in anticipation of its impact in the future and your spiritual legacy.
More Than Just Making It is your invitation to reimagine what the good life can be. Join Erin Odom, a mom thrown into low-income living, to learn how to overcome your circumstances, find creative ways to earn and save, and reset your heart and budget according to God’s designs. When you're trapped in a cycle of financial frustration, and you feel like you've tried everything only to end up with more month than money yet again, More Than Just Making It is your promise and pathway to thriving again. Take it from someone who's been there. Erin Odom grew up in the private schools and neatly manicured lawns of Upper Middle-Class America but was thrown into low-income living during the economic crash. She was a stay-at-home-mom, her husband was supporting the family on a teacher's salary, and even though they had no debt to their name, they were scrambling to make ends meet. Suddenly Erin found herself standing in line for food stamps, turning down play dates because she couldn't afford the gas, and ultimately walking into bankruptcy court in the eighth month of her third pregnancy. More Than Just Making It tells the story of their breaking point, as well as the triumph of their comeback. It took hard work, creativity, and faith in God's provision to reset their bank account as well as their hearts, but ultimately, they found a new way to thrive and freedom from financial anxiety. You can do the same. Learn how Erin and her family saved enough money to put $30,000 down on a home, buy a minivan in cash, and begin sending their daughter to private Christian school. More Than Just Making It will encourage you to rise above your circumstances, empower you with money-saving tips, and reimagine the good life as God designed it outside the myth of the American Dream.
From Christina Lamb, the coauthor of the bestselling I Am Malala and an award-winning journalist—an essential, groundbreaking examination of how women experience war. In Our Bodies, Their Battlefields, longtime intrepid war correspondent Christina Lamb makes us witness to the lives of women in wartime. An award-winning war correspondent for twenty-five years (she’s never had a female editor) Lamb reports two wars—the “bang-bang” war and the story of how the people behind the lines live and survive. At the same time, since men usually act as the fighters, women are rarely interviewed about their experience of wartime, other than as grieving widows and mothers, though their experience is markedly different from that of the men involved in battle. Lamb chronicles extraordinary tragedy and challenges in the lives of women in wartime. And none is more devastating than the increase of the use of rape as a weapon of war. Visiting warzones including the Congo, Rwanda, Nigeria, Bosnia, and Iraq, and spending time with the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar, she records the harrowing stories of survivors, from Yazidi girls kept as sex slaves by ISIS fighters and the beekeeper risking his life to rescue them; to the thousands of schoolgirls abducted across northern Nigeria by Boko Haram, to the Congolese gynecologist who stitches up more rape victims than anyone on earth. Told as a journey, and structured by country, Our Bodies, Their Battlefields gives these women voice. We have made significant progress in international women’s rights, but across the world women are victimized by wartime atrocities that are rarely recorded, much less punished. The first ever prosecution for war rape was in 1997 and there have been remarkably few convictions since, as if rape doesn’t matter in the reckoning of war, only killing. Some courageous women in countries around the world are taking things in their own hands, hunting down the war criminals themselves, trying to trap them through Facebook. In this profoundly important book, Christina Lamb shines a light on some of the darkest parts of the human experience—so that we might find a new way forward. Our Bodies, Their Battlefields is as inspiring and empowering is as it is urgent, a clarion call for necessary change.
Have you ever looked into the faces of the people who call you “mom” and wondered what in the world you got yourself into? If you’re like many Christian moms today, you’ve been reading the headlines and watching the rapid-fire changes in our culture with frustration and fear. Let’s face it: Moms today are facing questions that previous generations didn’t even see coming, and even our right to determine what is best for our own children is under fire. Popular speaker and blogger Heidi St. John (The Busy Mom) believes that today’s mothers need a special kind of strength. We need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We dare not rely on human strength for the battles we’re facing right now. In Becoming MomStrong, Heidi has a powerful message just for you—the mom in the midst of it all. Through encouragement, practical prayer points, and authentic “me-too” moments, Heidi equips you for a job that only you can do: to train your children to hear God’s voice and to walk in truth no matter where our culture is heading. God wants to use this generation of mothers to do something extraordinary: To be strong in the Lord To know who you are in Christ, and To impart that strength to your kids. In other words, He wants you to be MomStrong! So if you’re feeling tired or inadequate today, get ready to find new strength as you join Heidi St. John in Becoming MomStrong.
Say Good-bye to Stress and Burnout, and Hello to Peace and Purpose What comes to mind when you think about prayer? Does it feel like something for holy people but not for you? Or like a mystical experience you could never hope to achieve in real life? Or maybe just a boring duty with little payoff. In this book, author and pastor Chad Veach demystifies the concept of prayer by explaining in practical terms what prayer looks like in our day-to-day lives. It turns out, it's not hard! This passionate, personal approach to prayer removes the pressure to "pray right" and replaces it with the calm assurance that God wants to hear from us and respond to us in love. Along with building a case for the importance of prayer, Chad uses stories and compelling insights from the Bible to give practical advice for how to make your prayers more effective. He highlights where we can and should pray and offers tangible strategies to implement a praying lifestyle within the busyness of modern life. Prayer works! Here's how to connect with God just like He's always wanted.
A new and expanded version of Seamless Faith, now with more than a dozen new spiritual practices and additional resources for parents, kids, grandparents, and communities that care about families! Add family faith moments to your daily routine with little or no prep, and share meaningful spiritual experiences with your children! Traci Smith, a pastor and mother of three, offers ways to discover and develop new spiritual practices as a family, whether you're a new seeker or a lifelong follower. Faithful Families is brimming with easy, do-it-yourself ideas for transforming your family's everyday moments into sacred moments! Faithful Families helps you: connect faith to your family's everyday life; add family faith moments into your daily routine; learn new spiritual practices alongside your children; teach your children to appreciate religious diversity with time-tested non-Christian and Christian spiritual practices; respond to life's everyday challenges and opportunities with meaningful practices Faithful Families is the perfect gift for Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles; Baptisms; Baby Showers; New Families; Christian educators and those they serve; Preschool Classes; and Godparents Faithful Families is part of The Young Clergy Women Project
This helpful resource equips you to instill integrity and honor in your son. Help him navigate the challenging tween years and beyond as you put him on the path to becoming a healthy and responsible adult. With some intentional parenting, your son can avoid the many pitfalls that prevent boys from growing into good men. Bob and Dannah Gresh share six proactive ways you can make a lasting impact in your son’s life. Get Him Outside to Play Encourage activities that spark his imagination and creativity and fulfill his God-given need for adventure. Give Him a Book So He Can Discover a Real “Call of Duty” Help him use his free time wisely and develop good discernment about what he reads, plays, and watches. Host Wing Nights and Fantasy Football Parties Let his dad be dad by giving him the freedom he needs to train and discipline his son well. Celebrate His Entrance into Manhood Prepare your son for changes to his body, his mood, and his attitude about the opposite sex. Unplug Him from a Plugged-In World Educate him early and often on the dangers of sexual sin and show him how to monitor his own media consumption. Let Him Open the Car Door for You Teach him how to be a gentleman and how to treat girls and women with kindness and respect. Good boys can grow up to be great men with a little guidance and a lot of prayer.
