S Club Mama

 I had a terrible misunderstanding in a ministry that I co-lead. This misunderstanding stemmed from a few things, one being my poor listening skills and then jumping to conclusions based upon them. To help remedy this situation and make wiser decisions in the future, I jumped at the chance to read Steve and Becky Harling's book "Listen Well, Lead Better."  While the back print said it was "written for leaders at all levels of churches, nonprofits, and businesses," it read as though it were mainly written for those leading within companies who oversee a large group. This does not fit my demographic of being a lay co-leader of a group, there were some good takeaway points from "Listen Well, Lead Better." image via Baker Publishing Group  The book spoke about having teammates buy in to the core values of your business or ministry. This is so true and something I've had to be flexible with when our core leadership group changed in the past few...

I've been an avid listener of the Risen Motherhood podcast for about three years, since it's beginnings or pretty close to it (maybe I was behind but motherhood affects my memory so forgive me for having bad timelines). Anyway, I love every second of the podcast, from the jingle to Emily and Laura's laughs and honesty. It's just everything I would want a podcast to be - quick, thoughtful, and about Jesus. When they said the Risen Motherhood book was coming out, I jumped at the chance to be on the launch team. Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler are my BFFs that I've never met. I can relate to each of them very well in terms of motherhood, writing (although they obviously are more serious about theirs than I), and trying to be a mom/wife/friend/person who follows Jesus and looks at life through the gospel lens. image via Risen Motherhood launch team I received an advanced e-book copy of the book. It was very exciting to have the material but I learned one thing - ...

For 12 years now I've been a mom who struggles with my temper, my patience. God has grown me in many ways in this area and yet I haven't conquered this sin. Now, hear me, the emotions I feel (anger, annoyance, frustration, etc) are not sins, but my reactions to them are. I've read several books in the past to help my growth, and The Cranky Mom Fix by Becky Kopitzke is among my very favorites. The subtitle is exactly the thing I want in my life: "Get a Happier, More Peaceful Home by Slaying the 'Momster" in All of Us." I'll admit it - I'm a Momster. My kids have endured my grown up temper tantrums more than they ever deserved. Yes, they disobey and hit one another and such things that children do, but my reactions haven't been the most gentle (once in awhile, I'll get a Holy Spirit controlled victory where my actions show the fruit in my life!).  In The Cranky Mom Fix, Kopitzke breaks things up into sections. The first section is a...

How can you not be tempted by a book with that title?! And tempted in a good way because family devotions are a good, godly thing! But, let's be honest, they can get to be dull. And frustrating (probably for kids, but definitely for parents). Have you ever sat your kids down and have this grand plan in your head of how they are going to revel in your wisdom and worship songs, just raising their hands singing to the Lord. No? Just me? Moving on... Anyway, Tim Shoemaker's The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions brings you an answer to the dull. The 52 devotions found in this book can be called many things but not dull. They are activities that get your kids involved and center around Christ. image via Baker Book House My family hasn't had the book long so we haven't done many of the devotions...in fact, we've done one. It was "Christianity and the $2 Bill;" the theme: "A true relationship with Christ changes everything and sho...

Emotions are a normal part of life, but if not taught properly, they can run rampant over a person's life. God gave us emotions to signal us to things - anger when something is not right, sadness when hard times happen, happiness when life is peaceful and swell! However, as it's taken me a long time and many books to understand, our emotions do not have the right to control our responses. image via B&H/LifeWay This can be a difficult concept to teach children but a vitally important one. "What Am I Feelings?" by Dr. Josh and Christi Straub gives parents a tool to use when teaching this lesson to children. It's one you'll teach over and over again because this book is easy to love - characters that kids relate to, cute illustrations by Jane Butler, and an easy plot to follow. My Princess has brought it to me several times since it arrived for me to read to her. What I liked: Like I mentioned, I like the illustrations by Jane Butler. They are simpl...

I can’t quite remember how I got Simply Tuesday in my hands. Probably a book review. But since the beginning of that book, I have adored it’s author, Emily P. Freeman. Reading that book was very pivotal in my life to see God in the ordinary, to live life as if God is in the simple things on a Tuesday. And so I am a fan of Emily P. Freeman. When she started her podcast, The Next Right Thing, back in 2017, I had my earbuds in and I listened to every word. I've possibly listened to every one of her podcast episodes since. I never felt like I had decision fatigue but I really have been helped by the podcast. She walked with me through some hard times in my life: depression, my son’s second brain surgery, awful morning sickness, the birth of my fourth child, and the continuing every day chaos of life with four children. When Emily announced that she was writing The Next Right Thing as a book, I was so thrilled. I have friends who are readers but not podcast listeners (and vice ...

I have to be honest that I wanted to read this book because I'm a fan of Alistair Begg. I've listened to him on podcasts and LOVE his accent (you guys, I'm a sucker for accents). I do realize you cannot listen to a paperback but I knew of Begg enough to realize this content was going to be GOOD! "Made for His Pleasure: Ten Benchmarks of a Vital Faith" by Alistair Begg is a fantastic book! image via AmazonSmile Even the two forewords were great, written by John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul - admonishing us as readers to "rejoice in the treasure you are holding in your hands, because it's richness will provide a clear path to follow...to that monumental face-to-face meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ." "Made for His Pleasure" itself was a joy to read. A humble urging to help us align our lives with Christ. I want to share some of the takeaways I wrote as I read: In regards to spiritual fitness, Begg says that "our commitment to o...

Which came first in my life: Jennie Allen of IF:gathering? Hmmm... I'm not sure it matters because she is the visionary behind IF. Both have helped me grow with God these past five years or so. I read Allen's book, "Anything," a few years ago. I'll be honest, it wasn't as life-changing as I thought it would be. The premise is surrendering your life to God, giving Him "anything." For Allen and her husband, anything included adopting their son and starting the IF:gathering (among other things, I'm sure). But I'm not sure my anything prayer had quite the same trajectory. However, my life had a few detours- my son's seizures and brain surgeries and two more children. I do think praying "anything" opened my eyes to follow God through these hardships (babies may not be traditional hardships but I have difficult pregnancies and I think the baby stage is quite difficult). Regardless, I was thrilled to hear Allen was coming out with a ...

Prayer comes naturally to me in only one form: for my children. I have to work harder to take the time to pray for most all else. Matthew Paul Turner must know the heart of parents for their children because his new book “When I Pray for You” perfectly articulates those prayers laid at the feet of Our Savior.    What I love: This book knows prayers - real prayers from parents: prayers for well-being (emotional and physical), for their futures, their passions. Prayers when they are cute and cuddly. Prayers for when they aren’t. Prayers to help them along or watch them fly solo. All the prayers summarized in this lyrical, beautifully illustrated book. Too often when a book is about prayer, it's very vague. While this book does not articulate specific prayers, it does encompass what we pray about when we pray for our children!  I’ve read through it with each of my kids - 11, 9, 3, and 7 months old. Each line fit them perfectly (especially the one about light saber...

Discipleship is not something that has been a huge part of my walk with Christ. I was not really discipled in college when I first surrendered to Christ. I honestly didn't know much about it - accountability partners were a bigger thing then. While those do have some discipleship aspects to them, their goal is different, I think, if only slightly. Then we moved a lot before settling where we are now in Kansas. We have been here for eight years and discipleship has been something I've heard more and more about each year we are here. This is my year for it - I've asked someone to start discipling me and I've decided to disciple a girl I know. Of course, I say it hasn't been a huge part of my walk but I have been discipling my children for going on 12 years now. This is natural discipleship for me - they are part of me, part of my home, I see them daily. Now, I have grown more intentional as they've grown - again, I just didn't know much about disciplining my...

Bedtime is such an endearing time for my family. I love rocking the baby to sleep, scratching my girl's back before bed, reading the Bible or a story to my big boys. They get in bed, under their covers, and my husband and I kiss each of them goodnight. It's a sweet time in our house, not usually as chaotic as I've heard other families say. I'm very thankful for this time with our kids. Each night we read out of the Bible - right now it's the Action Bible. However, we really do like to read bedtime stories, too. We read Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons just last night (all the kids were giggling! It was great!). I was really excited to see that Michael W. Smith had teamed with Mike Nawrocki (co-creator of Veggie Tales and Larry the Cucumber's voice) to write "Let's Get Ready for Bed." I was expecting something very lyrical that would be a good addition to our routine. image via BookLook blogging program The book is about Eddy the bear...

I can't remember if I first read or heard Annie Downs. I know she is a frequent speaker at the annual IF:gathering (ifgathering.com) but I've also read Let's All Be Brave (perhaps a devotional based on that?) and Looking for Lovely (which I enjoyed). That to say that I enjoy her. I haven't listened to her podcast but I know that we would be fast friends. I knew right away I wanted to read "Remember God" by Annie F. Downs because I've been through some things in the past few years that make me wonder "if He is really kind - really deeply always kind" as she writes on the back cover. Watching my son have seizures and brain surgeries that affect our whole family (another son dealt with anxiety and still does to some extent...just today my daughter who is three was pretending she was having a seizure...oh dear...it affects us), makes you not doubt but just wonder about God and His character and what you know to be true and how it doesn't seem to...

I have found myself drawn to autobiographies and biographies about missionaries for awhile now. I like to read about their passion for the Lord, their love for people, and their hardships. Yes, their hardships. These always end up showing God's character through his compassion, kindness, gentleness. Not always in the taking of the hardships but through His walking with the missionary through it.  Anyone who knows missions knows Elisabeth Elliot or at least her husband, Jim Elliot. Being familiar with their story, I was ready to read "Made for the Journey" by Elisabeth Elliot. It did not disappoint.  image via Baker Publishing I have a degree in English and I fully understand how vital it is to read the Bible in one's own language so I adored all of her linguistics talk! Her honesty about the physical hardships, her identity crisis, and her faith lessons she learned during them. Sometimes we can think of missionaries as Super Christians but Elliot is deli...

Since my surrender to Christ in 2014, I have changed in many ways - I don't talk the way I used to (I try really hard to not use bad words and to be thoughtful in my speech), I don't spend time with the kinds of people I used to (who weren't good influences), I don't see life the way I used to (for myself). In other ways, I KNOW I have changed but it's hard to see - I'm still impatient, get angry, and am selfish...but I have grown MORE patient, LESS irritable and offendable, and LESS selfish. Some days it's so hard to see. In those times that it's so difficult to see the change, the growth, the sanctification, I question myself. I question my salvation. As Christians we are promised a re-birth, to become a new creation. So how should we feel when we can't see the change? We can question ourselves, our salvation or faith, or even God. Instead we should ask questions. "Sacred Questions" by Kellye Fabian allows room for such questions. In th...

My nine-year-old son has started to read The Prince Warriors trilogy by Priscilla Shirer. He's working his way through the second in the series. I loved when he came to me while reading the first series, saying, "Mom, there's a Bible verse in here!" He sure couldn't say that when reading "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." I love the faith infused in this Prince Warriors series. It's been fun to hear him tell his friends and older brother about this series (and it's worth 9 AR points!). So I had to read "The Winter War" by Priscilla Shrier, the first in the sequel series to The Prince Warriors. Image via Amazon.com "The Winter War" is basically an allegorical story, much like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings series. There is a Christ figure (Ruwech), a God-the-Father figure (the Source), and even the Holy Spirit (The Sparks). There's an enemy (Ponèros) and his henchmen (Thayne and Lava Forgers). It took me a l...

" Becoming Mrs. Lewis" by Patti Callahan is about C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy Gresham. I found it to be a fascinating tale of historical fiction, weaving truth and fancy while leaving the integrity of the real people. Callahan made you feel Joy's feelings, allowing you to follow her journey from struggling in an abusive marriage to following her heart to England and eventually rebuilding her life there.  I really enjoyed the characters that Callahan portrayed. From Joy with her deep-set feelings to her ex-husband Bill with his disappointment and rage, you feel like this is a biography rather than historical fiction. Her sons are lively and real. C.S Lewis is made to be human, rather than a figure of grandeur (although Joy's perspective often gives him a larger-than-life depiction in her love for him). image via BookLook Joy, for me, was sometimes a hard character to swallow. I'm not used to fictionalize characters being so real (this was tricky because...

Most people are insecure about something. Whether that is in relationships, how they look, how good they are at their roles, something. I found when reading "Silencing Insecurity" by Donna Gibbs, that I have more than I though (which makes me feel a little insecure haha).  image via Baker Book House I found the book to be helpful in identifying some insecurities and symptoms of them. We can identify insecurities by finishing this sentence: "if only..." If only I looked like ________. If only my emotions weren't too much.  If only I could go here or do that.  If only I had a friendship like so and so.  If only my kids acted like theirs.  On and on. These aren't all necessarily mine but you understand my point.  Once you identify these identity thieves (as Gibbs calls insecurities) then you can begin to learn how to replace those thoughts (often half-truths and lies from the enemy) with truths from God himself.  My favorite...