Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."
Trusted author Ruth Schwenk of Pressing Pause and The Better Mom blog will help you learn to give yourself grace as you grow in wisdom with The Better Mom Devotional.
son Mitchell was a curious child. When he first learned to talk, he often repeated the same three phrases to me: “Why?”“How?” and “When?” His sparkly green eyes were always wide with wonder. When I cooked, he would drag a kitchen chair ...
Loved the affirmation that came from a job well done. And I loved the camaraderie of working on a team toward a greater purpose. Deciding to leave that position still meant I needed a job; living on a single income in pricey SoCal ...
You can find potato chips of all kinds: BBQ, sour cream, vinegar, pickle, ranch, jalapeno, guacamole, wavy, baked, ... If I handed this picnic basket to you, would you look inside and say to yourself, “There is no way I could eat all of ...
Yet patience is what is most required, especially during times of suffering, as James reminds us: Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, ...
The pressure on moms is to do it all right so their kids turn out all right. Jennie Cunnion reveals how the Good News of the Gospel empowers us to live--and parent-- in the freedom for which Christ has set us free.
Even James has teasingly introduced me to others saying I had a blackbelt. I'm always quick to say Ibought my blackbelt at the store. But this year, much to my surprise, we have turned into a martial arts family. It began when James ...
I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids diagnoses the craziness and offers real solutions, so that mothers can step out of the madness and learn to love motherhood as much as they love their kids.
The aforementioned Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte came along right when I needed to understand myself as an introverted mom. Jane, clearly both an introvert and a highly sensitive person, shows immense strength in the novel as she ...
This book will help any mom who wants to grow in her sacred role. Women who need encouragement or advice or who feel ill-equipped to be mothers will find the straight-forward evangelical perspective and practical advice life-changing.