We don't have the option to give up on mothering, so we have to choose each day, are we going to mother from a position of weakness or strength?

More Like this from The Busy Mom

Be The Mom Who Refuses to be Sidelined – An excellent blog post about losing our place in society and being proactive as a mom in our child’s life.

Are You a Worrier or a Warrior? – Are you a worrier or a warrior? In this world, there is a battle raging and it’s time to make your choice which you will be!

Part 2 of this series (will be live January 6, 2016)

Resources

The Mom Walk by Sally Clarkson – The Mom Walk is about the journey of motherhood. You love being a mom. You are wholeheartedly committed to your children. You long for them to grow up to be mature, loving, fruitful, and faithful followers of God. But you know that means you are called to be that kind of mom. It means you must be faithful on God s path of motherhood for you.

That is your mom walk. It is how you walk with God as mother. It is how you seek Him, trust Him, live in His grace, and draw on His strength one step of faith at a time. The mom walk is your path: P–How you walk with Purpose as a mother, A–How you walk with Assurance as a mother, T–How you walk with Trust as a mother, and H–How you walk with Heart as a mother.

In The Mom Walk you journey alongside Sally Clarkson in her own walk as a mother after God s heart. Through her personal stories from twenty-seven years of motherhood, inspiring and challenging truths from Scripture, and spiritual insights from both the dark and light sides of the journey, you will find renewed encouragement for your own mom walk with God.

Mom Enough: The Fearless Mother’s Heart and Hope, by Desiring God – Are you mom enough? The cover of a popular magazine asked this haunting question in bold red letters that hung over the startling image of a young mother nursing her four-year-old. When the issue hit newsstands, it re-ignited a longstanding mommy war in American culture. But it turns out this was the wrong question, pointing in the wrong direction. There is a higher and more essential question faced by mothers: Is he God enough? This short book with twenty-four short contributions from seven young mothers, explores the daily trials and worries of motherhood. In the trenches, they have learned how to treasure God and depend on his grace. The paradox of this book is the secret power of godly mothering. Becoming mom enough comes as a result of answering the burning question above with a firm no.

Firmly Planted Information

Firmly Planted Bible Studies

Reviews of Firmly Planted

Firmly Planted Non-Profit Home Page

FEARLESS RETREAT – Coming Soon!

Are you tired of parenting? I'll be honest, sometimes I am! So in today's podcast, Durenda and I get real about just how tired we are - and how we keep going, because giving up isn't an option!

Scripture Mentioned

2 John 1:8

Resources

When You Want to Do Great Things for God, and He Wants You to Keep Being a Mom – blog post by The Better Mom

More Like this from The Busy Mom

Parenting Toddlers and Teens – Without Guilt – Is it possible to parent toddlers to teens without guilt? Its not easy, that’s for sure! Jessica is a mom of 9 and we’re answering her question today on the podcast – how do I do all my kids need me to do? The answer applies to every mom.

Dear Imperfect Mom, You’re Not Alone – There’s more than enough mom guilt to go around, but that’s not The Lord’s best for us, moms. You don’t have to be the perfect mom, and in fact, no one expects you to be at all! Listen in to see what Heidi has learned about the only voice she needs to please.

Are you suffering from a loss? You are not alone, even if it may really feel like it. Listen in as Heidi and Durenda encourage you from their own experience with suffering.

Scriptures Referenced

Psalm 23

Isaiah 51:11

Lamentations 3:19-26

Resources

Through the Eyes of  Lion, Facing Impossible Pain, Finding Incredible Power –

What will you do when the unthinkable happens in your life?

Her parents called her Lenya Lion because of her ferocious personality and hair that had been wild and mane-like since birth. But they never expected that, five days before Christmas, their five-year-old daughter would suddenly go to heaven after an asthma attack. How do you walk out of an emergency room without your daughter?

In Through the Eyes of a Lion, Pastor Levi Lusko shares the eye-opening truth of the power of hope in a world that is often filled with pain, suffering, and loss. He says, “This book isn’t a manual for grieving, but a manifesto for high-octane living, and through it I want you to see that God made you for a purpose. There is a wild and wonderful calling on your life, a microphone in your hands. Jesus wants you to look at the adventure of your life through His eyes, the eyes of a Lion.”

Part memoir but all overtly instructive and deeply inspirational, Through the Eyes of a Lion gives readers the tools they need to face their fears and turn their journey into a roar story.

Chapter themes include:

Don’t rely on the naked eye

Run towards the roar

There’s no such thing as a wireless anchor

Let God use your pain

Cue the eagle

What we do in life really does echo in eternity. You are destined for impact, and there’s not a moment to lose!

When God Weeps, by Joni Eareckson Tada -If God is loving, why is there suffering? What’s the difference between permitting something and ordaining it? When bad things happen, who’s behind them–God or the devil? When suffering touches our lives, questions like these suddenly demand an answer. From our perspective, suffering doesn’t make sense, especially when we believe in a loving and just God. After more than thirty years in a wheelchair, Joni Eareckson Tada’s intimate experience with suffering gives her a special understanding of God’s intentions for us in our pain. In When God Weeps, she and lifelong friend Steven Estes probe beyond glib answers that fail us in our time of deepest need. Instead, with firmness and compassion, they reveal a God big enough to understand our suffering, wise enough to allow it―and powerful enough to use it for a greater good than we can ever imagine.

A Grace Disguised, How the Soul Grows through Loss, by Jerry L. Sittser – An expanded edition of this classic book on grief and loss―with a new preface and epilogue Loss came suddenly for Jerry Sittser. In an instant, a tragic car accident claimed three generations of his family: his mother, his wife, and his young daughter. While most of us will not experience such a catastrophic loss in our lifetime, all of us will taste it. And we can, if we choose, know as well the grace that transforms it. A Grace Disguised plumbs the depths of sorrow, whether due to illness, divorce, or the loss of someone we love. The circumstances are not important; what we do with those circumstances is. In coming to the end of ourselves, we can come to the beginning of a new life―one marked by spiritual depth, joy, compassion, and a deeper appreciation of simple blessings.

There is a lot of drama, especially surrounding the holiday season. But there are ways you can learn to avoid it, and in fact, that's exactly what the Bible tells us to do!

 

Hebrews 12: 14

Romans 12: 18

Proverbs 15:1

 

More Like This From The Busy Mom

How to Make Peace with Family – Christmas is right around the corner.  All of our preparations – the gifts, the decorations, the cooking and baking – will soon culminate in some sort of family gathering meant to inspire faith and fellowship.  While family gatherings at Christmastime can be a great source of joy, in some circumstances they can become a source of stress, or even in extreme cases, dread. Childhood memories may be fond but as we grow and become independent adults, often our viewpoints and values take different paths. This can cause a lot of friction, but with some careful thought and the preparation of our hearts we can make peace with our families this Christmas.

 

 

 

There is no shortage of Christmas movies to be found, but we still thought we'd share our family favorites to help you narrow down your list.

Humorous

Elf

Jingle All the Way

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Home Alone

Eloise at Christmas

Santa Clause

Family Drama – Good for Children of All Ages

Annabelle’s Wish Frosty the Snowman (Original)

Muppets Christmas Carol

Charlie Brown’s Christmas

Drama – May not Hold Attention of Younger CHildren

All I Want for Christmas

Miracle on 34th Street

Little Women

White Christmas

Holiday Inn

The Bells of St. Mary’s

It’s a Wonderful Life

Christmas in Connecticut

A Christmas Carol