Book Review- The Passionate Mom

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Title: The Passionate Mom
Subtitle: Dare to Parent in Today's World
Author: Susan Merrill
Genre: Christian Living/ Parenting

I chose to review this book for two reasons:
1. I am a mom and I am always looking for encouragement as a mom.  It is a tough and rewarding job.

2. I read in the book summary that the author based her parenting advice on the book of Nehemiah.  That intrigued me.  I have read Nehemiah and I did not see the connection to parenting. I was curious,  I wanted to see how the author was going to make that work.

The author, Susan Merrill, is a mother of five children and is the director of iMOM.com.    She writes this book from both her personal experience as a mother and through her journey reading the book of Nehemiah.  She gives advice and encouragement to be a mother that parents her children passionately and confidently.

So how does she connect parenting to the book of Nehemiah? 

 For those of you that haven't read it, the book of Nehemiah is a book of the Old Testament.  It is likely that the book was written by Ezra.  It is a historical book of the Bible that tells about Israel after its captivity by Babylon and the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem.    What does any of that have to do with parenting?  How does the author connect the two?

Nehemiah took up the impossible task of rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem.  She compares that to the seemingly impossible task of being a mother.    She applies the pattern that Nehemiah followed in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem to our job as mothers.   She compares Nehemiah's literal wall to the figurative wall we build around our children.  She describes this with 10 P's that we need to be the best mom that we can be:
1. Perception
2. Pondering
3. Passion
4. Prayer
5. patience
6. Preperation
7. Purpose
8. Planning
9. Problem Solving
10. Perseverance

   The author then writes a chapter for each of these 10 P's.  Each chapter begins with a scripture from Nehemiah.  She then shares the "mortar" needed for each of the 10 "bricks."  She uses her personal experience to get her point across.  She is very raw and honest.  Most moms will be able to relate to her stories.    She has a section that she calls "Confession" where she relates her own struggles with the areas that she is addressing.  By including this section she makes the reader feel comfortable; they know that the author is not judging them as a mother.

I would recommend this book to mothers of children of all ages.  The principles in this book can be applied to all stages of parenting.  There isn't a mom out there that "has it all figured out."

  The book is fantastic but is a little long for its content.  It might have been better with a few less examples and stories.  The point could have been driven home a little quicker.  Overall though, the book is a must read for any mom! 


Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Thomas Nelson Publishing Company through their Book Sneeze Program in exchange for an honest review. 



Mommy Monday Week #3


Welcome to Week #3 of the Mommy Monday link party here at Some of the Best Things in Life Are Mistakes!  
 
 
 
Each week I will feature the most popular post from the previous week.  The featured post from last week was

 
Updated Rules for Chutes and Ladders from the Jenny Evolution

 
If you were featured please grab an "I've Been Featured" Button and display it proudly on your blog!
 
 
 
The Mommy Monday link party is for any posts relating to being a mom.  The posts can be about marriage, homemaking, parenting, crafting, or homeschooling. I reserve the right to remove any posts that I find inappropriate.  I am a born again Christian and want my blog to reflect that.   This blog reserves to delete any posts that it deems inappropriate.
 
One of the best parts is the links are added randomly so everyone gets chance to be the first post!

Book Review- For Women Only




Title: For Women Only- Revised and Updated Edition
Subtitle: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men
Author: Shaunti Feldhahn
Genre: Christian Living/Women/Marriage

Since the Garden of Eden, women have wondered what men are thinking.  No matter how long you have been married, you could use some help understanding your spouse.  Communication between the sexes has been a challenge since the beginning of time.

  I started this book thinking that I would not read anything new or enlightening.  Yes, some of the chapters contained familiar suggestions and ideas. They were still worth reading and will be a good refresher to help communication in your marriage.

Surprisingly, there were some concepts that I had never though about before.  For example,  I had always assumed that my husband wanted to be intimate with me to satisfy a physical need.  I never looked at it as something that boosted his self-confidence and his self esteem.  This was one of the author's "Eight Revelations."  Other topics include men as providers, why they "tune out" and men being visual.

When reading this book, you need to remember that every man is different.  You can't fit them all into the same box.  Knowing that, you need to read with an open mind and know that every statement may not apply to your husband specifically, that you may need to apply the concepts more generally. 

The author conducted surveys on men from ages 21 to 75 to gather her data.  She surveyed 1600 men and conducted personal interviews.  I tell you this so that you will know that she isn't just writing about her own marriage.  Extensive research went into her discoveries and should be representative of "most" men.   Her advice is based on statistically proven evidence.

I would recommend this book to married women, engaged women and any woman that plans to be married one day. 

You can read more information about the author on her website  http://www.shaunti.com/.

Disclaimer: I was given this book for free by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Company as part of their Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Handmade Mother's Day Gift Ideas


These are the best handmade Mother's Day gift ideas that I could find on Pinterest.  If you visit one of these bloggers please follow their blog, like them on Facebook or  leave a comment and let them know that you stopped by and love their work! 

 If I featured your post, please grab an "I've Been Featured" button and display it proudly on your blog.





Mother's Day Handprint Crafts from Handprint & Footprint Art




10 Handprint Mother's Day Gifts from Momma's Fun World



15 Handmade Gift Ideas from 36th Avenue




101 Mother's Day Gift Ideas from 101 Things to Do




25 Handmade Mother's Day Gift from Everything Etsy



Meaningful Handmade Mother's Day Gifts from How Does She?



Mother's Day Resources from Rainbows Within Reach



Free Mother's Day Printables from A Night Owl

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She's Getting So Big!

 My daughter, Sydney, is turning 8 years old in two weeks.  She is getting so big!  She is very independent, a typical first born child!  She likes to learn how to do some of the things that I do as a mom.  She wants to do everything by herself.  

I have an allergy that prevents us from having traditional Playdoh  in the house.  So I make the play doh myself in my kitchen.  I wrote about it in this blog post.




 Sydney wanted to try to make the playdoh all by herself.  She did really well with it.  She read the recipe and followed the directions.  I set the ingredients up on the counter for her and she was able to measure everything herself.



I turned the stove on for her and she stirred the playdoh herself.  I no longer need to remind her that the stove is hot.  She is responsible and carefulAs you can see in the picture, she was very proud of herself! I love that she wants to do things herself and be a big girl. 

 
I am also glad that she is not so big yet that still wants to play with the playdoh after she has made it
 
 

Reasons My Son is Crying

Have you seen the latest viral craze?  It is a Tumblr called, "Reasons My Son Is Crying."    It is hilarious!  I love the fact that this family is willing to laugh at themselves.  The premise is that the parents take pictures of their son crying and each photo has a caption that gives the reason why he is crying.  The reasons are so funny.  It is always something that he shouldn't be crying about.
 Here is an example:
 
I wouldn't let him drown in this pond

I decided yesterday to take some of my own "Reasons my Son is Crying" pictures.  Lucas always gives me plenty of material.   These shots were from just half a day!

I didn't consider the playdough he was eating as part of a balanced diet
 
I didn't think he should give his sister a "bath" with his chocolate milk

One day my son may have a son of his own and I hope he gets one just like him! :)


Mommy Mondays- Week #2


Welcome to Week #2 of the Mommy Monday link party here at Some of the Best Things in Life Are Mistakes!  
 
 
 
Each week I will feature the most popular post from the previous week.  The featured post from last week was
 
From the blog: Hope in Every Season
 
If you were featured please grab an "I've Been Featured" Button and display it proudly on your blog!
 
 
 
The Mommy Monday link party is for any posts relating to being a mom.  The posts can be about marriage, homemaking, parenting, crafting, or homeschooling. I reserve the right to remove any posts that I find inappropriate.  I am a born again Christian and want my blog to reflect that.   This blog reserves to delete any posts that it deems inappropriate.
 
 
 
 The thumbnails will appear in random order so that everyone has a chance to be at the top! 
 
 
 

My Favorite Free Printables- Part 2



My first post of my favorite printables was such a hit that I have compiled another post filled with more of my favorite free printables. 

If your printable was featured in this post, please grab an "I've been featured" button and display it proudly on your blog!



I love FREE printables.  So many bloggers create their own free printables and share them on their blogs and on Pinterest.  Printables are a great way to decorate on the cheap.  I print them out with my color printer and then put them in a frame.  I pick up frames when I see them on sale or I have a coupon at stores like Hobby Lobby. 

 These are some of my favorites and the websites where you can find them.   If you decide to print them, please leave the blogger a comment or follow them on their site or on Facebook. Let them know you love their work!

Jesus Loves Me Printable By Between U and Me

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