And a few years ago, I began to write through the stuff that I do (or try to do) to enjoy the day-to-day life with a houseful of tinies. Three years later, it remains one of the most popular series of posts I've ever done at my blog. And now it's an e-book. The book isn't about "advice" or making a one-size-fits-all version of motherhood. It certainly isn't about heaping more guilt or or unattainable standards on anyone. Mothering is very, very hard work. It's constant. It's tiring. I've found that mothering tinies exposed the parts of my heart that I could keep politely hidden from general society. It could break me in the morning, but by evening, I would feel like I've never been more fulfilled or happy in my life. It can also be monotonous (that’s something not too many people will tell you – me? I’ll tell you.) And do you have any idea how many loads of laundry a family of five can generate? (Hint: EPIC AMOUNTS OF LAUNDRY.) But the truth is: I enjoy mothering. I enjoy it a lot. In fact, I love this which surprised me. Even the daily quotidian rhythms of it are good, good, good. I even enjoyed those years when I couldn't leave the house without someone sympathetically commenting "Wow, your hands are full." Not because I have it all figured out and do things right all of the time (I don’t). Not because I’m the best mother in the world (I’m not). Not because my tinies are absolutely perfect and the gold standard of childhood (they’re not - trust me). And not because every day is filled with rainbow-and-unicorns-and-cupcakes (I wish). No, the reason I enjoy mothering tinies on the day-to-day grind is mainly because I do this stuff. And it helps me. I call them Practices because that’s what us Christians have often called spiritual disciplines, but really they’re just things I do over and over again, kneading them like yeast into my life. Everyone has their own "practices." Most of mine come from my own parents but then I picked up a few others from books or friends or mentors. And my practices may not work for you and your family. After all, this is just what worked for me, right then, in that season. As my tinies grow up, my practices shift and change and evolve, as they should. Your own practices will do that, too.

    Yet as girls grow up, the narrative of innocence and joy changes to gloom and doom as moms are told, “Just wait until she’s a teenager!” and handed a disheartening script that treats a teenage girl’s final years at home as solely a season to survive.Author and blogger Kari Kampakis suggests it’s time to change the narrative and mind-set that lead moms to parent teen girls with a spirit of defeat, not strength. By improving the foundation, habits, and dynamics of the relationship, mothers can connect with their teen daughters and earn a voice in their lives that allows moms to offer guidance, love, wisdom, and emotional support.As a mom of four daughters (three of whom are teenagers), Kari has learned the hard way that as girls grow up, mothers must grow up too. In Love Her Well, Kari shares ten ways that moms can better connect with their daughters in a challenging season, including: choosing their words and timing carefully, listening and empathizing with her teen’s world, seeing the good and loving her for who she is, taking care of themselves and having a support system, and more. This book isn’t a guide to help mothers “fix” their daughters or make them behave. Rather, it’s about a mom’s journey, doing the heart work and legwork necessary to love a teenager while still being a strong, steady parent. Kari explores how every relationship consists of two imperfect sinners, and teenagers gain more respect for their parents when they admit (and learn from) their mistakes, apologize, listen, give grace, and try to understand their teens’ point of view. Yes, teenagers need rules and consequences, but without a connected relationship, parents may never gain a significant voice in their lives or be a safe place they long to return to.By admitting her personal failures and prideful mistakes that have hurt her relationships with her teenage daughters, Kari gives mothers hope and reminds them all things are possible through God. By leaning on him, mothers gain the wisdom, guidance, protection, and clarity they need to grow strong relationships with their daughters at every age, especially during the critical teen years.

    They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths." --2 Timothy 4:3-4Jesus Christ is coming back. It is certainly a Christian's greatest hope during these difficult times. The Bible warns us that the last days will be tumultuous--wars and rumors of wars will spread (Matthew 24:6). In our age, the world seems to be spinning out of control, creating fear, confusion, and uncertainty. In addition to violence, pestilence, and epidemics, the Bible predicts a great "falling away" from God in the end times. Bible teachers call that "the great apostasy." Are we seeing evidence today in the church of this massive rejection of sound and wholesome teaching? Mark Hitchcock, former lawyer and popular Bible teacher, examines the evidence from the teachers of our time. Are today's teachers allowing people to follow their own desires by telling them what they want to hear, as the Bible clearly predicts? Are major portions of the church ready to abandon sound and wholesome teaching?Mark explores the writings of church leaders in America and is stunned by what he discovers. The great apostasy is coming, but is it closer than we imagine? What does that mean for the future? Let Mark Hitchcock be your steady guide to the difficult days ahead.

    Without it, it is impossible to please God. But are your moments of deepest, most essential faith doomed to dissipate as quickly as they materialize, leaving you powerless and ineffectual?Absolutely not. The truth is, you are not doomed to a lifetime of flickering faith.Join Shelene Bryan on a journey to uncover the ark-building, sea-parting, lion-taming, ridiculous faith that will leave you in awe of the Creator and all He has prepared for you. Are you ready to live an absurdly, unbelievably good life--a ridiculous life of ridiculous faith?

    So was His.If you've ever tried to pick up the shattered pieces of your life and put them back together again without help, you know it's an impossible task. When you lose your job, when divorce divides your family, when a loved one commits suicide, or when cancer claims a friend, it's easy to lose perspective and abandon hope.According to Jon Weece, Christianity does not require you to smile through your pain, much less praise God for tormenting you. God doesn't enjoy your suffering. But he does understand it--and he knows exactly how to fix it.That's what Me Too is all about: A God who turned the ugliness of the cross into a spectacle of eternal beauty. An all-powerful Lord who will do the same with the pain of this world. An eternal Father who specializes in wiping away tears and putting you back together again. If you'll allow him.

    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 purposeCreate a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and moreAvoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfectionCultivate 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."

    Discover powerful words that usher in healing for wounded hearts and rebuild, restore, and reconcile your connection.   Set new patterns going forward as you…find common ground and put your relationship ahead of your differenceslearn what to say when you don’t know what to saygrow closer when you do hard things togetherIf you have a difficult history with your mother or daughter, you don’t have to continue patterns of brokenness. No matter how worn you feel, you don’t have to become unthreaded. God wants to mend your heart to His and to hers.

    In those moments, we are utterly dependent on God for well-timed help. If he doesn't come through, we're finished. For forty years, two million Israelites were in the wilderness, and God fed them supernaturally every morning with manna, teaching people who doubted him he can be trusted with everything they needed to survive. This is a lesson we need to learn too. In personal stories and applications of biblical lessons, Manna reveals how God specializes in making a way where there is no way. He proved it every day to the nation of Israel, never missing a day of being faithful. He was never late, and he was never early. He was always just in time. And he will be for you.

    Individuals ruled by the flesh, who cooperate with this spirit, sow discord, presumption, rebellion, insubordination and a host of other marks of Satan's kingdom. In this biblical, balanced, and eye-opening study, Steve Sampson, a gifted prophetic teacher, explains the origins and history of this insidious spirit, as well as how it functions through leaders in positions of spiritual authority. Because the Jezebel spirit is fueled by self-centeredness and self-promotion, Sampson helps readers understand how our flesh must be ruled by God and put under subjection to the Holy Spirit. He also offers readers clear signals of the presence of this spirit and specific direction for those who find themselves battling this subtle and destructive influence.

    After gathering on a Sunday, do we simply go about our business, void of true transformation? Is the gospel simply a self-help tool, the church just a place where our needs can be met? It's time to ask ourselves, "Am I really following Jesus? Or am I just faking it?"With eye-opening personal stories, Scripture, and thought-provoking questions, Andi Andrew lovingly invites readers to examine their hearts to discover whether their faith is a genuine, life-giving marriage of belief and practice in response to Christ's life and sacrifice, or if it is just a lifestyle choice on par with any other. She encourages readers to surrender their whole lives to Jesus daily, grapple with hard questions they may have been avoiding, and discover a life fully alive, following in the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ.

     In her new book, The Sacrament of Happy: What a Smiling God Brings to a Wounded World, Lisa Harper unveils a similarly extravagant, unexpected surprise, declaring that happiness is a gift from God that we can unashamedly enjoy. Wearing the twin hats of both seminarian and belly-laughing adoptive mom, Harper builds upon solid theological scaffolding for happiness in a warm, vignette style. She dismantles the old-school idea that joy, not happiness, is the truly spiritual emotion of the Christian family and asserts that Christ-followers are actually called to happiness . . . to such a deep conviction in the unmitigated goodness of our Creator-Redeemer that we are free to feel and express genuine joy, fulfillment and contentment, regardless of personal and global tumult. Harper’s personal story includes such happiness killers as sexual abuse, the death of loved ones, and heartbreaking failed adoptions. Yet she writes on themes like: “The lost sacrament of laughter” “Happiness is not the absence of sadness” “Tuning out the Pharisees who try to mute your happiness in the context of spiritual maturity” This book goes well beneath most people’s surface understanding of happiness, gently guiding readers closer to the heart of God . . . with naturally a few genuine guffaws to enjoy along the way.

    Jonathan and Wynter Pitts did. Until the reality of married life spilled into their expectations.Jonathan and Wynter invite you on a journey to explore a different approach to your happily-ever-after marriage. Join them for an honest look at the lessons learned as they navigated the ups and downs of early marriage while raising four daughters.Here you will...be encouraged to remove the pressure of a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses marriagelearn to let go of assumptions and embrace your role as servant-leader to your spouseexperience how God can pour His purpose, passion, and fullness into your relationshipEmptied is a way of life. It’s not about trying harder, it’s about thinking differently. Only when you are emptied of your own self-focused motivations can God pour new life into you for the abundant marriage and satisfying relationship you long for. Are you ready to approach your marriage poured out, ready to be filled up?

    They share practical advice for instilling wonder in a media-saturated culture, cultivating specific gifts, and balancing structure with individual choice. Our purpose as parents is the same as our child’s: to live creatively beyond ourselves, bringing the love, beauty and nature of God to this world. Let the adventure begin.Jan and Mark Foreman live in the San Diego area, where Mark is lead pastor of North Coast Calvary Chapel. Mark is the author of Wholly Jesus, and holds advanced degrees in Theology, Education and a Ph.D. in Counseling and Pastoral Care. Jan is a gifted teacher, artist, and she also facilitates partnerships with underprivileged women and children both locally and in developing countries. Together they love surfing, sailing, travel and especially being with their family.

    But most don't know how to build intentional relationships with people from different backgrounds.Across the Street and Around the World offers an answer to those Christians wondering, Is it possible to engage with people of other cultures right now, in my everyday world—or even beyond?Step by step, it helps them see how to prepare their souls, reshape their worldviews, and redesign their patterns of life to become the sort of people who can represent Jesus across cultural lines and take part in God's plans for their neighborhoods, their cities, and the world.

    In Blue Like Play Dough, she shares her unlikely journey from rebellious, pregnant teen to busy wife and mom with big dreams of her own. As her story unfolds, Tricia realizes that God has more in store for her than she has ever imagined possible.Sure, life is messy and beset by doubts. But God keeps showing up in the most unlikely places?in a bowl of carrot soup, the umpteenth reading of Goodnight Moon, a woe-is me teen drama, or play dough in the hands of a child.In Tricia's transparent account, you'll find understanding, laughter, and strength for your own story. And in the daily push and pull, you'll learn to recognizes the loving hands of God at work in your life? and know He has something beautiful in mind.