But many of us forget (or never knew to begin with) that lasting personal joy is not necessarily found the way the world says it is--through reaching a certain socioeconomic status, having a certain job, buying a certain house, or having a certain amount in one's bank account. In fact, says Kristen Welch, popular blogger and author of Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, personal satisfaction comes not from grabbing onto things but from holding them with an open hand and, very often, giving them away.In this inspiring book, Welch shows parents how to discover for themselves and instill in their kids the profound joy that comes from sharing what we have been given--our time, our talents, and even what's in our wallets--with those who have less. Through powerful personal stories as well as stories from Scripture, Welch offers a tantalizing alternative to status quo parenting that has the power to impact not only our own families but the entire world. At the end of each chapter, one of the author's kids offers their perspective on what it's like to be raised as a world changer.

    What if your baby AND you could thrive together? We cure diseases. We create artificial ears using 3-D printers. We solved how to pee in space. We can figure this out--and now Dr. Darria has done just that. An Ivy league-trained physician and mom of two, Dr. Darria combed the latest in medicine, psychology, and holistic health for answers when her own health crises struck. She now brings those solutions to moms everywhere. For moms who just DontHaveTheTime (or energy), Mom Hacks gives you the specific smallest changes that yield the biggest impact for you and your child. Every hack is a mini super-charged solution with an immediate impact. So you feel good, lose the baby weight, and are more present, while raising thriving children--in an entirely do-able, time-saving, with-you-in-the-trenches way. Her humor and personal stories bring warmth and encouragement when mothers need it most. You can be the mother and woman you want to be, and with Mom Hacks, you don't have to listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. It's time for a new mom world order.

    Lang has put her valuable knowledge into these pages. With this book in your hand, you are on your way to putting your health first and setting your baby up for lifelong wellness.- -JESSICA ALBA, co-founder of The Honest CompanyGood For Baby, Good For YouDr. Jennifer Lang has worked for decades in support of maternal and infant health. As an OB-GYN, activist, and mother herself, she knows the importance of pre-natal nutrition to mother and baby and how overwhelming all of the information available can be. The Whole 9 Months is your all-in-one pregnancy book to answer the questions you'll have at every trimester. Through simple nutritional guidelines, up-to-date pregnancy research, and real mom-to-mom advice, you'll discover how easy it can be to make good food choices for your body while growing a healthy, happy baby.This invaluable pregnancy nutritional guide contains:Information on essential baby-building nutrients, daily consumption needs, and where to find them in foodsMore than 100 quick and easy recipes for a variety of diets--including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free--with nutritional information for each recipe Suggestions and swaps (and other helpful tricks) to combat nausea and cravings Eating guides that outline what to eat (or not) while pregnant, best food choices if you have gestational diabetes, foods that stimulate breast milk production, and much more!-Eating for two- is the most important eating that you'll ever do--and The Whole 9 Months is the most comprehensive pregnancy book to help you do it right.

    Through her personal insights and experiences, Courtney shares how you, too, can learn to find and celebrate God’s version of beautiful in your life, especially within our differences and struggles.

    That's what adoptive mom Heather Avis learned, and that's the invitation of this book.As the mother of three adopted children - two with Down syndrome - Heather Avis has learned that it's truly the lucky few who get to live a life like hers, who actually recognize that God's plans are best, even when they seem so radically different from the plans we have for ourselves.When Heather started her journey into parenthood she never thought it would look like this, never planned to have three adopted children, and certainly never imagined that two of them would have Down syndrome. But like most things God does, once she stepped into the craziness and confusion that comes with the unknown and the unplanned, she realized that they were indeed among the lucky few.Discover in this book what 70,000+ followers of Heather's hit Instagram account @macymakesmyday already know: the power of faith and family can help us stay strong in the toughest times. This book will also be especially touching to those with adopted family members or children with Down syndrome in their lives.

    But for too many, birth can seem like a purely clinical experience — something to get through as quickly as possible in order to get on with the joys of being a mother.In Made for This, author Mary Haseltine draws on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body to show that birth is an essential part of who God created women to be, body and soul. With real-life stories from many moms and practical tips — including preparing for birth, making informed choices, helping fathers embrace their role in the birth room, and encountering the work of labor — this book is an indispensable guide for navigating the physical and spiritual dimensions of pregnancy and birth. Expectant mothers will find the tools they need to approach birth as a gift, and to invite God into the experience. About the Author Mary Haseltine is a theology graduate and a certified birth doula and childbirth educator. With a passion for building a culture of life through the teachings of the Theology of the Body, she works to bring an awareness and practice of the teachings of the Church into the realm of childbirth, mothering, and pregnancy loss. She lives in Western New York with her husband and five sons. You can find more of her writing at www.betterthaneden.com.

    Reading aloud offers us a chance to be fully present with our children. It also increases our kids’ academic success, inspires compassion, and fortifies them with the inner strength they need to face life’s challenges. As Sarah Mackenzie has found with her own six children, reading aloud long after kids are able to read to themselves can deepen relationships in a powerful way.Founder of the immensely popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast, Sarah knows first-hand how reading can change a child’s life. In The Read-Aloud Family, she offers the inspiration and age-appropriate book lists you need to start a read-aloud movement in your own home. From a toddler’s wonder to a teenager’s resistance, Sarah details practical strategies to make reading aloud a meaningful family ritual. Reading aloud not only has the power to change a family—it has the power to change the world.

    . . all year long.Does your home sometimes feel like just a place to eat, sleep, and change clothes on the way to the next activity? Do you long for "home" to mean more than a place where you stash your stuff? Wouldn't you love it to become a haven of warmth, rest, and joy . . . the one place where you and your family can't wait to be?There is good news waiting for you in the pages of The Lifegiving Home. Every day of your family's life can be as special and important to you as it already is to God. In this unique book designed to help your family enjoy and celebrate every month of the year together, you'll discover the secrets of a life-giving home from a mother who created one and her daughter who was raised in it: popular authors Sally and Sarah Clarkson. Together they offer a rich treasure of wise advice, spiritual principles, and practical suggestions. You'll embark on a new path to creating special memories for your children; establishing home-building and God-centered traditions; and cultivating an environment in which your family will flourish. (Don't miss the companion piece, The Lifegiving Home Experience.)

    But no matter how much we try to tell our daughters that they are beautiful and lovable as they are, words are not enough. And if we're honest, we don't always set the best example of being body confident. Until we truly see ourselves as good enough, our girls will struggle.With deep compassion, Maria Furlough delves into the root causes of our insecurity, offers biblical guidance for seeing ourselves as God sees us, and shows how to model our newfound confidence to our impressionable daughters. Speaking as a daughter, a youth leader, and a mother, Furlough shares her own struggles and triumphs, as well as expert advice from a pediatrician, a nutritionist, a Christian counselor, and more.What we say to our daughters might last a moment. What we show our daughters lasts a lifetime. With God's help, we can put aside our obsession with bodily perfection and refocus on becoming and raising godly women.

    Full of wit and charm, Mackle guides readers through a collection of hilarious and vulnerable tales written by moms who have seen it all.Laugh alongside a group of real mamas as they tell of the never-ending joys and unpredictable perils of motherhood. Between diaper fiascos and singing potties, and whether mowing to escape reality or being mistaken as a pile of laundry--hilarity ensues. The extraordinary vulnerability found in Same Here, Sisterfriend will not only remind every mom that she's not alone, but also encourage her to look for grace in even the messiest moments.Sisterfriends keep each other sane, strong, and lighthearted, which is exactly what Holly Mackle's mom-community does, bringing a little levity to the rough trenches of mamahood. So long as sisterfriends are only a text away, they can be sure of one thing--they will never have to face the mom life alone. The mostly true tales of their misadventures include:Animal noises overheard in the Lactation CenterRewarding themselves with chocolate chips while potty trainingAfter effects of the imaginary play game "horse bath"Cell phone photos they can't imagine deletingWith a little commiseration and a lot of laughter, the ladies behind the creation of Same Here, Sisterfriend encourage moms everywhere to let go of the image of perfection and rest in knowing that their sisterfriends have their back. So it's time to link arms in sisterfriend solidarity, because we might as well laugh, mama.

    But some children have trouble with impulsivity and self-control. Left unaddressed, these issues can lead to some very serious problems in adolescence and adulthood. Anger control problems are the number one reason that children are referred for therapy, affecting children as young as three years old. Since anger problems in children may indicate other significant concerns, it pays to address anger in kids as soon as possible. If a child in your life has an anger problem, you need the friendly, effective activities in this book.I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Mad contains forty activities for issues such as recognizing anger triggers, better problem solving, and communication tips for defusing conflict before it gets out of hand. The workbook explores common lifestyle issues such as lack of sleep that can make anger problems worse. These fun activities will help kids talk about their feelings and learn to control them.

    Learn to hear God speaking above all the noise in these daily devotions that can be completed in five minutes or less.As moms know, even when there isn't noise around us, there is usually noise within us. The constant to-do lists that spin in our minds, the worry and wonder if we are doing a good job, and the need to stay two steps ahead of our families when we feel two steps behind keeps our minds routinely restless. So when quiet time with God isn't so quiet, and alone time is nearly nonexistent, how does a modern-day momma tune in the voice of the Lord?With Truth Unchanging, you don't have to wait until you're alone to talk with Jesus. Designed to be read in five minutes or less, each powerful, hope-filled devotion will:* refocus your heart on the Word of God * refresh your mind with God's Truth for your life * revive your spirit as you realize God is speaking to you personallyTruth Unchanging is not just a devotional. It's an opportunity to begin daily conversations with Jesus, the One who has everything we need to take on the days ahead, the One who wants to speak to you right now. Tune in to His voice today.

    In The Big Book of Birth renowned childbirth educator and Realbirth Center founder Erica Lyon offers an antidote to that fear with a comprehensive and up- to-date guide to childbirth. Drawing from more than a decade of teaching expecting parents what really to expect, Lyon fills the void that currently exists in childbirth literature, offering clear, current, objective advice on everything from choosing your doctor or midwife, to the realities of assisted and cesarean births, to the many different pain-coping options you can use during delivery and proven techniques that can help you relax and often speed along your labor. The Big Book of Birth guides women through the four stages of labor, dispelling misconceptions and providing a wealth of objective information in a warm, welcoming, and well- organized format. A long-overdue resource, The Big Book of Birth gives expectant mothers the knowledge they need to approach childbirth with confidence and joy.

    Amid the strange, disjointed rhythms of her days and nights and another impending winter in upstate New York, Ari is a tree without roots, struggling to keep her branches aloft.When Mina, a one-time cult musician — older, self-contained, alone, and nine-months pregnant —moves to town, Ari sees the possibility of a new friend, despite her unfortunate habit of generally mistrusting women. Soon they become comrades-in-arms, and the previously hostile terrain seems almost navigable.With piercing insight, purifying anger, and outrageous humor, Elisa Albert issues a wake-up call to a culture that turns its new mothers into exiles, and expects them to act like natives. Like Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin and Anne Enright’s The Gathering, this is a daring and resonant novel from one of our most visceral writers.

    Not to follow this path necessarily, but to remember that there are always many options.'Aged thirty-seven, single and having experienced two miscarriages, Genevieve Roberts found out that her fertility levels were dwlindling. On hearing this news, she made the courageous decision to embark on motherhood solo and eventually became pregnant using a sperm donor.Genevieve describes her initial fear of the prospect of birth without a partner, and the trepidation she felt towards all the responsibility she has taken on. She recounts all the milestones of pregnancy and motherhood that most women share with their partner -- going to NCT classes alone, taking part in birthing workshops with her sister-in-law, her amazement that two people in her pregnancy yoga class are following the same path as her. But ultimately what triumphs is Genevieve's excitement at meeting her daughter. She recalls the first months of parenthood, navigating the love, worry and tiredness of life with a newborn without a partner. She describes the beautiful simplicity of the relationship between herself and her daughter, as she gets to know Astrid without having to consider a partner. Going Solo is for anyone whose life has taken an unexpected twist; for people who are interested in modern families and for those who want to take control of their life and follow their dreams of parenthood. It celebrates the fulfilment that comes from following what makes you happy, and reminds us that beauty may be found when life offers a surprise or a deviation from convention.