All in Parenting

7 Habits of Joyful Mothers

Ruth Schwenk
Following God, Parenting, The BetterMom Updates

One of my favorite Christmas carols is “Joy to the World.”

I love just about everything about it: the tune, the words, and the message.

With Christmas right around the corner, most of us are beginning to hear songs like this one ringing through the air of shopping malls, grocery stores, vehicles, and maybe even our own homes.

We sing about joy and celebrations and about all the reasons we have to be overflowing with happiness…but we don’t always feel joyful.

At times, even though we say “Merry Christmas,” some of us (if we’re really being honest), don’t feel merry at all.

Letting Go of Mommy Guilt

Elisa Pulliam
Babies, Boys, Following God, Girls, Hope, Parenting, Prayer, Special Needs, Teens, Toddlers

If I knew that slowing down to say hello to a fellow mom could land me in such a pool of mommy guilt, I would have kept on going. She started off the conversation with a rather innocent question, but before I knew what happening, one of my comments opened up a door to an accusation I never saw coming . . . and that triggered an onslaught of mommy guilt.  I nodded along with a smile on my face, but but on the inside, I was on the brink of tears and feeling like a failure as a mom.  

Guilt has the power wreck us, but God’s grace always has the upper hand when we yield to His truth. {click to tweet}

I pressed on with the details of the evening, feeling icky and wishing I could go home. All I wanted to do was talk to my husband, and yet looking back, I’m so glad that was not an option. Instead, I ended up emptying my heart before the Lord each time the emotions rose up inside of me.

How Your Prayers Change the Future

Tricia Goyer
Discipling Children, Following God, Hope, Parenting, Prayer

I'd like to think I'm an expert pray-er. I can clearly see how my prayers changed things. For example, I have three little kids—not birthed from me—running around my house who are examples of that. Yet the way that my prayers changed the future is different than you think.

God is not a genie in a bottle. My prayers weren't effective because I figured out the right words to make God do what I want to do. I used to think that. As a young Christian I'd try all sorts of things:

  • praying in the morning
  • praying at night
  • praying on my knees
  • praying out loud
  • journaling my prayers

I wouldn't admit it out loud, but I believed deep down if I said the right things, at the right time, in the right way, that God could be swayed.

3 Early-Motherhood Changes I Wish I Could Make

Jennifer Ebenhack
Discipling Children, Following God, Hope, Parenting, Prayer, The BetterMom Updates

I’m right in the middle of this sanctifying, exasperating, exhilarating job of raising children.

I don’t quite qualify as a Titus 2 “older woman,” so I’m not going to tell you what you’re doing wrong (smile).

But now that I’m past the preschool years and diving into the teens, I’m seeing some fruit of my early-motherhood days...

The good and the bad.

As I think out loud about what I wish I could adjust, I pray you’ll find encouragement. And if the Holy Spirit nudges you to make any changes... well, my advice is listen, so you can look back on these years with joy rather than regret.

The first change I'd make?

Ten Ways to Keep the Darkness at Bay

Kate Battistelli
Discipling Children, Following God, Hope, Parenting, Prayer

I know most of us here are Christian moms but we want the same things as every other mom right? Every mom wants to keep her kids safe, help them grow up healthy and strong,  protect them from monsters and let them believe they’re super heroes, agreed?

All mothers can pretty much agree on these points but as moms following God, we have different standards and we see a bigger picture. We see beyond keeping our children safe to making them holy vessels fit for the Master’s use. We see far past our children’s temporal lives and gaze into their eternal futures.

If you’ve ever seen the first Hobbit movie, you might remember this line:

12 Fun Family Traditions To Try This Holiday

Unveiled Wife
Fun For Kids, Homemaking, Marriage/Relationships, Parenting

Entering the holiday season can be familiar and exciting, but it can also be overwhelming because it comes so quickly. If you are like me you wish it was extended over a longer period of time just so you can savor all of the seasonal benefits such as holiday themed cups at coffee houses, the smell of wet concrete from rain or even snow, pumpkin everything, and of course eggnog. This time of year is special and can often times bring up fond memories of the past, especially if families made an effort to incorporate traditions. We find ourselves taking turns in conversations reminiscing of past seasons and what made it the most special to us. Don’t you agree?

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