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My Favorite Resources For Those Who Want To Be Better Moms…

Kat — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:08:33 +0000

There have been a few key parenting books and resources that have helped me as a mom. I can specifically remember the change in my attitude and outlook after absorbing them.

Parenting with Love and Logic

Parenting With Love And Logic

This book just made SO much sense to me. It helped me to be a “wall of jello” when my kids got emotional and upset. It’s full of excellent, practical wisdom for parents.

Mission of Motherhood

The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child’s Heart for Eternity
Parenting is about so much more than making our kids behave, it’s about leading them to Jesus.

Sally’s book inspired me. It made me see the nobility of motherhood and the sense of faith, tradition, security and love I can create in my home and my family.

Give Them Grace

Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus
I joked with my husband that I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart all over again by the time I reached chapter 2 of this book.

It’s not just a parenting book, it revolutionized the way I see Grace.

Positive Parenting Solutions

Amy McCready’s class came at at time when my husband was out of town for a couple weeks. He was not even reachable by email or phone for the most part. I was SO overwhelmed. And, for me, Amy’s videos and lessons not only taught me a lot, but they also comforted me. I know that sounds weird, but there was just something so reassuring about sitting down after the kids went to bed and *seeing* someone older than me share wisdom and insight.

My biggest take away from Amy is the power of our presence. Spending one on one time with our kids will solve more behavior problems than any structured parenting method. It’s so simple, but so powerful.

A FREE Webinar for You

I’m excited to share that I’ll be hosting another FREE parenting webinar with Amy next Wednesday. We’ll actually do two webinars – 2pm EST and 9pm EST.

We’ve done these webinars together several times and they are always amazing! It’s wonderful to learn from Amy, but it’s also fun to chat with one another in the webinar text chat area. It’s a fun, helpful, social time. I hope you’ll join us!

To register for the FREE webinar, click here.

Get Kids to Listen Without Nagging, Reminding or Yelling

Why is it so difficult sometimes to get kids to listen? You know she heard you, but she ignores you. You ask again and still . . . no response.

If you’re tired of nagging, reminding and yelling to get kids to listen – this session is for you! Inspired to Action is excited to partner with Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions & TODAY Show contributor to offer a FREE LIVE training webinar on Wednesday, February 8 at 2 PM and 9 PM Eastern Time.

Join us to learn easy to implement strategies to correct misbehavior and reclaim the calm voice you had before kids. Discover proven tools for your most frustrating discipline dilemmas including the 5 R’s of Fair & Effective Consequences.

All you need is your computer. (No webcam required.) You’ll see and hear Amy on your screen and you can even ask questions and she’ll make them part of the presentation. Parents RAVE about this session.

RSVP today and then kick back and learn from the comfort of your home.

Webinar seating will be limited so learn more and RSVP now! I’ll look forward to welcoming you.

Invite your friends to join you by sharing this on your FACEBOOK page by clicking here!

About Amy McCready

Parenting expert Amy McCready is the Founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and a “recovering yeller.” She is a champion of positive parenting techniques for happier families and well-behaved kids. Amy reaches a worldwide audience with her Positive Parenting Solutions Online course and is a frequent guest on the TODAY Show and has also appeared on Rachael Ray, CNN, Fox & Friends, MSNBC, and elsewhere. In her most important role, she is mom to two teenage boys.

Final Note About Any Parenting Resource

First of all, I want to note that while all the books I mentioned are Biblically based, Amy’s course is not. I think it’s excellent information, but it’s just a general parenting resource, not one specifically for Christians.

Second of all, the Bible should be our first parenting resource. I haven’t read a parenting book yet, Christian or not, that I agree with and want to implement 100%.

Lastly, I would like to disclaim that those links above are affiliate links. Feel free to use them or if you’d rather not, you can simply copy the book title and search for it on Amazon. Please know that I value each of you very highly and would not waste your time or resources with something unless it has had a significant impact on my life.

What parenting resources have impacted you? Books, blogs, etc? Share them here.

--------- Free Resources Just For You! Maximize Your Mornings eBook: Stop waking up TO your children and start waking up FOR your children. Mission Statements for Moms eBook : Learn why moms need mission statements and how to make one of your own! A Mother’s Prayer Calendar: A simple monthly calendar that will guide you through praying for your children. Praying Daily for Your Husband Calendar: A simple monthly calendar that will guide you through praying for your husband. Join our community on Facebook and Twitter! Or browse all the resources at Inspired To Action here.

How To Do The Impossible

Kat — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:35:35 +0000

Faithfulness makes things grow.

If we water our garden faithfully it will grow. If we bake faithfully every day, our skills will grow. If we run 500 yards every day, our ability to run fast and far will grow. It’s how we’re made.

Things done faithfully ALWAYS grow.

The amount of time we choose to spend doing something matters less than how consistently we do it. Because doing something consistently will invariable make us want to do it more.

Therefore, if you spend 5 minutes with the Lord each day, your faith can ONLY grow. It can ONLY give you a greater desire to read more, pray more, worship more and serve more.

The Enemy wants us to over commit. He wants us to set high, unrealistic goals because he knows that we never fall when the path is a gentle, upward slope. We fall, fail and give up when we try to climb mountains too soon.

When things get hard and the path too steep, don’t quit. Slow down. Crawl if you have too, but don’t stop.

Inertia: Law of Physics that states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest.

Whatever it may be that you’re working on to improve your life, remember to start slow. Start small. Action begets action. If you’re faithful, it will snowball.

Faithful forward progress, no matter how slow, will always get us across the finish line.

What seemingly impossible things do you hope to conquer?

(Originally posted 9/23/10. Thanks for your grace during this busy season as I’ve shared several posts from the archives. I hope they’ve blessed you. New posts coming next week.)

Dinner Parties and Things I Forgot to Tell You The Past Three Weeks

Kat — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:40:50 +0000

It’s been kind of insanely crazy around these parts the past couple of weeks. For example, I got excited when I found out my local coffee shop now opens at 5am instead of 5:30am so I could go get 30 more minutes of work done.

Who does that?

Not me, I’m normally sleeping at 5am. Or at least lying there trying to pretend I don’t have to go to the bathroom so that maybe, just maybe, I can get fall asleep again before my alarm goes off.

Anyhoo…

Here are some great reads, and fun news, from the past few weeks:

100+ Ways for Your Family to Make a Difference – This list is brilliance! From We Are That Family

Greatness vs. Mediocrityâ€“the extra mile – I love the wisdom that flows from Sally Clarkson

Be A Great Mom in 2012: A Step by Step Guide – my guest post at Motherhood Your Way

Meet some really fun people (who also happen to contribute here) – so excited to be a new contributor at Simple Mom. Come meet the gang.

Finally, I love this song from Christa Wells. It’s called Everything Moves But You. Here is her new video for it.

Dinner Parties

One of the questions Tsh (from Simple Mom) asked for the post was:

If you could invite any 6 people to a dinner party (from any time period, real or fictional) who would you invite?

You can read Tsh’s post for my answers, but I’d love to read yours! Who would you invite and (if you don’t mind telling us) why?

His Strength in My Weakness

Katie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:52:59 +0000

Note from Kat: Today’s post is written by my friend Katie. Kat…Katie. Confusing, I know. I may ask her to change her name. Nonetheless, I love this post and I pray it’s an encouragement to you!

I pray for God to strengthen me. Over and over I plead for Him to make me stronger and better able to fulfill the callings He has on my life.

But I fail. And fail. And fail.

I pray one last time, strengthen me.

Then it hits me. I’m praying for the wrong thing. Instead of pleading for Him to strengthen me, I need to pray for Him to be my strength.

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9 – 12:10 ESV)

His power is made perfect in my weakness. Wow, what a shift. Instead of asking God to remove the things that plague meâ€”my laziness, my pride, my depression, my difficult stage of life maybe all this time I should have been praying for Him to be my strength in all these things.

Photo Credit

So I stop.

Stop asking for Him to make me different than I am. Stop trying to be something I am not. Stop pleading for Him to take away these “thorns”.

I have had it all backwards!

I am insufficient, but His grace is sufficient.

I am weak and His power is made perfect in that weakness.

I wantÂ to hide my problems, fix them andÂ celebrate my victories. Instead, I am to boast gladly of my weakness.

Trying to make myself strong only leads to fatigue, yet Christ’s unending power rests in me.

I am discontent with my weakness and difficulties, but I can choose to have contentment knowing He has a plan for it all, for theÂ sake of the glory of Christ.

Strength comes through the weakness.

Lord, keep me weak, so that You might be my strength.

What weaknesses in your life do you need God to be your strength in? Are you discouraged by your blunders in motherhood, or your failed attempts to get up early to spend time with God? How can the “backwardness” of 2 Corinthians 12 help?Â

::
Jesus-lover. Pastor’s wife. Mommy of three. Grace-clinger. Auburn fan.Â
Longing to equip others to walk with the Lord for a lifetime.
Co-author of Savoring Living Water: How to have an effective quiet time.
Blogs at Living Devotionally and creator of Do Not Depart where you can receive encouragement and tools to abide in God’s Word.

A Brief Hello Mornings Update

Kat — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:40:13 +0000

Hi friends! I just wanted to write a quick post to let you know I’ve been having some computer issues. If you have emailed me, posted in the forums, or contacted me via Twitter or Facebook, it might take a few days for me to get back to you.

I’d hoped to share the Hello Mornings Challenge “theme” song with you today, but that will have to wait until tomorrow, hopefully.

Thank you for your grace.

- Kat

Four Essentials to a Stress-Free Bedtime

Katie — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:08:57 +0000

(Note from Kat: This is a guest post from the always amazing Katie Orr.)

You ladies are awesome.

I put a plea out there for my bedtime woes, and you came to my rescue!

Here is what all you marvelous mommas suggested for a stress-free bedtime.

Photo Credit

Establish a Routine

Kids need to know what to expect. If we can set the tone for what their days look likeâ€”including bedtimeâ€”they will follow suit. If you don’t have a routine, you probably do the same things most nights. Putting a name to it and making it memorable can be fruitful.

DamselÂ shared:

Stick to It

Consistency is key! We can tell our kids what the plan is all we want, but if we don’t follow through kids drift towards chaos. I often find myself getting distracted with checking email or working on something other than keeping them on task. It usually ends with my kids, half dressed, making big messes in their roomâ€”or worseâ€”half naked in the bathroom and toothpaste all over the mirror! Kids know when mom means business, and when I’m off trying to multi-task while they brush their teeth, it does not usually end well.

Shannon tells:

Â

Determine What Each Child Needs

Most of the getting up out of bed is not complete disobedience. Like their mommy, they forget to do things once they have laid in bed; they have a hard time falling asleep when there is something on their mind; they can be really sleepy, but hunger or thirst distracts. Doing a bit of thinking ahead can keep everyone on track for bedtime.

I like what Tricia shared:

Keep the End in Mind

Bedtime can be a pleasant end to our days, with one last chance to connect with the hearts of our children. As we provide a routine for our children, we must alsoÂ expect and encourage obedience. Not just to produce kids who go to bed without creating stress to momma. The ultimate goal is to train these precious heart to submit to God.

I love how Rebecca puts it:

There is so much greatnessÂ here, soâ€”if you didn’t get a chance â€”be sure toÂ read through the comments!

Did you try any of these tips? How did it go?

Â _______________________________________________

Jesus-lover. Pastor’s wife. Mommy of three. Grace-clinger. Auburn fan.

KatieÂ blogs at Living Devotionally, and hostsÂ Do Not Depart where you can receive encouragement and tools to abide in God’s Word. Co-author ofÂ Savoring Living Water: How to have an effective quiet time.

Register Now For The Hello Mornings Challenge

Kat — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:57:39 +0000

WooHoo!!

Registration is now open for the Hello Mornings Challenge.
You can visit the Hello Mornings information page for details or you can go ahead and…

If you have any questions about the registration form, visit this page and if you have further questions, you can come ask them in our forums. Finally, if you’re interested in being an Accountability Captain for this session, please visit our AC information page.

Registration will remain open to the first week of January.

We hope you can join us!

Permission to Breathe

laragwilliams — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:20:00 +0000

Note from Kat: The following post is from monthly contributor Lara Williams.

If you resemble the majority of North American women preparing for Christmas, then your brain may be close to spinning. We have company to plan for, presents to buy, cookies to bake, and hearts to prepare. It can overwhelm even the most Martha Stewartish lady on the block.

So I’m presumptuously giving us permission to breathe. In fact let’s just make it Take-A-Breath day. That’s right. Try it with me: breathe in and breathe out. Let’s do it again, this time even more deeply. (Repeat as needed.)

flickr photo credit

Now say this out-loud, “I can’t do everything, and I’m not supposed to.” Doesn’t that feel good?

We often put things on our imaginary Christmas plate that don’t need to be there. Granted it’s a pretty plate and matches all of our decor, but it can get too full. And before we know it, we’re rushing around trying to do it all without really breathing. We’re rushing around forgetting the real Reason for this whole Christmas thing.

Let’s take some time today to just stop and breathe. Then let’s ask our Lord what exactly He has for our today. It’s possible that something can wait.

How do you pause during this busy time of year?
How do you keep Jesus the focus when there is so much we could be doing?

Speaker and writer, Lara Williams lives in central North Carolina with her husband and three young children.
Check out her blog or follow her on Twitter.

Bedtime Woesâ€”Help a Girl Out?

Katie — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:47:32 +0000

(Note from Kat: My dear friend Katie is one of the new Inspired To Action monthly contributors. I hope you’ll help make her feel welcome today!)

Bedtime Woes

So, I’ve been feeling a bit stuck about bedtime around here.

My older two, who are six and almost four are loving the “I’m hungry/thirsty/not sleepy/anything-else-they-can-think-of-that-can-get-them-out-of-going-to-sleep” game. (Although, one of my favorites is Anna’s “I’m scary,” which is usually her legitimately being afraidâ€”not just stalling.)

I feel as if I am continually having to choose between setting the limits or savoring the moments. I want to build good memories of our time together at bedtime, but at some point I have to draw the line or they would stay up all night.

Photo Credit

We go from great conversations like this one, to the next night Kenneth calling me into his room to ask me (again) when Cars 2 is going to be available on DVD. (Yes, we finally got it!)

Then there are the nights when I am READY for them to be in bed. We skip story time; I streamline as much as I can so that I can just have few quiet, productive moments before my mind and body shut own from exhaustion. Then they come down the hall, asking for their 23rd snack of the night and I lose it; yell at them to stay in bed and threaten various punishments. It all usually ends in tears and frustrationâ€”including meâ€”until they finally go to sleep.

I hate those nights.

I enjoyed this perspective on bedtime, shared earlier this month by Sally Clarkson over at I Take Joy. I long for bedtime to be a sweet part of our day, but most nights it feels unattainable.

Help a girl out?

I know I am not alone in this struggle. Â So, mommas of littles, what do your bedtime routines look like?

Veteran moms, how did you handle this?

What are things you have found fruitful in keeping a firm bedtime routineâ€”for your own sanity’s sakeâ€”yet living fully in each moment?

Â _______________________________________________

Jesus-lover. Pastor’s wife. Mommy of three. Grace-clinger. Auburn fan.

There Is A Big Difference Between Neat and Organized

Kat — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:06:16 +0000

Photo by Lana Stewart

I recently realized that there is a big difference between “neat” and “organized.”

When I simply make a space neat, it becomes messy very quickly.

When I make a space organized, it stays neat much more easily and for a much longer period of time.

Organizing a space takes more work, but it pays off in the long run.

How To Organize

So, how do we make things organized? Here are a few tips from a “creative-person-who-is-trying-to-be-a-type-a-organized-person.”

1. Study the space. Let the space get all junky and then study it. What is the space meant for? Do you use it the way it’s meant to be used? If not, what do you use it for? How do you WANT to use it?

Be honest. The easiest thing to do is organize the way your currently use the space.

For example, we had some bookshelves in our dining room where the kids kept their art stuff. I wanted it to be neat and tidy looking but…it wasn’t.

It was pretty messy because the girls never put the construction paper back in color coded order. They never alphabetized the art books or made sure the crayon boxes all faced the same direction. Seriously, where do they get off?

Ok. Yeah…I never did either.

So, since we didn’t organize the contents of the space to make it look neat, I needed to come up with another solution to avoid the cluttered look.

What did I do? I bought cabinets with doors. Now we just “stuff and shove.”

(Not really. Ok…yeah…sometimes.)

Where was I?

Instead of trying to make the space work and keep it neat all the time, the first thing I did was admit that it’s not going to be a neat enough space to leave out in the open. Sad, but true. Admitting I wasn’t Martha Stewart was the first step towards my success.

Let’s move on.

2. Give Everything A Home. I looked at all the stuff we kept in our “art center” and noted how we used it.

I bought trays for the construction paper, pencil boxes for the markers/pencils/paint, and more trays for the coloring books.

I also made little boxes for each child filled with crayons, scissors, glue and tape. That way, they just need to grab paper and their box for just about any craft they want to do.

3. Label. Label. Label. Then, here’s the key, I LABELED each box. That way, the kids always know where things go, they never argue about which box is theirs and there is never a question about the contents of any of the boxes.

Now, I rarely have to clean the art center. Everything has a home. The kids know where that home is, and should anything be out of order….we. just. close. the. doors.

In Conclusion

I’ve used the neat vs. organized idea with lots of things. My computer hard drive. The myriad of cables to all my techie gadgets. Our coat closet filled with hats, gloves, scarves etc. My cabinets. My iPhone.

My house isn’t perfect, but it’s also not a pit. That’s cool with me.

What is an organizing tip you’ve learned lately? Click here to comment.

(FYI-This post was originally posted on my old personal blog back in the cave-man days of 2008.)