Today is Motivation Monday! Tell us in the comments if you’ve taken action and get a chance to win today’s giveaway which is another copy of Sheila Walsh’s book Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts God!

Get all the details at the end of the post and find out who won last week’s prize.

How To Pray…

I’ve decided to go offline this week to prepare as best as I can for my speaking engagement in Denver on Thursday.

But I wanted to share with you an amazingly moving song by an artist named Kendall Payne. It’s called Pray. The lyrics are brilliant, convicting, difficult and deep. Her voice is gorgeous and the music…beautiful.

As we begin to pursue revolution in our lives, these are the kinds of prayers we need to be praying for one another.

The song starts at 1:57. Enjoy…

If you’re unable to watch the video right now, please at least read the lyrics I’ve added at the end of this post.

Motivation Monday Details

For those of you who are new, here’s how Motivation Monday works:
Anyone who takes some sort of action can enter to win. Your action might be:

• getting up early, reading your Bible
• going on a date with your kids
• creating a mission statement
• exercising
• creating a meal plan
• Writing a goal

It can be any action that improves who you are as a believer or a mother.

How To Enter

To enter the giveaway, you would do one (or all) of these:
1. Leave a comment and say, “I took action this week!”
2. Leave another comment telling us what action you took.
3. Follow @Inspired2Action on Twitter or Facebook and tell us there about the action you took.
4. Blog about your action and share the link below.

Last Week’s Winner
According to Random.org, last week’s winner of Jeremy Camp’s new CD We Cry Out is Rochelle R.! Congratulations!

Action Begets Action

Why do I want you to Twitter, Facebook, Blog or Comment about the actions you taken in the past couple of weeks? …because action begets action. The things you’ve done WILL inspire others. And, well, that’s kind of what this blog is all about.

Lyrics

Here are the lyrics to the Kendall Payne song Pray.

I will pray for you now, for you have been my faithful friends
While the road we walk is difficult indeed
I could not ask for more than what you’ve already been
Only that you would say these prayers for me
May your heart break enough that compassion enters in
May your strength all be spent upon the weak
All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head
May they all fall, come crashing down around your feet
May you find every step to be harder than the last
So your character grows greater every stride
May your company be of human insignificance
May your weakness be your only source of pride
What you do unto others may it all be done to you
May you meet the One who made us
And see Him smile when life is through
May your blessings be many but not what you hoped they’d be
And when you look upon the broken
May mercy show you what you could not see
May you never be sure of any plans you desire
But you’d learn to trust the plan He has for you
May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire
May you fight with all your life for what is true
I have prayed for you now all of my dear and faithful friends
But what I wish is more than I could ever speak
As the way wanders on I’ll long to see you once again
Until then, would you pray these prayers for me?
Oh, that you would pray for me

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Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. GIVEAWAY! Motivation Monday: Motherhood, Identity and Comparison Today is Motivation Monday! Tell us in the comments if...
2. GIVEAWAY!! Motivation Monday: Inspiration From The Hand of a Child Today is Motivation Monday! Tell us in the comments if...
3. Motivation Monday: Pause for S’mores I’m writing this from my iPhone, in my sleeping bag,...

We’ll talk more about uprisings, revolts, revolutions, coups and normal mom stuff like that in a few days. But I wanted to jump in and ask you for a favor.

My new favorite day of the week is Monday because I am so incredibly encouraged and inspired by all the amazing action you are taking. I love reading about the way you’re developing new habits, running in races, getting organized and spending more time with the REAL Revolutionary and His Word on a consistent basis.

Submit Your Story….Please?

What I’d love to do is have you all share your stories. If you’ve made a change in your life, big or small, would you consider sharing your exciting story? Ideally, if you have a blog, I’d love for you to write a blog post about it (no need to link here – I just want you to inspire others) and then send me the link and a 140 character synopsis.

I’ve added a plugin that will rotate text in my sidebar. You can see the example over there in the sidebar to your right ->. I’m going to move it to the top of the sidebar, though and add your 140 character stories. If you have a link to your (extended) story on your blog, I’ll include that as well.

Everytime someone visits any page of this site, the text in that section will post a different story. I hope it inspires others and sends you some new blog readers.

I want people to see your stories when they visit this blog, because nothing inspires more than the stories of others.

The Boring Old Stuffy Rules

1. Make sure your story is no more than 140 characters.
2. If you write a blog post about the changes you’ve made recently, please include a DIRECT link to that post. Do not send a link to your blog home page.
3. Nothing is too big or small. If it is something you’re proud of, it’s perfect.
4. Please really think about what you write. We certainly want it to make sense and inspire those who read it. Fitting it in to 140 characters may be a challenge, but I know you can do it!
5. Either share your story and and (if applicable) you link in the comments here or via my contact form.

I can’t wait to read and share your stories. Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

I Stink at Scrapbooking AKA My Guest Post

I have scraps and memories. I’ve just never put them in a book.

I do love to record memories though and that’s why I adopting this ingenious system for impatient, non crafty people like me. I wrote all about it on my guest post at Steady Mom todayl

Speaking

I also wanted to mention I’ll be speaking next Thursday night (9/2) at Denver First Church’s Mom’s Night Out. The event is from 6-8 and includes a potluck dinner. If you live in the Denver area, I’d LOVE to see you there! RSVP to Shantel Johnson: ezekielgirl03 (at) sbcglobal.net

I’ll also be speaking in the next month or so in Austin, Texas (9/24) and Waco, Texas (10/20). I’ll give more details as soon as I get them.

Now go have an incredible day!!!

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. My Story. Part 1. I’ve shared bits and pieces of my story, but I...
2. It’s Time To Change Your Story My kids watch a show called Super Why! It’s a...

Sometimes it seems like raising children is like raising a dog or a cat. We feed them, shelter them, teach them a few tricks, not to bite others and VOILA! We’re done.

Motherhood is much, much more than we often think it to be.

Whether we like it or not, we are raising little versions of ourselves. Our strengths will likely be some of their strengths, our weaknesses will be some of their weaknesses.

A Story For You…

A friend of mine once had a dream that she was out hiking with her 3 children. A few miles into the hike, in the middle of nowhere, they were suddenly approached by bears. She stepped in front of her children, desperate to protect them.

She yelled at the bears. She screamed at them, but the bears kept coming. And coming.

How had the bears found them? She wondered. They had hiked quietly, she didn’t let her kids bring any food, and she’d even sprayed them with scent neutralizer. Yet there they were, surrounded by bears.

Then she looked in her hands and saw it. She was holding raw meat. The bears smelled it from miles away. She’d done everything she could to protect her children, but she’d neglected to prepare herself for the journey, too.

What Are We Holding?

Moms. We cannot simply teach and train our children. We must continue to change and refine ourselves. We must own up to our issues. Name them. And do everything we can to defeat them. We cannot coast through life. We cannot make excuses for our failings. The lives of our children and their children and their children depend on our daily choices now.

Feel overwhelmed? Feel like you can’t handle the pressure? Good. Me too. And that’s just the point we need to arrive at to start this journey.

It’s time for a revolution. Are you ready…?

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

I love this commercial. It inspires me as a runner, but it also inspires me as a believer and a mother. No more excuses.

I’m not a morning person. I’m too busy. I need X hours of sleep. I’m not rich enough. I can’t because I have kids. My kids are too young. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to pray. I don’t have a good enough testimony. It’s too far. It costs too much. Maybe when my kids are older. I don’t have time. I’m too tired. I don’t know how.

I can’t.

It’s time to stop with the self-limiting profiling.

Mother Teresa. Helen Keller. Corrie Ten Boom. Elizabeth Eliot.

They had great excuses.

And they never used them.

We can make excuses or we can make change.

What is one change that you’re working on?

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Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. Squash The Morning Excuses: Excuse #1 – I’m Too Tired (I just have to say, I’m blown away by all...
2. Squash Your Morning Excuses: A Purpose Greater Than Comfort CRASH!!! Searing pain. A badly twisted ankle. Now I must...
3. It’s Time To Change Your Story My kids watch a show called Super Why! It’s a...

(I love Mondays! Reading all the inspiring things you do each week, from the magnificant to the minute….well it motivates me. Today it’s motivating me to find free stuff for all of you. Read on…)

Today is Motivation Monday! Tell us in the comments if you’ve taken action and get a chance to win today’s giveaway which is a copy of The Rizer’s super fun kid’s cd!

I haven’t found much kids music that I actually enjoy. But I l.o.v.e. The Rizers. Each song is based on scripture and their musical style reminds me a bit of Dakota Motor Co. (Anyone remember them?) Super fun summer music with a message. As soon as I heard them I had to contact them and ask if I could get some cd’s for y’all. They were kind enough to giveaway 3!

Get all the details at the end of the post and find out who won last week’s prize.

Free Music For Everyone

I hate that on Mondays only a couple people win the prizes, so I’m going to try to find one or two things for everyone to win. I can’t guarantee it will be weekly, but I’ll do my best. More often than not, it will be free music.

Free music. Are there two more perfect words in the English language?

I daresay not.

Daresay – such a fun word. Use it in a sentence today! It’s fun!

Where was I? Oh, yes….free music.

Three of you will win the full debut cd from The Rizers, but if you’ll look under your chair you’ll find that EVERY member of today’s studio audience can download a free EP from The Rizers at Noisetrade.com. (FYI – It will require a social media shout out.)

More FREE Music: True Things by JJ Heller

Note: The shark motion she does halfway through is our signal to join the performance as the rhythm section…

This is one of my very favorite songs, despite the fact that my son insists on singing “un-derwear!” instead of “un-belief” every. time. he. hears. the. song.

If you don’t have JJ Heller’s album, Painted Red. Go. Now.

I thought it might be fun to invite you into my living room to hear JJ sing it. Through a crazy string of events, JJ did a concert at our house in January. It was nothing short of awesome.

My videography skills, however, are very short of awesome. Motion sickness warning…

You can download JJ Heller’s song True Things here. No strings attached. There’s lots of other great music there too. Enjoy!

Motivation Monday Details

For those of you who are new, here’s how Motivation Monday works:
Anyone who takes some sort of action can enter to win. Your action might be:

• getting up early, reading your Bible
• going on a date with your kids
• creating a mission statement
• exercising
• creating a meal plan
• Writing a goal

It can be any action that improves who you are as a believer or a mother.

How To Enter

To enter the giveaway, you would do one (or all) of these:
1. Leave a comment and say, “I took action this week!”
2. Leave another comment telling us what action you took.
3. Follow @Inspired2Action; on Twitter or Facebook and tell us there about the action you took.
4. Blog about your action and share the link below.

Last Week’s Winner
According to Random.org, last week’s winners of the Sheila Walsh Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts Godbooks are Tiffany, Sarah, and AshleyF! Congratulations!

Action Begets Action

Why do I want you to Twitter, Facebook, Blog or Comment about the actions you taken in the past couple of weeks? …because action begets action. The things you’ve done WILL inspire others. And, well, that’s kind of what this blog is all about.

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. GIVEAWAY! Motivation Monday: Motherhood, Identity and Comparison Today is Motivation Monday! Tell us in the comments if...
2. GIVEAWAY!! Motivation Monday: Inspiration From The Hand of a Child Today is Motivation Monday! Tell us in the comments if...
3. Motivation Monday: Pause for S’mores I’m writing this from my iPhone, in my sleeping bag,...

We’ve had a lot of new visitors to Inspired To Action the past few weeks, and today is the beginning of an event called BlogHop ’10, which will bring even more visitors. So I thought now would be a good time to reintroduce myself and what this blog is all about.

Welcome

My name is Kat. I’m a 34 (35 on Saturday!) year old mother of 3 and wife of 1. We live in Texas and can hardly imagine life without Tex Mex or sweet tea. I love Jesus, running, music and the wonderful, inspiring women who are a part of this blog. Seriously, they are AWESOME.

Speaking of the blog, Inspired To Action is all about inspiring and encouraging moms with practical tips, stories, music and just about anything else that is capable of inspiration.

And in the spirit of full disclosure, here is my list of things that I don’t want you to know about me.

Free Stuff for You

I wouldn’t want you to visit without a little gift, so here are some of our free resources:

• Praying for Your Children Calendar – a calendar with prayer tips for each day.
• Praying for Your Husband Calendar – a calendar with prayer tips for each day.
• Maximize Your Mornings eBook – an ebook and eWorkbook that will guide you through the process of creating an incredible morning routine.
• Mission Statements for Moms – an ebook that will help you develop your own mission statement so that you can live a purposeful life.

Tutorial Series

We also have covered a number of series such as:
Maximize Your Mornings
This series, based on the ebook, is all about creating an effective morning routine.

Purposeful Motherhood
This series discusses why moms need mission statements and how to get one of your very own.

How To Set and Achieve Goals
Learn why moms need goals and get tips on setting achievable ones.

Refreshed Motherhood
Why moms need to make a habit of retreating and how to make retreats a reality in the midst of busy family life.

Motherhood and Identity
How to raise a family without losing yourself.

Favorite Posts

Finally, here are a few posts that I thought you might enjoy:

My Story. Part 1.

Survivor: Suburbia – The Grocery Store with Children Challenge

If You’ve Ever Felt Discouraged

It’s Time To Change Your Story

Thanks for Stopping By

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit. I hope you enjoyed your stay. Come again, anytime.

-Kat

p.s. I’d love it if you’d take a minute to introduce yourself and share your blog link, if you have one!

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. How To Set Goals With Your Children – The Simple Version Photo Credit I had a really nifty post all written....

I’ve shared bits and pieces of my story, but I thought I’d give you a little more insight into this motherhood journey of mine in the hope that it will encourage and inspire you as a mom.

The Hand Clapping Game

I was 24 years old, sitting in a sandwich shop with our Sunday School class after church. I don’t remember what I ate, who I talked to or what I heard, but I vividly remember what I saw.

I saw my Sunday School teacher, Cindy, and her 9 year old daughter sitting on her lap playing a hand clapping game. You know the ones. You rhyme, you clap, you giggle and laugh.

I watched and even after 24 years, my heart…ached.

My Mother

I never knew my mother. She died when I was only a few months old. I never knew what it was like to sit in her lap or play hand clapping games. I never dressed up in her clothes as a little girl. I never had an argument with her and I never gave her a hug.

In my mind I had the perfect mother, though. I put together the bits and pieces that my dad and grandparents shared about her and wove that together with my own dreams. She was beautiful and gracious. She loved Jesus and her family. She was kind and gentle and giving. She could sing like an angel.

She does sing like an angel…

I clung to everything that was hers. My dad said she liked pears. Pears were my favorite-est fruit ever, in-the-whole-wide-world. I had a fancy lotion jar that was hers. I’d open it for a sniff and close it as fast as I could, afraid my connection to her would fade with the scent.

The mother-daughter relationship – it seemed like such a mystery to me. I was the outsider looking in and dreaming. As a little girl, I’d see mothers and daughters talking or playing together and I was so jealous. l wanted to know what it would be like to play a hand clapping game with someone called Mommy.

My little heart ached a lot.

He Saw Every Ache…and He Knew

And then…

It’s as if He’d been whispering to me all along, “Just wait, my girl. Have I got something special for you. Just wait.”

When I grew up, my sweet, precious, ever-faithful, ever-watching, ever-knowing Redeemer gave me not one, but two little girls.

And we play hand clapping games. And they call me Mommy.

And I am thankful.

A Word for You

Isn’t it funny how someone I never knew has shaped so much of who I am? The mere mention of her name brings misty wetness to the eyes of this grown, 34 year old woman.

A mother’s impact in her child’s life is profound. Never ever doubt or forget this.

What you are doing matters. It matters deeply.

You are not just a mother.

You are a Mother.

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. I Need Your Story… We’ll talk more about uprisings, revolts, revolutions, coups and normal...
2. It’s Time To Change Your Story My kids watch a show called Super Why! It’s a...

The other day I got this email from Michelle:

I was inspired by your ebook about morning routines. I’d like to work
through the steps on my blog, inviting my readers to download the book
from you and work through it with me step by step, if that’s okay with
you. It’d be similar to a book club/accountability group. I’d like to
run the series every Monday in August.

Well!!! That’s just about the coolest idea ever. So if you need help and accountability as you try to Maximize Your Mornings, you’ll definitely want to visit Michelle’s blog and join the challenge.

Summer is approaching it’s end and the school year is fast approaching. It’s the perfect time to make the most of your mornings and start developing a solid routine.

I hope to see you at the Maximize Your Mornings Challenge!

Curious: When does school start in your neck of the woods? I seems like they keep moving it earlier each year…

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. Maximize Your Mornings Blog Series This is the home page for the Maximize Your Mornings...
2. Join the Inspired to Action Community Many moms don’t have a support network they can rely...
3. Survivor: Suburbia – The Grocery Store with Children Challenge I originally wrote this when I only had two children,...

Today is Motivation Monday! Tell us in the comments if you’ve taken action and get a chance to win today’s giveaway which is a copy of Let Love WIn by The Museum!

Their song “My Help Comes From the Lord” has been riding high on the Billboard Christian Music charts. This is your chance to snag a free copy of their non-yet-released album.

Get all the details at the end of the post and find out who won last week’s prize.

This giveaway is now closed, but you can still download the FREE ebook below.

Free New eBook – Mission Statements for Moms

The new ebook is ready! As the title of this paragraph ever-so-subtly suggests, the ebook is designed to walk you through the process of creating your own mission statement. So, if you’ve been “meaning to” or “thinking about it” or have just plain gotten stuck at the beginning, middle or end of the process, this ebook is just for you.

To download it, just subscribe via an RSS feed reader or via email to have the download link sent to you. If you’re already a blog subscriber, the link to the new ebook should be at the bottom of this post (if you’re viewing it in a reader or in an email).

I can’t wait for you to read it. I hope it will help you ignite your own personal revolution!

Get the “Mission Statement for Moms” ebook
Subscribe via RSS Reader (like Google Reader):

Subscribe via email:

Motivation Monday Details

For those of you who are new, here’s how Motivation Monday works:
Anyone who takes some sort of action can enter to win. Your action might be:

• DOWNLOADING the new ebook…
• getting up early, reading your Bible
• going on a date with your kids
• creating a mission statement
• exercising
• creating a meal plan
• Writing a goal

It can be any action that improves who you are as a believer or a mother.

How To Enter

To enter the giveaway, you would do one (or all) of these:
1. Leave a comment and say, “I took action this week!”
2. Leave another comment telling us what action you took.
3. Follow @Inspired2Action on Twitter or Facebook and tell us there about the action you took.
4. Blog about your action and share the link below.

Last Week’s Winner
According to Random.org, last week’s winners of the Lisa Whelchel book “Friendship for Grownups” are Susan and Julie! Congratulations!

Action Begets Action

Why do I want you to Twitter, Facebook, Blog or Comment about the actions you taken in the past couple of weeks? …because action begets action. The things you’ve done WILL inspire others. And, well, that’s kind of what this blog is all about.

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. FREE Mission Statements for Moms eBook Free New eBook – Mission Statements for Moms The new...
2. Purposeful Motherhood: Mission Statements for Moms Moms need mission statements every bit as much as Fortune...
3. Purposeful Motherhood: Why Moms Need Mission Statements Mission statements are for Fortune 500 companies. They’re for women...

Some days I can be grumpy.

Some days I’m impatient.

Some days I tell my kids to “go play” instead of playing with them.

Some days I’m tired.

Yesterday was one of those days. But I didn’t want them going to bed remembering me as a grumpy, impatient, self absorbed mommy.

So I put them to bed, closed the door, waited 5 minutes and then…

I burst in yelling, “IT’S A PAJAMA RUN!!!!!!! GET IN THE CAR!!!!!!”

We went to Sonic, ate sundaes and my favorite 6 and 8 year old girls hugged me and declared, “This is the BEST day ever!!!”

And it was.

Technical Aspects of a Pajama Run

1. Please note that I’ve done this before, so my yelling didn’t terrify my kids. If you do a pj run, (I know you know this, but I’ll say it anyway) be sure to consider your child’s temperament on a freak out scale. We don’t want the night to be the focus of a future therapy session.

2. The magic rule is that if any of the kids ASK for a pj run, we automatically CAN’T do one that night. This eliminates unnecessary begging.

3. Have fun!! Yes, they might have extra sugar, stay up late and have a hard time falling back asleep, but it’s worth it!

Guest Post with More Ideas

If you like the pajama run idea, be sure to check out my guest post on Steady Mom today. It’s called 5 Simple Ways to Create Amazingly Memorable Traditions

Memory Making

What are some of your favorite memory making activities?

This post is part of WFMW.

(FYI – My new free ebook “Mission Statements for Moms” is ready! Find out how to get a copy here.)

---------
Click here to download our NEW ebook: Mission Statements for Moms.

Click here to download our FREE ebook: Maximize Your Mornings.

Or join our community of Inspired Moms on Facebook here.

Related posts:

1. Focused Motherhood: Teach Our Kids The Art of Decisionmaking In this day and age, even buying milk is complex....
2. Summer of Purpose: Help Your Kids Set Goals (FREE chart) The first posts in this series are here, here and...