I dont know about you, but this is a tough season for me. I love Christmas, I love spending time with family, I love the joy of giving to others and reaching out to the community.
But honestly, it stresses me out too.
My house never seems clean enough, my to-do list has never been longer and never gets done, and my kids are at the height of selfishness. Every commercial they see and stranger they run into talks about gifts and toys and seems to encourage them to “want” more.
There is this book, this amazing little insightful and thought provoking book that I have grown to love.
Its called Confessions of an Irritable Mother by Karen Hossink.
I had the pleasure of meeting Karen a few years ago and seeing her speak to a group of women. She is amazing. She is caring. Her love for the Lord and desire to obey Him are such an inspiration to me.
I am sharing this with you because of how her true to life experiences detailed in her book are essential to me. Especially this time of year! I need to know how to turn the interruptions into learning experiences.
I need help figuring out how God is speaking to me, in all things.
Here is an excerpt from her website:
Are you frustrated with mothering? Are you feeling overwhelmed and hopeless? Have you ever secretly questioned God’s wisdom in giving you children?
You’re not alone.
Karen Hossink has wrestled with her own feelings of inadequacy as a mother:
I didn’t start off mean. And certainly, being the ‘Meanest Mom in the World’ was never my goal. Yet, somehow, my son thought I was worthy of the title. To be fair, the majority of times Joshua crowned me queen of the meanies was when I was punishing him, or when I wasn’t giving him what he wanted. Nonetheless, he seemed pretty convinced I deserved the title and when you hear something often enough, you start to believe it’s true… I wanted so desperately to be a good mom – to meet their needs and do everything just right – but I sat there on the step weeping, feeling completely overwhelmed. I wondered if maybe, just this once, God may have made a mistake.
In the midst of the tears, Karen found that God is good, and even in our most dire circumstance there is hope. Karen’s warm-hearted transparency shines through in Confessions of an Irritable Mother, as she shares candidly about her own personal battle – the trials and the triumphs – on the journey toward holiness on which God has been leading her. By God’s grace, you too can come to understand He is using your children and your struggles as a mother to refine you like silver and transform you into the woman He wants you to be.
Because I have a such a love for moms and our daily struggles and truly want to see victories over these obstacles, I would like to share two copies Karens book with you all.
How can you win?
Simply leave a comment telling me, “What is one thing that could help easy your stress?”
For an additional entry:
“Like” Karens facebook page. (Its a wonderfully uplifting and encouraging page, you will love it I promise!)
Feel free to visit Karens beautiful blog, Surviving Motherhood .
Karen does all she can to help us seek out God’s wisdom and grace in everything we do. I am so thankful for her!
For official rules see here.
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