Be That Mom

The role of mom is often described as the most important job in the world. Rightly so, for so much is at stake during children’s early years and moms are central in shaping character and personhood. However, when the going gets tough (the endless diapers, the continual messes, the endless conflict resolution, the complete lack of personal time, etc.), moms are often tempted to quit their “mom‐job”. While few would endorse an outright abandonment of motherhood, others may recommend that a woman treat her role as secondary to personal desires in order to combat feelings of discouragement and/or unfulfillment. The enemy has laid intentional traps cleverly designed to discourage and redirect a woman towards self rather than family. Moms need to know how to recognize these traps . . . and avoid them. Be the Mom: Overcome Attitude Traps and Enjoy Your Kids explores and validates the life of a mom who makes her family a priority and introduces the reader to seven Mom Traps that may be preventing them from a full, joy‐filled life.

Who was your mother before she was a mother? Essays and photos from Brit Bennett, Jennifer Egan, Danzy Senna, Laura Lippman, Jia Tolentino, and many more. In this remarkable collection, New York Times–bestselling novelist Edan Lepucki gathers more than sixty original essays and favorite photographs to explore this question. The daughters in Mothers Before are writers and poets, artists and teachers, and the images and stories they share reveal the lives of women in ways that are vulnerable and true, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always moving. Contributors include: Brit Bennett * Jennine Capó Crucet * Jennifer Egan * Angela Garbes * Annabeth Gish * Alison Roman * Lisa See * Danzy Senna * Dana Spiotta * Lan Samantha Chang * Laura Lippman * Jia Tolentino * Tiffany Nguyen * Charmaine Craig * Maya Ramakrishnan * Eirene Donohue * and many others

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."

I don't know how she does it! is an oft-heard refrain about mothers today. Funnily enough, most moms agree they have no idea how they get it done, or whether they even want the job. Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile spoke to mothers of every stripe--working, stay-at-home, part-time--and found a surprisingly similar trend in their interviews. After enthusing about her lucky life for twenty minutes, a mother would then break down and admit that her child's first word was "Shrek." As one mom put it, "Am I happy? The word that describes me best is challenged." Fresh from the front lines of modern motherhood comes a book that uncovers the guilty secrets of moms today . . . in their own words. I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids diagnoses the craziness and offers real solutions, so that mothers can step out of the madness and learn to love motherhood as much as they love their kids.

Now available in paperback, Dasha Tolstikova’s acclaimed graphic novel A Year Without Mom follows twelve-year-old Dasha through a year full of turmoil after her mother leaves for America. It is the early 1990s in Moscow, and political change is in the air. But Dasha is more worried about her own challenges as she negotiates family, friendships and school without her mother. Just as she begins to find her own feet, she gets word that she is to join her mother in America — a place that seems impossibly far from everything and everyone she loves. Dasha Tolstikova’s major talent is on full display in this gorgeous and subtly illustrated graphic novel. Key Text Features map Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

Marina Slayton and her husband, Gregory, best-selling author of Be a Better Dad Today, reveal the secrets to finding true joy in the sacred role of motherhood. Using story, humor, empathy, common sense, and straight talk—grounded in reality and personal experience—Be the Best Mom You Can Be helps readers from the best and most influential mothers in history. The book centers on a mother’s desire for wisdom and her commitment to the wellbeing of her husband and children and provides six time-tested principles (the Six Secrets) for being a truly great mom. In the tradition of Stormie Omartian’s and Barbara Rainey’s books, the Slaytons offer value-based inspiration, a warm and personal tone, and insightful secrets to both educate and equip moms to be the best mothers they can be. This book will help any mom who wants to grow in her sacred role. Women who need encouragement or advice or who feel ill-equipped to be mothers will find the straight-forward evangelical perspective and practical advice life-changing.

Introducing two new titles that let kids celebrate Mom and Dad in the best and most personal way—through their own words and pictures! Sweet, lively, and engaging, A Book about Mom with Words and Pictures by Me, and A Book about Dad with Words and Pictures by Me are unique fill-in books that invite kids to be author and illustrator and create a one-of-a-kind gift for Mom and Dad. Every page has a heartwarming, imaginative (and sometimes cheeky!) prompt—a sentence to finish or an illustration to complete—to help kids capture everything they know and love about their parent, from their favorite things to do together to what kind of pizza topping they would be. A sheet of illustrated stickers gives kids even more ways to customize the work! Each book starts with a letter to parent from child, and then the fun begins, from: Your favorite animal is ______. You are terrified of ______! To: I wrote a story about you. Want to read it together? To: Look! I drew a picture of us on an intergalactic space adventure! And finally: This is us, having the greatest adventure ever. I love you, Mom! This is us, doing what we do best. I love you, Dad! The end result? A treasured keepsake of a gift, perfect for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, or any special occasion.

The Strongest Mum is a warm, funny and original story about a parent-child relationship, perfect for learning about helping each other out, and a great gift to share time and time again. Little Bear is sure that no-one is as strong as his mum. She can carry anything: his bike, Zebra’s shopping, Elephant’s carpet and even . . . Flamingo’s piano! And of course, there’s ALWAYS room in her handbag for Little Bear’s treasures. But even mums can get tired and need a helping hand sometimes, as Little Bear learns when Mum takes on one thing too many, with hilarious and heart-warming consequences. Packed full of endearing animal characters, it is sure to delight young children. Nicola Kent’s bright, jewel-like colours and eye-catching illustrations make this a truly stunning picture book.