by Lisa Copen

A popular office supply store commercial shows mothers and fathers riding shopping carts around the store to the tune of “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” (typically heard at Christmas time.) For decades mothers have been made to feel that we should all be crying as the bus stopped at the corner and our little ones (and not so little ones) climbed on and drove off for hours of “edu-tainment.” Only “bad moms” rushed inside the house, called their friends, and relished being able to finish an entire cup of coffee.

The first day my then three-year-old son rode the school bus off to some school district occupational therapy (where he learned to hold a pair of scissors and cut so well he could take on Edward Scissorhands), I buckled him into the bus seat and then followed behind in the car. The bus drove over five miles to pick up a couple other children and go to the school. I wanted to make sure that he arrived safely. Translation: that the adventure was trauma and tear-free. But when he started kindergarten last year, a full day from 8 a.m. to 2:20 p.m., I quietly celebrated.

As a mom with a chronic illness, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, I had reached my goal of getting him into school before my body crumbled and required many episodes of surgical repair. I used my first few weeks as I had planned, organizing National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, which my ministry sponsors. I had surgery scheduled the first of October, following my fortieth birthday. God had other plans. Read the rest of this entry »

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In the weeks and months after having my first child I began to realize all of the ways that she had changed my life. Not only was I perpetually exhausted, but I seemed to get very little done during the day – even showering was an accomplishment. One of the major things that suffered during that season of my life was the time I spent with the Lord each day. I found myself thinking, “I’m so tired. I’ll take a nap instead and spend extra time reading my Bible tomorrow.” Of course, that very rarely happened.

One day, I was complaining to a good friend of mine that I just couldn’t seem to get past the frustration I was feeling. As we talked I began to realize that I felt far away from God and that my spiritual frustration was creeping over to other areas of my life. I realized that I needed to get creative and find some ways to spend time with God, to build up my relationship with Him.

Here are a few ways that I discovered to help me along the way:

1. Email Devotionals – These are great because they only take a few minutes to read and they come right to you. When my son was an infant I would read these while I nursed or even while he just slept in my arms.

2. Memorize Scripture – Now, I’m not talking about memorizing entire books of the Bible here. I would choose one of my favorite verses and work on committing it to memory. Then, no matter where I was (sitting in line at a drive-thru) I could say – or think on – the verse.

3. Prayer – I must admit that this is my favorite spiritual discipline. I love that (because of Jesus) we can talk to God whenever we want. In the shower, while we’re feeding the kids, and even in the wee hours of the morning when we’re up with the kids, but desperately wish we were asleep.  But, I think the most amazing part about prayer is that God wants to hear anything and everything going on in our minds. He tells us that we can literally “pour out our hearts” (Psalm 62:8) to Him.

4. Be Still – Most of us have hear this verse, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps 46:10) How many of us actually take the time to slow down, look around us and just KNOW that He is God, that He is in control and that He’s given us everything that we hold dear?

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Our guests this week:

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Scott Fox is an author and Entrepreneur as well as Online Marketing and E-Commerce Success Coach.

His new book can teach YOU how to take advantage of Web 2.0 Internet marketing tools to grow your business online.

Learn about the latest strategies to attract more customers online, including social networks (like Facebook, LinkedIn,
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At 11:30am EST:

Liz Curtis Higgs joins us to celebrate her ‘Bad Girls of the Bible’ series’ 10th birthday!

In Bad Girls of the Bible, Liz offers a clear-sighted, life-changing approach to understanding those “other women” in Scripture—Delilah, Jezebel, Rahab, Lot’s wife, and six more. Liz combines a contemporary fictional retelling of their stories with a solid, verse-by-verse study of their lives and the lessons we can learn from them.

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by Whitney Hopler

Your life as a mom pulls you in many different directions at once, and it’s easy to let the demands rob you of your quality time with God. But there’s so much more to life than an endless cycle of laundry, dishes, and errands. God wants you to spend time with Him each day so you can have the life you should have.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, remember that you need God’s strength to fulfill your responsibilities well. Decide to make time for God, no matter what, and He’ll give you all you need for the important job of nurturing your family.

Here’s how you can make time for God in the midst of motherhood’s demands:

Be proactive and creative. Don’t worry about trying to follow traditional methods for your prayer times. Realize that it’s okay not to do daily devotions early in the morning if you’ve been up at night with a baby or sick child; fit them in during your children’s naps or in the evening instead. Rather than thinking you can’t read the Bible because you don’t have long, uninterrupted stretches of time, decide to carry a Bible with you wherever you go and read small portions whenever pockets of free time open up for you. Know that you can spend time with God regularly if you’re determined to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

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by Jill Hart

I love traveling. There is something about seeing new sights, exploring new cultures and learning about how others live that I can never get enough of. I traveled as often as I could finagle during my college and young adult years. I saw everything from Alaska to Germany to Israel and more.
When I became a wife and mother it became, quite understandably, more difficult to travel. So, I traded in my traveling adventures for books set in London, Paris and other places I hope to see someday.

This past summer my husband and I decided it was time for some summer traveling as a family. We live in the Midwest, so our kids have seen plenty of farmland, cattle and tractors. They hadn’t yet had the chance to see mountains or the ocean. I couldn’t wait to see their faces when they saw mountains for the first time. I remember feeling awestruck at the sight of the mountains coming into view against the horizon.

As it happened, the kids were exhausted, hungry and bored by the time the mountains first appeared. “Look!” I exclaimed, “Mountains!”

“Cool.” was the response I got from my daughter, Kaitlyn. From my son? A snore. Read the rest of this entry »

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My kids got Zoobies this week. They are the cutest things – a child-size blanket stuffed into a stuffed animal, so that they blanket acts like the “stuffing.”

We’ve found that they are especially great in the car. The kids can play with the animals and then when they get cold, they just unsnap, unzip and wa-la! a blanket! And then when their done we can simply fold the blanket up and zip it back inside the animal. No fuss in this 2-in-1 deal.

We chose Khimba the Koala and Bobo the Baboon. They are so bright and colorful and the kids were immediately drawn to them. They thought it was pretty much the coolest thing they’d ever seen. The toys and blankets are well-made and incredibly soft. We are now a “Zoobie family!”

About The Great Christmas Bowl:
Marianne Wallace is focused on two things this holiday season: planning the greatest family Christmas ever and cheering on her youngest son’s team in their bid for the state championship. Disaster strikes when the team loses their mascot-the Trout. Is it going too far to ask her to don the costume? So what if her husband has also volunteered her to organize the church Christmas tea. When football playoffs start ramping up, the Christmas tea starts falling apart. Then, one by one her children tell her they can’t come home for Christmas. As life starts to unravel, will Marianne remember the true meaning of the holidays?

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The Great Christmas Bowl website: http://thegreatchristmasbowl.blogspot.com/ The website features a note from the author, fun updates from Big Lake  Gazette, info on how to host your own Great Christmas Bowl Tea to  benefit a local ministry or charity and a fun Recipe Exchange contest!

CONTEST: Be a part of the Great Christmas Bowl recipe exchange!  Susan loves getting recipes from friends, and sharing the delicious  cookies, soups, breads and other fun fixings that go with celebrating the Christmas season. More than that, she loves the crazy stories about favorite Christmases – serious, touching, funny…whatever. Find the recipe contest here:
http://thegreatchristmasbowl.blogspot.com/2009/07/recipe-exchange.html Read the rest of this entry »