I am a list maker. It can’t be helped. I keep track of life through pages and pages of notebooks and to-do lists and half- used journals. Upon our recent move, I was faced with three, yes three full boxes of  leather bound tomes to lug to our new apartment. The movers might have given me a few eye rolls, but these babies are my treasures! Here’s why: I will never scrapbook. I get itchy just thinking about how to print my bazillion photos from the last 12 years. How on earth could I ever catch up and write stories and create borders to match at this point? I can’t. I’ve tried.

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A Special Deal!

If you have been wanting to start a book club or group in your church using Desperate, now would be a great time to get the books! If you buy five *paperback* copies of Desperate this week (through Friday) you can get the Desperate DVD for FREE! And if you’re one of the first 50 to purchase five books, you also get these lovely Redeemed – Everything Beautiful Earrings!

Go HERE (or your favorite store) to get the books! Then just take a picture or scan your receipt and send it to: desperatebook@thomasnelson.com

Giveaway!

Up for grabs are…

• Five copies of Desperate
• The Desperate DVD
• A Vintage Pearl “breathe” necklace
• A yummy Yankee candle (your choice of scent!), and…
• $100 towards a maid service!

To enter to win- click here to be connected to the giveaway at I Take Joy (Sally’s blog)

Check out what the videos are like below- You do not want to miss them!

Earlier this month I boarded a plane alone with my four children. We were flying home to New York after nine glorious weeks of visiting our extended family in my hometown. Red eye flights always lure me in with their cheap rates and so at about 10 PM, cranky, tired kids in tow, I hugged my daddy tight, braved security checkpoints (the drama!), and we made our way to the gate. Two escalator rides, 5 bagels and 3 juices later, we arrived just in time for my youngest to collapse with her cheeks on the floor exclaiming, “My legs don’t work anymore!” while my son ran his forehead right into a sharp corner resulting in blood, a giant goose-egg and a mild concussion. The wailing was Olympic quality, I promise.

As other passengers looked one with sympathy, pity or the occasional raised eyebrow, others helped me with my bags and even ran to nearby cafes to get ice for my sweet boy. I was so overcome with their kindness and practical help that something in me just burst and I began to cry, right there in the airport. It was a good kind of cry, but I was faced with the reality not just with what was before me in that moment, but also the journey I was embarking on: leaving home once again and raising my babes away from papas and grandmas and aunties and uncles; relying in many ways on new friendships or complete strangers for support.

I write a lot about settling into life away from all I’ve ever known and the joys and challenges that come along with that kind of life, because that is my story- but in a way its the story of us all. At the Mom Heart conferences this year I was surprised by the common theme I kept hearing from women- they feel alone. So many of us it seems feel unstable, unsettled and ache for a deeper, truer kind of community and home.

In Scripture, James writes to encourage the early church and likens them to the 12 tribes of Israel in the Dispersion. This was a time when God’s people had been scattered all over the world by Babylon and Assyria and they longed to return to Jerusalem. God did re-gather his people and bring them home, and James used this illustration to encourage the Church, and even those of us today who are scattered throughout the earth. One day we too will be  re-gathered by our Father, but this time, to our heavenly home- the place our hearts ache for. But what are we to do until then? [Read more...]

Today is the day! The Mom Heart and The Better Mom’s Desperate Book Club begins here at Mom Heart and on our Facebook Page . We’re heading over to Sarah Mae’s blog to hear more of her thoughts on Chapter One. Don’t have your copy in hand yet? You can buy one here and then join us on Facebook as we share insights from what we read together.

For those of you reading this in your email or RSS feed, click over to the site to see this beautiful video from Sarah Mae:

So, what is one area that leaves you feeling like you just can’t get out of bed and be a mom today?

What would be a practical help to you as you cope with this in your motherhood journey?

What are you hoping to gain from reading Desperate?

In the early days- here I am as a new mom

I’ve been hearing the word Desperate quite a lot this week. Its such a delicious adjective, I find I can’t stop using it in sentences: I’m desperate for chocolate, always. I’m desperate to hug my husband, who is 3,000 miles away today. I’m desperate to help my children back into their school routine after the holidays. What really haunts my mind the most though, is remembering my own season of utter desperation: the parched, dry season of my soul that changed everything.

I was an absolutely desperate and lonely new mom. I was depressed and felt dizzy and nervous most days…all day. I remember spending many, many nights curled up and weeping, unsure of how to best care for my new baby, gripped by fear that I was doing everything wrong, and so, so afraid to share openly with friends and family. I even struggled to share my fears and sadness with my husband, and over time, I didn’t want to talk to the Lord either. I just couldn’t form the words…and to be honest, I didn’t want to. It seemed easier to be silent. So I went months without really  sharing my heart with anyone, and all the while doing everything I could to smile big for my baby girl, and be as close to perfection as I could muster on my own.

One day I opened the Psalms, a psalm of David, the king who bared his heart raw and open before God… and he surprised me!  David was sharing a desperation all his own:

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