The Beauty of Motherhood - Grace-Filled Devotions for the Early Years

"With honesty and wit, [the authors] offer mothers stories that will encourage, restore, inspire, and convict. They turn doubt and worry into faith and hope, sadness and frustration into gratitude and joy. Kim Knowle-Zeller and Erin Strybis look to and write about parenting challenges with a faith and a love that will fill mothers' souls so that they in turn may attend to the souls of those they've been called to mother."
-Callie R. Feyen, author of The Teacher Diaries and Twirl

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
A Blessing for Beginning
INFANCY
Letters to our Children: Writing our Stories
Joy in a New Creation: First Doctor’s Appointment
Becoming a Mother : Seasons of Beginnings
Permission to Be New: New Motherhood
The Power of Names: Naming our Children
Swaddling Fear and Wonder: Managing Anxiety
My Alleluia Song: Birth Stories
Wonderfully Made: Body Image and Motherhood
Nourished: Community and New Motherhood
A Worthy Calling : Milestone: Going Back to Work after Maternity Leave
The Moon at 3 AM: Seasons of Sleeplessness
A Note to the Sleep-Deprived Mama: Motherhood Milestone: Broken sleep
Blessing our Kids: Faith Formation
Embracing Fullness: Motherhood and Identity
Waiting on Words: Seasons of Comparison
Rinsing Bottles and Searching for Peace: Grappling with Mom Guilt
Prayers of the People: Learning to Pray
Someone to See Me: Working Motherhood/Friendship
Marriage and Missing Puzzle Pieces: Marriage
TODDLERHOOD
Cries in the Night : Coping with Illness
“You’re Doing Great, Mama!” : Seasons of Doubt and Uncertainty
Making Home: Comparison and Contentment
Each Day a Gift : Days of Small Things
Forgiveness at Mealtime: Managing Emotions and Saying Sorry.
God’s Favorite: Seasons of Trust
Every Ending a Beginning: Milestone: Weaning
Growing up at the Park: Seasons of Letting Go
What We Carry: Emotional Labor
Taking Care: Learning to Mother
How We Measure: Comparison
A Lesson from Hide & Seek: Connecting with God
The Beauty of Christmas: First Church Pageant
Remembering Loved Ones: Grief and Memories
She Taught Me to Mother: Mothering Mentors
God’s Masterpiece: Seasons of Trust
Enjoying the Crumbs: Our “Good Old Days”
Growing as a Mother: Seasons of Growth
CHILDHOOD
A Gentler Approach to Mornings: Motherhood and Anger
“What’d You Have for Breakfast?”: Seasons of Connection
Water and Light: Milestone: Baptism
Morning Quiet Time: Investing in the Mother
The Miracle of Rest: Self-Care for Moms
Worshiping with Children: Faith Formation
“Mommy, Follow Me!”: Catching Faith from our Children
A Mother’s Hands: Seasons of Change
The Power of Words: Learning Generosity from our Children
More than a Mess: Seasons of Paying Attention
A Sledding Date to Remember: The Power of Play
Nothing is Lost: Seasons of Small Things
Waiting on a Miracle: Season of Trying to Conceive
Hand-Me Down Love: Connection with Others
When Grief Speaks: Loss/Miscarriage
The Weight of Worry: Seasons of Anxiety
Hope in Flowers: Pregnancy After Loss
Summer Days are Meant for the Pool: Remembering our Baptisms
Tell Your Story: Motherhood and Identity
Important Work: Seasons of Paying Attention
“I’m Sorry”: Asking Forgiveness
Same Team: Marriage and Parenting Together
Before You Were Born: Trusting in God
Prayers While Expecting : Preparing for a New Baby
“Another Jesus Story, Please!”: Sharing the Gospel with Children
I Can Hear You!: Listening to Others
Brave and Scared: Milestone: First Day of Preschool
First Day of Kindergarten: Milestone: Starting Kindergarten
Goodbye Diapers: Milestone: No More Diapers
A Calendar of Prayers: Practicing Gratitude
Rooted: The Gifts of Community
Because You Say So: Seasons of Insecurity
We are One: Prayer with Children
Let’s Go for a Walk: Community and Prayer
From First Steps to Riding on His Own: The Miracle of Milestones
Sibling Love: Sibling Relationships
Grace in Transitions: Navigating Growing Pains
Fights Worth Fighting: Learning to Coexist with Others
Welcoming a Little One: Expanding your Family and Sibling Relationships
“Are We There Yet?” : Being Present
Birthday Blessings: Marking Milestones
Opting Out (For Now): Seasons of Rest
The Gifts of Other Mothers: Friendship
The Women at the Well: Seasons of Nurturing Community
Ultimate Superhero: Grace over Perfection in Motherhood
Imagine: The Beauty of Motherhood
Beauty on the Path: Seeing Ourselves Through God’s Eyes
Afterword
Acknowledgements

Über den Autor / die Autorin

Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is a writer, pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and mother of two. She writes on the intersection of faith and parenting, searching for holiness in the ordinary. Her widely acclaimed stories on faith and motherhood have appeared in The Christian Century, Living Lutheran, Episcopal Cafe, Coffee + Crumbs, and more. She lives in Cole Camp, Missouri.
Erin Strybis is a freelance writer and mom of two. She spent over seven years as an editor of Living Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, where she edited and wrote dozens of faith stories. Erin’s writing about motherhood and parenting has appeared in The Washington Post, Coffee + Crumbs, Motherly, Romper, Bold Café, Gather, The Everymom, and Sparkhouse. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Zusammenfassung

Moving devotions for mothers, inspired by common milestones for young children
Moms, get ready to reclaim your grace with this tender collection of stories, vibrantly recounted by two women working to embrace God’s presence during their own parenting journeys. Each narrative reflection opens with scripture and concludes with a practice or questions to ponder, followed by a prayer. Spanning infancy to early childhood, The Beauty of Motherhood encourages mothers and caregivers to take a deep breath and find the holy in those everyday moments that inspire laughter, frustration, and awe.
Together, the authors explore an unflinching spectrum of parenting experiences, including growing pains, pregnancy, birth, weaning, body image, exhaustion, delight, comparison, vocation, friendship, and more. Readers will feel empowered to recall memories of God’s grace in their own journeys and be inspired to claim and share their own truths.
Busy parents will appreciate the short, engaging reflections that can be picked up and read between feedings, or use them to conjure up a brief oasis after a hectic day. A wonderful gift for baby showers, baptisms, birthdays, and Mother’s Day, The Beauty of Motherhood offers a warm and knowing embrace to mothers everywhere.

Vorwort

• Targeted publicity campaign to Christian media,
  podcasts, and blogs, especially those aimed at moms
• Pitch authors to write op-eds on the
  intersection of faith and parenting
• Trade and Christian advertising
• Targeted digital and social media ads to new and
  soon-to-be moms
• Cross promotion with the author’s and endorsers
  websites, newsletters, social media
• ARC campaign
• Co-op available 

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Kimberly Knowle-Zeller, Erin Strybis
• Verlag: Ingram Publishers Services
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Taschenbuch
• Erschienen: 21.03.2023
• EAN: 9781640656000
• ISBN: 978-1-64065-600-0
• Seiten: 248
• Themen: Geisteswissenschaften, Kunst, Musik > Religion/Theologie > Praktische Theologie; Ratgeber > Gesundheit; FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Parenting / Motherhood, Advice on parenting, Parenting: advice and issues, RELIGION / Christian Living / Women's Interests, RELIGION / Christian Living / Devotional, Devotional material