Desperate... Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson

I don't know about you, but there are days when I am tired.  I love my kids to the moon and back and would lay down my life any day and any time for them, but sometimes life is hard and some days are hard.  I fight with selfishness many days and want to read or write or just be still.  There is hope for me on those days.  There is hope every day, but especially on those days.  I loved the way they weaved Bible verses into the chapters and loved how real and transparent Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson are.  It felt like you were sitting down with them over a cup of tea.  I am very thankful that after reading this book, my eyes were opened to how selfish I had been with my time.  I am very thankful that there is still time to correct my mistakes and ask for forgiveness.

The description of the book reads:

"I just can't be a mother today."

These words have been whispered to God in quiet desperation by mothers who love their children to the depths of their soul, but who are struggling with how hard motherhood is.

Motherhood turns you inside out. Sometimes you feel overwhelmed by how tired you feel; the days go on and on, and you want to be a "good" mom, but you feel like a failure so much of the time. What happened to all your ideals? When did you end up feeling so...lost?

Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson have been to the edge and back. Desperate is the story of one young mother’s trials and one experienced mentor’s priceless exhortations. Desperate is not a book about despair, nor is it a rule-laden mothering manual. It is a bouquet from a friend who has been there, reminding us that we are not alone. Sarah Mae’s unvarnished account of her own struggles mothering three feisty young children is a lesson in learning patience, loving idiosyncrasies, accepting help, and—most of all—leaning on God.

Each chapter includes a brief Bible study with journal exercises to help you find your own quiet center, and get you back into the fray soul-filled and refreshed. Written with candor, empathy, and faith, Desperate is like coffee with a trusted girlfriend; one who knows how hard being a mother can be, and how to navigate the often turbulent road.

I honestly think this is the best book on mothering that I have ever read.  If you are a mother, no matter the ages of your children, I cannot recommend this book enough.  It will give you hope and encouragement to be the mother than God has planned for your children.  

I received this e-book free through Booksneeze, in exchange for an honest review.  

Encouraged...

Our family has been under some crazy spiritual attack so far this year and I have been feeling some major discouragement.  Not full blown depression, as I have faced many times before, but this heavy feeling of defeat and despair.  Thanks to a sweet friend, I was reminded this morning that we should be encouraged by attacks from the devil.  If God didn't have a great plan for our lives, we would not be a threat to the devil and we would not be facing these attacks.  Thanks to her encouragement this morning, I feel peace and know that we are going to be okay.  So, starting this morning, I am choosing joy.  The devil is not going to pull me into his trap of defeat and despair.  Christ in me is so much more powerful than the devil.  Now I have My God is Greater on repeat in my head.  What a great song to dwell on this morning.  If my God is for us, who can ever stop us...

So, be encouraged.  No matter what you are going through or what you are facing, God has gone before you.  Your trials did not surprise Him.  There is a reason for your pain and He will use your pain for His purpose.