…

As I thumbed through a copy of A Complaint-Free World five years ago, I considered myself the most optimistic, positive, encouraging (and obviously humble) person I knew.

In fact, I joked to my husband that we needed to buy two (maybe three) dozen copies to give the long list of negative people in my life who drag me down with their never-ending complaints, criticism, and gossip.

Than I read a little farther. And the author had the nerve to suggest that of all the negative people in my life, I might be the worst of the worst

That. Made. Me. Mad.

So I decided to take the author’s Complaint-Free challenge: 21 days with no complaining. Just to prove how wrong he was, I even ordered his silly little purple bracelet.

The instructions were simple: I was to start each day with the bracelet on my left wrist. As soon as I caught myself complaining, criticizing, or gossiping, I was to move the bracelet to the other wrist.

For accountability, I told my students what I was doing.

Big mistake.

Did my students ever warm up to the “challenge.” In the first class, my bracelet switched arms five times in just three minutes!

The shocker was that each time took me totally by surprise. I wasn’t even thinking critical thoughts, when suddenly, “Mrs. G? Is that complaining I hear?”

I soon discovered that my optimistic self-image resembled reality the way a chick flick resembles marriage: hardly at all.

Sound Familiar?

Maybe you’ve experienced some of the same warning signs I have. See if you identify with any of the following statements:

___ “My life would be much easier without the negative people who drag me down.

___ “I speak Sarcasm fluently.”

___ “When I see a type-o on a sign, I have to point it out to someone.”

___ “I’m surrounded by difficult people at work and/or at home.”

___ “It’s not really gossip; everything we say about her is true.”

___ “There’s an impossible person in my life who will never change.”

___ “I struggle with anxiety, fear, and/or depression.”

___ “Negative things people have said keep popping back into my mind.”

If two or more sound familiar, you’re invited to take The PURSE-onality Challenge!

What is The PURSE-onality Challenge?

Quite literally, it’s 31 days of replacing “baditude” with God’s word and gratitude, May 1-31 (with a warm-up week starting April 22.)

I’ve tried the Complaint-Free challenge many times in the last five years. But just trying to stop old bad habits was never enough; I needed to start new ones to replace the old.

So for one month, we’ll be focusing on four positive habits: spotlighting Personality strengths, eliminating complaints, journaling gratitude, and memorizing scripture.

Take The PURSE-onality Challenge if…

• …you feel convicted to change your thoughts and words.
• …you’re at your wit’s end with a particular relationship.
• …you desire more hope, joy, and peace in your life.

Check out our website to sign up!

You’ll also find three free audio messages:

Let’s Get PURSE-onal!

Personality Puzzle for Parents of Preschoolers

and

Healthy Marriages Major in History (NOT Math!)

plus a free e-Book: Top 10 Priceless Gifts that Don’t Cost a Dime for Each PURSE-onality!

 Giveaway

Enter to win a free copy of The PURSE-onality Challenge journal and a set of 31 laminated Bible verse cards!

Mandatory: Leave a comment telling what changes you’d most want to see in your life from taking The PURSE-onality Challenge! That’s it! We require no hoop jumping to enter giveaways.

Cheri Gregory has been married to her pastor/teacher/musician college sweetheart, Daniel, for 23 years. The Gregorys are enjoying their newly “empty nest,” now that Jonathon (19) has joined Annemarie (21) at college. Cheri is a high school English teacher and Christian speaker/author. Connect with her via Facebook, cheri@cherigregory.com, and www.CheriGregory.com.

 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored guest post.

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• 1 Shopping List pad – 20 tear off sheets/cardboard backing
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• 1 CoupStacker – pre-sorting mat used to organize coupons according to pocket when clipping
• 1 Carrying Bag – clear zippered vinyl bag
• 1 pair of scissors

Right now and through Mother’s Day with every Couponizer purchased, you’ll receive a $25 Restaurant.com Gift Card! This is a fabulous deal!

Giveaway {Closed}

Friday, April 20th was my birthday. The older I get the more simplified I want my life to be. I believe in some way we all want to simplify things. I’ve decided to celebrate my birthday week by hosting giveaways (from Oreck, TrueLemon, eBook Bundles, Couponizer, Thrity-One Gifts, and many more) and sharing some posts on simplifying life. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe because over the next week we’ll discuss:

• Simplify Your Cleaning
• Simplify Your Cooking
• Simplify Your Time
• Simplify Your Creativity
• Simplify Your Blogging
• Simplify Your Relationships
• Simplify Your Finances

In order to enter all you have to do is answer the following question in the comments: Do you have any secrets to saving money? If so, what are they? That’s all. Really. No hoops to jump through. However, I would be honored if you would subscribe to my free blog posts, like my page on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter. The giveaway will end on April 27th at midnight CST.

By the way, be sure to enter the Oreck AirInstinct giveaway.

Couponizer provided by the company for a giveaway.

Today, I want to ask you if you would like to be a part of something I am putting together. A while back I did a series called 17 Days of Natural Cleaning. It was well received. So well received in fact that I decided to put them all into an ebook, but it won’t just be recipes. I am going deep into how to naturally clean, maintain, and enjoy your home. I’m going to include 75% new and unpublished material. I don’t plan on leaving any stone unturned with this one. It will be a complete guidebook for natural cleaning. My tentative launch date is July 4th.

I am looking for adventurous homemakers to help me test my recipes, systems, and theories. I have a very talented and highly educated Environmental Engineer helping me with the scientific specifics, however I still would like a test group. I need women who are interested in trying and testing new things and who can give an objective and unemotional opinion about the process and results: homemakers, chemistry fans, natural living enthusiasts, and others who are interested are welcome. We will simply chat via a private Facebook group and I’ll lay out all assignments there. All will be voluntary. Those who contribute to the overall results of the book will be given credit and free eBooks to keep and share.

Besides, I think we’ll have a lot of fun! If you would like to participate simply friend me on Facebook and send me a private message saying you’d like to be a member of the group. I will then add you.

Here is what we have up for giveaways today! {CLOSED}

Bundle 1

• Simplify Your Cleaning
• Simplify Your Cooking
• Simplify Your Time
• Simplify Your Creativity
• Simplify Your Blogging
• Simplify Your Relationships
• Simplify Your Finances

With each post in the series you will get a chance to win some fabulous prizes, and don’t worry…I won’t be asking you to jump through hoops to enter. Nope, just comment.

In the meantime, I want to share a fabulous deal with you. Corey from Simple Marriage and Mandi from Life…Your Way have brought together some of the top authors in the family life space with 38 ebooks covering a variety of topics related to family life.

When purchased separately, these ebooks are worth $375, but for four days only, you can purchase the entire collection for just $29! THAT is a great deal. I’ll be purchasing it myself. It’s a really, really good deal.

If you purchase the collection (and why wouldn’t you?) I will get an affiliate commission from the sale. Can we call it a birthday present?

This collection is only available from 8 a.m. on April 16th to 8 a.m. on April 20th. There will be no late sales offered.

Click here to purchase your collection today!

When you purchase the Simplify Family Life collection, you get instant access to each of the 38 ebooks listed below:

Entrepreneurship & Blogging

Blogger Behave by Laura @ 10 Million Miles ($4.99) | If blogging is like a road-trip, then the best thing about it is the brave traveler herself: the you behind each word and image. From one traveler to another, here are the secrets that have helped me to enjoy the journey.This eBook will inspire you to blog well and live well.

How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too by Mandi @ Life Your Way ($12.00) | How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too is for every mother who’s ever wondered if it’s possible to pursue her own passions while investing in her family and managing a home.

Make Money Blogging by Tara @ Feels Like Home ($4.99) | In the 52 pages of 25 Simple Steps to Make Money Blogging, you will learn how to prepare your blog for making money and then where and how to proceed to profits. I will describe the specific actions you should take in order to increase your readership, sell advertisements, and write for pay. I’ll help you decipher the different kinds of ads, and I’ll explain why you might consider each one. I’ll even tell you what works and what doesn’t work.

Tap Into Your Unique Creativity and Self Expresthis book sion Webinar by Lisa @ WellGrounded Life ($39.00)

Tell Your Time by Amy @ Blogging with Amy($4.99) | This book outlines a straightforward, step-by-step approach to controlling your schedule and ensuring the important things don’t fall through the cracks. Tell Your Time helps you accomplish not only what’s on your to-do list today, but what’s on your to-do list for life.

Your Blogging Business: Tax Talk & Tips from a Bookkeeper Turned Blogger by Nikki @ Christian Mommy Blogger($4.99) | Do you love blogging, but need some direction when it comes to how to keep track of your blogging bucks? Whether you are a blogger, editor, designer or any another other small business owner, you can benefit from this book!

Food & Cooking

Get Lean Recipe for Success by Nisha @ Healthy Mom’s Kitchen ($37.00) | In Get Lean Recipe for Success, you will learn the steps to take to properly take care of your body and slim down naturally. Then you’ll take it the next step and learn how to tweak your new healthy lifestyle to work for YOU! This isn’t one-size-fits-all. Phase 1 of the Get Lean Recipe for Success will show you step by step how to turn your body into a fat burning machine. During Phase 2, you’ll learn how to take it further and to really listen to your body to give it just what it uniquely needs.

Got Dinner? by Susan @ The Confident Mom ($4.00) | Over 40 quick and easy, family tested recipes  your family will love.

How To Cook For Yourself: A Complete Beginnerís Guide by Rachael @ Kitchen Courses ($35.00) | This book is a complete guide to meal planning, grocery store strategizing, learning the ins and outs of cooking basics and techniques, and a one-stop resource to teach you how to cook for yourself in a way that is simple and can easily integrate with your life, right now.

Plan It, Don’t Panic by Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home($4.99) | This book will help you to: Find the method of meal planning that will suit you and your family best;  Tweak and perfect your meal planning style with unique tips and strategies;  Make it easier to work around special/restrictive dietary needs;  Become a grocery-shopping ninja and never go to the store without a genius plan in place for maximizing your money; Learn how leftovers can become your best friends in the kitchen; As well as how to store your recipes, easily find your favorites, plan for hectic times, and even what to do when you mess up.

Real Food Basics by Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama ($6.95) | This book will show you how to cook real, recognizable foods in your own kitchen. Foods that everyone loves, like pizza, ice cream, and French fries, that have been made over with healthy ingredients! People will be amazed that these foods are healthy because they are so delicious, but it’s true. You don’t have to be deprived when you’re living the real foods lifestyle!

Real Food, Real Easy by Erin @ The Humbled Homemaker($9.95) | Are you new to real food? Are you trying to get back on the “real food” train? Do you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin? This will help introduce you, welcome you back, and get everything under control…this book has it all!

Smart Sweets by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship ($9.95) | The goal of Smart Sweets: 30 Desserts to Indulge Your Sweet Tooth is to give you options that are way better for you than you’ll find in the grocery store, usually better for you than another homemade version, and sometimes downright good for you.

The Everything Beans Book by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship($9.95) | Do you wish you could improve your family’s nutrition without breaking the bank? Have you always wanted to use dry beans, but you’re afraid of the complexity of cooking them or just don’t have any good recipes?

Homemaking

Clean Start: Your Guide to Natural Home Cleaning by Michelle @ Open Eye Health ($4.95) | Clean Start is a great resource to help you switch over to a naturally clean home. Walking through each individual room, you will learn different natural cleaning methods, simple recipes, and all sorts of extra cleaning tips!

Complete Printables Download Pack by Mandi @ Life Your Way ($7.00) | The complete set includes all 200+ printables that have been published to date plus free monthly email updates with new printables.

Food on Your Face for Acne & Oily Skin by Leslie @ Crunchy Betty($7.99) | Crunchy Betty’s Food on Your Face for Acne and Oily Skin is here to save your face, save your budget, and save your skin from nasty chemicals found in traditional beauty products. It’s not just a natural beauty book – it’s a complete system designed to clear your skin and leave behind dewy, clean beauty you OWN.

From Debtor to Better by Barry @ Debtor to Better ($15.00) | This book is not your average get-out-of-debt book.  I don’t just want you to get out of debt, I want you to understand the monster that is debt and be equipped to not only tackle your own debt, but also know how to help others who may be struggling with their own debt issues.

My Buttered Life {Summer + Gift Giving Editions} by Renee @ MadeOn Hard Lotion($10.00) | Five recipes: sunscreen, tan enhancer, bug repellent bar, foot protector bar, and body skin conditioner, each with five ingredients or less. Also includes instructional videos, cost analysis (compare to store bought), where to buy ingredients page, and list of quality natural oils and butters.

Not a DIY Diva by Melissa @ The Inspired Room ($3.99) | This book is about embracing your authentic style and way of living at home so that you can be content, even in this “perfect image” world we live in. I know first hand it is so freeing to choose to grow to be who I am instead of trying so hard to be something I am not.

One Bite at a Time by Tsh @ Simple Mom ($5.00) | One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler is a simple living handbook. Tsh took her favorite ideas that she already wrote on Simple Mom, then rewrote and reorganized them into manageable chunks.

That Works for Me by Kristen @ We Are THAT Family ($8.00) | This e-book offers a categorized, organized place for more than 800 practical, “aha!” tips to make your life run smoother. That Works For Me! is a celebration of the WFMW community, with tips from hundreds of different blogs.

Marriage & Relationships

A Simple Marriage by Corey @ Simple Marriage($4.99) | This is not a Save My Marriage type of book – although the principles covered could help that happen. This is also not a Premarital book – although it definitely will help you as your relationship continues. This book is specifically written to assist you in experiencing more in marriage, with your current spouse.

Buck Naked Marriage by Corey @ Simple Marriage($2.99) | Buck Naked Marriage covers the top ten elements necessary for a marriage to thrive. It also offers some tips on how to address several of the common “relationship clutter” areas: like money, kids, family, rest. It covers the important and how to handle the immediate.

Entangled by Amy @ Permission to Peruse ($4.99) | If you’re ready for an honest, detailed look into an emotional affair from a Christian perspective this is the book for you. I experienced an emotional affair six years ago and my marriage has been completely restored by the grace of God. Journey with me and see what one looks like, how to get out and how God can meet your deepest need for the love you’re seeking.

The A to Z Guide: 26 Ways in 26 Days to a Happier, Healthier Marriage by The Dating Divas($9.97) | A collaboration effort by the Divas, they share touching, enlightening, and humorous stories to demonstrate each marriage tip.  You will get to see a glimpse inside the marriages of a few of the divas.  {Hang onto your hats!} By applying these simple, yet valuable tips, you will start to experience a different, happier marriage right away.  This ebook will give you practical tools to literally transform your marriage.  You will: realize you’re not alone; feel love in a way you’ve never felt it before; communicate more effectively; and begin to get that “twitter-pated” feeling back

Minimalism for Families

101 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Laura @ Journey to a Simple Life ($9.95) | Learn how to simplify all aspects of your life from work to family and your home environment as well. In this book, I share 101 of my best ways to simplify your life starting today. These strategies range from practical tips that can be used immediately, and also includes some thought-provoking deeper strategies that can lead to lifelong change.

321-Stop by Lori @ Loving Simple Living ($9.97) | 3-2-1 Stop is a how-to memoir of learning to love simple living. Lorilee uses personal stories, as well as tips learned along the way, showing how to create a life that makes space for what is most important. Embracing minimalism, she tackles and teaches how to make the hard decisions of simplify the home as well as the schedule. She understands that a full life, really doesn’t need to be that ‘full’ at all. Beyond that, Lorilee addresses the hidden emotional hoarding that keeps our souls running.

Inside Out Simplicity by Joshua @ Becoming Minimalist ($11.99) | Get ready for a 360 degree approach to the simplified lifestyle. “Inside-Out Simplicity: Life-Changing Keys to your Most Important Relationships” is a brand new e-book that goes beyond external fixes to our complicated lives. Instead, this book dares to focus on the very heart and soul of a simplified life.

Simple Ways to Be More with Less by Courtney @ Be More with Less ($9.97) | This book will challenge you, brighten your day, and if you let it, change your world. I hope you will share it with your friends, your tribe, because you love it and because it makes your life better.

The Minimalist Momís Guide to Babyís First Year by Rachel @ The Minimalist Mom($9.95) | This book is full of ideas for: doing more with less; avoiding the clutter trap of too much baby stuff; slowing down so you can enjoy the early months with your new baby; saving money; creating a peaceful spacious home no matter the square footage of it; finding more time in your day for things like sleep (!), relaxing and bonding with your new baby. Oh, and did I mention more sleep?

Parenting & Kids

4 Moms of 35+ Kids Answer Your Parenting Questions by the Moms @ 4 Moms, 35+ Kids($7.99) | The 4 Moms of 35+ Kids have answered all of our most frequently asked parenting questions in one handy, dandy ebook, divided into 17 easy to read chapters.

Flourishing Spring by Michele @ Frugal Granola ($5.95) | Over 25 ideas for creating intentional moments with children, with multiple variations, allergy-friendly recipes, and simple resources. This 33-page ebook is a compilation of boredom busters, homemade gift ideas, and nourishing meal suggestions for filling a rainy day!

Mindset for Moms by Jamie @ Steady Mom ($4.99) | This book contains an overview of all I’ve discovered about positive thinking as it relates to motherhood.

Nurturing Creativity by Renee @ FIMBY($3.00) | Nurturing Creativity is about embracing the seasons of motherhood and appreciating where you are while helping you to make creativity a priority in your life. It will encourage you to let go of perfection, to start small, and to find inspiration in everyday living. This little book will challenge you to make the most of the time you do have. Time you can spend creating beauty and meaning – with your head, heart, and hands.

Parenting with Positive Guidance by Amanda @ Not Just Cute ($9.00) | This book gives you the tools for understanding your child’s behavior and effectively teaching and guiding your child toward increased self-control while fostering a healthy parent-child relationship.

Truth in the Tinsel by Amanda @ Impress Your Kids ($6.99) | This ebook will lead you and your children on your own experience through the Christmas Story. You’ll take a few minutes each day in reading the Christmas Story directly from the Bible, making a fun ornament craft and talking about it together.

The Simplify Your Family Life Sale is brought to you in part by Plan to Eat, an online meal planner that makes eating at home simple. Receive an exclusive coupon code on a one-year membership with your purchase!

You get all of that for only $29. Click here to purchase your collection today!  The sale ends at 8 a.m. ET on April 20th, and there will be no late sales offered, so don’t wait.

This is a guest post by the fabulous Sheila Wray Gregoire of To Love, Honor, and Vacuum.

One of the curses of being a multitasking woman is that it’s hard to slow down and concentrate on one thing at one time. When I’m talking on the phone, I have to fold laundry. When I’m standing in line at the bank, I have to clean out my purse. And unfortunately, too often, when my husband and I are being *ahem* intimate, I prepare grocery lists.

It’s not that I mean to. I could be having a great old time when that thought will suddenly pop into my head—“is there milk in the fridge for breakfast?”—and then I’m gone. I am female. And that makes me utterly and completely distractible.

It’s because of this little quirk of female behavior that our approaches to sex are so different from our husbands’. While men tend to be excited right away, we have to warm up to it, because for women, desire is all in our heads. When our heads aren’t in the game, our bodies don’t follow.

So getting our heads in the game, and fighting against that multitasking tendency, is so important if we’re going to really enjoy our marriages. But it can be hard to bring our minds back to the matter at hand if we have the idea that sex is somehow—well—wrong. We suspect that God created it because He figured, “they have to reproduce somehow, and this is the best idea I’ve got.” And so we figure it was God’s concession to us, not something that’s beautiful.

It’s easy to see why we begin to believe this about sex, because our culture has so perverted it. When you take sex out of the marriage context, then sex becomes only about the physical. It’s not about a deep emotional or spiritual commitment; it’s only about pleasure. And that seems so shallow!

Even if we’re married, we can still have that idea about sex. And so instead of being able to be present in the moment, and feel that deep connection, we wander. We make do. We try to get it over with. Or maybe we even really enjoy it, but then we feel dirty afterwards.

God doesn’t want us to do any of those things. If you grew up with the King James Version of the Bible, do you remember sitting in church and snickering with your friends when the preacher read from Genesis, “And Adam knew his wife Eve, and they conceived unto them a son…” Yeah, right. Adam KNEW Eve. We thought it was a euphemism, like God was embarrassed and just trying to be polite.

But what if there was something far more fundamental going on there? In the Psalms, David uses the same Hebrew word when he cries out, “search me and KNOW me, O God…”

Sex is supposed to be a deep knowing, an intimate, beautiful experience. It’s not something we need to feel guilty about, or ashamed about. It’s not just physical, either. It’s about connection. When we make love, we become completely vulnerable. Completely transparent. And completely one. That’s the beauty that God created.

I know sometimes that’s hard to experience. We may “have sex”, but we find it difficult to “make love”, to experience that connection. That can be difficult if we’ve grown up with the idea that sex is somehow wrong, or if we’ve had bad experiences in the past, or if it just plain has never felt very good, and we’ve given up hope. But I believe that sex is God’s beautiful promise to us that we can experience a deep spiritual connection to someone here on this earth. It is supposed to be beautiful.

So next time you sense your mind wandering, bring it back. Find joy with your husband in that moment. Repeat to yourself (and even say out loud) why you love him. Feel him and embrace him and experience him. Don’t run away from the vulnerability; run towards it. And you may just start to sense what Eve did when she truly knew Adam.

 

Sheila’s new book, The Good Girl’s Guide to Great Sex, looks at the three aspects of sex: the physical, the emotional, and the spiritual, and explores how we can experience each one to the fullest! She blogs everyday at To Love, Honor and Vacuum.

Photo Credit

Well, you don’t have to wait until your birthday to get freebies. I discovered a new site, Julie’s Freebies, where you can get a variety of things like magazines, food, books, medicines, toiletries, services, and even meals for absolutely free. She scours the internet looking for the best free deals and then she offers them to her readers. You can even subscribe to her updates so that you don’t miss any of the goodies. I also like that there are some natural and whole living freebies featured there.

She really has made it her mission to find you the best freebie deals on the web. I especially appreciate that it is kept current so when something expires she tells you so that you don’t waste precious time discovering the expiration for yourself. There are several deals a day so you are sure to find something that you want.

The site is pretty and well organized. Check out the features in the navigation. If you like to shop for savings you can find coupons on the site. Another bonus to this site is that you will find contests and giveaways to enter. I told you this site had lots of great stuff!

For freebies, contests, and giveaways go visit Julie at Julie’s Freebies. You can also follow Julie on Facebook and Twitter.

I think every home should have a cast iron skillet. I know some of you have some concerns about them though and I’d like to address those concerns. So help me out and tell me some things in the comments:

• What kind of recipes would you like to see for the cast iron skillet? I make lots and lots of dishes in them and I’m willing to use my family as guinea pigs to try out more.
• What are your greatest concerns about using cast iron skillets?

Once I have enough of an idea of what you need I’ll get to work on that ebook. In the meantime, I’m off to do some other work.

Linked with

If you are visiting here for the first time, WELCOME! I’m so glad that you are here. I hope you’ll look around and find some things that interest you. It is my heart’s desire to establish community here so feel free to chat with me in the comments, submit your address for free updates from my site, friend me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or send me an email.

I’d also like to invite you to grab a copy of my newly released ebook, Pursuit of Proverbs 31. It is not your typical Proverbs 31 book or study. It is a study that digs deep into the scriptures and reveal the heart of the Father. It brings freedom to women, not bondage. You can join our discussions here at our Facebook page: POP31 on Facebook or join the weekly study at JoyfulMothering.net. I’m there today discussing chapter 3.

I have the privilege of kicking off a 3 week hospitality study over at Karen Ehman’s today. In my post, Heart of Hospitality: Preparation, I share about my childhood and the Southern hospitality I grew up with and practice today. Take a look at some of the other amazing women who are contributing.

I am also giving away a gift pack of Louisiana’s pride and joy, a staple of Southern hospitality, Community Coffee (or tea if you prefer). Be sure to sign up for the giveaway while you are there.

And you definitely want to get a copy of Karen’s latest release: Life That Says Welcome, A: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart & Home to Others.

Finally, I’m being interviewed by my friend, Marsha, over at Grace Cafe, a weekly radio show. I would be so honored (and thrilled) if you’d join us. We will kick it off at 10am CST. You can listen in here:

Speaking of Pursuit of Proverbs 31, I want to host a backwards blog tour so I am looking for bloggers who are willing to have me guest post on their blog. I have broken down the book into 31 main steps (of course, it is Proverbs 31, not to be confused with all of the 31 Days). I want to guest post on at least 31 blogs revealing these 31 applicable steps to Proverbs 31. If you are interested in being a part of my backwards blog tour just leave a comment. Make sure you put your email address and blog URL in the comment in order to be considered. Also, let me know which part of Proverbs 31 has been the hardest to digest for you.

Don’t forget to join the online Pursuit of Proverbs 31 Bible study happening at Joyful Mothering!

…

Today’s post is by: Stephanie Shott

What’s The M.O.M. Initiative?

While many women dream of being the perfect mom who has all the right answers, never raises her voice and never has to count to three, we all know it’s not always easy being a mom. Those sweet little bundles of joy don’t come packaged with instruction manuals or warning labels and moms are often left to figure it out on their own.

The M.O.M. Initiative is an acrostic for Mothers On a Mission to Mentor Other Mothers. It exists as a group of moms and a package of resources to equip, enable and support women as they experience Titus 2 in real life. We want to help moms become the best moms they can possibly be.

The Website:

The M.O.M. Initiative website offers virtual encouragement for real life moms. The website exists as safe place to grow as a mother, to gain a better understanding of what a mother is and what a mother does and to foster and support mentor/mentee relationships.

Along with practical tips, helpful tools, godly wisdom and informative insight on current issues, The M.O.M. Initaitive website also offers a private chat room where a mom can connect with a ‘virtual’ mentor and find help in times of need. The website offers help for the mentor as well as the mentee.

The articles on The M.O.M. Initiative website are provided by a wonderful group of moms who are passionate about ministering to the hearts of mothers. Some are writers, speakers, counselors, nurses or experts in their fields, yet they all devote much time and effort to serving other mothers in whatever season of life they find themselves.

The Workbook:

The M.O.M. Initiative workbook is being developed to serve as a tool in the hands of Christian moms to help foster mentoring relationships beyond the four walls of the church and take Titus 2 to the streets. It will be an eight week study containing five lessons per week. Each day the mentee will be presented with biblical truths as well as mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and developmental needs of a child. She will also gain insight through thought provoking questions encouraging her to implement proactive mothering techniques.

The workbook will also provide a M.O.M. mentor guide and a missional planning guide in the back of the book.

Summed up, The M.O.M. Initiative is a missional mentoring package of resources that will give Christian mothers an easy, hands on approach to passionately pursue mentor relationships with younger mothers and mothers-to-be, and ultimately impact the next generation for Christ.

How Did The M.O.M. Initiative Get Started?

The M.O.M. Initiative was birthed from founder, Stephanie Shott’s own story. At the age of nineteen, she was a single mom. Without Christ and without a mentor, she made a series of serious choices that affected her precious young son. After becoming a Christian five years later she learned being a mom is much more than a three letter word and a handful of sacrifices. She also realize the significance of Titus 2:4-5.

What’s the Vision for The M.O.M. Initiative?

We believe that if the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, then the church that mentors those hands will win it.

The primary vision for The M.O.M. Initiative is that it not only be limited to those who enter the four walls of the church, but that it also be used to facilitate mentor relationships in homes for unwed mothers, in low income housing projects, apartment complexes, homeless shelters, prisons, juvenile shelters, schools, hospitals, the mission field and anywhere young mothers can be found. (Planning guides for each of these venues will be available in the back of the book.)

We are mothers on a mission to mentor other mothers and we really want to change the world one mom at a time! Won’t you join us?!

The M.O.M. Initiative is not just a book. It’s not just a website. IT’S A REVOLUTION!

To join the revolution and become a M.O.M. Mentor, please click the link: Become a Mentor

To learn more about The M.O.M. Initiative, you can visit our website at: M.O.M. Initiative

Don’t forget to visit me at Karen Ehman’s to enter for a chance to win a copy of Pursuit of Proverbs 31!