52 Things Kids Need from a Mom


Book Description

Bestselling author and mother of four children Angela Thomas brings her trademark storytelling and biblical teaching to this book of encouragement for moms who, in the daily whir of busyness, long to connect with their kids in new ways. With compassion and creativity, Angela presents 52 inspirations to help moms experience intentional mothering, intentional living, and intentional joy as they: talk to their child as though he is fascinating learn to play one video game plan activities that set a child up for success be the groovy mom once in a while make memories and savor them Moms at all phases of parenting can adopt one idea a week or try several at once. This is a fun, guilt-free resource to help every mom lead with God’s love and delight in the small moments that make up an abundant life.




52 Things Kids Need from a Dad


Book Description

“God, please help me...another game of Candy Land...” Quite a few dads spend time with their kids. However, many have no clue what their kids really need. Enter author Jay Payleitner, veteran dad of five, who’s also struggled with how to build up his children’s lives. His 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad combines straightforward features with step-up-to-the-mark challenges men will appreciate: a full year’s worth of focused, doable ideas—one per week, if desired uncomplicated ways to be an example, like “kiss your wife in the kitchen” tough, frank advice, like “throw away your porn” And, refreshingly... NO exhaustive (and exhausting) lists of “things you should do” NO criticism of dads for being men and acting like men Dads will feel respected and empowered, and gain confidence to initiate activities that build lifelong positives into their kids. Great gift or men’s group resource!




52 Things Daughters Need from Their Dads


Book Description

Most dads love their daughters, but they’re uncertain how they can show that love in a way their daughters understand...or figure out what their girls really need from them. Jay Payleitner has given thousands of dads great, man-friendly advice in his bestselling 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad. Now Jay guides his readers into what is unexplored territory for many of them—girl land—giving them ways to... do things with their daughters, not just for them lecture less and listen more be on the lookout for “hero moments” and take advantage of them realize that their daughters are females...and tailor their actions and responses accordingly give their daughters a positive view of the male sex Dads will feel respected and encouraged—not made to feel guilty—and they’ll gain confidence to initiate activities that build lifelong positives into their girls. Great gift or men’s group resource.




Doing Life with Your Adult Children


Book Description

Are you struggling to connect with your child now that they've left the nest? Are you feeling the tension and heartache as your relationship dynamic begins to change? In Doing Life with Your Adult Children, bestselling author and parenting expert Jim Burns provides practical advice and hopeful encouragement for navigating this tough yet rewarding transition. If you've raised a child, you know that parenting doesn't stop when they turn eighteen. In many ways, your relationship gets even more complicated--your heart and your head are as involved as ever, but you can feel things shifting, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. Doing Life with Your Adult Children helps you navigate this rich and challenging season of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to the most common questions he's received over the years, including: My child's choices are breaking my heart--where did I go wrong? Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? What's the difference between enabling and helping? What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? What do I do when my child doesn't seem to be maturing into adulthood? How do I relate to my grown child's significant other? What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? How can I support my grown children when I don't support their values? Including positive principles on bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every changing season, Doing Life with Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends.




52 Things Sons Need from Their Dads


Book Description

Perfect? No. But you’re still the right dad for your boy. Bestselling author Jay Payleitner, dad of four grown sons (and one amazing daughter), gives you a bucketful of man-friendly ideas on how build a father-and-son relationship. Good news is, you don’t have to say a lot. By your life and example, you can show your boy why it’s good to be a guy demonstrate how to treat women well teach him to work hard and have fun, often at the same time show him how to live with honesty and self-respect give him the inner confidence to live a purposeful life These 52 quick-to-read chapters offer great ways to relate or spend time as dad and son. And each idea provides a new building block for a father-son relationship that will help your boy along the path to becoming a man.




The Better Mom


Book Description

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."




52 Things Wives Need from Their Husbands


Book Description

Many wives long to have their husbands choose them all over again. To be their knight in shining armor. Their leader. Their listener. Their lover. In 52 Things Wives Need from Their Husbands, Jay Payleitner, veteran radio producer and author of 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad, offers a bounty of welcome advice, such as "Stir her pots" "Buy sparkly gifts" "Be the handyman" "Stay married" "Kiss her in the kitchen" "Leave your mommy" "Put her second" A great gift or men's group resource, 52 Things Wives Need from Their Husbands provides a full year's worth of advice. And no chapter will make husbands feel guilty or criticize them for acting like men! For the husband who wants to live God's plan for his marriage, this book will put him on the right track.




Church of the Small Things


Book Description

Is my ordinary, everyday life actually significant? Is it okay to be fulfilled by the simple acts of raising kids, working in an office, and cooking chicken for dinner? It’s been said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” The pressure of that can be staggering as we spend our days looking for that big thing that promises to take our breath away. Meanwhile, we lose sight of the small significance of fully living with every breath we take. Melanie Shankle, New York Times bestselling author and writer at The Big Mama Blog tackles these questions head on in her fourth book, Church of the Small Things. Easygoing and relatable, she speaks directly to the heart of women of all ages who are longing to find significance and meaning in the normal, sometimes mundane world of driving carpool to soccer practice, attending class on their college campus, cooking meals for their family, or taking care of a sick loved one. The million little pieces that make a life aren’t necessarily glamorous or far-reaching. But God uses some of the smallest, most ordinary acts of faithfulness—and sometimes they look a whole lot like packing lunch. Through humorous stories told in her signature style, full of Frito pie, best friends, the love of her Me-Ma and Pa-Pa, the unexpected grace that comes when we quit trying to measure up, and a little of the best TV has to offer, Melanie helps women embrace what it means to live a simple, yet incredibly meaningful life and how to find all the beauty and laughter that lies right beneath the surface of every moment.




Mom Up


Book Description

Every mom can identify with the feeling that they’re in a race to the finish line every day, stumbling over everything in their path—including Legos and dirty laundry! Kara-Kae James knows how overwhelming motherhood can be. As she writes, “When we come to the place where we think that we have failed—this is the moment when God’s Word and motherhood intersect.” In Mom Up, James shares four themes that impact how she follows Jesus and parents her kids: intentional motherhood, genuine community, refreshing rest, and embracing chaos. With practical ideas for building relationships with other moms, grace-filled Scripture reminders, and a healthy dose of humor, Mom Up helps readers step out of survival mode and into the abundant life God has for them and their family.




The Science of Mom


Book Description

Now updated! The new edition of this best-selling guide uses science to tackle some of the most important decisions facing new parents—from sleep training and vaccinations to breastfeeding and baby food. Is cosleeping safe? How important is breastfeeding? Are food allergies preventable? Should we be worried about the aluminum in vaccines? Searching for answers to these tough parenting questions can yield a deluge of conflicting advice. In this revised and expanded edition of The Science of Mom, Alice Callahan, a science writer whose work appears in the New York Times and the Washington Post, recognizes that families must make their own decisions and gives parents the tools to evaluate the evidence for themselves. Sharing the latest scientific research on raising healthy babies, she covers topics like the microbiome, attachment, vaccine safety, pacifiers, allergies, increasing breast milk production, and choosing an infant formula.