Grit and Grace

Hadley Gosselin Suzanne

Description

Hang in There, Mama!For those moments when you think you'll never live up to the Supermoms around youwhen you're elbow deep in the grind of diapers and laundry and peanut butter sandwichesyou need a good dose of Grit and Grace.This refreshing collection of 90 daily devotions comes from two moms who've found themselves face-to-the-floor in need of encouragement and now offer it to you. Through humor and vulnerability, these short messages of truth remove the filters of perfection clouding your vision and bring clarity to your purpose as a mom. As you read the Scripture and prayer that accompany each day's message, you'll discover more fully who you are in Christ and how to raise your children to reflect His love to the world.In giving yourself grace, you will find you have even more grace to give from the One who is present in your life right now and in every moment.

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 12 février 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736976251
• Langue: English

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com . The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version . 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation in Today s English Version-Second Edition. Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public domain.
Cover photo Gus Dizon All rights reserved
Cover photo helterskelter / Shutterstock
Cover by Emily Weigel Design
Grit and Grace
Copyright 2019 Suzanne Hadley Gosselin and Gretta Kennedy
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-7624-4 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-7625-1 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gosselin, Suzanne Hadley, author. | Kennedy, Gretta, author.
Title: Grit and grace / Suzanne Hadley Gosselin and Gretta Kennedy.
Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, [2018] Identifiers: LCCN 2018037101 (print) | LCCN 2018045296 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736976251 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736976244 (trade)
Subjects: LCSH: Mothers-Prayers and devotions. | Motherhood-Religious aspects-Christianity.
Classification: LCC BV4847 (ebook) | LCC BV4847 .G67 2018 (print) | DDC 242/.6431-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018037101
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Contents

Dedication

Grit and Grace
1. Teach Me to Number My (Mommy) Days
2. Stolen Identity
3. Toilet Paper and Broken Cisterns
4. Struggling to Find Joy
5. (Gingerbread) Man Down
6. A Different Plan
7. Unhappy Camper
8. Simple Pleasures
9. Hope in a Hopeless Place
10. Faith like a Child
11. Worth the Work
12. Light of the World
13. Reporting for Active Duty
14. Cheerleaders in the Delivery Room
15. Cleaning Up the Crumbs
16. Soo-soos
17. Love > Worry
18. Doing Hard Things
19. Basking in the Path of Totality
20. Thanksgiving Failure
21. Flawed and Loving It
22. The Lost Child
23. Special Day
24. Joining the Work
25. Invited and Seen
26. Soul Food
27. Gentle Shepherd
28. Life-Giving Groups
29. Joy for the Asking
30. Easter Basket Goodness
31. Getting Out of Survival Mode
32. Worms in the Garden
33. Beauty Lost and Found
34. Encourage One Another Daily
35. Just Move
36. Pick Me Up at the Zoo
37. The Things She Won t Be
38. Flat Tire!
39. Mommy Matters
40. Mess Under the Sink
41. God in My Sorrow
42. U-Haul and Armor
43. Avoiding the Rot of Envy
44. The Worst Five Minutes Ever
45. Heart of Acceptance
46. Gaining Gratitude
47. Beauty in Diversity
48. Joy Found in the Orange Juice
49. Making Mom Friends
50. The Extroverted Mama
51. Giving Up Control
52. The Redwoods and the Epic Stomach Flu
53. My Fanciest Dress
54. Peace in the Chaos
55. Comfort and Joy
56. Wisdom on a Roll
57. Growing Strong
58. Arrows in the Quiver
59. Missing the Point
60. Holy in the Unexpected
61. Living Lovable
62. Way, Way More Than You Know
63. A House United
64. Mirror Messages
65. Beauty in Imperfection
66. A Few Prickles
67. The Art of Accepting Help
68. God s Painting
69. Loving 152
70. Dance Like Nobody s Watching
71. Blowing It Big-Time
72. Comparison Versus Completeness
73. Post Office Blues
74. Stop and Look at Me
75. Embarrassing Moments
76. The Importance of Discipline
77. Nurturing Little Adventurers
78. Just Add a Bit of Kindness
79. Fear Is Not My Friend
80. Bedtime Lessons
81. Simple Celebrations
82. Rainbows in the Bathroom
83. Better Together
84. The Sneaky Rodent
85. I Just Want to Be with You
86. Stone by Stone
87. The Truth About Moms
88. A Bit of Brain Power
89. Unexpected Gifts
90. It Happened

Acknowledgments
About the Publisher
Dedication

To my mom, Judy,
who showed me how to be a warrior mama by loving fiercely and pointing me to Jesus.
Suzanne
To my own warrior mama, Sarah, God s generous gift to me of faithfulness, gentleness, service, and peace.
Gretta
Grit and Grace
Suzanne
I was having one of those mornings. I was responsible for getting my infant and two toddlers to church by 10:45 so I could watch my children s pastor husband baptize kids during the morning service. Hours after my husband, Kevin, headed off to church, I was feverishly buckling my littles into their car seats (i.e., torture devices for mamas).
I pulled into church five minutes late, which meant parking in a distant spot at our large campus. As I pushed the stroller precariously through the parking lot with two toddlers in tow and a steady stream of cars driving by, I realized something: This mom thing was hard .
Really hard.
I mean, how did other women do this?! And how did they seem to like doing it?
As I burst through the door of the early childhood building looking as disheveled as a tumbleweed in a hurricane, a volunteer took one look at my welled-up eyes and asked, Do you need help? The floodgates opened as I explained that I just wanted to make it into service in time to see the baptisms. She kindly traded me a tissue for my stroller and whisked away my littles to their classrooms.
I sniffled all the way to the sanctuary, where I slipped into a random seat near the back, weepy and defeated. I had made it just in time, but I felt anything but triumphant. I was so not rocking this mom thing. And I felt like I was the only one.
Maybe you ve been there. I think we all ask ourselves versions of the same questions: Am I good enough? Am I doing this right? Is every other mom doing this better than I am?
Before I had children, I felt like a successful adult. I had my moments, of course, but for the most part I felt proud of my accomplishments and confident in my ability to adult. Children changed that. I recently saw a meme that read, I used to be the best parent in the world. That was before I had children. How true!
I remember having idealistic talks with my husband while we were dating about how we would parent our future kids. We were so sweetly na ve as we pictured an orderly home with obedient children. I pictured myself as the mom who would do it all. I would look great while offering my young children stimulating activities and play dates. I would have the house clean and nutritious dinners on the table when my husband arrived home from work. I would write from home-steaming coffee in my hipster mug-while my children played quietly (and cooperatively) nearby. How hard could it be, right?
Think back to your own imaginings of motherhood. Did you have similar ideas? How did those work out for you? Probably not exactly how you expected.
As you can probably guess, the beautiful images I had in my head didn t materialize. The reality was much, much different. It was still beautiful, in a chaotic and unpredictable sort of way. Baby cuddles on lazy mornings. Witnessing the absolute wonder of a child s curious, developing mind. Oh, and there was coffee. So much coffee. Just not always steaming and enjoyed in leisure-more like gulped down in desperation and rediscovered as iced coffee hours later.
With each child born-four in six years-the pressures mounted. And the more mom tasks I had to manage, the less competent and capable I felt. In fact, many days I seriously wondered if I was cut out for this. (My husband was good to point out it was a little late to be asking that question.)
As I was stretched in every way possible and pushed to my breaking point over and over again, I struggled with the identity shift from fully functional, respectable adult to the overwhelmed, insecure hot mess I had become.
Even my spiritual life took a hit. I had enjoyed a steady walk with the Lord since I put my trust in Him as a child. I attended Bible college (where I met my coauthor, Gretta). Then I worked at a Christian ministry for ten years, where I was consistently influenc