Shiny Things

Amanda Bacon

Description

What and who should get the best of us? And why is it so enticing to choose lesser things instead of lasting things? As moms we know the magnetic pull to steer away from what's important and choose what feels irresistible in the moment. In Shiny Things, Amanda Bacon and Anne-Renee Gumley bring to light the distractions moms face every day. Honoring God and loving our families are our highest priority, but sometimes we need help keeping them there. For all of us who find ourselves caught in the cycle of distraction but are looking for a way out, Shiny Things will help us:identify the threat of distractions so we can learn to live with intentionresist the pull to be interrupted by non-essentials and focus on God and our priority peoplepurpose to live free from distraction with hearts turned Godward in all we doIt's never too late to take hold of what's most important. Today's a great day to start.

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 16 avril 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736973687
• Langue: English

Extrait

Endorsements
My friends Amanda and Anne-Renee deeply understand the struggle we all face as moms to be present with our family while our attention is pulled in a million different directions. The practical, godly wisdom they share in Shiny Things will meet you right where you are while pointing you back to the moment-by-moment help offered to us by Jesus Himself. Such a needed message for us moms today.
Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries
This is a kind book for any mom who feels pushed around by her schedule and pulled away by distraction. What Amanda and Anne-Renee do for moms in Shiny Things is to bring us back to center by reminding us of our most basic loves-home, good work, family, dear friends, and a God who holds us all together. I m grateful for the friendship they have with each other that they graciously extend to us in the pages of this book.
Emily P. Freeman, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Simply Tuesday and host of The Next Right Thing podcast
Amanda and Anne-Renee remind us that moms are not robots-we have real demands on our time and space, but also some very real limitations. Shiny Things is an excellent read that helps us see how choosing wisely, with the bigger picture always in mind, is key. This book is like sitting with two friends who help me focus on my relationship with God, my priority people, and my God-given role as a mom.
Nicki Koziarz, bestselling author and speaker
There are a thousand inconsequential distractions every day that try to get in the way of God s priorities for my work and my everyday life. This book will help you keep your eyes fixed on the work and the people God wants you to serve and to love.
Jennifer Dukes Lee, author of It s All Under Control
Anne-Renee and Amanda have written a beautiful message to moms, reminding us all about what is truly significant about our role in our families and the purpose God has for us, right where we are!
Jennifer Smith, author of The Unveiled Wife and Wife After God
I don t know of a single mom who isn t tempted by distraction. Shiny Things is what we ve needed-a gracious guide to help us live and love according to our actual priorities instead of getting sidetracked by the shiny substitutes all around us. In this practical and personal book, Anne-Renee and Amanda offer us an opportunity to reassess our values, refocus our hearts, and recapture our time all so we can honor and steward our unique calling as mothers.
Leeana Tankersley, author of Begin Again
This book is your survival guide to the stop-go-stop-go rollercoaster of parenting. It s not another to-do . It s a to-don t . Here s your permission slip to stop what s sucking the life out of you and find new ways to focus on what s life-giving to you and your family.
Lisa-Jo Baker, bestselling author of Never Unfriended and cohost of the Out of the Ordinary podcast
For all of us moms who have felt the weight of discouragement and distraction, Anne-Renee and Amanda are a welcome voice of reassurance and hope. Shiny Things is their gentle but genuine reminder we need to let go of our guilt and self-imposed expectations and rest in the grace we have in Christ.
Teri Lynne Underwood, author of Praying for Girls
If all the people and projects that naturally come with the role of mom have you pulled in umpteen directions, this book is for you. Shiny Things will help you to strategically sort through all that is vying for your attention and set your sights on what really counts. Amanda and Anne-Renee have created a practical resource that will empower moms to fulfill their high and holy calling without losing their focus-or their minds!
Karen Ehman, Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker and New York Times bestselling author of Keep It Shut
The difficult work of motherhood has often caught me by surprise. How could something so good be so hard? With heartfelt transparency, Amanda and Anne-Renee bring clarity to our calling and give us the perspective we need to move forward with hope and confidence.
Ruth Schwenk, author of Pressing Pause and The Better Mom
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
All Scripture quotations are 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.
Verses marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover by Faceout Studio
Published in association with The Fedd Agency, Inc., PO Box 341973, Austin, TX 78734.
Shiny Things
Copyright 2019 Amanda Bacon and Anne-Renee Gumley
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-7367-0 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-7368-7 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
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.
Dedication
To mothers everywhere-
because training up young humans in the way they should go
is hard and holy work.
Contents

Endorsements
Dedication
Introduction
Part One: The Pull
1. Don t Blame It on the Shiny Things
2. What It Costs
3. A Million Different Directions
4. What If
Part Two: Right Things, Wrong Times
5. Rescuing Our Own Lives
6. The Givers and Their Guilt
7. It s All Good
8. What Kind of Yes Is It, Anyway?
Part Three: The Important and Everything Else
9. What I Want Most
10. A Long Stay in Temporary Land
11. That Elusive Fine Line
12. We re All Seeking Something
Part Four: All the People, All the Things
13. Too Busy for the Essentials
14. Too Busy to Love
15. Distracted by Everyone and Everything
16. When Comparison Is a Good Thing
Part Five: Not Yets and Daydreams
17. Our Regular Life Is Just So Much
18. Untimely Desires
19. What the Daydreams Won t Tell You
20. The Uncomfortable Wait
Part Six: When Life Takes a Turn
21. Looking Up Long Enough to See
22. Your Devastation Is Not a Distraction
23. Living in a Pain-Shaped Reality
24. You Don t Hear Me Saying Yes, Please to Stress
Part Seven: The Daily Derailing
25. Brain Held Hostage
26. Saying Welcome with Your Life
27. That Dirty Word-Self-Control
28. When I Pile My Plate with Worry
Part Eight: Overcoming the Just Don t Wannas
29. When We Want It to Be All Their Fault
30. Procrastinating Like It s My Job
31. The Art of Avoidance
32. Contentment and the Plain-Jane Everyday
Part Nine: The Me I Want to Be
33. Who I Am When the WiFi Goes
34. The Regret of Lost Time
35. I Don t Want to Be a Tripping Hazard
36. Listing It Is Easier Than Living It
Part Ten: Beyond Shiny
37. Making Them Feel Different
38. This Moment Right Here
39. Changing Our Tune
40. Redeeming and Reclaiming
The Undistracted Mom Manifesto
A Note from the Authors
Notes
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Amanda and Anne-Renee
The rising sun s rays crept around the edges of the curtains much earlier than she preferred. At least the sun is shining , she thought. The recent string of gray days had left her feeling a bit down. For some reason, she couldn t shake the cloud of dissatisfaction that seemed to be hanging over her head.
Trying to pinpoint the exact source of her angst, she started making a mental list of the items that brought her life throughout the day and those that were bringing her low. It didn t take long. A lot of activities brought her life. She loved her kids and spending quality time pouring into them. She adored those moments when she really engaged with her whole self. She loved God with everything in her and having creative outlets, a job, volunteer work, and relationships that fed her soul.
She also enjoyed the ability to be in constant contact with the world through her phone, and she spent a good amount of time with her computer. Being on her laptop made her feel like she was accomplishing something, even if she was just reading an article.
These things gave her life, but she often felt conflicted about how she spent her time. What and whom should get the best of her? Why did it seem more enticing to choose lesser things over lasting things? And what qualified as lesser?
She continued to ponder these early morning thoughts as she swung her feet to the floor and then quietly padded to the kitchen. A glorious whiff of fresh coffee greeted her senses, and she was thankful she d programmed the coffeemaker to do its thing the night before. Maybe it wasn t the best idea to stay up late watching another episode of that TV show everyone was talking about.
Pouring a generous amount of coffee into her favorite floral mug, she breathed in its caffeinated goodness. It took all her willpower to ignore the new magazine beckoning her from the end of the kitchen counter. She walked past it resolutely, promising herself that she wouldn t peek until she d spent at least a few minutes in the Word.
The house was miraculously quiet as she ambled toward the living room. She couldn t believe the kids hadn t come looking for her yet. Her favorite chair waited for her by the window,