No More Perfect Marriages Chapter 5, 6

I missed doing a post last Monday so I wanted to be sure to get one up today about the book No More Perfect Marriages by Mark and Jill Savage.

My husband and I have continued reading together.

Chapter 5 is about the "Slow Fade of Minimizing." When we minimize, we “treat something as less important than it really is."  This chapter goes over the types of minimizers and dangers we can face in marriage when we minimize.

Chapter 6 is about the "Slow Fade of Not Accepting."  We are each wired differently, have different love languages, and different needs.  We may not mind these differences during the dating days but they may become bothersome once married.

This book actually releases this week!  They have a low price on Amazon right now too if you want to grab it.

#NoMorePerfectMarriages

Have a day of blessings!
   Bethany

No More Perfect Marriages Chapter 4

Chapter 4 was all about expectations.

I felt like I learned a lot from this chapter.  I need to voice my thoughts and expectations and not just think my husband reads my mind.  I can think of many examples from our marriage where I wanted him to do or not do something but didn't tell him.  I know this doesn't make sense and need to just say my thoughts and expectations aloud.

Go here to pre order your copy of this wonderful marriage resource.

Have a day of blessings!
   Bethany

No More Perfect Marriages Chapter 3

I've enjoyed reading Chapter 3.  It discusses 8 "God tools" we all have that we need to use regularly in our marriages.  These 8 tools are:

courage
forgiveness
grace
love
humility
wisdom
compassion
acceptance

There were many things that stood out to me in this chapter that I highlighted. I love this quote seen in the image above. As we've read I have thought of many examples when I have NOT followed this guidance in the past and have also had some practice applying it the past few days.  

Another thing I noticed was how using these tools in our marriage is not something we do in our human capacity. We must rely on God in order to act these ways toward our spouse.

There is still time to pre order this book!
#NoMorePerfectMarraiges

Have a day of blessings!
   Bethany

No More Perfect Marriages! Chapters 1, 2

I am excited to be part of the launch team for No More Perfect Marriages.  This is a new book written by Mark and Jill Savage.  It is available on February 1!  (You can pre-order now though!

I have written in the past about other books for Moms by Jill Savage.   I expected this one would be great and was looking forward to reading it.

My husband and I are reading it together which is fun.  I'll be sharing some thoughts, quotes, etc. from the book as we go.  We are at the beginning in Chapters 1 and 2.

So far they have shared their story of marriage.  I appreciate their honesty in sharing about their troubles and Mark's affair.  We've learned about the masks we often wear on the outside that make things appear to be better than they are in our marriage.

In Chapter 2 we read how the husband and wife both come to the marriage with their own story and "blueprint" of marriage that they learned from their homes of their childhood.  This has a great impact on how you love in your marriage.

#NoMorePerfectMarriages

Have a day of blessings!
   Bethany

Better Together

I was so happy to be part of the Better Together launch team.  Through the years I have read many books by Jill Savage and have always, always been encouraged. These are books I like to go back to and reread.  We need encouragement as Moms to be reminded we aren't alone, and Jill Savage always does a great job at this.  This new one is a great addition to the Jill Savage section of my personal library.

About the book:
Being a mom is hard, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. Are you trying to do this mothering thing alone? So focused on the kids that you’re hungry for friendships of your own? Have great friendships that you want to make even better?

Jill Savage, mother of five, knows those challenges well, and she’s here to help. Presenting a compelling vision of motherhood as a group effort among friends, Better Together shows how you can:

•  Combat isolation and enjoy a supportive mothering community 
• Increase your social confidence and stop the comparison game 
• Deepen your friendships as you share life with others
• Strengthen trust and build friendships without fear
• Increase your joy and thrive as a mom 

All these things are possible. Dive into this storehouse of creative ideas for how to make mothering easier, richer, and more fun than you ever imagined!

My thoughts:
Better Together by Jill Savage with Anne McClane (her daughter) is a wonderful resource for Moms.  I highly recommend this book to you.  It would be perfect for a Mother's Day gift for yourself or a Mom friend.  Also, it would be great to do in a study with friends or a ladies class.

Why did I like this book?  The information and stories are practical and from real Moms who understand the challenges we face as Moms. We NEED the support of friends.  Friends can help us when a crisis arises or just be there in the day to day routine.  Also, I learned that we have different types of friends, which are classified in the book.  We are also all different types of Moms.  This was very insightful to me to take the Mothering Personality quiz and learn more about myself.

Visit the Better Together website here to learn more. Get your copy of this fabulous book today!

#bettertogether #bettertogetherbook

(I received a copy of this book as part of the Better Together launch team. Thank you.)

Have a day of blessings!
 

More thoughts on Better Together

Friends are so important through all stages of life and definitely through motherhood.  We need the encouragement of fellow moms who understand us, who can help us, and who can be there for us in times of need.  Also we need friends to pray for us.  It is so encouraging to have a friend tell me she's praying for me. I can think of various instances when this has happened, and it really lifts me up.

So what about you.....is there any way I can pray for you or your family this week?  I asked this on Facebook and got a few responses so I wanted to ask here too.  Leave me a comment if you'd like to share a specific need.  I'll be happy to pray for you.

Today is the last day to pre order the book Better Together and receive over $50 in freebies.  Go to the website for more information and take advantage of this great deal!
http://www.bettertogetherbook.org/

#bettertogether
#bettertogetherbook

Have a day of blessings!
 

Some thoughts on Better Together

One of the chapters in the book I'm reading (Better Together) talks about how as Moms we do things differently.  This does not mean our way is the only right way of doing something and everyone else is wrong. It just means they may do things differently than we do.

I was thinking how this could apply to any relationship. When my son was cooking supper, I came behind him and stirred the meat. He had the skillet turned with the handle opposite of how I place it on the burner because he is left handed. It didn't mean it was wrong to do it that way even though I would never do it like that.

As I stirred the meat I thought back to this quote and how easy it is to criticize something that someone does differently than me.  Why did you do it that way?  Why would you think that was a good way to do that task?  I may not say these things out loud, but I do often have these thoughts.

This has been a good reminder to me to realize that doing something differently does not make the other person wrong.

Have a day of blessings!
 

Better Together

I was excited to find out I am on the launch team for a new book by Jill Savage with Anne McClane. I can't tell you how much I've been encouraged as a Mom through several Jill Savage books in the past and I knew this one would be beneficial to me as well.

I'm learning so much as I am reading.  There is just a lot of good stuff in here for Moms.  We need other Moms to help us along.  So far I've learned some things about myself with the Mothering Personality Inventory.

It will be out at the beginning of March, but I encourage you to preorder it now.  You can preorder it here or here or several other sites.  Also, there will be over $50 of freebies as a bonus if you preorder the book!

It would be great to read in a Mom's group or with a group of friends too.You don't want to miss out on this valuable book if you are a Mom!

#bettertogether
#bettertogetherbook

Have a day of blessings!
 

Special offer for "No More Perfect Kids"

Guess what??? It's time! I've been telling you about the No More Perfect Kids book and encouraging you to wait to get it until Bonus Week and it's finally here!

Hearts at Home, Celebrate Kids, Inc, and Moody Publishers have put together an incredible package of parenting tools for anyone who buys the book during Bonus Week!

Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the bestselling book The Five Love Languages, says, "Few things in life are more satisfying than succeeding as a parent. No More Perfect Kids will help you do just that!"

If you pick up the No More Perfect Kids book (e-book or hard copy from any brick and mortar store or online retailer) anytime between March 13 - 23, 2014, you will be eligible to receive over $100 in free resources! Here's how it works: 1) Buy the No More Perfect Kids book between March 13 and March 23 2) Scan or take a picture of the receipt 3) email a copy of your receipt to freebies@nmpk-extras.com 4)Within 24 hours your will receipt a reply with a link and password to unlock you free resources! So what is included in the bonus offers? It's over $100 of incredible parenting resources! Here's what you'll get: 4 Printables:

• You're Special Poster
• I Corinthians 13 for Parents Poster
• Compliments and Corrections Booklet by Dr. Kathy Koch
• Conversation Starters for Parents and Grandparents Booklet by Dr. Kathy Koch

4 Hearts at Home Audio Workshops:

• When You Feel Like Screaming--Sue Heimer,
• Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid--Shaunti Feldhahn
• Raising Grateful Kids--Marianne Miller
• Real Ways to Connect with Your Kids--Kathi Lipp

3 E-Books:

• A Perfect Pet for Peyton by Gary Chapman,
• How Am I Smart? by Kathy Koch
• The 10 Commandments of Parenting by Dr. Ed Young

You'll also want to check out www.NoMorePerfect.com where you'll find free videos to accompany the No More Perfect Kids book and other great resources! What a wonderful opportunity this is to get some great parenting resources at an incredible price! Tell your friends, your moms group, and any other parent who would benefit from this wonderful opportunity!


Have a day of blessings!

Review: No More Perfect Kids

I was excited to be part of the launch team for a new book called No More Perfect Kids.  I've posted some excerpts from the book here on the blog and wanted to share my own review of the book with you today. 

I have loved and appreciated every book I have ever read by Jill Savage, and this one is another to add to that list. The basic idea of this book is to show parents that children are each unique beings with special talents. As parents we need to accept that reality and accept our children as they are, not as we dream them to be. If we do this, we are allowing our children to grow and develop the God given talents and gifts they have. Our children are not perfect and we should not expect them to be.  They are going to make mistakes and do things differently than we may desire.  This book helps you see your children as unique individuals created with a purpose by God. 

This books is a great encouragement with ideas for ways to improve as parents.  If you begin reading and see ways to improve, the book encourages you to do just that. Don't dwell on the mistakes of the past or feel guilty because of how you have handled certain situations.  I found many ideas to try in my own parenting...ways to rephrase questions, discussions to have as a family, and several others.

Another thing I want to mention is I feel this book is appropriate for both Dads and Moms. Personally I'd like to read it again with my husband and see what we get out of it together.  I believe teachers could also benefit from this book in how they deal with their students. There are also discussion questions at the end which would be ideal for a small group.

There is a special going on through the 23rd when you buy the book. I will post more about that tomorrow.  If you pick up the No More Perfect Kids book (e-book or hard copy from any brick and mortar store or online retailer) anytime between March 13 - 23, 2014, you will be eligible to receive over $100 in free resources! I hope you will take advantage of this offer and check out this wonderful resource.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book for my honest review.

Have a day of blessings!

No More Perfect Kids

I'm so excited to announce that the No More Perfect Kids book is now here! Jill Savage and Dr. Kathy Koch have been working so hard over the past year to bring parents this powerful book! I am part of the launch team and have already had the opportunity to read the book and can highly recommend it! However, they say good things come to those who wait. This saying is especially true where No More Perfect Kids is concerned. The official release date was March 1, BUT if you are willing to wait to get your copy until March 13 - 23, you will be eligible to receive over $100 in free resources! I'll provide all the info you need during release week to get the book and the bonus offers so stay tuned for the details. You’ll also want to pop over to www.nomoreperfect.com where you can sign up to receive weekly antidotes to the perfection infection on the No More Perfect Blog, or learn how to better love your kids for who they are through our free 13-day No More Perfect Kids e-challenge.

While you're waiting for those bonus offers, here's an excerpt from the book: Ten Ways to Encourage Your Child An excerpt from No More Perfect Kids by Jill Savage and Dr. Kathy Koch

Parenting is hard work and sometimes it seems our kids do more wrong than right. Add in household responsibilities like laundry and meals, spilled milk at the breakfast table, a child who comes in from playing outside and is covered in dirt, and sibling rivalry where the kids pick at each other all night and sometimes life just isn’t easy. Fatigue is normal and frustration is, too. Learning not to act unkindly in our frustration is a journey requiring grace for ourselves and our kids. Even in the midst of real life, it’s important to say far more encouraging words to our kids than correcting words. When we encourage kids, we give them courage. It’s empowering, freeing, and strengthening. When encouragement is the norm, children will learn they can take risks, try new things, ask for help, and make mistakes without the fear of losing the acceptance, love, and support of their parents. It’s not easy to give encouragement, especially on the hard days. There are, however, steps we can take to increase encouragement in our home.

Here are 10 Encouragement Enhancers you can use in your family:

1. Don’t expect perfection. When we expect perfection we notice every little thing that’s wrong and that creates an environment of discouragement.
2. Encourage childlike behavior. There’s a difference between childish behavior and age-appropriate childlike behavior. Discourage the first and encourage the second.
3. Value what your kids learn. We need to pay at least as much attention to what’s being learned as we do to grades being earned and performances at games and concerts. This is one way we communicate that our kids are more than what they do and how they do.
4. Resist the urge to judge all performances. One way to emphasize learning rather than performance is not always to ask about their scores or grades.
5. Ask them how they feel. When talking about one of their athletic competitions, concerts, or tests, sometimes ask first how satisfied they were with the outcome. Two-way conversations about grades, concerts, and competitions will be more profitable than one-way judgments.
6. Notice their strengths. Point out their character, attitude, and action strengths to help them when they work to make progress in weak areas.
7. Don’t worry about their challenges. Understand some areas will remain challenges for our kids no matter how hard they try. Trying to get kids to change what they can’t improve is a sure way to discourage them.
8. Celebrate what’s real. When one child deserves to be celebrated for something significant (e.g., no C’s on a report card for the first time in a year, a soccer championship, art being displayed in the county library), don’t create fake celebrations for your other kids in order to be “fair.” Use these opportunities to teach children to genuinely celebrate their siblings.
9. Introduce them to overcomers. Discuss relatives and local people your kids know who have overcome great odds. Read biographies and autobiographies of people who have been highly successful even though they also struggled. We can often learn our greatest lessons from our greatest challenges.
10. Have fun together. Play with your kids. Relationships are deepened while building forts and having tea parties with your little ones and going shopping and watching ball games with your older ones. The fun, relaxed moments you share make tough times easier to walk through and go a long way to creating an encouraging family culture.

Be patient with yourself as you work to increase the encouraging environment in your family. If you choose too many things to change, you and your kids will be overwhelmed and little progress will be made. Don’t look back with shame or guilt either. Today is a perfect day to look forward with hope, choose one Encouragement Enhancer to start with, and walk in a positive direction!

Have a day of blessings!

Why do kids make mistakes?

Why Do Kids Make Mistakes?
An excerpt from No More Perfect Kids by Jill Savage and Dr. Kathy Koch


Does it ever feel like your child does more wrong than they do right? As a parent, we know our kids aren’t failures. They can fail a quiz here and there, not win a tournament, and not earn a raise during their first job review, but none of that makes them failures. They will make mistakes, though, because they’re human! To best help our kids overcome their mistakes and not feel like failures, we need to understand why they make mistakes. When a parent understands, it increases their compassion and decreases their frustration. As you listen closely and observe intently for the “why” behind their mistakes, you can know how to best support them.
Let’s explore eight reasons kids make mistakes.
1. They need more experience. When kids complain that school is hard, remind them that if it were easy, they wouldn’t need to go. School—and much of life—is about trying new things. We must let our kids know they’re not stupid when they get things wrong. Mistakes are a part of life, and they often show up when we need more experience.
2. They need to be taught in order to be successful. Mistakes can occur when content and tasks are new and teaching hasn’t yet occurred. Kids might enjoy trying things on their own, but then can get very frustrated when their independent approach doesn’t go well. Protect their self-esteem when you notice that the reason they did something wrong was simply because they need help or more instruction.
3. They need more time to learn something. Errors occur because kids didn’t learn something well enough, although teaching has begun. These mistakes are a part of learning. They happen, and it’s no one’s fault. How did you learn to drive? By driving imperfectly for a while. How did you decide which barbeque sauce you prefer? By cooking with one and then another. Did you make a mistake? No. It was a “learn by doing” experience, not a “mistake by doing” experience. The language we use to discuss mistakes matters; this includes what we say to our kids and what we say inside our heads when thinking about them.
4. They need healthy motivation to do things well. Sometimes kids make mistakes because they don’t want the additional pressure that comes with excellence. Maybe your son’s teacher keeps calling on him because he’s always attentive and right, but your son wants to take a break from that. Maybe your oldest is feeling like all your happiness is on her shoulders. That’s unhealthy motivation and creates a lot of pressure for any child.
5. They need our understanding and attention. Kids will occasionally fail at something or make mistakes just to push our buttons. Let’s face it: They are smart little people even at a young age, and they learn the power of manipulation early. In these cases, responding with understanding is important. When the time is right, and depending on their age, let them know you understand they’re angry or frustrated but you’d rather have them talk with you about their feelings than to act their feelings out.
6. They need more modeling and instruction related to character and obedience. Sometimes mistakes are an issue of character. Kids might hurry through a task or assignment so they can get back to their video games. They can choose to not double-check their work because pride is in their way and they’re just convinced they haven’t made any mistakes. As parents, we need to discern whether our children are making occasional errors in judgment or if they’ve developed consistent character flaws that need to be addressed.
7. They need self-respect, self-control, and respect for others modeled for them and taught to them. Sometimes kids’ strengths get them into trouble. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing! For example, word-smart kids might talk too much. Logic-smart kids with a heightened curiosity may ask questions to keep you distracted and to extend bedtime. We don’t want to paralyze their strengths by overreacting and being too critical, but we do need to teach the concepts of self-control and respecting others.
8. They need sleep, food, and/or emotional stability. Do you sometimes underperform or make unhealthy decisions when you’re tired, hungry, or emotionally vulnerable? So do kids. You might discover your daughter should start her homework after having a snack. Your son may not be handling the long day of school well and may need to go to bed thirty minutes earlier than you originally thought. To track patterns, you can keep a written record of their misbehavior using a calendar or a list. After recording a few days of when mistakes and misbehavior occur, who was present, if it was near mealtime, or if they were fatigued, you can often identify possible strategies to decrease the misbehavior.

It’s okay, in the midst of mistakes, to verbalize that your child is not failing or a failure. Look for impressionable moments when kids need the reassurance that making mistakes is how people learn. You may not be happy with their choices, and discipline may be necessary, but also let them know they’re not stupid. In fact, letting our kids know they’re not mistakes even when they make mistakes is very important for us to communicate, especially in the hard days of parenting!

This excerpt is from No More Perfect Kids, a new Hearts at Home book by Jill Savage and Dr. Kathy Koch! Pick up your copy of the book between March 13-23 and you'll get over $100 in bonus resources! Find out more at NoMorePerfect.com!

Encouragement for Moms!

 

Hearts at Home encourages moms to embrace imperfection!

You always knew you would be the perfect mom. Then you had children.

Now that you know more, it’s probably safe to say that most days haven’t turn out like you imagined.

We’ve all been there.

When life doesn’t measure up to our expectations, it’s easy to feel like we’ve failed as mothers and we begin asking, “What’s wrong with me?”

The truth is nothing is wrong with you. You are normal. Your frustrations, your disappointments and your struggles are the same frustrations, disappointments and struggles that every mom is going through.

Hearts at Home is offering two opportunities for moms to embrace and celebrate their imperfections right along with others who are doing this “mom thing,” too!

No More Perfect Moms, the newly-released book by Hearts at Home Founder and CEO, Jill Savage, will help moms rid themselves of the “Perfection Infection.” With refreshing honesty, author Jill Savage exposes some of her own parental shortcomings with the goal of helping mothers everywhere shelve their desires for perfection along with their insecurities of not measuring up to other moms.

And, if you purchase the book any time between February 3-9 (online or at a store…and yes, electronic versions such as Kindle and Nook count too!) and send a copy of your receipt to NoMorePerfectMoms@moody.edu, you'll be given access to well over $100 worth of resources that will help you on your mothering journey - absolutely free! 

What will you receive? Click here for a full list of audio workshops, printables and books and all the details about how to buy the book!

Then plan to join thousands of moms, just like you, as they celebrate their imperfections on March 15-16, 2013, at the Hearts at Home 2013 National Conference, on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal, IL.

Registration is open!

Choose the two-day Friday PLUS! option for a main session and three or four workshops on Friday, plus choose three or four additional workshops on Saturday or choose to attend either Friday or Saturday. Add Moms Night Out on Friday for a great day – or two – away!

Main sessions feature keynote speakers Candace Cameron Bure – mom, producer, New York Times’ best-selling author and actress, and best known for her role as "D.J." on Full House – and Jill Savage – author and CEO and Founder of Hearts at Home.

Moms Night Out welcomes Anita Renfroe, well known for her pop culture parody of the William Tell Overture-Mom Style and special musical guest Meredith Andrews.

More than 30 workshops with titles including Seven Habits of Highly Effective Moms, Real Ways to Connect With Your Kids, Boys R Us--Raising Boys from 2 to 22, and Wise Women Raising Wiser Daughters, give you the opportunity to design the day around your own needs.

With a sell-out crowd at last year’s conference, early registration is encouraged. The Best Value Registration Deadline is February 20, 2013.

Click here for full descriptions of all speakers and workshops and to start the registration process. Group discounts are available!

 

 

A special invitation for Moms!

Back in 2009 I shared a review for the book Real Moms...Real Jesus by Jill Savage.  You can see my review here.

This was a wonderful book I enjoyed very much. The book shows examples from Jesus' life that we as moms will be able to relate to.  He understands what we go through as Mom's in our daily lives.  I am excited to be able to reread this book and participate in an online book study with Hearts at Home beginning in January led by the author on Facebook in a private group. 

Feel free to join us!  You will be blessed!  We start the discussion on January 9 so there is still time to pick up a copy of this book.

Have a day of blessings!

Book review: My Heart's at Home

During the summer I participated in a Facebook group book study on the book My Heart's at Home by Jill Savage.  This is one of the books by this author I had not read yet so I was excited to get the book and read it. 

In this book the author writes about the importance of home to a family.  Using the analogy of building a house, she gives ideas of how to make your home a safe, welcome place for all the members of your family.  Chapters include Home as a Rest Area, Home as a Playground, Home as  a Church, Home as a School, and Home as a Trauma Unit to name a few.  There are also chapters discussing the role of the children, Mom, Dad and the Mom and Dad as partners.

I gained so much from this book and think it would be beneficial for all mothers to read.  It has very practical, real ideas to use in your home as well as stories from Jill and other Mom's that were inspirational to read. 

Other wonderful books I recommend by this author include the following:  Living With Less, Real Moms Real Jesus, and Professionalizing Motherhood.  All of these are excellent resources I keep in my personal library.  If you need encouragement as a Mom, any of these would be great!

Have a day of blessings!
 

2010 Book #35: Living with Less

I have (finally) finished reading this book by Jill and Mark Savage called Living With Less So Your Family Has More. It was a very informative, enjoyable book. I read it off and on, which is why it took me a long time to read.

This would be an excellent book to read to start out the new year. The Savage's give ideas on ways to cut back and create a "less is more" lifestyle. The book is divided into three parts: vision, attitudes, and actions. If you are going to live with less, you will really be living against the philosophy of most of the rest of the world. You will face adult peer pressure. In the action section the Savage's give ideas of various areas where you can choose to live with less including housing, college, holidays, and income.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it for you. It is very encouraging to find new ways to save money as well as realize how less really is more.

Have a day of blessings!

Living with Less

Today I'd like to welcome Jill and Mark Savage. Jill and Mark's newest book Living with Less so your Family has More just released and I've invited them to share a little bit about this great resource!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

We have been married for 27 years…17 of them happily. After finding ourselves in a marriage counselor’s office around year 8 or so, we realized that we really didn’t know how to be married. We worked hard to turn things around and now we like to share that hope with other couples.

We have five children ranging from 13 to 25. Our oldest three are married. Anne (25) and her husband, Matt, live in Zion, IL, and are expecting our first grandchild in April. (We are very excited!) Evan (22) and his wife, Julie, have been married a year and a half and they live just a few miles from us. Erica (19) married her husband Kendall last September. They live in Augusta, GA, and wherever else the Army takes them.

We have two teenagers still at home. Kolya just turned 16. He’s learning to drive and we’ve nearly worn a hole in the carpet on the floor in the passenger seat trying to find that non-existent brake pedal. Kolya is the newest member of the Savage family. We adopted him at the age of nine from Russia.

Austin is 13 and in the 8th grade. He wants us to make sure and tell the world that this “living with less” life is a real bummer because he’s the ONLY kid in 8th grade who doesn’t have a cell phone.

Tell us about your newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More?
The world screams the message that bigger is always better, but we have found that is not often true. When it comes to raising a family, less materially can actually result in more relationally. Children don’t need the best houses, the best lessons, the best cars, or the best clothes. What they really need is the best home life and the best family relationships we can give them.

Why did you want to write this book?
We didn’t start out with the “less is more” mindset. We started as a double income family wanting to have the “best” of everything. Then Mark decided to pursue ministry. We went from the “high life” to the “frugal life” very quickly as we moved to another state for him to go to Bible College full-time.

That experience introduced us to the concept that less is more. We definitely had less money, but we had more time. We had less stress and more peace. We had less activities and more fun.

Since that experience, we’ve continued to live primarily on one income for the past twenty years. We’ve had to battle cultural peer pressure and make different decisions for our family than many other families in our neighborhood have made. But we’ve never felt that we were materially depriving ourselves or our kids…instead we’ve focused on what we’ve actually been able to provide for them emotionally and relationally.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?
We hope the reader is encouraged to evaluate how they are living their life, spending their money, and thinking about family matters. Our goal is to introduce families to the “less is more” concept and then equip them with the attitudes and actions to actually make that happen.

For families that are already committed to less is more, we hope to bolster their resolve and help them stay focused on the long-term goal of providing relationally for their kids.

In today’s economy, there are many families being forced to live with less. We want to help them see the opportunity they have with this unexpected downsizing they’ve been forced to do.

And for those who have just been a little discontent with their life and saying things like, “I’m tired of the rat race of life,” or “Is there more to life than drive-thru meals for dinner?” we hope to help them see other choices they have and how they can lead their family in a different direction.

What unique elements will the reader find in Living With Less So Your Family Has More?
For couples who want to read the book together, we’ve included discussion questions at the end of every chapter. This helps move the readers to discussion and eventually actions. Even a single parent can use the discussion questions for personal evaluation.

Readers will find this book a practical guide to changing your attitude and your actions to live a successful “less is more” life. They’ll find our writing style to be a warm, casual, honest discussion where we not only share our victories but our mistakes along the way. We are an average couple living successfully on an average income who want to help others to see the possibilities before them.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?
Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!

Any closing thoughts?
It’s healthy for parents to occasionally pause and evaluate their vision for their family and the choices they are making. We hope this resource will help them do that together and that it will lead them to live a life of little regret.
--------
Thank you to Hearts at Home for sharing this interview today. I'm excited to read this new book from the Savage's.

Have a day of blessings!

Living with Less Contest

I am excited to share a fun opportunity with you!

To celebrate the release of Hearts at Home’s newest book: Living With Less So Your Family Has More, by Jill and Mark Savage, the Hearts at Home blog is launching the Living with Less Contest.

Email Hearts at Home a story or money-saving tip that gives a peek into your daily experiences representing the humor, richness, or spiritual aspects of what it’s like to live with less.

Better yet, blog readers will benefit as many of the money-saving entries will be posted on the Heart’s blog throughout the month of February!

For contest details go here!


Hearts at Home has many wonderful resources. This is a fun contest to promote this new book that I look forward to reading. Hope you will participate.

Have a day of blessings!

Hearts at Home Christmas specials!

Everyone loves a good sale, Right? We'll let me tell you about a great one:

It’s a Hearts at Home
Black Friday after Black Friday Sale Dec. 7-11

Did you sleep in on Black Friday? Did you drag yourself out of bed, but still miss out on some awesome deals because you were standing in line too long at one store? Do you still have shopping to do, but dread the crowds, traffic, and cost? Let Hearts at Home help!

Their Black Friday sale has been extended to the week of December 7-11. Shop in the convenience of your own home and receive an unprecedented 25% off all of Hearts books and merchandise. They have great gifts for everyone in your family.

Find gifts for friends, teachers, bible study leaders, bus drivers, and everyone else on your list. You may even find something for yourself. This is a great time to stock up on all those Hearts at Home books you’ve been wanting to read.

Let your family know how much you would love a Hearts at Home gift certificate so you can use it for your Hearts at Home conference registration and/or Mom’s Night Out tickets.

Go to Heartshoppe.com, choose your gifts, and enter code “HEARTGIFT” upon checkout. You will receive 25% off your total purchase (before tax and shipping).

I also want to fill you in on a couple of other great opportunities!

Be sure to check out Jill Savage's blog this month (she is the founder and CEO of Hearts at Home). She is doing one giveaway A DAY through Christmas.

And, if you stop by the Hearts at Home blog December 8 - 11, you will have an opportunity to win a Heart's at Home prayer journal. The prayer journal is a brand new resource from Hearts at Home.

Merry Christmas from Hearts at Home!

Have a day of blessings!

Hearts at Home: Resource for Moms

One of the things I love about blogging is the exchange of ideas that takes place; after all, what mom can't use a new idea every now and then!

If you are interested in a blog that brings a group of mommy bloggers all to one place, stop by and visit the Hearts at Home blog.

Hearts at Home's contributing bloggers write about motherhood, each with a unique perspective, reflecting on the spiritual, emotional and downright funny aspects of motherhood. Their group of bloggers range from professional speakers to authors to stay-at-home moms, all who share a passion for the profession of motherhood.

The Hearts at Home blog covers a variety of topics, such as practical mom tips, recipes, book reviews, and advice for tackling tough mommy issues.

Take a peek at this great resource and connect with real moms sharing real stories today!