Julie Sanders, Author at The Mom Initiative

Expectant devotions for new and expectant moms

How far is the distance between your parenting expectations and your reality? Becoming a mom has a way of surpassing and squashing our expectations at the same time. It’s a weird and wonderful thing, this journey of growing into a mama. For those just starting out, it helps to have a guide for growing your own life while growing your family. EXPECTANT, 40 devotions for new and expectant moms, is that guide. Whether we join the adventure biologically or through adoption, experience has a way of changing our expectations. Honest moms who can remember will admit to announcing they would …

Four words you need to know to raise grateful kids

Every year words are removed from the dictionary for lack of relevance. It’s not surprising to see words like “cassette player” fade from modern vernacular. Still, the words we use have a lot of potential in our efforts to grow grateful kids. Certain words have staying power in a mom’s vocabulary. To grow gratitude in the hearts of our kids, we have to grab hold of four words and cultivate them in our conversations. No Children who always hear “yes” at home will anticipate “yes” from the world. Receiving a “no” isn’t only realistic, it’s routine. Daily life …

Books to help grow Moms and their Daughters

With so many resources available to moms these days, it’s not easy to know where to invest our time and money. After spending time with a group of moms of girls going through Five Conversations to Have with Your Daughter, I put together a list of good reads for a mom and her daughter. Having a “next read” helps us keep our momentum going. Some options simply nurture a love of reading, while strengthening an understanding of faith. Others are more openly devotional or Bible study driven. You’ll see that the suggestions for girls are organized by children, tweens, and …

What to do about your stretch marks

Before we get into today’s post, we want to share with you that Stephanie Shott is sharing her testimony today on The 700 Club! If you know someone who has struggled with abuse, rape, brokenness, are in a difficult marriage or struggle in their quest to know God, PLEASE be sure to have them watch The 700 Club at 9:30 a.m. (ET) on ABC Family Channel. Jesus really does change everything and Stephanie’s desire is that God will use it to speak hope into those who are watching. And here’s a link to the interview if you didn’t catch it …

Where does mom find back-to-school peace?

Are you ready for the lessons that come with a new school year? It’s the time of year when so many moms prepare to head back into the school year with all their might. Hoping to capture treasured moments and launch kids well, we try to make special Back-to-School traditions as deposits into the hearts of our children. We do our best to buy folders on sale, notebook paper in bulk, and extra crayons to share. We determine to be a parent teachers will love and commit to being real moms praying for real teachers. We hope there won’t be …

Let’s Talk About Prayer FREE Ebook

Motherhood has a way of bringing us to our knees. As a 40 something mom of 2 nearly grown kids about to launch from the nest, my prayer life has had a recent dose of motivation. Fellow MOM Initiative mom Heather Riggleman is a 30 something mom with 3 kids at home and lots of motivation to pray in her own season of mothering. Our shared passion for prayer brought us together to talk about making prayer work in the trenches of family life. From where we live in Nebraska and Tennessee, Heather and I hear moms of all ages and …

Hire a professional potty trainer?

Some parenting tasks should really be left to the professionals, right? After all, kids don’t come with a manual. It’s no wonder, then, that people have made a business out of the business of raising kids. In fact, for $925 you can hire a Potty Trainer to teach your child how to “do their business” and take the mess … off your hands! In June New York City’s first professional potty-training service launched, and the phone has been ringing ever since. One honest mom-customer admitted to being “frustrated” and “not having a lot of patience” as her motivation for calling …

Sounds Asleep with Sleep Machines?

Most moms have had a moment (or ten or 1,000) when they declared, “I’d give anything for good night’s sleep!” New parents once had to pace the floor, drive the neighborhood, or prop up fans, but that all changed with the invention of sound machines. When parents find themselves battling colicky characteristics, they’re even more desperate to find relief! Babies come home now to sound machines in stuffed animals, clipped on furniture, poised on night stands, or generated by iPhone apps. Are there potential dangers in consistent use of a white noise producer? What should expectant parents consider before they …

Help, my child won’t worship!

Every mom who worships Jesus prays her kids will worship Him too. But sometimes it doesn’t work like that. Sanctuaries are often places where a mom begs God to draw her kids close, while she stands next to one who won’t sing, clap, or engage. What’s a worshipful mom to do? Do what you’re already doing: worship You are worshiping Jesus. Nothing a mom does impacts her child’s heart like her own example. We definitely can’t pass on something to our kids that we do not possess ourselves. During mom-seasons when our kids present their greatest challenges, we desperately need …

To Market: Loving Local Food

Summer is a ripe opportunity to teach kids about loving local food. When it’s time to close the school books in our town, the farmers market opens. With the open market comes lessons about diet and the quality of food we choose for a healthy lifestyle. Moms can use the market as a classroom for a lifetime of wellness. During our family visits to our local farmers market, we’ve enjoyed a bounty of benefits. The obvious ones fit into my market basket, but others grow in the habits, understanding, and hearts of our kids. Market days show our kids that …

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