The 5 Do’s and Don’ts for Black Friday

  I LOVE Black Friday. Kind of weird for a woman who really hates to shop, I know. I used to hate it! Absolutely hate it! But one day it occurred to me that 99% of the Black Friday shoppers were people who were willing to get up at wee hours to get a gift for someone they loved. I realize The MOM Initiative is a ministry to moms and this is where I’m supposed to give you all those wise warnings about NOT getting caught up in all the hullabaloo and materialistic madness that begins when the Black Friday …

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Got a Child-Centered Home or an Attention-Starved Child?

Motherhood is the hardest thing we will ever do. It’s hard to know all the answers when we’re still trying to figure out the questions.  And if you’ve been a mom for more than a week, you know it’s hard to find a healthy balance between too much attention and not enough.  How does a mom know whether she has an attention-starved child or a child-centered home? It’s such an easy place to end up for the mom who is busy, too structured, or just plain distracted. Let’s look at some distinguishing characteristics of an ATTENTION-STARVED CHILD. Creates a disturbance …

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For Moms ~ When Spring Is in the Air (with FREE Printables)

JUST a couple weeks away! Yes…I’m counting days! Thirteen more days until Daylight Savings Time and twenty-two until Spring… and I. Can’t. Wait! The thought of the warm weather puts a pep in my step and a smile on my heart! It’s a time for sunshine, lemonade, Spring cleaning, garage sales, play days at the park, sand castles on the beach, tubing in the river, little league, snow cones, and countless creative things to do with the fam! Soooo…I was just wondering… Does this time of year make your momma heart as happy as it does mine?  FOR MOMS: Today, I …

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WEEK of LOVE at The M.O.M. Initiative ~ GIVEAWAYS & Buy 1/GET 1 TICKETS to BETTER TOGETHER!

It’s here! The WEEK of LOVE at The M.O.M. Initiative! The week we LOVE on all of you with great GIVEAWAYS every day of the week AND the week we offer tickets to the BETTER TOGETHER CONFERENCE for BUY 1 / GET 1 at the regular price of $49 (that’s 2 tickets for ONLY $49). BETTER TOGETHER is 3 DAYS with 19 authors & speakers CONVERGING in ONE PLACE and sharing over 40 WORKSHOPS for YOU! AND it’s the week we invite YOU to BUY 1 / GIVE 1 to sponsor a ticket for those sweet moms in low income neighborhoods, crisis pregnancy …

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Video: M.O.M. Mentor Moment ~ When Your Kids Interrupt You

When is the last time your children interrupted you? Does it drive you crazy? Frustrate you? Do you wonder if there is a way to prevent them from interrupting you? THIS M.O.M. Mentor Moment can help you not only enjoy an uninterrupted conversation, but will also help cultivate character traits like respect and patience while also establishing how much you treasure your children! 🙂   If you can’t view the video in your feeder, please click here. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU DO TO HELP TEACH YORU CHILDREN NOT TO INTERRUPT OTHERS? DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH YOUR KIDS INTERRUPTING? Stephanie …

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Juicing Once a Day for a Healthier Me & for Healthier Kids

I LOVE food! All food! Well, almost ALL food. But the older I get the more my food shows up on my hips, my thighs, and unfortunately all that yummy stuff affects my heart and my health. When I was younger, I could eat what I wanted and then just watch my intake for a few days and lose the weight I had gained. But those days are LONG GONE and my body is now in need of a little makeover. Okay…so a big makeover. And it’s not about my weight…it’s about my health. So, I started juicing.  At first, …

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Blended Families ~ 5 Ways to Cultivate a Good Blend

As I picked up the salad dressing and began to shake it up, I was reminded of how blended families are much like salad dressing. Strange analogy, I know,  but some blended families are much like oil and vinegar. They only begin to blend together after a lot of shaking up and a lot of work, and then after things settle down, they begin to separate and their differences become very clear again. Others are like Creamy Italian dressing. Once they have been poured into the same jar and stirred around a bit, they remain blended well…and instead of two …

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Finding YOUR Refuge ~ (M.O.M. Mentor Moment)

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 Recently, I’ve been watching my son’s girlfriend’s three children. They are 1, 3, and 4. WOW! Am I one worn out woman!  I know I’m over 50 and the Lord gives children to the young for a reason, but it’s really hard to find some time to get away and be with Jesus with little ones around. But it’s also such a real need for moms! We can’t be the moms …

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10 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Be Thankful During Thanksgiving

I can’t tell you how many times my sweet friend used to say, “Why aren’t my kids thankful?”  Perhaps it’s because THANKFULNESS doesn’t come naturally and children who don’t suffer lack have a hard time understanding the concept of thankfulness.  When our sons were young, we looked for ways to instill a thankful heart and compassion for others. We discovered that when we teach kids to give, they are more aware of the needs of others. And when they are more aware of the needs of others, they are more likely to grasp the concept of thankfulness. Today’s ideas give …

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