The Life Ready Woman, written by Shaunti Feldhahn & Robert Lewis, is a guide for moms that helps them with Thriving in a Do-It-All World. Lately, I’ve personally been so overwhelmed by everything that at times, things aren’t getting done because I just can’t handle it all. There’s too much going on at once. We moms have a hard time understanding that we can’t do it all; we need the guidance of our Heavenly Father to even make it through one hour, let alone a whole week.

In this book Shaunti really examines what the Bible says about our lives as women and the responsibilities we have both toward our God and our families. She examines women and their roles throughout history, as well as myths and things we tend to take to heart. She examines all of this from a Godly perspective, really digging into Scripture to guide us along with her, in a totally non-threatening, non-judgmental way.

One reason I really like this book is that it’s written partially by Shaunti, a woman who struggled with the juggling act herself. I like that she’s been where I’m at….she’s lived this balancing act called motherhood. I also like that she makes the tips and guidance she gives very easy to apply to your own life by giving hands-on things we can do to examine our own situations, our own lives.

You can purchase The Life Ready Woman for $9.64 from Amazon. You can also read more reviews on Litfuse.

About The Life Ready Woman:

Are you a ‘Doing it all’ or ‘Do what matters’ woman?

Whether a stay at home; or working mom, an airplane-hopping executive, an empty-nester caring for multiple generations or a single juggling high demands of career and personal life, today’s fast-paced modern world leaves women gasping for balance. We as modern Christian women want to look to the Bible for guidance on how to manage our lives — but because the world of women looks so different today than it did when the Bible was written, it is hard to find chapter and verse that seems to apply to our situation today.

Thankfully, God has given us exactly that timeless, unchanging guidance for how to find peace, clarity, and God’s best for our lives once we know where to look! The Life Ready Woman: Thriving in a Do-It-All World, reveals a profound biblical roadmap for how each of us can find the abundant life we are longing for, rather than the stressful, torn, how-do-I-balance-it-all life we often feel like we are trying to keep up with today. Actually being a LifeReady Woman means that you are clear about your life, bold in your faith, and able to find God’s best for you, and the end result will be that you not only survive but thrive in our do-it-all world.

God has given every wonderfully unique woman different skills and abilities, different desires, and different temperaments — and every woman around the planet and through the ages is certainly living in different circumstances. But no matter what a woman’s life looks like, the Bible says that God has an individual mission and plan that He’s carefully designed for each of us. And He wants us to find it. Starting January 2011, The Life Ready Woman and the Life Ready Woman Video Series will help every wonderfully unique woman to thrive as she identifies and courageously pursues God’s unique design and callings for her. LifeReady Woman puts you on a roadmap to make decisions that will lead to relief, delight, and fulfillment instead of regret.

About Shaunti Feldhahn:

Shaunti Feldhahn is a former Wall Street analyst, best-selling author of the book For Women Only, national speaker, and regular commentator in the media. She has been featured on The Today Show, PBS, TNT and Fox News- to name a few. You can learn more about her many activities by visiting her website Shaunti.com or get some great mom advice from her at MomLifeToday.com. She and her husband live with their two young children in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoy every minute of living at warp speed.

About MomLife Today:

At MomLife Today you will enjoy community with real moms experiencing every age and every stage of MomLife—right alongside you.

Moms need friends we can walk through life with, but more importantly we need friends who will encourage us and equip us in our role as moms in an honest and transparent way … and that’s just what you’ll find by becoming part of our MomLife Today community! We believe that every MOMent counts!

We admit it, being a mom 24/7 is not easy. Rather than lament the role of motherhood, however, we choose to embrace that role and learn from each other how to make it through each day with the right attitude. Come share the joys, sorrows, insanity, and special moments of motherhood with us as we live it and candidly write about it…we’ll have lots of fun along the way! Join us, and do tell… What’s happening in your MomLife Today? www.momlifetoday.com

In celebration of Shaunti Feldhahn’s Life Ready Woman, MomLife Today is giving away 2 Weekend To Remember Gift Packs and much more!

Weekend To Remember Get-Aways offer marriage-changing principles that you can take home and apply to your daily lives to strengthen your marriage. Whether you are newly engaged or have been married for 50 years, you will find value in the tools provided at the getaway.

Don’t miss this opportunity to receive a conference registration for you and your spouse … and more! MomLife Today will be randomly selecting NINE lucky recipients to receive one of these great gifts:

1. 2 Weekend To Remember Get Away conference registrations for two. $259 value each pair (Two couples will receive this.)
2. 2 Life Ready Woman DVD packs. $149 value each (Two different people will receive this gift.)
3. 5 The Life Ready Woman books. (Book will go to 5 people.)

To enter click one of the icons below then tell your friends. Winner will be announced on March 2nd on the MomLife Today website.

(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book, free of charge, from Litfuse, for the purposes of this review.)

Weird title, I know….but that’s just how I’m feelin’ on this extremely cold evening.  Today’s been an emotional roller coaster from the very beginning.  I really just need sleep, but sleep is something that’s easy to put on the back burner these days.  Today’s thrilling ride started when I went to pick up Jaden from his class at church this morning.  He goes to said class while we’re in church/choir and small group.  Apparently, he had done something (I’m still not sure what because I was met at the door by his teacher who just let out a big, long story, and in the rush of things, I kinda heard Charlie Brown’s teacher talking, as Jaden ran to me, of course, still sobbing….).

First, let me get one thing straight.  My kids are not perfect; in fact, they can be downright bratty.  I will tell you that, not afraid to say it, not afraid to admit it.  It’s just a fact of life.  However, I was NOT happy to hear that Jaden had been sitting in a sort of time out for most of that second classtime (still not sure how long, I just know it was a very long time) because he wouldn’t apologize???  We still have yet to find out the whole story.

Secondly, he is 3.  I am working with him consistently on saying he’s sorry when he does something, and he’s learning.  He still doesn’t quite understand all the way, though.  I just don’t get it….if he was being that bad, why did they not come to get us?  That’s what we are there for….that’s what we want them to do if he’s acting up….we are his parents, after all.  In fact, Dan was working with the littles close by this morning and could have easily been there in a flash.  Apparently, they’ve also been letting Jaden go potty (we aren’t potty training yet because he hasn’t been ready), and he, of course, takes his diaper off and runs out to let them know he went.  This was news to us this morning when Dan dropped him off.  His teacher wasn’t happy, but if he still wears a diaper….hmmm….LOL.

So, both before and after, we had news about our child….we felt like parents of the year, of course….and I’m writing this mostly to get it out.  It’s so hard being a parent, isn’t it?   I just kindly thanked his teacher, as I tried to get him together and deal with picking him up, so I never even had the chance to truly find out what exactly happened today.  However, I will find out, and maybe it’s not a big deal.  Maybe it’s another area we need to work with him on.  I can see this post is becoming just pure rambling, so maybe I should stop….it’s the lack of sleep talking.:)

I guess I’m just trying to say….if you’re feeling like things are spiraling out of control, they probably are.  You’re not alone, though.  If you feel like mother of the year right now….well, join my ranks.:):)  This week, my one goal as a parent is to try to be even more consistent with discipline, plus get to the bottom of exactly what happened in his class.  I am frustrated, mostly at myself, but also with my child and a teensy bit with his teacher.  Probably more so with myself, though, because I’ve noticed that Jaden’s becoming more and more unruly lately….it’s as if he skipped the terrible twos and went straight into the horrible threes.  He’s the type of child that when he does something he shouldn’t, he really needs an adult to get down on eye level and make him look you in the eye, so that he “gets it.”  He needs that extra one on one time, that attention.  He’s so different from Jacob; Jacob, all we ever had to do was give him the evil eye, and he was instantly apologetic and in tears. LOL  He’s still that way.

I will remember, though, that as moms, we are going through this together.  Not only that, but while in small group this morning, I was encouraged to truly pray for my children; it was a gentle reminder to do something I’ve really not been doing consistently.  My mom also reminded me tonight that even though it’s hard right now….it will pay off, and it will be rewarding later on.  I can’t see it yet, Mom, but I do believe you.  You raised four of us; I think I can safely trust your word.:)  I don’t know how you got through all those years with us….:)

Here’s to a great week, Mamas….persevere.

Some days, I have to admit….it’d be nice to have even a minute to enjoy a bonbon or two, while lazing on the couch watching a soap opera or a talk show.

I got to thinking today, though.  Do Mint Kisses in between loads of laundry and grading math problems (without my calculator, of course) and meeting work commitments, count as bonbons? (Hey, don’t judge me on the calculator part….we’re into thousands now, & some days I, frankly, just don’t have the energy to sit there and borrow in my head.)  Does the soap opera of my own life count, as I sneak into the laundry room to enjoy the escape of a Mint Kiss, while my toddler and 8 year old duke it out over Spiderman or Mater?  And although I don’t even have a second to laze on the couch through the day, let alone hours….does sitting down to change a poopy diaper while watching Elmo or T.U.F.F. Puppy count?  Let’s not even get into the drama of potty training; let’s just not go there. 

Oh, the life of Mommy & her bonbons….er, um….Mint Kisses.

There I was back in the parking lot of my son’s Tae Kwon Do….sitting in the driver’s seat of my green Honda, bawling my eyes out.  My toddler sat in the back seat, strapped in his carseat, knowing that he was in trouble.Flash back in time by about 15 minutes, and I was heading into the grocery store, ready to make my zooming trip around the aisles, 40 minutes to spare before I had to be back in time to pick Jacob up.  As we entered the grocery store, not even getting in the door, the screaming fit started.  I don’t put up with screaming fits at home….but right there in the middle of everything, what could I do?  I tried everything, but Jaden only wanted the tiny customer’s shopping cart that (gasp) Daddy had introduced him to the week before.  (Thank you, Daddy….we love you).  He wasn’t giving in.  I could barely lift him up to try and put him into the child seat of the huge cart, once I got him in the store.  I finally got him in the seat, but he was adamantly refusing to put his feet through the holes, still crying, still carrying on, and me trying to hush him the whole time, wanting to glare at those who were staring at us as if we’d just fallen from the sky or something.  We got all the way to the lettuce, and that was when I realized either he was going to fall out of the cart and bust his head open (because he wouldn’t sit down), or I was going to have to leave the store, grocery shopping undone for yet another week.

The thing is he wanted to leave the store….so this made him happy, as I picked him up, carried him out, and walked to my car (all the while fuming inside).  I felt so defeated, as if he had won.  Leaving the store was the best thing I could have done, though, because he needed to be removed from the situation.  Yes, he was glad to leave….but ultimately, he didn’t get what he wanted.  I fumed all the way back to Tae Kwon Do, and then as we sat, waiting for Jacob, the tears just started coming.  It had been a long week; crying when you have a head/chest cold is just not fun.  And of course I had no tissues whatsoever….so I sat there snorting and sniffing and crying and telling Jaden that he was going to sit there in his seat and not play with anything….I even took his shoes away when he tried to take them off and play with them.  LOL

Finally, my heart calmed….I was able to text a friend and vent it to her….another mommy, one who gets it.  Yes, I could have prayed about it, and I probably did…I can’t remember between all my blubbering.  However, I do know that having that one mommy friend I could reach out to was like a band-aid to the heart.  Plus, in the long run, the positive I carried away with me from this situation was that I didn’t give in.

Have you ever felt defeated?  I will tell you one thing about those times when you feel as if you’ve been defeated or trampled….having another mommy to reach out to is such a blessing.  You begin to see beyond yourself, beyond your circumstances.  Don’t be defeated….these times are only little arrows that Satan tries to throw in our path, so we’ll get sidetracked and miss the even bigger picture.  Don’t miss that bigger picture by living with a defeated mindset/heartset.