Abundant Motherhood: Let Go of Perfection, Discover Life in Christ, Establish a Legacy of Faith

By Kara Moss

Have you ever felt like giving up? Are you unsure you have the energy to take the next step forward? If motherhood has become synonymous with survival, maybe it’s time someone throws you a line.

Author, Kara Moss, knows how you feel. She found herself trapped by the idea of perfection, and overwhelmed with constantly striving to reac

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Release date: Apr 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781640853669

Kara Moss

Kara Moss is a wife and mom daily reminded of her need for Jesus. She is passionate about equipping and encouraging women to walk in the abundant life Christ promises. Her message is open and honest as she brings a relevant word rooted in Biblical truth.

Book preview

Mothering is an exhausting venture by any standard – and today’s culture is sending moms a barrage of messages urging them to chase after perfection as they raise their kids. In her wise and thoughtful book, Kara Moss points readers toward a better way. By encouraging women to lean on Christ – and to teach their kids to do the same – Kara is sure to help many weary moms embrace newfound freedom, joy, and purpose in their parenting.

Jim Daly, President - Focus on the Family

In today’s world, there are plenty of places to find our identity—but many are defeating. While the culture offers many options for identity, the Bible teaches us that only one is fruitful, and we find it when we keep our eyes on our Creator. No more focus on failure, undone lists, or terrible days. In Abundant Motherhood, Kara equips and encourages moms through Scripture, personal stories and practical tools which teach new moms and remind veterans that God wants us to walk in freedom—the way He created us to walk. Inhale this breath of fresh air and step forward into an abundant life!

Heidi St. John, Mother of Seven, Author of

Becoming MomStrong, Founder of MomStrong International www.momstronginternational.com

Kara Moss takes a warm and transparent approach in sharing her own struggles and triumphs as a mom in this gem of a book. With biblical principles, wise counsel, and practical solutions, she effectively encourages moms to prioritize relationships over perfection, and to enjoy the high calling of motherhood.

Ginger Hubbard, bestselling author of Don’t Make Me Count to Three and I Can’t Believe You Just Said That!

Kara Moss’s Abundant Motherhood is a true delight. Filled with truth and joy, you will be encouraged. With laughter on one page and tears on the next, Kara shares real life stories and the lessons only experience can teach. If you need to be inspired and challenged by someone who really gets it, Abundant Motherhood is for you.

Sabrina Schlesinger, Founder of MomMentor.org and host of Parenting on the Go Podcast.

In her book, Kara Moss builds for us a beautiful bridge between the heart of a mother and the Heavenly Father. Her words challenge us to redefine motherly success from a check-list life to a life all about the heart. You will be filled with hope, knowing it’s possible to have an abundant life as a mom, because Kara points us to the Giver of abundant life.

MacKenzie Myers, Author of The Narrow Road, and The Dursington Diary: Adventures in Willow Forest

From the first words on the first page of this book, I knew that this was written by a kindred soul. Kara has beautifully written a book that I am delighted to endorse for moms. These days, moms need to point each other to Jesus- in the good and the bad- so that we can ultimately point our children to Jesus. I found myself nodding not only in agreement with each page, but seeing the same stories of my own life and experiences jump out at me- it was like sitting with a friend and exhaling as I said, Me too! We are not alone on this journey. We have each other and most importantly, Jesus. And there is where we find our abundant life and abundant motherhood. Kara does a beautiful job of presenting that in this book which will be a blessing to all who read it.

Karen DeBeus, Author of Called Home, Real Homeschool, and Simply Homeschool

Kara Moss

Abundant Motherhood: Let Go of Perfection, Discover Life in Christ, Establish a Legacy of Faith

Copyright © 2019 by Kara Moss.

All rights reserved.

Visit the author’s website at www.caseyandkara.com

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Author Academy Elite

P.O. Box 43, Powell, OH 43035

www.AuthorAcademyElite.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any from or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-64085-364-5

Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1-64085-365-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018908515

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from The New American Standard Bible ® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL 60188

Dedication

To the girls who call me Mom.

You push me to find Jesus more and more each day.

And it’s my greatest joy to help you find Him too.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part 1: Let’s Talk Priorities

Chapter 1: momfail

Trading Measuring Sticks for a Measure of Grace

Chapter 2: A New Perspective

The Question that Changed Everything

Chapter 3: Abundant Motherhood

Don’t Just Survive. Thrive.

Part 2: Let’s Get Personal

Chapter 4: You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have

Finding Him First

Chapter 5: Come With Me

Finding Him Together

Part 3: Let’s Get Practical

Chapter 6: Pull the Weeds; Sow the Seeds

Tending to the Garden

Chapter 7: When You Just Need a Good Idea

Sanity Savers for You and 20 Practical Activities to Do with Your Children

Chapter 8: Be Intentional

Creating Time and Space for What Matters Most

Part 4: Let’s Talk Purpose

Chapter 9: As for Me

Fighting for Your Family

Chapter 10: Generation to Generation

Establishing a Legacy of Faith

Epilogue

Notes

Meet the Author

Foreword

It was only a few years ago that I stood on a hill top in Tennessee and watched as a massive crane hoisted the sections of a pre-constructed house and set them onto the foundation. Each piece was carefully placed into position in the proper sequence; the first floor, the second story, and then the roof trusses. Workers scampered across the structure like ants building a colony. The entire house was raised In a single day. Sure, there were still some finishing touches left. The inside needed to be completed and the wonderful wrap around porch put in place. There was no grass in the yard yet, and the steep winding driveway needed some serious help, but none-the-less this was a marvel to behold. A house in a day.

A year later, I sat on the porch gazing off into the distance at the blue, majestic Smoky Mountains. To the north, a thriving city spread out before me like a magical landscape nourished by the flow of constant traffic up the main artery into its heart. What a wonderful place for a house. I thought. "So much thought and prayer has gone into it. It’s perfect!

But wait. There’s so much more to tell. This story is not about a house. It’s about the family who lives in it. You are invited to come and sit on the porch a while. Come on, take the load off of your feet. Have some tea or fresh ground coffee. How about a Danish or a donut? Kara has some priceless advice to give. Listen carefully and consider the privileged role that is one of the greatest blessings and greatest challenges, Motherhood.

Why Motherhood? you ask.

Yesterday I gazed into the exploring eyes of my two week old great-grandson. I believe that Children are God’s way of saying that life is good. I am more convinced than ever that this statement is true. But after the wonder of a newborn dims and the reality sets in, there’s work to do. So the question is inevitable; How am I supposed to raise this child?

While children are a gift from the Lord, they don’t come with a handbook. He didn’t provide a boiler-plate pattern to make each one confirm to impossible standards. True, there are some time tested biblically-based guidelines and countless theories from the experts. Rest assured, God’s plan is best. He provided something called parents. God decided long ago that every child must be a unique, one of a kind, person. Every parent’s job is to discover each child’s irreplaceable distinctness and raise him or her to become all that God has placed within them. We must train them in the way that they should go so that when they are older they will not depart from it. As someone said, Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.

Abundant Motherhood is not a handbook for raising children in ten easy steps. It is a love letter filled with hope for every parent struggling to become a success in God’s eyes. It is a marvelous account of adventure and discovery that blazes a trail of grace, love and second chances. Kara Moss has captured the essence of discovering the God-design for each of her extremely different, lovable and sometimes irascible daughters. Kara’s words come alive as she shares her life-experience and provides practical encouragement and advice that will set your own feet on the path to Abundant Motherhood.

I know Kara Moss. I have witnessed the amazing grace and wisdom that she carries. I have watched her daughters grow and mature. What a joy