Happy Moms, Happy Homes

By Christina A. Morley

Feeling Stressed-Out, Left-Out, or Maxed-Out? Don't Miss Out! During times of stress, loneliness, financial difficulty, or whatever troubles life may bring, moms can still lead a victorious life in Christ. This book is sympathetic to moms and the challenges they face, offering tools to overcome their obstacles. With heart, wisdom, and understanding, Happy Moms, Happy Homes offers mothers of all stages advice and direction as they walk with God and share His love with their children and others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christina A. Morley
• Release date: Mar 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215373071

Christina A. Morley

Christina A. Morley and her husband met on the mission field and were married in 1995. Currently, they live in South Africa and write books under Light and Life Bible Ministries and blog at Real Church Life.

Book preview

HAPPY MOMS, HAPPY HOMES:

Empowering Moms to Live In Victory

Written by Christina A. Morley

Copyright © 2018 Christina A. Morley

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, stored in a database and / or published in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.

THANK YOU TO MARY HOFFMAN, Robert S. Morley, and Terah K. Keim for helping me edit this book. And thanks to C.S. Johnson for all your help and expertise, and Lesia T. @germancreative for the beautiful cover.

A SHORT WORD

FROM ME TO YOU

Writing this book was like cooking a 25-course meal. All the preparation and planning took lots of hard work, but as with any fine food, it’s quicker to eat than to create. The best way to savor each course is one at a time. I’ve divided it up into bite-size portions, because finding time to read is not always easy.

As with any meal, too much can make you fat. So, allow yourself enough space to reflect and digest in order to keep the fat burning. It’s about getting a well-balanced meal.

The best part is that the hungrier you are for a meaningful life the more delicious each course will be. I know that God has great things in store for you. Come hungry and enjoy the meal!

You might not receive a blue ribbon at the end of the day

And being a mother is not a job that will pay

But your reward is the journey every step of the way

And Well done! are the words that my Father will say.

PART 1

YOU AND GOD

CHAPTER ONE:

RUNNING THE RACE

This book was written with new moms in mind, but it doesn’t matter what stage you’re in as a mother. Each chapter is relevant to all of us because the focus is not so much on parenting as it is on empowering the parent.

How many of us were properly prepared when we first became moms? Many of us experienced sleepless nights and disrupted days. Our entire environment changed, and yet, for some reason, we were allowed to enter our new role as moms on a crash course. And that’s precisely what we did. We crashed not once, but many times, over and over again.

I started writing this book when my first two children were still in diapers. I had a son and a daughter born eighteen months apart, and I was your typical stay-at-home mom. Writing was like a lifeline for me. It helped renew my vision and restore my identity. In actuality, my writing was like journaling for me and it became the skeleton for this book. Over the following years, I began fleshing it out and giving it life. During that time I was also blessed with two more lovely daughters.

I remember that my first years as a stay-at-home mom were really tough. This book was birthed out of my own painful experiences. I felt like a puzzle scattered in a million pieces, but as I began writing, those pieces started coming together again.

Imagine that joining the ranks of motherhood is like taking part in a marathon without proper training. You begin to think about the marathon as people start telling you all about it. After hearing their stories and maybe even reading a few books on the subject, you decide that you would like to try it for yourself.

You buy all the right things and even watch other marathon runners. Soon you’re really excited, and then the time comes. It’s your turn to run a marathon, but you haven’t actually done any physical training. You can’t even run a mile!

To make things worse, this marathon has different rules. Once you’ve signed up and you’re at the starting line, you’re not allowed to turn back. When the gun goes off, you have to run and you’re not allowed to slow down or give up. You’re committed, whether you like it or not, to a marathon that lasts a lifetime.

By now you’ve probably realized that you can’t run on enthusiasm alone. Not surprisingly, if you haven’t been in training you easily become exhausted. Soon the task becomes overwhelming and the belief that you’re meant to manage it all only perpetuates the problem.

It’s like expecting someone who has never left her front door to climb Mount Everest. The idea is just absurd. However, after a few months or perhaps a few years you find that you don’t get as easily exhausted as you previously did. You might not realize it, but your endurance levels have increased.

I never imagined how hard it would be. My first pregnancy went pretty well, but after my son was born, I suffered from depression. I felt guilty about my feelings and didn’t know that my doctor could prescribe something for me.

What made it worse was that my son cried all the time with colic, and I found breastfeeding to be terribly painful. I had read a few things on breastfeeding, but never knew that it could burn like fire or that the baby could suck your skin raw till it bled!

For four long months I continued to breastfeed him, but nothing seemed to get better. Finally, I gave up and switched to the bottle. Only then did his colic stop. Of course, sterilizing bottles and having formulas on hand at exactly the right temperature was a nuisance, yet he and I were significantly happier.

Eighteen months later I had a baby girl. Breastfeeding was easier, but she also suffered from colic. My greatest desire was to see my little ones happy. At times they seemed so helpless, and I felt hopeless. Occasionally, I thought I was losing my mind.

Whatever your experiences have been, even if they’re not at all like mine, the fact still remains that along with having children comes the added pressure of more responsibility and self-sacrifice. Obviously, raising children is not for the fainthearted. It takes lots of patience, hard work, consistency, and wisdom.

Just like the inexperienced marathon runner, I thought I could do the job of mother well. I’ve learned since then that enthusiasm and thinking you know everything doesn’t get you to the finish line. A lot more is needed to run this race and to run it well. That’s precisely what this book is all about.

Give me patience with runny noses, dirty hands, and whining kids.

Help me see past the constant messes, accidents, and endless bids.

I might feel pulled in every direction without a minute’s recovery.

I need Your wisdom to help plan some time-out just for me.

Teach me how to laugh – not to cry and complain.

Change my views so duties don’t feel like a pain.

Give our home music – help us brave the high seas.

I want to build my home on positive memories.

CHAPTER TWO:

RUNNING WELL

We live in a drive -through society where we can instantly get almost anything we want. However, there is no quick route or miracle guide to raising children. Once you’ve entered the marathon of motherhood, you’ve entered the school of patience. And, as with any long-distance running, it’s important to find the pace that works best for you.

As a mother you have the highest calling in life, but even so there’ll probably be days when you feel alone and unappreciated. The heartbeat of this book is to let you know that you are not alone and that no matter what you’re going through, there is Someone who wants to go through it with you.

I was often disappointed when I couldn’t create the perfect family environment. For instance, I would take extra trouble to cook a special meal, and my toddlers would refuse to eat it. Or else we would go on a family outing and all they seemed to do was cry. When these kinds of things didn’t turn out as I had pictured them in my mind, I would feel crushed.

Since then I have come to learn that the absence of trials is not what produces a happy family environment. Instead, it’s achieved every time I’m not shaken when trials come my way. I may not embrace them, but I’ve come to accept them. What is out of my control is still under God’s control. He’s there to comfort and guide me.

Hardly anyone welcomes trials, but the truth is that God allows even trials to shape our lives. He does not want to harm us, but to enrich us. The Bible promises that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; and character produces hope. It goes on to say that this hope will not disappoint us, because His love is poured into our hearts