Metro Manila Flooded by Habagat, Not a Storm

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Yesterday, the Philippines experienced yet another tragic calamity that will go down the books of history. The continuous pouring of rain has flooded most of Metro Manila and some parts of Luzon. Amidst the flood reports, newscasters keep saying that there is no storm. According to PAGASA or Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Service Administration, flooding is caused by HABAGAT or monsoon rains. Tropical storm HAIKUI has been over Taiwan for several days and strong winds are pushing the monsoon rains to the Philippines. We are warned that today until Thursday rains will continue though it is starting to recede. Online casino Ireland. ###

My Facebook page is deluged with pictures of flooded areas, flood reports, prayers and even funny pictures and quotes that only Filipinos can conjure.

On a personal note, I woke up with the news that my parents’ house in Quezon City is already beginning to flood. They left immediately but with floods all over, was unable to reach my cousin who had a three story building. Immediately I felt anxious and scared for my parents. Both are in their 70′s but are still strong and independent. When they stopped for food near our church, I immediately called up our church pastor and he came to pick them up.

My anxiety did not stop there, though. Our house is located very near a creek and during the Ondoy storm in 2009, our house’s exterior area became flooded. Though the flood waters never reached the inside of our home, it was disconcerting to see the waters go higher outside our house. It felt like being on an island.

We were undecided about going because we don’t have a vehicle. That would mean taking the children to walk the flooded streets.It’s a good thing my sister offered to pick us up so off we went to their house.

Our family is safe now, thank God, but thousands of families in Metro Manila are still suffering, especially those that have lost their homes. Here’s a video I found on YouTube that may give you an idea of what happened here and what is still happening right now. Any help will be appreciated.

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This is a series of videos that will show a little bit of what it was like yesterday. Thanks for watching.

Thousands are affected by this flood. Homes are totally damaged. People are left without anything but the clothes on their backs. Children are getting sick in evacuation centers. Help is badly needed. They are asking for clothes, blankets, food – the kind that doesn’t need cooking, and water, toiletries, diapers, milk.

Help can be sent through Philippine Red Cross or GMA Kapuso Foundation Hotline at (+632)9811950. 

Google Crisis Response published a site for people who needs emergency contact numbers for rescue. If you know anyone who needs rescue, if you need to find a family member, the numbers and links are here.

Generosity Encouraged
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 New International Version (NIV)

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

About Moving On

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I have been trying like a crazy woman to start writing again. It hasn’t even been two months since my sweet, precious baby died and our family is still settling down. One of the reasons I have not updated here is that I mostly think about my baby and I’m not sure if any of you will appreciate me sharing about my grief.

These days though, I have come to a decision that since you have been reading about me and my family in the past, maybe you will also not be surprised if I share what grief has been doing to me.

So what has grief been doing to me?

Well, first of all, I wish people would stop asking me or my children if we have moved on. It hurts. Like I said, it has not been two months since Zac died.

What is moving on? Trying to forget our boy? Trying to forget the pain? Trying to forget that it even happened to us? How does one move on from something so painful as this?

For our family, the tears still come freely. My 5 year old Flash Boy bids his brother’s picture good night and kisses it good morning constantly. My 3 girls cry when they remember their brother. My husband pauses and gets a faraway look every time thoughts of his son comes to mind. As for me, I still cry almost everyday remembering my baby.

I am very thankful that we have God and thankful that this came at a time in our lives when I knew Him very well. I know that I can count on Him to see us through. I know that His promises are true and that He makes the best plans for us (Jer. 29:11). I know that He will work things out for good for us (Rom. 8:28). Most of all I know that God took Zac to be with Him because He loved him so much (Isa. 57:1,2). Finally, I know that God still has more to reveal to us.

When I began this blog, one of my purposes was to be an encouragement to other homeschool families.Thankfully, I have met so many people who knew me because of my blog and so many did say how inspired they were to homeschool.

Now, I have to confess that I don’t know how much encouragement I am to all of you at this point. I
just pray that as I continue to write and share about this, some of you who might also be grieving can relate and know that you are not alone in this grief.

Have we moved on? No, not at all and probably not for a very long time. But everyday is a new day full of God’s mercies. For that, we can always find joy in each day and still live our lives as best as we can while carrying this burden of grief.

Still,I am thankful to those who ask. It’s not easy to share in another’s grief. Nor is it easy to find words enough to express how much one cares.

Thanks for taking time to share our grief.

This entry was posted in Grief.

Stand By Me by Neta Jackson – A Book Review

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Stand By Me
A SouledOut Sisters Novel



Sometimes the person you most need is the one least like you.


ABOUT THE BOOK:
Kathryn Davies is a bright young woman from a prominent Phoenix family. But after making a leap of faith at a Christian music fest, dropping out of med school, and moving to inner city Chicago, her family all but disowns her.

When Kat discovers SouledOut Community Church, she longs to become a part of the multicultural church family. But her tendency to immediately say whatever she’s thinking steps on the toes of nearly everyone she meets-especially Avis Douglass.

Avis has a strong faith, is the principal of one of Chicago’s highest performing elementary schools, and is a founding member of SouledOut. But the country’s economic downturn has thrown both her and her husband’s jobs in question. And Avis hasn’t heard from her youngest daughter in months-an estrangement that gnaws at her every day. Where is God in this?

Kat’s flamboyant zeal for living a “radical” Christian life is a stark contrast to Avis’s more reserved faith. But in God’s timing, the two women discover they need each other in ways neither of them expected.

MY REVIEW:
Kat is a young woman who discovers her faith and somewhat impulsively decides to leave the path that was expected of her by her parents. This character shows what new Christians can go through as they start getting to know God in their lives. 
Avis is a mature Christian who is also a Worship Leader in SouledOut Church. She enjoys a deep relationship with the Lord and makes time for personal meditation and praise. Avis also leads the Yada Yada group. This is a group of women who meet every other week to pray for each other.
Avis and Kat’s paths cross in SouledOut Church. Kat is perenially curious about the older woman while Avis considers Kat a niusance that keeps getting in her way. As Avis struggles with the estrangement from her daughter and grandson, Kat also struggles with the almost non-existent contact with her parents. 

I enjoyed reading Stand By Me. This is a book that is meant to stand alone but there are several references to previous books in the Yada Yada books series that I wish I had read them all. Neta Jackson writes about cultural diversity in a church and how we can all worship together. It is written with humour and drama at the same time. I really appreciate how the books showed how a Christian woman who is mature in her faith can continue to struggle but keep trusting the Lord. I love the Yada Yada prayer group and wish that I’m part of one. Kat’s struggles shows the things that new Christians struggle with. This book will appeal to many women, young and mature. 

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Zac – April 22, 2012 – June 19, 2012

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Last April 22, our son Zachary Daniel was born premature by 30 weeks. I shared that with you here. Since giving birth, I have not written much because I became very focused on just caring for my baby who needed much care.

Last June 19, 2012, our precious son went to his heavenly home with our Father in Heaven.

We were able to care for him a little over eight weeks, then he became very sick with sepsis. He struggled for his life in the pediatric ICU for 5 days. So many, many people and churches in many nations struggled and prayed for our little boy. On that last day, we faced the Sovereignty of the Lord – He is not only the Giver of life, but also the Taker of life.

To be truthful, I did not want to write about this part of our life. In fact, I did not want to write at all… because writing will make me face my thoughts… but I decided to write this today or else I may not be able to write anything anymore.

My heart grieves everyday for the loss of our son. Daily, I give myself time to cry it out. I have had and still have so many questions for this loss. Some questions, I found answers to. Some, I probably never will have any answer. But as I and my family grieve daily, I also know this truth: we can grieve because we still have life. And if we have this life, then we have God’s amazing mercy and grace, and then we can keep on hoping. I’d like to share with you my status on Facebook last July 11:

I often ask God, since Zac died, “Lord, why have you given me and my family this sorrow?” I found my answer here:

” I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” 16:33 NLT

I realized after reading this, the Lord’s answer must be “Why not?” But how good the Lord is! He has prepared us for these sorrows and we have the assurance that God has already overcome this world!

I am greatly touched by a friends response:

Judy Steidl The Lord teaches us how to bear sorrow like we also bear joy. It isn’t easy, but being “Zak’s mom” is an honor that He wanted you to have forever. That kind of love and sacrifice, gain and loss is something that Jesus also knew. In this way, Zak fulfilled such an incredible and powerful truth….and he was able to do so because he was loved so much by you all. Amazing grace.

The prayers of everyone, the encouragement and the presence, the financial help has left our family in awe of God’s great work in us! Thank you to all of you who continue to pray and encourage our family.

ZACHARY DANIEL LIM PADRELANAN 
You brought us so much joy! 
Your short and sweet life is not in vain. 
 You will be missed. 
 We’ll see you in Heaven baby.

 TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

AZKALS-Global Football School Offers Lessons to Homeschoolers

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Hear, Hear!!!

Azkals-Global Football Academy will conduct a free orientation and training primer for the homeschool community onMonday, July 9, 2012 at Corinthian Gardens Football Field, 3:00 P.M.  (Don Vicente Rufino Ave. corner Susuna Paterno St. and Don Vicente Madrigal Ave.)

Everyone is invited to join this special event and get to know more about football (even if you won’t be joining the homeschool module, we would like to encourage you to attend this free orientation).

You may enter via EDSA gate or the Ortigas Ave. gate (across Robinsons Galleria).  If commuting, please get off Ortigas Ilalim, take the footbridge (if coming from the North) and walk along Ortigas Ave.  The subdivision gate is right before Meralco.   Please tell the guard that you’re going to the football field for Azkal’s training.  It’s around 7-minute walk from the guardhouse.  

For inquiries or confirmation of attendance, please contact Ms. Irma Chua at [email protected] or cellphone number 0921-7127640.

The Forgive Duke by Jamie Carie: Book Review and Giveaway

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About the Book:

Tethered by her impulsive promise to marry Lord John Lemon – the path of least resistance – Alexandria Featherstone sets off toward Iceland in search of her parents with a leaden heart. A glimpse of her guardian, the Duke of St. Easton – the path less traveled by – on Dublin’s shore still haunts her.
Will he come after her? Will he drag her back to London, quelling her mission to rescue her treasure-seeking parents, or might he decide to throw caution to the wind and choose Foy Pour Devoir: “Faith for Duty,” the St. Easton motto. The Featherstone motto Valens et Volens: “Willing and Able,” beats in her heart and thrums through her veins. She will find her parents and find their love, no matter the cost.
The powerful yet wing-clipped Duke of St. Easton has never known the challenge that has become his life since hearing his ward’s name. Alexandria Featherstone will be the life or the death of him. Only time and God’s plan will reveal just how much this man can endure for the prize of love.

About the Author:

When she was six, Jamie’s parents met Jesus and soon after started a church. It changed everything.
Road trips with her dad—to and from Bible studies across Indiana—were filled with talks of things beyond earth’s bounds – creation and the fall, God and Jesus and the rapture, the earthly walk compared to the spiritual walk, and how we are born for more than what we can see or touch.
The highlight of those nights was stopping at a truck stop in the middle of the night where her dad would spend a little of the offering basket on two slices of pie and a couple of Cokes. Nothing ever felt so special as a middle of the night slice of pie with her dad. And nothing could stop the writing pouring out of her.

As Jamie’s relationship with God grew, she discovered her heart was filled with songs and poetry. During high school she wrote lyrics for her brother’s band. (And she sang them too!) After college, Jamie married, had two sons and decided to stay home with them. While she homeschooled she wrote skits, poems, plays and short stories for school and church.

When her eldest son turned five she dove into the world of novels. She’d read romance novels for years, but couldn’t relate to the flawless, saintly heroines in Christian romance novels. So she decided to write her own.
Snow Angel was born on a frosty night in an old farmhouse in Fishers, Indiana, where the cold floor gave plenty of motivation for the snow scene. Jamie loves to write late at night when the house is quiet and the darkness seems alive. Elizabeth and Noah had been playacting in herhead for a long time, so the story went fast.
Ten years later Snow Angel was published and won the ForeWord magazine Romance Book of the Year winner, was a National “Best Books 2007” Awards winner, and a 2008 RITA Awards® Best First Book finalist. It was the beginning of her dream career.
Jamie and her husband Tony have been married for twenty-one years and live in Indianapolis with their three sons and a giant of a dog named Leo.

If she could only say one thing to her readers it would be, “Live the dreams God has destined you for!”

MY REVIEW:

If you have read my review of The Guardian Duke, the first book in this Forgotten Castles series, you would know that I didn’t like that book as much. The Forgiven Duke, the second book in this series, is much better. I like this one better and finished reading it in just three days. I thought that Alexandria Featherstone is very brave and courageous, going to places she’s never been to, to find her beloved parents. I appreciate that the author wrote this very realistically. This is a story about a young woman who love the Lord, who had her own struggles, who can make unwise decisions, but in the end will find the path that the Lord set out for her. 

What I really liked about this book is its very different setting. The author’s description of the places made it all very real to me. While I was reading it, I kept thinking that if Lara Croft were a Christian woman, Alexandria Featherstone would be it. Of course, minus the black, tight-fitting costume and the guns and knives. I suppose I just enjoyed this book very much. I hope I get to read and review the last book in this series.

GIVEAWAY!
This is for Philippines resident only.



“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What I Didn’t Know | Rhonda Shrock

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Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother’s Day blog series – a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today’s best writer’s (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND … do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother’s Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother’s Day!


What I Didn’t Know by Rhonda Shrock

I always knew I wanted to be a mother.  As a girl, I played house with my dollies, shushing them when they cried and kissing their plastic heads.

Looking back at that girl, I realize now that there was a lot she didn’t know.  This morning over my fresh-ground coffee, this mother of 22-1/2 years scratched out a list of 10 things she didn’t know then that she knows now.

1.  I didn’t know – how could I? - just how completely a tiny, helpless scrap of humanity can capture the heart and hold it forever.  From that first whooshing heartbeat and the first butterfly brushes, a mother’s heart is never again her own.  For all eternity, it enlarges, walking and pulsing and moving outside of her body; in my case, in the shape of a blue-eyed boy with rooster tails.  Times four.

2.  I didn’t know that the size of a mother’s heart is always changing, stretching to embrace each new baby that comes, then growing again to love their friends and then their own families.

3.  I never knew, as I changed my dolly’s dress, how many reasons there are to worry when you’re a mama.   Didn’t know about the nighttime vigils.  Didn’t know the anxiety of separation, the terror that floods when you turn around in the grocery store and they’re gone.  Didn’t know about the fear of the pond next door or the concern that pays for swimming lessons.  Didn’t know the thousand-and-one reasons that keep a mother awake, whispering prayers on her pillow in the dark.

4.  No one told me that loving so much means that you will hurt hard and keen;  that what pains your child hurts you even worse.  I didn’t know then that a playground taunt travels through that smaller heart and lands square in yours, stinging and burning like fire.  I didn’t know that motherhood makes lionesses of us all and that there’d be days I’d have to bite my tongue and pray to not sin.

5.  I didn’t know how exhausting it is, being a mother.  I didn’t know that it takes everything you’ve got and then some.  Didn’t know the bone-deep exhaustion; how it strips you bare and shows how selfish you can be, but, too, that you have more strength than you know.

6.  I didn’t know, playing house, how much joy mothers feel; joy so big that it makes up for the pain.  Just looking at those eyes and the curve of the cheek can make you so happy it hurts.  Watching them grow and find their talent and win at something…all the money in the world can never buy that kind of happiness.

7.  I didn’t know how making babies and raising them, how it binds you to their father.  I didn’t know the intimacy you feel when your eyes meet above those tousled heads, and your smiles say, “Just look at what we’ve done.”

8.  That girl in the homemade dress, she didn’t know that letting go is one of the hardest things a grown-up mama will ever do.  Rocking those babies in that small rocking chair, she didn’t really know that babies grow up and walk away and there goes your heart, out into the big, wide world.  No one told her that part.

9.  I had no idea how rewarding it is, being a mother.  How the happiness that comes from boy kisses and awkward hugs can’t be bought or sold.  How proud you feel when you see what they’re growing up to be and that all the planting and pruning and watering and feeding is finally making fruit!

10.  I didn’t know how much my babies would enrich my spiritual life or how they would change the way I pray.  I didn’t realize they would lead me to a deeper dependence on the Heavenly Father or how I much I would need His wisdom to raise them aright.

These are things I didn’t know before I was a mother.  But I know them now.  Oh, how I know them now!  And I’d do it all again.

###
Rhonda Schrock lives in Northern Indiana with her husband and 4 sons, ages 22, 18, 13, and 5. By day, she is a telecommuting medical transcriptionist. In the early morning hours, she flees to a local coffee shop where she pens “Grounds for Insanity,” a weekly column that appears in The Goshen News. She is an occasional guest columnist in The Hutch News.  She’s also blogged professionally for her son’s school of choice, Bethel College, in addition to humor and parenting blogs, and maintains her personal blog, “The Natives are Getting Restless.” She is a writer and editor for the magazine, “Cooking & Such:  Adventures in Plain Living.”  She survives and thrives on prayer, mochas, and books.  

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

He Will Walk With You | Carey Bailey

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Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother’s Day blog series – a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today’s best writer’s (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND … do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother’s Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother’s Day!


He Will Walk With You by Carey Bailey

As a little girl, I loved baby dolls. Loved them! I played school, adoption agency, daycare operator and babysitter all day. I felt like I was born to be a mama. Therefore, I was a bit anxious when the ages, 22, 25, 28 and 32 came and went and there were no babies. Have you ever desired something so much and feared never getting it? That was me.

My day finally came at the age of 34. I soon realized that God knew what He was doing when He had me wait. To my shock, it wasn’t as easy as playing with dolls. I was surprised that it wasn’t the dream world I imagined it would be! I felt like life became a gigantic prayer.

“God, HELP me!”

“Please, God. Please, please, please make it all better. I can’t do this!”

“God, this feels impossible. Where are you?”

While I adore motherhood, it is harder and there are more adjustments than I expected. (I am hoping there are some nodding of heads and Amen’s being said out there in cyberworld.) Not only did I have a new life to care for, but my identity suddenly felt all scrambled up. It took me until my son was one to finally feel confident in my new role as a mother, confident that I could drop my child off at preschool without crying, confident that I could go out with the girls’ and the world wouldn’t fall apart, and confident that I could go on a date night and have conversations that didn’t revolve just around our son.

I was feeling settled in my new world and then WHAM! I discovered I was pregnant again. Can I be vulnerable with you? I actually cried when I found out. And they were not tears of joy. I feel awful saying that out loud, and I hope you will give me a moment to explain. It was not that I didn’t want another baby or feel like I couldn’t love a new life, it was just that I got scared. Discovering a little person was on the way sent a panic through me. Would my son still receive the love and attention that he deserved? How was my husband going to feel about my body changing again? Would I ever be able to pursue the vision I felt God had for me in writing and publishing? I was truly wondering if I was going to be able to handle another intense wave of identity crisis like the one I had just been through. I wasn’t sure.

God and I needed a serious talk. And in that conversation He carefully reminded me of this:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

He reminded me in our time together that I, too, am His child and He has every intention of loving me, caring for me, and giving me the future that He has planned for me.

As mothers, we can get so caught up in parenting that we forget that we, too, have a spiritual parent who loves us as His child. He loves you as much as He loves the children He has given you. He will never forsake you.  And on those days when motherhood seems too overwhelming and too impossible I step back and take a deep breath. Then I remember that this journey I am on, right now, is the one He has designed and create uniquely for me. I simply need to live in it, learn from it, and allow His love to sweep over and through me.

He will walk with me! He will walk with you! Grab His hand.

###

Carey Bailey is a recovering perfectionist, wife, proud mama, and the Family Life Director for her church in Arizona. She hosts an online community for moms called Cravings: desiring God in the midst of motherhood where she strives to make God time easier. Not less meaningful, just easier. She is the author of Cravings {The Devotional} which is a set of forty devotional flashcards for the mama on the go. Visit Carey online blog: www.cravingstheblog.blogspot. com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Crav ingsOnline and Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/careycbailey/

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

Stepping Out On Faith| Bonnie St. John

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Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother’s Day blog series – a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today’s best writer’s (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND … do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother’s Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother’s Day!


Stepping Out on Faith by Bonnie St. John

“Darcy . . .”

“Yeah, Mom?”

I momentarily held the undivided attention of my teenage daughter. Her thumbs, free of their ubiquitous texting keypad, quietly dangled by her side. Her computer and its omnipresent Facebook page were completely out of sight. I had almost forgotten what she looked like without all these adolescent accoutrements. As we sat down together on the burgundy leather sofa in our living room, I realized this fleeting state of electronic dislocation was my chance to hatch a plan I had been formu- lating for the past several weeks. Carpe diem.

“How would you like to write a book together?”

“About what?” I asked my mom. Write a book? This was a real surprise. I felt a bit suspicious, but still curious.  I love to write, and Mom kept telling me I was really good at it. I like writing poetry, fantasy, and sci-fi, though.  The books Mom wrote were all nonfiction.  I wondered what we could possibly do together.

“Well . . .” I hesitated. If I wanted her to commit to any extra work out- side her busy schedule at school—not to mention work alongside her mother—I had to make this really great. “It would be about women as leaders,” I continued, “a motherdaughter investigation into leadership styles and structures.”

“Leadership?” I blurted. It came out as if I had a bad taste in my mouth—which I did.  I couldn’t imagine a more boring topic to write about. What is there to say about leadership anyway? When you’re in charge, you just get things done, right? Who wants to talk about that?

Her furrowed brow told me I was losing her fast. “Um . . . we could find women leaders all around the world!” I said impulsively, frantically casting the ultimate bait.

“Really? Would we get to travel a lot?”  I hadn’t thought about that. Heck, I’d write about the mating habits of tsetse flies  if I got to go to Africa to do it!

But this project wasn’t just about the influence it would have on Darcy. I wanted to do something that could have a potent impact on an alarming trend I had witnessed in workplaces across the country: far too many women appeared to be making a choice not to apply for top leadership positions when presented with the opportunities to do so.

This project, then, was a bit of a Trojan horse. On the one hand, the saga of a motherdaughter journey could seduce female readers, who might never bother to read the Harvard Business School dissertations on the subject, into a meaningful conversation about leadership. At the same time, if Darcy met a series of brilliant, accomplished women— people even a cynical teen would be in awe of—perhaps they could tell her all the things I’d like her to know—and more.

And she just might listen.

But where to start? How would we make it work? I suggested we do most of our research by phone, as I did for How Strong Women Pray. My telephone interviews with a governor, some CEOs, actors, sports figures, a college president, and others yielded great stories and information. I promised my intrepid co-author, though, that we could punctuate these conversations with a few visits in person to exciting and exotic places—all with reasonably priced airfares.

“Why don’t we follow each subject as she goes about her daily life? That way our readers get to come along with us and get a behind- the-scenes look at what happens to them. Instead of just a boring interview, we—and our readers—get to hang around with these women, see them in their natural habitat, and even see how other people treat them.”

Although I agreed it was a wonderful approach, this idea of “job- shadowing” each featured subject wasn’t going to be easy. Would these high-powered, important women deign to allow us that kind of access? Would they be able to impart the kind of wisdom that would resonate with our readers and truly make a difference in their lives?  We looked at each other, both of us hooked on a crazy idea that we weren’t sure we could pull off.

“It sounds impossible, Darcy,” I said. “We might as well get started.”

And so, we stepped out . . . on faith.

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Bonnie is a 1984 Paralympics silver medal winner in ski racing. Her education includes a degree with honors from Harvard, a Rhodes scholarship, and an M.Litt in Economics from Oxford.  Her career includes positions as an award-winning sales rep for IBM and a Clinton White House member of staff. She now is a much-in-demand speaker, who makes nearly 100 speeches each year to corporations and civic groups. You can visit her on the Web at www.bonniestjohn.com.

Re-printed with permission from How Great Women Lead by Bonnie St. John and Darcy Deane

Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

What I Am Not | Tricia Goyer

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Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother’s Day blog series – a week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today’s best writer’s (Tricia Goyer, Sheila Walsh, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Bonnie St. John, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND … do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/6-5/13 and the winner will on 5/14. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother’s Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

What I Am Not by Tricia Goyer

Becoming a mother is a complicated thing. Not only am I trying to negotiate a relationship with my child, I am trying to negotiate a relationship with myself as I attempt to determine how I mother, how I feel about mothering, how I want to mother and how I wish I was mothered.

—Andrea J. Buchanan, in Mother Shock3

Sometimes the easiest way to discover who we are is to know who we are not.

• We are not our children. We all know mothers who go overboard trying to make themselves look good by making their children look great. I saw one woman on the Oprah television show who had bought her preschool daughter more than twelve pairs of black shoes just so the girl could have different styles to go with her numerous outfits! Just as we -don’t get report cards for mothering, we also -don’t get graded on our child’s looks or accomplishments. While you want your children to do their best and succeed in life, your self-esteem -shouldn’t be wrapped up in your child.

Life as I See It:

My individuality will never end. There will be no one exactly like me, not even my child. She will be like me in some ways, but not at all in others. I -wouldn’t have it any other way.

—Desiree, Texas

• We are not our mothers. I remember the first time I heard my mother’s voice coming out of my mouth. The words “because I told you so .  .  .” escaped before I had a chance to squelch them.

It’s not until we have kids that we truly understand our mothers — all their frets, their nagging, and their worries.

It’s also then that we truly understand their love.

Since you are now a mother, it’s good to think back on how you were raised. If there were traditions or habits that now seem wise and useful, incorporate them into your parenting. You also have permission to sift out things you now know -weren’t good. Just because you’re a product of your mother, that -doesn’t mean you have to turn out just like her. Repeat after me, “I am not my mother.”

• We are not like any other mother out there. Sometimes you may feel like the world’s worst mother. After all, your friend never yells at her son — and sometimes you do. Then again, your friend may feel bad because you have a wonderful bedtime routine that includes stories and songs. In many cases, the moms you feel inferior to only look like they have it together. All moms feel they -don’t “measure up.” Instead of feeling unworthy, we should realize that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. The key is where we place our focus.

The Bible says, “Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without .  .  . comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we -aren’t” (Romans 12:5 – 6, MESSAGE).

The problem with comparison is, we always measure our weaknesses against the strengths of others.

Instead, we need to thank God for our strengths. We can also ask God to help us overcome our weaknesses — not because we want to compare ourselves, or look good in someone else’s eyes, but because we want to be the best mom out there.

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Tricia Goyer is a CBA best-selling author and the winner of two American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Awards (Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights). She co-wrote 3:16 Teen Edition with Max Lucado and contributed to the Women of Faith Study Bible. Also a noted marriage and parenting writer, she lives with her husband and children in Arkansas. You can find her online at www.triciagoyer.com or at her weekly radio show, Living Inspired.



Exciting News – the latest Pearl Girls book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Legacies and Iridescent Faith will be released this month! Please visit the Pearl Girls Facebook Page (and LIKE us!) for more information! Thanks so much for your support!

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