We Interrupt This Marriage . . . to Raise Children. Just when you thought you d adjusted to each other--just when you and your spouse had achieved a satisfying balance in your relationship---it happened. Your first child arrived. Things have never been the same since . . . and they never will be. So how do you regain your equilibrium now that you have children? Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall of MOPS International (Mothers of Preschoolers) know your frustrations. And they know the answers. Not pretty theories, but honest, qualified insights and approaches that can help you turn the transitions of parenthood into times of transformation in your marriage. Children Change a Marriage is for every husband and wife entering the adventure of parenthood. Read it, apply it, and look forward with hope. The best years of your lives together lie ahead "

When do you get time for you? Remember when you had a life of your own? The hectic job of being a mom is fraught with sacrifices, fears, and uncertainties. But nothing offers greater rewards or more opportunities to enrich yourself than raising your kids. What Every Mom Needs shows you how being a great mom and a person in your own right go hand-in-hand. Extensively revised and updated based on current research and the latest survey of moms by MOPS (R) International (Mothers of Preschoolers), this bestselling book helps you deal with the realities you face today as a young mother. If you've wondered how to find time for friendships, how to lighten your workload, or how to go about rediscovering and developing yourself as an individual, What Every Mom Needs is for you. Filled with personal stories and helpful features, including a list of resource websites, this book will help you understand the importance of meeting your six basic needs as a mom-and how to actually get them met. Fulfilling your needs for identity, growth, relationships, help, perspective, and hope will make you a happier, more centered person and a better mom.

Drawing on the insights of moms across America and on the latest research, What Every Child Needs helps mothers meet their children s nine basic needs for security, affirmation, belonging, discipline, guidance, respect, play, independence, and hope. Using a child s language of love, Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International show how moms can meet each need . . . and respect their own needs in the process. Seasoned with poignant stories and wise quotes from moms, this book will encourage mothers that the person they are is the mom their child needs."

Mom Get Real . . . and Get Free Are you tired of constantly trying---and failing---to be a perfect mom? Stop beating yourself up and let the truth about motherhood set you free Real Moms debunks the good mom fallacies that have weighed you down by giving you some liberating real mom truths. This book punctures such mothering myths as: . Good moms look good all the time. . Good moms keep everybody happy. . Good moms instinctively know what their children need. . Good moms take responsibility for how their children turn out. . Good moms don t admit their feelings of guilt or anger or fear---because to admit those feelings might make them look like they are not good moms. Each chapter examines a myth and its corresponding reality, and ends with a how-to practical application, a Real Mom story, questions for reflection and discussion, and Real Mom quotes from Real mothers. Wouldn t you love to be free to accept your imperfections? Free not to feel guilty about your limitations? Free to ask for help, free to be real, free to grow? Freedom is in store for you---freedom to be the best mom you can be. This book will show you the way."

Are you believing the great lie that God does not, maybe even could not, love you? The real you? Women struggle under the ongoing weight of "not-enough-ness." Not attractive enough. Not smart enough. Not fit enough. Not creative enough. Not good enough. Not sexy enough. Not strong enough. Not whole enough. Not womanly enough. And therefore, not beautiful. We are broken and ashamed to be so. In our eyes, brokenness makes us unlovable and unusable. But in his Word, God is clear that he sees us the way we already are in Christ: deeply loved and abundantly influential. Yet we hang back, believing instead the toxic not-enough labels. Hello, Beauty Full explodes the shame-based mythology of our "not-enough-ness." Instead of believing the hiss of the enemy, women are encouraged to see their beauty the way God does. Chapters include: Voice Lessons: Beauty in Your Unique Personality Valuable Vessels: Beauty in Your Physical Body A Womb of Your Own: Beauty in Your Creative Purpose Scar Stories: Beauty in Your Painful Story Have Your Sway: Beauty in Your Influential Legacy Challenged to not settle for emptiness when Jesus came to give life to the full, women will find the freedom they need to accept their identities when they not only hear but embrace God's heavenly message: "Hello, Beauty Full!"

Their stories are not fairytales, their road was not easy, and their examples are not perfect. They lived in times and places quite different than ours. Yet they hold up a mirror to our souls that can help us better understand our own story. And in doing so, we find freedom to come to God as we are, with total transparency-honest and real. In this twelve-session small group journey (DVD/video streaming sold separately), taught by six acclaimed Bible teachers-including Lysa TerKeurst-you will meet a group of women in the Bible whose lives teach us about ourselves and about who God is. You and your group will open yourselves to the raw and revealing stories of frailties, struggles, brokenness, and victories of real women from both the Old and New Testaments. You'll discover lessons from each of these 12 women that will help you: Apply biblical lessons to your own modern-day struggles. Persevere through your failures and accept your successes. Draw near to God in a world filled with trials. Find lasting contentment in every situation. Overcome rejection and insecurity. Sessions include: Eve: Finding Lasting Contentment in the Truth (Lysa TerKeurst) Rebekah: Breaking Free of Feminine Stereotypes (Jonalyn Fincher) Leah: Overcoming Rejection and Insecurity (Naomi Zacharias) Hannah: Surrendering in Waiting (Amena Brown) Abigail: Dealing with Confrontation in Relationships (Elisa Morgan) Gomer: Learning to Accept Unconditional Love (Jeanne Stevens) Mary, Mother of Jesus: Moving from Comfort to Courage (Jeanne Stevens) Mary Magdalene: Transforming from Outcast to Follower (Jonalyn Fincher) Mary of Bethany: Putting Our Faith into Action (Elisa Morgan) Martha: Finding Our Identity in Jesus (Amena Brown) The Woman at the Well: Turning Our Messes into Messages (Lysa TerKuerst) The Syrophoenician Woman: Approaching God with Persistency and Boldness (Naomi Zacharias) Designed for use with the Twelve Women of the Bible DVD (9780310691624), sold separately.

Find beauty and hope by facing and dealing with the messiness of family life.

The family is an imperfect institution. Broken people become broken parents who make broken families. But actually, broken is normal and exactly where God wants us.

In "The Beauty of Broken," Elisa Morgan, one of today's most respected female Christian leaders, for the first time shares her very personal story of brokenness--from her first family of origin to the second, represented by her husband and two grown children. Over the years, Elisa's family struggled privately with issues many parents must face, including: alcoholism and drug addictioninfertility and adoptionteen pregnancy and abortiondivorce, homosexuality, and death

Each story layers onto the next to reveal the brokenness that comes into our lives without invitation. "We've bought into the myth of the perfect family," says Elisa. "Formulaic promises about the family may have originated in well-meaning intentions, but such thinking isn't realistic. It's not helpful. It's not even kind."

Instead she offers hope in the form of "broken family values" that allow parents to grow and thrive with God. Values such as commitment, humility, relinquishment, and respect carry us to new places of understanding. Owning our brokenness shapes us into God's best idea for us and enables us to discover the beauty in ourselves and each member of our family.