Before you turn out the lights, turn to Jesus. When coming to the end of a day feels like coming to an end of ourselves, we often struggle to find the words to pray--or even know where to start. We just know we need God. Knowing well this weariness, beloved author Ruth Schwenk comes alongside you, offering encouragement and simple prayers of peace and hope. Whether you're exhausted from worry, fear, unanswered prayers, pain, rejection, regret, or lack of joy or purpose, each of these 365 nightly prayers and journaling prompts will infuse hope into your life. Even as your eyes drift shut, you will discover that the end of a day can also be the beginning of a new and deeper dependence on God. Because when you seek Him, you will find the One who never sleeps--and who strengthens us and works on our behalf even as we rest.

When Life is Filled with All the Things, Begin Your Days with the Most Important Thing of All Life is just . . . a lot. Relationships are hard. Responsibilities are piled high. And it seems like all the things are distracting you from the very best things of all. There's little time left for yourself--or for connecting with Jesus. No wonder you feel anxious in your mind and hurried in your heart. You desperately long for calm amidst your clamoring duties, stacked schedule, and life's unexpected circumstances. But where do you begin? More than anything else, your heart needs a refreshing encounter with God each day. Trusting God in All the Things offers women like you a way forward so you can experience the confident calm you crave. These 90 encouraging devotions will help you face life with God's peace and renewed strength. Start your day here, on these pages, where you'll find the calming reassurance of God, who is the only One who can truly be trusted in all the things.

As a mom, you want to give your best to your family. Motherhood is incredibly rewarding, yet its challenges can leave you feeling anxious, inadequate, and overwhelmed with mom guilt.Trusted author Ruth Schwenk of Pressing Pause and The Better Mom blog will help you learn to give yourself grace as you grow in wisdom with The Better Mom Devotional.

As a busy mom of four kids, Ruth understands the stress of raising a family and trying to do it all perfectly, but she has uncovered a secret: becoming a better mom starts not with what you are doing but with who God is inviting you to become.

In The Better Mom Devotional, 100 devotions filled with scripture, prayers, and reflection questions will help you discover:

· How God uses motherhood to change you from the inside out

· Intentional ways to deepen your faith in any season of parenting

· The true calling of motherhood: training, disciplining, and loving your children well

· The life-giving impact of honest, loving friendships

With Ruth’s encouragement, you can overcome mom guilt, stop trying to be the perfect mom, let go of the endless to-do list of motherhood, and experience the most challenging but rewarding adventure yet: becoming The Better Mom.

Your Storm Doesn’t Have to Sink You

At some point in our lives, we all find ourselves in a boat in the middle of a lake. We might be there due to a job loss or the death of a loved one. Maybe disability, divorce, or financial insecurity has stranded us. Patrick and Ruth Schwenk found themselves feeling battered after five miscarriages and then surrounded by the waves with Patrick’s cancer diagnosis at age forty-three. They were alone. Drifting. And that’s when their transformation began.

In this compassionate and powerful book, the Schwenks weave together lessons from their own experience with insightful Bible teaching to remind us that one of the greatest ways God transforms us is through trials. As they unpack why Jesus called the disciples into the middle of a lake when dry ground was so safe and comfortable, they help us

• understand why the depth of our hurt enables us to experience deep hope;
• learn to conquer fear to experience the freedom God has for us; and
• discover how God uses chaos, and not just the classroom, to shape and work through us.

Today—in your confusion about God’s intentions, your disappointment over lost dreams, your disillusionment about prayer—God is offering hope. Because Jesus is still Lord over the water. And while he is not moved by the waves, he is moved by you. And this flood might just be a path to abundance.

Life is filled with unexpected storms that take you by surprise. In these storms of life, it's easy to feel helpless, exhausted, afraid . . . and alone. We can feel like victims to circumstances out of our control. Beloved author Sally Clarkson understands deeply. Through almost seven decades of life, she has found herself tossed about in overwhelming life storms through many different seasons. In Help, I'm Drowning, Sally identifies the challenges that took her by surprise and then leads you to the wisdom she gathered from her experiences. Finding grace to walk through the darkness and hope to make it through will give you the comfort and encouragement you need in knowing you are not alone. Though there are no easy, formulaic answers that apply to every situation, Sally leads us to the One who is with us and will see us through. Sally found the anchors that held her steady in the midst of every storm, and she wants to help you find your anchors too. She invites you into her own personal story of anchoring well, and then--with honesty, grit, and her trademark wisdom--she will help you heal and move forward with courage and strength.

Moms have been hoodwinked-tricked into believing lies that keep them from not only enjoying motherhood, but forging friendships with other moms who might tackle the tasks of motherhood differently. Myths such as "Mothering is natural, easy, and instinctive" cause moms to feel like failures if they have questions or apprehensions in raising their kids. Operating from the premise that "The way I mother is the right (and only) way" puts up fences between moms instead of building bridges of encouragement between them. Lies such as "I am my child's choices" tempt moms to mistakenly believe that if their child makes a wrong choice then they, in turn, must be a bad mom. In their encouraging "we've been there" style, Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk enable mothers to: Identify the ten myths of motherhood our current culture perpetuates Replace the lies with the truth of what God says in the Bible about mothering Acquire practical tools to help them form new and improved thought patterns and healthy behaviors Forge healthy, supportive relationships with other moms of all ages and stages Confidently embrace the calling of motherhood as they care for their families in their own unique way A six-session video Bible study for group or individual use is also available.

Your days are full, you're tired, and you're craving quiet for your soul. You're not alone.

If days filled with obligations and never-ending to-do lists leave you feeling anxious and overwhelmed, you can find the peace your soul longs for. In Settle My Soul, authors Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk invite you to carve out a few moments in your day to deepen your relationship with the Lord through 100 encouraging devotions.

Whether you're a working professional, a wife, a mom, a sister, an aunt, a daughter-in-law, or any combination of these, your life is busy. And no matter what stage of life you may find yourself in, what your hurried and overcrowded heart needs most is rest. Beyond time-management skills or tips for worrying less, you need a few minutes to connect with God's heart.

Karen and Ruth are women who understand all that you're juggling, and they desire for you to experience the refreshment that comes only from the Lord. In just a few minutes out of your day, you can connect with God, set aside your busyness and worries, center your thoughts on Him and His Word, and restore your peace of mind. Each of the 100 devotions in Settle My Soul includes a brief but meaningful devotional message, applicable scripture, guided prayer, and reflection questions. Throughout the book you'll also find journaling pages for deeper reflection.

Your life is loud. But if you will just press pause for a few minutes each day, you can discover what Jesus longs to give you: His peace.

Do you need a devotional to help connect your family? With 100 devotionals, Faith Forward Family Devotional by authors Patrick and Ruth Schwenk equips parents to raise faith-filled kids who know, love, and live for God. Somewhere between diapers and sippy cups, piano lessons and soccer practice, dating and college searches, even the most well-intentioned family can lose sight of creating a God-centered home. As parents of four, pastor Patrick Schwenk and his wife, Ruth, of The Better Mom blog, understand the challenges--and importance--of raising faith-filled kids. Patrick and Ruth help you pass on your faith with devotions you can do at your own pace as a family. Each devotion features a Bible passage, a teaching that's applicable for kids of any age, key ideas to learn about God and His character, questions to spark family discussion, and a prayer. Faith Forward Family Devotional is aimed primarily at families with kids ages 8-12, but it also includes ideas for activities for younger children and recommendations for further study for older kids, so the whole family can join in the devotional gathering. You've passed down to your kids your last name, your love, and maybe your sense of humor or favorite hobbies. But have you passed down the most important thing: your faith? Faith Forward Family Devotional helps you grow closer to your kids as they grow closer to God. Whatever season of parenting you are in, sharing this devotional time together will help your children nourish a faith that lasts a lifetime.

The transition from "married" to "married with children" can be tough. Before they know it, a once youthful and energetic married couple finds themselves in a minivan loaded with noisy kids and littered with Cheerios, crusty Sippy cups, banana peels, and missing library books. As much as you love your children and work hard to nurture and train them for the future, the challenges that come with parenthood can make the "for better or for worse" promise a hard one to honor. For Better or For Kids will enable couples to: Build a God-centered marriage instead of a Child-centered or Me-centered marriage Avoid the dangers of spouse-neglect and self-neglect Effectively communicate in the chaos Explore ways to parent together as one team Find balance in the busyness For Better or For Kids is about remembering that even when you feel worn out, over-extended, and neglected, you promised to be a team. Marriage with kids may not always be what we expected, but it is good. We need to make a vow to love our spouse with kids in the house.

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn't change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don't need to settle for surviving our kids' childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don't have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, "It's okay to come as we are, but what we're called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."