Jan 23, 2015

Book Review: Mothering from Scratch by Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo

Back Cover: Find Your Own Mothering Style

Trying to follow someone else's rules for mothering can take the joy out of being a parent. But Mothering From Scratch shows you how to develop your own style that helps you be the best mom for your kids.

Full of solid biblical truth, this book will help you
  • explore your personality and examine your strengths and weaknesses in order to find what works for you
  • tap into the resources surrounding you and get mentoring and support from other moms
  • push past the fear of change or doing it wrong and allow room for grace in your mothering

Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo provide a flexible, customizable approach to help you discover your optimal parenting style.

My Review: Being a mom is hard enough without trying to live up to everyone else's unspoken rules for parenting. When I got married, I wanted to be the ultimate homemaker but I soon discovered that I hate sewing and detest cooking. I had to find the style of homemaking that fit my strengths and my family. Almost seven years later, I'm still figuring out what that means. When I was first pregnant, I had images of how motherhood would work for me. I knew my strengths as a teacher and my love for toddler and older children. I was unprepared for the child God gave me. My son has the makings of a great leader. He is driven, stubborn, and almost too intelligent. He has stretched me in ways that I didn't know were possible. More often than not, I've wondered how I would ever survive this thing called motherhood without damaging the precious child I've been entrusted with.

Reading Mothering from Scratch gave me a glimpse into why I often feel over my head. When I try to run my home by following someone else's set of rules, I'm left completely defeated and all the joy gets sucked out of life. When I'm too busy, distracted, or overwhelemed to nourish my soul with the Word of God, I have nothing left to nourish the relationships my family. Mothering from Scratch isn't going to tell you how to raise your children or run your household, but it is going to show you how you can embrace your strengths and find the structure and "rules" that work for your family. Over and over I saw myself in the pages of this book. I've been through the struggles. I've felt the pressure to do more, preform better, and be what I perceive other mothers to be. The truth is, none of us are perfect. What we see on Facebook is often only the good times in other people's lives. Everyone struggles, but we don't have to be overcome with the struggles we are facing. There is hope that each one of us can be the best mom that we can be. But that will only happen when we stop trying to live our lives following another woman's blueprint. I'm learning to embrace my strengths and weaknesses. You can too.

My Rating:

My Recommendation: I recommend this book to every Christian woman struggling silently with her role as a mother.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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