Lanterna Rally

Author: Jean Stockdale

Publisher: Crosshouse Pub

Published: 2007-12-01

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9781934749104

Jason was 2-years old when we brought his brother, Dawson, home from the hospital. I had fallen in love with mothering my first child. "Honestly, how much tougher could rearing two children instead of one be?" I thought to myself as I lay the tightly wound bundle on the couch. Jason timidly tiptoed over to see the new baby. I pulled the receiving blanket back from Dawson's face as Jason stared in wonder at his little brother. "So far, so good," I whispered tentatively to my husband, Craig, as he hung back by the door. "This won't be so difficult," I said confidently as I tried to bolster my sagging self-assurance. "Lots of women have two babies in two years. We will be fine." Like hollow promises my words fell onto our hardwood floor. Neither Craig nor I believed a single word I had said. Sadly, we both knew better. Although I have now reared two sons and launched them off into the adult world, I have not forgotten how I, as a new mom, felt. I loved God with all of my heart. My single-minded desire was to train my boys in the Lord. Without question my goal was to see my boys reach an early decision for Christ and to live for Him all the days of their lives. However, my own insecurities surfaced; I struggled with feelings of inadequacy. I have never forgotten the anxiety of those early days of mothering as I fought to catch my breath and find my bearings. Life seemed to be spinning wildly out of control and sucking me into the vortex of its madness Those deeply imbedded memories of my greatest joy intermingled with fretfulness and fear compel me to write a Bible study geared toward mothers of children of all ages. Mothering is just plain tough. There, I said it. It is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, jubilation and tribulation, ecstasy and insanity. I am sure you can relate Moms are on-call 24-hours a day, with no sick leave and no vacation days. On some days rearing children is closely akin to herding cats. Dealing with sleep deprivation and a temperamental 2-year-old can push you to the edge. A stubborn school-aged child can strain your last nerve to the breaking point. A testy teen can make you crazy. What's a mom to do? My heart's desire is to stand alongside you and to point you to Jesus. He is the source of our help and our hope. Take a good, long look into the mirror of God's Word and see Jesus " Join Jean Stockdale for a look into the mirror of God's Word for timeless truths for training toddlers to teens. She will help you apply God's profound truths and make them practical in your life. As you become a doer of the Word and not a hearer only, she will help you look into God's mirror and see a work in progress for the glory of the Lord. As you work your way through this interactive study, God will work His truths into your life. "