I’m excited to announce the blog tour for Blue Like Play Dough started Monday! Catch the buzz.
In the squash and squeeze of a mommy’s day, could God be shaping something beautiful? In this spiritual memoir, Goyer invites women to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary! Learn to see God’s hand lovingly at work in every aspect of your life—from laundry-folding to the umpteenth reading of Goodnight Moon.
So many exciting things happening with this book. Besides the blog tour, I’m also be hosting a FACEBOOK Launch Party and the Get One, Give One Campaign (GO-GO)!
Follow the button for info about Go-Go campaign.
I’m really excited about this program – please help me spread the word about this campaign!
You can follow along the tour here and see what other moms, bloggers, and reviewers have to say about their experience reading Blue Like Play Dough!
And of course I’m giving away copies of the book!
Just leave a comment below telling me how you’ve been shaped/smooshed/stretched by God as a mother. I’ll draw 6 winners at random on August 14th and announce them.
God has stretched me by giving me little mirrors that reflect my words and attitudes. Nothing like saying, “Don’t talk to me like that!” then realizing where my 3 yo learned to talk like that! Looking forward to the book!
Tricia, I’m so excited about this book! God has stretched me so many ways since becoming a mom – I should look much thinner 🙂
During my 1st pregnancy, my water broke before I even hit my 3rd trimester. The doctors told me to abort, but instead my husband and I put all our trust and hope in God. It wasn’t easy to sit on bedrest for 5 weeks wondering if our baby would die soon, but with God’s strength, we pulled through. Boy did I ever learn to trust in the Lord and to pray (completely meaning it!) “Your will be done.”
Then we had the ups and downs of over four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and years of therapy where everyone seemed to think our daughter was doomed. But we learned to trust God’s quiet voice, which told us all would be well.
When our daughter survived and thrived at 3 yrs. old, we learned to trust God further by trying for another baby. A lot of people tried to make us feel guilty about this, sure we’d have another preemie. But tho it was difficult and very often downright scary, we trusted in God’s goodness. Our son was born full term and without serious complication.
Motherhood has meant mostly giving up my career and the aspirations connected to it. Although I’m thankful I can stay home and raise my kids myself, it’s frustrating to completely lay down your dreams. God is teaching me a bit about laying down my life for others, as he commands us to, and as Jesus did in a much more profound way.
I’m also trying to homeschool, work a few hours a day, and care for both children – and, if I’m lucky – keep the house somewhat clean. Talk about stressful! I’ve learned to pray for God’s strength throughout the day and to see my list of duties through God’s eyes: Which things are *truly* most important?
And then there’s the whole patience thing. It’s not my forte, but my children – and God – are building up my endurance in this area.
I think motherhood is not only the most important calling in the world, but it’s the toughest. I don’t know how anyone can do it without God. And the good news is, when the children are grown, not only do we have the blessing of becoming our kids’ friends, but God will have refined us in ways we never dreamed possible!
kriswrite at gmail dot com
God has stretched me by calling me to the one thing in life I feel most inadequate about…being a mom. And he called me 4 times. My most recent journey to motherhood has been through adoption. whew! Loving uncondionally has been more revealing about Christ’s love for me than I ever expected.
I couldn’t even tell you where to start. Most recently, it’s to start a MOMS group at our church. Being “in charge” when it comes to other women–WHEW! HUGE stretch for me. And if I weren’t a mom, I never would have been given that particular vision.
Coming from a difficult background, God has stretched me through learning new ways to handle things. I’ve learned a lot and am happy for the changes. Still have some to go–haven’t arrived, yet, ya know!!!
Please enter me for your book. You have a niche for writing!
desertrose5173 at gmail dot com
When I was a little girl, I had a clear vision of what my life would be like. I never doubted once that I would be a mother. God agreed with that by blessing me with a little boy at the age of 23. But God also molded me as a mother by bringing my second husband and his two children into my life – making me another kind of mother. Then, just when I thought I couldn’t be stretched any further, He blessed us with another baby boy last year. At the age of 30, I am now the mother of a 15 year old girl and three boys ages 9, 7 and 1. Life is nothing like the picture I had in my mind growing up. It is even better.
Lessons I learned as a Mother could fill more than one book considering I have been married 30 years last month. My oldest is 28 and my youngest 23. So I will give one lesson that was learned when my oldest turned 19. I learned to love unconditional. I learned how to love a rebellious teenager who used me, played me, and knew her Mother would love her no matter what she did. I may not have loved what she did but she told me straight out she knew I would always love her. I learned during that time to give her to God but it was a hard lesson learned. Now I sit here with my youngest daughter and her partner fighting to get two children out a burglary ring where the Mother does not even love them and the unconditional love is at work again. I have to put my youngest right now in God’s protection and pray armies of angels around her and the kids and all every night. This Mother would burn the house down as she has burned two houses already. I pray God’s protection and learned through my oldest roaming the streeets and drinking and doing things she knew better than to do that God can protect and will bring God out of all of this. So even though my girls are out of home, I am still learning. Letting go is the hardest lesson to learn.
jrs362(at)hotmail(dot)com
I’d love to win your book and review it as I’m a reviewer.
This sounds wonderful, Tricia!
God is showing me just how awful some of (okay, many of!) the things I do without thinking truly are. I don’t notice them until I see my kids doing things and I’m appalled…only to realize they’ve learned it from me. They’re simply following my lead. It’s scary and sobering.
Hi Tricia,
Thank you so much for this book! I loved reading it. My whole life changed when my first child appeared two years ago. I gave the reins to God (and meant it this time.) I have written a review of your book and will let you know where it ends up. I’ve also reviewed it at my blog. Hope it sends you some traffic! Thanks again.
My story of motherhood … wow … do you have an hour?
When I found out I was pregnant, I had been itching for over a year. We thought it was allergies to something … mold, environment … you name it! I got sick at 3 months with a respiratory something … it stuck around for 6 weeks. 3 antibiotics and a chest x-ray later, I finally felt better.
At 6 months, I began having back pain. By 7 months, I could hardly walk, sit, lie down … moving hurt. And yes, there was still the whole itching thing and the puking thing.
Due date was Oct. 1. September 11 I had had enough. 9/9, I spent an entire day in the ER getting at MRI to find out why I hurt so bad. Bulging disk and herniated disk. 9/11 … went to the hospital and told my doctor I wasn’t leaving. 9/12 … my daughter was born.
10/29 … go for my 6 week checkup. Still puking. Still itching. Back pain no better. I find out I could have cancer … Hodgkin’s. The next 2 weeks were spent having tests, surgeries and starting chemo.
My story is far more complex. But the first 4 months of my daughter’s life are almost a complete blur for me. She will be 5 in about 6 weeks … and I still feel like it was only yesterday I was nursing her.
One thing God has showed me as a mother is that I must be careful what I do because little eyes are watching when you least expect it.
ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com
My whole journey into motherhood was a stretch. I had been told since I was a child that due to health problems,I would not be a mom. I grew up making other plans for life. I greeted the news of motherhood with alot of anger. Its something the church finds it difficult to talk about. Moms who didn’t want to be. We are supposed to feel blessed. Some journeys are just about knowing His ways are not ours. Every phase of “parenting” is about drawing close to Him; weather its facing infertility, adoption, unplanned pregnancy or loss. These are all statges of motherhood. I have been blessed with 2 children, whose lives are miracles, however, the true miracle is what He has accomplished in me– by not giving me what I wanted, but blessing me more than I could ask or imagine!
I approached motherhood with the same “can do” attitude that garnished me multiple awards, trophies and titles. I thought I was prepared until I held my daughter, Kayleigh. One deep look into her big blue eyes and I felt something unusual – fear. Fear of failure, fear I would let her down, fear I would not do some thing right and I’d hurt her, or she would be hungry or cold or afraid and I wouldn’t be able to meet her needs. When the nurse gave discharge orders I stopped her and asked “are you all REALLY going to let me take her home?” I was so unsure of myself as a mom. Nothing seemed to work right but the love I had for my daughter.
Her entry created amnesia to all that was before her. Her presence chipped away at my ego, my pride and my selfishness that had kept me from relying on God and others.
There are so many days where I feel I can’t do it. I can’t tolerate one more bout of sibling rivalry, one more load of laundry, one more reminder of parts of my life “on hold”…and verses flood into my mind. Promises of strength, hope, a future. Visions of grace. Momentum for the moment. God infuses me daily with a “can do” attitude when it comes to being a mom.
Apart from Him I couldn’t do it. Nothing about motherhood follows the prescription for success I know. Hard work doesn’t always pay off. Great effort doesn’t always produce the immediate yield.
Yet for me, motherhood is a treasure that time cannot trash.
Oh, I would LOVE this book!
Motherhood has taught me SO many things (and is continuing to teach me) – one of the biggest is getting a better understanding of God’s sacrifice in sending His Son to die on the cross. He loved us THAT much.
It has also helped me to be less selfish and more conscious of my own behavior. I am VERY different. Mostly all in a good way. 🙂
When I became a new mommy, I was soooo scared! I didn’t know how to raise kids!! So, I asked God for help. He said to raise them up in the ways of the Lord. Also, I taught them to DO WITHOUT ME. It sounds cruel, but if anything would have happened to me, they would not have to depend on anyone for help. My daughter could cook, clean and do laundry at the age of 11 just as good as I could and my son could do most of those things too before he was a teenager.
What an awesome opportunity, thanks Tricia for sharing & caring…I know so many will be blessed by this.
God continues to stretch and grow me, especially in my parenting. I had my first son when I was 22 years old then exactly two years later I was blessed with another son. It has been a roller coaster ride being a mommy, and now that my boys are teenagers the ride is still bumpy & sometimes exciting.
I stayed home with my boys for 9 years, then was called into full time ministry at a mega church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I spent the next 5 years “doing” ministry for others and unfortunately let my true ministry (my family) falter a bit. I stepped out of ministry at that level and God has been re-shaping me yet again to focus once again on the ministry that He called me to first…my family!
Here I am two years outside of the mega church ministry craziness and couldn’t be happier about the new connectedness my family has. We are back in ministry again, but this time wiser and more strategic about putting the boundaries up so we can stay focused on our family.
God is so good…through all the ups and downs He has walked this journey with us (even through a horrible accident with my oldest son…thankfully he’s better now, but we almost lost him and know that God gently guided us through that too).
Thanks for listening and letting us share…being a mom is by far the hardest, most exciting, most incredible thing we are blessed to be!
Enjoy the Journey,
Melissa in Mel’s World
Over the past 14 years, God has taken me on an incredible journey- which I’m still traveling on today.
God blessed our family with 3 kids. In 2001 we began hearing the word “autism” as it was integrated in our home with my middle child (who was only 2 at the time). I felt as though I’d left where I live in NC, and was taken to a foreign country with an unknown language and protocols.
We were blessed to find “interpretors” and encouragement in many different places, which is not so common for most families with special needs kids.
There is one truth I’ve learned about parenting, regardless of whether one has a special needs child or not. Parenting is very much like planning and taking off for a trip to one place and sometimes landing in a different place. We can adjust to where we’ve landed. We can choose to stay inside our hotel until the “trip” is over, or we can choose to be a part of all that is happening around us. We can plan all we want. Ultimately, the Master Planner of all is the tour guide, and we just need to keep looking to our Tour Guide for help as we navigate our way through this trip.
Just the fact that I have survived middle school with 2 daughters without hurting anyone (LOL) is proof that God was smooshing me. We are going to high school now and goodness…
Tricia, I put your widget on my blog. It’s too cute :-).
Tricia,
Going up, I Never Ever, wanted to be a mommy. I wanted to be a big shot lawyer, and move away from the small town I lived in. At age 18 God changed that. He has stretched and shaped me ever since. Now I’m a mother of one rebelloius teen boy and one very complaint teen boy. The rebellious one had tried and pushed my patience so many times. It makes me think how God must feel about me most days. We now live back in that same small town, I so wanted to leave in my early teens. God knows what’s best for us!
Being a mom is time-consuming which really stretches a mom, but it is SO worth it!!
wandanamgreb (at) gmail (dot) com
I was so excited to be a mother, but my appendix ruptured the day my son was born which kept me in the hospital for more than three months. My baby was fine, but I was not…I missed out on the beginning of his life, and now have to rely on doctors to even try getting pregnant again as a result of that appy rupture.
But God has used all of it, even though at times I wish He’d chosen a different way! He’s brought my husband and I closer in so many ways and drawn both of us closer to Him. He has allowed us to help others and shine His light on them.
Sometimes I do have to ask God to show me the good in that one moment that changed our lives forever, but I never have to ask if He loves me.
Winners announced here!
http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2009/08/and-winners-are.html