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May 29, 2023 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

3 Ways to Lose Guilt and Find Joy

Guilt is a common emotion that many women struggle with on a daily basis. It’s easy to get caught up in the demands of life and feel like we’re not doing enough, or that we’re not doing things perfectly. But the truth is, we are all imperfect beings, and it’s important to learn how to lose guilt and find joy in our lives.

One of the first steps to losing guilt is acknowledging that we are not perfect. We all make mistakes, and it’s okay to do so. It’s important to learn from our mistakes and move on rather than dwelling on them and feeling guilty. Apologizing when we’ve hurt someone is important, but forgiving ourselves and moving forward guilt-free is also important.

Another key to losing guilt is recognizing that there are things in life we have no control over. Whether it’s our children’s sports injuries or something else entirely, it’s important to trust that God has a plan and that everything happens for a reason. When we let go of our need to control everything, we can find peace and joy in the present moment.

Lastly, it’s important to remember that we can’t do it all. We must prioritize our time and focus on what’s most important. It’s okay to ask for help when we need it, and it’s okay to let some things go in order to focus on what truly matters. By doing so, we can find more joy and fulfillment in our lives rather than feeling guilty for not being able to do everything perfectly.

Guilt is a common emotion many women struggle with, but learning how to let go of it and find joy in our lives is important. By acknowledging that we’re not perfect, recognizing that there are things we can’t control, and prioritizing our time, we can live a more joyful and fulfilling life.

There’s another place we need to turn when dealing with guilt too.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:28-29. This Scripture reminds us that we don’t have to carry the burden of guilt alone. By coming to Jesus and learning from him, we can find rest for our souls and live a more joyful and fulfilling life.

Perfection is impossible, so don’t let guilt hold you back. Learn how to lose guilt and find joy in life. Acknowledge imperfection, forgive yourself, trust God’s plan, and prioritize your time.

Takeaways:

Let go of guilt and embrace joy in your life.
Perfection is impossible, so don’t let guilt hold you back.
Trust in God’s plan and let go of your need to control everything.
Prioritize what’s important and let go of the rest to find more joy.
Forgive yourself for your mistakes and move forward guilt-free.

Additional Resources:

Looking for a way to let go of guilt and embrace joy in your life? Look no further than Heart Happy by Tricia Goyer! In this must-read book, Tricia shares powerful insights on how to break free from the burdens of guilt and find true happiness. With practical tips on how to let go of the need for perfection, trust in God’s plan, prioritize what’s truly important, and forgive yourself for your mistakes, Heart Happy is the ultimate guide to living a guilt-free life. Don’t let guilt hold you back any longer – order your copy of Heart Happy today and start living your best life!

July 14, 2020 by Tricia Goyer 2 Comments

Meet Me in Montana Giveaway! + Pressed Prime Rib & Mozzarella Sandwiches with Pesto

Who doesn’t love a giveaway? And who doesn’t love a fantastic recipe!? Enjoy this Meet Me in Montana Giveaway!

Summers in Montana are the best. It’s warm but not too hot. Every day, in any direction, there are lakes to swim in, mountains to hike, and natural beauty to explore.

Missing Montana, I often catch glimpses of its beauty on my friend Alyson’s Instagram page. Alyson and I have served in children’s church together, and she and her husband Casey were part of our first Czech Republic mission’s trip team.

Even though we live 2,000 miles apart now, I love following along with Alyson’s Montana farm life on her Instagram photos:

Meet Me In Montana Giveaway

I’m excited because Alyson is hosting a giveaway!

Wanting to join in the fun, I included my audiobook of Beside Still Waters, which is set in Montana. If you want a wonderful glimpse of Northwest Montana, you’ll find it within these pages.

To be entered to win, follow Alyson on Instagram, and leave a comment on THE GIVEAWAY POST.

Meet me in Montana Giveaway!

Tricia Goyer audiobook, Beside Still Waters

Farm Kid & Co Honey (from Alyson’s farm!)

Glacier National Park mug which pairs perfectly with a cup of

Hunter Bay Coffee Roasters coffee

or Alyson’s favorite blend of Montana tea.

Alyson’s Recipe

Alyson is also an amazing cook! She was kind enough to share a recipe with us. Yum!

Pressed Prime Rib & Mozzarella Sandwiches with Pesto

A trip to Italy inspired this hearty sandwich, but when it comes down to it – the biggest player is Montana beef. A pressed sandwich basically consists of a loaf of bread that’s sliced, filled with ingredients, and then wrapped and refrigerated overnight under a weight to flatten the sandwich and meld the flavors.

Ingredients:

Thickly-sliced rustic, European-style bread
Sliced prime rib
Thickly-cut peppered bacon, cooked
Roasted red peppers
Fresh mozzarella
Baby spinach
Pesto & mayo
Salt and pepper to taste

Spread a generous layer of mayo and pesto on your bread. Top one slice of bread with sliced prime rib beef and bacon. Layer roasted peppers, mozzarella, and spinach on the other half. Season with salt and pepper. Press the sides firmly together and wrap tightly in plastic and then parchment tied with a string. Place sandwich in the refrigerator for two hours (or overnight) and weigh down with a heavy object; I use a small Dutch oven or a thick hardback novel.

Be sure to enter, and enjoy the recipe!

Share this Meet Me In Montana Giveaway with others!

October 21, 2019 by Christen Krumm 1 Comment

Why We Need Home More Than Ever | Nancie Carmichael

We need home more than ever these days. Which is why I’m so grateful that Nancie Carmichael wrote The Unexpected Power of Home for such a time as this. I’m so excited to welcome her to the blog today to share with you about Home.

Be sure to enter below for a chance to win one of three copies of Nancie Carmichael’s The Unexpected Power of Home!

The Unexpected Power of Home

When you’re in the thick of raising kids, Home is where you keep things going: Brush your teeth, do your homework, pick up your socks! Share. Do your chores. Be good.

But some days you wonder if you’ve landed on an alien planet. Years ago, my husband Bill was on an extended missions’ trip to Africa. One night when he’d been gone for about two weeks, I finally got all the kids to bed after an awful day. Finally. I sat on the kitchen floor and sobbed. My nine-year-old son had thrown an egg on a neighbor’s house, and I was feeling like a Big Failure. I had been dramatic: “Jon, that’s vandalism!” After he’d apologized to the neighbor and washed the egg off his house, he told me that the neighbor swore at him and the other boys whenever a ball would land in his yard. Which, unfortunately, was a lot. Jon is now a married father of three and you couldn’t find a nicer guy. And all four of our sons went to college on athletic scholarships. So, things worked out.

But…Oh, how I wanted to do everything right! I would pray, Jesus, show me how to do this. Show me how to make our home a good place for these beautiful and sometimes challenging children. There was power in Home. I instinctively knew it but saw no easy answers or formulas.

Letting Go

Recently, my husband and I sold our home that was crammed full of memories. It was time to downsize, time to let go. I wondered, What was home all about, anyway? I began to reflect on the enormous power of it; how our earliest homes shape us for good or bad; how we, in turn, offer that life-shaping power to our own children. Out of that reflection I wrote, The Unexpected Power of Home.

Younger moms: Do you realize the powerful weapon you have at your disposal? The power of your home is what you do with it—just as the power of your life is what you do with it. Jesus used humble and ordinary things to teach important principles: Consider the birds of the air. Look at the lilies of the field. And so too, consider your home.

Home is many things. It’s our personal space where we have ordinary meals. We offer hospitality. We sleep there, play there. We Americans spend billions on our homes. But it’s possible to miss its power by focusing on its appearance and practical function. While this part of home is fun and important, the real power of home is people. It’s you, it’s me.

Take an objective look at your home, how it functions. Ask yourself:

• Is my home a place of refuge, a place of hospitality for my family and others? Does it feel “safe,” emotionally and physically?
• Is it a place of creativity? Does each person here have space to create?
• Does its atmosphere offer respect and comfort and a place of deepest acceptance and training to my children? What practical things can I do to make it so?
• Is there sacred space in my home? First, for me—and then for others?

The World Needs Your Home More Than Ever

There is a rhythm, a powerful nurturing in the common, ordinary meals…in sleep and chores and prayers. Nothing in life will ever challenge you like parenting in the intimate setting of home, where life gets real. The wilder and crazier life gets, the more we need the grounding of home. It’s where the gospel gets practical and personal.

If I had the chance, I would tell my younger self—that tearful mom that sat on her kitchen floor: Stay with it. I know you want to change the world. I know you often feel that what you are doing is insignificant. But the world needs you. The world needs your home more than ever. Jesus in you—and Jesus in your home can change the world.

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Nancie Carmichael author of The Unexpected Power of Home

Nancie Carmichael has been involved in writing and publishing for many years, including as co-publisher at Virtue Magazine, Christian Parenting Today Magazine, and now Deep River Books. Nancie’s many books include, among others, Lord, Bless My Child, written with her husband, Bill; Selah; and Surviving One Bad Year.

Nancie graduated with her MA in Spiritual Formation from George Fox Evangelical Seminary. Nancie and Bill make their home in Sisters, Oregon, and have five married children and 14 grandchildren.

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More about The Unexpected Power of Home

Home is where the Gospel gets personal.

Nancie Carmichael’s passion is that The Unexpected Power of Home: Why We Need It More Than Ever will inspire the reader to see with fresh eyes the potentially powerful and life-shaping place that home is. Through home, we have the power to create an atmosphere of safety, of beauty, of hospitality, and of celebration.

While a practical book, it’s also a spiritual book. Home starts with us. Through making room for the sacred in our home, we learn to make room for the sacred in our lives. This book on home addresses these questions:

Have I really left home?
Am I content where I am now?
How can I be a person of hospitality and yet have solitude?
Why do I have so much clutter?
What does my clutter say about me?
Does my home inspire a sense of celebration in each season?
Is there joy in each season of my life?

As a mother of five children, Carmichael experienced with her family what it meant to have a place to grow and learn the most important things in life. Home is a place all of us eventually leave―and then look to find again. Home is a living, spiritual place that is reflective of who we are.

Includes questions at the end of each chapter to facilitate small group discussion and personal growth.

Purchase a copy of The Unexpected Power of Home
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Read full privacy policy here.

August 13, 2019 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

Cultivate A Redesigned Life {A Guest Post}

Today on the blog we welcome Tracy Steel, author of A Redesigned Life.

Enter below for a chance to win a copy of A Redesigned Life! Winner will be e-mailed. Note: This post contains affiliate links.

All of us are living a life we did not design, but one that God is redesigning for us. Like a human interior designer or artist uses a set of design principles to help them create, God uses his own set of codes to create a couture life for each of us. Recognizing what these are is key to uncovering the purposes of God when life doesn’t go as planned.

In her new book, A Redesigned Life, author Tracy Steel considers six principles of design and how God also uses the principles of movement, emphasis, pattern, contrast, balance, and space to redesign our lives. Each of these principles enable us to uncover something spectacular about the purposes of our creative God. The following excerpt from her new book focuses on the principle of emphasis and how it helps us to see the no’s of God differently.

Pops of color and the no’s of God

Emphasis creates a focal point in a design which brings attention to the element or area that is most important. . . .

If everything is emphasized (all the text is large and bold, all the images are animated, everything is in bright colors) nothing will stand out, and grab the viewer’s attention. If everything is emphasized, nothing is.[i]

I love simple and elegant design. We’ve all seen pictures of a living room with its crisp white walls and cream sofa. Imagine a coffee table in the middle of that living room. On top of the table sits a glass vase filled with a bouquet of orange tulips or powder blue hydrangeas. Or perhaps there is a turquoise-and-white paisley pattern rug under the coffee table. Maybe there is a large abstract oil painting hanging on the wall composed of green, blue, and purple horizontal stripes. Our eyes are drawn to the flowers, to the rug, or to the oil painting because of the pop of color they provide among all the white. This is the essence of emphasis as a design principle. Emphasis makes us stop, helping us focus. A designer uses shapes, texture, or color to create emphasis.

Imagine the same living room but now everything in it is red—from the couch to the walls to the flowers to the rug. I don’t want to linger or enjoy the space because it’s overwhelming and nothing grabs my attention. There’s too much red. Nothing is emphasized.

White Space

In the same way, our world is pressing us to be like an all-red room. We must be all things to all people all the time, it seems. Good at everything. Involved in everything. Know everyone. I’m tired of the pressure, of all the striving, competition, and backbiting. Give me some white space, please. I need God to give me emphasis and so do you.

God is not asking us to be all things to all people all the time. He’s the one who is capable of doing and being this. He’s the one who is all-knowing. God alone is our ever-present help and shield. We’re only to add our little pop of color into the corner of the world in which he places us. We do this through the emphasis that God has designed for each of us. The beautiful thing is, all our emphases or callings will look different. However different they may be, our little pops of color should cause others to rest the eyes of their hearts and minds upon God. And if we are doing too many things, we will be way too red or stressed out and no one will want to linger around us either.

When God Says No

But what if we really feel like we found our calling or purpose, and then it doesn’t happen? Sometimes the emphasis we wish for or desire in our hearts will not come to pass because God will say no and not allow it to happen. We may assume this is because God is not good or fair. Or maybe we believe we are not good enough for God to use us, or that God doesn’t care about the dreams or passions that we feel inside us. But this isn’t true.

Look at God’s no from a different perspective. God, because he is good and is in the process of sanctifying us, could be saying no to our good desires simply because they are not in line with the emphasis he has designed for our overall life. And God’s no enables our pop of color to be a beneficial and beautiful one. Here it is in a nutshell:

God’s no = not our emphasis.

God’s no = the revealing of his emphasis for us.

God’s no = his protection, preventing us from becoming an all-red room.

And when God says no, that means we will have the opportunity to say yes to something that he has decided is better for us, because in his providence he knows and has already designed what is to come. So if you ever thought that by now you’d be living in the city or home of your dreams and making one million dollars and, well . . . you aren’t, it’s okay to admit your disappointment or feelings of failure to yourself and to your God. Ask him to heal you of those feelings. Realize that you’re beautifully gifted to do something else with your life and that God is redesigning you so you can bless the lives of others and bring glory to him.

Don’t be all things, just be you-things.

Your emphasis matters in God’s eyes. May this encourage you whenever your life doesn’t go as planned.

Enter here to win a copy of A Redesigned Life!

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Tracy Steel graduated from Kansas State University with a BS in interior design in 1998 and has a master’s degree in biblical and theological studies from Phoenix Seminary. As a project designer, Tracy created and coordinated the design and space planning of commercial spaces for clients such as Bank One, Wells Fargo, Express Scripts, DHS, and Lockheed Martin. Moving from one type of interior design to another, Tracy then worked in full-time youth ministry, serving as the director of female students at Scottsdale Bible Church. God’s true design for Tracy now involves improving the interior space of the hearts and minds of women around her. Currently stationed in Washington, DC, this military wife and mother of two enjoys linking up with other bloggers, leading Bible studies at her local church, and speaking at various moms’ groups and women’s ministries events nationwide. She is also the author of Images of His Beauty, a 10-week Bible study for young women that focuses on identity, overcoming and healing through Christ, and bearing the image of Christ.

Connect with Tricia

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Chapter 3 Living Out Your Pop of Color for God [i] Donna Tersiisky, “The ABCs of Visual Design: Emphasis,” accessed June 23, 2018▲, http://www.tersiiska.com/design/principles/.

July 31, 2019 by Tricia Goyer 4 Comments

Writer Wednesday with Jen Babakhan

Today on Writer Wednesday we welcome Jen Babakhan, author of Detoured.

Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Detoured! Winner will be e-mailed.
Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Today on Writer Wednesday Jen Babakhan, author Detoured, shares what a typical day in her life looks like.

Writer Wednesday with Jen Babakhan: A Day in the Life

7am-9am: Most days I wake up about an hour before my boys (ages 5 and 7), and start the morning the way all the experts advise against: checking my email. As a freelance writer, most of those I work closely with are on the opposite coast, meaning that by the time I wake up in California, they’ve already been working awhile. I try to address any urgent emails from the comfort of bed, and then get ready for the day. I homeschool my boys, so during the school year our mornings look different than they currently do. We will have breakfast, I’ll spend some time reading the Bible while they eat and wake up, and then we begin our school day.

9am-1pm: While they’re working on any independent work, I’ll take a moment to check my email and social media, and try to mentally plan out the rest of the day. School usually lasts until lunch, when like any other stay-at-home mom, I’ll serve up only the healthiest of foods, organically grown from our garden, which my children will devour ravenously. JUST KIDDING. I make either chicken nuggets, or macaroni and cheese, or whatever they claim they will eat that day.

1pm-4pm: After lunch is usually when I’m able to carve out a chunk of time to promote my new book, Detoured:The Messy, Grace-Filled Journey From Working Professional to Stay-at-Home Mom, or to work on any freelance projects. If I’m working on freelance work, this usually includes lining up or conducting interviews with sources, or doing the actual work of writing (which, surprisingly, is a small part of the process).

While I work, my boys will either play together cooperatively, or hold a cage-fighting match in my living room, and most days it’s a mix of both. The life of a stay-at-home-mom-turned-writer means that I’ve had to learn to write during very brief uninterrupted moments of the day (these moments are the ten minutes here and there when I’m not fetching a snack—usually this is when they are eating said snack). This means that a lot of times my work never feels great, or even good enough— but it’s done, and I have to be satisfied with that. It’s during this chunk of the day that I often wind up playing super-heroes in the playroom or kicking a soccer ball, instead of putting the finishing touches on a piece, or researching.

4pm-8pm: At this point in the day, as afternoon fades into evening, I’ll step hesitantly away from the computer and wander into the kitchen to figure out what we will have for dinner. By the time my husband comes home, it feels as though we’ve lived a few days in the span of the ten hours he’s been gone, and we are all more than ready to settle in for the evening. After dinner, I’ll read or succumb to their pleas to play video games with them, and before long it’s glorious bedtime for all of us.

Each day is a little different than the next (just enough to keep my sanity), and though they’re all busy and chaotic, each one is blessed— and I am grateful.

If you would like to follow more of my adventures as a stay-at-home mom turned writer, you can find me at my website: www.jenbabakhan.com, on Instagram, @jenbabakhan, or Facebook, @jenbabakhanauthor.

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Jen Babakhan, author of book Detoured

Jen Babakhan is an author living in California with her husband and two young sons. She is the author of Detoured: The Messy, Grace-Filled Journey From Working Professional to Stay-at-Home Mom. Jen is also a contributor for Reader’s Digest, and her work has been featured various national news outlets.

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More about Detoured

Does having it all even exist?

Former marketing executive turned third-grade teacher, Jen Babakhan never expected her transition to stay-at-home mom would bring feelings of grief and loss. She felt God was calling her to be home with her newborn son, and she wanted to be with him—yet she felt conflicted about giving up her career.

Detoured chronicles the often-bumpy path Jen took to contentment and peace in her new role at home. She honestly shares the struggles and joys of being home, and the truth she uncovered about “having it all.” She invites you to walk beside her on this journey and find:

a new confidence and peace in your decision to place your career on hold
an invitation to discover your true identity that has nothing to do with your job title
a sense of community and the knowledge that you are not alone in your motherhood journey

Stay-at-home motherhood isn’t easy—but it can be the most beautiful detour you ever take.

Purchase a copy of Detoured
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May 6, 2019 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

Spring is a Celebration!

They say ‘April showers bring May flowers.’ But when you’re an author (and a homeschooling mom!) it also brings a busy conference season!

However, when May comes around the first thing I think about is my WWII friends. Because my first novel From Dust To Ashes was inspired by the liberation of Mauthausen Concentration Camp on May 5, 1945, this time of year is always significant to me.

And I have to admit, April was full to the rim … but it was joyful because I was intentionally focused on celebrating what is important.

Celebrating Family

First of all, our family went away to celebrate Easter. Because of this, we were able to focus on our Savior and His resurrection in a peaceful, joy-filled space. We spent quality time together without the distractions of home life.

Second, my sweet grandbaby Amelia came to visit from the Czech Republic. The holiday allowed for a more relaxed schedule and consequently, she got to bond with us all individually. (This is her with Uncle Nathan!)

Certainly, a highlight was meeting my long-lost brother! (Who I just discovered as a result of taking a DNA test through 23 and Me!)

I had no idea I had another brother until a few months ago, and we look so much alike!

Celebrating Homeschooling

I LOVED speaking at homeschool conferences this spring, and I’m thankful my kids get to travel the US with me. Here are Jordan and Bella in Ft. Worth (on our way to Waco).

I also loved meeting so many of you! It’s always a highlight of conferences when I get to connect with my readers and friends in person.

I’ll be in Mobile, AL this weekend. If you’re nearby, please come say hello!

Celebrating Heroes

On May 5, 1945, Mauthausen Concentration Camp was liberated by the members of the 11^th Armored Division. I met members of that division fifty-six years after the fact. Having known them is one of my greatest joys. Here is a photo from an Austrian newspaper of my friend LeRoy “Pete” Petersohn being honored at Mauthausen. Listening to Pete’s stories (and those of other veterans) inspired me to write my novels From Dust and Ashes and Night Song.

To honor these men, these novels are back in print. (And I even designed the covers myself!)

You can buy them here.

THANK YOU for all those who have loved these stories and shared them. It’s so important to me that these stories go on. Please enter to win a free copy of From Dust to Ashes!

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I love my new covers, and I love reading inspiring reviews, like this one from GoodReads:

Finally, to tie it all together … I’m thankful for the men and women who fought for freedom, so I can enjoy life and enjoy my family. Their sacrifice is not forgotten!

I’m thankful for the men I once knew, for they’ve grown my appreciation for the family I have today!

(This was me with Tom in 2002 … what an honor to know these veterans!)

Celebrating Relationships

Above all, I’m thankful for YOU friend! May you hug your family close as we remember the liberation of Mauthausen and what we celebrate at Easter–the day God liberated us all from sin and death through Jesus Christ!

Tricia

April 18, 2019 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

A Podcast Launch Giveaway with Joanna Weaver

I’m so excited to be an upcoming guest on Joanna Weaver’s new podcast, THE LIVING ROOM and to share with you her Podcast Launch Giveaway!

In case you don’t know her, Joanna Weaver is the author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, which has sold over a million copies, Having a Mary Spirit, Lazarus Awakening, and a devotional, At the Feet of Jesus. In addition to being a gifted writer, she’s also a speaker, a teacher, and proud pastors wife. Her passion is to see women experience the incredible love and grace of God so that they can become all He created them to be.

THE LIVING ROOM is an extension of her calling to love God’s people well and to celebrate, she’s hosting a giant giveaway, and I thought I’d share it with you.

Look what you could win:

GRAND PRIZE – $150 Amazon Gift card & book from TLR 2019 guests (13 in all!)
SECOND PRIZE – $50 Amazon Gift card & set of Joanna Weaver books & studies
5 RUNNER-UP PRIZES – $10 Amazon Gift card & Susie Larson’s book, Fully Alive

(ENDS APRIL 30^th @ midnight – ENTER HERE: https://joannaweaverbooks.com/TLRgiveaway/ )

January 15, 2019 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

5 Christian Parenting Author Giveaway

I’m excited to partner with these other authors to bring you some of the best Christian parenting resources available today.

Check out each author and their product below and then join the sweepstakes HERE between January 13-18, 2019 Eastern Time.

Thrive Family Video Series

By Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN. THRIVE! is a 12 session Video Training Experience that teaches parents a heart-based approach in order to help their children thrive. The Family Program offers the same 12 sessions. Each 15-minute video has a segment addressed specifically to young people watching. The family activity included gives kids of all ages the opportunity to grasp a new biblical truth and life skill.

Generations: Following Jesus as a Family DVD

Dr. Rob Rienow. Join us for an eight-session journey as we explore God’s purpose for the family. We need God’s grace and mercy in our homes every day, and we believe God will use the Scriptures in this series to encourage you to grow in your family relationships so that the generations of your family will live for Jesus.

The Messy Life of Parenting

Lori Wildenberg. As parents, we long for our kids to have family relationships that last a lifetime. But how do we create an atmosphere for connection on this messy journey of parenting? The Messy Life of Parenting shows you small changes you can make now to build lasting relationships, even when the going gets tough.

Calming Angry Kids

Slammed doors. Hurting hearts. Tricia Goyer knows what it’s like to parent children with chronic anger. In Calming Angry Kids, Goyer draws on her own experience to help readers understand what’s going on in a child’s brain, focus on relationship over rules, teach a child how to handle frustrations without outbursts, control how they express their own anger, establish a standard of respect in the home and much more.

Having the Talk Video Series

Having the Talk is a video series for parents who want to give their kids a biblical foundation for understanding sex. Luke and Trisha Gilkerson, authors of The Talk: 7 Lessons to Introduce Your Child to Biblical Sexuality, offer parents a step-by-step approach to talking about sex with young kids, as well as addressing many frequently asked questions kids tend to have.

Enter to win. Three winners will receive all five resources.

Notice there are several entry possibilities. Check all the boxes that you can do to maximize your chances of winning.

Remember, that even if you don’t win, you’ll want to check out these great resources and their newsletters. A great opportunity to expand your parenting library and resources.

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November 8, 2018 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

You Can’t Parent Alone | Marty Machowski

Scroll below for a chance to win a copy of Parenting First Aid!

Marty Machowski shares an excerpt from his new book *Parenting First Aid*

You Can’t Parent Alone

Before conceiving our twins, Lois and I were as prepared for parenting as any couple could be. We both babysat extensively and lived with Christian families. So we sat in the front row, watching others’ strengths and weaknesses as parents. I read the most definitive books on parenting available at the time and planned to follow the advice each gave with the military precision I applied to the rest of my life.

As our children grew, life threw us a curveball or two. Potty training humbled me when it didn’t work as I had planned. That should have been a sign that I needed God more than the parenting books. But we pressed on, purposing to be good Christian parents and expecting our children to become good Christian kids. We were careful not to expose Emma and Nathan to too much TV or inappropriate programs. They grew up with family worship and (somewhat) daily devotions. We decided to homeschool them so that we could shape their curriculum with a God-centered focus and we enrolled our twins in our local church homeschool co-op. We sat together as a family in church and looked to help all our kids develop friendships with other children from our church.

Our daughter Emma turned out just like we planned. She wasn’t perfect, a bit slow to do work or chores, but she responded well to discipline and God began to draw her to himself at a young age. She gave her life to Christ in her teen years. She saw how God lifted the weight of sin from the shoulders of others in our church and, in the middle of one night, she went into the bathroom to call out to God. She wouldn’t stop until he removed the weight of her sin. God kindly responded with grace, and she left the bathroom a different person. We noticed a difference in her service around the home as she started helping out without being asked. She became a shining star.

Nathan, on the other hand, played the part of a good Christian son on the outside, but inside he was far from God. A sizeable group of his homeschool classmates created an anti-fellowship pact, where they pledged they would never tell on each other, no matter what they did. So, while I slept at night, Nathan was sneaking out of our house to meet up

with his other church friends to go drinking in a local park. It wasn’t until another family caught one of their kids that we found out that Nathan was involved. I remember crying out to the Lord, pleading my case. “God,” I prayed, “I am sleeping at two in the morning!

How can I be expected to parent twenty-four hours a day?” We also told our son that he was too young to date, but that didn’t stop him. He had a secret girlfriend in his double-life world. To us, she was just a “friend.”

Then came the first of several run-ins with the police. I got the call no dad ever wants to receive. “Can you come pick up your son at the station?” He and his girlfriend were taken into custody since they were in a car containing drugs. I felt a wave of relief when I discovered that the police did not charge them, as the drugs belonged to the car’s owner. But subsequent run-ins revealed that my son was as involved as any of his other church friends.

“Church kids!” I called out to God, laying out my case for God’s unfairness to me. “Lord, we homeschooled them. We did devotions with our kids and family worship. We were careful not to expose them to worldliness, and we limited their friends to other church kids. What more are we supposed to do?” At that moment God was kind to answer me. I felt a distinct message in the core of my being. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my independence. “I don’t want you parenting standing up; I want you parenting kneeling down.” The scales fell from my eyes as I realized the pride with which I had parented. That was when Psalm 127 gained new meaning: “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” I am convinced that God designed my son’s trials to humble me. If he had transformed Nathan’s life as he had Emma’s, I would have become the most self-righteous pastor ever, attributing their success to the work of my hands. God wanted the credit for saving my children; I was looking to keep it for myself.

A decade or more before we met, Lois prayed for my salvation in her regular petitions to God for her future husband. Saved at a young age, she understood her need for God and his help in the building of her home. I am certain that when I get to heaven, God will reveal that my salvation was an answer to her prayers.

Having heard that her mother prayed for me long before I was a believer, our daughter Emma set out to pray for her future husband. She started a prayer journal in her later teen years. She prayed that whole first week that God would save her husband. She wrote, “Dear Lord, please keep my husband safe tonight, please watch over him and let him

know you are near. God, please pour out your power on him when he feels weak and draw him near to you. Please make him into a man who loves you more than anything the world has to offer. God, when he is feeling tempted, please make yourself and your promises so very real and relevant to him. Lord, you know who this man is and you see all that I can’t see, so I entrust him to your care. Thank you for all you are doing and will do in this man’s life. I love you, in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

It wouldn’t be until after she got engaged that she would see just how faithfully God answered her prayers, but that is real-life story for another chapter.

More about Parenting First Aid

Parenting First Aid, new from Marty Machowski

In today’s world of insta-porn on electronic devices, the ease of access to drugs, and the ever-increasing blurring of sexuality, families are assaulted with an unprecedented level of trials and challenges. Parents are faced with disappointment and overwhelming trials. They often blame themselves when their children struggle and don’t recognize that God often allows trials to help parents lean on and trust him.

Parenting First Aid: Hope for the Discouraged by best-selling author Marty Machowski (New Growth Press/September 24, 2018) is designed to point parents back to God. His goal is to encourage overwhelmed parents with the Bible passages that encouraged him when he experienced trials as a parent. “The best advice I can give parents in a major trial is don’t give up, and don’t allow the enemy to discourage you or tell you God doesn’t care or won’t help. Galatians 6:9 has always encouraged me: ‘And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.’”

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Marty Machowski author of new book Parenting First Aid

Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for thirty years. He is the author of numerous resources for churches and families, including The Gospel Story for Kids series, The Ology, and Parenting First Aid. Machowski and his wife, Lois, and their six children reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

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July 18, 2018 by Tricia Goyer 2 Comments

Writers Wednesday with Carrie Stuart Parks

Today on Writer’s Wednesday we welcome Carrie Stuart Parks, author of Formula of Deception.

Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Formula of Deception! Congratulations to Lora Piepergerdes who won a copy of Rachel McMillan’s Murder at the Flamingo! Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Carrie Stuart Parks, the author of Formula of Deception, shares a typical (or not so typical) day in her life of today’s Writer Wednesday.

An Everyday Life that Never Happens

As an artist, forensic artist, law enforcement instructor, speaker, AKC judge, dog breeder, and somewhere in there a novelist, I never seem to have an ordinary day. My husband—and partner in our forensic corporation—and I live on the family’s 685-acre ranch in the mountains of Idaho. We are freelance everything, so the schedules we set are based on the next class or deadline coming up. Roughly once a month we will pack up and head out to teach a week-long series of forensic classes somewhere in the US or Canada. With classes lasting Monday through Friday, we have to catch a flight out on the previous Saturday (we can’t afford to get caught with a canceled flight the day before!) Our forensic classes are the bread and butter of our lives. Our forensic students provide the accurate information needed for any police, fire, nursing, and other topics that might end up on a novel.

In addition to writing, Carrie is also a watercolor artist.

When I started writing and illustrating drawing and watercolor books for North Light Publishers in 2001, I stopped doing art shows and trying to paint 150-250 watercolors a year. It was a relief to get out of so much pressure. Now I’ll produce 10-15 works a year, teach a class or two, and call it good.

I show our Great Pyrenees dogs, and they seem to require attention (make that demand attention.) I write in a chair in the living room, but the dogs don’t understand why the computer is in my lap, not them. Unfortunately, computer and dog are mutually exclusive. This year I decided to get my AKC Great Pyrenees judging license, so more time spent away from writing. Add to that being the Great Pyrenees columnist for the AKC Gazette and . . . well.

Carrie and her husband tour the US and Canada giving forensic classes.

I LOVE speaking, but once again preparing for a presentation, even a minor one, will take time. The topics and participants reflect this strange life I lead. This year I spoke/will speak at the Great Pyrenees National, Spokane Watercolor Society, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Writer’s Police Academy, and ACFW’s Early Bird and writing session.

At any time a call can come in from a law enforcement agency needing a composite or advice on a case. These are usually a drop-everything-emergency. Out the window goes all my carefully laid plans!

I’m not a prolific novelist. One book a year, no matter how hard I try, seems to be the limit. Reading background materials, researching, interviewing, and usually traveling to the location take an inordinate amount of time. So does plotting. I’m always thinking, worrying, fussing, and fretting that the books don’t have enough twists and turns, unexpected moments, a smidge of humor, plausible action, and realistic characters.

I’m blessed above and beyond to have a fantastic agent with Karen Solem, a great publishing house and editors with HarperCollins Christian, Amanda Bostic, and Erin Healy, and brainstorming partners and cherished friends in Colleen Coble, Ronie Kendig, Robin Caroll, Lynette Eason, Cara Putman, and others. My mentor, Frank Peretti, is always willing to help me when I make an utter botch of something.

This month we released my newest book, Formula of Deception, a mystery/suspense/thriller set on beautiful Kodiak Island, Alaska, and introducing a new character, Murphy Andersen. I hope you’ll get a chance to read it!

So, an average day? Week? Month? Year? I keep waiting…

God Bless,

Carrie

Listen to an exclusive clip from the first chapter of Formula of Deception HERE!

More about Formula of Deception

Formula of Deception by Carrie Stuart Parks

An artist hiding from an escaped killer uncovers one of World War II’s most dangerous secrets—a secret that desperate men will do anything to keep hidden.

After the murder of her twin sister, Murphy Anderson changed her name and appearance and moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to avoid the press and publicity. But when local authorities discover she’s an artist and request her help in drawing a dying man’s memories, she unintentionally ends up in the limelight again—and back in the killer’s crosshairs.

The deathbed confessions of an Alaskan hunter have Murphy drawing the five bodies he discovered on remote Ruuwaq Island ten years ago. But what investigators find has them mystified. Evidence suggests that the bodies were deliberately destroyed, and what they uncover in an abandoned Quonset hut from World War II only brings more questions.

As one by one the investigators who were at the hut die, Murphy knows there is something much darker at stake. What happened on this island during the war? And who is willing to kill to keep its secrets buried?

“I love Carrie Stuart Parks’s skill in writing characters with hysterical humor, unwitting courage, and page-turning mystery. I hope my readers won’t abandon me completely when they learn about her!”

—Terri Blackstock, USA TODAY bestselling author of If I Run, If I’m Found, and If I Live

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Carrie Stuart Parks author of Formula of Deception

Carrie Stuart Parks is an award-winning, internationally known forensic artist. Over the past thirty-six years, she has worked on major criminal cases for such agencies as the FBI and ATF as well as numerous police and sheriff’s departments throughout the US. She is the author of over twenty books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Along with her artist-husband, Rick, a former visual information specialist for the FBI in Washington DC, they travel across the US and Canada teaching forensic art courses. They are the foremost instructor of forensic art in the world.

She has won numerous awards for career excellence. Carrie is a popular platform speaker, presenting a variety of topics from crime to creativity.

Animals have always been a large part of her life. Her parents, Ned and Evelyn Stuart, started Skeel Kennel Great Pyrenees in 1960. Carrie inherited the kennel and continues with her beloved dogs as both an AKC judge and former president of the Great Pyrenees Club of America. She lives on the same ranch she grew up on in Northern Idaho.

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June 20, 2018 by Tricia Goyer 2 Comments

Writers Wednesday with Rachel Hauck

Today on Writer’s Wednesday we welcome Rachel Hauck, author of The Writing Desk.

Enter below for a chance to win a copy of The Writing Desk! Congratulations to Laurie Tomlinson who won a copy of Elizabeth Byler Younts’ The Solace of Water! Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Rachel Hauck, the author of new book The Love Letter, shares her writing space(s) on this week’s Writer Wednesday.

My Writing Desk

Welcome to my workspace. I’d love to say this is where “all the magic” happens but it is literally where “all the work gets done.”

My office is an octagon shaped turret with a copula designed and built by a former Pixar artist.

My workspace is on the second floor – hubby is on the first – and my window view is of the backyard trees. I feel like I’m working in a treehouse. Only with air conditioning.

However, the tower-like structure is also called the turret and became my “tower” and the perfect inspiration for writing The Royal Wedding Series.

Rachel Hauck shares her writing space(s) on this week’s Writing Wednesday.

I love this space. It’s bright, airy and a gift from God. And when I’m on deadline, a bit messy. (As you can see from the photo.)

Once Upon A Prince was the first book I wrote here. Since then, there have been so many fun moments starting and finishing a book. Plus all the agonizing days in between when the middle felt so sluggish and dull.

My office is for writing. As cool as it is, I don’t hang out here unless I’m working. It’s a treasure to have space at home I only use for work.

I start my writing day between 10 a.m. and Noon, depending on how close I am to deadline. When fast drafting, I may be done by 5:00 p.m. but otherwise I work until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.

Mid-afternoon I take a snack break since I try not to eat at my desk. A writer’s life is sedentary enough without adding food to the work mix.

My other afternoon break comes from sweet fur babies—a couple of Yorkies walking their owner. They come by to visit and chow down on a treat or two.

But really, let’s talk about the obvious—that giant picture of my husband and me on the left-hand side of the office photo. Isn’t that hilarious?

Here’s the scoop. The pic was taken during our brief career as extras in a Hallmark movie. In costume, the official Hallmark photographer snapped the shot.

When we got home, I had this bright idea to create a print as a memento. Even better, a canvas of our time in the movies.

Cruising the internet, I found Canvas.com and picked the size they had on sale. Twenty inches by something… I didn’t really calculate the size. Who cares, right?

A week later when the package arrived, I could not stop laughing. It was huge!

A good idea gone bad. Where was I going to hang it? Not in the house.

My husband, a pastor, joked about hanging it in the church foyer. But, um, no.

So, I carried it up to my office and hung it beside the bookshelf. From the angle in the picture, you can’t tell but the image is actually hidden unless you walk around my desk. I forget it’s there most of the time.

But I don’t always work inside. In the early spring and late fall, I like to work out on the deck. I can spend the entire day out here. Until mosquitos and no-see-ems time start nibbling at my legs. Then I have to call it quits.

So, there’s my office spaces and a small peek into my writing life. Thanks to Tricia for sharing this space with me.

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More about The Love Letter

The Love Letter, new from author Rachel Hauck

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes a story of long-lost love and its redemption in future generations.

Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle’s forte—in life or on screen. But everyone knows who to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career.

When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. But once on-set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.

Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.

Set in stunning upcountry South Carolina, The Love Letter is a beautifully-crafted story of the courage it takes to face down fear and chase after love, even in the darkest of times. And just maybe, all these generations later, love can come home in a way not even Hollywood could imagine.

In the style for which she is known and admired, Hauck (The Writing Desk, 2017) returns with an intricately woven tale of how a letter links the past and present. From its epic opening to its unexpected and wholly satisfying conclusion, The Love Letter serves up the perfect blend of modern and historical romance infused with exquisite vulnerability. It sweeps readers into the centuries-old drama of South Carolina and the flash of contemporary Hollywood and delightfully explores layers of social and emotional duality. — Booklist

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Rachel Hauck author of new book The Love Letter

Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times Book Reviews. She is a double RITA finalist and a Christy and Carol Award Winner. Her book, Once Upon A Prince, first in the Royal Wedding Series, was filmed for an Original Hallmark movie and aired in April 2018. It was the #1 show for its time slot and #3 for the week in cable programming.

Rachel has been awarded the prestigious Career Achievement Award for her body of original work by Romantic Times Book Reviews. A member of the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers, she teaches workshops and leads worship at the annual conference.

In other news, she’s the comical sidekick to Susan May Warren at the amazing My Book Therapy. At home, she’s a wife, writer, worship leader and works out at a local gym semi-enthusiastically. A graduate of Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) with a degree in Journalism, she’s a former sorority girl and a devoted Ohio State football fan. Her bucket list is to stand on the sidelines with Urban Meyer.

She lives in sunny central Florida with her husband and ornery cat.

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