Christian Parenting Book "Navigating Motherhood"

For many moms, parenting is a lonely place to be. Be encouraged in this Christian parenting book, Navigating Motherhood, and know that you never alone!

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THE NAVIGATING MOTHERHOOD CLASS

My first pregnancy was rough. I threw up for 30 weeks and experienced almost every symptom in the book, from nose bleeds, heartburn, constipation and nonstop Braxton hicks contractions. I hated anyone who said they loved being pregnant.

Lucky for me, the birth part was fairly easy (yes, I recommend the epidural!), and thought the worst was behind me, but unfortunately my troubles were only beginning. I went through post-partum depression and left a job with most of my friends behind. I felt more alone than ever.

But when my son was three months old, a new class for moms opened up at our church. It was called “Navigating Motherhood” and was a place for moms to meet and learn how to raise their children in a Christian household.

This community of moms saved me. It gave me a reason to get out of the house every Tuesday morning and gave me the confidence to realize that I was doing a good job. I was taking a class about how to be a good mom for crying out loud!

For the first time ever, I stepped into a leadership role at church and volunteered to help run the social media side of the class and help promote it to women in the area.

I remember looking forward to Sunday mornings (probably for the first time in my life!) because I had people there that were doing life with me. We would hold each other’s babies, go on lunch outings and host play dates at our homes.

PARENTING THAT RELIES ON THE LORD

The thing is, this class had a phenomenal teacher named Becky Brooks. Just another young mom (with newborn to middle school kids) feeling insecure at times, but the difference was her unwavering confidence in God. Her passion and trust in Him oozed into everything she said. She made it realistic and attainable to be a flawed mother who deeply relied on the Lord to guide and help raise her children.

I felt so alone before attending the class, but she opened my eyes to a new way of living. A confident, exciting motherhood in front of me, instead of the terrifying burden of simply keeping my children alive!

In the middle of finding a community of other like-minded mom friends, I found true direction and hope in my own journey. We weren’t given step by step instructions for a one-size-fits-all parenting style, but time and time again were pointed back to this basic truth: we are not alone.

Many of us turn to our moms for parenting advice. Becky reminded us that we also have a heavenly father who knows our children better than we do.

From this class I learned the habit of training myself to be comfortable inviting God into my parenting. I learned that not all prayers have to be said in the quiet of the morning or around the dinner table, but that they can be said aloud in the middle of the chaos and left open-ended as you continue throughout your day. I turned my formal prayer life into an on-going conversation with Jesus. Sometimes it was no more than a few words like Thank you, or Help me, Lord.

What Becky reminded all of us was that God is also a father, a helper, our comfort, counselor and friend. So many times we only see God as far removed because of his holiness, but don’t forget that among the reverence and humility we need to show God, he also came down to earth, to our level as a friend.

WAIT, THERE’S A BOOK?

After seven (or so) years of writing lessons and teaching, the class attendance grew from 22 women to hundreds! Becky passed the baton on the Navigating Motherhood ministry and took time to write down all the lessons over the years in a book of short devotions.

I have never been more blessed by anything in my parenting journey than the wisdom that came from these classes and I am SO EXCITED that women from all over the world can experience a little piece of them.

The book covers 12 weeks of topics and is broken down into daily devotions. Becky starts with a personal anecdote from her parenting years (usually hilarious) and follows up with:

Applicable lesson
Bible verse
Journaling questions
Prayer prompt

GET YOUR BOOK!

If you are feeling overwhelmed, confused or insecure about motherhood, this book will encourage you and help you grow in so many ways. I can’t recommend it enough. So much of this class inspired the posts I write, from creating a spiritual resume to setting family goals. Ready to order a copy of “Navigating Motherhood” for yourself? Grab your copy here:

BUY THE BOOK

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In this class we were encouraged to teach our children the Fruit of the Spirit, and even use them as guidelines for family rules. So I created my own study for kids and used it with my own! You can now order it here: