Hearts at Home Miraculous Blog Hop

Welcome to this month's Hearts at Home Blog Hop, with the theme of miracles. I've read about a lot of them, and even heard a few people share their amazing stories... but it surely would never happen to me, right?!

When my husband and I were giddy first-time homeowners, we began experiencing some issues with our roof. Turns out that we had layers upon layers of shingles, and whoever had put on the last round had even flashed all the edges so that it appeared that everything was just fine (and the home inspector had not discovered the problem). Anyway, we had taken a big financial leap of faith simply by purchasing the home and were not sure how we'd come up with the money needed for the repairs. It would be thousands of dollars to have it handled professionally; my husband had talked with his dad and several friends and figured that we could do it with their help plus about $1400 in supplies. Still a mighty big number!

We began praying. About a week later we got an unexpected letter in the mail; when I opened it, a $1500 check fell out. I can remember staring at it in amazement. God had provided in a very direct way (even providing an additional $100 for the building permit we hadn't known we needed!) and I still am so thankful and awestruck when I think back to that situation.

God continues to provide for us, although it may not be in such a blatantly "miraculous" fashion... When we had to move to our current location, we were able to sell that home (despite a tough market), and the buyer requested closing the exact date that we'd told hubby's company we'd hoped to head out. Our lives are filled with such stories, reminders that God is not limited by our bank balance, the economy, or anything else.

I'm going to finish with one last story, a reminder that he will not only supply our needs but sometimes even our wants. I have lost a fair amount of weight in the last several months, so my wardrobe is in a bit of a state of limbo. I had a skirt that I loved, an abstract floral with shades of green, blue, and yellow, but it was too large and I reluctantly passed it along. As I was getting ready for church a few weekends ago, I found myself thinking about that skirt and how nice it would have looked with the shirt I was wanting to wear that day. Oh, well! Two days later, I was at the thrift shop, hoping to find a few pairs of capris. As I was walking past the skirt rack, I caught a glimpse of green, blue, and yellow. What?!? I reached for the hanger, and started laughing when I saw that it was my current size. Yes, God had worked a small but very personal miracle just for me... and I'll be wearing that skirt Easter Sunday as we celebrate the much larger miracle that was performed for all of us!

Living with Less - and a giveaway!

Today I'll be sharing a bit about the newly released book Living with Less so your Family has More by Jill and Mark Savage. I think we all struggle to balance the many aspects of life, and obviously finances play a huge role in that. Read on for more info - and a chance to win a copy for yourself!!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

We have been married for 27 years…17 of them happily. After finding ourselves in a marriage counselor’s office around year 8 or so, we realized that we really didn’t know how to be married. We worked hard to turn things around and now we like to share that hope with other couples.

We have five children ranging from 13 to 25. Our oldest three are married. Anne (25) and her husband, Matt, live in Zion, IL, and are expecting our first grandchild in April. (We are very excited!) Evan (22) and his wife, Julie, have been married a year and a half and they live just a few miles from us. Erica (19) married her husband Kendall last September. They live in Augusta, GA, and wherever else the Army takes them.

We have two teenagers still at home. Kolya just turned 16. He’s learning to drive and we’ve nearly worn a hole in the carpet on the floor in the passenger seat trying to find that non-existent brake pedal. Kolya is the newest member of the Savage family. We adopted him at the age of nine from Russia.

Austin is 13 and in the 8th grade. He wants us to make sure and tell the world that this “living with less” life is a real bummer because he’s the ONLY kid in 8th grade who doesn’t have a cell phone.

Tell us about your newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

The world screams the message that bigger is always better, but we have found that is not often true. When it comes to raising a family, less materially can actually result in more relationally. Children don’t need the best houses, the best lessons, the best cars, or the best clothes. What they really need is the best home life and the best family relationships we can give them.

Why did you want to write this book?

We didn’t start out with the “less is more” mindset. We started as a double income family wanting to have the “best” of everything. Then Mark decided to pursue ministry. We went from the “high life” to the “frugal life” very quickly as we moved to another state for him to go to Bible College full-time.

That experience introduced us to the concept that less is more. We definitely had less money, but we had more time. We had less stress and more peace. We had less activities and more fun.

Since that experience, we’ve continued to live primarily on one income for the past twenty years. We’ve had to battle cultural peer pressure and make different decisions for our family than many other families in our neighborhood have made. But we’ve never felt that we were materially depriving ourselves or our kids…instead we’ve focused on what we’ve actually been able to provide for them emotionally and relationally.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?

We hope the reader is encouraged to evaluate how they are living their life, spending their money, and thinking about family matters. Our goal is to introduce families to the “less is more” concept and then equip them with the attitudes and actions to actually make that happen.

For families that are already committed to less is more, we hope to bolster their resolve and help them stay focused on the long-term goal of providing relationally for their kids.

In today’s economy, there are many families being forced to live with less. We want to help them see the opportunity they have with this unexpected downsizing they’ve been forced to do.

And for those who have just been a little discontent with their life and saying things like, “I’m tired of the rat race of life,” or “Is there more to life than drive-thru meals for dinner?” we hope to help them see other choices they have and how they can lead their family in a different direction.

What unique elements will the reader find in Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

For couples who want to read the book together, we’ve included discussion questions at the end of every chapter. This helps move the readers to discussion and eventually actions. Even a single parent can use the discussion questions for personal evaluation.

Readers will find this book a practical guide to changing your attitude and your actions to live a successful “less is more” life. They’ll find our writing style to be a warm, casual, honest discussion where we not only share our victories but our mistakes along the way. We are an average couple living successfully on an average income who want to help others to see the possibilities before them.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?

Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!

Any closing thoughts?

It’s healthy for parents to occasionally pause and evaluate their vision for their family and the choices they are making. We hope this resource will help them do that together and that it will lead them to live a life of little regret.

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Would you like to win a copy for yourself? Please leave a comment (include your email addy, please) by Monday 3/29 (1:00 PM central) and I'll have my daughter draw a name. Sorry, but US addresses only since I'm paying for shipping :)

Growing Grateful Kids

Today I have the honor of introducing the new book from Susie Larson - Growing Grateful Kids. This is something that's really been on my heart lately, and I'm so excited to find this resource. Please read on to learn more about Susie and this great book --

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

My husband and I have been married 25 years and have three grown sons (all in their early twenties). Our oldest son Jake works on the business side of the Christian music industry. Our middle son Luke is married to his beautiful wife Kristen; he works full time at a bank and part time as a worship pastor. Our youngest son Jordan is studying to become a surgical nurse. My husband Kevin is a commercial construction manager by day and manages my ministry by night (and weekends). Bless his heart! I am an author, speaker, and an on-call radio host for Christian talk radio. Together, Kevin and I serve as advocates for justice on behalf of modern day slaves and human trafficking victims.

Tell us about your new book, Growing Grateful Kids: Teaching Them to Appreciate an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Places.

Even when economic times are tight, our children enjoy an abundance of material possessions. Yet, amidst all this wealth, discontentment and competition seem to be on the rise. Instead of teaching children virtues such as gratefulness and patience, many parents are bending over backwards to get their children the latest and greatest item - or feeling guilty when they can't. In spite of the currents of materialism and entitlement that flow so strong, it is possible to raise children who are simply grateful. Though teaching perspective and gratitude to our children is critical, it is not difficult.

Why did you want to write this book?

To be completely honest, I never wanted to write a book on parenting. I wanted to protect my kids’ privacy and give them time and space to become the men God wants them to be. But in the last few years, I have been especially burdened with the level of selfishness, entitlement and disrespect I see among children today. Furthermore, moms seem more stressed than ever. When I asked my sons their thoughts on writing this book, without pausing they all said, “Do it, mom; that book needs to be written!” I think I wrote a book that not only equips young moms to raise humble, grateful world-changers, but also one that nourishes the soul of the reader and encourages her personally.

Throughout the book you remind the reader that we cannot impart what we do not possess. Can you explain?

If we never deal with our own fears, insecurities, and hang ups, but we try to teach our children to believe in their divine value, over time, our words will not ring true to them. First God wants to do His work in us before He does it through us. They say that lessons are more often caught than taught. If we parent from a place of conviction and real freedom, our children will be affected by what we teach them.

One of your chapters is titled, “Take Time to Play.” How does taking time to play teach our kids to be grateful?

To me, taking time to play says a lot about the level of faith we possess.

If our children hear us confess that we love and serve a BIG God and yet they see us striving and straining through life, they will come to believe that more is on our shoulders than on God’s. If we can trust God enough to step away from our busy-important lives, to make a fort in the basement, or play a game with our children – even in the most desperate of economic situations – we will give our children a sense of much needed security and that all is well in their world.

What do you want readers to take away from this book?

To answer this question (I hope you don’t mind), I would like to share an endorsement from one of my sample readers. She expressed my deepest desire for my reader:

“Growing Grateful Kids is such a great source of conviction, encouragement, and inspiration to spur me on to finishing this parenting race well and not sputter out along the way. This book compels me to submit my own character to the refining of the Holy Spirit that I may be equipped to impart those lessons onto my children. Thank you, Susie, for taking the time, for submitting in obedience, and writing this down for a generation in desperate need of this kind of parenting book!” –Gail Miller

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?

Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free bi-weekly electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!


Any closing thoughts?

I am very excited about the message in this book. It is my prayer that every one who reads it will be nourished, encouraged, and equipped to parent from a place of fullness, conviction, and confidence. Raising grateful, confident kids will be one of the most heroic, important things you do in your lifetime. God’s blessings to you!

"Living With Less" contest

Here's a fun opportunity for you! To celebrate the release of Hearts at Home’s newest book: Living With Less So Your Family Has More, by Jill and Mark Savage, the Hearts at Home blog is launching the Living with Less Contest.

Email Hearts at Home a story or money-saving tip that gives a peek into your daily experiences representing the humor, richness, or spiritual aspects of what it’s like to live with less.

Better yet, blog readers will benefit as many of the money-saving entries will be posted on the Heart’s blog throughout the month of February. Get all the details here.

"Hearts at Home"

When I had just given birth to our first child, I was feeling rather overwhelmed. I had dreamt of becoming a mother since I was a little girl... yet there I was, so incredibly tired from dealing with our colicky baby, frustrated with how very little I was "doing" and quite frankly missing the workplace a bit. A friend from church loaned me a copy of Professionalizing Motherhood, and I found it soooo encouraging. I've since recommended it to other new moms, and have also found encouragement in the book Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God. So anyway, as I was browsing through blogs last month, I was excited to see that Hearts at Home was starting up a blogging team, and I immediately shot them an email. I'll be sharing posts from them once a month or so, and I pray that all you moms laboring in the home trenches can find encouragement.

Have you ever felt alone as a mom? Lost in your chosen field of mothering?

There is an organization that was created to encourage, educate and equip women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home helps thousands of moms love their lives through their many resources including conferences, website, and books.

Recently I partnered up with this organization as a blogger. Over time I hope to share with you the many resources this ministry has to offer (old ones and new). To learn more about the Hearts at Home Blogging team go here.

In the meantime I would like to encourage you to explore their website and blog for an immediate dose of mothering encouragement.