Where Have You Been All My Life?
Ok, so maybe “all my life” is a bit of exaggeration. Perhaps we can narrow it down to the last 10 years…
I am a mom. I have bad days. Put them together and I have Bad Mom Days. Do you?
No, this doesn’t mean I am a bad mom, it just means I have those moments where I could have made a better choice. You know those moments: we yell too loud, or too long, or we use words we wish hadn’t. Maybe we are over-protective; or under-protective. Maybe we step in when we should but out. The bottom line is that moms are human; and as humans we screw up sometimes.
For example…
There was a time when I made homemade tomato soup. And it was good! {If I do say so myself!} It was when we still celebrated Halloween and the recipe was called Soup with Goop. It had chunks of melting mozzarella in it. And there was also a pasta dish called Bats with Cobwebs, using bow tie pasta and shredded Parmesan cheese. The pasta was a hit; however the soup was not.
LegoFan was about 5 at the time. He had not been diagnosed on the spectrum yet; and I had not yet leaned to pick my battles. And battle we did. He sat there and refused to eat any of this soup. I was bound and determined to make him eat it.
To this day, LegoFan refuses to eat soup of any kind.
I have berated myself for creating this aversion to soup. I’ve kicked myself for being insensitive. I have really beaten myself up over this for years.
But seriously. It’s time to let it go. Was it really my bad parenting moment that created this soup aversion in my son? Maybe, maybe not. Knowing what I now know about autism and sensory processing disorders, my ill-planned battle may have had very little to do with it. But I beat myself up anyway.
And that’s where the title of today’s post comes in. I’ve recently read this gem of a book by author and speaker Kathi Lipp called “i need some help here! – HOPE for When Your Kids Don’t Go according to Plan”
I am SO glad I read this book, but I have to admit that I wish it were in print before I made the Soup with Goop! Perhaps I would not have chosen to fight this battle. Or, perhaps, if I did fight it, I would not have beaten myself up over it for the past several years.
Ladies, we do that a lot. We beat ourselves up over these mistakes we make. Guess what? We’re going to keep making mistakes. If we beat ourselves up over each and every one, we’ll never make it to puberty, much less adulthood.
Kathi’s book offer hope and encouragement to all of us. But this isn’t your typical self-help book. I love that she includes stories from the trenches. I don’t know about you, but I feel just a little better about things when I know others are in the same boat I am.
Also included in this book are prayers ~ prayers for our children; and prayers for us as moms. Kathi skillfully uses scripture to help us on this journey; and to assist us in looking at ourselves through our Heavenly Father’s eyes.
In the immortal words of Larry the Cucumber: “I laughed. I cried. It moved me.”
Thank you, Kathi for freeing me from the Goop in my own Soup!
Here’s a little more about “i need some help here!”
It’s easy to feel worried and anxious as a parent. There are so many areas of your child’s life that can go wrong along the way. What’s a mom to do? In I Need Some Help Here! Hope for When Your Kids Don’t Go According to Plan, Kathi meets you in your moments of panic or despair with wit and wisdom. She offers the most powerful tools, from prayer to practical tips, for you and your child. The book covers all of the stages of your child’s life from toddler to young adult and tackles the most common issues that cause stress and anxiety, sharing:
- Practical wisdom when your child makes poor choices
- How to pray when your child is running away from God
- Comforting words fore when your child feels left out
- “been there” advice for when your child is different than other kids
Whether you are at the end of your rope, or simply need a little extra support as you walk the parenting road, you’ll cherish Kathi’s heart, humor and experience.
Kathi Lipp inspires thousands of women each year to take beneficial steps in their personal, marital and spiritual lives through purposeful living. With humor and wisdom, Kathi offers hope paired with practical steps to live each facet of our lives with meaning.
Kathi is the author of ten books with Revell Publishers and Harvest House Publishers. She has become well respected on the topics of marriage, children and self-purpose from a biblical perspective. She has four more books slated for release in the next two years.
She is a national speaker and is often featured on Focus on the Family, MOPS International, Crosswalk.com, and Nickelodeon TV’s Parent Connect as well as a number of other reputable organizations around the country. She was recently named “Best of Broadcast” on Focus on the Family.
She and her husband Roger are the parents of four young adults in San Jose, CA. When she’s not doing laundry, Kathi is speaking at retreats, conferences and women’s events across the US.
Kathi can be found on:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKathiLipp
Twitter https://twitter.com/kathilipp
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/kathilipp/
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review – the opinions I have expressed are my own. The link to amazon is an affiliate link; any pennies earned by your purchase of this book through my link will assist me in taking care of my kids and keeping them home.
