Have you ever read a book and from the beginning, cheered the author for "getting you" right? I started this book and immediately wondered which of my friends had adopted a pen name to write about me....
Before becoming a mom, I had all kinds of dreams, goals and aspirations. And, then I had children! Don't get me wrong, being a mom is a wonderful and blessed role, but do you ever feel like there has to be more in store for you? I admit I do, and often.
For me it all goes back to a need to be TRULY known. Not just the mom of four, the homemaker, the potty-trainer, grocery shopper.... Because while I am those things, I am also a unique individual who wants to discuss MORE than birthing horror stories, potty-training techniques and where to get the best deal on produce.
Being a mom does change us, or as the author more accurately puts it, motherhood refines us.
Take into consideration assumptions about motherhood, demands on our time and energy, and the all too common guilt, and it is no wonder that mothers are grasping at their identities and yelling "MINE!" like toddlers.
For every woman wondering what happened to the unique combination of gifts and abilities she was known for before kids came along, Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira has good news: in Mama’s Got a Fake I.D., Rivedeneira helps moms reclaim their full identity as creative beings, gifted professionals and volunteers, loving friends, children of God—and mothers.
This inspiring and practical guide shows women how to break free from false guilt, learn a new language to express who they really are, and follow God’s lead in sharing their true self with others. After all, motherhood doesn’t have to mean losing one’s identity. Instead, being a mom makes it possible for a woman to discover a more complete identity as the person God made her to be.
This book would be great for a book group and/or bible study group! Buy it here.
And I have a copy to give away! Leave a comment about your thoughts on "identity" for one entry. Get an extra entry for following the blog (leave a separate comment letting me know you are a follower or became one). I'll select a winner on Mother's Day and announce it on Monday, May 11!
8 comments:
Sounds like a great book!
Happy Mother's Day!!
sounds like something I would like to read. I, too, had all kinds of goals and aspirations that have been put to the way side since my children have come along. And I would not trade one minute of my children's life with me, I'm not complaining, just saying how funny it is that I went from Ms. So and So, Secretary to Mr. Big Shot to oh, you are so and so's mom or Mr. So and So's wife....ain't life funny?
Hey there! Visiting from SITS! This was a great post and You have a wonderful site!!
Stop by my blog and enter my giveaway to help the village of Eagle Alaska!
Keep on bloggin!
Oh and I am from KS too! Emporia :)
I have achieved my goals! I wanted to be a granny like my granny, comfy cosy, dependable creative and daft!!!!
Tracey x x x
Sometimes I think I should change my name to mama.
It's hard to cultivate the non-mom part of yourself when the kids keep you so busy...
Ohhhhh....I have so many thoughts on identity! From having your identity tied solely to your job (me), or some women who tie their identity to their husbands jobs, or to their kids achievements...I am not sure we can develop an independent identify, but rather we need a balanced identity...with a a bit of where we came from, a bit of those who have most influenced our lives, a bit of what we do, and a ton of who we love!
That looks great!
I'll have to find it at our bookstores here.
I'm sure there were/are things in MY OWN life I'm meant to do... But it gets so lost in the muddle of family. Yes, I get lost. Great post.
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