Mothers, Pregnancy

As a mom, you want to give your best to your family. Motherhood is incredibly rewarding, yet its challenges can leave you feeling anxious, inadequate, and overwhelmed with mom guilt. Trusted author Ruth Schwenk of Pressing Pause and The Better Mom blog will help you learn to give yourself grace as you grow in wisdom with The Better Mom Devotional.

As a busy mom of four kids, Ruth understands the stress of raising a family and trying to do it all perfectly, but she has uncovered a secret: becoming a better mom doesn't start with what you are doing but with who God is inviting you to become.

In The Better Mom Devotional, 100 devotions filled with Scripture, prayers, and reflection questions will help you discover:

How God uses motherhood to change you from the inside out

Intentional ways to deepen your faith in any season of parenting

The true calling of motherhood: training, disciplining, and loving your children well

The life-giving impact of honest, loving friendships

This devotional is a great fit for:

Mothers of small children and teenagers

Small groups, women's Bible study groups, and personal daily reflection

Mother's Day, birthdays, and holiday gifting

With Ruth's encouragement, you can overcome mom guilt, stop trying to be the perfect mom, let go of the endless to-do list of motherhood, and experience the most challenging but rewarding adventure yet--becoming The Better Mom.

Winner of the 2017 Catholic Press Association Book Award: Collections of Prayers (First Place).

Are you a Catholic mom who prays for the wisdom and patience to get through each day? Do you pray for your children, husband, family and friends, and sometimes even yourself? The Catholic Mom's Prayer Companion offers a new, daily resource to make the most of those few, precious minutes you have to pause and reflect.

For more than fifteen years, the award-winning CatholicMom.com website has been a trusted source for sound, practical, and spiritual guidance. In their new book, authors Lisa M. Hendey and Sarah A. Reinhard bring together more than eighty moms, dads, and trusted spiritual companions to provide fresh, uplifting meditations for every day of the year. You'll find encouragement when you're struggling, reassurance when you feel alone, and comfort when you're distracted by worry.

Created by moms for moms, these hope-filled meditations touch on the issues and concerns you face as you try to get through the day with a sense of God's presence in your life. Whether you are a new or seasoned mom working in or outside of your home, this inspiring collection of reflections for every day of the year will help you

stay in touch with the seasons of the Church year;

remember Mary's loving presence on her feast days;

keep company with both new and familiar saints;

see the spiritual meaning of secular holidays; and

make you smile with occasions such as Houseplant Appreciation Day and National Popcorn Day.

Each day begins with a brief quotation from scripture, saints, recent popes, or important spiritual writers. A personal reflection--written by contributors including Danielle Bean, Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, Lisa Mladinich, Elizabeth Scalia, Carolyn Woo, Mark Hart, and Jeff Young--focuses on some dimension of your spiritual, emotional, intellectual, or physical life. Each day also includes a brief prayer and a question or thought to ponder throughout the day.

In just a few minutes of quiet you'll find the boost you need from a friendly voice. Each month also has a special theme such as love, family fun, and slowing down. Start these reflections any time throughout the year and feel your days become more grace-filled and inspired.

Catholic Wisdom for a Mother's Heart is a creative and practical guide for a wide range of domestic church situations. Catholic women can live out their familial vocation with seasoned, simple suggestions for answering Christ's universal call to holiness. Lovely poems conclude each chapter on a note of warmth that will lift hearts beyond the kitchen and up the path toward heaven.

This resource is for Catholic mothers (and grandmothers who often fill the motherly role) who are in the trenches raising their children through thick and thin amid the bombardment of the culture. They need and crave the guidance, encouragement, and affirmation that this welcoming book will offer.

In The Catholic Working Mom's Guide to Life, JoAnna Wahlund speaks to the plethora of Catholic women who are looking for other moms with whom to relate, moms who understand the unique challenges of juggling motherhood and work.

The Scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day are especially suited to every woman who longs to enjoy a freer, fuller, and more faith-filled life. Spending a few minutes with these uniquely feminine thoughts each day will help increase a woman's capacity to love and be loved as only a daughter of God can be.

Originating in the early twentieth century, the Divine Mercy devotion of St. Faustina Kowalska is one of the most celebrated of all Catholic devotions. In this, their first book, Catholic bloggers and speakers Michele Faehnle and Emily Jaminet break open the history, practices, and prayers associated with the devotion, guiding busy moms to receive God's message of Divine Mercy and pass it on to others through their words, deeds, and prayers.

In her famous Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Faustina Kowalska recorded a series of visions of Jesus where he revealed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and promised that anything can be obtained with the prayer if it is compatible with his will. St. John Paul II formally established the Divine Mercy devotion and canonized Faustina in 2000. The Marians of the Immaculate Conception are dedicated to spreading the Divine Mercy devotion the foreword for this book was written by Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, author of Divine Mercy Explained and 33 Days to Morning Glory.

In Divine Mercy for Moms, Michele Faehnle and Emily Jaminet of the Columbus Catholic Women's Conference--one of the largest annual Catholic women's conferences in the country--draw upon their own experiences to introduce you to St. Faustina and her five essential elements of the Divine Mercy message:

The image of the Merciful Jesus

The Feast of Divine Mercy

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The House of Mercy

Spreading the honor of Divine Mercy

With heartwarming stories and practical advice, this book reveals that mercy is not just a gift to be received in the confessional but a spiritual resource that strengthens those who extend themselves in word, deed, and prayer. Designed for personal or group study, Divine Mercy for Moms celebrates the infinite mercy of God and the role of Mary, the Mother of Mercy, in the lives of all believers.

Divine Mercy for Moms was the winner of a 2017 Catholic Press Association Book Award: Family Life (Third Place).

Winner of a second-place award in family life books from the Catholic Media Association.

What happens to a mother's heart when her children grow up and begin their own lives? How can she absorb the mixed emotions of anxiety and excitement, grief and hope?

In Giving Thanks and Letting Go, bestselling Catholic author Danielle Bean ponders her emptying nest and overflowing heart as she encourages you to join her in leaning on God and discovering the joy and promise of this sacred season of parenting.

Comforting, relatable, and practical, Giving Thanks and Letting Go shares Danielle Bean's personal experience of launching her children into their adult lives. From this crucial moment in her motherhood, she offers sage advice as she reflects on the precious years she spent raising children and learning to trust in God's providence.

In her most personal book to date, Bean, brand manager at CatholicMom.com, reveals the freedom she discovered as she tossed out old trophies and Nordic Ware; the release she feels when she lets herself sob with abandon; the pleasant satisfaction of extra space in her home and in her marriage; and the happy recognition of God's abiding presence through all the years of family life.

As you accompany Bean on her journey, you will learn to

let yourself grieve;

acknowledge that being a mom has never been easy;

turn to your husband;

give up control;

accept the suffering with grace;

trust in God to have the best plans;

spark joy, give thanks, and move on; and

nourish your soul, body, and mind.

Allow these familiar, comforting, and heart-tugging scenes from Bean's life and the lessons she's learned be your trusted companion for reflecting on your own parenting journey.

The Handbook for Catholic Moms, Lisa M. Hendey's eminently practical and award-winning resource, has helped new parents balance and integrate the deeply personal needs of their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls with the demands of family life and faith commitment.

Since the first edition was published in 2010, it's become an indispensable resource for two generations of Catholic moms, offering a unique perspective on all aspects of life and honest advice from fellow moms on topics ranging from marriage and finances to stress management and parish life.

The Handbook for Catholic Moms is not a typical parenting book: It doesn't offer tips for calming a fussy baby or dealing with adolescent angst. In caring for yourself--heart, mind, body, and soul--you can better love and care for your family, community, and Church, according to Lisa M. Hendey, founder of CatholicMom.com and bestselling author of The Book of Saints for Catholic Moms and The Grace of Yes.

Hendey provides her personal stories and observations on a number of topics, including:

stress reduction and sleep

nurturing your marriage

engaging in Mass as a family

modeling lifelong learning to your children

balancing your career with your vocation as a mother

Each chapter includes relevant scripture references, quotations from saints or noted Catholic figures, commentary and perspectives from other Catholic writers, and checklists of suggested steps moms can take in bringing better balance and integration to their lives.

Give the moms in your life a beautiful gift of encouragement, reassurance, and peace amidst uncertainty. Jesus Calling for Moms features 50 relevant devotions from Sarah Young's New York Times bestseller Jesus Calling(R), to celebrate mothers and their love, comfort, and strength, offering timely, biblical truth.

With 50 selections, you'll find devotions that speak to:

the power of love

the gift of strength

courage in any season

trusting Him during challenging times

God's guidance and comfort

joyous reasons to celebrate mothers and motherhood

This beautiful compilation of devotions from Sarah's bestselling brand also includes:

a new introduction and prayer for moms by Sarah

journaling prompts and questions to encourage deeper growth

space to write thoughts, prayers, and reflections

stunning imagery

complete Bible verses

Whether a gift for your own mom or for a mom who means so much to you, this is ideal for Mother's Day, birthdays, Valentine's Day, and more. Jesus Calling for Moms will be a cherished favorite for years to come.

Look for additional life-changing, life-giving books from Sarah Young including:

Jesus Listens

Jesus Always

Jesus Today

Jesus Calling

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The journey of popular podcaster Kimberly Cook was that of many directionless young women in recent decades. As her family fell away from the Catholic Church right before her critical high school years, Cook was allured by relativism and formed by pop culture. Following her artistic interests, she quickly fell in with other outcasts and was strongly influenced by the feminist movement. In her words, "I repetitively encountered the issues of reproductive rights--abortion, contraception, and fertility. During that time, the horror of being a woman was awakened in me." She formed an all-girl punk band and eventually became a "hot-headed feminist seeking restitution."
In her endless search for truth, God revealed himself to her and she returned to the Church in her early twenties, still struggling to let go of the harmful feminist ideologies that had been engrained in her--especially the disdain for motherhood. "As I was blessed with children, I realized that my motherhood was the kind of beauty that was written on the face of Mother Teresa: wrinkled, imperfect, and suffering, but what really mattered was the underlying and continuous desire to serve God." Motherhood Redeemed is a book that challenges feminism in the modern world, while examining how we got here. It reminds us simply that the true nature of womanhood is inseparable with woman's maternal soul, and that all women are called to be mothers in one form or another.

Parents have never had a tougher job than now. Our culture bombards our daughters with unhealthy role models, misleads them about the consequences of early sexual activity, and even adds to the confusion of adolescences by encouraging them to question their "gender."

Meg Meeker has been a pediatrician for more than thirty years, is a mother and a grandmother, and has seen it all. She knows what makes for strong, happy, healthy young women--and what puts our daughters at risk. Combining that experience with her famous common sense, she explains the eleven steps that will help your daughter--whether she's a toddler or a troubled teen--to achieve her full human potential.

In this book, you will learn:

The four biggest questions every daughter has--and that you must answer

Why it's the quality, not the quantity, of your daughter's friends that matters

The essential, complementary roles that mothers and fathers play

The dangers of social media--and how to help your daughter navigate them

What every daughter needs to know about God

Why depression is often a "sexually transmitted disease"

How to launch your daughter into successful womanhood

If you have a daughter, and worry about her future, you need Dr. Meg's advice.