"Home is Where the Mom Is" New Look and "Blogging From A to Z Challenge"

Writing and publishing "Home is Where the Mom Is" is one of the most satisfying accomplishments in my life (so far!) besides giving birth to and raising my wonderful children. I'd always dreamed of being an author and holding a copy of the book in my hands is the third most thrilling moment in my life; holding Cody for the first time on Nov. 18, 1991 and Morgan for the first time on Dec. 28th, 1993 are THE MOST thrilling moments of course!  

Click on these links to read Why I Wrote "Home is Where the Mom Is" and 
"Giving Birth to a Book". 


But it's time for a change! When I wrote "Home is where the Mom Is" Cody and Morgan were just in grade school! Now Cody has graduated from COLLEGE! (I know, I can hardly believe it myself!) Morgan is a junior at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado. 

It's time to update "Home is Where the Mom Is" and make it more reader friendly--especially more busy-mom-reader-friendly. I've had a lot of "mom experiences" since I wrote "Home is Where the Mom Is" and I've talked with so many moms about their experiences in mothering, and I want to share what I've learned. Being a parent is not an easy task at this time in the world, especially a Christian mom raising kids with faith. However, doing this is the most important job moms will ever have. 

Being a mom is still the best experience in my life and I'm so thankful for the blessing of my kids! And I am passionate about encouraging moms in their calling of raising kids. I will never, ever  regret the time I spent with my kids, and I want to encourage other moms to enjoy and cherish every moment of their time with their kids, too, and share a few of the things I (and my mom friends) have learned along the way. 

As I update "Home is Where the Mom Is," the format of the book will change to make it easier to read in the brief moments moms have between their tasks of the day. I plan to write most of it in the form of "life-hacks"; here's what Google says about a "Life Hack"

life·hack

ˈlīfˌhak/

noun

informal

1. a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way.
2. --------------------------
3. 
   

Much of the revised, improved "Home is Where the Mom Is" , will be in the form of lists of bullet points that will give readers easy-to-use, "real life" tips and hints to care for themselves as moms, and manage their family, and their home. 

And that's where the Blogging from A to Z Challenge comes in. During the month of April I will be posting excerpts from the updated and revised "Home is Where the Mom Is; Lifehacks for Christian Moms." I'll be posting a new hack every day, Monday through Saturday, with the entry for each day beginning with the next letter of the alphabet; April first will be "A", April 2nd will be "B", and so on. During April you'll get to sample 26 of the more than 100 lifehacks in "Home is Where the Mom Is; Lifehacks for Christian Moms" and on May 1st the entire book will be available for download! Sign up in the right-hand column of this blog to receive e-mail updates of every post! 

And if you'd like more encouragement, click over to Nebraska Family Times , the monthly regional newspaper of which I'm the editor and publisher. Our mission at the "Nebraska Family Times"  is "to inspire, encourage and motivate readers in their Christian walk." 

I pray that in all of my work with my book, newspaper, blogs and Facebook pages, I touch the hearts of readers, encourage them, and show them God's love and peace. I look forward to hearing from you! 

Scripture Memory Challenge

As the editor and publisher of the "Nebraska Family Times" I invite you to participate in our Scripture Memory Challenge!

Read the details below--and be sure to e-mail or call and request your FREE verse cards!

Nebraska Family Times Verse of the Year!

Along with being the author of the book "Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom's Guide to Caring for Yourself, Your Family, and Your Home," I'm also the editor and publisher of the "Nebraska Family Times" monthly regional newspaper, with the mission "to inspire, encourage and motivate readers on their Christian walk." 

To encourage you on your Christian walk in 2015, we are encouraging readers to memorize Bible verses. At the end of this post read how you can receive three FREE verse cards of our verse of the year! 


NFT Verse of the Year 2015

By Shelly Burke, Editor

We have chosen Romans 12:2 as the Nebraska Family Times verse of the year. You’ll find a graphic of this verse every month on the Editor’s Letter page, starting next month; I encourage you to cut it out and hang it where you’ll see it frequently. This verse is also the verse for the Scripture Memory Challenge for January. Receive your FREE verse card; see details at the end of this post. 

Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,

what is acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

We are constantly encouraged to conform to this world, by what we see, what we hear, what we read—by everything around us. Sins of the world—what is acceptable and even encouraged in the world—can gradually, without us even realizing it, change our viewpoint until we have conformed to the world, rather than what the Lord commands and expects of us.

How can we be transformed and renew our mind? First we must discern what is the will of God. To do this, go directly to the source—His Word, the Bible. Despite being written several thousand years ago, the Bible provides us with the basic principles to make God-pleasing decisions in any situation. The best way to know His will is to read and study His Word. As you read, study and memorize, the instructions and directions and principles will move from your head…to your heart. You’ll automatically know what is the right thing to do in every situation in your day to day life.

What are some other things you can do to renew your mind?

• Worship. As you gather with others in God’s house, you’ll learn more about Him in the company and with the support of fellow believers.
•  Pray. When you communicate with the Lord regularly, you will become more attuned to hearing His voice, knowing what He expects, and you will feel His leading.
•   Memorize His Word. Several articles in this issue of the Nebraska Family Times emphasize the importance of doing so.

To receive three FREE verse of the year cards (why three? See the Scripture Memory Challenge post) 

e-mail your name and mailing address to shelly@shellyburke.net.