Gift Idea: Prayers for the Mother of the Groom

January 31, 2017 by 2 Comments

IMG_8654Mother of the Bride, have you thought about giving the mother of the groom a little gift of some sort? This didn’t occur to me when I was an MOB so you may not have thought of it either. But giving a small gesture of acceptance and friendship is always worth the effort, isn’t it?

One great gift idea for the MOG is the book Prayers for the Mother of the Groom by Traci Matt. Designed for use during the last two months leading up to the wedding (or MOGs could start earlier and go through it a couple of times), this book is a wonderful resource for Christian moms who desire to cover their sons, themselves, their families, and the entire bridal party in prayer as they all go through the life-changing event of a wedding.

Each of the sixty selections included feature an introductory paragraph or two about some aspect of the wedding or the changing family dynamic, and then Matt shares an in-depth prayer addressing the topic of the day. Matt’s prayers spring from the truths and insights she’s gleaned from the Word of God and from her own personal experience as both a mother of the groom and a mother of the bride. With each selection Matt also shares a feature called “Something Borrowed”—a quote applicable to that day’s topic.

In this nicely done self-published paperback book, mothers of the groom will discover an extremely thorough and heartfelt guide for their own prayers. Not every topic mentioned or every prayer prayed will apply to every MOG, of course, but each mom will be able to easily apply what pertains to her and skim over the parts that don’t quite fit her situation. With Matt’s wisdom and skillful and easy-to-read writing style, I think mothers of the groom will love using this book.

So MOB, does this sound like a gift you’d like to offer to your future son-in-law’s mother? If you can help the prayer effort going up for your soon-to-be son and your precious girl, I’ll be you’re all for it, right? Why not bless the MOG today with a copy of Prayers for the Mother of the Groom!

*You might also like to read Make the Mother of the Groom Part of the Team and Kicking Off the In-Law Relationship.

*Thanks to the author for providing me with the book. The opinions expressed are my own.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out tomorrow. Sign-up is free and to the right. Your name won’t be included in the giveaway draw until the next issue comes out, but it’s not too late to receive this issue. Sign up today!

*My photo

Filed Under: book review, books, family, groom, help, Mother of the Bride, prayer, preparation, protection, wisdom Tagged With: , , , , ,

Review: Knowing God, Knowing Myself

March 9, 2011 by 5 Comments

I’ve written before about NY Times bestselling author Cecil Murphey, and I was thrilled when he recently sent me a complimentary copy of one of his latest books, Knowing God, Knowing Myself. It’s my pleasure today to share my review of the book and recommend it to you. Hope you enjoy!

Book Review: Knowing God, Knowing Myself by Cecil Murphey

“For most of my adult life, I’ve yearned to experience an intimacy with God. That search began in my early twenties when, as an agnostic, I underwent a profound spiritual awakening. In the process of discovering God, I also learned about myself… Several years later, I realized that knowing God and knowing myself went together. We need both…to progress,” says Cecil Murphey in the introduction to one of his latest books, Knowing God, Knowing Myself.

From his lifelong pursuit of deeper intimacy with God and his desire to understand himself and allow inner healing where needed come the wisdom and sometimes startling insights shared in this book—a book where Cec states, “More than anything I’ve written before, I’m giving myself as fully as I know how and putting my heart on this page.”

And he delivers. The honesty with which he shares the private thoughts and deep parts of himself that most of us prefer not to divulge or even think about more closely gives readers a window into their own souls and grants us courage to deal with similar issues in our individual lives.

Knowing God, Knowing Myself is comprised of sixty-eight short reflections, each one touching on a topic that most everyone can relate to on some level. Cec concludes each reflection with a short, pithy saying—an aphorism—that sums up the essence of that particular chapter. I especially appreciate the Aphorisms feature at the end of the book where all these nuggets of wisdom are compiled into one helpful list. I read the book in a period of days, but it could easily be used like a devotional book, digesting each selection more slowly. In fact, I plan to do that at some point in the future.

Cec has lived a long life of varied experience and is able to bring much to the topics of intimacy with God and self discovery. Not only is he an award-winning writer or co-writer of over 120 books, including the best-selling 90 Minutes in Heaven with Don Piper and Gifted Hands with Dr. Ben Carson, Cec is also an international speaker and teacher, speaking on topics like writing, spiritual growth, caregiving, male sexual abuse, recovery and more. Before becoming a full-time writer and speaker, Cec served as a pastor and a hospital chaplain and was also a missionary to Kenya for six years.

Knowing God, Knowing Myself is a gift from Cec that I am happy to recommend. To find out more about Cec, visit his website.

*Have any of you read Knowing God, Knowing Myself yet? What did you think?

*Look at the other titles in the stack of books in the picture above. Each one is a great read (This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson, Daisy Chain by Mary Demuth, and Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent). Has anyone read any of those? What did you think?

Filed Under: advice, book review

Book Review: The Woman I Am Becoming

July 19, 2009 by 3 Comments

Since we just got back from vacation, it’s the perfect opportunity to share something I’ve been saving for a time when I was too pressed or pooped to write. I hope to get back to a more normal routine soon, but for now I hope you enjoy reading about a wonderful book written by T. Suzanne Eller. (Yes, she’s the author I met face to face not long ago!)

The Woman I Am Becoming — A Book Review

When author Suzie Eller was in her twenties, she didn’t see herself as a full-fledged woman. In her book The Woman I Am Becoming she said, “When I looked in the mirror … I saw me—a woman under construction. A building project that was dragging on and on, complete with breakdowns and cost overruns …. I saw my life as a construction zone. All I could perceive was the dust and noise and sweat. But God—the ultimate designer of my life—reached down to remind me that he had plans for me. It was time to view myself in an entirely different way: As the woman I was becoming.”

In this book Suzie addresses issues that twenty-something women grapple with on a daily basis, such as identity issues, relationships, faith, vocation, and the future. She does it, however, with the help of women of all ages. In fact, the book reads more like a conversation than an authority giving answers.

She gives us insight into the feelings and thought processes of young women by beginning her chapters with blog posts written by twenty-something women while also including other revealing quotes from them throughout the book. In an effort to build community for her twenty-something readers and to offer them wisdom from older women, Suzie shares what she has learned personally as well as the thoughts of other women in their thirties and beyond. Each chapter ends with personal application questions and space for readers to journal their answers.

Suzie writes from a position of knowledge concerning the twenty-something age group. She is the mother of three children in their twenties and is active in youth and young-adult/career ministry. She is a writer and speaker who has written three other books geared towards teens and young adults as well as a book for moms.

Even though The Woman I Am Becoming was written for women in their twenties, women of all ages can benefit from reading it. After all, like Suzie says at the end of the first chapter, “With God’s help I began a journey of transformation, and I’m still on that path! … Just when I think I’ve arrived, I encounter a new opportunity or challenge or season, and the waltz starts all over again.”

Suzie helps her readers, especially those in their twenties, learn how to dance with God, following His lead every step of the way. The questions at the end of the chapters prod readers into that next level of personal application and make this a powerful resource in the faith journey. I highly recommend this book. Check out Suzie’s website and get to know her a little better. You’ll be glad you did!

Photo from Amazon.com

Filed Under: advice, book review, change

Heaven Is Real: A Book Review

April 12, 2009 by 2 Comments

Did you have a wonderful Easter celebration this weekend? Sure hope so. Since we’ve been thinking about the hope of heaven that Christ’s resurrection gives us, I thought this would be a good time to share a review of a book written by a man who died, spent 90 minutes in heaven before being brought back to life, and then had to once again discover how to experience joy in earthly living.

Book Review: Heaven Is Real by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey

“Heaven is real. I know it because I’ve been there and back…This book isn’t about my journey to heaven; it’s about my journey back toward heaven,” Don Piper states in Heaven Is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy, a follow-up to the NY Times Bestseller 90 Minutes in Heaven. Both are co-authored with Cecil Murphey.

Don’s life forever changed on a bridge in Texas in 1989, and in this book he uses the image of a bridge as a “connecting point between drastic changes in life.” Don says, “The bridges you face in your life may not be the same [as mine], but I can assure you that one thing will be similar: You will experience life-altering change—we all do…You won’t be able to go back to the way things were; you will have to find a ‘new normal.’”

Heaven Is Real reveals the lessons Don learned as he accepted and eventually embraced “the new normal” life thrust upon him. Quotes and stories of lives impacted by the true story he shared in 90 Minutes in Heaven also fill its pages. These lessons and stories of changed lives offer hope and encouragement to all readers who are themselves faced with a new normal. To those who aren’t in the midst of change, it offers a deeper understanding of those who are and also prepares them for the changes the future most certainly holds.

The most vital message of the book, however, can be found in the last few pages. After many assurances given throughout about the reality of heaven, Don tells readers how to prepare for heaven—how to get there. His appeal to everyone? “Please make your reservation.”

In addition to being an author now, Don Piper is a full-time, internationally recognized evangelist as well as a conference and retreat leader. He is known as “The Minister of Hope.” Co-author Cecil Murphey is the author of over 110 books and is also a minister, writing mentor, and conference speaker who recently experienced a life-altering change himself.

I highly recommend this book and encourage you to check out Piper’s and Murphey’s websites. Let these two men help you navigate the challenges life throws at you.

“But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'” 2 Corinthians 12:9a

**Have you read 90 Minutes in Heaven or Heaven is Real? What did you think?

Filed Under: advice, book review, change, heaven

Book Review: Hope For The Journey Through Cancer

September 14, 2008 by 6 Comments

I’ve just returned from the writers conference (more on that later!) so thought I would post something I already had up my sleeve. I hope and pray this will come at just the right time for someone. Here is a book review I wrote for Hope for the Journey through Cancer by Yvonne Ortega:

“In 2001, I joined the ranks of more than one million people in the United States who were diagnosed with cancer that year. Their lives would never be the same. Neither would mine,” says author Yvonne Ortega in Hope for the Journey through Cancer – Inspiration for Each Day, a sixty-day devotional designed to help cancer patients and their loved ones “look for hope in the midst of cancer.”

Based on her own personal experience with the disease, Ortega builds encouraging devotions around specific events and emotions she encountered along the way. Her easy-to-read style and soothing tone, combined with each day’s brief selection and scripture, make this devotional a breath of fresh air for those who long for a touch of comfort and hope but may not feel well enough to read for more than a few minutes.

Ortega is an award winning writer and a full time certified domestic violence and abuse counselor. But more importantly, she is a cancer survivor. She intimately knows the battles cancer patients must fight as well as the desperately needed joys that pop up at unexpected moments. Her prayer is that “God will wrap His arms of love around [her readers] and give them hope” and that they “will get to know the Lord in a deeper, richer way.”

Any individual or family faced with a diagnosis of cancer would most certainly be blessed by reading Yvonne Ortega’s refreshing devotional (published by Revell and available here). To learn more about Yvonne, check out her website  and her God tube video.

“But as for me, I will always have hope…” Psalm 71:14

Filed Under: advice, body, book review, comfort
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