Stacey Thacker - Hope for the Weary Mom: Let God Meet You in the Mess

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked ( NLT ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Verses marked T HE V OICE are taken from The Voice. Copyright 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover by Knail, Salem, Oregon

Cover photo Shutterstock / Kite_rin

Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin are represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc.

All the incidents described in this book are true. Where individuals may be identifiable, they have granted the author and the publisher the right to use their names, stories, and/or facts of their lives in all manners, including composite or altered representations. In all other cases, names, circumstances, descriptions, and details have been changed to render individuals unidentifiable.

HOPE FOR THE WEARY MOM

Copyright 2012 by Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thacker, Stacey, 1971-

Hope for the weary mom / Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-7369-6080-9 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-6081-6 (eBook)

1. MothersReligious life. 2. MotherhoodReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BV4529.18.T444 2015

248.8'431dc23

2014020269

All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of authors and publishers rights is strictly prohibited.

Contents

Appendices

For the weary mom buried underneath the mess of life and believes she is alone. You are not. Hope is here. Lets walk together.

Stacey

Mike: Thank you for your love, support, and believing I am a writer. I could not have done this without your support. Thanks for helping to make my dream come true.

My girls: I am the most blessed mom in the world to have you as daughters. Thanks for cheering for mommy and for giving me time to write each day. You are awesome and I love you very much.

Mom: We have learned this year that hope is the anchor that holds us in all things. I love you so much and am proud to be the daughter of such a brave woman.

Dad: You have seen face to face what we only see dimly now. Im so glad we have the hope of heaven and eternity together. I miss you every day.

Robin, Angie, Tanya, Krystal, Emily, and Gretchen: Thank you for taking the time to read rough chapters and for encouraging me. I was able to trust you with my heart on the page because you are more like sisters than friends.

Kristin: Thank you for listening to the Lord and for seeing what Hope could be. Your love and support mean the world to us.

Brooke: I cant believe I get to be on this journey with you. I love seeing Jesus shine through your words and ministry. You are a gift to me, sweet friend.

Chip: Thank you for believing in Hope and finding the perfect home for it. I am truly grateful for your support and hard work.

Kathleen and the Harvest House Publishers Team: Thank you for saying yes and giving us a chance to reach even more moms with Hope. It has been an honor partnering with you!

Jesus: Thank you for seeing me in my mess and meeting me in the broken place. You loved me too much to leave me there, and called me out into a place of Hope. May you be glorified through this humble offering and touch every heart who reads it.

Brooke

Cory: Thank you for just doing. For cleaning, washing, bathing, feeding, teaching, and all of the other things you did so I could have time to write. Youre a gift to me.

Boys: Youre the reason for this book, but even on the hardest days Im still so very thankful that I get to be your mama. Thank you for keeping me desperate for Jesus, and for always giving me big, squishy boy hugs when I need them. Youre my favorite boys in the world!

Mom and Dad: Youve always believed in my dreams. Now, as an adult, I can clearly see that youve not only believed in my dreams, but sacrificed for them as well. I can only hope to love my children so well. Thank you for cutting your trip to Florida short to come home so I could have time to finish this book. I couldnt have done it without you.

Jamie and Meggen: Thank you so much for cheering me on, encouraging me to keep going, and for the way you have served me throughout the last difficult season of my life. I wont forget.

Kristin: You listened to the Lord. Thank you.

Tracey Lane: Thank you for letting me into your heart and for talking so freely about Jarrett. Im privileged to have known him.

Stacey: I cant imagine writing this book with anyone else. If I had to be stuck with someone, Im sure glad it was you! Im so grateful for your words of advice and encouragement, both in this book and in my life.

Erin Mohring, Jamie Soranno, and Logan Wolfram: Thank you for helping me brainstorm Mommy strengths and for sharing your stories.

Chip MacGregor: You believed in us and in the need to keep reaching out to weary moms. Thank you for catching the vision and for championing it for us in ways that went above and beyond the call of duty. Were so grateful for you.

Lysa TerKeurst: You have been such a gift. Thank you for your encouragement, wisdom, and expert input on this manuscript. Were grateful for you and the ministry of Compel.

The Hope for the Weary Mom launch team: No words really cut it. Thank you for your faithful prayers, feedback, and encouragement to get this message out. You are grace to us.

My Jesus: Youre enough.

From One Weary Mom to Another

Y oud think that because Ive written a few books for parents and, oh, about a gazillion parenting articles and blogs Id have this mothering thing down. Ive been a mom for a while, so that should help too. The truth is, at the time Im writing this my kids are ages 24, 21, 19, 6, 3, and 3. And Im weary. WEARY.

I get a lot of responses when I tell people that Im a mom of six children. And then when I tell their ages people really get confused. After raising our three oldest children almost to adulthood, God led John and me to adopt three more. We adopted Alyssa (one of the three-year-olds) at birth, and just last year we adopted Bella (six), and Casey (three) from the foster care system. To be completely honest I thought it would be easier the second time around. I learned how to set priorities and to focus on whats truly important while not trying to compare myself to others. After raising three kidsthe feeding and fretting, bathing and battling, caring and correctingyoud think Id have this mom thing figured out. (Or at least thats what I thought.) Wrong!