Tracey Lanter Eyster - Be the Mom: Overcome Attitude Traps and Enjoy Your Kids

Praise for
Be the Mom

As you read Be The Mom, you are going to be so encouraged. You are also going to love getting to know my friend Tracey Eyster. In a warm and welcoming style she invites us into her journey as a mom, winsomely reminding us of the unspeakable value of motherhood. As you read this book, you will find fresh hope that you can be the mom!

BARBARA RAINEY, Co-Founder of FamilyLife, Speaker and Author of Barbara & Susans Guide to the Empty Nest, Mother of six, Grandmother of nineteen

Traceys exuberant personality shines through the pages of Be the Mom, infusing weary moms with practical help and encouragement to be the best moms they can be. I was inspired, challenged, and blessed while reading it!

CRYSTAL PAINE, Money Saving Mom, http://MoneySavingMom.com

Traceys contagious passion for motherhood gets under your skin when you read this book. It is a prescription for the apathetic attitude todays world breeds. She reminds you that we should be looking at motherhood as the greatest adventure and honor that it is.

DANNAH GRESH, Author of Six Ways to Keep the Good in Your Boy

Its not often that I leap at the opportunity to write an endorsement for a book. I came out of my chair for Be the Mom. I am so excited about Traceys writing and the encouragement she gives mothers that Im buying a case and giving Be the Mom, first to my daughters and daughter-in-law, and then to a bunch of mothers who will benefit from learning from an authentic mom and mentor. Be the Mom is a great read!

DR. DENNIS RAINEY, President of FamilyLife, Author of Stepping Up: A Call to Courageous Manhood

Tracey Eyster has written the book that most of us moms need to read. Its honest and straightforward, and it comes from a worldview that I understand and embrace. After 21 years in full-time radio, deciding to be a full-time mom to my young sons opened my eyes to the delights of motherhood and the challenges of balancing being a mom with a host of other things. For me, Traceys book Be the Mom is a direct answer to prayer. She speaks to the hearts of moms, offering wise advice and lots of encouragement. She is a mentor-friend for all of us.

LISA WILLIAMS, Former National K-LOVE Morning Show Host

Laugh and learn! Fresh, frank, and funny, Be the Mom is a great resource to encourage you on your momlife journey, and to help you steer clear of those nasty mom traps along the way.

MARY A. KASSIAN, Author of Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild

I know Tracey Eyster and have admired her passion and zeal for helping moms to be the best they can be. Motherhood has never been harder. Pitfalls are everywhere. What is needed is wise encouragement from an honest, authentic life. Tracey Eyster can offer you both. I highly recommend her book, Be the Mom.

ROBERT LEWIS, Pastor and Creator of the Mens Fraternity Series, Author of Raising a Modern-Day Knight

In the pages of this book, youll find profound wisdom, packaged lightheartedly, that will encourage, inspire, and equip you at the deepest level. Even as I chuckled at her stories, I found myself reaching for my pen to take notes over and over again. I found tears leaking from my eyes at the sheer, awe-inspiring vision God gives women for motherhood. Traceys book is an invaluable tool to help mothers be the mom that God has designed us to be.

SHAUNTI FELDHAHN, Social Researcher, Speaker, and Best-Selling Author of For Women Only and For Parents Only

Be the Mom
Copyright 2012 by Tracey Lanter Eyster
All rights reserved.

A Focus on the Family book published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188

Focus on the Family and the accompanying logo and design are federally registered trademarks of Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO 80995.

TYNDALE and Tyndales quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from THE MESSAGE [paraphrase]. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

In some cases, peoples names and certain details of their stories have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved. However, the facts of what happened and the underlying principles have been conveyed as accurately as possible.

The use of material from or references to various Web sites does not imply endorsement of those sites in their entirety.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of Focus on the Family.

Editor: Brandy Bruce
Cover design by Jacqueline L. Nuez
Cover photograph copyright Agnieszka Kirinicjanow/iStockphoto. All rights reserved.

The author is represented by the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eyster, Tracey Lanter.
Be the mom / Tracey Lanter Eyster.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-1-58997-684-9 (alk. paper)
1. MothersReligious life. 2. MotherhoodReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. MotherhoodPsychology. I. Title.

BV4529.18.E97 2012
248.8431dc23

2012010893

To Samara and Westley, my God gifts!

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; dont try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for Gods voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; hes the one who will keep you on track.

Proverbs 3:5-6, THE MESSAGE

God has put together an amazing and unexplainable set of circumstances (that only He could have) to birth, grow, and launch Be the Mom. Not the least of which is my being blessed to be a mom through the miracle of two pregnancies that were not supposed to occur.

My heart is filled with gratitude to Dennis and Barbara Rainey for seeing something in Bill and me that we didnt see in ourselves when they plucked us from the corporate world and charged us to join with them in building strong marriages and families. Our lives and our childrens lives are fuller because of you. Thank you.

Tim Grissom, I appreciate your guidance and the care you took in coaching me through those beginning steps of the process. You boosted my confidence at just the right time. Thank you to Andrew Wolgemuth, my agent, for supporting and handholding this first-time author. You are awesome! Brandy Bruce, my editor, has been tenacious in her attention to detail and steadfast in her efforts to draw more out of me than I knew was in there! Thanks, Brandy, for going the extra mile and helping me craft the words from my heart to the page.

To my sweet cheerleader friends who fully understand the struggles of penning a book and spoke words of encouragement over me and spurred me onthanks, Susan, Shaunti, Dannah, and Crystal! Linda Treadway, Suzanne Thomas, and Katie Howard Clemensyou three blessed me continuously as you stepped in to cover all the bases at MomLife Today while I put in the hours at the keyboard!

Extra special thanks to my prayer warriors, Craig and Dianne Bias, Doug and Deb Gulbranson, Rich and Mary Jensen, and Julie Denker, who answered e-mail requests, sent You can do it! texts, and asked consistently, Hows it going? How can we pray? Your prayers carried me over the rough spots and kept me believing.