Ellen Miller - Lord, Have Mercy: Help and Hope for Moms on Their Last Nerve

D EAR F ELLOW M OM,

I am excited and truly humbled that you are willing to share a small amount of your precious time with me over the next ninety days.

In case you didnt read my first book, The One Year Book of Inspiration for Girlfriends... Juggling Not-So-Perfect, Often-Crazy, but Gloriously Real Lives, allow me to introduce you to my family. They have shaped me and this book in countless ways, and perhaps youll see a bit of your own family in them too.

My husband, Steve, and I were married in 1990. When we met, I was divorced with two kids gifted from God: one that we lovingly joke I got stuck with (birthed), Shauna; and one I got to pick (adopt), Scott. Steve adopted both children as teenagers. Yes, thats how awesome my husband is.

Our daughter, Shauna, and son-in-law, Adam, are the parents to our only grandchild, Ava, born in 2007. Ava, like her mother, is an old soul who speaks the truth in love as few can. Both have been critical in the development of this book, and I am blessed beyond measure to be Mom and Sugar to these two girls.

Our son, Scott, was the inspiration for my first book. Missing for three and a half years as he battled an addiction to methamphetamines, Scott has graciously allowed me to share our ongoing story once again with the prayer that it might be a source of encouragement for other moms who struggle with a child who struggles. Our collective journey taught me more about the grace and love of Christ than I would have known otherwise.

Although I might be further along on this mothering journey than you, I suspect we have faced some of the same pressures. From our six-year-olds dribbling soccer balls in the kitchen (as we attempt to make dinner) to the smack talking of our teenage daughters, we moms often find ourselves on our last nerve. While our hectic schedules and family dynamics definitely contribute to our frazzled state, we also wear ourselves down when we neglect our own needs in order to care for everyone elses. Considering this might be your situation, I wrote this devotional to provide you support and insight in five critical areas that can offer you peace, hope, and joy even as your three-year-old colors on the freshly painted walls.

The devotions found in the first section, Lord, Have Mercy; Renew My Spirit, will remind you that you are beautifully and wonderfully made. But with that fabulous design comes some special-care instructions: In order to take care of others, you must first refresh yourself.

Lets face it. Moms worry. We worry about a looming due date on a work project, we worry about whats for dinner, and we worry when our children are out past curfew. So who has the time or brain cells to worry about the state of ones soul? I have learned the dangers of ignoring this deepest part of myself, so in Lord, Have Mercy on My Soul, I will share with you how feeding your soul will fortify your mind and heart to deal with your family and your work.

Your family is the most important institution on earth, and theres nothing Satan wants more than to see it unravel. Whether youre a single mom or a married one, its important to understand temptation and the ways it can destroy your life and those you love. Well explore the best routes of exit in Lord, Have Mercy; Get Me Out of This Mess.

Exhausted moms who are juggling too many balls can unwittingly blow their Christian witness to their family and friends. When this happens, we become all the more frustrated, aggravated, and anxious. I wrote Lord, Have Mercy; Help Me Be Good to enable you to find, keep, and demonstrate internal and external peace, even when the people around you are driving you nuts.

Last, I affirm and validate your commitment and conviction to raise your sweet babes from those in diapers to those heading out the door with car keys in hand in the most God-honoring way you can. Youll see that I am as passionate about doing that as you are in the section Lord, Have Mercy as I Raise These Kids.

I celebrate our differences and thank you for your open mind and heart. I learned that the readers of my first devotional included women who considered their faith the most important part of their identity, as well as women who didnt think much about faith at all. They varied in age, life stage, and political inclinations. But regardless of our differences, Im pretty sure we all have one thing in common: More than anything else, we long to raise our children to be thoughtful, generous, discerning, joyful human beings.

Mothering is not for wusses. Its best suited to heroic idealists, the ones who dream audaciously and absolutely never wave the white flag of surrender. Those who are not mothers even our husbands do not always understand our fierce loyalty. Because of this, I believe we need Gods Word and one another to get these little rascals raised.

As we begin, I want you to know that throughout my days of writing this book...

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.