Kara-Kae James - Mom Up: Thriving with Grace in the Chaos of Motherhood

What people are saying about

Mom Up will empower you to fulfill Gods plan for motherhood by standing on the unshakable foundation of His Word. Kara-Kae delivers truth, wisdom, and, most importantly, the permission every mom needs to reject what the world says, claim ownership over her calling, and declare victory in Christ.

Erin Weidemann, founder and creator of Bible Belles, and host of Heroes for Her podcast

Kara-Kae addresses the felt need tensions that every mom feels at some pointfeelings of isolation, guilt, fear, and exhaustion. She raises those tensions out of personal experience and meets them with the grace that she has experienced. In Mom Up, women will find rest in the chaos, joy in the mundane, and a friend in the trenches.

Sarah Bragg, host of the Surviving Sarah and Are My Kids on Track podcasts, and author of Body. Beauty. Boys.

Parenting is an adventure! You need a friend like Kara-Kae, who gets both the joys of parenting and how hard some seasons of motherhood can be. She knows how to move beyond just surviving the seasons and how to reach out to God for strength. In Mom Up, shell take you by the hand and help you thrive in it all.

Alli Worthington, speaker and author of The Year of Living Happy

Kara-Kae James has a marvelous gift. She understands exactly where you arethe loneliness, the guilt, the unrelenting pace of motherhoodbut she refuses to leave you there. Somehow, Kara-Kae calls mothers into a bigger and fuller vision of motherhood, without loading us down with more to-dos. Instead, you will open this book and feel lighter.

Sharon Hodde Miller, author of Free of Me: Why Life Is Better When Its Not about You

Im not one to quickly pick up a book about motherhood out of fear of feeling like a failure as I turn the pages. But, because I know Kara-Kaes heart, I knew the words of Mom Up would be a sweet balm to my soul. Filled with grace and very practical tools, this book both encourages and challenges us to live and thrive in our God-given calling of motherhood. You will find a new friend in Kara-Kae and do fist bumps and praise hands as you read this book.

Sarah Martin, speaker and author of Just RISE UP!: A Call to Make Jesus Famous

The holy (and hard!) role of motherhood can mess with our heads. If we dont have a solid grasp on our identity in Christ, our job is that MUCH harder. Kara-Kae has created an engaging, honest resource that moms need to read.

Emily Thomas, host of Struggle Well Project podcast

Weary mom, in the pages of Mom Up you will find the truth-based pep talk you need from fellow journeyer Kara-Kae. Like an older sister, Kara-Kae understands your challenges while she gently points to a better way. Inviting you to be the version of a mom God equips you to be.

Heather MacFadyen, host of Dont Mom Alone podcast

In a world full of mom-shaming, Kara-Kae is a strong and compassionate voice of hope. Mom Up reminds the most discouraged of us that we are enough for our kidsespecially when we find our hope in Christ. I would urge every mom to sit with Kara-Kae and let her encourage you in the beautiful, chaotic, wonderful calling of motherhood.

Lori Wilhite, founder of Leading and Loving It, and author of My Name Is Victorious

MOM UP

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

Integrity Music Limited, a Division of David C Cook

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Details in some stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken 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; NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide; and NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.

LCCN 2018951373

ISBN 978-0-8307-7308-4

eISBN 978-0-8307-7595-8

2019 Kara-Kae James

The Author is represented by Alive Literary Agency, 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.aliveliterary.com.

The Team: Alice Crider, Liz Heaney, Nick Lee, Jack Campbell, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Amy Konyndyk

Cover Image: Getty Images

Hand Lettering: Emily Karwoski

First Edition 2019

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

101518

To Brook

For always pushing me to be the best I can be and believing in me every step of the way.

Im the wife, mom, and woman I am because youve been next to me through it all.

Parenting has been our greatest adventure, and as always, I love adventures with you.

To Jessika, Zoey, Makenzi, and Kendrick

You are the greatest gifts in this life. May you chase after abundant life,

and may I always do my best to show you the way.

I always knew that I wanted to be a mom. Growing up, I remember playing the silly game MASH (please tell me you remember this one as well!) and dreaming about how many kids I would have and what kind of house we would live ina mansion, of course! Two kids, for surepossibly fourand maybe even a set of twins in there too. Ignorance about motherhood was definitely in my favor as a young child.

Then I grew up, got married, started having those babies I had dreamed about, and I quickly learned something that no one dared to share with me during those ten-year-old daydreams: motherhood is downright hard!

Parenting the four children that God has blessed our family with has been hands down the hardest thing I have ever endured. Now, dont get me wrongparenting is full of some of the greatest blessings Ive ever experienced. But Im not ashamed to admit that its also extremely difficult.