Stacey Thacker - Hope for the Weary Mom Devotional: A 40-Day Journey

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Cover by Knail, Salem, Oregon

Published with the association of MacGregor Literary, Inc.

HOPE FOR THE WEARY MOM DEVOTIONAL

Copyright 2015 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 devotional / Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7369-6136-3 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-6137-0 (eBook)

1. MothersPrayers and devotions. 2. MothersReligious life. 3. MotherhoodReligious aspectsChristianity. I. McGlothlin, Brooke, 1978- II. Title.

BV4529.18.T445 2015

242'.6431dc23

2015017108

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Contents

Stacey

Mike: Thank you for all youve done to make my dreams come true. You called me writer before anyone else. But then again, of course you did. Love you always.

My Girls: I am so blessed to be your mom. Thanks for loving me well and cheering me on.

Mom: Thank you for teaching me to cherish Gods Word early in the morning.

Dad: I miss you every day. See you soon.

My Fr editorsRobin, Angie, Krystal, Emily, and Tanya: Thank you for taking the time to read rough words and encourage me. I owe you all a coffee date. My treat.

Brooke: I am grateful for your commitment to Gods Word. You bless me every day, friend. Honored to be on this journey with you.

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: May you be glorified through this humble offering and touch every heart who reads it.

Brooke

Writing a book is hard. Homeschooling, managing a business, feeding a family, and writing a book all at the same time is even harder. I would never have been able to do this without the support of my family and friends.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Why

The law of the L ORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the L ORD is sure, making wise the simple.

P SALM 19:7

B rooke and I arrived early for our workshop at the conference. We planned it that way because we wanted to set up the room before we spoke. As it turned out, the conference was running a few minutes behind schedule. This was a blessing for us because we were wrestling with both our PowerPoint presentation and our nerves. We needed to settle each down to a manageable level. Brooke suggested we pray and I thought it was a fabulous idea.

We exhaled long and deep and we inhaled the peace only Jesus could give to two weary moms. I prayed first, and when I looked up to Brooke I realized she was walking among the chairs and touching each one of the sixty or so sitting empty. My heart bent beneath the weight of what we were about to speak.

Lord, come, I whispered.

But what if the moms dont show up? I thought. I knew with so many workshops to choose from it was a possibility no one would choose ours. We finished committing our time to the Lord and filled our glasses with fresh water. We worked on waiting patiently.

Now fifteen minutes behind schedule, a few moms trickled into the room. We chatted with some we knew and introduced ourselves to others we had not met yet. We talked about what time to officially start the session when a few more moms came in and filled the remaining seats. Minutes later they filled the back of the room. More moms came in and sat in the aisle while others took a seat on the floor in the front. And they just kept coming in the room. They squeezed in tight and sat anywhere they could find space. This meant a few moms were sitting in a closet and others sat in the doorway and out into the hallway. Somebody grabbed chairs from a lounge nearby. I looked at Brooke and she stared back in amazement at me. We began our session twenty minutes late and had about two feet of room to speak from our podium because so many moms were crowded in to hear.