Memory Making Mom (book review)

Be a different kind of mom. Break through the distractions and create lasting memories.
What’s the solution to gaining the balanced, meaningful life you desire with your family? Create traditions that bring joy and significance. Popular "Smartter Each Day" blogger and mom of three, Jessica Smartt explains why memory-making is the puzzle piece that today’s families are longing for. She highlights ten tradition-gifts kids need most, including a rich resource of two hundred–plus unique traditions. She also offers practical encouragement to modern parents to keep on adventuring—even when they are fighting distractions, are on a budget, and exhausted.


I am a big fan of Sally Clarkson's Life-Giving Home, so I jumped at the chance to read this book as well. Over 200 ideas for specific traditions? I love reading big, unwieldy lists like that. Most of the time, less than 10 percent of such lists is usable, so the more ideas on there, the better. Bring it on.

Apparently, the author is a blogger, though I've never read her writing before. I can't say how much of this content is unique and much is pulled from blog posts, but in my case it doesn't really matter. If you're a follower of her blog, well, you'll have to decide for yourself whether it's worth it to buy the book as opposed to scouring past posts.

The book places traditions into categories such as food traditions, work, rest, seasons, faith, etc. Each chapter has a discussion about the whys and whens and whats, then a short list of ideas you could incorporate into your family life or use as a jumping-off point for creating something unique to your family. Those ideas are also compiled into one long list in the back of the book, in case you want to skip all the chit chat and get right down to business.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It's one of those inspirational type books that makes you feel sortof warm and cozy and excited to do stuff with your kids even though you fully expect it to be a little painful and stressful. (#reality) I don't know that I would ever go back and re-read this content, though. I'm already convinced of the value of traditions and shared experiences, so I'm really just interested in the list of ideas. And the list was just fine. Some good thoughts, nothing mind-blowing or really groundbreaking, but usable stuff. If you've never considered your family traditions or tried to be intentional about cultivating them, then this is a good book for you. If you've started down that path already, then maybe check it out from the library instead.

Rewire Your Heart (book review)

"Many Christians believe the only way to fight sin is to grit our teeth, strengthen our resolve, and rise above the onslaught of temptation. But in reality, we have a far better weapon in our struggle with sin than the will-power mantras associated with diet and exercise. This weapon is not saying "no" to sin but saying "yes" to God. In Rewire Your Heart, David Bowden helps us discover God's plan to overcoming sin by rewiring our desires with the Gospel. When we invite the Holy Spirit to transform our underlying affections with the good news of Jesus, we begin to break free from the patterns of sin, guilt, and determination, and discover the richer fulfillment found in joyfully obeying God's commands."

To be perfectly honest, I still haven't finished this book. It's taking me a long time to get through, because kids. But I wanted to get on here and talk about it, because this book does something that I haven't seen others do in an accessible way, and I think it does it well. The author dives into the heart work required to reorder our affections and desire holiness. He doesn't address the graces of the sacraments or the help of various Catholic devotions, but he does discuss a sortof psychological approach to sin. He looks at how the ways we talk about and think about avoiding sin do or do not address our hearts, helping us to desire Jesus more than the sin itself. He then goes on to discuss sanctification and growing in desire for God, for holiness. I think having this understanding of ourselves and our inner workings, combined with what Catholics have long known about the sacraments and devotions, would be of great help to an individual. 

Of course, there are some ideas discussed, though not recommended by the author, that do not mesh with the teachings of the Catholic church. In chapter 8, for example, the author spends some time talking about the idea of "rededication," where a Christian who has lapsed back into a life of sin is called to return to his or her faith and follow Christ again. It seems that the point made in that process is that dedicating one's life to Christ means living a sinless life from that point forward and that that somehow affirms one's salvation. To be fair, the author calls out this idea as false. But readers should be aware that the author himself does not hold a Catholic view and be careful of anything that smacks of a typical "born-again" view of salvation. Overall, however, I appreciate this book's detailed discussion of how sin works and how we can effectively battle it in this life.

2019 goals with Powersheets

I was reading through a list of journaling prompts that were supposed to help me reflect on my year. Most of the questions felt a little silly and didn't seem to lead me to any sort of helpful insight--I was about to click on to the next thing when one particular question caught my eye. "If you could achieve just one thing in your life, what would you want it to be?" I paused. In years past, I might have responded with any number of possible achievements--anything from writing a book to being healthy and fit. But the answer that came to mind--so quickly it was a little surprising--was far less tangible than any of that. I wasn't even sure I could truly label it an achievement, exactly. If I could achieve only one thing in my life, I thought, I want to have nurtured a thriving, holy, happy family that embodies love well in every way.

I'm a stay-at-home-mom, so perhaps that answer isn't all that surprising. But if you know my family history, you also know that achieving this goal means rewriting the whole book. I did not grow up in the kind of family I am envisioning--none of the labels I listed above would have applied to us. I feel like I have grown a lot in the last decade or so, but there are still plenty of things I struggle with as both a person and a parent. Things I don't want my children to struggle with when they themselves are adults. On top of that, I'm human. My husband is human. We have our own unique set of idiosyncrasies that contribute to or detract from our family culture in various ways. In short: getting to that "thriving family" finish line might take a miracle. Still, it's a worthy goal, and it's absolutely the best thing I can envision doing with my life. So how do I get there?

Reading lately

Preach to Yourself, Hayley Morgan

"Break the cycle of doubting yourself, take God at His word, and talk back with truth - a new message of freedom from bestselling coauthor of Wild and Free Hayley Morgan.

We know Christ came to speak life, but then how come our inner critic keeps showing up and stealing the mic? If we’re honest, she’s a harsh one, saying things we’d never dream of saying to others: You’ll never measure up, you’ll fail again tomorrow, you just can’t get it right.

On my radar

Fall is nearly upon us! I am absolutely one of "those" girls, and I love fall. Mostly because #sweats, but also because it's generally an exciting time of year. Around here, we're beginning to dig into a little bit of what I'll refer to as preschool but is really just reading a bunch of books. Out in the world, new things are launching for 2019. The cooler temperatures make me feel energized and motivated, and some of my favorite people celebrate big days in this last part of the year. Bring it on, fall.