Real Moms...Real Jeasus

This coming weekend is the Hearts at Home National Conference in Bloomington. I'm very excited about going this year and know that it will be a very informative, refreshing weekend. To gear up for the weekend, I’d like to welcome author and speaker, Jill Savage. Jill’s recent book Real Moms…Real Jesus, just released, and I wanted to ask her about her real mom moments..

Jill, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

Mark and I have been married 25 years and we have five children. Anne is 24 and married to our wonderful son-in-love, Matt. Evan is 21 and married to our beautiful daughter-in-love, Julie. Erica is 18 and a college student at Heartland Community College. Kolya is 15 and in the 8th grade. We adopted Kolya at the age of 9 from Russia---the God story about his adoption is included in the Real Moms…Real Jesus book. And Austin is 12 and in the 7th grade.

Tell us about your newest book Real Moms...Real Jesus?

Real Moms…Real Jesus is a book designed to help moms understand that when Jesus lived on this earth he was fully God, yet fully man. We don’t often think about the fact that he was a human being and he lived the full human experience: pain, hunger, fatigue, frustration, betrayal, disappointment. He experienced it all!

There’s one verse in the Bible about Jesus that simply says “large crowds followed him everywhere he went.” Well, isn’t that the life of a mom? Large crowds follow her to the bathroom. They follow her to the kitchen. To the grocery store. She’s in high demand! And when Jesus lived on this earth, He was in high demand, too.

Why did you want to write this book?

Most of us long for a friend who understands. Yes, we need girlfriends who understand what our life is like. But we also need to understand that we have a friend who understands in Jesus. Too many of us think of God as being distant and unable to relate to our daily struggles. But nothing could be further from the truth! He understands and he wants us to build our friendship with Him. He wants to not only be our Savior, but also our Friend.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?

I hope that readers will gain a new perspective about their relationship with Jesus. I also hope to weave God’s truth into the daily life of a mom.

What unique elements will the reader find in Real Moms…Real Jesus?

Each chapter looks at some character trait in Jesus’ life that can help us in our life as a mom. In between the chapters are interactive vignettes that provide brief, refreshing glimpses into our real, messy, busy lives.

There are also questions at the end of the chapter for further consideration and suggested Bible reading in the book of Matthew. If the reader chooses to pursue the suggested reading, she will have read the book of Matthew completely by the end of the book!

There is also a leader’s guide in the back of the book so it can be used in a group setting.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?

Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free bi-weekly electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!

Any closing thoughts?

I am very excited about this book! I believe that if a mom can strengthen her relationship with Jesus Christ, she will feel more equipped to be the mom she wants to be. I’m also offering an online book discussion on my blog beginning Tuesday, April 7. If you’d like to join us, you can subscribe to my blog at www.jillsavage.org.

I’d love to hear a reader’s thoughts after they read the book, too! You can connect to me through my blog at www.jillsavage.org.

Thanks, Jill, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your real mom, real Jesus moments with us.

You can purchase your own copy of Real Moms…Real Jesus by clicking here.

And be sure to check out Hearts at Home, their conferences for moms, and all their online resources here.

How to Calibrate a Leapster

Question:
How can I calibrate my Leapster?
(I’m posting this so I would know to recalibrate it when it goes out of alignment.)

Answer:
The following are instructions for calibrating the Leapster™ handheld.
1) Insert a cartridge, turn the unit on and wait for the sign-in screen to appear.
2) Hold down the Home, Hint and B buttons simultaneously.
3) When the screen changes, press the A button.
4) Using the Stylus, touch the center of the targets.

25 Random Things About Me

1. My favorite color is a tie...between orange and purple...just depends on my mood I guess.
2. I hate spiders...it doesn't matter how big or small, I dislike them all...not in a box, or with a fox...
3. Sweet Peas are my favorite flowers.
4. I like to be the first person to open a jar of peanut butter so I can stick my finger in it.
5. When I go to sleep, I like to snuggle under the blankets, but I always have to have one foot off the side of the bed, out from under the covers.
6. I love going to zoos.
7. I could eat pizza every day of the week.
8. I've been up in a hot air balloon 4 times and think it's an awesome experience.
9. I attended three different grade schools growing up, all of which fed into the same high school, so I knew lots of people once I got to high school.
10. Grizzly Bears are my favorite animals and I would love to be able to see one in the wild.
11. I love Wranglers...it's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand.
12. I eat ketchup on my scrambled eggs.
13. My favorite color of Crayon in Brick Red, followed closely by Midnight Blue (I'm not even sure those are colors in the new boxes of Crayola Crayons though).
14. I used to have a pet cow named Sunshine.
15. My family is the most important thing in the world to me.
16. My friends follow a very close second to my family.
17. I wore glasses/contacts for about 25yrs (from 1st grade until I was almost 32yrs old)...then had LASIK and now have 20/10 vision and I don't miss my contacts and glasses at all.
18. I have my Associates Degree in Graphic Design, but my most rewarding job has been being a mother...also my toughest job.
19.White chocolate is my downfall.
20. My favorite TV show is LOST.
21. I'm a night owl...definitely not a morning person.
22. The sound of chalk or fingernails on a blackboard gives me chills.
23. I'm very thankful for my wonderful husband and cannot imagine life without him.
24. Someday I would love to take a cruise to either Alaska or Ireland.
25. I like regular Coke, not diet and diet Pepsi, not regular.