"Mom Connection" Review & Giveaway!

As a MOPS mom and leader, I am always excited to get my hands on a copy of the new year's theme book, so I was thrilled to get an advance copy of Mom Connection by Tracey Bianchi. And I may have bragged about it a bit... 

However, with six kids, finding time to read it was a challenge! 

About the book:

Parenting young children is all-consuming task that can make moms feel isolated, disconnected and ineffective beyond the walls of their own home. They want to have a part in the bigger scheme of things, to have real friends and to make the world their children will inherit a better place. 

In this witty, encouraging book, Tracey Bianchi guides moms on a journey toward celebrating and discovering the underlying rhythm of their lives and how that rhythm pulls them into vibrant relationships. Through stories of her own life as a mom and the experiences of others, she shows moms how to gracefully engage the people who cross their paths rather than viewing others as tasks on a list. Bianchi shares her own, sometimes hilarious, missteps and the importance of vibrant connections and intentional relationships. She also offers a way to find balance in this busy exercise called motherhood. 

“Of course, motherhood will eternally be a balancing act with bouts of stress and worry (even depression), a mixture of global concern and lost lunch boxes,” writes Bianchi. “Mom Connection will take you on a journey to celebrate and deepen your friendships to make you a better mother, wife and woman.”

My thoughts:

I can pretty much sum up this book in one sentence. I LOVE IT. 

I love how real Tracey is, how she shares everything - even the messy parts of being a mom. The lonely moments in the park when you desperately want to connect with someone, anyone! Hello? I remember those moments like it was yesterday. (It probably was...) 

I have never met Tracey Bianchi, but I am pretty sure she stalks my Facebook. She has to. How else would she know about all the craziness that is my life? I know I need to slow down, but do I really have the time? I appreciate that she gets it and offers small ways to find space and margin. She even takes you through how to find, ask and yes, even ACCEPT help. Something that I have struggled with forever.

And the chapter on finding yourself after you have children? Not even my husband gets that I long to be something/someone other than just a mom. (For all you first time, head-over-heels moms, don't leave hate comments. You will understand someday.) Tracey breaks it down in to easy steps to finding what happened to your gifts, talents and hobbies when you gave birth. 

This book isn't just about connecting with other moms, but connecting with your kids (yes, we need to do that), your extended family (it is okay to set boundaries!) and even your husband (if you have one) - because adding kids to a marriage opens up a whole new can of worms... I admit, some days I am so craving outside interaction, I forget about those relationships. Yet another reason I loved this book. 

Making friends, keeping friends and how to be a friend to the mom who needs one. We are all so different, from the perfect mom to well, um, me.. but we all need connection. 

I especially enjoyed the "Five Mom Tested Tips" at the end of each section - I crave practical advice! I also appreciated short chapters that I could sneak in while I was hiding from children. Mom Connection really was a great read. I laughed and I even teared up a time or two. Real, honest... thank you Tracey, I needed this.

About the author:   

Tracey Bianchi is an over-caffeinated, thirty-something living in a suburb near Chicago. She’s a sought after communicator and has contributed to a variety of publications and organizations from Sojourners to MOPS International, from The Washington Post to her first book via Zondervan. Tracey is an activist with a passion for environmental justice and advocacy for women and girls in the developing world. She also serves on pastoral staff at Christ Church of Oak Brook (a congregation of 2000+) where she helps coordinate a contemporary worship community as well as teaching and preaching regularly. She has three children, a rockstar husband, and had a goldfish named Stinky Pete that recently met his fate by jumping ship and landing on the kitchen floor.  

Visit Tracey's website at http://traceybianchi.com/

The prize:

 In addition to a copy of Mom Connection, you will receive a reusable MOPS shopping bag, MOPS water bottle, a collection of four magnets (to hold all the Mother's Day artwork up!), a "Friends don't let friends mother alone!" t-shirt, a note pad and pen for those endless lists, a Travis Cottrell worship CD, a bookmark (the Lord knows you will need it!), a copy of MomSense magazine, a MOPS luggage tag holder, MOPS lipbalm and finally - to keep the kids busy for for a few blessed moments - a Veggie Tales DVD and a Baby Faith DVD.

Use the new, handy-dandy Rafflecopter widget to enter for the prize! 

I hope you win!  

Mom Connection is available May 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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Love,