Every mother with small people should read “Loving the Little Years.”
Several times.
Yearly, even.
The mother of 5 children five-years-old and under, Rachel Jankovic knows what she’s talking about and brings refreshing perspective on “motherhood in the trenches.”
It is easy to feel exhausted and overwhelmed just with the task of keeping little ones fed and clothed. But they need so much more than that! We are called to disciple our children and instruct them in righteousness, and if we aren’t tending their hearts, all our work is in vain. With little sinners constantly running around your house, it’s so easy to get frustrated, and, (perhaps only sub-consciously), begin to view them as bothersome and in the way of “life.”
Rachel gave me great ideas to change my own heart and attitude in short, encouraging and uplifting chapter bites. I love the imagery and stories that Rachel uses with her kids to illustrate concepts so they can understand.
“Setting behaviors into stories is a great way to communicate with your little people. Got a boy hitting a sister? Tell him about a brave knight who went out to fight the dragon but started hitting the princess instead. Give children a chance to get outside themselves and see their behavior as it plays out in a story. It often turns out that they know exactly the right thing to do.”
She reminds us to look at our children as little people. Her wisdom has already aided me in several discipline situations, reminding me to look at it from little Katie’s perspective and really try to see the heart issue.
I’ve read this book twice, and I already want to read it again. The short chapters are easy to get through, even for a busy mother of little ones, and you are sure to come away sobered, strengthened, and amused.
Rachel says:
“I didn’t write this book because mothering little ones is easy for me. I wrote it because it isn’t. I know that this is a hard job, because I am right here in the middle of it. I know you need encouragement because I do too.”
“This is not a tender reminiscence from someone who had children so long ago that she only remembers the sweet parts. At the time of writing this, I have three children in diapers, and I can recognize the sound of hundreds of toothpicks being dumped out in the hall.”
“[This] is a loose collection of thoughts on mothering young children—for when you are motivated, for when you are discouraged, for the times when discipline seems fruitless, and for when you are just plain old tired.”
“The opportunities for growth and refinement abound here—but you have to be willing. You have to open your heart to the tumble. As you deal with your children, deal with yourself always and first. This is what it looks like and feels like to walk with God, as a mother.”
Today you get a chance to win a copy of Loving the Little Years right here on the blog!
Leave one comment on this post to enter the giveaway. If you’re in the midst of the “little years,” share something you love about raising your little ones! We’ll draw one winner this Saturday, August 6th.
If you’d like another chance to win, visit my own blog, Mama Chocolate, where I will be giving away a second copy!
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