“For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.”

(Psalm 92:4, ESV)

Psalm 92:4 was my prayer verse for 2014.

I’ve prayed it all year, asking and expecting God to show us the works of his hands so we could have an opportunity to praise him for them.

There are so many ways God has showed himself to us over the last year, I could make a list. So I thought I would!

Here are my top five for the year!

1. He’s provided for my family financially over and over again when we needed it most.

2. We got closer to our neighbors, and developed a stronger relationship with them based on faith. This helped us decide not to move, something we’d been debating and praying over for some time.

3. My boys both came to the Lord, and my husband baptized them in the same spot he was baptized as a young teen.

4. God allowed my husband and me to speak together for the first time, and we had so much fun. It sparked some big dreams for us about serving boymoms together in the future.

5. We successfully launched my first traditionally published book. I’ve never worked so hard in my life, but if Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most has inspired you to pray for your sons, it was worth every hour.

BONUS! God is growing and expanding the ministry of the MOB Society beyond what Erin and I ever dreamed possible.

Why share these things?

Because looking back on the ways the Lord has moved in my life gives me hope for what He’ll do in the future.

There have been plenty of bad things to come our way in 2014, too, and I find it all too easy to focus on them. When I do, my heart is downcast and I get depressed. But Matthew Henry’s Commentary says this:

“From a joyful remembrance of what God has done for us we may raise a joyful prospect of what he will do, and triumph in the assurance of it, triumph over all opposition…”

To thrive as moms, and not just survive, we have to choose hope (<—tweet that!)

Are you waving the white flag? Getting ready to give up because what’s required to mother well requires so much of your heart, soul, and body?

I know there’s a weariness a nap just won’t fix. It settles deep down in the core of who you are and weighs heavily on everything you try to do.

I understand. I’m a weary mom, too. And I want you to know two things this morning:

1. You’re not alone.
2. God wants to meet you in the middle of your mess.

That’s why my newest book, releasing from Harvest House in February 2015, is so important.

Here’s a sneak peak of the cover of this new book. We’re so pleased!

To thrive as moms, and not just survive, we have to choose hope.

Picking up the new Hope for the Weary Mom will be like having coffee with an old friend you haven’t seen in a few years. Some stories will be familiar and leave you thinking, “I remember that about her.” Others, because of space and time, will be brand new. You’ll see a maturity in her that’s come from living a full life in pursuit of Jesus, and leave filled to overflowing with a renewed hope in the God who meets you in the mess.

Choose Hope

Stacey Thacker and I have been caring for this message for three years now, and this final edition is the culmination of blood, sweat, and tears—not just in the writing of a book, but in the living of two lives bent on somehow bringing glory to God in the midst of messy motherhood.

We want to walk with you through the kind of weariness a nap just won’t fix, and bring you out on the other side with tools to help you not just survive, but thrive.

In just two months, we’ll be launching our #ChooseHope campaign. We’ve created a series of videos that take the content of the book to the next level. In them, you’ll get to know Stacey and me in a much deeper way as we share things about our own lives that aren’t in the book, but mainly, our goal is to teach you that hope is available to you right now if you’ll only choose it.

That might seem easier said than done. We know, because we live it daily. But in the strength of Jesus, it can be done. We’re going to teach you how. Just enter your email address below to make sure you get the news about #ChooseHope first.

(CONTEST OVER):

When you enter your email address (and follow any instructions you receive in an email right away) you’ll be entered to win a beautiful Choose Hope cuff like this one from Farm Girl Paints!

Enter to win this cuff today at the MOB Society!

One winner will be chosen from among those who enter their email address to be on the #ChooseHope list and will receive their cuff late fall of 2014. (CONTEST OVER!)

Are you ready to choose hope with us today?

We’d love to figure this out together with you, so if you’re ready to take the first step in learning to thrive and not just survive, sign up for the #ChooseHope campaign above and tell us in the comments, “Today, I choose hope.”