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Welcome Bloggers!

Book Details:

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Psst…

want to know the secret for being a great mom?

Think she keeps house like June Cleaver, cooks like a Food Network star, and actually does all of the things she pins to her Pinterest boards? Oh…and all while calmly raising her kids without ever raising her voice? Yeah….right.

Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk have had enough of these misconceptions. Myths such as: “The way I mother is the right (and only) way,” “Motherhood is natural, easy, and instinctive,” or “My child’s bad choice means I’m a bad mom.” These myths leave moms hoodwinked and sometimes even heartbroken.

In their straightforward yet encouraging “we’ve been there” style, Karen and Ruth enable mothers to:

  • Identify the ten myths of motherhood our current culture perpetuates
  • Replace the lies with the truth of what God says in the Bible about mothering
  • Acquire practical tools to help them form new and improved thought patterns and healthy behaviors
  • Forge healthy, supportive relationships with other moms of all ages and stages
  • Confidently embrace the calling of motherhood as they care for their families in their own unique way

Blog Tour Information:

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We would like to formally invite you to join our blog tour!

The Hoodwinked blog tour will run October 12, 2015 – December 31, 2015 and we would love to have you join us! Please select an open date from the calendar below to post about Hoodwinked on your blog. Email [email protected] to specify which date you would like to reserve. You will receive a prompt reply to confirm that your date was added to the calendar.

Once you have secured a blogging date, prepare for company! Ruth and Karen will be sharing your blog post with links to your site on their social media accounts! This is a combined readership of 646,000 not counting any promotion they may do on their websites!

Pre-made Blog Posts:

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You are more than welcome to craft your own blog post pertaining to a chapter from Hoodwinked. For those who would rather save time, you may copy and paste one of our pre-made blog posts!

A Pre-made Blog Post From Karen:

The Great Wall of Motherhood

The Great Wall of Motherhood

Maybe I could fake being sick. Or pretend I twisted my ankle. I just have to think of something that will get me out of this!

I was a mess, my heart beating so wildly. It was my freshman year of college, and I stood staring at it—a legend I’d heard about since my very first visit to campus. “It” was made of wood and nails. It stood tall and plain in the mid-Michigan countryside, yet it taunted and intimidated me until I surely thought I’d faint.

They called it simply, “The Wall.”

The legend was also a tradition, one that every single freshman who arrived on campus each autumn must take part in. Every new student must scale the ten-foot beast, assisted only by the members of their twelve-member freshman “core group.”

One by one, each group stood to face The Wall, trying to figure out how to get all the members of their team up and over the wall. On the backside of the wall was a platform, about a quarter of the way down from the top. Once a person was over the top of the wall, they could lower themselves gently and stand solidly on the platform. There they then could reach back over the wall and assist their classmates who had yet to experience the thrill of conquering this wooden monster.

Getting the first person over was the hardest, since there was no one already on the other side—and planted on the platform—to help to pull them up and over the top. Usually teams chose the tallest, thinnest, and most athletic guy to go first. Others hoisted him up on their shoulders, and then he tried with all his might to pull himself up and topple over to the other side.

Our first teammate made it over in exactly that way. Then, one after another, more freshmen were lifted, hoisted, pushed, or pulled until they made it safely to the other side. I did my part to help others over, but I dreaded taking my turn. I tried to speak positively to myself, “Come on, Karen. You can do this. Focus. Jump high and grab on tight.”

When my turn came, I backed up a few feet, took a couple running steps toward the wall, and then leapt upwards toward the top with all of my might, praying all the while someone’s strong arm would catch me.

After a brief moment of panic—when I thought I’d slide back down the wall in shame—I felt the hand of a teammate grab hold of mine and grip it tightly. With all the might I could muster, I simultaneously tried lifting myself up with my arms while swinging my right foot up as high as I could so a teammate standing on the platform on the other side could grab it. After about three tries, I was finally successful. My teammates then hoisted me up to the top of the wall, and I gingerly set my feet down on the other side. Sweet relief.

Once I was safely over, we worked together to get the other few members of our team up and over. Our core group had done it! We had scaled The Wall.

Just three-and-a-half short years after I was married, I found out I was expecting our first child. I was excited to be carrying a new life, although I also felt fear as I stared at the massive wall of motherhood that I would now have to scale, mostly because I thought all the weight was upon my shoulders to be my child’s everything.

Caretaker. Provider. Cook. Teacher. Nurse. Social director. Counselor. Coach. And probably something else I hadn’t even thought of yet. How in the world was I ever going to be able to do all that?

The Great Wall of Motherhood seems insurmountable because we moms have been hoodwinked—tricked into believing lies that keep us from not only enjoying motherhood, but forging friendships with other moms who might tackle the tasks of motherhood differently.

Myths such as “Mothering is natural, easy, and instinctive” cause moms to feel like failures if they have questions or apprehensions in raising their kids. Operating from the premise that “The way I mother is the right (and only) way” puts up fences between moms instead of building bridges of encouragement between them. Lies such as “I am my child’s choices” tempt moms to mistakenly believe that if their child makes a wrong choice then they, in turn, must be a bad mom.

Let’s determine today that we will reach out—and reach down—to help our fellow moms. Together we can scale the wall of motherhood as we seek to raise our children on our knees—as deep in prayer as we are in laundry, and homework, and life.

You can do it mom. God is with you. Love lavishly and mother well.

A Pre-made Blog Post From Ruth:

Is Motherhood Luck of the Draw?

Is Motherhood Luck of the Draw?

Our kids love to play a version of what we used to call hide-and-seek. The difference? They love to play it in our attic… with all the lights out! There is no skill to this game – it is pure chaos, pure chance, and pure darkness! After crawling, dodging furniture, and luckily finding one of our kids in my first try at the game, I vowed to never play again!

Let’s be honest, at times, parenting feels sort of a luck-of-the-draw, give-it-your-best-shot, cross-your-fingers-and-hope-for-the-best adventure. It can feel an awful lot like crawling through the dark. Have you found yourself believing the myth that Motherhood is just luck-of-the-draw? Maybe you’re not entirely sure what you should be doing or even how to do it.

The good news is that God has not left us moms in the dark. We don’t have to parent by chance or stumble through motherhood without guidance. God has called us to do far more than take care of our kids, feeding them, keeping them safe, and raising them into independent adults, meanwhile keeping our fingers crossed that we’re doing it right. Motherhood is not luck of the draw, where we parent by luck and chance and just pray to survive the day.

Instead, mothering is a calling to shape our children. And shaping our children requires intentional action. One of the primary ways we can do that as moms is through teaching our kids to know God and love God.

This kind of action and intentional effort we see communicated in various places in the Bible. But one of my favorites examples is the story of Eunice, Timothy’s mom. Timothy was a young pastor in the important city of Ephesus during the first century, and he was a co-laborer in the gospel and an important source of support to the apostle Paul. But before that, Timothy grew up in a divided home, with a Jewish mother and a Greek father (Acts 16:1).

Eunice was the real deal, but apparently she was also intentionally teaching her faith to her son, Timothy. We know that Timothy was learning the Scriptures from a very young age. Paul makes this observation about Timothy, but ultimately it is commentary on Eunice as a teaching and shaping mom. Notice what Paul says:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14–15)

Paul makes some staggering statements in these two short verses. Not only did Timothy learn from his mother’s teaching, Paul says he became “convinced.” This was not a complacent, comfortable, channel-changing faith. His faith, because of his mother’s teaching and sincere faith, became a conviction and a calling in his life and ministry. Eunice did not live aimlessly, controlled by the whims of fate or the chance of circumstance. Rather, Eunice lived faithfully, in obedience to the will of God for her life. Eunice was a mom who understood that her role wasn’t just luck of the draw and hope for the best. The thing is this… I want to be like Eunice. I really do. And many days it is hard, but hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It is a daily battle to follow God wholeheartedly and spur our children on to do the same. If we want our children to be disciples of Jesus than we must be one first. We will pass on what we possess.

Hoodwinked Blog Post Prompts:

To make things simple, we have a few pre-made posts for you to easily grab and also—should you want to craft your own post instead—a few prompts and page numbers picked out for easy reference. So, if one of the prompts below resonates with you, feel free to use the prompt in your post to connect your writing to the book. We also have pre-made images and statuses for your social media outlets at the web addresses below. See? Easy!

Prompt #1: “Motherhood isn’t a contest. Don’t try to “one up” the other gal by being “mommy-er than thou.” That never ends well. It also prevents honest and healthy relationships from forming with other moms due to jealousy and comparison”. Have you been erecting fences or building bridges between yourself and other moms? (pg.74 )

Prompt #2: “We should number our days not so we live fearfully, but in an effort to live more faithfully. Our time as a mom is not infinite or limitless. We count our days so we can make them count.” Has rushing caused you to miss the moments of motherhood? (pgs. 93-96)

Prompt #3: “Do not tether your identity to the choices of your child—whether stellar or stupid. We are not our child’s choices.” Have you been tempted to believe that your child’s bad choice means that you are a bad mom? (pg. 174)

Graphics to Download for Instagram and Pinterest:

You will pass on what you possess. More about the Hoodwinked Book at Karenehman.com

We have limits. More on the Hoodwinked book at Karenehman.com

 

Defining motherhood. More on Hoodwinked at Karenehman.com

Our children need our love. More on the Hoodwinked Book at Karenehman.com

Let's make our days count! More on the Hoodwinked Book at Karenehman.com

Mothering isn't a recipe. More on the Hoodwinked Book at Karenehman.com

Grant others grace! More on the Hoodwinked Book at Karenehman.com

Endorsements:

“Embrace your unique journey of motherhood. Free yourself to really enjoy your children as well! Hoodwinked will empower you to do both. Highly recommended!” Candace Cameron Bure, actress, producer, and New York Times bestselling author

“I love how Karen and Ruth give us a great gift of grace with this book by showing us no one is doing this parenting thing perfectly. Refreshing and so very practical.” Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

Social Media:

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Thanks so much for taking Hoodwinked to the streets of social media! The hashtags we are using are: #HoodwinkedBook and #nomorehoodwinkedmoms.

Feel free to use these hashtags when sharing a personal mothering moment or quote from the book.

Take a Tweet:

Facebook Status:

Moms have been hoodwinked—tricked into believing lies that keep them from not only enjoying motherhood, but forging friendships with other moms who might tackle the tasks of motherhood differently. Myths such as “Mothering is natural, easy, and instinctive” cause moms to feel like failures if they have questions or apprehensions in raising their kids. Operating from the premise that “The way I mother is the right (and only) way” puts up fences between moms instead of building bridges of encouragement between them. Lies such as “I am my child’s choices” tempt moms to mistakenly believe that if their child makes a wrong choice then they, in turn, must be a bad mom.

I’m so excited to tell you about a new resource for moms by Karen Ehman and The Better Mom. In their encouraging “we’ve been there” style, Karen and Ruth enable mothers to:

  • Identify the ten myths of motherhood our current culture perpetuates
  • Replace the lies with the truth of what God says in the Bible about mothering
  • Acquire practical tools to help them form new and improved thought patterns and healthy behaviors
  • Forge healthy, supportive relationships with other moms of all ages and stages
  • Confidently embrace the calling of motherhood as they care for their families in their own unique way

A six-session video Bible study for group or individual use is also available. Click here for details!

Checklist:

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Before you leave:

  • Consider sharing the book trailer on your blog or social media.
  • Here is a short link to buy the book: http://amzn.to/1Mzq2DC
  • You can share this graphic and these VERY important details BEFORE November 2nd as it is a pre-order incentive:

Details at Karenehman.com and TheBetterMom.com

  • Invite your community to like the Facebook pages of “The Better Mom” and “Karen Ehman” where they will find daily encouragement.
  • You can also invite your community to follow “thebettermom” and “karenehman” on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
  • Proverbs 31 Ministries is also offering an added incentive if the book is purchased through their website- a PDF titled: On My Knees & In My Heart : 5 Mini-Retreats for Moms. The custom short link to buy the book on P31 is here: http://bit.ly/1NBZ6EO

Details at KarenEhman.com

  • Don’t forget to grab your Hoodwinked Blog Tour Button:

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  • You can also download the official Hoodwinked FB cover photo:

The Hoodwinked Book! More at Karenehman.com and TheBetterMom.com

  • We’d also like to offer you these beautiful lock screens for your phone:

The Hoodwinked Book! More at Karenehman.com and TheBetterMom.com

The Hoodwinked Book! More at Karenehman.com and TheBetterMom.com

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Thank you!

We are truly grateful for your participation in this book launch. Your friendship, partnership and support means more to us than you know. This already has been such an amazing journey together and we are looking forward to seeing what God does in the hearts of you and your blog community.

Blessings,

Karen and Ruth