Shaunti Feldhahn

As a working mother, author, and speaker, I had no idea how my life would be impacted by the traveling and speaking opportunities God opened up for me.  I shared the beginning of this story in my blog last week.  This is how the event unfolds….

 I firmly believe that every busy mom needs ‘me’ time in order to maintain emotional, physical and spiritual reserves for our family, ministry and work. Yesterday in Part One, I covered how to carve out little “beats” of rest in the middle of the crazy every-day pace of life.

But I’ve found that there is a completely different type of downtime that we need once in a while – thorough, complete, true rest. And just like with the downtime “rest beats” during a busy day, we don’t “get” this type of true rest. We must make it. It will never come on its own. 

 Shaunti’s much needed Life Ready Woman series was developed to help women understand their role in today’s “do-it-all” world. Shaunti has been a mom for 12 years; she and Jeff have been married for 17 years.

I was recently asked, “How do working moms get some ‘me’ time?” This is a question that I think can apply to any busy mom – and is close to my own heart, especially on the heels of my book The Life Ready Woman, which is all about life balance.

Moms, Lets Counter the Trend of Our Girls Feeling Inferior!

As a mom of an almost-12-year-old daughter – and a social researcher who has extensively interviewed and surveyed teenagers – my heart is hurting as I see the newest YouTube trend. There’s been a spate of articles in recent weeks about thousands of young girls who, desperate to feel loved and accepted, are posting videos of themselves asking the question, “Am I ugly?” 

Today was a stressful day. Already late in starting on an important deadline, trying to make up for four wonderful days off with my kids – which also meant four days away from work — with an inbox piled high with emails saying “time sensitive” in the subject line, I found myself on an emotional razor’s edge all day.

 I love speaking in New England - returning to my past! Iron Sharpens Iron for Women.  A great, enthusiastic group of women, eager to learn, share and be equipped.

After 18 months of intensive work, my eight-year-old son earned his blue belt in karate. It was a huge accomplishment for a typical, wiggly little boy who struggled to concentrate and be still the way his Sensei required.  He proudly put on his blue belt and moved up to a completely different class level.  Imagine my surprise when he came to me and announced, “Maybe I should stop karate and do something else”!

As a busy analyst, author, and speaker my days are full so it can be easy to lose track of time. As a wife to my husband, Jeff and a mom to our two great kids, ages 8 and 10, I have to protect my precious time and be careful not to let it flash before my eyes. My kids may be 8 and 10 for the moment, but I feel like I’m going to wake up tomorrow and find two teenagers living in my house.

Ah, summer. It’s that time of the year again when the days are long and beautiful, families finally get to take their long-awaited vacations, and moms are running ragged trying to keep up with work and the play demands of the kids. I’m sure every such mom can relate to the hysterical email I got today from my fabulous assistant, Cathy.

Cathy went from a high-powered corporate saleswoman to a high-powered, stay-at-home mom. She began working for me part-time when her youngest son, Josh, started Kindergarten and her older son, Jake, started fifth grade. She is an amazing, efficient worker who fearlessly jumps into every task I give her. I especially love the fact that her favorite phrase when given a task is, “I’m on it.”

Cathy has found that her first summer as a working mom has been …interesting, to say the least. On top of being a working mom, her husband, Randy, recently busted his Achilles tendon..