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From Susan Merrill

The Blog

Marriage

Uncommon Marriage

Today I have to share some rah-rah for my good friends, Tony and Lauren Dungy. Their new book, Uncommon Marriage, officially launches today! Wahoo!! In their book they share the roller coaster they’ve ridden together. They make you giggle. They make you ponder. They offer encouragement for building lasting marriages. Their words are a testament that even in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, we can all be loving husbands and wives. I’m so proud of my dear friends and I can’t wait for you to read their story! Be on the lookout this month because I’ll be featuring excerpts from the book each week. If you’d like to purchase Uncommon Marriage, click here. Autographed and personalized copies are available! And if you want to hear more scoop about Uncommon Marriage, take a listen to Mark Merrill’s podcast interview with Tony.

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Encouragement

What is Beauty? Beauty Is…

I love it when a company uses it’s influence for good and Dove has done that for many years. The company has had an ongoing Campaign for Real Beauty. And they use very poignant, relevant videos to make girls and women think differently about beauty. I have watched all of their videos with my girls because I want them to know, really know, that they are beautiful! Here are those links…

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Marriage

How to Find Contentment in Marriage

Jacob and Leah were not “in love” by today’s standards. He didn’t bring her flowers, didn’t write her love songs, and didn’t hold her hand. He didn’t ask how her day was, didn’t take her on dates, and didn’t tell her she was beautiful. Jacob was not finding contentment in his marriage. In fact, he didn’t even want to marry her in the first place! After working hard for 7 years in order to marry the young, beautiful Rachel, Jacob was surprised to find it was Rachel’s older sister Leah laying in his tent that night. Enraged, he called out to the girls’ father in Genesis 29:25, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” (Not the reaction you’re expecting from your husband on the night of your honeymoon). After the father explained the way their culture calls for the elder sister to be married before the younger, Jacob relented and took Leah as his first wife. He worked seven more years for what he really wanted–Rachel. And everyone knew it, verse 30 tells us that Jacob “loved Rachel more than Leah.” Though this biblical love …

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Parenting

How Far Would You Go to Protect Your Child?

I was really conflicted when I saw this. Could this be real? Yet, last summer I found my seventeen year old playing an online video game on his laptop that had been produced in China. It looked very similar to the game shown in this video. The game had levels that could only be accessed in certain ways, with skill or money–real money. Of course, skill would only take you so far, you needed money to go farther. I did not like it at all and blocked it. Yes, I still block content from my almost adult teenagers. I would go pretty far to protect my children from anything my gut tells me could be dangerous. BUT would I, could I, if I ever needed to, go this far? Would our country ever allow it? Are these desperate measures needed by children in our country, too? It makes me so sad to know that online gaming profiteers are exploiting children like this in China. It also makes me angry that it might be happening here. What if anything is being done here?

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Parenting

Invest in Your Children and Others in 2014

This year, what can we invest in that will never fade? The answer is sitting in your lap, pulling at your shirt, looking up at you with their sweet, puppy eyes: your children. Building relationships with your kids is something that truly matters. Here’s one of several stories that I’ve received as the director of iMOM about lives that have been impacted: “Hi I’m Grace, and I’m an iMOM Morning Leader. iMOM morning has been instrumental in helping ramp up the communication between my daughters and me. It has helped us meet other women and their children, and we so enjoy that camaraderie. I have had a great time facilitating the meetings and having something delicious to eat for breakfast! The girls and I get a chance to sit down, have fun, and talk about whatever we are learning about in the videos that month.” Let Grace’s story encourage you to do what matters this New Year. Be bold and start an iMOM Morning Chapter at your child’s school! These monthly breakfasts easily become cherished memories thanks to meaningful conversations and fun curriculums. Alongside you, the whole community of moms throughout the school will be given this wonderful opportunity …

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Encouragement

Life Hack Lovin’

Have you heard of life hacks?? Well they are da bomb. They’re these quirky little tricks that make your life easier. You can use toothpaste to clean your headlights or put a wooden spoon over a boiling pot to keep the water from boiling over. It’s amazing what you can find! Speaking of life hacks, iMOM is all about making a mom’s life easier. Use iMOM’s 7 life hack printables to help your household and you will be life hack lovin’ just like me. What’s your best life hack find?

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Encouragement

Do Your Cups Overfloweth?

Do your cups overfloweth? Mine do. I walked into the kitchen this afternoon and there they were–overflowing on the counter—fast food cups, Solo cups, juice cups and coffee cups—over a dozen of them. My eyes tried to count as my hands went to work, and the voice in my head vented with questions like, “Why can’t anyone seem to find the dishwasher?” “How many more nano seconds does it take to drop a cup in the trash rather than on the counter?” and “Why, why, why can’t I seem to train my kids to put stuff away?” Within five minutes the venting voice relented as I surveyed the now cleared counter. I was still slightly annoyed but much, much calmer. And then I saw it—my coffee cup from this morning, empty and alone next to the stove. Somehow I had missed it. As I focused on that lonely cup a foreboding thought formed in my mind. One day that might be all I find on the counter—one or two empty coffee cups. One day my kids will be grown and gone. But, today I am not alone.The cups in my house overfloweth because my cup is over-flowing with life. …

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Parenting

10 Mom Prayers Printable

Sometimes when I look back on a year like this last one, a startling reality washes over me. I become painfully aware of how little control I have over life, especially the lives of my children. In these moments, the mom in me panics, like a woman at the edge of a precipice fighting the urge to look down, as if not looking means I am not there. But I am there. I can’t be assured that I can save the ones I love. My heart beats faster, my stomach sickens and then my mind remembers what my heart believes and I talk myself down off the cliff–you’re not going to fall, they are not going to fall, you can’t protect them but God can. He has a plan. Being a parent involves heartbreaking risk. Moms desperately want to protect their children from anything and everything bad but know that it is impossible. Bad things will happen, suffering will enter into your family and maybe already has. You can’t stop it and you cannot change it. Many times the only thing you can do is pray. And prayer, my dear mom friend, is a miracle of peace, like a river. …

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Encouragement

Prepare Him Room (Merry Christmas!)

No room. It’s a sad thought, really, but one that makes a lot of sense. In a busy time of census taking, inns were full and rooms were hard to come by. Still, no one knew that this woman they were ushering out was about to give birth to Jesus, the Son of God, the One who would change the world and bring about hope for a better tomorrow. Even today, it’s easy to get so busy over the holidays that we forget the One who is the reason for all of the festivities. We can choose to close our hearts to His love and keep our days so full that there is no time to spend with Him. Or, we can remember that He truly is Emmanuel, God with us. We can find Him through a loving gesture of a neighbor, a kind word of a friend, a peaceful moment by the Christmas tree, or an encouraging lyric in a Christmas carol. But He still lovingly waits to see if we will allow Him the room in our hearts. “Let every heart prepare Him room,” let’s sing together this Christmas day. For His presence in our lives will …

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