Susan Merrill's Blog, page 38
April 18, 2013
GiveAway #4: Kitchen Aid Mixer and eMeals
This giveaway was inspired by my love for food and my belief that food spells love.(click to tweet) I have a friend with a similar passion, her name is Jane Delaney. Jane is the President and Founder of eMeals. Her passion is to help moms make dinner because she believes family dinners strengthen families. I couldn’t agree more. So this Passionate Mom giveaway seeks to provide a little cooking inspiration–with a mixer in my favorite color and a year of menu plans from eMeals.
Whether it is for...
April 17, 2013
GiveAway: Sunglass Hut and Starbucks
Today’s Give Away was inspired by the tongue in cheek segment in The Passionate Mom called The Mommy Mafia. The Mommy Mafia is described in thePerception chapter. Moms need to be perceptive to protect their children and one way to improve your perception is to form a ‘Mom Mafia’ aka a group of moms who look out for each other’s kids. With todays giveaway you canimprove your perception and look good at your next “Mom Mafia” stake out! (click to tweet)So enter to win a good looking pair of sung...
April 16, 2013
GiveAway: Kate Spade
I want this giveaway. That’s all I will say. I am going to have the store send this bag directly to the winner because if it falls into my hands they won’t be able to pry it out of them.
Some of you may be thinking why in the world is she giving away a purse. So here is the reasoning behind my Kate Spade giveaway choice. Passionate moms tend to spend every dime and all their time on their kids. Can you relate? This, then, puts us in the awkward position of never having anything to wear that ma...
April 15, 2013
Grand Prize GiveAway: 4 Days-Disney World Parks & 3 Nights-Swann/Dolphin Resort
Our grand prize giveaway was inspired by my daughter Emily. Every year, Emily and I (below in January of 2013) go to Disney World together, just the two of us.
Our Disney trip is a tradition that has become a highlight of my memories with her. Emily, is my little “magic” girl. She has always loved to dream and pretend andponder.And over the years, watching her dream as we wander around Disney, I have had many precious moments to ponder about Emily.
The Passionate Momchapter about pondering is o...
April 13, 2013
The Parenting Roller Coaster
An excerpt fromThe Passionate Mom:
Life comes with problems, and so do children. There will alwaysbe struggles and opposition to your efforts, days and even weekswhen you just can’t seem to get ahead of the onslaught. Littlechildren have little problems, and bigger children can have biggerproblems. All five of my children are within six years of oneanother—I know it’s crazy, but I never planned to adopt twochildren the same ages as two of my biological children. Thenthey grew, and I had five t...
April 11, 2013
The Passionate Mom Book Launch!
We are in labor pains! We are about to deliver, and you know what that means–we are excited, nervous, intrigued, joyful, frightened and running on adrenaline fumes.
I confess that I did not want to have this baby–I did not want to write a book. But this opportunity came and I could not say no to a door that opened for me to share the lessons I have learned on this challenging journey of raising five very different children. What has me the most tearfully hopeful is that you and other moms wil...
April 10, 2013
What Is Your Real Passion?
An excerpt fromThe Passionate MomChapter 7 – Purpose
Passion + Purpose = A Plan
These three—passion, purpose, and planning—havea special relationship and, it starts with passion. Without passion you won’thave the drive to develop a purpose, and if you don’t ever finda purpose, you surely won’t see the need to have a plan.
Nehemiah had a very narrow focus for his passion—God andthe Israelite people. And I can relate. I was exposed to eternityfor just a breath of time when my heart stopped, but ev...
April 9, 2013
Passion Takes Action With Initiative
Passion Takes Action–an excerpt fromThe Passionate Mom
Nehemiah’s people were in trouble, and it is clear he felt passionatelyabout it. There is nothing amazing in that. Whenour children are in trouble, we can be just as passionate.What is amazing and an inspiration to me is what Nehemiahdid with his passion. He did not allow himself to be permanentlyoverwhelmed. He did not freeze in fear. Nehemiahtook initiative. Initiative is the ability to recognize what needs to be done and do it. (click t...
April 7, 2013
Loving Your Child Will Challenge You
If you choose to zero in on your child’s life—to really tryto train your child “in the way he should go”—you will needpassion (Prov. 22:6). It won’t be easy because passionate lovedoes not allow us to back away from difficult tasks; it pushesus to take on challenges that are out of our comfort zones.
And when that happens—when you have to do somethingbeyond what you know you can do—that is when you learnto pray, believing that God can do the amazing task of raisingchildren through you.
An excer...
April 5, 2013
The Problem: Fear, Worry, Anxiety, Panic
Most of my worries follow a little pattern that can spiral out ofcontrol without me even noticing. It springs up as a little pangof fear; it then picks up speed, swirling into worry around mybrain; next it spins me downward in a funnel of anxiety, till Ibottom out in a puddle of panic. When I land, I am a mess—depleted, confused and useless.
An excerpt from the The Passionate Mom:
