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Mama's Got a Fake I.D.: How to Reveal the Real You Behind all That Mom
No one begins life as a mom. Before you have children, you are an amazing combination of friend, daughter, confidant, visionary, encourager, and thinker. You start out in life using your gifts and abilities in a surprising variety of settings.
Then you have children and the role of mom–as wonderful as it is–seems to consume you. It’s easy to lose your identity when others see you as a mom and little else. What happened to the artist, the team-builder, the organizer, the entrepreneur, the leader–the person you’ve lost touch with?
In Mama’s Got a Fake I.D ., Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira helps moms like you reclaim the person God made you to be. God still wants to use you in ways that let your gifts, passions, and personality shine.
This inspiring and practical guide will show you how to break free from false guilt, learn a new language to express your true identity, and follow God’s lead in sharing who you really are. God wants you to discover who he made you to be–in your family and beyond. It’s time to reveal the woman who got hidden behind all that mom.
Then you have children and the role of mom–as wonderful as it is–seems to consume you. It’s easy to lose your identity when others see you as a mom and little else. What happened to the artist, the team-builder, the organizer, the entrepreneur, the leader–the person you’ve lost touch with?
In Mama’s Got a Fake I.D ., Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira helps moms like you reclaim the person God made you to be. God still wants to use you in ways that let your gifts, passions, and personality shine.
This inspiring and practical guide will show you how to break free from false guilt, learn a new language to express your true identity, and follow God’s lead in sharing who you really are. God wants you to discover who he made you to be–in your family and beyond. It’s time to reveal the woman who got hidden behind all that mom.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 6, 2009
Read my complete review here: http://redladysreadingroom-redlady.bl...
Mama's Got a Fake I.D. reminds us as readers and moms that we did have lives before we became a mom and how easy it can be for us to lose our own identities after we become a mom. Others often see us as a mom first and nothing else and their preconceived ideas effect how we are viewed. Ms. Rivadeneira spoke from her own experience as a mom and work at home mom and she also tapped into a group of mom friends that helped her to understand how other moms felt. I found it interesting that other mom's had feelings similar to my own as none of my friends appeared to share these feelings.
Ms. Rivadeneira is a Christian and draws upon these beliefs and importance that God wants us to discover who He made us to be and that we need to reclaim that person that is hiding behind that "mom" identity. As we really are more than just a "mom". I found that the author drew from her strong Christian faith and she shares scriptural and biblical references to support her ideas. At the end of each chapter, there are questions for reflection and discussion. These are hepful to reflect on yourself and would be great to discuss with a friend, book club or any other women's or mom's group. You can join an online discussion at Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira's website.
If you find yourself in a funk and you are not sure where your identity is as a mom and woman this may be a great book to explore and help you work through your thoughts, feelings and goals. The book is inspiring and is a practical guide that will help you examine false guilt, learn a new language or way to express your identity, tap into your own passions and interests and connect to those things that you may have lost touch with.
I just joined Facebook and a college friend sent me a flair button that said "You don't work Full Time until you're a Mom!" That says it all!!
Mama's Got a Fake I.D. reminds us as readers and moms that we did have lives before we became a mom and how easy it can be for us to lose our own identities after we become a mom. Others often see us as a mom first and nothing else and their preconceived ideas effect how we are viewed. Ms. Rivadeneira spoke from her own experience as a mom and work at home mom and she also tapped into a group of mom friends that helped her to understand how other moms felt. I found it interesting that other mom's had feelings similar to my own as none of my friends appeared to share these feelings.
Ms. Rivadeneira is a Christian and draws upon these beliefs and importance that God wants us to discover who He made us to be and that we need to reclaim that person that is hiding behind that "mom" identity. As we really are more than just a "mom". I found that the author drew from her strong Christian faith and she shares scriptural and biblical references to support her ideas. At the end of each chapter, there are questions for reflection and discussion. These are hepful to reflect on yourself and would be great to discuss with a friend, book club or any other women's or mom's group. You can join an online discussion at Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira's website.
If you find yourself in a funk and you are not sure where your identity is as a mom and woman this may be a great book to explore and help you work through your thoughts, feelings and goals. The book is inspiring and is a practical guide that will help you examine false guilt, learn a new language or way to express your identity, tap into your own passions and interests and connect to those things that you may have lost touch with.
I just joined Facebook and a college friend sent me a flair button that said "You don't work Full Time until you're a Mom!" That says it all!!
May 11, 2011
I wrote it so I'm just a TAD partial. But some authors hate their books after they've been out a while. I still like mine. ; )
May 31, 2009
How many moms out there can say that after they had children they did not lose some part of their identity. I would guess not many. Even though I worked after my first two children were born, the assumption was that since I was a mom, I must "have" to work - because why would I leave my kids in daycare if I didn't have to. I had never considered not working before or after my kids were born - I enjoyed my job and had always felt like I would be doing something in the working world. But even though I didn't quit my job, I did sacrifice other areas of my life. I didn't read a book for years, didn't cross stitch, and stopped playing the piano. I am not saying that some of this was not my fault, but I don't think that other people in my life helped me to not "lose" this part of me.
As I got older and had my third child, I did quit working and choose to stay at home with him. Now the assumptions became that I was only a stay at home mom. What happened to the mom who could manage a department? Who actually had adult conversations (ok, there is some argument as to whether they were actual "adult conversations" there) for 9 hours every day. Who had men and women friends who didn't know anything about my kids? What happened to the girl who was going to be a doctor/psychiatrist/social worker way back when?
Rosalie wrote,"I look at it this way: [We need to:] keep casting our nets out there, seeking to find ways our gifts can be used that [are:] fulfilling. I feel God hems us in at times for his own purposes. He uses our children and their needs to hem us in; he uses our husbands' conflicting schedules; he uses job application rejection. I just pray that I fulfill what it is he wants me to do within the hedge he has erected, and I pray that some day he will free me for more personal fulfillment beyond the precious role of mother." p 148
With this third child I finally began to realize all the parts of me that were no longer "present". That is what this book is about. How do we get back to who we were meant to be - without sacrificing our family - but at the same time not sacrificing ourselves for our family. God made us to be so much more than moms. Especially with all the technology of today, many of the things that wives and mothers had to do can now be done quicker or bought, etc - so how can we fulfill our roles in today's society to full capacity.
While we may at times feel discontent with our role or abilities as mothers in general - or if we're honest, at times with our kids' behavior in particular - that's not what I mean here. The contentment that needs to seep into our hearts, minds, and souls is for the hemmed-in times, when we see the hedges growing around us and feel like jumping right over them. You know, when it feels like nothing is happening, no gifts are being used, no passions are fired up, as if God has taken no consideration whatsoever of our personal temperaments when it comes to our role as mothers.
No matter how much we love everything and everyone inside our hedged yard, it's the stuff on the outside - the parts of our identities that don't seem to fit within a current season in motherhood - about which we need to seek contentment. That way, we can focus on where God wants us looking and why he wants us looking there. p152-153
If you have ever struggled with whether or not you are doing the whole "mothering" thing correctly - or wonder how you ended up with those 1 or 2 or 6 kids - then you should read this book. If you have a friend, or a sister, or a cousin who is a mom, read this book and help her to discover her full potential. Or get a group of women together and everyone read it. There are wonderful questions at the end of each chapter that can be used for discussion.
My heart raced a bit as I worked through the ways I empowered my kids through blessings - and the ways I needed to do better. And then my pastor said the words that nearly made me jump up and shout "Hallelujah!" "When you bless someone," he said, "you give them a picture of themselves that is honest, affirming, and empowering. That's a blessing."
So while I wasn't shouting out loud, inside I was shouting hallelujah! At this point I was thinking beyond all the ways I could give my kids honest, affirming, and empowering pictures of themselves. I was thinking, We moms gotta do this for each other! We gotta bless each other - give each other this honest, affirming, and empowering picture of who God made us to be. That's the real secret. p176-177
As I got older and had my third child, I did quit working and choose to stay at home with him. Now the assumptions became that I was only a stay at home mom. What happened to the mom who could manage a department? Who actually had adult conversations (ok, there is some argument as to whether they were actual "adult conversations" there) for 9 hours every day. Who had men and women friends who didn't know anything about my kids? What happened to the girl who was going to be a doctor/psychiatrist/social worker way back when?
Rosalie wrote,"I look at it this way: [We need to:] keep casting our nets out there, seeking to find ways our gifts can be used that [are:] fulfilling. I feel God hems us in at times for his own purposes. He uses our children and their needs to hem us in; he uses our husbands' conflicting schedules; he uses job application rejection. I just pray that I fulfill what it is he wants me to do within the hedge he has erected, and I pray that some day he will free me for more personal fulfillment beyond the precious role of mother." p 148
With this third child I finally began to realize all the parts of me that were no longer "present". That is what this book is about. How do we get back to who we were meant to be - without sacrificing our family - but at the same time not sacrificing ourselves for our family. God made us to be so much more than moms. Especially with all the technology of today, many of the things that wives and mothers had to do can now be done quicker or bought, etc - so how can we fulfill our roles in today's society to full capacity.
While we may at times feel discontent with our role or abilities as mothers in general - or if we're honest, at times with our kids' behavior in particular - that's not what I mean here. The contentment that needs to seep into our hearts, minds, and souls is for the hemmed-in times, when we see the hedges growing around us and feel like jumping right over them. You know, when it feels like nothing is happening, no gifts are being used, no passions are fired up, as if God has taken no consideration whatsoever of our personal temperaments when it comes to our role as mothers.
No matter how much we love everything and everyone inside our hedged yard, it's the stuff on the outside - the parts of our identities that don't seem to fit within a current season in motherhood - about which we need to seek contentment. That way, we can focus on where God wants us looking and why he wants us looking there. p152-153
If you have ever struggled with whether or not you are doing the whole "mothering" thing correctly - or wonder how you ended up with those 1 or 2 or 6 kids - then you should read this book. If you have a friend, or a sister, or a cousin who is a mom, read this book and help her to discover her full potential. Or get a group of women together and everyone read it. There are wonderful questions at the end of each chapter that can be used for discussion.
My heart raced a bit as I worked through the ways I empowered my kids through blessings - and the ways I needed to do better. And then my pastor said the words that nearly made me jump up and shout "Hallelujah!" "When you bless someone," he said, "you give them a picture of themselves that is honest, affirming, and empowering. That's a blessing."
So while I wasn't shouting out loud, inside I was shouting hallelujah! At this point I was thinking beyond all the ways I could give my kids honest, affirming, and empowering pictures of themselves. I was thinking, We moms gotta do this for each other! We gotta bless each other - give each other this honest, affirming, and empowering picture of who God made us to be. That's the real secret. p176-177
November 12, 2012
Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira experienced a strange feeling once she became a mother. What mother can’t relate to the feeling of being stripped of her identity and feeling like you’ve morphed into a crazy glob of maternal passion? Motherhood effects us. It confines and stretches us at the same time. It’s easy to get lost in the changes and responsibilities of loving and caring for a child. It’s a huge job and it quickly consumes us.
The author addresses the angst that mothers feel as they serve their families with love and devotion while, at times, feel empty of themselves. She confronts the fake I.D’s and labels that mothers wear and challenges readers to be the woman that God designed us to be, full and complete. She inspires us to be 3-D mothers who love our families and show our love by continuing to use the gifts, abilities and passions that God has placed inside of us. That make us complete women who encourage our children beyond words.
Readers will learn how to see beyond the stereotypes of motherhood and encourage the women around them to reach their fullness in God. Each chapter has discussion questions. This book would be excellent to read for a Mom’s small group.
Mama’s Got a Fake I.D. is a reminder to me that being a mother is a blessing and an honor but at my heart, my true identity is as a daughter of Christ.
The author addresses the angst that mothers feel as they serve their families with love and devotion while, at times, feel empty of themselves. She confronts the fake I.D’s and labels that mothers wear and challenges readers to be the woman that God designed us to be, full and complete. She inspires us to be 3-D mothers who love our families and show our love by continuing to use the gifts, abilities and passions that God has placed inside of us. That make us complete women who encourage our children beyond words.
Readers will learn how to see beyond the stereotypes of motherhood and encourage the women around them to reach their fullness in God. Each chapter has discussion questions. This book would be excellent to read for a Mom’s small group.
Mama’s Got a Fake I.D. is a reminder to me that being a mother is a blessing and an honor but at my heart, my true identity is as a daughter of Christ.
May 22, 2009
Mama's Got a Fake I.D. by Caryn Dahlstrond-Rivadeneira is a compelling, if a bit controversial, look at the role of motherhood in today's Christian woman. Being a mom is hard work, and sometimes the church doesn't make it any easier with its expectations of being the perfect mom. Some women seem to be able to wear the role with ease and make it look good. This book is for the rest of us. When I was growing up, I had lots of dreams for my future, and only a few of them were about being a mother. Of course as soon as Doogie was born, my future was irrevocably and blessedly changed, but my dreams didn't just die. Caryn addresses just that frustration. How do we, as women of God, be great moms and still use the gifts that He has blessed us with? How do we juggle the two roles without shortchanging our children or ourselves? Sometimes it feels as though the church expects every woman to be completely content with her role as mother and wife with no other creative outlet, and any deviation from that is considered abnormal. But God blessed us with a variety of gifts to be used in and out of our home, and as long as we are following his leadership, it's all good. Caryn offers moms hope and encouragement to be all that God created them to be.
August 3, 2016
Mama’s Got a Fake I.D., by Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira, is a great book for moms, anyone who has a mother, knows a mother, or has an identity to read. It is so easy to loose ourselves, our personal unique identities, in the midst of other’s perceptions of us. Even as a twenty something, single, not even close to having kids yet individual I learned a lot from this book. Rivedeneira poses questions to the reader that will surely make you think.
My favorite and most thought provoking question she throws out is “What do others need to know about you to know the real you?” That one had me thinking for quite a while. This book is well worth it in that it will surely aide in personal growth! With questions, mom stories, and the straight up sometimes not so easy truth you will be taken through a journey. Caryn, you should know that I actually like correcting grammar too, I live in Wisconsin and love it, and your Romania story touched me because I have heard very similar stories to it. (My uncle is a missionary in Romania). There is your start to getting to know the real me.
This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
My favorite and most thought provoking question she throws out is “What do others need to know about you to know the real you?” That one had me thinking for quite a while. This book is well worth it in that it will surely aide in personal growth! With questions, mom stories, and the straight up sometimes not so easy truth you will be taken through a journey. Caryn, you should know that I actually like correcting grammar too, I live in Wisconsin and love it, and your Romania story touched me because I have heard very similar stories to it. (My uncle is a missionary in Romania). There is your start to getting to know the real me.
This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
May 1, 2012
I am a Mom and a scientist.
This is a great book for Moms that feel they have lost their identity when they became a mom. I don't really feel like I've had an identity crisis, but the book did offer some great insight about being true to yourself while still being a good mom. It's truly frustrating when people think that just because you are a mom (and especially a stay at home mom) that you have no other interests in life besides your kids, cooking, and cleaning. This book helps moms to be true to the person God made you to be.
I read this book with my mom's group and we had the pleasure of getting to hear the author speak. She is funny and down-to-earth, and I can't wait to read her other book.
This is a great book for Moms that feel they have lost their identity when they became a mom. I don't really feel like I've had an identity crisis, but the book did offer some great insight about being true to yourself while still being a good mom. It's truly frustrating when people think that just because you are a mom (and especially a stay at home mom) that you have no other interests in life besides your kids, cooking, and cleaning. This book helps moms to be true to the person God made you to be.
I read this book with my mom's group and we had the pleasure of getting to hear the author speak. She is funny and down-to-earth, and I can't wait to read her other book.
July 2, 2010
I liked this book because it gave validation to similar feelings I was having and gave matter-of-fact answers/solutions. It is heavily christian based and I'm not christian but I think it's easy to put that aside and go on the basics of what she's explaining. Even some of the christian stuff made sense for me! It was worth the read just for the thought-provoking conversations I had with myself!!
May 13, 2011
Caryn Rivadeneira's writing makes me feel like I'm having a conversation with a smart, witty and wise friend. She's honest, sometimes silly, always real and when I finish the book, I'm better for it. Mama's Got a Fake I.D. is an empowering book that encourages women to see themselves as the rich, multifaceted people we are instead of just thinking, "Oh. I'm a Mom now. That's all there is to say about me." Great read.
August 19, 2009
The author is coming to speak to our MOPS group this year, so I figured I should read the book first. It's a very quick read... like many other 'mom' books, there's nothing earth shattering in it, and I didn't agree with everything she had to say, but it was a nice reminder that I'm not alone on this journey called motherhood.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews