Dear Mom: Everything Your Teenage Daughter Wants You to Know But Will Never Tell You by Melody Carlson

Every mom knows how communicating with a teenage girl can be difficult, even impossible at times. One-word answers. Defensive conversations. Daily arguments. How typical for teens to put up such barriers. All the while, moms truly long to know what their daughters really think.

Best-selling author Melody Carlson, whose books for women, teens, and children have sold more than three million copies, bridges this chasm with trusted insight. She speaks frankly in the voice of the teen daughters she’s written for and she tells it like it is: struggles with identity, guys, friendship, and even parents—it’s all here. The straight-talk to moms covers such things as “I need you, but you can’t make me admit it,” “I’m not as confident as I appear,” and “I have friends. I need a mother.”

Instead of focusing on outward behaviors, Dear Mom looks at a young woman’s heart and reveals to moms:

· how to talk to teens so they hear,

· how to connect despite the differences of perspective or years and experiences,

· and how strengthen the bond every mom and daughter ultimately wants.

The lively chapters in Dear Mom can be dipped into topically or used as a read-through tool by moms and daughters alike to understand what motivates or deflates, troubles or inspires—and just in time for Mother’s Day and all the Mother’s Days ahead.

“What a valuable treasure chest of insights into the mind of a teenage girl! This carefully crafted book is a must-read for any mom who desires to see her relationship with her teenage daughter move past the volley of words that pass between them and move into a new season where they can be joined at the heart. Thank you, Melody, for this superb handbook that gives us a glimpse into the teenage mind and equips us with understanding.”
–Robin Jones Gunn, best-selling author of the Christy Miller series and the Sisterchicks novels

“You think this is a book? It’s really a bridge–no, a cord!–that will connect moms and daughters in a way to get through those turbulent teen years. Read it and reap!”
–Dr. Kevin Leman, best-selling author of Have a New Kid by Friday and Running the Rapids

“When it comes to mom-daughter relationships, Melody Carlson gets it. In fact, I think Melody must have had our house bugged. She understands and she cares. Dear Mom is honest, authentic, practical, and hopeful.”
–Jim Burns, PhD, author of Confident Parenting, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality, and Creating an Intimate Marriage

“Ever want to be let in on the running commentary going on inside your daughter’s head? Now you can. With wit and honesty, Melody Carlson explains what every mom needs to know.”
–Rebecca St. James, author, singer, and actress

Grab your copy here!

Mama's Got a Fake ID by Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeneira

I'm in the middle of Mama's Got a Fake I.D., and it couldn't come at a better time. My daughter is three, and I'm trying to figure out how to balance my life as a freelance writer and a mom. I even talked extensively about this issue with friends last week, over Facebook and then again at a local cafe. They're both creative people, too, so we commiserated with one another, but we didn't know the big answer:

Are we being selfish? Or are we being what we're supposed to be, when engage seriously in our "extra-mommy" activities?

Rivadeneira tackles this hard issue from a fundamental Christian perspective -- and her verdicts might surprise most everyone.

I'm seriously loving this book!

Formula for identity loss:

1. Take one multifaceted, intriguing human being.

2. Bless her with a child.

3. Mix with today’s cultural assumptions.

4. Add the demands of motherhood.

5. Presto! All identity except Mom disappears.

For every woman wondering what happened to the unique combination of gifts and abilities she was known for before kids came along, Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira has good news: in Mama’s Got a Fake I.D., Rivedeneira helps moms reclaim their full identity as creative beings, gifted professionals and volunteers, loving friends, children of God—and mothers.

This inspiring and practical guide shows women how to break free from false guilt, learn a new language to express who they really are, and follow God’s lead in sharing their true self with others. After all, motherhood doesn’t have to mean losing one’s identity. Instead, being a mom makes it possible for a woman to discover a more complete identity as the person God made her to be.

Pick up your copy here!

People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It! by Larry Winget

Press Blurb: The 10 Ways You Are Sabotaging Yourself and How You Can Overcome Them
By Larry Winget New York Times Bestselling Author of You're Broke Because You Want to Be

"Larry's frank, brutal, tough, and sometimes even obnoxious! But you know something? He has a big heart and an even bigger gut for how we can avoid big mistakes."
--Neil Cavuto, Fox News Channel

Larry Winget, The Pittbull of Personal Development and New York Times bestseller is back!

First he brought us bestselling advice in Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life and It's Called Work for a Reason! Then he taught us to get our finances under control last year with You're Broke Because You Want to Be.

What do people really want? They want what they've already got. It's a simple formula.
You have what you want because your actions produced your results. Not your words,
and certainly not your wants.

In his signature caustic yet straight-talk style, Larry Winget tells it like it is on what he
calls "life's messes" and offers sound, simple solutions on subjects such as business,
family health, being fat, being stupid, success, money, and more. Winget points out
exactly which changes have to take place in order for people to turn their lives around.

People Are Idiots And I Can Prove It! is a little mirror you can hold up to your life to
reflect your areas of stupidity back to you. A mirror that has a little action plans taped to
the back of it. A little business. A little bit personal development. A little finance. A little parenting. A little health and wellness. And a whooping dose of common sense!

People Are Idiots And I Can Prove It ! will help anyone identify their own "areas of stupidity" and take action to finally achieve real success.

About the book:
People Are Idiots And I Can Prove It ! by Larry Winget
ISBN: 978-1592404377
Publisher: Gotham Books
Date of publish: Jan 5, 2009
Pages: 258
S.R.P.: $25.00

Rich is a Religion by Mark Stevens

Rich is a Religion , by best-selling author Mark Stevens, is a book every American should read!

WHY? Americans need to START treating money as a religion and:

- Get off the earn-it, spend-it treadmill.

- Live a degree below their means.

- Live up to the Buffets, Gates and Hiltons-not the Joneses.

- Stop spending for external gratification.

- Understand the most important money is that which others cannot see.

- Learn to be thrifty.

- Invest in appreciating assets-not toys!

Have YOU said NO to your kids (or yourself) lately? Saving for a rainy day has gone the

way of dial phones-and money does not grow on trees. Today is the day to start saying

NO to your family's wants (not needs).

Wise money management is a philosophy-a mindset. Rich is a Religion: Breaking the

Timeless Code to Wealth, examines the wealthy, the famous (and not so famous, and

happy to be that way), and how they use money as an instrument of independence,

confidence, stability and enduring value. Author Mark Stevens shows how those who

embrace the " 'religion' of the rich" (how they think/use money) can weather any

economic downturn because it is NOT what you earn in life, but what you keep.

Today's parents are not teaching children about money, and now have to learn along with

them about the reality of being behind in payments, job loss, no savings, etc.

Readers of this book will learn how to be thrifty, exercise discipline, control fiduciary

responsibility, to buy appreciable assets, not toys, and much more. Mark says, "The

secret to building and maintaining wealth is by changing your philosophy. Learn how to

live like the rich do-one degree below your means."

Now that's a message we all need to hear and live by starting today.

Never Say Diet by Chantel Hobbs

Summary: After years of failed diet attempts, Chantel Hobbs discovered the missing ingredient to permanent weight loss: to change your life, you first have to change the way you think.

She developed a balanced plan for exercise and nutrition and lost two hundred pounds. Now, through writing, speaking, and her work as a personal trainer, she inspires others to achieve far more than they thought possible.

In Never Say Diet, now available in trade paperback, Chantel provides everything readers need to lose weight for good, including:

• Simple, step-by-step workout routines that fit into a normal weekday schedule
• A realistic approach to nutrition that helps people break their bondage to food
• Strategies for staying motivated when life takes unexpected turns
• Keys to dealing with discouragement by relying on God’s strength
• The secret to moving beyond past failures and getting over old excuses

Chantel helps readers make the five commitments that are necessary for changing their lives. Her high-energy, no-nonsense approach inspires readers to achieve results that last in body, mind, and spirit.

Personal Trainer: Her newest book, The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach, now allows readers to have Chantel show up each week to inspire, encourage, and energize them on the journey to a healthy life that centers on body, mind, and spirit.

This fitness guide helps readers set new weight-loss goals and create an exercise schedule that works in the midst of life’s constant demands. Readers will be inspired with Scripture, and they will welcome Chantel’s healthy eating plan with simple, energy-and-nutrition-packed recipes. Weekly checklists and personal evaluations direct readers in reaching their goals. Plus, Chantel’s personal and entertaining stories provide the motivation needed to get through even the most frustrating days.

With Never Say Diet and The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach readers will establish new fitness habits that burn off excess weight, increase strength, and establish a new, healthy way of living.

For more information, check out www.chantelhobbs.com

Buy NEVER SAY DIET

Buy THE NEVER SAY DIET PERSONAL FITNESS COACH