Exrtraordinary Moms Network

A message from my friend Heidi Hess Saxton:



Dear Friends in Christ:

Have you ever been in a place where you wondered just what God was asking you to do with your life? I have, especially lately. Like most moms, I find that the demands on my time almost always exceed the “budget,” and yet I also know God never asks us to do more than we are capable of doing. Which means, if I’m overextended … chances are, “something’s gotta give.”

The last time I felt this way, in 1989, I flew to Acapulco and spent two weeks traveling by bus across the Mexican countryside. At the time I was trying to decide whether to stay in publishing or accept an invitation to become a short-term missionary in Singapore. By the end of that trip, I realized God was saying, “Neither.” I packed my bags and moved from Minneapolis to California to continue my education.

Over the past few months, I felt that same restlessness coming on, and I’ve been asking God to show me what He has in mind. Then a couple of weeks ago Sarah Reinhard and I pack our kids into the car and took off on the “Jet Setting is for Sissies Road Trip 2008,” to go to the Catholic New Media Celebration and visit several of our blogging buddies and other important people. I blogged extensively about our adventures at Mommy Monsters.

Several tremendous blessings came out around the time of this trip, which I’d like to share with you now.

Just prior to our trip, Cheryl Dickow at Bezalel Books volunteered to bring out a Spanish edition of my Mary book (entitled Contempla a tu Madre), and to recover Behold Your Mother at the same time! The new edition is now available through Amazon.com, and includes special journal pages at the back of the books where you can insert your own meditations on the Blessed Mother.

To celebrate the new edition of Behold Your Mother, Sarah and I will be hosting a “Mary Moments” Carnival on the 15th of each month at Behold Your Mother. The first “real” Carnival will be held August 15, to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary … and feature posts about favorite Mary books (besides mine, I mean…). You may submit posts directly to the Carnival here, or send the link to me via e-mail.

The other significant development that I’d like to tell you about is the creation of the Extraordinary Moms Network, which I’ll tell you more about in the next newsletter. The Extraordinary Moms Network website, which was designed by my friend Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur, is still very much a work in progress. However, in time I am hoping that this will become a useful resource for all women who are looking to grow as truly extraordinary mothers: adoptive and foster mothers, step mothers and other women raising children to whom they did not give birth, as well as mothers of large families and children with special needs.



All of us need encouragement from time to time in order to continue investing ourselves in the lives of the children entrusted into their care … and I’m hoping EMN will become just that source of encouragement for you. My long-term goals for the network include a weekly podcast, book club, and e-zine (and phase out my multiple blogs over time). Please pray with me, that God would guide me in the way He sees best.

Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to others you think might be interested in hearing more about the Extraordinary Moms Network, or about the “Mary Moments” Carnival. God bless you!

Under the Mercy, Heidi Saxton