Ultimate Blog Party 2011

Wow! Yesterday’s conversation about toy organization was great! I learned some new ideas from our practical discussion. I am loving these wonderful dialogues…we are learning so much from each other!

Congratulations to Stephanie (daveandstephy) and Becky (ministrytomotherhood)! You each won a copy of Karen Ehman’s Hearts at Home book The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized. I’ll send you an email with further instructions about getting your book.

Today’s discussion centers around the concept of motherhood as a profession.  Twenty-four years ago when I began staying home with my kids, I felt like I was wasting my teaching degree.  If someone asked me what I did, I would answer, “Oh, I’m just a mom.”

That answer downplayed the importance of what I was doing everyday as a mom.

One morning I was whining to God about not using my degree and wondering when I could pursue my teaching career.  I sensed God whisper to my heart, “Jill, I want you to consider what you do everyday as a mom as your career.  I want you to think of mothering as the profession it is.  What you are doing is valuable.”

Why I had never considered this before, I don’t know.  But I hadn’t.  But that day my perspective began to shift.  I got up every morning with a sense of purpose.  I began to set goals for my kids.  I became a much more intentional mom.  And I began to answer the “What do you do?” question with, “I’m a wife and a mom and I love my job!”

Eventually I knew I had to share my experience with other moms and that’s why I wrote Professionalizing Motherhood.  Today I’m giving away 2 copies of Professionalizing Motherhood.  To enter the drawing, simply share what you do for continuing education in your profession of motherhood. How are you sharpening your mothering/homemaking skills?  This is an important part of taking a profession seriously, you know.

Oh and by the way…if you work outside the home, you are still a woman in the profession of motherhood.  You have two professions that both need your best.  A friend of mine who works full-time told me after reading Professionalizing Motherhood, “even though the book was written with moms-at-home in mind, you helped me realize that I wasn’t thinking of mothering as my second profession and my family was getting my leftovers instead of my best.  This book has helped me keep my heart at home and my family my priority!”

Gotta love that kind of feedback!

What are you doing to keep up your skills in the profession of motherhood?

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