Pat Layton
Inspiring Woman To Embrace God Sized Dreams
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Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy End-of Mother’s day friends (in the Eastern Time Zone anyway!)
I hope everyone of you have a sweet and blessed day. Mine was extra special as I had my honey, all my children, grandchildren AND MY MOM all together for a pool party in our back yard. I am telling you, there is no diamond; no yacht; no mansion; no trip to Tuscany that beats a gathering of all your family together in one sweet place.
My cup runneth over, as they say.
I am always mindful of those women who long for this day to be one when she finally hears someone call her “Mom”. It just makes me want to gather every one of them in my arms and remind them that THEY ARE LOVED!! God SEES the desire of your heart sister! (Ps 139:1)
As I close this very busy weekend I want to say thank you to all of you who took the time to enter my Passionate Mom book contest. I wish I had a book for each of you I really do.
If you didn’t win it, PLEASE reward yourself and BUY A COPY. I promise you will not be sorry. As a matter of fact my friend Susan has a VERY SPECIAL DEAL going on right now!
It truly is an awesome book!!
So, with no further delay ’cause I am EXHAUSTED 
…..Drum Roll Please!!
The winners are:
Jan Heinen
Renee’ H
Carrie Walser
Ginese W
Barbara Baily
Congratulations ladies. Please email your mailing address to my adorable Assistant Alyssa at ashutty@awpm.net and she will mail your book asap!
I am truly honored to have you visit my blog and pray blessings over your coming week!
FREE Book! The Passionate Mom!
I stopped by my sweet friend Susan’s house today to pick up my AUTOGRAPHED give-away copies of her new book.
This your last chance to chime in for a FREE BOOK (from ME) for Mother’s Day, which I might add, is EVERYDAY!!!
The Passionate Mom Book from Family First on Vimeo.
I am a Passionate Mom!
I have been passionate about my children every day since I first smelled each one! Yep, that’s what started it for me! That YUMMY baby smell.
I can still remember the newborn smell of every one of my children.
My firstborn, Tim, came into my life when I was just a teenager. We grew up together. We are STILL growing up together Tim and me. That’s how we roll!!
“In those days” (as someone really old would say) Mommy’s, even when they were babies themselves, were all alone in the labor room and all alone in the delivery room and all alone when they saw their babies for the first time. I remember the moment I first placed my eyes and my hands on Tim. That moment changed my life forever. It was the moment I went from taking care of me to taking care of us. There has never been a moment since that day, when I have been unaware of the claim that Tim staked in my heart for him alone. We spent the first 3 years of Tim’s life, just him and me. He was my whole world.
The second time I became a Mom, my life was very different. I was older and wiser but felt no more “capable or worthy” to be a mother than when Tim was born.
My Andy, was a big 8 and 1/2 pound boy, who stole our hearts, mine, his Dads and his BIG brother Tim. This time, his Dad carried him over to my bedside and tenderly lowered him to my lips for my first smell and kiss. My seal of ownership. NO OTHER WOMAN would ever be called Andy’s Mom. Oh my, I remember that newborn smell. I remember sobbing all over him. I remember the room and the people all around us. The truth is, my life was a bit of a hot mess when Andy was born, you can read that story here. I had been working so hard to try to figure out who I was and where my value was. Andy brought a change into our lives. I didn’t know it at the time but Andy’s life would usher in our familys’ new life in Christ.
A friend of mine was recently asked in an interview, if she could change the world, what would she do. If anyone ever asked me that, which they have not, my answer would be this one:
It would CHANGE THE WORLD if every child could grow up in a healthy God centered home.
Wouldn’t it be AWESOME if every child was born to a healthy (mentally, spiritually and physically) Mommy and Daddy.
Working at a crisis pregnancy center has shown me that is NOT the case. We give birth as HUMANS who are on a journey. We have faults, we have weaknesses, we have loss, we have pain and it happens WHILE we are being Moms and Dads.
My last fresh newborn smell was even more radical than the first two, this time God SURPRISED us. This time our “newborn”, our Julianna, was one month old before my face presses up against her TINY cheeks. This time I was settled into my life in Christ; my calling; my personal place of grace. This time, God made me a Mom through adoption. Here is her story:
Being a Mom is WITHOUT QUESTION, the most precious and priceless gift I have ever been given. I am PASSIONATE about my children and now I have staked a claim upon my daughters by marriage, Kim and Bethany and my Grandchildren–AJ, Jacob, Mikala, Kai and Bella (Now THAT”S a whole ‘nother blog!)
My beautiful friend Susan Merrill has written this brand new book about the passion of motherhood. Oh my. This precious friend has captured some of the sweetest words I have ever read to lasso the moon of mommy hood! I truly feel that her book will become a best seller. I know I’ll be buying one for all the Mom’s I know and love!
I am giving away 5 signed copies of her book over the next few weeks that lead up to her BIG LAUNCH on April 16th and she will be guest posting here on my blog soon.
Share in the comments HOW MANY CHILDREN you have (by birth, adoption or calling!) and be registered to win one of my give-away books!
Maybe NEXT my friend Susan will write about the PASSIONATE GRANDMA!!
Watch out world
THIS, is ALL ABOUT YOU!
Over the past few days I have DONE LIFE with some very precious people.
People who need HOPE.
People who need to be reminded that God is for them and wants to be INVITED to take hold of their lives.
People who feel like the heaviness of the world is more than they can bear.
If that is you today, I want to share the prayer I prayed this morning and to remind you that YOU are on God’s Heart today.
He is for you.
He loves you.
When we REALLY surrender our lives to Him, not just lip service and words but completely SURRENDER. We do what He says to do in His Word.
We KNOW GOD.
We KNOW His Word.
I challenge you in love friend, IF YOU DON”T KNOW WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT YOUR SITUATION; YOUR LIFE…You don’t KNOW God.
This is my prayer this morning. This is an example of HOW TO PRAY through your situation. Pray what GOD SAYS!
This prayer is from Psalm 91.
Lord, I praise You that I dwell today in the secret place of your indescribable love and protection. I am secure and fixed under YOUR shadow. I will keep my heart and mouth declaring today that YOU are my strength and my refuge, my mighty fortress, MY God in whom I place my hope and trust. I lean on you. I rely on you. I place my life into your faithful hands.
I have confidence Lord, that you will deliver me from any evil that comes my way today. You will deliver me from harm and from sickness and disease.
You will cover me with your shadow. You are faithful Lord and I know that I am safe with you.
Your faithfulness and your truth are a shield for me.
I will not be afraid Lord, of any terror of the night, nor of the evil plots of the wicked that show up in the daylight. I will not be afraid of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the destruction and sudden death that looms in the midday. A thousand may fall at my side, ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not come near me because I am surrounded by you. I will only be a spectator whose soul and eternal security is inaccessible in the secret place of the most high. I will watch when my enemy gets his reward.
I have made You Lord, my refuge. I have made THE MOST HIGH, my dwelling place.
You will give your angels charge over me to accompany and defend and preserve me in all of my ways of obedience and service. Your angels will hold me up and keep me from harm today.
Because I have set my love upon You , You will deliver me. You will set me on high because I know and understand Your NAME!
I KNOW YOU Lord, and YOU know me. I know you are merciful, kind and loving. I know you will never leave me or forsake me. I know that when I call upon your name, YOU WILL ANSWER ME! You will be with me in trouble. You will deliver me and honor me. With a long life, You will satisfy me and show me Your salvation!
Psalm 91.
God is ALL ABOUT YOU.
AMEN!!
I am praying for you today.
