You’re in for a treat today. I’m so excited to have Claudine Aievoli as our guest. Claudine is a precious mother of two who makes her home in Long Island, New York.

We actually met in person several months ago at the CLASS conference at the Sandy Cove retreat center.

Claudine became my buddy, my sister in Christ, and I think her testimony is one of the most powerful I’ve ever heard.

She’s a dynamic speaker and has also written a program that she’s teaching to women. She has such a heart for encouragement!

Hi Claudine. Welcome to Mom 2 Mom Connection.

Hi, Heather. Thank you for inviting me.

You’ve developed a program for women, called C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.C.E. Can you tell us about your course?

Absolutely. When I read or listen to someone who speaks on a certain subject, I often think – what many might think — and that is, “What makes them able to speak about this topic…?”

I believe God has given me the grace and the ability to undertake talking to women about healthy, Godly confidence because I myself have experienced extremely high levels of pride and extremely low levels of inferiority, and neither path was a place for a confident woman of God.

I designed the ten-letter acronym C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.C.E. into a class to instill a healthy, Godly esteem to women. Each letter represents tangible steps / ideas / prayers and courses of Biblical action that are practical and possible for women so they can see themselves as ‘more than conquerors’ with Christ.

The course is both instructional and interactive, making each class special and personal to its participants and to me — I am privileged for each opportunity to share God’s love with them.

How did you get started teaching your program?

I started this course after months of speaking with women and discussing the pressure we feel to be perfect. The teacher and social worker in me started to take notes of women’s stories and concerns, and I’d record them in my journal.

The pages spoke of the dichotomy between worldly inadequacies and what God says in the Amplified version of Hebrews 10:22 about “leaning our entire personalities on Him in absolute trust and confidence in:

*his goodness
*his wisdom and
*his power” (adapted from Hebrews 10:22 Amp).

God has also allowed me to experience the spectrum of ‘esteem,’ which I break down into three categories in the first class in order for each participant to determine where they currently are and where we aim to be:

1 Pride
2 Low Self-Esteem
3 Healthy, Godly Confidence. The ultimate goal is to live a balanced, confident life in Christ based on the scriptures to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength; and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

And then there are three categories we repeat out loud often. A confident woman knows:

1 …she is loved by God unconditionally.
2 …she has strengths and weaknesses; she deals with her weaknesses and focuses on her strengths.
3 …is born to win because she has God as her Source.

Do you teach this yourself? Where?

Yes, I do teach this course myself; and I also invite Christian friends to come and share their ‘stories’ at specific points in the course to inspire the participants. I have no specific location where I teach, per se, though it’s all in Long Island, NY currently.

I go where the Lord leads me through word-of-mouth and very interesting connections. I once facilitated the course as part of a church exercise group (where I participated in aerobics with the women and then got up and taught (sweat and all)!

Claudine, you sound like such a bundle of energy!

I am currently teaching the course to teen mothers at a residential home that cares for them and their babies while the young moms go to school and obtain their G.E.D. and vocational training. I am learning so much from these women who chose life for their babies.

Why did you decide to develop this program?

I decided to develop this program for many reasons; the main reason being because I wanted to help women see themselves as Christ sees them — “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

I wanted to effectively communicate to them how the world’s air-brushed definition of what a woman should be is full of failure, but God’s way of life is full of freedom!

That’s definitely a message today’s women need to hear! Did you ever go through a time in your life where you really needed God’s help in gaining confidence?

Oh, yes. I went from years of believing ‘I’m all that’…to living a desperate life with a motto of ‘I am worth nothing,’ after suffering a significant amount of losses that brought me to my knees.

It began with carpal tunnel surgery to my hand that was not successful (hence, I lost my prestigious career as a court reporter). I had two breast tumors removed. And then my polycystic ovarian disease led me down the path of infertility.

One day my aunt called during the midst of my childlessness to say she found a video of me when I was five. “What did I do in the video?” I asked. She said, “I asked you on video what you wanted to be when you grew up. You answered emphatically, ‘A mommy.’”

Oh, that is so sweet.

Everyone knew my deep desire to be a mommy — though I didn’t know this desire began at age five! I was supposed to be a mommy after a few years of marriage! It was supposed to happen for me when I wanted a baby, in my way, in my timing!

I was devastated being childless, and each month was another loss. I was so depressed; eventually I wouldn’t leave my house. My husband said he’d be happy still, just the two of us, but like Hannah in the Bible, the desire of my heart was not being fulfilled.

This depression went on for months, and I lost my desire to live. I wanted to die. I thought about ways to end my pain. So yes, yes, yes, I really needed God’s help in gaining the confidence He wanted me to have. But first I had to understand that God loved me unconditionally.

How did you get through this difficult time?

One dreary winter day, my husband had had it with me not getting out of bed. As he was leaving for work, he threw the T.V. remote at the bed saying, “If you’re not going to get out of the bed, at least watch the blankety-blank T.V.” He turned on the T.V. and left for work.

I watched him leave from our bedroom window. His head was hung down — (my depression was a disease and its effects were becoming contagious). Anyway, I looked at the T.V. and there was a woman I’d never heard of before, a preacher named Joyce Meyer, pointing her finger at the T.V. saying, “Jesus can heal you everywhere you hurt.”

I knew this but FORGOT it as I wallowed in my self-pity. I took a shower and removed all my makeup. I sat in front of the mirror as Joyce Meyer suggested and said one time for each year of my age, “God loves me.” I was in tears and on my knees by the time I got to 2. I made a promise to God to love Him no matter what happens.

And today, I know that I know that I know when I look at our two miracle children that Jesus does heal us everywhere we hurt. “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed….” (Adapted from 2 Corinthians 4:8).

Your testimony is so powerful, Claudine. Didn’t you end up becoming a guest on Joyce Meyer’s TV show?

Yes! I was privileged to meet Joyce Meyer on her T.V. program “Enjoying Everyday Life” when I was a guest for her September 6th, 2007 show called “The Confident Woman.” I believe if you visit her website, you can view the episode online.

How did these experiences lead to your new level of confidence in Christ?

Allow me to answer your question with a little background, please. Though I accepted Jesus in my heart at the young age of eight, the revelation of living a confident, Godly life did not occur until I went through infertility because for so long I was able to do so much on my own and have it work out great — God being just an added bonus for mealtime prayers and infrequent Sunday church.

I was homecoming queen in high school; I was popular, and I had a lot of friends. I went to business school and became a successful court reporter.

I had a new car, new clothes, expensive makeup and haircuts, spent a lot of time eating out, shopping, and thinking about myself. None of these areas in particular are wrong, but grouped together as a life-style without serving God or caring for others left me in a web of self-centeredness.

Then when I became depressed in a roller coaster of health crises and infertility, it was an eye-opener to me to read Jesus’ words, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace, but in the world YOU WILL have troubles, trials, tribulations…but be of good cheer; be certain, CONFIDENT, undaunted because I have overcome the world and deprived it of any means of harming you” (adapted from John 16:33 Amp.). Amen and Amen to the Glory of God.

God did NOT promise us easy, but He does promise to be there with us every step of the way … guiding us, directing us to live a purpose-full life.

This is where our confidence gets its roots and where teaching the program repeatedly helps my own confidence:

• We are not alone.
• Our Guide is all-powerful.
• And we are not here by accident. We did not come from webbed-foot ancestors to wander the earth defeated. We were born with a purpose, for a purpose and paid for with a great price.

When we understand that God loves us no matter what we look like, no matter when we mess up, and that He has a plan for our life, ‘a plan of good and not for evil, to give me a future and a hope…” (Jer. 29:11), our confidence IN HIM grows and then we’re able to step out in life with more assuredness.

Let me repeat: Step 1 is our confidence is based in Christ — and this gives us the assuredness to do Step 2, which is for us to actively do what it is God is leading us to do. It’s a two-fold process and the order must never change — keep God first!

With Jesus as our foundation, we are strong. We are putting our faith in Him … not in ourselves, or our clothes, or jobs, or looks, or cash, or the world or people.

God is not a crutch — He’s an anchor! Unlike clothes, jobs, looks, cash, or people which are all subject to change, God never changes … He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Wow. You said it, girl! What do you hope to accomplish through teaching this program to women?

My prayer is that God would make me a vessel He can use to bring about change in our country and in our world.

As for now, I am privileged to have some women from my classes seek me out, ask me to pray for them, call me, and keep in touch with me to tell me they have had the confidence to “take a new job” or “complete their G.E.D.”

Some women have asked to take the course again. They say repetition helps them ‘get it’ better. I can relate to this. Just because something passes through my brain once, it’s not enough to settle into that ‘grey’ matter and become a way of life unless I hear it and practice it again and again.

I am privileged to be a vessel God is using today — especially considering how insecure I was just a few years ago! Like a gardener, I continue planting seeds and making sure my life is right with God first — balancing humility with confidence! I confidently hope for more opportunities and harvests to be cultivated.

Do you have any spiritual mentors in your life? Who has influenced you most to grow in your walk with Christ?

Absolutely! I was Catholic until we moved from Brooklyn to Long Island at the age of eight when my born-again Aunt Doreen and Uncle Eddie introduced me to HOW to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

Through my latency years, our houses were connected by our backyards. I had immediate Christian support and guidance less than 100 footsteps away.

When they moved out of state in my teen years they stayed just as connected and prayed with and for me even more. How important it is for us to have such people in our lives!

Yes, you are so blessed to have an aunt and uncle who reached out to you and made such a difference in your life.

Years later, they still send me Christian books and encouraging letters and they are also there for accountability. To be told in Christian love when you’re being stubborn and how to work on your weaknesses is just as important as hearing, ‘we’re proud of you.’

I am type-A, and I’m Sicilian, and I’m a melancholy-choleric personality; hence, I need all the prayers and accountability a person can get!

You come across as a bubbly dynamo in person — but now I can see, underneath, you’ve got a contemplative, artistic side as well.

I’m so thankful for my awesome Christian friends and sister Michelle who pray with me and study the Bible with me. I have a Bible-based pastor and church. I have loving parents and though they haven’t gone to church since 1992 when a former church hurt them deeply, I learn respect and hospitality and receive support from them.

My greatest supporter is my husband, and his encouragement and help (from computer print-outs to sharing responsibilities) is a gift from God and a sure sign to continue.

I am being mentored by some knowledgeable and powerful leaders from Concerned Women for America where I’ve been approved as a prayer chapter leader. This organization, founded by Beverly LaHaye, is designed to protect the family through prayer and action.

Mothers of Preschoolers, or MOPS, has been instrumental in my growth as a mom. I have been a coordinator for MOPS for the past few semesters and have been blessed by fellow leaders and moms of all ages in this group.

Thank you for visiting here, Claudine, and for sharing your testimony of faith with us! I hope you’ll write all this up in a book someday!

Claudine Aievoli would love to help anyone interested in learning how to have more confidence in Christ. She may be reached by email at cc1212 at optonline.net.

I’m blogging over at Writer … Interrupted today about faith, writing, and tater tots. Yes, they’re all part of motherhood! I’ll be over there every Wednesday this month writing the midweek motivation, and I’d love some company.

Carol Kuykendall wrote the most FABULOUS essay in this month’s MomSense. Oh, you’ll have to go read it. If you worry your children are growing up too fast and losing their sense of wonder, Carol will restore your hope. I seriously have not read anything this beautiful in a long time. Here’s a sneak peek:

We are born with this precious, passionate childlikeness. It’s real. It makes a little boy dream of being Superman or some other superhero. It sends a little girl to the dress-up box to pull out anything that makes her feel like a princess, because something tells her she is beloved and beautiful, and that she can be whatever she dreams she can be.

You can read the rest of “Growing Down” here.

I’d also like to thank the nice folks at Mother’s Day Central who included me in their list of Top 100 Mom Blogs (#80!). I don’t know how scientific these little awards were, but hey, it’s great that someone took the time to look up all the links!

A big congrats to three of my favorite mom bloggers: Kelsey, Donna Shepherd, and Barbara
Curtis, who took the honors in the “Spiritual and Religious” category. These are all Christian writers, sharing their light, and it’s nice to see them get some recognition for spreading the Good News!

I’ve been writing a little magazine column in my hometown for almost three years. It’s truly one of my favorite ongoing assignments because I can write about anything I want to, and I love feeling a part of the community.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a column encouraging people to get outdoors and take pictures of their children — especially while all the spring flowers were bursting with blooms. I wrote a few paragraphs about how one of my favorite memories as a mom was of taking some pictures of my two oldest children in a patch of jonquils.

I revised that column into an essay and submitted it to an editor who was looking for stories for a Christian book publisher. She emailed back to thank me, and asked if she could hold it for a future project. I was of course a little disappointed, figuring that she was rejecting my story in a very nice way!

So what a surprise it was for me to hear from this editor a couple of months ago — nearly two years since I submitted. She wanted to send me a contract and said my story had made it through final revisions to be included in this beautiful new gift book, Blessed Among Women: God’s Gift to Mothers.

My story, “Spring Portraits,” is among several other essays written by moms and grandmoms celebrating the joys of motherhood, and I’m simply amazed to be included. It’s a hardback book, with artfully decorated pages — and there are poems, Bible verses, and famous quotations that make any mother feel that her job is the best, most significant job in the world.

If you’re in charge of planning a Mother’s Day tea or banquet, this book is full of inspiration (especially if you need some quotes for a speech!) It also makes a nice Mother’s Day gift for making someone you love feel special.

I’m blogging today over at Writer … Interrupted about something I’ve learned from Mary Kassian’s book, Conversation Peace.

I can’t say enough great things about this book and video series! We’re using these materials right now in our women’s small group that meets at our church.

The video only lasts about 20 minutes, giving us plenty of time to discuss what we’re learning, as well as enjoy each other’s company and share prayer requests.

Meanwhile, the church nursery workers oversee our children playing together outside on the playground! (Accomplishing two things at once!)

I’d love to hear what you think over at Writer … Interrupted.

P.S. Please note that I have a new email address for all future correspondence:

Carol of She Lives blog honored me with a nice surprise yesterday. She gave me a Thinking Blogger Award because she says I challenge her to “think about my writing as a writer rather than just about blogging as a blogger.” Nice!

So I’m encouraged to pass along this Thinking Blogger Award to five writers who make me think. And I happily salute:

Sallie of A Gracious Home — who is a school teacher turned stay-at-home mom and has become a mentor to her many blog readers. If you haven’t yet read her seven-part Forty by 40 series, it’s wonderful! She recently shared 40 bits of wisdom she’s picked up during her four decades of life. By the way, Sallie, Happy Birthday!

MomKori of Smile Smile — a delightful Japanese mother of two who lives and writes in English from Nara, Japan. Her blog is a joy to read! I always pick up something new about Japanese culture and daily living. Since I made many trips to Nara while I lived in Japan, I love “visiting” MomKori through her blog — she lives in a beautiful city! (Long story: my husband proposed to me in Nara!)

Gina Conroy of Portrait of a Writer Interrupted. I love Gina’s writing because we’re in the same season of life! She’s a busy mother of four who desperately loves her family, but also desperately loves to write. Her passion for reaching out to others led to the founding of Writer … Interrupted, an encouraging site for writing parents who must write … in between … life.

Ruth of “It’s True,” Sighed Roo. Ruth is my Canadian friend who constantly reminds me of the joys of early motherhood when I visit her blog. She writes about her sweet little daughter who is about the same age as my youngest. These days go by so fast, and Ruth is taking time to savor them!

Blair of Scribblings by Blair. I love keeping up with Blair’s weekly goals, which encourage me with my own goals. She’s a busy mother of four who blogs in between homeschooling and enjoying her role as wife and homemaker. I’m looking forward to having one of Blair’s books on my bookshelf someday!

There’s my five — hope you can visit some of these amazing thinking bloggers!

We have a wonderful guest today, Sheila Wray Gregoire. Sheila has a heart for ministering to women who need encouragement in their homes and marriages, and she writes the “Reality Check” syndicated newspaper column. As the author of four humorous, inspirational books, Sheila has so much to share with us!

Hi Sheila. Welcome to Mom 2 Mom Connection! How did you get interested in ministering to women?

Well, it turns out I was born a woman. Honestly. I don’t think I ever was a kid. I had a lonely childhood, due to my parents’ divorce, but I always knew that God loved me. And I knew that the only hope I had of finding my own peace as an adult was to make sure I was smack in the middle of God’s will for my life.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

How I got started writing is a funny story. I never meant to. When my son was in the hospital, I overheard a nurse tell another nurse a really funny story of something she had done that weekend. I sent it into Reader’s Digest and made $160!

Wow! I’ve heard it’s really tough to get into Reader’s Digest. Way to go!

I figured that was pretty easy money, so I started writing for magazines. And that’s when I realized that I could use writing as a way to help other women find joy in their lives. It’s been a really fun ride!

Can you tell us a little about your family?

I have two girls who pick at each other like crazy and love each other whole-heartedly. The dinner table is far too full of jokes about flatulent gas and belches for my liking, but what can you do? Rebecca is 12 and Katie is 9, and we hoped they’d grow out of it, but perhaps that’s wishful thinking.

I’ve been married to Keith for 15 years, and happily married to him for about 11. Those four years factor quite heavily in my book, Honey, I Don’t Have a Headache Tonight!

I’m also the mom to Christopher, a baby who will forever be 29 days old, the age he was when he left us and went to be with Jesus. You face a crossroads when you lose a child. Keith and I decided we were going to cling to each other and not let his death pull us apart, and I’m so glad that we did.

Sheila, I read your story, The Least of These, about losing Christopher, and it ministered to me, as I’m sure it touches all who read about your experience.

I write more about what we went through in my latest book, How Big Is Your Umbrella, to help people who are yelling and raging at God, to hear the things that he often whispers back during our darkest times.

You’ve written several other books to encourage women. To Love, Honor, and Vacuum has the hilarious subtitle, “When you feel like a maid more than a mother.” How did you come up with that?

I don’t know how I come up with my titles. They always appear before the book does. I have about 10 other good titles in my head, but I don’t know what those books are supposed to be about! Hopefully it will come to me.

Do you have any suggestions for those of us who are feeling a little burned out on the never-ending housework treadmill?

If you’re feeling burned out, I think it’s important to remember this: God cares more about you than he does about the size of the dust bunnies under your bed. So relax! Stop aiming for perfect. Your house is never going to be perfect all at the same time anyway, so why try?

When we aim for perfect, we cocoon. No one can ever come over because they might see how we really live! So we spend our lives yelling at our kids for making messes, and watching the Home & Garden channel and feeling so depressed and guilty that we pull out the bag of chips. It’s completely self-defeating.

We need our homes to be comfortable. We don’t need them to be perfect. And there’s a big difference. Perfect means people are scared to come in because they might mess something up. Comfortable means people feel like they can be themselves.

Of course, comfort implies a certain level of cleanliness. You can’t be scared of catching some communicable disease in the bathroom or kitchen. But it’s okay if your knitting is lying around. Mine sure is!

Is it possible for us to get our husbands and children to help out with the housework?

Children—absolutely! You mean they’re not already?? Husbands, we’ll get to that in a minute. That’s a little thornier.

But kids need to be doing housework. Not helping with housework. Because it’s not your job! It’s theirs, too. Think of it this way: the best gift you can give your future daughter-in-law is a son who cleans toilets. That will be a good marriage!

Wow! I never thought of it that way. I’ve got some training to do! Sheila, what kind of housework do you think kids should be able to do?

By “housework”, I don’t mean tidying their rooms and making their beds. That’s just looking after themselves.

Kids need to be trained to think of others. Even a three-year-old can dust a coffee table, albeit not well. In my book, I outline a way we can tie allowances to chores, so that kids learn to manage money, too. But get kids working! It’s important for character development, and it’s important for your sanity.

As for husbands, it would be very nice to have them help, and I have lots of tips in my book of how you can encourage them in that regard. But a word of caution: you can’t make him do anything, nor should you. And nagging never works.

Men thrive on appreciation, not condemnation. If we appreciate them when they do help, rather than point out how they did it wrong, they may be more inclined to help again.

I also think it’s more important for men to help with the childcare than to help with the housework. Each family is different, and in some families the husband works outside the home a lot more than the wife does.

It’s probably more appropriate there that she does more of the housework. But he still needs to spend time with the kids, no matter how much time he spends at work. When my husband was working ridiculous hours during his medical training, I didn’t want him to come home and vacuum. I wanted him to come home and bathe the kids. And I still think that’s a good rule!

Right now, I’m typing this and he’s reading to my daughters before bed. And I’m perfectly content, even though the dishes need doing.

Does housework really have an impact on marriages?

You betcha. Just ask any woman who feels taken for granted! The problem, I think, is that women today are often run ragged with keeping up with the house, and the kids, and the dentist appointments, and all that stuff that men find rather boring and not that important.

And if women feel like they do the “boring” stuff, while men get to do the fun stuff, like working, then they can feel like their husbands don’t really respect them. They just expect their wives to be there to look after them. Well, what’s the difference between that and hiring a maid, other than what happens after dark, so to speak?

I’m glad you’re bringing this point up — because I sometimes feel like a maid. Since I’m a stay-at-home mom, I feel like I shouldn’t ask for help with housework. (It’s my job, right?) My husband works all day and spends three hours in the car commuting. But I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who feels this way.

In the book, I recount the story of my friend Diane, who was feeling very disrespected. “Every day,” she told me, “I lay out his clothes, look after the kids, pick up after everybody, make dinner, and then he gets home and eats it in front of the TV. He goes out with the friends, and he never offers to bathe the kids or anything. Then he gets back late, and you know what he wants?” (I think we all know what he wants.)

Diane felt like he never showed her any appreciation or respect. And when women feel that way, it’s really hard to feel intimate with our mates.

What To Love, Honor and Vacuum does is to show women how we can change how we act. When we do that, he’s bound to change, too.

But even if he doesn’t, we’ll still end up happier and more at peace. It’s taking control back into our own hands, and going to God for our fulfillment, rather than trying to “fix” our husbands. And when we take steps to act appropriately, and to be neither doormats nor tyrants, it’s amazing how our relationships can improve.

That sounds so helpful! Sheila, from your time spent speaking and writing to women, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing today’s mothers?

We expect way too much of ourselves. Fifty years ago, when my father-in-law was a boy, his mother would make him a sandwich, and then he would run off to an ice pond a mile away from their house with eight other boys and play hockey all day.

No adults around. No helmets. No protection whatsoever. And she was considered a good mother.

Today, we’d be reported for that. Our culture has completely changed. And we expect ourselves to have perfect kids and perfect homes and sometimes even a perfect career, and we forget that all God wants is that we be obedient. And He doesn’t ask us to have perfect living rooms. He asks us to share who we really are. And it’s okay to not be perfect. And it’s much more fun!

That’s true! Can you tell us more about your latest book?

How Big Is Your Umbrella: Weathering the Storms of Life, is a little bit different for me. I usually write strictly about parenting, but this book is about losing — losing a child, losing a job, losing a marriage, losing whatever is dearest to us.

So often when a friend is hurting we don’t know what to say. This book is short and non-threatening, a good gift for a friend who needs some encouragement.

Do you have any closing advice for today’s moms who are feeling a bit frazzled — but want to hang in there and be the best wives and moms they can be?

God first, husband second, you third, kids last.

I think we tend to completely reverse that. But give God time, even if it means praying in the bubble bath while eating chocolates. And don’t let kids interfere with your marriage! Kids need you to have a strong marriage, even more than they need you to spend a lot of time with them. Get those priorities straight, and everything falls into place.

Thank you so much, Sheila! This is great advice!

Sheila Wray Gregoire writes a syndicated newspaper parenting column, Reality Check, which she sends out by ezine every week. You can sign up for it here, and you’ll be entered in a draw to win a bunch of Sheila’s books and audio recordings! She’ll make the draw April 30.

On Valentine’s Day this year, Darlene Schacht, editor of Christian Women Online magazine, was interviewed by Cindy Swanson for WQFL/WGSL Radio’s “Weekend Rockford.” I’ve been so busy this month, I didn’t have a chance to listen to the interview until this morning. It lasts about 20 minutes.

It’s a wonderful, encouraging interview! I really got to know a lot about Darlene and how she started CWO. Although she first began it as a writing project with a few friends, she’s been surprised at how it has taken off into a ministry. There have been several women who have come to faith in Christ because of this magazine — Darlene explains how that happened in the interview. She also shared more about the Prayer Room and what is going on there.

Cindy and Darlene talked about the blogosphere and how women are connecting online these days. Darlene shared that many of CWO’s readers are stay-at-home moms who enjoy being able to fellowship with other women while staying nearby their children. It was so enlightening for me to learn more about the blogging community.

If you’re a blogger and you haven’t joined the CWO ringsurf yet, I hope you’ll take a minute to join. There are now over 1100 members, so it’s the largest Christian blogring on the internet.

It was fun to hear Darlene’s voice since I’ve only known her through written correspondence so far. I really enjoyed reading her book, The Mom Complex.

If you’ve got a load of laundry to fold, maybe you can listen to this podcast in the background and enjoy getting to know this amazing woman of faith, Darlene Schacht.

It looks like we have a lot of chocolate fans here. What an education! I think it’s definitely time for me to start branching beyond Hershey’s with almonds. I’m impressed with your exquisite taste for the good stuff!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment to enter into the drawing. I wrote all your names on little slips of paper, and this morning, I drew…

Ruth of “It’s True,” Sighed Roo!

Congratulations! I’ll be sending you a copy of Julie Carobini’s novel, Chocolate Beach. Hope you have a great time reading it (and of course eating some chocolate while you read!).

I’m attending my fourth Easter egg hunt of the week — our church had an egg hunt Wednesday night, the preschool is having one today, and there’s an egg hunt and cookout for my older children in the afternoon. And Easter is still over a week away — which means we’ll still have another egg hunt at Grandma’s house.

Next week is our spring break — and I also have a couple of wonderful interviews to post. You will love hearing what these ladies have to share!

I wish you a happy weekend — with lots of chocolate, of course! 🙂

I’ve added a new category to my blog here, “Crafty people and things.” It’s been a few years since I’ve been into making crafts. But now that my kids are getting older, I’m trying to find hobbies we can do together — and knitting is one activity I’ve been considering for my daughters.

So I’ve discovered a “knitting mentor,” Jennifer Keene! She is so talented and full of ideas — and she manages to find time to work on her knitting projects while being a mom of two boys. Jennifer has a home-based business called The Knitting Queen2, where you can see all the wonderful items she has for sale online.

Aren’t these little rabbit booties adorable?

Hi, Jennifer. How did you get interested in knitting?

I’m not really sure! It started about 12 years ago. I had been working in a job I really didn’t like and decided to quit and take a little time off before finding another one. I told my husband that one of the things I really wanted to do during my break was learn to knit.

It was just a whim. I found a cute little knitting shop nearby and took a class — it was a series of four evenings. By the end of the first evening I was hooked.

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my new “talent” (I have a couple of very ugly sweaters to show for that!) and I really found my passion when I was pregnant with my first son, about seven years ago. I started making baby hats for him and for my best friend’s son.

Baby hats are adorable and make such great gifts! Is it hard for beginners to pick up knitting?

I don’t think so. It’s pretty straight forward. Knitting is made up of two stitches — knit and purl. There are many variations on this, but it all boils down to these two stitches.

Knitting patterns can look pretty daunting — they’re often written in paragraph form and use a lot of abbreviations. For a beginner, I think it can look overwhelming. But it’s really not. If you have the right person teach you in the beginning, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to pick up.

What’s the best way for beginners to get started?

I think taking a class is the best thing. All knitting stores have classes for the beginner, taught by people who love to knit. People who work in knitting stores are there because they love it so much and they get great joy in seeing someone else “see the light.”

I wouldn’t recommend trying to teach yourself to knit using a book. That being said, I also think a beginner can learn a LOT about knitting in just a few sessions. For an investment of just a few evenings or Saturday afternoons, the beginning knitter will walk away with a ton of basic knowledge.

Do you have any favorite books you’d recommend?

Two books that I bought early on have been invaluable to me. One is Vogue Knitting. It has excellent pictures and drawings and you can look up almost anything.

The other is The Knitter’s Companion by Vicki Square. This is a small spiral-bound book that fits easily into your knitting bag. Again, great descriptions and covers a lot of basics. When I was first learning to knit, The Knitter’s Companion was my bible.

A spiral-bound book sounds handy so you can leave the page open while you’re working.

Yes — and keep in mind that most knitting stores welcome the chance to help you if you need to pop in for a quick question. If the help you need is extensive, they may ask you to schedule a time and charge a nominal tutoring fee. But if there is a step in your pattern that you just can’t get, ask the experts at the store to show you. That’s what I do!

You make this sound do-able! What was your first knitting project?

My first project was from the class I took. It was a sweater. I chose very thick yarn, in a color I don’t particularly care for, and it ended up being something I knew I would NEVER wear (no one ever needs sweaters that thick in Seattle).

Somehow, my mom ended up with it and I saw her wearing it once. I was horrified!

What project would you recommend for a first-time knitter?

A sweater is actually not a bad first project — if you choose a fairly simple pattern. A sweater teaches you many skills a knitter needs to know — increases, decreases, binding off, picking up stitches, and finishing (sewing your pieces together).

I wouldn’t recommend a sweater, however, if you’re on a deadline. Even for an experienced knitter, a sweater is not a task to be taken lightly.

Scarves are obviously a good choice — that can be about as basic as you can get. Also, many hat patterns are quite easy and you can finish up a hat pretty quickly.

I love to knit socks. They are a great portable project, there are gorgeous sock yarns out there, it’s fairly inexpensive, and you’re guaranteed to wear them.

Why do you think knitting has become so popular lately?

Honestly, I don’t know. I do think the books and patterns that are available now are WONDERFUL, compared to what they were ten years ago. Designers are coming up with much more wearable, usable items and I think that intrigues people.

Also, writers like Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (The Yarn Harlot, Knitting Rules) are writing bestsellers about knitting. Her books are hilarious, very true to life, and I found myself loving knitting even more after reading her books.

It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg thing, though. Did people finally start seeing how fun knitting can be after seeing the great yarns and patterns, or are the new yarns and patterns the result of knitting’s rise in popularity?

For me, it is a relaxing hobby that I can do around my family. I really love to read as well, but reading is very anti-social. I can knit and talk to my kids or my husband at the same time. Many projects are easily portable and it’s a great way to kill time.

How do you find time to knit?

I quit cleaning my house! Seriously, that’s only partially true (part of the reason I quit cleaning my house is that I find it to be a losing battle. I have two small boys and a messy husband … enough said).

I often will schedule in knitting time — I do my errands, housework, etc. in the mornings. Then I usually knit during my four-year-old’s nap, and I often knit in the evenings after the house is picked up and the kids are in bed. I admit, I’m a TV watcher, and I find I can knit easily while relaxing and watching TV.

Also, my kids are getting old enough (four and seven) that they can play together and don’t need constant supervision. They would LIKE my constant attention, but I think it’s important that they rely on each other more for entertainment.

So in the afternoons I will often sit in the living room and knit while they play. I’m still very much available for them, but I am teaching them that Mommy has things she likes to do too. My family knows that knitting is important to me and I think they’ve learned to accept it (either that, or they’ve completely given up all hope…).

I’m in a Bible study once a week, and after our discussion there is an hour-long video we watch — I always knit during the video. I know some people who will actually knit during church services. I can’t do that. I honestly think I would still stay focused on the sermon, but I think others would find it disrespectful, so I don’t feel right about it.

Can you tell us about your business, The Knitting Queen2?

About a year ago I started selling my baby hats on ebay. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for seven years now and I really wanted to find something that I could call my own.

I’m not ready to go back to work, but I want to try to contribute a bit to the household income (or at least make enough to support my habit!). Knitting is something I am truly passionate about and it just seemed like the next logical step, to try and sell my creations.

I had been knitting for friends and had been getting a lot of great feedback, so I’m trusting that the general public will also feel the same!

I agree. Your knitting creations are so adorable!

I knew ebay wasn’t quite the right venue, but, well, you have to start somewhere.

The name Knitting Queen was already taken, so I became Knitting Queen2. I carried it over to my Etsy store just so I wouldn’t get confused with my different IDs.

I was so excited when I found Etsy! It’s a website to sell hand-crafted items! It’s easier and less expensive than ebay and I feel it’s a much better fit for me. So now I am exclusively on Etsy, trying to make a go of this.

I’m selling hand knit baby and toddler hats, baby slippers, coffee sleeves (I’m from Seattle, remember?!), and hand knit plush cupcakes. I have a list a mile long of upcoming projects, so the more people buy, the more I can afford to come up with new creations!

How can we get in touch with you?

My shop on Etsy can be found here. I also have a blog at The Knitting Queen or people can email me directly at jen_keene@hotmail.com.

Thanks, Jennifer. You’ve inspired me to learn more about knitting!

Thanks so much for inviting me, Heather!

You can see Jennifer Keene’s knitting creations at her website, The Knitting Queen2.

This morning, I woke up to the Focus on the Family broadcast and caught most of Dr. Dobson’s interview with author, Julie Barnhill. A mom of three, her topic was motherhood guilt — and why we shouldn’t let it steal our joy.

Today’s interview was part one of three — so if you missed it, you can listen to it here — and tune in for parts two and three tomorrow and the next day.

Perfect timing for me — as I’m struggling with the GUILT of signing up my youngest kids for preschool. Why should I let this bother me? I have this little voice in my head that tells me I’m a failure because I’m not 100% overjoyed to spend 100% of my waking hours with my children. I love them so much, and I LOVE being a mom, but I feel refreshed when I get a little break every day.

This morning, we had our preschool sign-ups, and I straggled my way in at 8:15, sick to my stomach that we hadn’t gotten there earlier. I overheard some moms saying people were lined up at 5 am. I did the best I could getting the three older ones off to school — then getting the last two up and dressed and out the door by 8 am.

It was so much fun seeing everyone — like a reunion for us battle-weary moms of preschoolers. My comrades. It took about an hour of waiting — but the time flew. We discussed toilet training, sibling rivalry, mealtime woes, toddler antics, and working out at the gym (where I should BE right now, with swimsuit season just around the corner).

My little social butterfly (almost) two-year old sang her repertoire of songs for the entire room, flitted from person to person, played ball, spun on the sit and spin — and spilled a whole box of breath mints.

Finally! They called my name, and I walked to the front table, weak-kneed with worry that I’d arrived too late.

“Do you have any spots left in the two-year-old program?” I asked.

The director smiled at me. “You got the last spot. Congratulations.”

Oh, thank you Lord. I had to stop myself from doing the Snoopy dance in front of the whole room and shouting, “We’re in!” Restraint is always helpful when you don’t want to make enemies.

And I’m not feeling guilty at all now, thanks to Julie Barnhill. 😉