Did you know it’s National TV Turnoff Week? Now you have a GREAT excuse to tell your kids why they can’t watch TV this week. YEA! You have a ton of support, so join in the FUN!

Click here to learn everything you need, including information about essay and poster contests.

Be brave! Be bold! DON’T TURN ON YOUR TV THIS WEEK!!! You can do it!!!

P.S. Books and board games make nice alternatives to TV.

Author and speaker Trish Berg is here today to show us how to simplify our mealtime routines. She has a passion for encouraging families to get back to the dinner table, which she shares about in her new book, The Great American Supper Swap.

Trish is a mom of four who lives on a 200-acre beef cattle farm in the heart of Ohio, just north of Amish country. She’s an avid reader, scrapbooker (when she finds time!), and has been a MOPS mom for over a decade.

Her syndicated weekly column runs in The Daily Record Ohio newspaper and Christian-mommies.com, as well as several regional parenting magazines. And she also teaches part-time at a community college! Trish is one busy mom, and I’m so glad she’s made time to stop in for a visit.

Trish, welcome to Mom 2 Mom Connection! Can you tell us how you got started supper swapping?

Almost five years ago, I was struggling with my daily to-do list, like most moms, and running myself ragged in the process of trying to get dinner on the table.

One of my girlfriends, Carla, had heard of supper swapping, and asked me if I wanted to give it a try. I figured I had nothing to lose except that “4:30 and nothing’s in the oven” panic.

I knew dinner was important to my kids; I just didn’t know how to make it happen. So I gave it a try with three girlfriends and was amazed at how it blessed my life.

I didn’t set out to write a book. I simply want to simplify my family supper. But when I discovered the simplicity and adaptability of supper swapping, I knew I needed to share this with other moms who could be blessed by it like I was.

Why do you think this idea of swapping meals is helpful for busy moms?

Today’s research shows that only 50% of American families eat dinner together regularly. That is an amazing loss of family time, time to communicate and connect with each other.

Even when families are eating together, 34% of those meals are fast food or take-out. That is so unhealthy, with added fat, sodium, and cholesterol; not to mention how expensive it is.

Let’s face facts — moms everywhere need help to re-claim dinner. I think most moms would easily agree that the family supper is important; they just don’t know how to make it happen.

When a mom begins to swap suppers, how is her life impacted?

Supper swapping is ideal for busy moms not only because it simplifies dinner, but it also reduces stress and adds deeper friendships to their lives at the same time.

Supper swapping:

* Cuts cooking time 80%
* Saves families up to $4,000 a year
* Reduces a mom’s stress
* Helps families to eat healthier
* Creates a greater sense of community
* Adds deeper friendships to your life

If we wanted to start our own supper swapping group, what steps would we need to take?

I always tell moms to start simple. Ask one girlfriend or neighbor to begin swapping supper two days a week. See how it goes. You can always add another mom to your group down the road.

In other words, don’t stress about getting four friends to swap with to cover the whole workweek. Don’t put off trying it because you can’t get that many. Just start with who you have and see where God leads you.

Here’s how you can get started:

* Get Organized — Ask a few close neighbors or friends to form a supper swapping group. Use a 3 month trial period to see how it goes.

* Plan Meal Calendars — Plan meals for three months and mark who is bringing what meal on what days and times. (You can print free calendars at my website.)

* Be Honest — Be honest and up front about food likes, dislikes, and even possible food allergies to avoid problems down the road.

* Have a Back-up Plan — Try to have a back-up plan for meal delivery if you can’t be home to receive the meal when it is delivered.

* Use Recipes That Work — Choose recipes to start with that are your family favorites.

* Cash in at the Check-Out — Buy in bulk and plan your grocery trips to save money.

* Pan-Damonium — Either buy identical 9×13 glass baking pans with blue snap on lids or use disposable pans to swap meals in to save chaos.

* Enjoy the Ride — Relax and enjoy the ride. Remember to cherish the friendship above the swapping group when someone chooses to leave.

What do we have in store for us if we pick up a copy of your book?

The Great American Supper Swap has so much packed between the pages.

Of course, I share some funny and touching stories about my own supper swapping experiences. Like the time Carla spilled a gallon of Taco Soup in her minivan, (and how to avoid that yourself!).

Or how my supper swapping girlfriends fed my family during the weeks when my newborn was in the hospital with RSV.

There are also tips in each chapter like how to get started, cash in at the check out and save up to $4,000 by supper swapping, and advice to help moms along the way.

There are also practical things like a pan formula so you know how many new pans to buy depending on how many moms are in your group. It’s a lot less expensive than moms think!

But supper swapping is also about family and friendship. At the end of each chapter there is a Potluck Activity, a fun game to play with your girlfriends.

And there is also a chapter with kid-friendly, fun mealtime prayers you can say or sing at the dinner table.

And, of course, our BEST supper swapping recipes are included to help you get started.

Do you have a favorite recipe?

Oh, wow. That’s a tough question. I love Teri’s Autumn Soup, Carla’s Mandarin Salad, and yum, Grape Delight for dessert. Sorry, that was more than one!

Thanks so much, Trish. You’ve given us so many great ideas! Do you have a last bit of advice for us?

Though I have been a supper swap mom myself for almost five years and LOVE supper swapping, my passion is to get families back to the dinner table. Supper swapping is just one great way to do that.

Each family needs to find what works for them, whether it’s once-a-month cooking, buying meals from Dream Dinners, or simply eating Mac & Cheese. The food is secondary to the importance of gathering around the dinner table as a family.

Each and every mom out there needs to know that your family dinner is vital to your kid’s success for their lifetime.

Studies have shown that children who eat dinner with their family on a regular basis are 60% less likely to smoke cigarettes, 50% less likely to use drugs, and 66% less likely to drink alcohol.

So I guess my advice would be to find a way that works for your family and get back to the dinner table however you can.

I hope and pray that The Great American Supper Swap does help families gather around their dinner tables again. That’s my biggest prayer for this book.

Trish Berg offers a bounty of goodies at her website, TrishBerg.com, where you can read some of her articles, blog posts, and sign up for her free “Trish’s Tip of the Week” newsletter that is packed with fun ideas and recipes for busy moms. You can also read a great article by Trish in Today’s Christian Woman

P.S. If you leave a comment here by Friday at 5 pm, you’ll be entered into a random drawing to win a FREE copy of The Great American Supper Swap, mailed to you by Trish!

A few weeks ago, Active Christian Media sent me a pre-release of a new film to review, Hidden Secrets, produced by Pureflix Entertainment. It will premiere nationwide in over 200 theaters on April 30th, then release on DVD in late August.

When I received my screener DVD, I had no idea I’d be able to have it signed by the star of this movie, John Schneider. Yet that’s exactly what happened last night!

I grew up in the 80s watching “The Dukes of Hazzard” on TV, seeing John Schneider play the role of Bo Duke and shouting “Yeee-HA!” along with my siblings when the red General Lee flew high over a ditch. A good many of my classmates carried Dukes of Hazzard lunchboxes to school.

Since his Dukes’ days, Schneider has starred in several more films and popular TV series, including a recurring role on “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and the role of Jonathan Kent on 100 episodes of the hit show, “Smallville.”

For the past few months, Schneider has been touring the South promoting his latest film, Collier & Co., which we saw in a special premiere last night in our small Georgia town.

He wrote, directed, and starred in this good-ol-boy comedy-action film (which was a lot of fun to watch!).

The most exciting news about John Schneider is that he’s a born-again Christian and the married father of three. Before the movie began last night, he explained to our packed theater of all ages, “I want to help make movies that you grandparents can watch while sitting next to your grandchildren.” He said nothing makes him happier than seeing families enjoy a film together.

It’s not often that a movie star who lives in Hollywood makes a guest appearance in our town, so it was fun to be invited to attend as a media guest. I brought my “Hidden Secrets” DVD for John to sign, and he asked me what I thought of it. I told him it had a positive, uplifting message, and that I hoped Pureflix would keep making more movies like it. (My mouth said those words, while my brain was screaming, “You’re standing next to John Schneider! Movie star!”)

Hidden Secrets deals with some weighty issues that may not be suitable for children under 12. The plot of the movie is this: in the first scene, a man writes a suicide note and then shoots himself (it doesn’t show the violence). Then we see a woman grieving and learn this is his sister, Sherry, who is played by stunning “Bold and Beautful” actress, Tracy Melchior.

Nine friends come back to their hometown to attend the funeral of Chris Hayden, who was apparently a strong Christian influence in their lives. They end up staying at his sister Sherry’s home, which has been turned into a bed-and-breakfast.

Most of the action takes place in or around this gorgeous home, except for a couple of poignant scenes in a church and at a bar/restaurant where the Christian band, Building 429, plays live.

The soundtrack also includes songs by Rachel Lampa who makes her acting debut playing the role of Sally.

There’s an interesting love triangle that heightens the tension: ten years ago, Sherry broke the heart of Jeremy, played by David A.R. White (who also co-wrote the script and produced the movie). Now Jeremy is one of the house guests (along with his new flame, Rachel, played by Stacy Keanan).

Each character represents a different stereotype, and having them all together in a “Big Chill” fashion brings their past secrets to the forefront where they discuss things in the light of their faith. There were a few lines of dialogue and two characters I found a little unbelievable, but despite the quirks, the inspirational message is clear.

The DVD version includes candid interviews with the actors and those involved in directing and producing the film. I really enjoyed learning more behind the scenes.

In a recent interview with the Christian Examiner, David A.R. White said, “Christ forgives and there are second chances. There is hope at the end of the tunnel and God is waiting there. He’s just waiting on us.” In a nutshell, this is the main message viewers take away from watching Hidden Secrets.

The first time I heard about Pureflix Entertainment was in Christian Women Online’s interview with Candace Cameron Bure. She starred in another Pureflix film called The Wager, along with actor/singer, Randy Travis.

Today’s parents are trying to raise children in a lost world, with school shootings, suicide bombers, and people trapped in addictions. I want to support the efforts of Pureflix and others who are more interested in producing films with a positive message than in grossing millions of dollars at the expense of our children’s innocence.

Getting to meet John Schneider last night was fun, making me one happy mom blogger today.

Like most of you, I can’t stop thinking about the tragedy that happened on Monday. Now we’re watching the victims’ families share about their personal loss. I was saddened to hear the English teacher’s story about what a disturbed young man the gunman was — as she discovered through his angry, violent writing.

What we write on paper is often a mirror of what is going on in our soul.

I’ve blogged more of my thoughts about this today over at Writer … Interrupted.

Our prayers go out today to the families of the 33 victims of the Virginia Tech massacre yesterday, the worst school shooting in U.S. history.

We had the news on last night and watched an interview with a girl who was sitting in her German class when the gunman came in and shot 25 of her classmates.

“I just pretended to be dead,” she said. Only four survived from the whole class. Even her professor was killed.

How do you explain this tragedy to your children? They asked; we had to tell them.

Moreover, how do people go on living without Christ? There is NO hope in the world without the message of peace that comes through Christ.

This is one of the sweetest things ever.

I’ve been a reader of Amy’s Humble Musings blog ever since a google search on the word “humble” led me there — nearly two years ago.

Amy is sick — very, very sick — with a sixth pregnancy. Too sick to go anywhere near her computer. So her husband has taken over her blog!

This just makes me smile — if you want to know what it’s like for a rocket scientist (really!) father of five very young, homeschooled children to manage a home while his wife suffers through morning (all-day) sickness, you’ll have to visit.

I hope the Scotts will one day write a book together on marriage and family. They’re BOTH wonderful writers!

Please keep Amy in your prayers!

I just wanted to remind you that today, April 14th, is the deadline for Christian Women Online’s Her Life Reflected writing contest.

The magazine is looking for “stories that illustrate how your mother, or a mother that you know, has reflected the heart of God in her life.” The essay should be an unpublished work, 1000 words or less. You can read the rest of the official guidelines here.

The winner’s prize package includes $200 cash, a CD, a professional website or blog design, and several autographed books, including a signed copy of my little book, From a Daughter’s Heart to Her Mom, among other gifts.

If you haven’t already submitted a story and you’d like to, you still have time — if you do it by midnight! 🙂

Do you drive around in a messy mini-van?

This video is making the mom circuit, and it is so funny!

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!