THE MIDDLE MATTERS

This spring our family watched our oldest graduate college, our third child graduate high school, and then our oldest get married. Talk about a whirlwind two months! Once all of our events had taken place and we were recuperating from the busyness, it dawned on me. I have three adult children. I only have one child left in school and he is a junior in high school. I am a mother-in-law.

How did this happen!? How did I get here? Just yesterday I was swaddling babies and now my husband and I are on the verge of an empty nest. It makes me emotional. It's hard. I know that my kids will always need me, I still need my mom and she still needs hers. But it will be in a different way, not as active as it once was.

While this time isn't easy on me, and while I cry when I look at my babies that aren't babies, I've learned that this time in middle is still important. Life is still important. Life is still good.

In her brand new book, The Middle Matters, Lisa-Jo Baker talks about why the middle matters in our muffin top, our marriage, our parenting, our living room, our failures, our sports practices, our friendships, and our faith. Lisa-Jo had me crying tears, in the middle of the DMV mind you, just reading the intro! Lisa-Jo gets it. She understands the middle.

Lisa-Jo shares different stories from personal experiences. She will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. Reading The Middle Matters is truly like sitting down for coffee with a dear friend as you discuss life. She will remind you of your worth as she tells you that your age isn't a dirty word. She will encourage your marriage when you think your love story is boring. She will remind you that a grilled cheese without the middle is just toast.

Friend, your middle matters. Whatever your middle is right now, the middle of diapers and bottles, the middle of school sports and carpools, the middle of teaching teens to drive and filling out college applications, the middle of an empty nest, whatever it is, it matters. Pick up The Middle Matters today! Just click below.

NEVER UNFRIENDED

Unfriended.

That word.

That button is so easy to hit. One tiny tap, and boom, you are unfriended. Several years back a friend was going through a major life change and decided to unfriend a group of people from her 'old' life. I was one. She had been one of my closest friends and the rejection hurt. Another time a friend decided that if I didn't unfriend a mutual friend who hurt her, she was going to unfriend me. And then there have been a few times I was unfriended and have no idea why. Did I say or do something to hurt or offend? Was there any way to save the friendship?

Yes, I am talking about social media, but I am also talking about real life. Being unfriended hurts.

As women we crave deep friendships and lasting connections, yet, making and keeping these relationships isn't always easy. We are afraid to put the work into really getting to know someone. Then when we do, we hurt each other. We get offended. We set high expectations that we want our friends to met, then when they don't, we disregard the relationship.

In her new book, Never Unfriended, Lisa-Jo Baker says, "Friends are hard work. Heck, people are hard work. There's no getting around it. The only way through is through. Through the knowing and the showing up and the forgiving and the laughing and the folding laundry together and the walking kids to school and the daring to do the ugly cry in front of each other."

Friendship is work. But when we put that work into it, when we do those hard times together, when we believe the best in our friends, when we commit our friends to daily prayer, the friendship is so worth it.

Lisa-Jo gives us the number 1 way to be a friend when she says, "This is the secret to finding and keeping lasting friendships: become women who want to see the women around them flourish." No more of this comparison stuff. No more of this competition. Let's look to see women do well, let's help them do well. Let's pray they flourish.

Never Unfriended is a must read! Lisa-Jo gets right to the heart of friendships. If you have ever been unfriended or if you are thinking of unfriending another, you will want to read Never Unfriended.

As an introvert, one thing I have struggled with in relationships is not always knowing what to say. How do I start a conversation? What do I say? What will we talk about? Dayspring has an amazing tool to help! The Conversation Start Jar is full 60 different questions to get your conversations moving. Some of the sample questions are: Extra $200 a day, or extra 2 hours a day? or What was your very first job? Not only do I plan to use the Conversation Start Jar with friends, but I am excited to utilize this tool in my women's Bible study group and at home with my kids.

Never Unfriended launches today so pick up your copy!

Dayspring is offering a special introductory offer April 5th-9th to get Never Unfriended for only $11.99 and get free shipping on both Never Unfriended and the Conversation Start Jar when you use the code FREESHIP.