Surprised by Motherhood
Everything I Never Expected About Being a Mom
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Surprised by Motherhood
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Narrated by:
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Lisa-Jo Baker
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By:
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Lisa-Jo Baker
About this listen
Most people who talk about motherhood start out by telling you how much they always wanted to be a mom.
Not Lisa-Jo Baker. She was 18 and growing up in South Africa when her mom died, and she swore she would never have kids. But then she fell in love with an American boy with cowboy-green eyes, married him, and now, a decade and two continents later, they have three. This is the unlikely story of how she got there.
Along the way, she has discovered three key things about motherhood. One, motherhood is hard. Two, motherhood is glorious. Three, motherhood is very hard. And while she wouldn’t trade it, she would throw out all the parenting advice that made her feel like she was somehow failing this test of womanhood. Because all the "what to expect" books in the world can never truly prepare you for the sheer exhilaration, joy, and terrifying love that accompanies motherhood.This audiobook is a reminder that being a mom isn’t about succeeding at some parenting checklist - it’s about what motherhood prepares us for while we’re busy preparing for it; how a new identity brings new meaning for our future and new appreciation of our past; and how there is wonder to be found in the daily merry-go-round of dishes, laundry, and tiny humans.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2014 Tyndale House (P)2014 Oasis AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Great intro...book downhill from there.
- By Erika Gallagher on 05-01-20
By: Lisa Jo Baker
-
The Middle Matters
- Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good on You
- By: Lisa-Jo Baker
- Narrated by: Lisa-Jo Baker
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Do you ever wonder how you woke up one day with all the responsibilities of a grown-up who secretly enjoys buying groceries in bulk, can no longer recognize the tween celebrities on the magazines at checkout, but is still surprised when a Starbucks barista calls you “ma’am” - because your inside self is frozen in time to about 20 years ago? So does Lisa-Jo Baker.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not for me
- By Lisa Opfer on 09-19-19
By: Lisa-Jo Baker
-
Habits of the Household
- Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms
- By: Justin Whitmel Earley
- Narrated by: Justin Earley, Troy Simons, Ruth Simons
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 971
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 877
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 874
Discover simple habits and easy-to-implement daily rhythms that will help you find meaning beyond the chaos of family life as you create a home where kids and parents alike practice how to love God and each other. You long for tender moments with your children - but do you ever find yourself too busy to stop, make eye contact, and say something you really mean?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Phenomenal
- By Ashley E Martin on 07-13-23
-
Raising Good Humans
- A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids
- By: Hunter Clarke-Fields MSAE, Carla Naumburg PhD
- Narrated by: Jennifer Gilmour
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,049
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,670
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,661
With this book, you’ll find powerful mindfulness skills for calming your own stress response when difficult emotions arise. You’ll also discover strategies for cultivating respectful communication, effective conflict resolution, and reflective listening. In the process, you’ll learn to examine your own unhelpful patterns and ingrained reactions that reflect the generational habits shaped by your parents, so you can break the cycle and respond to your children in more skillful ways.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book About Parenting and Teaching Kindness!
- By Ma P on 09-11-20
By: Hunter Clarke-Fields MSAE, and others
-
M Is for Mama
- By: Abbie Halberstadt
- Narrated by: Abbie Halberstadt
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 678
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 611
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 609
Motherhood is a challenge. Unfortunately, our worldly culture offers moms little in the way of real help. Mamas only connect to celebrate surviving another day and to share in their misery, rather than rejoice in what God has done and to build each other up in hard times. There has a be a better way, a biblical way, for mamas to grow and thrive. M Is for Mama offers advice, encouragement, and scripturally sound strategies seasoned with a little bit of humor to help you embrace the challenge of biblical motherhood and raise your children with love and wisdom.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Sharing with every mom friend I have!
- By Rebekah Guedry on 07-11-22
-
I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet
- Discovering New Ways of Living When the Old Ways Stop Working
- By: Shauna Niequist
- Narrated by: Shauna Niequist
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 517
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 445
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 439
Just after her fortieth birthday, author Shauna Niequist found herself in a season of chaos, change, and loss unlike anything she'd ever faced. She discovered that many of the beliefs and practices that she usually turned to were no longer serving her.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
It’s ok but feels unfinished
- By andern on 05-05-22
By: Shauna Niequist
-
Never Unfriended
- The Secret to Finding & Keeping Lasting Friendships
- By: Lisa Jo Baker
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
In a world where women can unfriend each other with the swipe of a finger, how do we find friendships that we can trust to last? Maybe by first becoming those kinds of lasting friends ourselves. As the community manager at the website incourage.me since 2010, Lisa-Jo Baker has had the chance to engage hundreds of conversations with women about friendship. She's learned that no one can make us quite as unsure about ourselves as another woman. And nothing can wound as deeply as unkind words from a friend.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great intro...book downhill from there.
- By Erika Gallagher on 05-01-20
By: Lisa Jo Baker
What listeners say about Surprised by Motherhood
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-02-19
Thank you.
I just finished listening to this book...and I think it may have changed my life. Thank you Lisa Jo. Thank you Peter.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- T. C. Moore
- 05-06-14
Encouragement is a Superpower
Would you consider the audio edition of Surprised by Motherhood to be better than the print version?
It's quite special to hear Lisa-Jo's beautiful South African accent.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Surprised by Motherhood?
When Lisa- Jo describe Jesus knitting through the night, weaving the moments of our life and the surprises together and smiling at the beauty of it all.
What does Lisa-Jo Baker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
You can hear her deep love for her country, her family, and most of all her God. Listening to her story inspired me.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, because I didn't want it to end. I stretched the listening out over days.
Any additional comments?
Lisa-Jo’s book is a Mama’s coming of age tale. As a South-African woman-child, who lost her mother at eighteen Lisa-Jo vowed to never have children, yet Jesus in his great patience and wisdom walked beside her towards a man who loved her something fierce and next to her in a new role (one of many she filled) of “Mama” where He could show her the Father’s ferocious love for his daughter. Lisa-Jo’s words are poetic, oftentimes heartbreaking, always Shalom soaked. The truth in her story made me whole. While listening to her read, healing occurred in the deep places where my own hurts around motherhood hid behind lies. Seriously, I think I fell in love with both Jesus and my family anew after listening to, “Surprised by Motherhood”.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NAJJJ
- 01-27-15
Refreshingly real and relatable
Beautifully written and read by the author. So refreshingly real. My only complaint? It ended too soon.
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