Posts

“Praying Women” Book Review

“God is calling His warrior women to invest their lives in something that is bigger than themselves: the kingdom of God. These kinds of women give their lives to relentless prayer.”
– Sheila Walsh, “Praying Women”

If we’re honest, we’ve all had times in our lives where prayer has been a struggle. We may find ourselves in seemingly impossible situations, wondering if God actually hears us. Can He truly fix this? Why hasn’t He answered? Or perhaps, we enter into prayer time with the best intentions but immediately find ourselves daydreaming or drifting off to sleep. We equate prayer time with a chore, a box to check.

When it comes to prayer, we all come to the table with baggage and history. With wounds and scars. Thankfully, prayer isn’t about perfect people. It’s not about knowing the right words or being doubt-free.

It’s about our hearts. It’s about step-by-step transformation. It’s about trust, even in the silence. It’s about coming and laying it all before Him. 

Read more

/0 Comments/by

The 2020 Reading Challenge: 52 Books in 52 Weeks

It’s here!

Many of you have been eagerly anticipating the release of this year’s challenge, and the good news is — it’s finally here!

This is my third year creating and hosting this annual reading challenge and I am so excited by the amazing group of readers we’ve collected along the way. (If you’d like to meet the best group of bookworms on the internet, join our challenge Facebook page!)

The format for this year’s challenge is the same as in the past: 52 different categories to be met over the course of the year. These are fresh categories that can each be interpreted in a variety of ways, so pick a book that you think fits and start reading!

This 2020 challenge will officially begin January 1, 2020! (The challenge is released in November, in order to give you plenty of time to start planning and preparing!) 

Ready? Here we go!

Read more

/32 Comments/by

It’s Here! Embrace is Available Now!

Today’s the day!

Embrace is now available wherever books are sold.

“This is my story. It’s full of cracks and imperfections, and heartache after heartache. But as you read through the next few pages, I hope you see the echo of Christ’s deep, redeeming love throughout our darkest days. I pray that our story and the stories of women throughout this book will allow you to begin reflecting on God’s faithfulness throughout your own loss. I pray that you will find comfort in shared grief and in the knowledge that you are not alone in your pain.” Embrace, Pg. 5

If you’ve been following along with me on social media, you’ll know that I’ve been talking a lot about pregnancy loss over the past month. Sharing our stories doesn’t always come easily. It’s difficult to enter into the conversation with vulnerability, to purposefully share the messy and the imperfect. But, in the sharing of what looks to be weakness, we find strength.

Grief isn’t something to be afraid of. It hurts. It’s messy. Sometimes, it’s scary. But as we walk through those fears, we find that we are brought closer to the God who promises a comfort that only He can provide. As we learn to cling to Christ, we find the freedom to grieve wholly and fully; not with empty desperation, but with deep-rooted hope.

So come. Bring it all to Him, and together, let’s learn to Embrace.

Endorsements for Embrace (2)

You can grab your copy at any of the below places, or anywhere else that Christian books are sold! (Clicking the below links will take you directly to that site’s page for Embrace.)

Amazon.com
Chapters.indigo.ca
Barnes & Noble
My website!

Anywhere else Christian books are sold!

Endorsements for Embrace (1).jpg

Want to hear from other women? Find more reviews for Embrace here:

From Enduring & Maturing: “Embrace — the book that felt like chicken soup for this grieving mom’s soul”

From Amber Thiessen, In The Vine: “Embrace — Clinging to Christ Through The Pain of Pregnancy Loss”

Embrace Book Launch Party.jpg

Last, but not least, I want to INVITE you to a BOOK LAUNCH PARTY that will be taking place on Saturday, October 26th on the MommyMannegren Facebook page. There will be giveaways, a LIVE chat with me, as well as discussion around grief and pregnancy loss. I hope that you will join us as we celebrate the arrival of this new resource.

Much love,

Liz

/1 Comment/by
,

Exciting Book News!

The words were barely audible — a quiet whisper to a bruised heart.

Write.

The newborn stirred sleepily in my arms, a slice of my heart set out for the world to see. But there was another bit of my heart that wasn’t so noticeable — a piece that belonged to the baby not in my arms but in an infant-sized grave.

His death brought me to my knees. Like the tear-soaked tissues I clutched, the trite answers to “how I was doing” fell apart upon further prodding and yet, I wasn’t ready to wade deeper. I hid behind a veil of fake smiles and flimsy responses, a pretense at normality when I genuinely didn’t know what to feel.

But the word, write, burned ever stronger. As my fingers twitched and fluttered over the keys on my computer, a blog was born.

I started writing as a way to process my grief and as an outlet to the new world of motherhood in which I now stood. It was a type of motherhood that was significantly more messy, more broken, and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. But it took time to discover that that beauty and pain could coexist — that they were, in fact, a glorious roadmap to a life lived more fully in Christ.

I uncovered grace as I wrote.

Grace as I dug deep and pushed my way through the walls of grief and into the comforting arms of Christ. Arms that hold tight. Arms that give freedom to grieve wholly and fully.

Grace to embrace the gift I’ve been given — a gift of tears and love that led me closer to the cross.

And out of those blog posts came a book about pregnancy loss, about stillbirth and miscarriage and clinging to Christ in the midst of it all.

A few months ago, I submitted my manuscript to an amazing, Canadian based competition called the “Women’s Journey Of Faith Contest.” Every year, the winner of this competition has their book published by Word Alive Press (an incredible opportunity for hopeful authors like myself.) I had previously entered this contest in 2017 and been shortlisted, so sending this in felt like a longshot. There are so many talented writers out there with stories that need to be heard. But I also knew that I needed to be faithful with the story that God had given me — and so, with a deep breath and more than a few prayers, I submitted my manuscript.

Read more

/5 Comments/by

May 2019: Reading Challenge Reviews

Over the past two years, I’ve heard from many people who want to participate in the Reading Challenge but are scared that they won’t be able to finish a book a week. And I always give the same reply — “More important than 52 books, is setting a goal for yourself and just having fun.”

But this month, if I’m being 100% honest, the challenge has been a bit of a struggle. Less fun and more draining. Life has been busy and has thrown a few curveballs, and some days, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. If it wasn’t for the “buffer” I built up at the beginning of the year, there may not have been five books on this month’s review.

As much as goals motivate me, sometimes we just fall short no matter how hard we try. And that’s okay. This month I had to remind myself that it’s just about having fun — no pressure. And next month? Well, we’ll just have to see. Right now, we’re taking this one book at a time.

No matter how many books you’ve read so far this year, remember that next month is a new start! Read more

/0 Comments/by

Book Review: Once We Were Strangers by Shawn Smucker

“Once We Were Strangers” is a story about the blossoming friendship between two men: Shawn and Mohammad, a writer and a Syrian refugee. This book is a tangible response to the age-old question, “Who is my neighbour?” and “How do I love them?”

We live in a world where fear presides: where reports about shootings and bombings and murder and hurt dominate the news cycle. With such uncertainty and fear, it can be difficult to know how to respond to global issues like refugees and immigration. Instead of reacting with compassion, our gut response is often to turn away in fear or to simply ignore the problem, thinking that it’s too big for any one person to solve. That’s why stories and conversations like this are so important to share.

Read more

/0 Comments/by

Book Review: “Don’t Close Your Eyes” by Bob Hostetler

My son loves to read (almost as much as I do) and was so excited when I told him we got to review a book together. We spent the past week hovering by the mailbox and when this sweet story finally arrived, he was all too eager to dive in!

It’s not often that you want a book to lull you to sleep. But this lovely, little bedtime story aims to do just that!

“Don’t Close Your Eyes” is a beautifully illustrated, rhyming book that is the perfect way to end the day with your littles. Using some reverse psychology, young listeners are challenged to keep their eyes open — even if those eyelids are feeling heavy! Written by Bob Hostetler and illustrated by Mark Chambers, this “silly bedtime story” is sure to be a hit for toddlers and preschoolers alike.

Read more

/0 Comments/by

I’d Rather Be Reading — Book Review

Doesn’t this title just say it all?

As a bookworm… (or should I say, book addict?)… even the cover of this book just gives me a little thrill of delight. Books, books, books, everywhere!

**Happy sigh to find someone who just SO gets me.**

From the author of the popular blog, Modern Mrs Darcy, this book is filled with dreamy quotes and personal-essays for the most obsessive of readers. Each page explodes with warmth and charm and the kind of secret joy that can only be found when ink meets paper.

Read more

/2 Comments/by

Book Review: The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright

In this debut novel by Jaime Jo Wright, mystery and romance collide in a dual-narrative that takes us across time and generations to solve the dark secrets behind The House on Foster Hill. 

Read more

/0 Comments/by

2018 Reading Challenge + FREE PRINTABLE

Calico skirts nestled amongst whistling prairie grasses. The warm glow of a snowy lamp post beckoning from a forest of fur coats. Red sand dunes, sweet cherry cordial, and bosom buddies. These are the memories of my childhood: countless hours cozied up under blankets, the scent of ink and paper tickling nostrils, and imagination soaring within the boundless scope of an author’s world.

The books may change as we grow older but the love doesn’t.

So for 2018, I have created a reading challenge: 52 books in 52 weeks. Fifty-two weeks of diverse genres and new reads. And I challenge YOU, my lovely readers, to participate along with me.

Read more

/126 Comments/by

Book Review: Fiercehearted by Holley Gerth

If you’ve spent any time with me, you’ll know that I can fill endless hours with a good book. If a book is well written, I can immerse myself in almost any genre of writing and be completely satisfied. But if I’m being particularly truthful, there are genres that I don’t usually find myself drawn towards — and this is one of them.

Fiercehearted is written by Holley Gerth, a bestselling author, counselor, and life coach.

And I think if we’re being completely honest, the title “life coach” is why I tend to avoid books like this. It sets off too many alarms within my brain. I gear myself for books that are entirely “me-centric” rather than Christ-centric — a path I just don’t want to entertain. And I think that’s why I found myself so pleasantly surprised by Gerth’s book. Woven throughout each chapter is the call to embrace life as one who has been intricately designed by the Creator, and to live life fuller for Him.

Read more

/2 Comments/by

Hey Grieving Mamas, I’m looking for your help!

**UPDATE: Thank you so much for all of your beautiful and deeply thought-out responses. Over thirty women shared their hearts and their children’s stories with me, and for that, I can not say “thank you” enough. Thank you for trusting me to honour their memories and in the process, hopefully encourage other grieving mothers. The form is now CLOSED to responses but I would still love to hear your stories. Feel free to e-mail me or send me a message if you would like to share your own story of loss, grief, and hope on mommymannegren.com**

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for some help from my grieving mama followers!

Over the past eight months or so, I have been working on a book that I’ve tentatively titled, “Journaling Your Way Through Pregnancy Loss.” The goal of the book is to help encourage grieving mothers to embrace and better process their grief after a miscarriage or stillbirth. As you know, society doesn’t often talk about pregnancy loss, and it can be a confusing and isolating experience for women to go through. I’m hoping that this book will help break some of those taboos and allow women to find freedom and beauty in the story that they’ve been given – even when that story doesn’t exactly look the way we’d like it to. And ultimately, I hope that this book will point our grieving hearts towards Christ and remind us that while we mourn, we do not mourn without purpose.

In order to make this book stronger, I am in the process of revising my first draft. One of the things that has been suggested is to find some additional stories and insights from other grieving women, and add them to the book too. Here’s where I need your help!

If you’re interested in sharing your story with me, I have created an interview questionnaire for you to complete. Any of the answers that you give may be used as examples within the book, but most likely I will choose one or two of your answers to include. I may edit or re-write them slightly to fit the book. You can also let me know whether you want your answers to be anonymous (I’ll pick a random pseudonym) or whether you want me to use your first name when sharing your story.

I know that these stories are very personal and close to our hearts. Please don’t feel any pressure to participate in this. This is YOUR story and I don’t ever want to share a part of it unless you’re completely 100% comfortable with it. If you prefer to simply answer more generally – that’s fine too – any additional insight I can get into pregnancy loss would be a huge help!

It is a rather long, written questionnaire, but please don’t feel that you have to answer every question (not every question will be applicable.) I really appreciate your honesty as I know that some of these questions may be very difficult to answer. I’m hoping that this generation of women will be ones who stand up for the brokenhearted, and support the generation of grieving mothers who come after us. This book is just one step in creating that conversation and I hope you can partner with me in that.

Feel free to take a look over the questionnaire and complete it as you wish, here: http://bit.ly/2hlUI3Z

There is no guarantee that this book will be published, but I am working on making it as strong as I possibly can in hopes of helping create honest dialogue and discussion surrounding pregnancy loss.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me. Thank you so much for considering this!

Much love,
Liz

/8 Comments/by