My Heart's at Home: Becoming the Intentional Mom Your Family Needs

This amazing book looks at the incredible gift of motherhood. Jill Savage reassured me in my decision to stay home with my children and gave me renewed self-confidence in my ability to be a mom. Her practical and uplifting words are just what this new mom needed! A must read for every mom whether you work outside the home or not. This book gives you the tools you need to be the best mom you can be!

My Heart's at Home by Jill Savage is a terrific devotional for moms. It's about being an intentional parent rather than always parenting by the seat of your pants (like I do). The book is set up in sections like Home as Museum, Home as Church, Home as Pep Rally with each giving great ideas on how to make your home a loving, nurturing environment for the entire family. The chapters are short and easy to read, and Savage writes in a very conversational tone. She quickly admits her own shortcomings and gives advice for trying to rise above them. Some of the advice is common sense, but it's stuff that needs to be said again and again until it sticks. I like the idea of planning rather than always dealing with the situation of the moment. Savage looks at every occasion in life as an opportunity to teach her children and show how much she loves them. It doesn't get much better than that!

This is one of those "I-wish-I'd-had-it-to-read-twenty-years-ago" books about mothering. As the mother of two young adults, I've traveled the years of motherhood that Jill addresses. I was glad to find a kindred spirit in her counsel for mothering and was delighted to learn that she, too, has a "God story" box (for knickknacks that represent spiritual signposts). Warm and practical, filled with personal stories, it's well organized around the big picture of a home's higher functions (i.e. "safe house," "rest area," "pep rally," "business office," and so on). Wherever you are in your parenting journey, consider buying this book. It would make a great gift for women just starting their mothering years, too.

Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (4/07) Have you ever tried to be everything to everyone? If you are a mother, you are everything from a nurse to a counselor to a tutor. As mothers, our families are of utmost importance to us. Jill Savage has written a book which would make a terrific addition to a family library. As she states in her book, "healthy relationships set us on our relationship track for the rest of their lives. The relationships we have with our parents and our siblings serve as the foundation for all future relationships in life." Separated into individual chapters, you can learn all the different areas that a home should be. Our homes should be a safe house, rest area, trauma unit, church, pep rally, research lab, school, museum, playground, business office, hospitality house and cultural center. At the end of the book are specific questions to ask of yourself, or discussion questions for reading groups to share. There are so many great tips in this book to try and briefly describe each part would definitely be an injustice. This is such a great sourcebook when dealing with our job in which we have the most impact, that being a mother. Just as your home needs to be many different places all at the same time, mothers have so many different hats to wear. Each part of a family has their specific roles and responsibilities to maintain in order for the family to be the type of family that God wants us to be. When reading this book, I found myself making many notes in a notebook, so I could use them for quick reference when a specific circumstance would arise in my life. "My Heart's At Home" is a terrific book by a very knowledgeable author. Jill Savage is the founder of Hearts at Home which is an organization committed to helping moms love their life. I would definitely love to see Jill Savage write more books as useful as this one.

Jill Savage wrote about specific ways to be an "intentional" mother that our family needs. She has a lot of wonderful ideas about getting organized, involving the kids in house chores, and ways to save money. It's a fast read that makes me think about doing things differently so I can spend more quality time with my kids and husband. Definitely a worthwhile read!