New Book Release! 30 Days of Hope When Caring for Aging Parents

I met Kathy Howard several years ago in a writing group.  She has since then published several bible studies/books.  Her latest book, 30 Days of Hope When Caring for Aging Parents just released and I wanted to share it with you.

Kathy’s parents are both elderly and her world has now changed over to caring for her parents full-time.  I know so many people are in that time of life to where the roles have changed a bit in the parent department.  If you are in that season now or you want to be prepared for the future, this book will be a great resource for you.

Kathy shared an excerpt of what you will find in 30 Days of Hope….

                                                 Can I Parent and Honor My Parents?

Due to Mom’s worsening dementia, she could not stay alone while my father was hospitalized. Each day we drove to the hospital to spend the bulk of the day with Dad and then I took her home for the night.

During the drive one morning, I saw Mom rummaging in her purse in my peripheral vision. At a stoplight I glanced over in time to see her touch a mascara wand to her lips.

“What ‘cha doin’ Mom?” I asked casually.

“I need a little color on my lips,” was her reply.

Seriously, what do you do with this? I could let her walk into the hospital with black lips, setting her up for possible embarrassment. I could stop her with a quick rebuke. Or I could ask God to help me do the right thing, the right way. I quickly asked God for wisdom and words.

“Mom, I’ve got some lipstick in my purse that would look great on you. Want to try it?”

Mom dropped the mascara in her purse and used my lipstick. Her feelings were spared and she was satisfied. I’d like to tell you every encounter is similar, but sadly it’s not. Too often I react from my own resources instead of God’s.

As our parents age, as illness takes it toll, they require increasingly more help. As the parent becomes more like a child, the child must take on the parenting role.

God’s Word teaches that honoring and caring for our parents is our God-given responsibility and pleases Him (1 Timothy 5:40). But is it possible to both care for and honor our parents?

We can do what’s best for our parents with kindness and respect. But we must first make sure my heart is right with God.

More than once I’ve caught myself trying to do the right thing in the wrong way. My impatience and selfishness fostered harsh words. I’ve learned that the end result isn’t all that matters. The words and actions we use to get there should comfort, encourage, and strengthen our parents.

Honoring our parents while caring for them is not child’s play. But God stands by to supply everything we need to do the right thing, the right way.

Think about some of your recent interactions with your parent. In what ways, if any, could you have improved on the outcome?

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That was just a sample of the wisdom filled chapters that make up this great resource, 30 Days of Hope When Caring For Aging Parents.

Kathy has generously offered to give away a book to one of my readers who leaves a comment on this post.  I would love to hear if you are going through this season and what your biggest struggle/blessing is.  If you aren’t going through the season of caring for your parents, you may know someone who is and would be blessed by this book. *We will draw a name from the list of comments on Monday, July 2, 2018 at 9:00 p.m. (central)

Be sure to visit Kathy’s website.  She has some great articles that I know you will love!

6 Comments

  1. Oh, my goodness, I have cared for both of my paternal grandparents, my mother in law and now my Daddy. It can be such a blessing but it can also almost put you at your wit’s end. The Lord has and continues to see me through tough times and He’s brought me through situations that I wasn’t sure I would survive. This sounds like something I would love to read and learn from. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Lea, you are amazing for taking care of your loved ones like you have and are still doing with your dad. I’m sure they know how blessed they were to have you. I have a feeling the book would definitely be an encouragement to you and you probably could write your own book on this subject it sounds like.

  2. Thinking of the excerpt…. I am having to learn to stop answering questions for my parent. She is capable, just slower than me. Back in the spring one of my children did this to me. Thank you God, for examples for us to learn from!

    1. That’s a good reminder. Maybe we should give a copy of this book to all of our children…..they may need some advice/encouragement to deal with us when we get there someday.

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