Imagine a young wife, who in her first three years of marriage passed three babies into the hands of Jesus. What if you could tell that precious girl about the big plan God had for her future? What if you could show her this picture of her family in twenty years?

Goosebumps, huh?

This is September McCarthy’s journey of motherhood. In today’s podcast she shares the hard parts, but more importantly she paints hope.

Hope for the mom dealing with infant loss. Hope for the mom who is planning a wedding for a grown child. Hope for the mom who yells. Hope for the mom running ragged with a full life schedule.

If you count the kids in the picture above (like I did), you may assume (like I did) that September has 12 children. In fact, two of those in the picture are kids she has (or is about to) gain through marriage.

Having so many children, one may (correctly) assume September to be a mothering expert. I agree, but not just because she mothers many, but because I’ve seen her children in action and they shine.

Through this interview September gave me a vision of hope in an area I have been struggling–yelling at my kids. We all know it’s wrong. And yet most (if not all) moms yell.

September gave practical and spiritual advice for how she kicked her 10 year yelling habit. Since I’m about to hit my 9 year parenting mark, knowing there is still a possibility for change, inspired me.

She also gave me tips on how to not just survive the tasks of motherhood, but to clear away space and thrive with my family. Loved how she described the change:

There are so many nuggets of goodness September shares. I hope it blesses you this week.  Please leave any questions you have for September in the comments.

What area of motherhood are you struggling to find hope?

Show Notes:

September writes at One September Day, and is a contributing writer for MODsquad, Allume and Mom Heart.

Connect with September on Facebook and twitter @septemberanne.

Raising Generations Today Conference-The conference, September is hosting March 21 & 22, 2014 in Corning, NY. She (& her fabulous speaker line-up) will be inspiring moms to hope, embrace, thrive.

Scriptures September prayed about changing her “yelling problem”:

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)

“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24)

I thought this Psalm was a fitting summary of how September’s son described her in a letter she shares during the podcast:

“Blessed is the woman who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands.Her children will be mighty in the land, the generation of the upright will be blessed.Even in the darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious & compassionate & righteous woman.Surely she will never be shaken, a righteous woman will be remembered forever.She will have no fear of bad news, her heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Her heart is secure, she will have no fear.” Psalm 112 (altered)

**How to listen to the podcast:

1. Listen on the blog. Go to GodCenteredMom.com and click the play button at the beginning of this post.

2. Listen on your smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch – There are a lot of great podcasting apps. Apple has a free one in the app store, there is also one called Downcast. It allows you to search for shows, subscribe to them and even speed up the audio.

3. Subscribe to the Podcast – access the podcast in iTunes (Click here to access via iTunes). You can also search for it on your smartphone app (like the ones listed above) and subscribe.