Honoring Mom

by | May 8, 2017 | Family, Giveaways, My Books | 75 comments

Hi Friends,

****Update: the winner is Bethany Brewer!

It’s almost Mother’s Day! Do you have plans to celebrate and honor the special women in your life this weekend? I’ll be enjoying Mother’s Day morning with my Calvary Chapel Living Hope family, and then in the afternoon I’ll get together with family and a few friends for a picnic lunch, hopefully outside on the patio. It’s a beautiful time of the year in New Jersey, and I often plant annual flowers in my yard on Mothers Day weekend. Geraniums, marigolds, and snapdragons are some of my favorites. Here’s one of my patio pots.

I’ll also be remembering my mom, Dorothy Swain, and thanking the Lord for her influence in my life and the gifts she’s given me. One gift is the love for art and creativity. She was an accomplished painter, commercial artist, and quilter. She also used her artistic skills to remodel and decorate our home. She encouraged me to try painting at an early age and made sure I had art supplies to continue exploring and developing my artistic abilities. I also love decorating my home and bringing beauty there for my family to enjoy.

Another gift my mom gave me was a love for family and especially a desire to collect family stories and pass them on to the next generations. I’ve enjoyed reading the stories she collected and viewing the drawings she made to go with them. My mom was a writer as well as an artist and some of her articles were published in our local newspaper.

Mom’s love for stories sparked my creativity, and I think she’d be very happy to see me writing historical novels that often feature families and beautiful settings.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m giving away an audio book copy of Shine Like the Dawn. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this blog post and tell me one interest or quality you share with your mom. I’ll announce the winner on Monday 15th. You can order a paperback or audio copy of Shine Like the Dawn by visiting my website.

 

Happy Reading until next time,

Carrie

75 Comments

  1. Carol Edwards

    My mom and I both share a love of reading and learning.

    Reply
  2. Sabrina Templin

    One quality my mom and I both share is our compassion and empathy for all living things. We both hate even the worms that come up after a rain getting ran over….lol

    Reply
  3. Emmalisa Tilli

    My beautiful talented Mum has influenced me with creativity such as scrap-booking and quilting. I learnt to really use my working hands to create something beautiful for friends and family, plus we both like a bit of Royal Albert teacups and saucer china collections and high tea parties. Mums family history has also given me an interest in English and British royal history.

    Reply
  4. Jonna Marsh

    For many years, my mother had a greeting card ministry to shut ins, missionaries, etc. Since her death, I’ve taken up her ministry.

    Reply
  5. bn100

    like to bake

    Reply
  6. Tina Rice

    My mother and I love to work in the flower garden. We like to shop for flowers to plant each spring. I love that we live next door to each other and can visit often. Another quality I learned from my mom is to care for others who are sick. She was a CNA at our local hospital. I followed in her footsteps and became a RN working on the Oncology unit where God placed me as a ministry.
    Blessings, Tina

    Reply
  7. Jennifer Hibdon

    My Grandmother, Mother and I enjoyed a love of flowrts and gardening. I have great memories working with them in the gardens. I shared that love with my girls. Happy Mother’s Day. Thanx for the giveaway!

    Reply
  8. Alixe Browning

    My mother and I both love music also we both have a gift with children. We were best friends And she is always with me. When I need her I call out to her in heaven. She comes to me in dreams sometimes. She helps me when I need help. She is named Mary Lou a rare rose in a garden in heaven.

    Reply
  9. Alixe Browning

    Thank you Turansky family for your many God given talents.

    Reply
  10. Sally Price

    My mom and I are both very crafty (artsy fartsy). And we’re both avid readers too!

    Reply
  11. Martha T.

    My mother is no longer living,but we both share a love for books!

    Reply
  12. Loretta

    My mother was very artistic. I love art but don’t have her skill. My mother has been gone many years but she still makes Mother’s Day special for me.

    Reply
  13. Melanie Backus

    My mama is a great lady. She always put my daddy and me before herself and she always took such good care of us. My mother is no longer as she was as dementia is has changed her life as well as the rest of our lives. We now share a look or a smile or a piece of candy. I am blessed to have her in my life.

    Reply
  14. Vicky D

    My mom and I both love to read. And she has passed on the gift of giving to her girls.

    Reply
  15. MEREDITH

    My mom and I both love serving the homeless. My mom has helped to start a dental program, women’s program, and a medical clinic for a homeless shelter in Baltimore City. I have collected Bibles, served meals, and decorated Christmas trees at the same shelter.

    Reply
  16. JJ

    My mom loved Jesus while she walked this earth, so I’m sure she’s walking with Him now in heaven. Right now, I can only walk with Him on earth, but I know I will join Him someday, just like Mom.

    Reply
  17. Georgina C

    My mom gave me her love of reading. <3

    Reply
  18. Jennifer Torres

    My mom and I share the love of reading, photography and Bible Study

    Reply
  19. Pam Erselius

    My loved the sea, the water, and swimming. So do I

    Reply
  20. AudraSJ

    I thought my mom and I were close.. but she has been gone for just over 20 years and on looking back I would have to say we were not close at all. Except if I were being her puppet. I do love your stories.

    Reply
  21. Judi Imperato

    My Mother left our family when I was 13 and so we were not close. But I try to be the best Mom that I can be! God be praised!

    Reply
  22. Jeanne Takenaka

    Carrie, what a great picture of you and your mom! I am blessed to still have my mom with me.

    When I was a girl, I remember her reading every chance she got. Reading was her escape. But her example also fostered a love for reading in me. We are pretty close. We also share a love for writing and for Jesus. I am truly thankful for her.

    Reply
  23. Michele Hayes

    I get my frugality from my mom. She lived through the depression and was reducing, reusing, and repairing before it was cool. And today’s her birthday, 94 years young.

    Reply
  24. Stephanie H.

    My mother and I together share our love for reading and art creativity.

    Reply
  25. Mary B.

    We both enjoy baking.

    Reply
  26. Sam

    We both love Jesus–she’s with him now! And books. And our kids and grandkids.

    Reply
  27. Connie Hendryx

    My mom was the one to teach me to sew…and now I love quilting!

    Reply
  28. Marlene Dorman

    My mom went to be with Jesus 22 years ago. We both loved people and family.

    Reply
  29. Cynthia St. Germain

    I miss my mom, put also my aunt and grandmother, all 3 of these women showed me the love of family, God and respect for myself. My aunt never married but showed me that I could be strong as a single woman. I was lucky to know both my Step-Grandmother who was also my step-dad’s, step-mom and she was a loving heart and my step-mother, she and I didn’t get close until I was older. But all of these women I honor on Mother’s Day

    Reply
  30. Mary Kay Moody

    What delightful photos you’ve included, Carrie! Thanks.

    My mom (sadly gone for many years) loved to travel and celebrate holidays (really any day) with family get-togethers. I’m grateful to share those traits with her.

    Thanks for this opportunity to get to know your mom. And to win Shine Like the Dawn ~ which apparently your mom did! 🙂

    Happy Mother’s Day!

    Reply
  31. Gretchen Bauder

    My mother and I are alike in many ways, but one interest we both share is a love of books and movies. She and I are always exchanging opinions on books, though she tends to read more mysteries and I adore inspirational romances with a historical setting. It gives us plenty to talk about though!

    Reply
  32. Debra

    My mom went to heaven in 2000 but before she left we did everything together she was my best friend and I miss her everyday. The thing we did together that I loved the most is we taught kids baton twirling. It was never the same so I ended not doing it anymore.

    Reply
  33. Claudia up Thompson

    My mother and I shared a love of reading and of history.

    Reply
  34. Linda McFarland

    My mom inspires me daily with her words of wisdom. We share our Christian faith believing God is in control. When someone tells me I remind them of my mom I consider that the highest compliment. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

    Reply
  35. Andrea Stoeckel

    My Mother has been gone for over half my life. She had physical issues from polio and substance abuse, so our relationship wasn’t the best it could have been. However, she gave me her tenacity and her acceptance of others, something sorely lacking in the 60s and 70s. And, her love of needlecrafts

    Reply
  36. Winnie Thomas

    I enjoyed your post, Carrie. My mom has passed away, but she was a wonderful, compassionate lady. She enjoyed crocheting, knitting, quilting, visiting with family, genealogy, and cooking among other things. I share her love of genealogy, and I used to quilt a lot. She used to send food around to some of the widows and widowers in the neighborhood when she’d cook. She was famous for her Swiss bread.

    Reply
  37. Debora Wilder

    I think that the main thing my mom and I have in common is a love of reading. I grew up with a passion for reading and visiting the library because my mom (and my dad) loved to read. We went to the library on an almost weekly basis. One of the greatest joys for me was when out city got a Bookmobile and I found out that every other Saturday it would be stopping just 3 doors away from our house. The other kids at school never understood it but I even enjoyed writing book reports for school about the books I read. That’s probably where the current passion of being a book reviewer/blogger.

    Reply
  38. Ola Norman

    My mom’s been gone for several years now but we both love reading and sewing.

    Reply
  39. Suzanne Sellner

    My mom taught me to love words. While she’s in heaven now, we both loved reading, letter writing, working crossword puzzles, playing games, cooking, traveling, being involved in Bible study, and many other things. I still love all these things.

    Reply
  40. Lori Meyer

    My mom and I love to read good clean romance books. We also love to watch good clean romance movies while we munch out on yummy goodies. We really are best buds! I love her soooo much!

    Reply
  41. Sunnymay

    My mom has passed on her love of reading and used to read Little Women at night to the 4 of us kids when we were little. We had to turn the lights out at bedtime, but could read by flashlight. So I became an avid reader and get breathless upon seeing a new book that I want. She also took time out of the day while supper was simmering for reading for an hour in bed.
    We did not disturb her. She also inspired me to write poetry. I belong to 2 poetry workshops a month and we make the poems more readable by consensus. It generally takes a good reader to be able to write and make sense.

    Reply
  42. Sylvia

    My mom is in heaven too, but she loved to laugh, she had a great sense of humor.

    Reply
  43. Donna B

    I just lost my mom last month but she passed on her love of reading and baking to me. I lived with her the past 17 years and there is a great void right now in this house. Thanks for the great giveaway. Happy Mother’s Day!

    Reply
  44. Heather Navarro

    My Mom and I both love chocolate, reading and crochet.

    Reply
  45. Jackie Wisherd

    My mom and I shared a love of the needle arts…crocheting, knitting, embroidery and needlepoint. Also dress making…in fact, both my sister and I became Home Economics teachers. Our grandmother was a wonderful seamstress too. It ran in the family.

    Reply
  46. Danie walther

    My mom and we both share the same things and that is we both Love the Lord, and we sing songs on our way to work every day. I am so blessed to call her my mom.

    I would love to read your beautiful book , thanks for the fun giveaway

    Reply
  47. Virginia Campbell

    You and your mom are a talented twosome–thank you so much for sharing the artwork and memories!!! My grandmother, mother, and I all shared a great love of animals. My mother was raised “in the country”, and she cared for the welfare of wildlife as well as our pets. Mom and I lived together for almost fifty years until her passing. We cared for numerous rescue animals and spent many years and dollars in taking care of pets and other animals. Several of our dogs lived to be over twenty years old. We often took our dogs on road trips–they were with us almost everywhere we went. We reached a point where we decided to “rest” for a spell and not have pets after our dogs were gone–then the cats came…and that began another chapter in our life with pets!

    Reply
  48. Susan Campbell

    My Mother is in heaven. I wish I could just be able to talk to her.

    Reply
  49. Robin in NC

    My mom inspired my love for reading! I’m so grateful to her for so many things, but reading is my favorite! 🙂

    Reply
  50. Renee J.

    My mother and I share our compassion for people. She taught me how to love and give without expecting anything in return. How I miss her!

    Reply
  51. Debra Guyette

    My mother and I enjoyed crocheting and often went to Michael Craft Store together.

    Reply
  52. Debbie Clatterbuck

    My mom and I share a love of family and are there for each and everyone in times of need. We do all we can to help family and friends.

    Reply
  53. Denise :)

    My mom not only is the Jack of all trades, she’s the master of them, too! That being said, we both really love to throw a themed party (or hostess any event), with all the trimmings, decor, food, etc.! Very fun times!! Love my mom! 🙂

    Reply
  54. Linda Armour

    My Mom and I love to help people. Mom has never met a stranger and I follow right behind her in this!

    Reply
  55. Janet Estridge

    My Mother has been in Heaven for 5 years.
    We are both sentimental and love to hang onto our keepsakes.
    Thanks for entering me in your giveaway.

    Reply
  56. Beth Reimer

    My mom is a retired Liberian and she taught me to love reading for which I am very grateful

    Reply
  57. BETHANY M BREWER

    Happy Mothers Day to you Carrie! Me and my mom share are Faith and our love for other people we are both caretakers…we are the ones who help take care of others whether it family, friends, elders, or any in need. My mom has the most giving and caring heart and Ive learned how to love others and my love of Jesus came from her. 🙂

    Reply
  58. Shelia Hall

    My mother and I shared the love for cooking and baking!Miss her too since she passed away in 2014. Happy Mother’s Day to all!

    Reply
  59. Anne Payne

    I definitely inherited my mother’s love for DIY and crafting! My earliest memories of her are making dresses for my sister and I, refinishing/recovering furniture, crafting Christmas decorations, arranging flowers, and making extravagant cakes! She could do so many things, and do them like a pro! I share her love for all of these things but in no way have am I as accomplished as she was.

    Reply
  60. Marie Waters

    My mother and I have always been the readers in our family. I often have given her books for gifts. As a child she would read to me and give me books for presents. She told me I always took very good care of my books and got upset with people who didn’t take care of books.

    Reply
  61. Mary W

    She taught me to sew and then gave me her sewing machine when she no longer could sew. She and I also shared a love of reading. She has passed away but I remember her often when I sew and read.

    Reply
  62. Alison Boss

    My mother and I both have a love for reading and music. I am so thankful for my mom, her listening ear, wise counsel, love, and the godly heritage of her love for Jesus and His Word that she has passed on. Thanks, Carrie, for sharing about your mom and for the opportunity of this wonderful giveaway!!!

    Reply
  63. Arletta

    My mom taught me how to garden and then also how to freeze or preserve everything. She’s been gone two years now, although she “left” about ten years ago when dementia took over.

    Reply
  64. AnnaLee Conti

    When I experienced my first broken heart at the age of 12, my mother handed me a Christian romance novel. It helped, and I was hooked on reading novels. I’ve even written a trilogy of historical Christian fiction.

    Reply
  65. Sally Schouten

    My mom and I shared a love for flower gardening. She also taught me how to be committed to family… she willingly gave up her time to devote to het family.

    Reply
  66. Megan S

    My mom and I both love Christ and Gilmore Girls : )

    Reply
  67. Sandra Burson

    My mom is older now and can no longer crochet or embroidery, but I am so thankful she shared this with me.

    Reply
  68. Rachiel Soliz

    I’m stubborn like my mom!

    Reply
  69. Margaret Fraleigh

    My Mom is no longer with us, but we both loved to read.
    My Mother-in-law is also no longer with us, but she taught me to crochet and now I crochet for Heartmade Blessings, as well as family and myself.

    Reply
  70. Kristine Morgan

    My mom and I both love to read. We will chat online about what we are reading.

    Reply
  71. Jane SQUIRES

    My book is in heaven. But we both loved to read.

    Reply
  72. Tara

    One quality I share with my mom is deeply valuing our family relationships and making that a priority.

    Reply
  73. Lynne M Feuerstein

    My mom and I shared a love of classic movies. We could sit and talk for hours about the movies we would watch together: about the plot, characters, and favorite actors. It was always fun!

    Reply
  74. Megan Potter

    Me and my mom share a love for reading. Ever since I was really little she’d read to me, and then when I was four she taught me to read and we’d read together. Now that I’m older and we read the same books we’re always telling each other the new author we found, or how much we liked this book, or how you ‘just have to read this one!’ Not only that but we share a love of teaching.

    Reply
  75. Sharon Shaw

    My mom and I both love listening to the band Abba and drinking Coke.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for my Author Newsletter

Would you like to receive a free copy of the heartwarming short story, Keeper of Her Heart? It’s set between the two McAlister Family novels, No Ocean Too Wide and No Journey Too Far. Just click this link to sign up, and you’ll be able to download Keeper of Her Heart today.

Subscribe to Blog Posts

Blog Archive

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This