Jamie C. Martin > Quotes

“Organization is a priority for me because it blesses my children. Even without considering the benefits of productivity or efficiency, the stability of my children depends on my organization.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood

“It takes a while to figure out who you are as an introverted mother, who you are as a person now that the lifelong job of raising children has forever altered your identity.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string. L. M. MONTGOMERY, ANNE OF AVONLEA”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“that’s the key—whatever you try to change must be of such value to you that you will want to continue forward, even in the midst of challenges.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood

“Let me set the record straight here: I have never loved books more than my husband, yet I need my books so I can love my husband even more.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“You can force a child to sit somewhere, most traditional classrooms do, but you cannot and never will be able to force a child to learn.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Secrets of a Successful Homeschool Mom

“If you drop your child off for a lesson, and feel lucky to sit in the car alone, you might be an introverted mother.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“Extroverts sparkle, introverts glow. Extroverts are fireworks, introverts are a fire in the hearth. SOPHIA DEMBLING, INTROVERTS IN LOVE”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“Motherhood is a choice you make every day, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is . . . and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing it wrong. DONNA BALL3”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“If you’ve ever retreated behind your bedroom door and cried in overwhelm, you might be an introverted mother.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“Research cited in The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease states that the more printed materials in a child’s home, the higher that child’s skills in reading, writing, and even math.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time

“They Just Don’t Do That Anymore He used to wake me, oh so often. He’d had a bad dream, or a cough, or something felt funny inside. I would grumble, or be patient, depending on the night and how tired I was. Back to his room and tuck him in. Rinse and repeat, through many moons. But he doesn’t do that anymore. He used to be our pickiest eater. Though we’d always fed all three the same, he turned up his nose more frequently. I would grumble about this, or be patient, depending on the day and all that had happened up until that point. Trying not to make it worse, we encouraged him to taste new flavors. We also honored his preferences and didn’t force it. Now he gobbles down chili, curry, many of his former not-favorites. He doesn’t do that anymore. They used to argue every day: shout, bite, whine, hit. Clamoring for position and power, each in his or her own way. I would grumble about this, or be patient, depending on the state of my heart and energy level. These days plenty of disagreements occur, but so do apologies, ones I don’t always have to oversee or manage. They don’t do that anymore. The tantrums, oh dear Lord, the tantrums. “Don’t give in and they’ll soon learn that tantrums don’t work.” Ha. I never gave in, but that didn’t stop these daily events that pushed me to my limit and beyond. For years. I would grumble about this, or be patient, depending on how many times we’d been down this road in the past twenty-four hours. At times I found myself sitting through the screaming, my own tears of helplessness running like rivers. Too drained to even wipe them away. Convinced I must be doing everything wrong. But they don’t do that anymore. Some mamas are reading this after multiple times up in the night. Or you’ve stumbled across these words soon after yet another shouting match. Or maybe the dinner you poured weary energy into met with a resounding lack of applause. I don’t want to minimize the stage you’re in. Don’t want to tell you, “Enjoy these days, they go by so fast.” I’m not here to patronize you. Instead let me pour a little encouragement your way: Go ahead and grumble, or be patient. You don’t have to handle all the issues perfectly. Go ahead and cry, and wonder if it’s even worth it. Go ahead and pray, for strength to make it through the next five minutes. Because one day, often when you least expect it, often when you’ve come to peace with the imperfections and decided to be happy anyway, you’ll wake up, look around in amazement and realize: They just don’t do that anymore.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“... I realized my mistake. I wouldn't be able to find a magic cure to fix this issue. What I needed, instead, was rest so I could keep handling it.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness.”1”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“Statistics show that kids who grow up having four or more dinners with their family each week are less likely to do drugs, consider suicide, or develop an eating disorder”
― Jamie C. Martin, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time

“A Steady Heart contains a sense of purpose, the idea that you know why you are doing what you're doing, even down to the most mundane of tasks.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood

“I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but like everybody else, it must be in my own way. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“Comparing anger to hunger helps. After all, we don’t try to eliminate hunger from our lives. It’s just a cue, a signal that our body needs fuel. Anger is also a cue from our body, a signal that we need to pause.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“From nonfiction we grasp the facts of a place, but from story we grasp the heart. Both have their unique roles to play when it comes to falling in love with the world.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time

“... don't compare your season of planting seeds with another mom's season of harvesting them.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“Build your kids’ lives on a story-solid foundation and you’ll give them armor to shield themselves from the world’s cynicism. You’ll give them confidence to persevere in the face of life’s conflicts. You’ll give them a reservoir of compassion that spills over into a lifetime of love in action.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time

“The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn’t need to be reformed — it needs to be transformed.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Secrets of a Successful Homeschool Mom

“Run your own race—this minute, this second. Be you unapologetically. Only do what’s yours to do, and watch how you, your family, and even the world are changed because of”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy

“Newbery medal–winning author Katherine Paterson said that “the books we read in childhood are a rehearsal for experiences later in life.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time

“When there are no quiet moments, no time to reflect, everyone in the family loses out on the special bonds created by peace and stability.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood

“I hold in my grasp a tool with the power to turn the day around—it’s in the words I speak, the tone I use, the body language I choose. If I choose the negative, I set a negative tone and continue to feel negative effects. If I hold my tongue and choose the positive, my entire family gains the benefit, and we all begin to feel better. ”
― Jamie C. Martin, Mindset for Moms: From Mundane to Marvelous Thinking in Just 30 Days

“Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; love more, and all good things will be yours.”~ Swedish Proverb”
― Jamie C. Martin, Mindset for Moms: From Mundane to Marvelous Thinking in Just 30 Days

“Children don’t let the darkness of the world overshadow its beauty. They don’t make judgments. They just try to love—whatever and whoever stands in front of them.”
― Jamie C. Martin, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time

“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be. JANE AUSTEN, MANSFIELD PARK”
― Jamie C. Martin, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy