Mama Needs a Do-Over: Simple Steps to Turning a Hard Day Around

by Lisa Pennington

Dirty dishes overflow the sink. Your two youngest kids just began their third round of hand-to-hand combat today. And now the washing machine won’t start. Visions of putting a home-cooked meal in the oven while the family plays happily in the living room evaporate amid screaming, complaining, and slammed doors—and that’s not even counting what the children are doing.

Lisa Pennington knows what those days are like. And she knows that even in the hard times you can find immense joy. In Mama Needs a Do-Over, Lisa offers hopeful, practical ideas for resetting your family’s mood in the toughest moments. She also dives deep into your mother’s heart to show you the power you have to turn those challenges into gifts. A little fun, a new perspective, and a go-to list for those do-over days, and you might just find joy in all those dirty dishes after all!

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Lisa Pennington lives in the Texas Hill Country with her husband of 27 years and their 9 children. She homeschools while trying to figure out how to run their little farm with no real knowledge of how to care for goats or grow a garden, turning her life into a comedy of errors. When she has a few extra minutes, she loves to help other women find their identity in Christ and have the courage to live their calling. She blogs about her family life at The Pennington Point, and runs an etsy shop with her daughters, Shop 24, . When people ask how she does it all she replies, “I’m not sure, but I know I need a nap!” You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @PenningtonPoint.

Reviews

[Kalah Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be what this mama needed. Lisa Pennington connected to the core of a frustrated mom and added a little more Jesus to my life. You will not miss those precious silent minutes you use reading this book.

[Janelle Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always on the look out for a good book that will grab my attention with some creative writing, that will teach me something during the phase of life I am in, and that will be a book I am excited to share with friends.

Honestly?  I loved Mama needs a Do-Over from the first page.  I loved the way Lisa writes like she is talking to a friend - a real friend.  This is not a sugar-coated book, about how your life should look.  Lisa is honest about her own struggles and encourages the reader to spend some time thinking about their own issues.  My favorite part though was not her writing style, although that does lead into what I loved.  I loved that at the end of each chapter she has some questions for you to ponder.  Areas to go a little deeper on a personally level.  Clearly, Lisa Pennigton realizes that without thinking about or even meditating on the ideas in her book (by meditating I really mean chewing on over a period of time, not the Easter-style of meditation) we will never over come our issues.
 
Lisa does not have a solution for life - a 5 step plan to fix everything including your 14 year old son who cannot keep his mouth closed - ever!  Oh, sorry - I started to go down a rabbit trail....
This is not a 5 step book, it is a deeper approach to figuring out why things may seem a mess in your world.  What are some of the root causes?  What can you do to change it?  How can we start over, today?  Tomorrow?  this Year?  Really.  Sometimes we need to stop and realize where we are before we think we might get to go somewhere else.

Lisa is a super encouraging author who writes clearly and cleverly at the same time.  I enjoyed reading this book and it made me stop and think many times.  I was encouraged by Lisa's candor over and over, she reminds us as moms that sometimes we need to look at life from a different perspective.  She brings scripture into each area that she addresses too and reminds us both of truth and promises that we can cling to.  One suggestion was to have them on your phone or print and hang them around your room and bathroom so that you can bathe yourself in scripture before the day even starts!
 
Clearly she relates to life as a mom, and whether you are in the trenches with little ones or struggling with puberty-plagued teens - what I read in this book applies.  Slow down, take a deep breath and realize that you are loved right where you are.  Stop striving to be the best and beating yourself up when you are not.  Rest in Him.
I recommend this book for any mom in any phase of parenting, it will speak truth in to each and every mom's heart!!

NOTE : I was offered a copy of Mama Needs a Do-Over in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was terrible. It was filled with stories that I suppose the author thought was supposed to be humorous and a real look at what mom's life is like. This is hardly what it is like. Most of Lisa's daily problems aren't brought on by the real experience of being a mom, but rather things she makes up in her head and brings down upon herself. I would say that 99% of the issues in her life are things she brings upon herself. One such example is her kitchen renovation and her inability to let her family just "be" rather than control them.

I really struggled to keep reading after this little piece: "When our youngest son was two years old, we had a very difficult situation come up. I wrote a post on my blog with some ideas we were using for training him, and some very hateful women found it and decided that my parenting choices were abusive. They got a group together and actually called the police. (I had never met any of these women, and as far as I know they didn't even live in my state.) In fact, a bunch of them called within a few hours and that raised a red flag, I am sure, at the police station. Thankfully we were alerted that it was happening and we were prepared when the police arrived at our door early the next morning. What transpired after that was an eight month long nightmare of being investigated and harassed. Not only was there the possibility of losing our son, but I received several death threats. We immediately had to alter our lifestyle to protect our family."

Seriously? WTF was the Pennington family doing to their toddler that caused not only people to call the police but for the police to investigate for EIGHT MONTHS. The police must have sided on the side of the "hateful women" because the Pennington's had to alter their lifestyle in order to protect their family. If it was something frivolous (as Lisa tries to make it sound) it wouldn't have resulted in an eight month investigation.

This made it incredibly difficult to take anything Lisa said (before or after these two paragraphs) seriously. While I do appreciate her honesty in her book she also didn't say what her "training" methods for her two year old were. Are we talking about potty training? Chores? Learning bible verses? What?

When I went to do an investigation on google to see what exactly this "training" was (after all, I wanted to give the author the benefit of the doubt), I found that she is currently in the middle of a legal mess with one of her daughters (who with the help of her grandparents ran away from home at 18).

I just can't take anything this woman writes seriously.

Anybody looking to read this book should PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Edited: So I finally found the blog post that caused people to call the cops and these "hateful women" were very much JUSTIFIED in their calls to the police. Lisa has long since scrubbed it from her blog, but due to the current situation with her daughter, cache websites are making it available again. It comes down to this: Lisa hit her 15 month old until he says "Hi Mommy". She got it in her head that because her 15 month old baby said hi to his siblings but not to her that he was deliberately disobeying her. As a result she hit him until he learned to say "Hi Mommy."

This woman is a monster.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit different from what I was expecting. Rather than a "quick fix," the author encourages the reader to examine her strengths and weaknesses, as well as to remember her childhood dreams and what her dreams are now. Each chapter focuses on one aspect that mama can work on and Lisa shares some personal stories, often quite humorous, that help to demonstrate what she is teaching. At the end of each chapter, she gives a 3 part assignment, one of which is to read specific verses of scripture. It was a pleasure to feel like I got to know her and that she was willing to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of motherhood. This book doesn't feel like a lecture, but rather practical advice from a mom who is and has been there. Her faith in God is a big part of her life and she wasn't afraid to recommend prayer and scripture study. I enjoyed that aspect of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and David C. Cook for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Vibeke Hiatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I thought this book would be: a collection of funny, relatable anecdotes peppered with ideas for self-care and self-compassion.

What I found: an invitation to work with God to discover the talents He has blessed me with and how I can use those talents to solve the problems my family faces, peppered with funny anecdotes.

Lisa Pennington was inspired when she wrote this book. It was exactly what I needed to help me take a look at my life and my role as a mother from a new perspective. I highly recommend this book for any mother who feels stuck and as though she's falling short. The author will show you that you are not.

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a e-copy of this book from David C. Cook and NetGalley.com for my honest review.

This is a laugh out loud book that any woman, any age can relate too! I am a grandma of a 3 1/2 little girl and I am watching her full-time so this book is so right on. I love how the author lets us in her life and how at times it wasn't perfect like we all want it to be. I highly recommend this book for all moms, grandmas and anyone else who is raising kids.

[Poongothai · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author speaks to us as a friend and by giving examples from situtions in her life, she shows us a path to overcome difficult scenarios in our life. She gives us some exercises at the end of each chapter which were fun and useful.

Thanks to netgalley

[Alyssa R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I found Lisa's writing and perspective very real, honest, refreshing and encouraging. She lays out some good, practical steps and tips. But even beyond that, just reading this was very encouraging. Highly recommend to mamas!!

[Natalija Elijas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this book downloaded for years now, but somehow I never got around reading it. I rediscovered it in the past few weeks and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though I not in the season of life with little ones anymore - most of my 7 children are grown and the last two are teens - still I got some value out of Lisa's insights and advice. What I like most it that there was a balance between personal stories, biblical advice and practical assignments. The book not only give theoretical advice, but helps with practical steps how to apply it. I do wish I had read it when I still had little ones. But now as grandchildren are slowly arriving, I can still apply some of this as well as advice my own daughters as they are struggling balancing babies and toddler and trying to keep their cool.

[Brittany Putzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such fun! Love it! If you need a break this book is it!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the book I expected but it was the book I needed. She has some great advice and I really appreciate her perspective on some issues we struggle with in our home.

[Richelle Zirkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've spent the last two days reading the book Mama Needs a Do-Over: Simple Steps to Turning a Hard Day Around by Lisa Pennington and have a few thoughts I'd like to share...

This book isn't necessarily what I thought of when I decided to read and review a "parenting" book. I would better classify this title as a refreshing look at parenting as part of a soul-seeking challenge of life. The author has nine children of various ages, and she birthed the last at 42. In my opinion, that makes her qualified to talk about parenting, even if you don't agree with her style (more on that later).

The book is broken down in sections. The process they encourage helps you to tap into what makes you unique and helps you identify how those things can benefit you when working through difficult parenting seasons. I would argue that accepting the challenge and doing the work prepares you for the struggles of life in general and not just those that arise with parenting. Regardless, the author helps you to formulate your plan so you can be prepared to face encounters and approach them in a new way. She offers several suggestions, broken down by rough age categories, to "reset" the day and turn the ship around.

I found her advice practical for those of us that are dealing with the fit du jour or mountains of laundry. It's even more helpful if you are a stay at home spouse (male or female) and sometimes resent the opportunity your partner has to leave the house. Lisa herself is a self-professed control freak and kitchen failure, but it's easy to see that she maintains her sense of humor through her own struggles. Plus, she's doing it all while homeschooling her children! It's refreshing to get perspective and realize that these moments don't last forever, and YOU ultimately control the situation by your reaction to it. You can realize that the situation provides stress as a means and opportunity for personal growth.

The author obviously holds deeply religious views. Her thoughts on "do-overs" have her beliefs sprinkled all over them. I did not find these offensive, but I'm also a believer in Christ. Someone who doesn't have the same faith may not find her book as easily accessible as I did.

I did a little search on the author after finishing the book as she referenced her blog at The Pennington Point (Blog). My research yielded several things of note. First, the author hasn't blogged since the spring of 2015. You can find links to deleted blog posts with a search, including one about spanking babies. I PERSONALLY don't approach the mechanics of parenting in the same way she does and would never paddle a baby. Our soon to be 22 month old has never been paddled. She and I are going to have to agree to disagree on a lot of things involving parenting style and how "obedient" I think my child should be. I'm not trying to raise a robot here. Two, the author is currently dealing with a crisis. It would seem that one of her daughters has chose to approach life without the support of her family and lacks the documentation to support her identity and make a way for herself. If you want to know what it's all about, you can get all kinds of details by doing a quick search. Lastly, the author (currently) has a much stronger Facebook presence. You can find her at The Pennington Point (Facebook Like Page).

I only bring it up for this reason... Yes, I am aware that the family is facing some difficulties. Yes, I realize that everyone is entitled to their views on parenting and faith. BUT... I wanted this post to focus solely on the content of the book and not what can be found on the blog or my view on Lisa's parenting. If you are a Christian and a parent who struggles with sometimes seeing the good in the day, this book can benefit you regardless of your personal views on the struggles they face. I think we can all benefit from finding the joy in our everyday struggles and who doesn't need a little spontaneous game of "zoo" in their life? :-)

I recieved a digital copy of this title for my honest review.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blogger and homeschool mom Lisa Pennington dishes on how a busy woman can wrangle her life back in order -- the easy way.

If you judge a book by its cover this one is obviously geared towards moms with kids at home, but I can tell you it's more than that. I'm a single young lady and still connected with all the chapter topics that this warrior-mother-of-9 shared. Maybe you feel like you're stuck in a rut, life feels mundane, or rather, life feels out of control. Any of these are sure signs that... It's time for a do-over. Lisa Pennington's book can help you make that change.

With simple-to-learn steps, participation by the reader (to make a do-over happen, you must participate in the change!), and some good old-fashioned Bible-reading, you'll soon be part-way through a life do-over before you know it. It's so simple when someone gives you the advice you've been needing about how to reset your life.

"Through my relationship with Christ and the gifts that He gave me, this mama got to have plenty of do-overs. And that's where we begin with this book. With fears and doubts and messes all around that we wonder if we can ever recover from. We'll meet in my kitchen for some hot tea and laughter." -Lisa Pennington

Chapter topics include: Knowing Yourself, What's Your Dream?, What Is Your Problem?, Make the Connection, The Plan, Making Changes, Joy, Practice, Motherhood, Breaking It Down, Wrapping It Up with a Bow.

Fellow Christian women will most benefit from this book. Through the entire do-over process, it's God that helps you through it and guides you in the direction right for you. Lisa tells you about how hardships in life have knocked her down -- and how she made the decision to CHOOSE JOY over having a day filled with bad-tempers. With each chapter, she has a true story to tell (even at her own expense), a laugh to share, and soon the moral of the story becomes clear. I enjoyed hearing all about her unique situations that include not only keeping tabs on her 9 children, but homeschooling them on a daily basis. It's a hard job, but she makes it work.

By sitting down to really think about Lisa's ideas for a do-over, and jotting down some ideas, I found my dreams again. I found a reason to be joyful again.

Change is good.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley for the free review copy.

[Sharee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mama Needs a Do Over is a fabulously, wonderfully written, delightfully, fantastic book!! I love Lisa Pennington’s writing and in the spirit of Jen Hatmaker, she’s written a pick me up that will have you laughing, crying and amen-ing!

Ever have those moments when you wish you could get a redo on life? Those moments when hindsight being 20/20 is just annoying because it shows your failures…Mama Needs a Do Over is a great wake up call for those moments. Lisa Pennington uses her personal examples coupled with great quotes from authors like Lysa Terkeurst, Shauna Niequist and Angie Smith. Speaking into a woman’s heart she talks about being a mother, wife and child of God. Using our God given talents to glorify God in whatever we do, she provides a practical way of working through assignments at the end of each chapter.

Here’s some of my favorite quotes from the book:

We all have messy spots in our lives, and while we might need to clean them up, they don’t define us. I’m not embarrassed about my dusty bookshelves and you shouldn’t be either. This book is a perfect-free zone. (Loc 51)

It’s such a treat to be around others when they are using the gifts God gave them. It’s like seeing his brilliance in action. (Loc 105)

We seem to struggle with announcing our talents as if it is being prideful. (Loc 112)

The first step to not getting depressed over our lack of accomplishing our dreams is to realize that most of those childhood dreams were simply a world of possibility that we didn’t understand. We had no way to now where our talents would take us, so we grabbed on to activities that looked like they would satisfy our cravings.

God knows your innermost secrets, and if you give Him those dreams, he will direct your path in a way that will satisfy you even more than accomplishing those childhood fantasies. (Loc 350)

I highly recommend Mama Needs a Do Over and give it five out five stars. I received this book from Netgalley and David C. Cook Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion which I’ve provided here.

As a side note, I was able to also do the five day devotional that accompanies this book on the YouVersion app and would recommend that as well.

https://wordynerdyblog.wordpress.com/...

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Pennington (who I met last year in Nashville), has written a book titled Mama Needs A Do-Over that addresses those rough mom days and what to do about them. The subtitle is "Simple Steps To Turning A Hard Day Around", and I feel like that subtitle almost doesn't do the book justice, because really this book is about not just what to do in the midst of a hard day, but how to minimize those hard days to begin with.

When I started this book, I was expecting a bunch of practical ideas to do in the midst of a hard day to cheer things up - and Lisa does include lots of fun ideas in the second half of the book. But I was pleasantly surprised at the first half of the book, which is mostly focused on how to get to know your own personality better so you can see ways that you can prevent those hard days from happening as often or as severely. Lisa encourages moms to use their talents and gifts to find creative solutions to mothering problems, and to prepare a plan in advance on how to handle those difficult days.

I feel like this book really lets you get to know Lisa, and she is quirky and fun! She includes stories from her own family, so many of which made me laugh. She knows what she is writing about as a homeschooling mom of nine kids (yes, nine), and I thought she sprinkled her lessons throughout this book in a really fun way. I love how she uses the book to point readers back to their own God-given gifts and prayer to handle those hard moments with grace, and it left me brainstorming on ways that I can handle frustrating moments in my own unique way that will build my children and husband up instead of adding to the chaos.



Note: I received a copy of Mama Needs A Do-Over for free from Lisa's publisher, and I have met the author personally. This is my honest opinion.

[Lis K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just what a mother needs when she feels that what she’s doing is just not working. The author writes in a conversational style and it seems like she is right there encouraging you. The book begins with a few chapters that focus on the mother: what are your gifts, what are your dreams, and what are the specific problems in your life and how have you contributed to them. Each chapter builds on the previous one so that you can figure out how to connect your gifts/dreams to your problems and make a plan to tackle them. She also encourages you to make necessary changes to your plan, find joy while facing your problems, and to keep practicing your plan and responding differently to hard situations. The book ends with tools a mother needs to amass when dealing with difficulties and ideas for resetting your family before meltdowns and blow-ups. I like the short assignments and memory verses at the end of each chapter, it really helps to summarize what to remember and work on. I appreciate that this book is infused with spiritual content, the author really grounds her advice on God and I found that to be inspiring. Personally, I think that this method of developing a plan based on your gifts/dreams would work best for specific problems like “my kids won’t clean their room” rather than just a general “my kids don’t listen.” I appreciated the list of reset activities, broken down by age group, and it reminds me to think of different ways to handle situations rather than just to get angry or frustrated. This book is aimed at mothers but I’m sure fathers could benefit from it as well. Overall, I recommend this book to those parents who want to reset their parenting.
* I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Janka H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended and I am not even a mom!
Lisa is both funny and quirky and deep and thoughtful. And it shows! The book is both very practical and a food for thought, aiming at mothers to know themselves and use their strong points, dreams and even their not-so-strong points to reach joyful motherhood. Lisa shows that we (women) are already armed by God with our unique gifts and dreams to help us overcome our problems, using our very personal and unique solutions. And even have a little fun doing this, as we are more able than we think to maintain positive and peaceful spirit even when going through some kind of crisis.
Lisa is a very good writer, or better storyteller - reading this book just feels like you and her having a cup of coffee together, laughing and sharing your stories together. She is not afraid to let you see the dusty shelves and messy spots of her life, what is very encouraging! I felf "safe" during reading (no criticsm, just gentle advices and observations) and very uplifted during and after every reading session! I think I can understands the moms around me better now, but I also understands myself better now! Thank you, Lisa.
This book is a true gem, I can only recommend them to any woman or her husband to understand her better :)

[Anne Rightler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mama Needs a Do-Over by Lisa Pennington is a practical book for moms who feel overwhelmed. There is really nothing new under the sun in the book but it certainly is an affirmation for busy moms that there can be joy in the trenches. With an introductory Welcome, Pennington tells her readers to 'let go of perfection...just toss that sucker right out the window.' There are eleven chapters that deal with concepts such as knowing yourself, dreams, having a plan, making changes and joy, to name a few. With numerous personal experiences, scriptural references and quotes from favorite authors, Pennington writes simply and in a manner that seems like a face to face chat with a friend. At the end of each chapter is a simple assignment to help the reader illuminate and personalize the chapter's content. Mama Needs a Do-over has lots of humor and is a practical, refreshing look at motherhood. A nice book to give to a young mother who is feeling overwhelmed or a more experienced mom who is struggling to make sense of the chaos of everyday life with a passel of kids!
I received a copy of the book from a contest on a blog by Conny Withay.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I was given an advanced copy by David C. cook and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was a refreshing look at motherhood for me. Lisa acknowledged the mess that is motherhood, reminded us of who we belong to (Christ) and helps us apply the tools that are in the Bible to our parenting in a new and refreshing way. As a mom in the trenches, Lisa shares stories of her kids and their interactions and how she's stopped herself from acting in anger and allowing God to help her move forward in a more loving manner that will help the kids learn and grow from the experience. This book was an easy and quick read, but I could see myself going back to it again and again for the simple reminders and the complete solidarity of a mom who's been where you are. I felt connected to what she wrote, and rather than feeling like the book was touting an ideal I couldn't live up to, I felt felt like I could apply every single piece of advice to my life.

[Gina Hott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mama Needs a Do-Over is a must-have book!

As a reader, I have an aversion to non-fiction. I want to like them, I just generally don’t. Mama Needs a Do-Over was just the opposite for me!

Lisa Pennington is an amazing writer with a great sense of humor. She reminds us with these simple mother-to-mother words how to overcome ourselves and live the fulfilled life God has intended for us. We’re given quick and easy tips to get to the bottom of our daily challenges to overcome and be the conquerors God intended instead of victims.

More…
Author: Lisa Pennington
Source: Shelton Interactive
Publisher & Date: September 1st 2015 by David C. Cook
Genre: Christian Parenting
ISBN: 0781412927 (ISBN13: 9780781412926)
Pages: 208
Grade: A

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There were some parts of the book I found helpful- looking at your dreams, your talents, ways of "resetting" yourself when having a bad day. I really struggled with it being a kindle edition. I don't feel this lent itself very easily to the digital format. There were references throughout to tables at the back of the book which didn't exist, and even if they had I couldn't have used them. Also some of the advice seemed a little glib and not easy to apply when you actually have an illness causing you difficulties at times with parenting.

[Amanda Espinoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Pennington's book has lots of practical and helpful advice on how to change your attitude and deal with your kids. Her writing style is warm and friendly like Holley Gerth. My favorite parts were the stories about her family. Lisa has NINE children and I'm grateful to learn from her wisdom. If the title piques your interest, then you should definitely read this book!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am past many of the stages of life that she talks about but I found her advice refreshingly honest about being a homemaker, mother and wife. She still had materials that were relevant to me on self improvement and coping with the business of life in general. I liked her attitude that life is not perfect and why try to knock yourself out for perfection.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

arc given for honest review .. As a mum of four this book was a breathe of fresh air, finally a book I can relate to and not think I'm going out of my mind lol loved this book recommend it to all the mums ot there .

[Lynnea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reminders and great ideas. I also added a bunch of books to my to-read list, thanks to Lisa's recommendations.