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WORK TITLE: Tightropes and Teeter-Totters
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://thepenningtonpoint.com/
CITY:
STATE: TX
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.faithgateway.com/author/lisa-pennington/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: nine.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Blogger, farmer, homeschool teacher, author, and stay-at-home mother.
AVOCATIONS:Mentoring.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Lisa Pennington is a farmer, mother of nine, and wife. She works primarily as an educator, homeschooling her children. She also creates crafts, which she sells online, and has written several books that intertwine parenting with her Christian faith.
Mama Needs a Do-Over
Mama Needs a Do-Over: Simple Steps to Turning a Hard Day Around is Pennington’s first published work. The book focuses on when mothers and their families have bad days—the kind where plans derail and nothing seems to go as it should—as well as what to do when these days happen. Pennington offers advice on how to turn bad moments around and rework them into something positive. She also encourages readers to rely on Scripture and remember their own strengths and gifts, using all of these tools to help them come to a solution. Pennington uses anecdotes relating to each specific situation throughout the book.
A reviewer on the Girls to Grow blog said: “I appreciated her perspective on mothering and her practical ideas.” She added: ” You can tell she has a heart for moms and wants to help them along on their parenting journey.” A Hott Books blogger wrote: “Lisa Pennington is an amazing writer with a great sense of humor.”
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters: Finding Balance in the Ups and Downs of Life serves as a guide for helping mothers juggle all their responsibilities as well as the various challenges they may encounter within day to day life. Pennington touches on each major facet of responsibility mothers typically have to deal with, from emotional highs and lows to daily chores and errands. She clarifies that balance is more about being able to step back, examine a problem, and figure out how to solve it in the most beneficial way rather than simply keeping composure at all times. Each chapter concludes with a relevant assignment for readers to complete.
A Publishers Weekly contributor commented on Pennington “providing captivating, essential, and relatable tips for parents with a full house to worry about.” On the EmpowerMoms blog, one reviewer stated: “I liked that the author used personal experiences and humor to share insights and practical suggestions through out the entire book.” Another reviewer on the One Redeemed Mom blog remarked: “I enjoyed the conversational style of this book as well as the “homework” at the end of each chapter.” She added: “It really helped to process the ideas that Lisa shares on how to learn to bring balance to these tough areas of life.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, December 12, 2016, review of Tightropes and Teeter-Totters: Finding Balance in the Ups and Downs of Life, p. 145.
ONLINE
EmpowerMoms, http://empowermoms.net/ (March 13, 2017), review of Tightropes and Teeter-Totters.
Faith Gateway, http://www.faithgateway.com/ (October 17, 2017), author profile.
Girls to Grow, http://girlstogrow.com/ (November 20, 2015), review of Mama Needs a Do-Over: Simple Steps to Turning a Hard Day Around.
Hott Books, http://www.hottbooks.com/ (September 24, 2015), review of Mama Needs a Do-Over.
Lisa Pennington Website, http://thepenningtonpoint.com (October 17, 2017), author profile.
One Redeemed Mom, http://oneredeemedmom.com/ (March 8, 2017), review of Tightropes and Teeter-Totters.*
Lisa Pennington
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.
About Me
This blog is my happy place. As a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom of 9 kids, I get a little excited when I talk to other grown ups.
Actually, 5 of my kids are technically grown ups. It’s hard to believe. They range in age from 9-26, with our oldest daughter getting married in a few months. When my kids were all little it was so hard to imagine the day would ever come when I wouldn’t have a baby anymore or I could just leave the house without a complete battle plan. If you’re in the thick of babies and diapers….let me tell you that while it seems impossible….it’s over before you know it. Someday it’s just gonna be just me and my hubs and we can just drive around visiting our kids and grandkids.
I share everything here from DIY projects to parenting tips to staying healthy to just whatever happened over the weekend. Oh, and my beloved essential oils that have changed my life and I can’t stop from talking about them. Yep. It’s a barrel of fun.
And don’t miss my YouTube channel of tips and ideas!
I have written 2 books that I hope you will pick up and share. The first, “Mama Needs a Do-Over” is filled with funny, practical inspiration for turning those hard days around. The second, “Tightropes and Teeter-Totters” is about finding balance in the ups and downs of life.
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters: Finding Balance in the Ups and Downs of Life
Publishers Weekly. 263.51 (Dec. 12, 2016): p145.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Listen
Full Text:
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters: Finding Balance in the Ups and Downs of Life
Lisa Pennington. David C. Cook, $16.99 trade
paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-7814-1293-3
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Pennington (Mama Needs a Do-Over), a homeschooling mother of nine children, speaker, and popular blogger at The Pennington Point, shares her sometimes over-the-top reactions to mothering, marriage, moods, and money matters, among other common life experiences. Never one to dwell on the negative, Pennington imbues the workaday struggles of motherhood with a gleeful grit that readers will easily relate to. She regales readers with her often comical antics that border on hilarity as she seeks the elusiveness of balance in every area of her life, including homeschooling, parenting children with different needs, and carving out time for herself. Each of her 13 chapters details the happenings of Pennington's home life peppered with practical takeaways, all within a framework she has developed in coordination with academic and behavioral specialists. The work is never heavy-handed--in fact, some advice seems almost too nonchalant in delivery. Pennington succeeds in providing captivating, essential, and relatable tips for parents with a full house to worry about. (Feb.)
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters: Finding Balance in the Ups and Downs of Life by Lisa Pennington *review*
Posted on March 13, 2017 by EmpowerMoms
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters: Finding Balance in the Ups and Downs of Life
The author starts off by describing the old teeter totters on the playgrounds (I loved them!) and how falling is a part of life and that life is about balance. “Falling, getting up, trying again, over and over, is how we learn.”
Balance is NOT about perfection, control, comfort, or the exact formula (because one specific thing doesn’t work for everyone). Balance is our intentional reaction to something and looking at areas in our lives that aren’t working and making specific actions to change them.
The author goes on to give suggestions and examples on how to balance motherhood, marriage, friends, money, moods, etc. She uses the word BALANCE as an acronym to help her remember the steps when trying to balance and cope with a particular situation.
Begin
Assess
Learn
Account
Notify
Change
Endure
She then goes thru each chapter using this method to “find balance” to each situation mentioned in the book, along with posting mini homework assignments at the end of teach chapter. I liked that the author used personal experiences and humor to share insights and practical suggestions through out the entire book.
I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own
About the Book
Lisa Pennington knows how to get up after losing her balance, even with a full house, a not-so-full bank account, and never enough energy. In her latest book, she offers readers:
Strategies for finding balance in marriage, motherhood, and bad moods
Playful yet biblically based tips for turning hard days around
Inspiration for shaping obstacles into opportunities
Ways to respond to irritations with gratitude
Enthusiastic encouragement for living out God’s purpose.
For every woman who wonders if her satisfaction in life will ever match her dreams, Pennington has real-life answers full of hope and humor.
About the Author
Lisa Pennington is a homeschooling mom of nine who shares her life—one laundry load at a time—on her blog, The Pennington Point. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and women’s groups and is the author of Mama Needs a Do-Over. Lisa and her family live near San Antonio.
{review} Tightropes and Teeter-Totters
March 8, 2017 by Jackie 0 Comments
About the book:
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters by Lisa Pennington
Do you wonder if you will ever find balance?
Lisa Pennington knows how to get up after losing her balance, even with a full house, a not-so-full bank account, and never enough energy. In her latest book, she offers readers:
-Strategies for finding balance in marriage, motherhood, and bad moods
-Playful yet biblically based tips for turning hard days around
-Inspiration for shaping obstacles into opportunities
-Ways to respond to irritations with gratitude
-Enthusiastic encouragement for living out God’s purpose.
For every woman who wonders if her satisfaction in life will ever match her dreams, Pennington has real-life answers full of hope and humor.
About the author:
Lisa Pennington is a homeschooling mom of nine who shares her life-one laundry load at a time-on her blog, The Pennington Point. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and women’s groups and is the author of “Mama Needs a Do-Over.” Lisa and her family live near San Antonio.
Find out more about Lisa at thepenningtonpoint.com.
My Thoughts:
Balance is something that is nearly sacred for me. I love and crave stability, order, and balance almost (maybe not almost) that it sets me into a downward spiral when I don’t have balance. You guys, it’s bad. I seriously cannot think sometimes when things get too out of control. And it makes me very cranky – not good.
Tightropes and Teeter-Totters was a great read for me, in that it helped me learn some new tactics for finding balance as well as how to walk through situations that may not be so balanced. My favorite chapters were: Home Sweet Home – how to balance (really balance, not come up with some crazy plan that will drive you crazy in a week) your housework and your dreams for your home; The Blessing of Friends (working through the acceptance that you cannot be everyone’s best friend and everyone is not your best friend); and Moods: Yep, I’m Going There (because I can be moody, in case you didn’t know already).
I enjoyed the conversational style of this book as well as the “homework” at the end of each chapter. It really helped to process the ideas that Lisa shares on how to learn to bring balance to these tough areas of life. If you’d like to read more reviews of Tightropes and Teeter-Totters, head over to the Litfuse page!
{I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and no guarantees were made.}
Book Review: Mama Needs a Do-Over by Lisa Pennington
November 20, 2015 by Tracey 3 Comments
I’ve enjoyed Lisa Pennington’s blog for a long time, so I was excited about the opportunity to review her book, Mama Needs a Do-Over: Simple Steps to Turning a Hard Day Around.
As a mom of nine kids, Lisa obviously has experience in this area of hard days! In her book, she gives moms steps they can take when they feel frustrated or overwhelmed with how their day is going. She has readers list their gifts, dreams, and problems, then explains how to match those areas up to overcome the problems. For example, if you enjoy decorating, use that gift to address your child’s struggle with organization and create a nice area where they can arrange their possessions in an orderly way.
Lisa emphasizes that we should always be willing to change a plan that’s not working and, of course, the importance that our attitude makes when addressing a difficulty. One of my favorite tips is using humor – doing something to turn a tense moment into a lighter one.
We can also fill our “success suitcase” with prayer, applicable Bible verses, and the fruit of the spirit to help us have the right responses to problems. Most of all, she encourages us to enjoy motherhood by taking time to breathe and making real connections with our children.
Much of Lisa’s book is written in the vein of her blog. Lisa doesn’t take life – or herself! – too seriously. While I felt the book lacked flow in certain spots, I appreciated her perspective on mothering and her practical ideas. You can tell she has a heart for moms and wants to help them along on their parenting journey.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate my review. All of the opinions expressed in this post are my own and
I was not compensated for this review in any other way.
Review | Mama Needs a Do-Over
2015, A, ARC, Nada, Paperback
Sep
24
2015
amazon Christianbook.com Goodreads
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!
* from Goodreads
Hott Review:
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
This Counts for these Challenges: 2015 Let Me Count The Ways Reading Challenge, 2015 New Authors Reading Challenge, 2015 Women Challenge,
Author Bio:
Lisa Pennington is a homeschooling mother of nine who shares her life—one laundry load at a time—on her blog called The Pennington Point. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and women’s groups. Her favorite things to do are play games with her family, rearrange furniture, and take long naps. Lisa, her husband, James, and their family live near San Antonio.