When a Mom's Life Gets Busy, She Deserves a 'Time Out'
by Cindy O'Halloran
July 21, 2005
(AgapePress) - A time out for a busy mom isn't a punishment; on the contrary. It's that pleasant moment when mom can sit back, pause in her busy life, and just breathe.Dena Dyer, author of Grace for the Race: Meditations for Busy Moms (Barbour, 2005), is no stranger to a busy life. Being a wife, a mom to six-year-old Jordan and one-year-old Jackson, and a writer, speaker and singer/actress, she plays the balancing act every day. "God has used motherhood to teach me so much -- I'm very grateful for that!" says Dyer. "Their dad, my hubby Carey, gives me unconditional support."
Dyer's curiosity for writing peaked when her second-grade teacher assigned the class to write stories on Friday afternoons. The "ham" in Dyer bubbled up when it came to reading to the class. "My first story was called 'The Boxing Taco.' It was a VERY short story about a taco who boxed in Madison Round Garden, and he sweated tomato juice."
Later, her uncle, a newspaper publisher and editor, showed her how to submit articles to magazines. She had several dozen poems, short stories and articles published by the time she was 18. She then majored in English/Professional Writing at Baylor University. After getting married in 1995, she began freelancing for magazines while working part-time as a news writer for Southwestern Seminary, where she and her husband were students.
Dyer was inspired to write Grace for the Race after looking for a devotional in those days of first-time motherhood and not finding a book that offered satisfactory release.
"As a young, first-time mom I couldn't find a devotional that was quite 'right' -- [one] that was funny, inspirational and that didn't talk down to me. Most books for moms [at that time] were written by women who have grown kids, so they were a little out of touch with my day-to-day reality," says Dyer.
What's so wonderful is that she got pregnant with her second son right before she received the news that Barbour Publishing would publish Grace for the Race. "I was an entertainer at the theater where my husband performs, and I knew I'd have to leave that job," she recalls. "We were praying about how we would make it financially, and then within two weeks I had the book contract."
Grace for the Race overflows with encouragement for busy moms. Biblically based meditations that offer a calming moment provide readers a welcome sigh of relief. The 45 meditations offer true-life situations and thought-provoking stories that are seasoned with just enough humor to give Grace for the Race a heartwarming boost in the life of a mom. Each meditation closes with "notes from the coach" scripture that ties it all together.
But she didn't stop there. Dyer's fun-loving personality has spilled over into another book: The Groovy Chicks' Roadtrip to Peace (Life Journey, 2005). She explains how that came to pass.
"I performed the character of Starshine in a 60's show at a Christian-owned professional theater I worked at for four years. A friend of mine suggested I use the Starshine character in a book form in some way," says Dyer. Because groovy chicks would need groovy friends, Dyer invited her friend and colleague, Laurie Copeland, to co-author the book. They then came up with the roadtrip idea, and it went from there. "Laurie and I wanted to combine our singing, comedy and drama passions along with our writing, and it seems this has hit a nerve with women," she says.
Roadtrip to Peace is a compilation book with stories from both unknown and well-known authors such as Karol Ladd, Ellie Kay, Anita Renfroe, and Martha Bolton, to name a few. Some of the pieces are hilarious and some are moving, but all focus on the TRUE path to peace -- Jesus Christ. Dyer and Copeland provide zaniness along the way with their 60's alter-egos Pepper and Starshine. Those "born-again babes" have written sidebars -- Pepper's Pit Stops (short mediations and things to make you go "hmmmm"), How's Your InnerState (questions for journaling and reflection), Starshine's Smile Markers (quotes), and much more.
The next book, The Groovy Chicks' Roadtrip to Love, will come out May or June 2006.
With all the things moms need to do, Dyer is thrilled to be able to share her heart and humor with others who need to know they're not alone. "Writing is my therapy, my passion and my calling," she says. "And so making time for it isn't a chore -- it's a necessity and a joy!"
Cindy O'Halloran, a book reviewer, writer, speaker, and playwright, resides in Richland Center, Wisconsin. She is the Teen Writer Curriculum Coordinator and fiction teacher for Writers' Helper.org. She can be contacted via her website.
