Mama's Got a Fake I.D.: How to Reveal the Real You Behind All That Mom - eBook

The former managing editor of Marriage Partnership and Christian Parenting Today, Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira has been writing for and speaking to women for more than a decade. Today she is the managing editor of GiftedForLeadership.com, an online community for Christian women in leadership. Rivedeneira lives with her husband and their three children in the Chicago suburbs.

“Caryn Rivideniera is a real mom. With refreshing honesty, she casts vision and shares a perspective that every mom needs. If you've ever felt like you've lost yourself in the midst of raising a family, this book will help you find yourself again!”
– Jill Savage, mother of five, founder and CEO of Hearts at Home

“Caryn writes with humble and heartfelt authenticity, understanding the mixed emotions of motherhood. She unfolds a new and deep perspective for what it means to understand our real identity in Christ and why this is imperative to our lives as we navigate our passions and the potential to imprint our communities with God’s hand.”
– Dr. Liz Selzer, director of leadership development and events for MOPS International and executive editor of FullFill magazine

“Finally, a book to shatter stereotypes that shackle moms! Caryn honors motherhood while challenging moms not to lose their unique personhood in this overwhelming stage of life. As a woman who has experienced this identity crisis myself, I'm grateful to Caryn for creating an insightful and much-needed book with the potential to empower moms to become all God designed them to be.”
–Dr. Sue Edwards, assistant professor of Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary

“I’ve met many moms who passionately love their kids, yet struggle with feeling marginalized. Does being a good mom really require them to surrender the goals and gifts that make them all God created them to be? The good news is, it doesn’t. With wit and wisdom, Caryn guides women who love being a mom through the process of rediscovering and reclaiming their full identity in Christ.”
– Jane Johnson Struck, executive editor of MomSense magazine; former executive editor of Christian Parenting Today

"While moms love their kids more than life itself, there is more to every mother than the title ‘mom’. God wants mothers to live their fullest lives, and Caryn reminds us that in the throes of motherhood we can still continue to find our true identities in God.”
– Tracey Bianchi, coordinator of women's ministries at Christ Church of Oak Brook and speaker for MOPS International and other organizations

“I’ve heard mothers say that sacrificing their identity is part and parcel of being a good mom. Caryn shows us that the exact opposite is true. With humor and delightful insight, Caryn reveals that Jesus is thrilled to help every mom discover her unique identity. This is not a selfish side project but an essential way to worship God.”
– Jonalyn Grace Fincher, apologist and author of Ruby Slippers: How the Soul of a Woman Brings Her Home

“Caryn speaks for a lot of moms by openly discussing the difficulties of reducing a woman’s identity to one label and a single season of her life. This book will be a refreshing read for moms who share that struggle. This book gives startling evidence that we need to reclaim God’s richly multi-dimensional calling on His daughters’ lives.”
–Carolyn Custis James, author of The Gospel of Ruth

“With a fresh mix of humor and understanding, Caryn speaks to the women I’ve heard from through the years: the women who feel invisible beyond their roles as moms. Caryn gives moms who struggle with their ‘fake I.D.s’ a voice and a way to find their true selves.”
– Ginger Kolbaba, editor of Today’s Christian Woman magazine

“Caryn has given us back those little pieces of ourselves we thought were gone for good. With a clear, biblical reminder that we are first and foremost the daughters of God, Caryn gently nudges us out from behind the false faces of maternal perfection and shows us how to reveal the women God created us to be, women of strength and vision and creativity and depth.”
– Carla Barnhill, author of The Myth of the Perfect Mother and former editor of Christian Parenting Today

“This is a great read: humorous, straightforward, deeply theological, encouraging, and challenging. It will change the way you see yourself, other moms, and God himself. Once you start reading, you’ll be changed and you’ll discover new ways you can change the world.”
–Amy Simpson, vice president of the Leadership Media Group of Christianity Today International and author of Diving Deep: Experiencing Jesus Through Spiritual Disciplines

“This is a conversation long overdue. Are there outside pressures to fit in? Yes. Is there just as much pressure in the faith world to fit in or conform? Sure. Thank goodness for an honest dialogue that takes women deeper as we celebrate the roles in our lives while exploring who God made us to be.”
– T. Suzanne Eller, author of The Woman I Am Becoming: Embrace the Chase for Identity, Faith, and Destiny

“Caryn’s fresh and practical perspective captured my attention–so much so that I let dinner burn as I tore through pages that reflected myself. This work is invaluable not just to mothers, but also to churches and families desiring to respect and appreciate moms for who we really are. I am grateful to Caryn for finally providing moms with such a soul-affirming resource.”
–Julie Clawson, author of Everyday Justice

“This delightful book is written for women like me. We are like Cinderella’s stepsisters, who tried on the glass slipper of mommyhood and discovered a less-than-perfect fit. With humor, grace, and candid self-disclosure, Caryn encourages moms to embrace their God-inspired identity–never ‘just a mom’ but ‘a mom and _.’ Find out how you might best fill in the blank.”
– Eileen Button, columnist for The Flint (Mich.) Journal

“Did the picket-fence, ‘I’m just a mom’ role lose its paint in the fifties, and you’ve been waiting for someone–anyone–to point that out? Wait no longer. Caryn Rivadeneira and a whole new generation of Christian moms are trading paintbrushes for backhoes. Rebellious and deeply affirming, Mama's Got a Fake I.D. will help you explore the life-giving, Christ-empowering world after the picket fence comes down.”
–Sally Morgenthaler, author of The Emergent Manifesto of Hope

The former managing editor of Marriage Partnership and Christian Parenting Today, Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira has been writing for and speaking to women for more than a decade. Today she is the managing editor of GiftedForLeadership.com, an online community for Christian women in leadership. Rivedeneira lives with her husband and their three children in the Chicago suburbs.

Scratch a mother and you'll find an intriguing, multi-faceted human being. But especially in Christian circles, once a women has children she loses her identity as "Joan the incredible organizer" or "Marisol the brilliant artist." Instead, her unique combination of skills and abilities gets lost in a new title: Mom. Moms remain the same women they were before having children, but the people around them often act like becoming a mother transformed Joan and Marisol into one-dimensional women who nurture chidren. Getting that reaction from others, combined with the constant draining demands of motherhood, leave moms fearing that the interesting, engaging, fun, smart, accomplished person they used to be has been lost forever. The felt need addressed in Mama's Got a Fake I.D. is huge. This book is a sisterly guide that shows moms how to rediscover and reclaim their full identity as gifted women, friends, sisters, professionals, creative beings, and cherished, talented children of God.

Caryn Rivadeneira walks women through seven secrets of discovering and expressing all that God made them to be. Those secrets include:

• Letting God's grace free you from false guilt
• Laying claim to Jesus' remarkable respect for women
• Identifying the elements that describe the unique person you are
• Learning a new language to express to others who you really are
• Following God's lead in sharing your true identity with those around you
• Pursuing God's unique purpose for your life
• Encouraging other women by being honest about the good and the bad

No one begins life as a mom. Before you have children, you are an amazing combination of friend, daughter, confidant, visionary, encourager, and thinker. You start out in life using your gifts and abilities in a surprising variety of settings.

Then you have children and the role of mom–as wonderful as it is–seems to consume you. It’s easy to lose your identity when others see you as a mom and little else. What happened to the artist, the team-builder, the organizer, the entrepreneur, the leader–the person you’ve lost touch with?

In Mama’s Got a Fake I.D., Caryn Dahlstrand Rivedeneira helps moms like you reclaim the person God made you to be. God still wants to use you in ways that let your gifts, passions, and personality shine.

This inspiring and practical guide will show you how to break free from false guilt, learn a new language to express your true identity, and follow God’s lead in sharing who you really are. God wants you to discover who he made you to be–in your family and beyond. It’s time to reveal the woman who got hidden behind all that mom.

“Caryn Rivideniera is a real mom. With refreshing honesty, she casts vision and shares a perspective that every mom needs. If you've ever felt like you've lost yourself in the midst of raising a family, this book will help you find yourself again!”
– Jill Savage, mother of five, founder and CEO of Hearts at Home

“Caryn writes with humble and heartfelt authenticity, understanding the mixed emotions of motherhood. She unfolds a new and deep perspective for what it means to understand our real identity in Christ and why this is imperative to our lives as we navigate our passions and the potential to imprint our communities with God’s hand.”
– Dr. Liz Selzer, director of leadership development and events for MOPS International and executive editor of FullFill magazine

“Finally, a book to shatter stereotypes that shackle moms! Caryn honors motherhood while challenging moms not to lose their unique personhood in this overwhelming stage of life. As a woman who has experienced this identity crisis myself, I'm grateful to Caryn for creating an insightful and much-needed book with the potential to empower moms to become all God designed them to be.”
–Dr. Sue Edwards, assistant professor of Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary

“I’ve met many moms who passionately love their kids, yet struggle with feeling marginalized. Does being a good mom really require them to surrender the goals and gifts that make them all God created them to be? The good news is, it doesn’t. With wit and wisdom, Caryn guides women who love being a mom through the process of rediscovering and reclaiming their full identity in Christ.”
– Jane Johnson Struck, executive editor of MomSense magazine; former executive editor of Christian Parenting Today

“While moms love their kids more than life itself, there is more to every mother than the title ‘mom’. God wants mothers to live their fullest lives, and Caryn reminds us that in the throes of motherhood we can still continue to find our true identities in God.”
– Tracey Bianchi, coordinator of women's ministries at Christ Church of Oak Brook and speaker for MOPS International and other organizations

“I’ve heard mothers say that sacrificing their identity is part and parcel of being a good mom. Caryn shows us that the exact opposite is true. With humor and delightful insight, Caryn reveals that Jesus is thrilled to help every mom discover her unique identity. This is not a selfish side project but an essential way to worship God.”
– Jonalyn Grace Fincher, apologist and author of Ruby Slippers: How the Soul of a Woman Brings Her Home

“Caryn speaks for a lot of moms by openly discussing the difficulties of reducing a woman’s identity to one label and a single season of her life. This book will be a refreshing read for moms who share that struggle. This book gives startling evidence that we need to reclaim God’s richly multi-dimensional calling on His daughters’ lives.”
–Carolyn Custis James, author of The Gospel of Ruth

“With a fresh mix of humor and understanding, Caryn speaks to the women I’ve heard from through the years: the women who feel invisible beyond their roles as moms. Caryn gives moms who struggle with their ‘fake I.D.s’ a voice and a way to find their true selves.”
– Ginger Kolbaba, editor of Today’s Christian Woman magazine

“Caryn has given us back those little pieces of ourselves we thought were gone for good. With a clear, biblical reminder that we are first and foremost the daughters of God, Caryn gently nudges us out from behind the false faces of maternal perfection and shows us how to reveal the women God created us to be, women of strength and vision and creativity and depth.”
– Carla Barnhill, author of The Myth of the Perfect Mother and former editor of Christian Parenting Today

“This is a great read: humorous, straightforward, deeply theological, encouraging, and challenging. It will change the way you see yourself, other moms, and God himself. Once you start reading, you’ll be changed and you’ll discover new ways you can change the world.”
–Amy Simpson, vice president of the Leadership Media Group of Christianity Today International and author of Diving Deep: Experiencing Jesus Through Spiritual Disciplines

“This is a conversation long overdue. Are there outside pressures to fit in? Yes. Is there just as much pressure in the faith world to fit in or conform? Sure. Thank goodness for an honest dialogue that takes women deeper as we celebrate the roles in our lives while exploring who God made us to be.”
– T. Suzanne Eller, author of The Woman I Am Becoming: Embrace the Chase for Identity, Faith, and Destiny

“Caryn’s fresh and practical perspective captured my attention–so much so that I let dinner burn as I tore through pages that reflected myself. This work is invaluable not just to mothers, but also to churches and families desiring to respect and appreciate moms for who we really are. I am grateful to Caryn for finally providing moms with such a soul-affirming resource.”
–Julie Clawson, author of Everyday Justice

“This delightful book is written for women like me. We are like Cinderella’s stepsisters, who tried on the glass slipper of mommyhood and discovered a less-than-perfect fit. With humor, grace, and candid self-disclosure, Caryn encourages moms to embrace their God-inspired identity–never ‘just a mom’ but ‘a mom and _.’ Find out how you might best fill in the blank.”
– Eileen Button, columnist for The Flint (Mich.) Journal

“Did the picket-fence, ‘I’m just a mom’ role lose its paint in the fifties, and you’ve been waiting for someone–anyone–to point that out? Wait no longer. Caryn Rivadeneira and a whole new generation of Christian moms are trading paintbrushes for backhoes. Rebellious and deeply affirming, Mama's Got a Fake I.D. will help you explore the life-giving, Christ-empowering world after the picket fence comes down.”
–Sally Morgenthaler, author of The Emergent Manifesto of Hope